Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 227

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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 227
Kuguguguugu!
A violent gust of wind erupted across my entire body as I sat in lotus position.
I hadn’t even deliberately channeled my power—merely brushed against the spiritual core within my body—yet such a dramatic change had occurred.
‘Hmm….’
I ceased my cultivation.
A brief examination like this wouldn’t allow my body to adapt quickly.
‘I’ll need to approach this methodically and spend considerable time acclimating to it.’
The power of the spiritual core I’d created within Cheonoe Gyeong—the Cheonoe Spiritual Core—was overwhelmingly potent.
If I drew upon its full strength, my physical form couldn’t withstand the force. My existing internal energy cultivation techniques couldn’t regulate the power properly.
‘To avoid being overwhelmed, I need to elevate my body’s foundation further, and adjust my martial techniques accordingly. The very pinnacle of ascension I’ve painstakingly unified is on the verge of collapse.’
The fusion of essence, energy, and spirit—the very symbol of the Ascension Realm—had wavered. This alone demanded immediate action.
After that, I examined several other matters.
The most significant change besides the spiritual core was undoubtedly the opening of the fifth secret realm.
‘Dark Heaven (暗天)… No, the Sect Leader told me to call it Hyeon Heaven, didn’t he?’
A dark sky following the starlit heavens.
I’d argued that calling it Dark Heaven made more sense, but the Sect Leader insisted Hyeon Heaven was correct.
Well, since the creator said so, what could I do?
In truth, the Hyeon Heaven technique possessed a particularly mysterious and profound power compared to the previous secret realms.
‘Let me test it.’
I carefully manipulated my lower dantian and drew forth a single strand of true energy.
Then I infused my will into the shimmering true energy dancing across my palm.
Uuuuung!
From Hui Heaven to Hong Heaven.
From Hong Heaven to Seong Heaven.
From Seong Heaven back to Hui Heaven.
The transitions showed not the slightest gap.
With slightly more focus, manifesting all three energies simultaneously proved effortless.
‘Perfect. It’s definitely opened.’
Unlike the other secret realms, Hyeon Heaven possessed no unique energy of its own. There were no movement techniques or martial arts.
Only one martial principle existed—the Divided Mind Secret.
‘Fusion and simultaneous application are now unrestricted.’
The martial arts of Hui Heaven, Hong Heaven, and Seong Heaven, previously separated from one another.
Now I could employ them freely without needing to switch between movement techniques, martial arts, and true energy.
‘With increased possibilities, the constraints of the Wuji Heaven-Breaking Technique have effectively diminished.’
I slowly opened my eyes.
“Phew… Hm?”
Sensing a slight weight, I glanced downward.
“Grrrrr….”
Young Geum-ye lay curled up on my crossed legs.
As if sensing the inspection had concluded, the creature poked its head out and gazed up at Dokgo Myeong.
“Yip?”
Dokgo Myeong placed his hand on the creature’s body and chuckled.
“Was it you?”
“Grrr?”
“I’m talking about how you cleaned up that young snake’s inner core so thoroughly.”
“?”
“When I absorbed it, I could feel the venom, but all those subtle spectral energies had been completely washed away. I even heard some strange voice… it was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yip!”
“So it was?”
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
“What am I going to do with you…”
Dokgo Myeong smiled and patted the creature’s lower back affectionately.
‘I’m probably right.’
Hadn’t I experienced something similar before?
That feeling of coordinated attacks despite not sharing a common language.
The communion of qi.
Just as with Dragon Scale Fortress, Mystical Beasts, and Demonic Creatures, qi—the source of all things—was connected.
Whooooooom!
In that instant, merely thinking about it caused my inner core to rotate and emit true qi explosively.
Startled, Dokgo Myeong hastily calmed his spirit core.
‘It’s good that it’s grown stronger, but it’s become far too powerful. Who does this beast take after with such a temperament?’
I’m afraid of what the Patriarch will say if he meets me like this.
Won’t he scold me again with that characteristic contemptuous sneer?
Then, a ticklish sensation brushed against my fingertips.
Lick, lick!
Though only a wisp of Cheonoe Gyeong’s qi had flowed out, the creature began licking as if it tasted delicious.
‘Looking at this, my suspicion seems correct… should I test it?’
Whether it’s just a feeling or if we can truly communicate.
Dokgo Myeong quietly stood up and called out to the creature.
“Bark!”
“…?”
“I said bark! Tsk, I didn’t think it would go this far…”
“Yip!”
Look at that? It really barked?
Then let me try once more…
“Sit!”
“Yip!”
“Stand up!”
“Yelp?”
“Roll! Paw! Get over there! Come here! Jump! Fetch! Can you do this too? A somersault!”
