Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 226

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 226
I dreamed.
A life as a dullard, the scorn of others, Dokgo Ak’s torment, Father… the martial contest with Dokgo Ak, Jeong Cheonmaeng’s Golden Minute Waterfall Technique, Jeolgang, Guhwahyeolsa, the Household Lord…
Countless memories both frustrating and irritating, yet exhilarating and satisfying.
All of it unfolded vividly as though it had just occurred.
Then suddenly, the world before my eyes brightened.
Flash!
Soon after, the life of Dokgo Hyeon surfaced in my mind.
Perhaps because the present was more enjoyable than that time. I could observe the life of my past existence from a distance, as though watching someone else’s affair.
From back alleys to the Ronin faction.
From the Dokgo Household to the battlefield.
Meeting my Sect Leader, then to the battlefield again.
And until that day of death.
Then suddenly, my gaze met with Dokgo Hyeon’s.
‘Did I really look like this?’
The kid certainly had a ruthless appearance. Perhaps because it had been so long, he felt strangely unfamiliar.
All those memories and scenes passed by, and I faced a thick fog.
And at some point, I found myself following the heels of a Black-Robed Man wearing a pitch-black long robe through the mist.
Splash, splash, splash, splash.
How long had I walked? With an unexpected sound of water, a river came into view.
A wide, long, and great river flowing steadily in ashen gray.
I followed the Black-Robed Man toward the river, taking a step… wait? A river?
In that instant, I snapped awake.
‘Good grief, what a shock! Could it be that all this time was the Lantern of the Dead?’
I stumbled backward in surprise.
Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, the Black-Robed Man’s expression turned sullen, and he seemed to mutter, “Ah, you brat. Again? Your instincts are sharp, I’ll give you that,” while smacking his lips.
And in the next moment, light exploded before my eyes.
Flash!
I witnessed a vision.
It could be called a vision because it was neither my memory nor Dokgo Hyeon’s memory.
A deep swamp untouched by human footsteps.
Ripples spread across the glistening water’s surface, and something long rose its body.
Whoooosh!
It was a snake resembling Gwisucheolmang, but with a smaller frame and radiating a clearer aura.
-So it has come to this after all.
The snake gazed at me.
For all that it was merely a snake, I felt a sense of pity in its gaze.
-Defying Heaven is no easy task.
-You will pay the price. Whether you wish it or not, the world will demand recompense from you.
In that moment.
Thud!
The snake burst apart like mist, then burrowed into Dokgo Myeong.
‘Gasp! Cough! Damn it, what is this!’
There was no time to resist.
It was like a raging river in flood, like a tidal wave crashing ashore.
Black energy flowed through my blood meridians, staining my entire body. It seeped rapidly into every part of my flesh—skin, bone, organs, nerves—taking root like a spreading infection.
Ssssshhhhh!
My mouth opened involuntarily.
It felt as though molten metal, burning hot, flowed through my veins instead of blood. I had experienced countless pains in my life, but never anything like this.
‘This is the power contained within that young Geum-ye’s inner elixir, isn’t it?!’
It had to be!
It had even appeared in my dreams, spouting all manner of cryptic words!
But that’s not the problem right now!
‘Ugh! I’m going to die like this!’
I’d always said I was dying, but this was a genuine crisis of death.
Thump!
Before I knew it, I had assumed the lotus position. Whether I had done it in the dream or in reality, I couldn’t tell.
In any case, I sharpened my focus and tried desperately to redirect the torrent with the power of the Heavenly Beyond Realm.
But it didn’t take long to realize it was impossible.
‘I can’t handle this. How can something possess such power? It’s beyond comprehension.’
A force far too immense.
A force far too toxic.
It wasn’t a force that humans could possibly contend with.
Beyond the sheer magnitude and intensity of the energy, its very nature was something that shouldn’t exist in this world. It was a force that could only be described as demonic.
‘…!!’
And in that instant, I felt an ominous sense of déjà vu.
‘This energy… it’s different, yet familiar.’
When the Heavenly Beyond Realm had run amok from the demonic possession backlash.
It resembled the force that had surged through me then.
If that’s the case, this is truly grave. Back then, I had barely regained my senses by wagering the very lives of my three companions. And now, the pressure was several times more intense than it had been then.
That was when it happened.
-Do not panic. Focus.
A deep and solemn voice resonated in my mind.
It was not the voice of the Iron Net.
