The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 101
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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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101
The Sovereign Blade
Nam Se-myeong’s pupils shook as if hit by an earthquake.
Every single one of Woo Geom-san’s words had become a dagger, gouging deep into his core.
Ordinarily, a person would feel shame at this point and reflect upon themselves. But Nam Se-myeong was no ordinary person.
Instead of shame, he felt agony and rage.
Having spent his entire life in Saengsagok, he possessed a deep-seated sense of superiority over others.
In Saengsagok, possessing talent in just one of medicine, hidden weapons, or poison arts earned immense respect.
Because Nam Se-myeong had an outstanding talent for medicine, he had grown up receiving special treatment.
Even Shim Ui-myeong, the Valley Master of Saengsagok, thought highly of his talent and never treated him carelessly.
Having lived that way for decades, his bloated ego could not easily accept the current situation.
“Medicine is the art of healing? Healing can only be discussed when it’s backed by equivalent skill. Are you claiming you possess that kind of medical skill? If you cure the Three Yin Severed Meridians, I will drop to my knees and bow my head to you.”
“I hope you do not forget those words.”
Woo Geom-san spoke coldly to Nam Se-myeong as he approached Ha Yeong-ryeong.
As if her condition had worsened in the meantime, Ha Yeong-ryeong’s complexion had turned a dark, sickly black.
Woo Geom-san immediately took Ha Yeong-ryeong’s wrist and began performing a pulse diagnosis.
Ha Yeong-ryeong’s pulse beat so faintly it felt as though it might stop at any moment.
For Woo Geom-san, who had not systematically learned medicine, it was impossible to accurately identify Ha Yeong-ryeong’s illness through a pulse diagnosis alone. Nevertheless, the reason Woo Geom-san stepped forward was because he trusted Bojebang.
The Anhai Denghang Shu.
It was a technique to understand a disease by injecting internal energy into a patient’s body and observing the physical response.
However, to use this Anhai Denghang Shu, one had to master a special internal energy cultivation method.
The internal strength could not possess destructive tendencies, nor could it lean toward either Yin or Yang.
One had to know how to condense internal energy finer than a strand of hair, and the ability to operate it smoothly was essential.
There were only a few internal cultivation methods Under Heaven that met these conditions.
The representative mental law was the Taiji Xinfa, which could be called the pinnacle of the Wudang Sect’s internal arts.
Taiji embraces everything, with neither deficiency nor lack, possessing the perfect way of moderation.
Unless it was a mental law of this caliber, deploying the Anhai Denghang Shu was impossible.
However, Woo Geom-san possessed Choyeon Simgyeol.
As the culmination of the Quanzhen Sect’s internal arts, Choyeon Simgyeol was by no means inferior to the Taiji Xinfa. Since it drew upon and used natural energy, it vastly surpassed the Taiji Xinfa in terms of purity.
It was as if the Anhai Denghang Shu existed specifically for Woo Geom-san, who had mastered Choyeon Simgyeol.
Woo Geom-san immediately operated Choyeon Simgyeol to draw in external Qi. Then, utilizing the Anhai Denghang Shu, he injected it into Ha Yeong-ryeong’s body.
As the purest energy Under Heaven entered, Ha Yeong-ryeong’s body reacted.
He felt Ha Yeong-ryeong’s Eight Extraordinary Meridians, weakened to their absolute limit, tremble violently.
Even at the slightest trace of energy, they fluctuated wildly as if they might tear apart at any moment.
Woo Geom-san focused his mind to transform the energy of Choyeon Simgyeol even more gently.
Drawing in external Qi and altering its properties was something even the Taiji Xinfa could not do.
Woo Geom-san imagined water.
Water flows from high to low, moving from where it is full to where it is lacking, quenching thirst.
This was identical to the ultimate principles of the Dao.
Woo Geom-san deeply understood this principle and also knew how to utilize it well.
The internal strength he injected spread throughout her entire body along Ha Yeong-ryeong’s pulse like water.
Neither fast nor slow, it moved slowly along Ha Yeong-ryeong’s blood meridians, just like cotton absorbing water.
The internal energy that entered through the wrist first flowed along the Governing Vessel, crossed the Baihui, and entered the Conception Vessel.
The moment the internal energy passed, the acupoints reacted.
Some acupoints accepted Woo Geom-san’s internal energy naturally as if welcoming it, while other acupoints rejected it.
The blood meridians and acupoints are connected to human organs.
Discovering which organ or body part was damaged through the reaction of the acupoints was the core essence of the Anhai Denghang Shu.
It allowed one to grasp the internal situation of the body in far greater detail than simply guessing through a pulse.
This was like navigating a vast and dark sea called the human body while relying on a single small lantern.
Naturally, an immense amount of mental power was consumed.
Fortunately, Woo Geom-san possessed a very strong mind.
