Namgung Heavenly Demon - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 65

 

Grrrr—.

 

With the chilling sound of stone grinding against stone, a vast space revealed itself.

 

It was a different space from where the scholars and physicians had been.

 

The surroundings were finished with smooth obsidian, and a massive medicine cabinet large enough to fill one entire wall was positioned there.

 

And in the center.

 

A gigantic cauldron that commanded all attention stood in place.

 

Large enough to easily fit four or five adults.

 

Complex formations were engraved on the cauldron’s surface, and inside it was filled with a dark red, viscous liquid.

 

“This place is Jamryongdong, where the great technique is performed.”

 

Namgung Dan said as he approached the cauldron.

 

“Inside there are all kinds of elixirs, poisonous herbs, and materials that have been gathered from across all of Gangho over the past fifty years, so you could say it contains fifty years of Jeoncheon Hall.”

 

Namgung Dan placed his hand on the cauldron’s railing.

 

Hissss—.

 

As his palm touched it, faint smoke rose up.

 

“Originally, this should have been taken by the family head, that is, my elder brother.”

 

Deep emotion was contained in Namgung Dan’s voice.

 

“The heads of Namgung have traditionally perfected their bodies through this great technique and been reborn as vessels truly capable of containing heaven.”

 

That meant.

 

“…He didn’t receive it, did he.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Namgung Dan smiled bitterly.

 

“The family head had already found his own path without needing this great technique. So he tried to yield it to me. However…”

 

He swallowed his words.

 

He didn’t bother to bring up again that he had refused due to petty pride.

 

“Enough. The past is just the past.”

 

Namgung Dan turned to look at Namgung Cheon.

 

His eyes were more serious than ever before.

 

“Now this belongs to you. The name of this great technique is Jeoncheon Yeokgeun Daebeop. It means to correct heaven and transform sinews and bones.”

 

“Jeoncheon Yeokgeun Daebeop.”

 

Namgung Cheon quietly repeated it.

 

Though his mind contained all kinds of materials and knowledge about great techniques, this was a technique he had never heard of even once.

 

“Before we begin, let me warn you in advance. This is different from the simple process of taking elixirs and gaining internal energy.”

 

Namgung Dan pointed to the dark red liquid inside the cauldron.

 

“Inside there aren’t just elixirs. There’s bone-melting Bugolcho, blood-stopping Hyeolsimhwa, flesh-dissolving Heuksadam. All kinds of deadly poisons are mixed together. They’re catalysts to trap the energy of elixirs inside your body and maximize that power.”

 

“Fighting poison with poison, and suppressing medicine with medicine?”

 

“Exactly. Two opposing energies will clash inside your body and create new energy. In that process, your physical body will be broken and remade countless times.”

 

Namgung Dan’s gaze sharpened.

 

“It’s on a different level from the Beolmosesu you underwent as a child. Beolmosesu is merely washing away impurities inside the body compared to this great technique.”

 

Beolmosesu that prestigious martial families routinely performed on their later-generation disciples.

 

Naturally, this body had also received Beolmosesu in childhood.

 

Baekbyeong Constitution, Beolmosesu, and Cheonwang Bosimdan.

 

‘Thanks to these three things, I was able to quickly reach this level.’

 

If I receive this great technique as well…

 

Namgung Cheon’s eyes flashed with anticipation.

 

“You will feel the agony of bones melting and flesh tearing completely. The moment you lose focus, you could die just like that. Even so, will you do it?”

 

“Yes, of course.”

 

Namgung Cheon gave a brief answer and removed his upper garment.

 

Taking a few steps to stand before the cauldron, Namgung Cheon spoke.

 

“There’s no way to become strong without pain anyway.”

 

At those words, one corner of Namgung Dan’s mouth rose.

 

“I quite like what you just said. Good.”

 

Namgung Dan watched Namgung Cheon’s appearance for a moment, then turned his head toward the door.

 

“Bring it.”

 

As his words fell, the oldest-looking among the scholars waiting outside carefully entered.