‘Could it be… Geum-ye?’
Had I truly come one step away from the Samdocheon?
Even if it was a mystical beast of great spiritual power, could it speak human language?
-Do not give up. Have you not already grasped the method?
-The turbidity will clear. You must be the one to embrace it.
Then, brilliant western light surged in and began to wrap around my body.
The flow of qi grew even more violent.
Feeling a dizzying sensation as if sinking into a deep swamp, I let out a bitter laugh.
‘This brat went and consumed my dantian on his own. I could have recovered on my own even without it…!’
Damn it, how could he feed me something like this without listening to a word I say?
Separate from my grumbling, my mind began to settle calmly.
Soon, the Sect Leader’s words came to mind.
-Only through sensation.
I let out a quiet chuckle.
‘Now even he’s showing up.’
I’m sick of this, truly.
I understand you’re proud of the martial technique you created, but is that the only thing you know how to say?
‘Still, I understand what he means.’
I followed my own senses exactly as he said.
In fact, Geum-ye was right.
I already knew the method.
All this time my qi had continued to demand transformation, and I had learned the method by observing and studying everything. Now all that remained was the attempt itself.
Kwaaaaaaang!
The qi of the Heavenly Outer Realm, the medicinal energy accumulated in the three meridians, the overwhelming energy of the Gwisucheolmang, and even the mysterious white light that neutralized that energy.
I simply abandoned all control and slammed all of it into my dantian.
And in that instant.
Pwoooooooong!
It rotates.
The energies that had been pushing and pulling against each other as if testing their strength became entangled with one another, then began to spin fiercely around a central axis.
‘Ugh! It feels like a whirlwind has entered my body.’
Moreover, as if insatiably greedy, it was drawing in external qi like mad, unsatisfied with just my original energy.
Finally, the three meridians began to collapse. Blood droplets beaded across every pore of my body before streaming down in an instant.
Crack!
The vessel had finally cracked.
The vessel that holds qi, in other words….
‘My dantian is breaking!’
Throb!
In that moment, my lower abdomen trembled.
Boom! Crack!
Sounds of something bursting continued to echo.
“Gag!”
I finally vomited something up violently.
Though I couldn’t see it with my eyes closed, the smell of blood filling my nose and mouth suggested I was coughing up blood.
In that moment, fear gripped me.
‘…Is this right?’
What if it wasn’t?
What if I’ve misread the situation?
Dokgo Myeong clenched his teeth.
‘So be it. I’ve already committed to this path.’
Such was the nature of the world.
To scale a towering wall, one must be prepared to suspend their body in empty space without a foothold.
The path already walked is always bright, while the path ahead is always shrouded in darkness.
Boom! Crash! Craaaaaash!
Finally, the dantian collapsed inward.
The vortex began to consume even itself.
No—it wasn’t consuming itself, but rather compressing.
Rotation followed by compression.
Then compression followed by compression again.
The fierce vortex gradually curled inward into a perfect sphere.
Whoooosh!
Soon the vortex formed a single sphere.
Like a Qi Pellet—the very source of power that Demonic Creatures and Mystical Beasts possessed.
Or perhaps like the Orb of Ascension that dragons required for their heavenly ascent.
The fiercely rotating inner elixir began to replace Dokgo Myeong’s dantian.
And then.
Whoooooooooosh!
Dokgo Myeong’s entire body was engulfed in shimmering heat waves.
Beyond four heavens, another new heaven unfolded before me.
The fifth heaven of Heavenly Ascension Realm.
The opening of the Mystical Heavenly Art.
* * *
Splash, splash.
A remote mountain valley, location unknown.
A slender, pale hand touched the gently flowing stream water.
Someone who had been slowly washing their hand, as if the water wasn’t even cold, suddenly froze all movement.
“….”
Someone slowly rose to their feet.
A pair of eyes so transparent they seemed almost ethereal gazed toward the distant sky.
Whisper, whisper.
Had she sensed something in the mountain breeze that swept down the slope?
She simply gazed endlessly at the distant sky where not a single cloud was visible.
Soon a jade-like voice flowed out.
“Has the Mystical Heaven opened? Who on earth has touched the Gate of Life and Death…?”
As if unable to comprehend.
Or as if bewildered.
Yet soon, as if understanding had dawned, her eyes widened.
“One who knocks upon the gate beyond heaven… So it has come to pass….”
Someone took a step forward.
