Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 467

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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 467
My vision blurred and wavered, consciousness flickering in and out like a dying flame.
Black Dragon Sect Members loaded me onto a stretcher and carried me somewhere. Each time I closed my eyes and opened them again, the ceiling and sky kept changing. Perhaps my consciousness had been slipping away all along.
‘Ah, I’m exhausted.’
With severe external injuries mounting, I found myself caught in a three-way battle between Heavenly Immortal Energy, Reverse Heavenly Energy, and blood qi.
Whenever consciousness returned, I thought, ‘At this rate, I’ll truly die.’ When it faded again, I clung to awareness thinking, ‘Just hold on until I reach the Sect Leader. Then I’ll survive.’ I repeated this cycle of grasping at consciousness and losing it.
At some point, even the passage of time ceased to exist for me.
Occasionally I heard voices, and suddenly the pain vanished entirely as my body felt like it was plunging into something.
And then I heard a voice—whether hallucination or reality, I couldn’t tell.
-Circulate your energy.
A voice laden with majesty and power.
It was a supreme command that left no choice but obedience.
Only then did I regain my composure.
‘Sect Leader, Grandfather…’
The voice came again.
-Focus on your breathing cycle.
I concentrated my inner energy on that commanding voice. Even in my delirium, I crossed my legs and sank into the breathing cycle.
A long time passed.
The voice came once more.
-Circulate your energy.
This time it wasn’t the Sect Leader’s voice. A beautiful, mysterious soprano—this was my master’s voice.
Not real, but a distant voice I’d heard in dreams.
‘Yes, I will. The breathing cycle.’
Perhaps because I was half-delirious, I thought to myself with a hint of irreverence toward my master.
‘But you’re not going to lecture me about sense gates again, are you? Surely it’s time to stop. I’m truly sick of it. Now I…’
I understand everything.
In that darkness, I felt all the memories that composed me slipping away into the abyss.
Memories of my past life, worries of this life, secrets of the martial world, war, politics, the Cheonma Sect, and even martial arts—all vanished.
What remained was only an endless world so distant it seemed to have no boundary, and my own senses simply accepting it.
-If you desire, take it. If you need, discard it. Do not gaze upward at heaven.
Suddenly, that scripture began to make sense.
How vast the world was. How many principles of all things unknown to humanity existed.
Humans knew only an infinitesimal fraction, yet with that fraction alone, we divided the world and set standards.
This brought order to the world, but simultaneously narrowed human possibility.
Human standards could not contain the world.
Yet if one wished, one could embrace everything.
Thus, taking only what is necessary leaves much unknown. Yet humans are beings capable of greedily taking whatever they desire.
Crash!
In that moment, something seemed to crumble.
Whether it was the framework of my thoughts or something within my body, I felt what had been confined suddenly expand infinitely.
—Place all things beneath your feet. Distance becomes meaningless.
In the end, it is myself.
To accept all things is not by standards created by others, but by my own standards.
Flash!
In the illusion, I saw a mad dragon rampaging wildly. The Reverse Heavenly Energy was unmistakable.
I also saw a crimson monster bird with its head buried in a corner. This appeared to be the absorbed blood energy.
‘That’s right, I’ve always had a knack for taming mad things.’
If I wish to indulge, then I shall indulge.
Dividing right from wrong, righteousness from evil, left from right—these too are ultimately human standards.
I touched the blood energy first.
The stench of blood it gave off was overwhelming, so I continued my breathing technique and filtered it repeatedly like straining through a sieve, cutting away all unnecessary parts as if sculpting clay.
Before long, it became a single pure strand of power that naturally flowed somewhere.
The Middle Dantian.
It seeped into my heart and spread throughout my body along the blood vessels. The rampaging thing took on its proper form and transformed my body.
‘Next, the Hundredth Heaven Technique and the Reverse Heavenly Energy.’
In the illusion of selfless ecstasy, I locked eyes with the Reverse Heavenly Energy.
Even something without principle or method must have a way. I simply hadn’t known the principle and method until now.
I drew it toward me.
I did not begin with the Qi Sea or Gushing Spring or breathing.
