The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 23

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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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#023. The Poison Seeps In (3)

Beigong Danya took medicine twice a day. And once in between, Yu Baekxian administered acupuncture.
The procedure itself was not painful.
But what tormented Beigong Danya lay elsewhere.
After finishing each day’s treatment, a foul stench would emerge—and with it came unbearable anguish.
Memories long buried clawed their way back to the surface, tormenting him anew.
Who was it? People he’d trusted so deeply—had they truly betrayed him? Was it deliberate conspiracy?
These thoughts gnawed at him relentlessly.
And his mental anguish manifested in his body with brutal honesty; Yu Baekxian noticed at once.
Yu Baekxian had Beigong Danya lie down, then worked the needles in silence.
Beigong Danya lay motionless, staring blankly at the ceiling.
As silence settled over the room, Yu Baekxian spoke quietly.
“Negative thoughts corrode the body further.”
Beigong Danya’s gaze shifted toward him.
“Poison or not, flesh and spirit work in harmony. The more you torment yourself with spiritual anguish, the more your body’s vitality decays—and ruin follows. Even a healthy person sickens under such strain; in your case, the damage runs far deeper.”
At those words, Beigong Danya turned his eyes back to the ceiling.
“Each evening, as waste leaves my body and that stench rises, it awakens old memories. That’s what torments me.”
Beigong Danya laid bare the source of his suffering.
“That is understandable. Without a past, there is no present. But sometimes the past is best left behind. When you cling to it too tightly, it becomes obsession; when obsession deepens, you become enslaved to it and cannot move forward. For now, focus only on recovery and what lies ahead.”
Yu Baekxian offered his counsel with genuine sincerity.
“Yes.”
Beigong Danya answered briefly.
Yu Baekxian said nothing more.
He had given all the guidance a physician could offer.
Whether Beigong Danya accepted it was entirely his burden.

* * *

After several days of detoxification, residual toxin had largely drained from Beigong Danya’s body.
Though the poison was nearly gone, his body had grown frail.
The Qingzhuo Detoxification Decoction he’d consumed for the purge was medicine, but its components were potent.
His body’s acceptance of it meant inevitable weakness.
Once Yu Baekxian confirmed that nearly all residual toxin had left Beigong Danya’s system, he informed Cheon Muggyeol of the procedure date.
They decided to proceed two days later, allowing one day’s buffer, and began preparations with deliberate care.
Cheon Muggyeol too retraced his past experiences repeatedly, mapping countless variables in his mind.
The procedure was dangerous, but it had to succeed.
Two days passed in an instant.

