Heavenly Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

—–CROW—– 

 

Three days passed.

 

Time flowed relentlessly like a river, but my current situation was no different from before.

 

‘I never thought I’d be stuck like this.’

 

My current physical condition was abysmal.

 

I had widened my meridians with the energy that had entered me then, but it was only a temporary measure and hadn’t completely healed my body.

 

As a result, this damned body wouldn’t allow me to even open my eyes, let alone move a finger.

 

Of course, I could fix it if I wanted to.

 

But I deliberately refrained from taking any action.

 

‘…Not yet.’

 

What good would it do to wake up without knowing the situation I was in?

 

‘Besides, having heard the words “Mount Hua Sect,” I can’t just act rashly.’

 

Fortunately, my consciousness was clear, and I could hear the surrounding chatter distinctly.

 

Thanks to that, I was able to gather more information than expected and piece together the situation.

 

‘Everyone called me Cheon-hwi.’

 

When I first heard it, I was dumbfounded.

 

Who was I?

 

Dokgo Guyeon, the Absolute Heavenly Demon.

 

I was the absolute being whose reputation spread throughout the Heavenly Demon Cult, the Tianshan Mountains, and even to every corner of the Nine Provinces and Eight Deserts.

 

‘But Cheon-hwi?’

 

If they had called me that once or twice, I would have laughed it off.

 

But I couldn’t.

 

They called me Cheon-hwi every single day.

 

At first, I was confused.

 

Why were they calling me Cheon-hwi?

 

And why was I in this state?

 

The more I pondered these questions, the more a single answer emerged.

 

That I was Cheon-hwi now.

 

What else could it be? There was no other answer.

 

‘I just have to accept it.’

 

So I accepted it and organized my thoughts.

 

If my guess was correct, my soul, due to the supreme law, had taken over the empty shell of a boy named Cheon-hwi after his soul departed.

 

‘Does that mean the Eternal Immortal Reign Supreme Law failed…?’

 

Irritation surged within me.

 

I had poured ten years and all my knowledge into that supreme law.

 

And it failed?

 

‘No, it couldn’t have failed.’

 

I recalled the situation then.

 

The Eternal Immortal Reign Supreme Law had activated, and dazzling, otherworldly colors had enveloped me.

 

The supreme law worked perfectly as described.

 

So why did this happen?

 

‘Don’t tell me!’

 

It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

 

Eternal immortality meant transferring one’s soul to occupy another’s body…

 

‘Damn it! Why didn’t they write down what would happen afterward?!’

 

Nausea welled up inside me.

 

Perhaps it was fortunate.

 

I had no attachment to the past.

 

Not to fame, nor status.

 

If I had been attached to the past, would I have relinquished my position as Cult Leader and abruptly left the Heavenly Demon Cult?

 

I also didn’t care about eternal immortality.

 

If there was life, there was also death.

 

I intended to follow the natural order.

 

Though it was a little regrettable that I couldn’t experience all the martial arts in the world.

 

But!

 

This damn situation I was in now didn’t sit well with me at all.

 

Mount Hua? Mount Whatchamacallit?

 

The Mount Hua Sect of the Nine Great Sects, the ones who had been constantly pestering me?

 

And I was their disciple?

 

What a load of bullshit.

 

But there was nothing I could do.

 

The situation was already like this.

 

‘I need to learn about this Cheon-hwi fellow.’

 

Since that day, I held my breath and listened intently to gather information.

 

Fortunately, most of the visitors were related to Cheon-hwi, so information was abundant.

 

By listening carefully to their conversations, I meticulously gathered information and was able to grasp a general understanding of the boy named Cheon-hwi.

 

A young age, not even a teenager.

 

The disciple of Hyeon-gang, the youngest of the now-deceased Hyeon-ja generation.

 

A pure and kind child loved by everyone in the Mount Hua Sect.

 

These were all words that described Cheon-hwi.

 

And now, they described me.

 

Snicker—

 

Someone once said, “You laugh when it’s too absurd.”

 

That perfectly described how I felt.

 

Pure, kind, and loved?