 

In his hands was a stone chest with a cool chill surrounding it as if carved from ice crystal.

 

The old man offered the stone chest before Namgung Dan and bowed deeply.

 

Namgung Dan silently opened the stone chest.

 

What revealed itself along with the cool chill was a red orb emitting the opposite hot energy.

 

A red orb pulsing like a living heart.

 

Namgung Dan, looking at this, spoke quietly.

 

“It’s the inner core of a Thousand-Year Fire Carp. It’s the fire that will make this cauldron boil, and the final key to bind and explode the energy of all materials gathered over fifty years.”

 

Namgung Cheon felt the overwhelming fire energy emanating from the inner core.

 

Namgung Dan looked at the inner core for a moment, then quietly commanded toward the outside.

 

“Close the door. From now until the great technique ends, no one is permitted entry.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The Elder Scholar who had brought the stone chest answered from outside the door and pushed it closed.

 

Grrrr—.

 

Just before the door closed, Namgung Cheon looked outside.

 

In the corridor outside, dozens of scholars and physicians were kneeling in prostration, looking at him.

 

Their eyes contained earnest hope.

 

The undertaking of Jeoncheon Hall that had continued for decades, even centuries.

 

He could keenly feel their desire for the success of the great technique that concentrated all their knowledge and effort.

 

Thud!

 

Finally the stone door closed, and inside Jamryongdong was enveloped in perfect silence.

 

Namgung Cheon closed his eyes for a moment.

 

The look in their eyes that he had seen outside the door was vivid in his mind.

 

Right now, he was shouldering the hopes of all of Jeoncheon Hall.

 

‘Heavy.’

 

But he didn’t dislike it.

 

By shouldering that weight, he would be able to soar to even greater heights.

 

Namgung Dan approached such a Namgung Cheon.

 

“Are you mentally prepared?”

 

Namgung Cheon silently nodded at Namgung Dan’s question and slowly immersed his body into the cauldron.

 

At that solemn sight, Namgung Dan let out a chuckle.

 

Swoosh!

 

Without hesitation, he threw the Thousand-Year Fire Carp’s inner core into the center of the cauldron.

 

That was the moment.

 

Gurgle, whoooosh!

 

The coldly cooled medicinal liquid began boiling up instantly like a volcanic eruption.

 

Red energy enveloped the entire cauldron.

 

“Kugh…!”

 

A suppressed groan burst from Namgung Cheon’s mouth.

 

Burning pain that seared his skin and cold energy that carved his bones struck simultaneously.

 

The energies of elixirs and deadly poisons burrowed into his meridians at will, butchering his entire body.

 

Normally this would be hell where one could only scream and jump out, or just struggle desperately not to lose consciousness.

 

However.

 

‘I can’t fully absorb this energy by just enduring.’

 

Namgung Cheon forcibly held onto his consciousness that was trying to blur.

 

He bit the flesh inside his mouth, drawing blood, and focused strength into his eyes.

 

Enduring pain? Holding on?

 

‘Anyone can do that sort of thing.’

 

What I want isn’t just to survive, but…

 

Namgung Cheon’s gaze transformed completely.

 

‘I’ll absorb it all without leaving even a handful of energy behind.’

 

Namgung Cheon’s lips moved slightly.

 

Instead of screams, bizarrely, the incantations of an internal cultivation method began to flow out.

 

“Heaven is one with me, all things become one with me…”

 

As he recited the incantation, blue energy began to settle in Namgung Cheon’s breathing.

 

“Inhale!”

 

The pain grew even more severe.

 

And at that moment.

 

‘Pain?’

 

A certain martial art naturally came to mind in Namgung Cheon’s head.

 

The secret technique he had used when circulating his internal energy before—Hwango Banwon Technique.

 

‘Hwango Banwon Technique is originally about creating pain oneself and turning it into internal energy.’

 

A smile crossed Namgung Cheon’s lips.

 

‘And…’

 

He looked down at the red liquid boiling up inside the cauldron.