Snap! Tap! Whoosh! Thud! Patter!
Wow, damn. What exactly is this creature?
There’s a limit to how clever something can be—I hadn’t taught it anything, yet it bounded about following my every command with remarkable obedience.
“Oh! It can even do somersaults? What a little performer! A performer, yes! Well done, very well! Do it again! Again!”
“Pant-pant! Growl-growl!”
“Then this time, dance! Can you dance too?”
The moment Dokgo Myeong cried out with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Grrrrrowl!”
The creature bared its fangs in a clear warning growl. Its eyes gleamed a piercing blue even in the darkness, fierce as a predator’s.
‘Damn, this little beast has teeth.’
Dokgo Myeong laughed sheepishly at the glinting fangs.
“Wait. Haven’t you grown a bit since I first saw you?”
At first, it had been small enough to nestle completely within Geum-ye’s mane.
If I had to compare it, perhaps the size of a small house cat?
But now it had grown to roughly the size of a fully-grown dog.
“Do mystical beasts normally grow this suddenly and all?”
“Yip?”
“No, I mean, why did you grow so much?”
“Grrr-ow.”
The creature, not understanding my words, rubbed its body against Dokgo Myeong’s leg.
‘Not everything communicates perfectly.’
Even if qi could be exchanged, there were limits—true speech between man and beast was simply impossible.
Dokgo Myeong patted the creature’s head gently and rose to his feet.
“If you waited for me to wake up, then that’s enough. You should head back now. Your mother must be waiting for you.”
“Yip?”
“As for the debt of my inner elixir… let’s call it even since I caught that snake for you. Understood?”
“Whiiiiine…”
The creature folded back its ears and looked up at me.
For some reason, it seemed slightly disappointed.
“Ugh, you’re really getting to me.”
“Huh?”
“What, you want to abandon your mother and follow me instead? You’re the definition of an unfilial beast. Don’t you know the Five Relationships and Three Bonds?”
“Yip?”
…Of course you don’t understand.
It would be strange if you did.
Dokgo Myeong scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“You really want to follow me?”
Nod-nod.
“Fine then.”
Tsk, but is this really okay?
The mother suddenly appeared and is brandishing those fangs the size of forearms?
“Ugh, I have no idea. Do whatever you want.”
“Kyaing!”
“So I’ll just call you Geum-ye?”
“Grrrng!”
The creature struck Dokgo Myeong’s knee with its front paw as if to say he was really going to do this, then scrunched up its face.
“You’re quite particular, aren’t you? Well, since your fur is golden, how about Geumjjok?”
“Grrrng!”
“Tsk! Don’t bare your teeth at people like that… Ah! Your teeth are so pretty, how about Geumchi?”
“Kyaaaak!”
“…This brat is incredibly picky.”
Dokgo Myeong, who had been grumbling, muttered various names for a while, then scratched his head vigorously and spoke.
“Let’s just go with Hoa. It has a nice ring to it.”
“Kiiing…”
The creature let out a deep sigh as if giving up, then nodded its head half-heartedly.
The more I watched, the more human-like its behavior seemed, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, I look forward to working with you from now on.”
“Gyarrung!”
When Dokgo Myeong extended his hand, Hoa pushed its head forward and rubbed against it.
Dokgo Myeong, who had been watching the scene with reluctant eyes, suddenly froze in alarm.
“Wait a moment! Now that I think about it!”
“?”
“If you’re here, then my house! The spirit medicines! The medicinal herbs! The fleece flower root! The ginseng! The demonic creature hides and bones! Who’s guarding all that!”
In that instant, the young Geum-ye—no, Hoa—whipped its head around.
“Tsk!”
…and made a sound like clicking its tongue.
Thus, Dokgo Myeong came to share his life with a mystical beast.
* * *
After making a new friend.
Dokgo Myeong finally began to examine his surroundings.
‘It does seem to be a natural cave.’
The landscape of the meticulously carved stone grotto caught my eye.
From the outside, it had appeared to be quite a spacious area, and in reality, it was.
The air circulated well, as if there were air vents, and thanks to the fist-sized luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling, it wasn’t dark at all.
‘Did she place me here so I wouldn’t be disturbed during recovery?’
It was Geum-ye’s thoughtful consideration.
Unlike other times, when creating the Cheonoe Gyeong Core, I had concentrated all my focus inward. Had anyone touched me, I would have died on the spot.
“But how much time has actually passed?”
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!
I clutched my growling stomach and scrunched my face in discomfort.
The hunger was far from ordinary.
Absorbing Hyeon-cheon’s enlightenment alone should have required considerable time, yet hadn’t I even generated a Spirit Core within my body?
This wasn’t something that could be accomplished in a day or two.
‘Is the exit… here?’