Two days later, inside the secret Dharma Hall of Sansin Pavilion.
To ensure safety and avoid unwanted intrusion, they chose the hall—a place few frequented—and the three gathered there.
Yu Baekxian imposed strict control over access to the hall.
Even Gwangan, the abbot, received word that he must not set foot inside until the procedure was complete.
Beigong Danya lay stretched straight in the center of the hall, naked except for undergarments.
Yu Baekxian and Cheon Muggyeol stood on either side of him.
“First, I’ll place needles to protect your acupoint pathways as much as possible. Once the preparatory work is done, Cheon will begin the direct Meridian Reconstruction.”
“Understood.”
“I will monitor your condition in real time and take whatever measures become necessary. Since I cannot perceive what occurs within, I’ll entrust the entire reconstruction process to Cheon.”
At Yu Baekxian’s words, Cheon Muggyeol nodded.
Beigong Danya’s face bore the mingled tension and dread.
Trust in them and anxiety were two separate things.
“Then, let us begin.”
With those words, Yu Baekxian sat beside Beigong Danya and began inserting needles with swift precision.
His speed was extraordinary, each needle striking the exact location at the precise depth.
Though a single mistake could prove fatal given the sensitive acupoints involved, Yu Baekxian’s hands moved without hesitation.
His skill was nothing short of miraculous.
“That should do it.”
In an instant, dozens of needles pierced Beigong Danya’s entire body.
Cheon Muggyeol, confirming this, grasped Beigong Danya’s wrist.
“Then I’ll begin as well.”
At those words, Yu Baekxian nodded, and Cheon Muggyeol sent his Internal Qi flowing into Beigong Danya’s body.
The Qi that poured into Beigong Danya’s body swiftly sought out the twisted Meridians.
Once all the Qi he sent found its proper place, Cheon Muggyeol drew deeper into his concentration.
And shortly after.
Cheon Muggyeol’s Internal Qi began to straighten the twisted Meridians.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Beigong Danya cried out in unbearable agony.
“You must endure! Groaning cannot be helped, but under no circumstances open your mouth! If Turbid Qi seeps in, it becomes far more dangerous!”
Yu Baekxian shouted urgently, and Beigong Danya clenched his teeth, sealing his lips shut.
“Nnngh—!”
Though his mouth remained closed, the groans that escaped could not be helped.
Death would have been preferable to this searing pain, and the only way to end it was for Cheon Muggyeol to finish the Reconstruction even slightly faster.
Cheon Muggyeol concentrated, moving his Internal Qi with exquisite precision.
‘Simply aligning the Meridians is not enough. I could sever them completely if I’m careless.’
Cheon Muggyeol knew better than anyone how severe the pain Beigong Danya was experiencing truly was.
Yet he could not rush recklessly for speed.
Meridian Reconstruction was a procedure that demanded such risk and such care.
Crack-crack!
Sounds of something twisting echoed throughout Beigong Danya’s body.
They resembled the noise of muscles wrenching and tearing.
But this was evidence that Beigong Danya’s Meridians were finding their proper alignment.
Beigong Danya continued groaning, trying by any means to bear the pain.
But this was agony beyond endurance.
That he had not opened his mouth to scream was itself a display of tremendous willpower.
Crack-crack!
Cheon Muggyeol’s work on Meridian Reconstruction continued unabated.
Since there were not merely one or two twisted points, and since each required meticulous care to mend, progress was slow.
As time wore on, Beigong Danya’s mental strength was rapidly depleting.
His consciousness began to drift further and further, until he could no longer distinguish whether he inhabited the living world or hell itself.
Then it happened.
Beigong Danya’s body began to tremble, then convulsed violently.
His consciousness grew distant, and his complexion shifted erratically.
“It’s critical!”
Yu Baekxian cried out.
Beigong Danya’s current reaction was a symptom of his inner Qi raging and rebelling fiercely.
Cheon Muggyeol could not have been unaware of this.
The raging Qi within Beigong Danya collided violently against Cheon Muggyeol’s Internal Qi that was reconstructing the Meridians.
Cheon Muggyeol’s brow furrowed.
The fact that he—who showed no change of expression—had frowned spoke to how dire the situation had become.
“Having remained twisted for so long, his Qi has come to accept that distorted state as normal, which now causes this backlash. Stop the Reconstruction temporarily and suppress Lord Beigong’s Qi. I will intervene.”
Yu Baekxian, composed and clear-headed, assessed the condition and issued his instruction to Cheon Muggyeol.
At that, Cheon Muggyeol halted the Reconstruction and suppressed and contained Beigong Danya’s surging Qi.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Yu Baekxian rapidly repositioned the needles embedded in Beigong Danya’s body.