Starting from the Hundred Convergences, then to the Seal Hall, Heavenly Prominence, Chest Center, Spirit Gate, and then suddenly to the Heavenly Chimney, then to the Qi Sea….
‘Ah, like this.’
Since the circulation of energy was in reverse, its application was also in reverse.
And for the Reverse Heavenly Energy, reverse movement is forward movement.
Now I realized I could control the Reverse Heavenly Energy. I had ascended to the heterodox path of the Hundredth Heaven Technique.
Applying this to martial arts would require another arduous process, but now I could wield it to some degree.
And finally, I opened my eyes.
* * *
My vision brightened suddenly.
A sharp pain spread from my spine throughout my entire body, jolting me awake.
“Ugh….”
I was in a dim space.
My entire body felt stiff. As I staggered and tried to rise.
“It would be best if you remained still for now.”
A man opened the sliding door and walked inside.
“Who… Black Dragon Sect Leader?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Ugh… W-water please….”
“If you swallow water directly now, it will aggravate your internal injuries. I shall dampen cloth with water for you instead. Just moisten your lips.”
Lee Seong-cheon wrung out clean cloth in water and placed it in my mouth. The burning thirst eased somewhat.
“Cough! But where is this….”
“It is the private residence of the Black Dragon Sect in Pyeonggang County, Honam.”
“Is there perhaps a tiger with a golden mane nearby….”
“That mystical beast did have a sword wound, but it has already been moving about the nearby mountains for the past two days.”
Ha, this child. Not bad.
My mind was still foggy and the dizziness lingered, but I asked the most pressing question first.
“Yuk Ho-beop… the Bloodfiend….”
“We let them escape.”
At those words, my senses suddenly sharpened.
“To be precise, I allowed them to escape.”
“…Why.”
“Your condition was critical, and I could not afford to intervene.”
I felt my breath quicken with regret and anger for a moment, but then I simply exhaled deeply and let it settle.
‘Yuk Ho-beop tried to capture me through chance and opportunity, and I survived through chance and opportunity as well… Yes, there is no need to regret.’
Why was that?
Though I had missed a golden opportunity to eliminate one of the enemy’s main forces, I did not feel particularly disappointed. It seemed as though another chance would come eventually.
“Ugh… But what is this place….”
As my senses returned, the pungent smell of medicine assaulted me. I frowned and shifted my body slightly.
Splash.
‘Huh? A splash?’
I lowered my head and looked down.
I saw a large jar filled with a grayish liquid sloshing about.
“What in the world is this?”
I jolted in surprise and sat up abruptly.
Splash!
A pale liquid poured down from my entire body, splattering everywhere around me.
The sharp medicinal smell came from this. At first glance, it had a slight viscosity like candle wax.
I looked at Lee Seong-cheon with a bewildered expression.
“That….”
“Speak.”
“Were you perhaps using me to brew broth? Or have you been marinating me in seasoning?”
“….”
“I doubt I would taste very good….”
“….”
Silence fell.
It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn Lee Seong-cheon, who kept his mouth shut, was smiling.
“It is a medicinal decoction infused with several precious medicinal herbs. Much of its efficacy has already been absorbed, but there is still time remaining, so please soak for another half hour or so.”
“A medicinal decoction… You call this medicine?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“If it is good for the body, then it cannot be helped….”
I hesitantly lowered myself back into the medicinal decoction.
I found myself thinking anew that this was indeed Lee Seong-cheon. His voice carried no emotion, yet it possessed a calm and composed quality that made it difficult to refuse.
‘But this is a bit….’
The appearance of things was rather peculiar, wasn’t it?
Now that I was sitting, I realized the jar was sized such that only my head poked out above the rim.
‘Wait. Come to think of it, I’ve already gotten up, haven’t I?’
My eyes widened.
Only after I applied slight tension throughout my entire body and examined my vital energy did I realize my physical condition had recovered remarkably.
Moreover.
‘My inner strength has even increased? I thought my true essence was damaged and would require quite a long recovery period.’
I asked casually.
“How many days have passed, if I may ask?”
“Four days.”
“Only four days, you say?”
Come to think of it, I had just gotten up without difficulty. It was a wound that should have been fatal, so how had this happened?