 

Right now, wasn’t he in overflowing pain as his entire body melted away?

 

Then the answer was simple.

 

‘I’ll make even this pain mine.’

 

Namgung Cheon’s eyes blazed like flames in the red steam.

 

* * *

 

Deep in the night, the scent of ink and subtle tea fragrance drifted through the study in Gajujeon.

 

Seeing that her husband’s teacup was empty as he reviewed reports, Jegal Hwa quietly poured fresh tea.

 

How much time had passed like this?

 

Thud.

 

Namgung Mugang set down his brush, rose from his seat, and approached the window.

 

And he quietly gazed at the Eastern Sky.

 

It was the direction where Jeoncheon Hall was located.

 

He stared at the sky in silence for a long while.

 

Knowing what that deep silence meant, Jegal Hwa rose from her seat and approached his side.

 

“…That child will succeed.”

 

Only then did Namgung Mugang slowly open his mouth.

 

“He must succeed.”

 

His voice was calm.

 

“However, what comes after is the problem.”

 

“After, you mean…”

 

Namgung Mugang turned to face his wife.

 

“Certainly, if the great technique succeeds, much growth will follow. However…”

 

He lifted his teacup.

 

His face reflected in the teacup was like a tranquil lake.

 

Tap.

 

Namgung Mugang lightly tapped the teacup with his fingertip.

 

Then small ripples formed on the previously still tea surface.

 

The ripples struck the sides of the teacup and soon became more complex and irregular waves that returned.

 

“Even small ripples in a teacup are this unpredictable.”

 

Namgung Mugang said quietly.

 

“The waves that child will create will go beyond this small teacup and shake all of Namgung and Tianxia.”

 

Namgung Cheon’s recent actions flashed through his mind.

 

His deeds at the Yeongang Martial Arts Assembly, the extermination of Gwimyeon-gye.

 

Already, the small stone called Namgung Cheon had been thrown into the vast lake of Gangho.

 

But the ripples so far were merely the beginning.

 

If he truly gained wings through the Jeoncheon Muscle Transformation Technique, that child would no longer be at the level of a small stone.

 

Just how far would that influence reach?

 

“Whether he’ll dance on those waves, or be swept away by them.”

 

“…”

 

“We’ll have to watch and see.”

 

Jegal Hwa read the deep concern in her husband’s eyes.

 

Rather than vaguely expecting and celebrating their son’s success, the cold calculation of considering the aftermath that success would bring first.

 

That was precisely Namgung’s family head, Sword Emperor Namgung Mugang.

 

“That child knows how to create waves.”

 

Jegal Hwa said calmly.

 

“He’s not foolish enough to be swept away by waves he created himself, so don’t worry too much.”

 

“He’s not foolish. Rather, he’s too clever for his own good.”

 

Namgung Mugang set down his teacup.

 

“That child sees farther and deeper than one might think. However, because his vision is so broad, sometimes he might not see the small stones at his feet. And one small stone could cause a massive landslide.”

 

His words carried weight.

 

Namgung Cheon’s actions during his Gangho journey were certainly remarkable, but also precarious.

 

If he were to fall someday…

 

At that moment.

 

“Then you just need to watch from behind to ensure that child doesn’t fall.”

 

“…”

 

“If the waves that child creates are too fierce, you can change the direction of the wind, and if unexpected reefs appear, you can break them first, can’t you?”

 

“…You’re saying that’s the family head’s role?”

 

Jegal Hwa shook her head.

 

“No. It’s a father’s role.”

 

At those words, Namgung Mugang’s eyes wavered.

 

Instead of saying something, he silently watched the last ripples in his teacup settle.

 

After a long silence like that.

 

“The path that child will walk will be more treacherous than mine.”

 

“…”

 

“He’s already seen too much and tries to bear too much alone.”

 

At those words, Jegal Hwa quietly placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder.

 

“No, it will be fine.”

 

Her gaze turned toward the Eastern Sky.

 

“Because he’s Namgung… no, because he’s your son.”

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