 

Words I had never heard in my entire life.

 

If someone in the Heavenly Demon Cult said those words to me, I would have been suspicious.

 

Of course, no one would have said such things.

 

‘Because the Cheon-hwi they speak of is not me.’

 

As I finished my thoughts.

 

“…”

 

The voices that had been intermittently audible ceased altogether.

 

I felt the ensuing silence gradually spread and eventually engulf the entire Medicine Hall.

 

‘I’ve gathered enough information, so shall I move now?’

 

I focused my mind and observed my body.

 

As expected, the inside of my body was a mess.

 

My meridians were far from being robust, and the twelve meridians where vital energy circulated were completely blocked.

 

It wouldn’t be strange if I died at any moment.

 

Contrary to Cheon-go’s words that I just needed to rest, my body was teetering precariously between life and death.

 

And that was natural.

 

Even if he had studied medicine, he couldn’t grasp the details of my internal condition.

 

What he had grasped then were the widened meridians facilitated by the energy of the Purple Essence Pill.

 

Anyone, not just him, would have assessed Cheon-hwi as stable.

 

‘Of course, if he knew about this body’s condition, he would have noticed something strange… but if he had known, he wouldn’t have left it like this for so long.’

 

Something I discovered while examining my body.

 

The reason for my collapse wasn’t simply frailty.

 

It was due to a strange blocked meridian syndrome.

 

‘I never thought it would actually exist.’

 

It was a time when I was deeply engrossed in medicine.

 

I recalled a medical text covered in dust in a corner of the Heavenly Demon Library.

 

The World’s Greatest Medical Text.

 

The title itself was absurd. It was written by Saeng-sa Goe-ui, a quack doctor who practiced strange medical techniques.

 

Unlike its title, the book wasn’t a proper medical text.

 

How to efficiently create Jiangshi (Chinese hopping vampires).

 

Could transplanting a rotten arm allow one to learn the Jiangshi martial art, the Skeleton Skill?

 

It was filled with human experiments that a proper doctor would never conduct.

 

‘Excluding the fact that it was supposed to be a medical text, it was quite an interesting book.’

 

Still, a doctor was a doctor. It did have some redeeming qualities as a medical text.

 

It described in detail various blocked meridian syndromes and body constitutions found in the world.

 

Perhaps through human experimentation.

 

There were constitutions I had never heard of.

 

Things like the Three Spirits Pure Yin Body, the Five Demons Body, the Indestructible Heavenly罡 Body, and the Heavenly Killing Time Meridian.

 

At the time, I considered them preposterous, but now I could believe them.

 

No, I had to believe them.

 

Because this body had one of the blocked meridian syndromes described in detail.

 

The Yin Yang Great Spirit Blocked Meridian.

 

A constitution endowed with the Yin energy of a hundred people and the Yang energy of a hundred people simultaneously.

 

The original owner of this body, the young Taoist, probably lived a difficult life suppressing that energy.

 

Eventually, he couldn’t endure it and withered away, dying.

 

‘And my soul must have taken over his empty shell.’

 

I could guess how it happened.

 

‘Thinking about it further will only complicate things. Let’s fix this blocked meridian first.’

 

If Saeng-sa Goe-ui were here now, I would have scoffed at him.

 

—The Yin Yang Great Spirit Blocked Meridian is more cursed than any other blocked meridian. How could a human possibly handle and process the Yin and Yang energy of a hundred people alone?

 

Even he, who conducted all sorts of bizarre human experiments, said there was no way to treat the Yin Yang Great Spirit Blocked Meridian.

 

And yet, I was going to fix it.

 

Saeng-sa Goe-ui would have scoffed, asking what nonsense I was talking about.

 

‘That’s what *you* think.’

 

But I was the one scoffing.

 

‘Of course, ordinary people like you would have failed, but I can do it.’

 

I slowly examined the energy within my body.

 

Fortunately, there was enough.

 

The unabsorbed energy of the Purple Essence Pill lay dormant within my meridians.

 

Then…

 

Thump—

 

Blood circulated rapidly throughout my body.