His eyes moved as swiftly as his hands.
“I’m opening the Acupoint Pathways temporarily so that the reversed Qi can circulate in the proper direction. Simply reversing the flow from backward to forward should weaken it somewhat for now.”
Yu Baekxian spoke as his hands moved with precision.
But Cheon Muggyeol, facing the rampant Qi directly within Beigong Danya’s body, thought otherwise.
‘That won’t be enough to calm it.’
At that moment, Yu Baekxian, pausing his hands, spoke with urgency.
“I’ve done what I can. But time is absolutely critical. At most, you have this moment. So increase your speed with the Reconstruction!”
At Yu Baekxian’s words, Cheon Muggyeol nodded again and poured more Internal Qi in.
At that, Beigong Danya’s body convulsed more powerfully.
Was it because his consciousness had grown thin, leaving gaps?
In that instant, the negative emotions and torment that Yu Baekxian’s reassurance had kept at bay began to creep upward.
And those two emotions swiftly invaded Beigong Danya’s unconscious mind.
And this only made Beigong Danya’s True qi more ferocious.
As Cheon Muggyeol resumed the Meridian Reconstruction, he felt the young man’s qi degenerate once more.
‘I cannot proceed under these conditions.’
Time was running out, and the runaway qi continued to interfere relentlessly with the reconstruction.
In the end, Cheon Muggyeol had no choice but to make a decision.
“I will control the runaway True qi and perform the Meridian Reconstruction simultaneously.”
“That’s far too dangerous!”
Yu Baekxian cried out in shock.
But Cheon Muggyeol had no time to respond.
Performing both tasks at once demanded an even higher level of concentration.
Cheon Muggyeol poured more Internal Qi into his work.
Meanwhile, Yu Baekxian turned to Beigong Danya, whose consciousness was slipping away, his expression urgent.
“Calm your mind and hold onto your awareness. You must. Find your strength!”
Yu Baekxian shouted, desperate to keep Beigong Danya’s mind from fading, though whether his words reached him was uncertain.
One minute passed in a flash.
Now only one minute remained.
Cheon Muggyeol suppressed and controlled the runaway qi while continuing the Meridian Reconstruction.
Sweat poured from Cheon Muggyeol’s face like rain, and the tendons at his temples bulged visibly—proof of the all-out effort he was expending.
Cough!
Dark crimson blood spilled from Beigong Danya’s mouth, coating his face.
Forcing the runaway qi under control and directing it back the correct way had caused internal injuries.
“Just moments left now!”
Yu Baekxian shouted.
Only two breaths of time remained.
No—it had shrunk to a single breath.
Click-click-click!
The sound of Meridian Reconstruction grew faster and faster, and with each acceleration, Beigong Danya’s convulsions intensified, blood flowing more heavily from his mouth.
Click-click-click!
“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!”
At last, Beigong Danya’s entire body went rigid and he let out a scream that sounded as though his very being would tear apart—then went limp.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
In that instant, Yu Baekxian began rapidly repositioning and inserting needles.
The one minute they had spoken of was gone, and they could wait no longer.
The completion of the Meridian Reconstruction and the opening of the blood vessels could wait—for now, they had to save Beigong Danya’s life by any means.
Tap-tap-tap!
Yu Baekxian’s hands moved with even greater speed.
And as he inserted the final needle, Cheon Muggyeol released his grip on Beigong Danya’s hand.
Hah… hah…
For the first time, Cheon Muggyeol showed signs of exhaustion.
Yu Baekxian quickly assessed Beigong Danya’s condition.
He performed Pulse Diagnosis, flowing his Internal Qi to observe the state of his inner body.
And after a moment.
Yu Baekxian too released Beigong Danya’s hand, his expression grave.
Beigong Danya remained unconscious, slack against the ground, his face still covered in blood.
“We’ve passed the critical juncture.”
Yu Baekxian said, looking at Cheon Muggyeol, who gave a quiet nod in return.
In that desperate moment, he had marshaled superhuman concentration to complete the Meridian Reconstruction within the time limit.
“The runaway qi has settled as well. It remains rough, but it’s no longer dangerous.”
Yu Baekxian spoke again as he examined Beigong Danya’s condition once more.
“What remains now depends on the young master’s will and capacity to recover.”
With those words, Yu Baekxian—entirely drained—dropped to the floor and sat heavily.
Throughout his entire career as a physician, this had been the most urgent and perilous procedure he had ever performed.

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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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