His patience was also incredible, so he did not easily tire even during a prolonged operation.
After his energy stirred the Thrusting Vessel and Belt Vessel, it rushed toward the Yin Linking Vessel and Yang Linking Vessel.
In the meantime, countless reactions were transmitted.
Woo Geom-san’s mind spun rapidly.
‘Just as Doctor Nam said, the Taiyin is severed. However, the Shaoyin and Jueyin are not closed off. Though faint, they still circulate with the other blood meridians. It is not the Three Yin Severed Meridians.’
The Three Yin Severed Meridians was a disease where the three aforementioned acupoints were completely severed, causing Yang energy to wither and Yin energy to flourish.
Yet, two of the acupoints maintained a pathway with the other blood meridians, however minutely.
Because the circulation was weak, the symptoms were similar to the Three Yin Severed Meridians, but it was not the Three Yin Severed Meridians.
If someone simply diagnosed the pulse without using the Anhai Denghang Shu like Woo Geom-san, they could easily mistake it for the Three Yin Severed Meridians.
‘I only need to revive the Taiyin meridian. If I revive the Taiyin, the pathways of the Shaoyin and Jueyin will naturally widen.’
The Taiyin is literally the place where the most negative Yin energy gathers within the body. Because that Taiyin was blocked, the Yin energy could not circulate and pooled up, dying out like a campfire whose firewood had all burned away.
To revive the Yin energy, there were two methods.
‘Either have her ingest a spiritual herb containing the essence of Yin energy like the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, or conversely, stimulate it with ultimate Yang energy to encourage the fading Yin energy.’
Using the former method was naturally preferred because it was much easier and showed faster effects. However, obtaining a spiritual elixir imbued with ultimate Yin energy was the problem.
Obtaining a spiritual herb like the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng right this second was impossible.
Such spiritual herbs appeared in the world barely once every hundred years.
Ha Yeong-ryeong did not have that kind of time left.
She was in a perilous state, as if the flame of her life might go out at any moment.
A method that could yield immediate effects right now was necessary.
In times like this, the latter method had to be used.
Yang energy and Yin energy never exist separately. If one completely withers, the other is bound to perish as well.
Applying this principle in reverse, one stimulates the withered energy with flourishing energy.
If done carelessly, the withered energy might be completely wiped out by the overwhelming flourishing energy, but if utilized well, it could fan the final flame like a momentary glow before death.
The problem was that Yang energy had to be continuously supplied so that this final flame would not go out.
Woo Geom-san’s mind spun furiously.
He repeatedly thought of countless possibilities and erased them just as quickly.
A few treatment methods came to mind, but they were discarded again.
This was because they did not suit Ha Yeong-ryeong’s current physical condition.
A method that could be applied to Ha Yeong-ryeong immediately was required.
‘The problem is a Yang energy powerful and pure enough to trigger a momentary glow before death…’
At that moment, Woo Geom-san’s gaze landed on Ning Yunxiao.
Woo Geom-san urgently called for Ning Yunxiao.
“Yunxiao! Come over here.”
“Yes!”
Ning Yunxiao approached Woo Geom-san without harboring a single doubt.
“To save Yeong-ryeong, I need your internal strength.”
“How?”
“There is no time to explain the detailed method. However, I intend to use the internal energy you possess. Will you allow it?”
“Yes!”
Ning Yunxiao answered without a shred of hesitation.
It was a reaction born from his readiness to do anything if it could be of even the slightest help to Woo Geom-san.
Woo Geom-san laid Ning Yunxiao down side-by-side next to Ha Yeong-ryeong and spoke.
“Thank you. Do not be startled even if internal energy moves inside your body.”
“Yes!”
“You must absolutely not move or scream.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t move at all.”
“Good!”
Woo Geom-san nodded his head and placed his hand on Ning Yunxiao’s lower abdomen. Turning Ha Yeong-ryeong around with his other hand, he pressed it firmly against her Mingmen Acupoint.
‘Draw out the Yang energy Yunxiao possesses to stimulate Yeong-ryeong’s Yin energy.’
It was easy to say, but it was by no means a technique that could be easily deployed.
It was a method he could only conceive because he had mastered Choyeon Simgyeol and thoroughly read Bojebang. However, actually executing this demanded a whole different dimension of concentration and internal energy operation skills.
It was an extreme measure that he would never have attempted if Ha Yeong-ryeong’s condition were even slightly better.
“I am beginning.”
Woo Geom-san operated Choyeon Simgyeol.
He drew the Yang energy possessed by Ning Yunxiao and injected it into Ha Yeong-ryeong’s Taiyin.
Originally, Yang energy is violent by nature. He circulated this within his own body to redirect it.
Woo Geom-san accomplished this absurd task in an instant.
Thud, thud, thud!
A reaction came from Ha Yeong-ryeong’s Taiyin.