A footfall whose destination remained unknown.
What was certain was that from those lips, a realm beyond heaven—unknown to any—had been spoken.
* * *
Tap! Tap!
Something struck my head.
Thump! Thump!
When I remained still, it began tapping my forehead instead.
Dokgo Myeong stirred and mumbled.
“Mmm… just a little longer….”
I was exhausted beyond measure. It seemed I needed at least another two hours of sleep.
Just when I thought it had finally quieted down.
Patter!
The sound of something scraping against the ground echoed.
Thud!
A heavy weight crashed down upon my solar plexus.
“Ugh!”
Dokgo Myeong gasped and snapped my eyes open.
I quickly turned my gaze toward my belly.
Purr, purr.
There sat a familiar furry bundle emitting a cat-like sound.
Brilliant golden fur, stripes resembling a tiger, and a short mane adorning its face….
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Huh? That young mystical beast from back then?”
“Meow!”
As I sat up completely, it tumbled off and landed nimbly on the ground.
Then it rubbed itself against my body before letting out a soft purr.
“What’s this? Why are you here?”
“Meow!”
“Where did your mother go?”
“Whine?”
“Huh? She left?”
“Meow! Meow!”
“Then why are you still here?”
“Purr!”
“Ah, you want to stay with me?”
“Rumble!”
Dokgo Myeong was caught off guard mid-conversation.
“What’s this? Have I finally lost my mind?”
Why does it feel like I can actually communicate with this creature?
Of course, we can’t exchange words, but there’s this strange sense of understanding—feelings flowing between us.
‘Wait, where am I? I was fighting just moments ago. How did I end up…’
Suddenly, Dokgo Myeong’s eyes snapped open.
Everything came flooding back.
The final battle with Gwisucheolmang, victory, the sensation of someone biting me and climbing the mountain while I was unconscious, the inner elixir entering my mouth…
“…!”
Dokgo Myeong immediately sprang to his feet.
His body felt impossibly light. He’d never experienced such overwhelming vitality before.
‘My body has recovered.’
Remarkably, recovery was only the beginning.
Whiiiiiing!
An incomprehensibly vast reservoir of power churned within his body.
The moment his consciousness touched it, the mass began to rotate.
Simultaneously, a torrent of power unlike anything he’d ever felt came pouring out.
Kwaaaang!
Vital energy erupted around Dokgo Myeong like a tempest.
“What, what is this…?”
He’d barely stirred his vital energy, yet an explosive shockwave had detonated.
“Kyaa!”
The young Geum-ye, startled by the blast, leaped up with fur bristling on end.
“Oh, oh no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“Kiiing!”
“I know, I know. Come here. Let me scratch your chin.”
“Kaeng!”
Dokgo Myeong sat down heavily and absently scratched beneath the young Geum-ye’s jaw.
‘It feels like a dragon is writhing inside my body.’
I’d never imagined I could contain such power.
In fact, I wasn’t even sure if a human could hold something like this. Because of that, I had no idea how to draw upon this strength.
It was incomparable to my dantian. This was an entirely new source of vital energy.
‘Not just the quantity, but the density is staggering. Did my body’s recovery occur simultaneously with the formation of the inner elixir?’
Perhaps it was possible because I’d reached the elevated state of unity between essence, energy, and spirit. When vital energy recovers, the body and mind naturally follow.
Of course, with a collapsed body and spirit, one couldn’t recover vital energy in the first place. Yet I recovered completely, which meant only one thing…
‘Fortuitous encounter.’
The power of the inner elixir now residing within me was so tremendous it overturned all conventional logic.
Inner elixir—or perhaps I should call it a Spirit Elixir.
Dokgo Myeong’s lips spread wide.
“Hehe…”
“…Kaeng?”
“Hehehehe…!”
“…?”
“Hehehehe! Not a Spirit Elixir, but a Spirit Pill?! Kyaa! Fortune smiles upon me at last! Opening the Hyeoncheon Gate wasn’t enough, but my own Inner Elixir too? Ahahaha!”
Ah, this is it!
This is what I needed!
After all that suffering, it would be shameful not to receive at least this much compensation!
“Ehehehe! Kekekeke!”
Laughter rang out brilliantly through the moonlit forest as darkness settled in.
Even the young Geum-ye, who had been acting so affectionate toward Dokgo Myeong, quietly retreated with an expression that said, “Ah, this is a bit much.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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