 

My mind heightened, and then…

 

Whoosh!

 

A tremendous internal force surged.

 

It was startling.

 

Cheon-hwi was a Taoist who hadn’t learned martial arts.

 

Yet, he possessed such immense internal force.

 

‘As expected, it activates even without cultivated energy.’

 

This was the benefit of the Absolute Reign Technique.

 

Ordinary cultivation methods relied on accumulating internal energy in the lower dantian, but the Absolute Reign Technique was different.

 

Generally, cultivation methods involved accumulating internal energy in the lower dantian and manipulating it.

 

Therefore, it was natural for one’s power and strength to be determined by the amount of accumulated internal energy.

 

But the Absolute Reign Technique broke that mold.

 

The Soul.

 

The soul was the vessel of the Absolute Reign Technique.

 

Therefore, it could be awakened.

 

Although it seemed no different from other cultivation methods on the surface, that single difference set it apart and elevated it to a different level.

 

Combined with my exceptional talent, the Absolute Reign Technique transformed into an unparalleled cultivation method, far surpassing all known martial arts in the world.

 

‘Since the vessel isn’t in the lower dantian, I can control all three dantians.’

 

Crack—

 

The Baihui acupoint opened.

 

An indescribable energy flowed in like the ocean and began to stimulate the dormant energy of the Purple Essence Pill within my meridians.

 

Thump! Thump!

 

The eight extraordinary meridians opened.

 

The Yin and Yang energies of approximately one hundred people circulated through the eight extraordinary meridians and flowed through the twelve meridians.

 

The Governing Vessel and Conception Vessel, as well as the Penetrating Vessel, Girdle Vessel, Yang Heel Vessel, Yin Heel Vessel, Yang Linking Vessel, and Yin Linking Vessel.

 

All the circulation was natural.

 

Finally, as the energies began to sweep through the twelve meridians, it was over.

 

***

 

Blink—

 

My heavy eyelids opened.

 

I moved my neck with a refreshed mind, as if waking from a long sleep.

 

Crack— Crack—

 

My neck was still stiff, but it was a vast improvement compared to before.

 

I got up from the bed and…

 

“…”

 

I immediately noticed the change.

 

My significantly lower eye level.

 

And my small hands and feet.

 

I could feel that I had become younger.

 

“Fourteen, they said, but he’s even smaller than I thought.”

 

I touched my neck at the unexpected thin voice.

 

Then I scratched the back of my head.

 

Would just standing here and worrying solve anything?

 

Moving was what mattered.

 

“Let’s check it out myself.”

 

I lifted my head and looked out the window.

 

The rising morning sun in the distance was chasing away the lingering darkness.

 

Step— Step—

 

I slowly took a step.

 

After walking along the still-dark interior for a while, I saw a closed door.

 

The moment I opened it without hesitation.

 

Whoosh!

 

White light assaulted my eyes.

 

“Ugh!”

 

I raised my hand against the intense light.

 

Perhaps because I hadn’t seen light for so long.

 

My eyes stung as I faced the light.

 

After blinking a few times.

 

Stealthily—

 

I slowly lowered my hand.

 

Beautiful colors began to paint the white light, and a breathtaking view unfolded.

 

Plum blossom petals scattering in the wind.

 

Rugged peaks that looked as if carved with a knife.

 

I was momentarily lost in the scenery.

 

It was a beautiful landscape, completely different from the barren scenery I had seen in the Tianshan Mountains.

 

—Haa!

 

Suddenly, I heard a vigorous shout from below and pulled my chin down to look.

 

There was a large training ground.

 

And on the training ground, Taoists wearing robes with plum blossom patterns were vigorously swinging their swords.

 

“Damn it!”

 

Looking down at the Taoists with a disapproving gaze, I scratched my head.

 

“It really is Mount Hua.”

 

The Absolute Heavenly Demon, the Great Demonic Master.

 

He, who had made the Nine Provinces and Eight Deserts tremble, had awakened as a disciple of a righteous sect, no less, a disciple of Mount Hua, one of the Nine Great Sects.

 

—–CROW—–