The Taiyin, depleted of Yin energy, was like a paddy field struck by drought.
It was a tattered state, like a severely cracked field.
To stimulate this and revive the Yin energy, precise operation was required.
Hiss!
A thick white mist drifted from Woo Geom-san’s body, becoming a dense cloud.
The pure white mist enveloped even Ning Yunxiao and Ha Yeong-ryeong.
Beholding that sight, Gong Pyeong-hae and the Vagabond rogue warriors gasped in shock, their mouths hanging wide open.
“Wh-What is that?”
“Good heavens! Just how profound is his internal strength for such a phenomenon to…”
Because they had also learned martial arts, they knew exactly how incredible the phenomenon currently appearing from Woo Geom-san was.
For formless internal strength to materialize so clearly to the eyes, internal strength equivalent at least to the realm of Fanpu Guizhen was required.
They knew all too well just how absurd of a realm that was.
Entering martial arts, training Qi, and feeling it is called Qi Refining, and accumulating the Qi felt in this manner within the body is called Qi Accumulation. Passing this stage, the twelve orthodox meridians open, reaching the realm of Meridian Opening where Qi circulates.
A pathway through which Qi can smoothly circulate opens.
Only upon reaching this realm can one finally claim to have properly learned martial arts anywhere.
These individuals are called first-class experts.
Even after this, the stages to cross were countless.
Only after completing the Lesser Heavenly Circulation and Greater Heavenly Circulation can one finally reach the Peak Realm and receive the treatment of a peak expert.
A realm even greater than this was precisely the realm of Fanpu Guizhen.
Those who reached Fanpu Guizhen are called Transcendent Masters, and those who reached this realm did not exceed a hundred individuals across the entirety of Jianghu.
A realm above this was precisely the Zenith Realm.
It was a realm where one climbed to the summit and no longer needed to chisel or refine anything further.
Those who ascended to the Zenith Realm are referred to as absolute masters.
Existences with no rivals.
Therefore, they are also called the absolute rulers of Jianghu.
Transcendent Masters are rare, but the number of absolute masters is even scarcer.
The final realm dreamed of by every martial artist who practiced martial arts was precisely this absolute realm.
Gong Pyeong-hae and the others believed Woo Geom-san had ascended to the realm of Fanpu Guizhen, which would make him a Transcendent Master.
Considering Woo Geom-san’s age, it was truly an unbelievable realm.
Although Jianghu was a place where countless experts rose and fell, there were not many who had reached the realm of Fanpu Guizhen at such a young age like Woo Geom-san.
When one ascends to Fanpu Guizhen, the emission and withdrawal of internal strength become free.
Since it can be operated freely without being bound by anything, the internal strength sometimes materializes and appears like that.
Ha Baek-jin stared at the mist with wide eyes.
Befitting a martial artist who had reached a high and mighty realm, he noticed that something was happening within the mist right now.
Hiss!
The mist surged unpredictably.
The Yang energy initiated from Ning Yunxiao stimulated Ha Yeong-ryeong’s Yin energy, and as the gradually revived Yin energy interacted with the Yang energy, it began to achieve the harmony of Taiji.
Ha Yeong-ryeong was reviving her deficient Yin energy, and Ning Yunxiao was relieving his oversaturated Yang energy, thereby coexisting and prospering together.
Once a certain degree of complexion returned to Ha Yeong-ryeong’s face, Woo Geom-san pulled his hands away. As he did, the dense mist was sucked back into Woo Geom-san’s body.
With this, a major crisis was averted, but he could not stop here.
Woo Geom-san drew a wooden box containing needles from his chest.
He intended to deploy the Sheng Si Yi Xian Jie using three hundred and six needles.
Woo Geom-san grabbed the silver needles from the wooden box all at once and began driving them into Ha Yeong-ryeong’s acupoints at a terrifying speed.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
In a single breath, as many as three hundred and six silver needles were driven into Ha Yeong-ryeong’s acupoints.
The sight looked exactly as if silver needles were pouring down like rain.
Beholding that sight, Nam Se-myeong’s face turned stark white.
Because the Sheng Si Yi Xian Jie currently deployed by Woo Geom-san was extremely similar to the Tang Clan’s legendary ultimate technique.
“C-Could it be, Man Tian Hua Yu?”
Even in Saengsagok, the hidden weapon technique mastered by only a very small number of martial artists, including the Valley Master Shim Ui-myeong and the master of the Poison King Hall, Shim Won-sang, was precisely Man Tian Hua Yu.
“How did this happen?”
Unable to continue his words any further, he stared blankly at Woo Geom-san.
At that moment, the Sheng Si Yi Xian Jie was completed.
Three hundred and six silver needles settled into Ha Yeong-ryeong’s acupoints at varying depths.
“…”
Faced with an unbelievable spectacle, everyone lost their words.
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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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