Soon I stood before a massive stone gate with light seeping through its edges.
‘Let me get out of here. Food or no food, I have mountains of work waiting.’
A critical matter that superseded everything else.
And that was none other than…
‘That snake’s corpse! I just left it behind without taking it!’
Snake liquor required capturing the snake without wounds, so that opportunity was already lost.
But! Snake broth! Snake fangs! Snake hide! Snake bones!
Not to mention the Qiankun Sword I’d embedded in its body but failed to retrieve, and all my belongings stored at the dwelling beside the waterfall!
‘How much is all that worth! I have to bring it all home!’
Infused spirits and elixirs, byproducts of demonic creatures and all.
If my Heuk-gu, Baek-gu, and Hwang-gu along with Gal-jeo had fled, then they fled—but there was no way they’d still be guarding everything. I needed to return as quickly as possible.
I placed my hand on the stone gate and gave it a gentle push.
Screech!
“Huh?”
Tilting my head in confusion, I applied more force to my hand.
Screech!
“What?”
Screech-screech-screech!
“…What is this? Why won’t it budge at all!?”
Though not quite possessing the innate divine strength of Mu-baek, I had confidence in my strength from cultivating external techniques.
Yet this mere gate refused to move whatsoever.
“Grrrraaahhh!”
Crack! Rumble-rumble-rumble!
I braced my stance and pushed with my entire body, but there wasn’t even a tremor—only small stones and dust cascading down.
“Ha! Look at that?”
I rolled my shoulders and laughed with a smirk.
This was purely because the gate wouldn’t open!
Absolutely not because I wanted to test my strength!
My eyes gleamed sharply.
Whoooosh!
The resonant sound of a true strike echoed through the stone cavern.
I extracted the Three Divine Techniques from my Spirit Core and deployed them simultaneously through Hyeon-cheon’s principles, then unleashed my fist.
Kaboom!
An explosion erupted.
A violent gust rose, scattering air in all directions and beyond…
“Ugh! Argh!”
Even with my balance shattered, the erupting qi wave sent my body flying backward through the air.
That was how much force I’d unleashed.
But then.
“…!”
The door remained unchanged.
The center had caved inward, yet it showed no cracks, no movement whatsoever.
‘Wait, did it open just a little?’
Just slightly.
A tiny gap had widened, and the light streaming through the door crack grew noticeably brighter.
‘No, is this really a door? What kind of stone gate is this….’
Was it never a stone gate to begin with?
I rushed forward and channeled my inner force into the door.
Boom!
The recoil that struck my palm made my eyes widen in shock.
Part of the inner force I’d injected bounced straight back.
‘Could it be?’
I’d heard of a metal with this kind of property once before.
My eyes gleaming, I gathered my vital energy and pushed it forcefully into the stone gate.
Ziiiiiiing!
The door vibrated wildly, and my entire body trembled with it. As the injected inner force lashed out like a whip in all directions.
Thud-thud-thud!
The grayish-white dust covering the stone gate’s surface melted away and flowed down.
The massive stone gate that was revealed was, in fact, not a stone gate at all.
“This is insane. What is this?”
It wasn’t a stone gate—it was an iron door. Moreover, it gleamed with an extraordinary dark luster.
I was astounded.
“Could this entire thing be made of Mysterious Iron?”
So that’s why the recoil from my inner force felt so excessive—the door was forged from Mysterious Iron?
‘They used this much Mysterious Iron just to make a door!’
Wasn’t this a material so precious that its very weight determined its value? Mysterious Iron was so rare that only fragments were mixed into precious blades, so why in the world would they fashion an entire door from it!
I knocked on the door with an expression of utter disbelief.
‘Should I really try pouring all my inner force into it and destroy it?’
Would that even work?
And before that—if I did such a thing, could I even return to the immortal realm?
“Damn it.”
I glanced back over my shoulder.
“It seems there’s only one path forward.”
* * *
“Hmm, that slippery fellow. So he’s finally entered.”
Dokgo Cheon gazed into the empty void and muttered to himself.
Lee Seong-cheon, who alone attended him, simply bowed his head.
His lord could read events a thousand leagues away from where he sat. Even if he spoke words without apparent meaning, one had to trust it was so.
“Are you speaking of Dokgo Myeong?”
“Yes. Where he went and what he’s been doing all this time—nearly a hundred days have passed since he entered, yet I cannot fathom it.”
Hunting demonic creatures, brewing medicinal liquor, even engaging in a life-or-death duel with an imoogi—all of this lay beyond even Dokgo Cheon’s perception.
Crackle! Pop!
The shadows of the campfire flickered across the desolate hillside.
Dokgo Cheon muttered as if speaking to himself.
“I wonder how long it will take him.”

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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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