“I seem to keep asking questions, but what exactly is this made of?”
“Why do you wish to know?”
“It seems like it would work perfectly for our disciples….”
My eyes gleamed with interest.
“Unfortunately, the ingredients used are not easily obtainable, so even if I revealed the method, it would be difficult for you to produce.”
“I am quite wealthy, despite appearances.”
“It would be difficult to obtain with money.”
Lee Seong-cheon continued slowly.
“First, there is a medicinal spring that flows only from the peak of a certain mountain in the Western Regions. Once you boil that water….”
The Western Regions? Water is water—why must it come from a specific mountain?
“You must mix in azure stone oil, then dissolve the inner elixir of the ten-thousand-year fire lotus mixed with ice-crystal powder, and gradually blend in powdered yin-stage flowers and thousand-year fleece flower root while neutralizing the mixture.”
What?
What do you put in? Azure stone oil? Ten-thousand-year…what?
“I believe that is sufficient explanation.”
“Yes.”
….
I stared intently at the medicinal bath I was soaking in, smacking my lips slightly.
Seeing this, Lee Seong-cheon spoke first for the first time.
“Most of the medicinal efficacy has already been absorbed.”
“…?”
“Additionally, turbid energy has been seeping out for four days straight, so it is likely not particularly hygienic.”
“…Why are you telling me this?”
“I merely informed you.”
Lee Seong-cheon set down the items he had been holding near the jar.
“I will leave clothes and drinking water here, so please take sufficient time to compose yourself before emerging.”
“Yes, I understand. However….”
I deliberately broached a question I had been holding back.
“Has the Sect Leader come here as well?”
The last time I saw the Sect Leader was around when I first returned from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
How many events had unfolded since then, and how many years had passed.
Soon after, Lee Seong-cheon opened his mouth.
“Yes, he is waiting for the Young Master to awaken.”
“….”
“The materials for the medicinal broth were also gathered personally by the Sect Leader during his travels. Though he never anticipated they would be used in such a manner.”
At those words, I let out a slight smile tinged with both tension and relief.
* * *
I wrapped bandages around my still-bleeding body, donned my martial robes and dragon-scale cloak, then stepped outside.
“Grrrrrowl!”
Hoa stood before the door.
Something was clenched in his mouth, which he promptly dropped at my feet.
“You left while your master was injured… wait, what is this?”
“Grrr.”
“Ah, why does this fox have three tails?”
“Yelp!”
Hoa pressed down on the fox’s abdomen with a paw the size of a cauldron lid.
Its throat bulged, and then it coughed up something bead-like.
“Kyaaaagh!”
“Startled! I thought it was dead?”
“Grrrowl!”
The Sammiho sprang to its feet, murderous intent blazing in its eyes as it opened its jaws to lunge at me.
But in that instant.
Crack!
“Yelp!”
Hoa swatted the Sammiho’s back of the head with his paw and growled menacingly.
The Sammiho simply rolled onto its belly in submission and played cute before darting away somewhere.
“What in the…”
Bewildered, I turned my gaze to the bead that had fallen to the ground.
“Could this be an inner core?”
“Grrrowl!”
“You want me to eat it?”
“Snort.”
Hoa exhaled through his nostrils once, then bounded away somewhere. It seemed to say, “Eat it or don’t.”
‘That beast…’
But what am I supposed to do with this…?
It feels a bit unsettling, so I should wash it and consume it.
I tucked the inner core into my robes and turned away.
With each measured stride, a picturesque landscape unfolded around me. Beneath cliffs that seemed carved by divine hands, rare herbs and exotic flowers flourished in abundance where no human touch had ever reached. If paradise existed, surely it would look like this.
Soft footsteps echoed.
I didn’t bother asking where he was. I could already feel his presence.
A short distance from the inner residence.
Beside a waterfall that cascaded with a refreshing whoosh, a spacious pavilion stood.
From that pavilion, a single voice reached me.
“Come here.”
Thump.
My heart raced.
Thump-thump.
My mouth went dry. I suppressed my emotions as much as possible to appear composed and walked forward.
“It has been a long time, Sect Leader.”
My grandfather, Geom-jon Dokgo Cheon, stood there.

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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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