Chapter 200 – The Great Tree

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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Edited by Celestial Knight

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The Blood Flower Crone’s martial arts could be classified as internal energy arts. In other words, rather than wielding weapons with refined technique, her martial arts focused on internal energy itself.

For this reason, she used chain weapons that would create the least friction with the movement of internal energy.

Internal energy arts were powerful.

However, as one’s realm rose, there was the problem of increasing imbalance between the physical body and internal energy.

Then how had the Blood Flower Crone herself solved that problem to achieve Three Flowers Gathering, and taken a step further to reach the realm of a peerless master?

Now, the answer was flowing from the Blood Flower Crone’s mouth.

“The notion that one must achieve the unity of Essence, Energy, and Spirit is merely the narrow-minded assumption of those stuffy martial artists of the north. Why did you use wicked methods to forcefully raise your physical realm?”

The point was that “Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown” itself was originally a concept from orthodox Taoist-lineage martial arts.

In the distant past, how had the ascetics of Tianzhu achieved high realms and performed miracles?

‘Of course, they might have had their own cultivation methods for unifying Essence, Energy, and Spirit.’

According to what Ju-seong had heard from his master, the ancient ascetics of Tianzhu created as many as seven dantians and polished their spirits by enduring the pain of bizarrely twisting their limbs.

But setting those aside, what about the current evil path overlords of jianghu?

How had the powerful figures of the southern evil path… who had never learned Taoist martial arts, never even recited a single scripture… achieved super-peak level?

‘…So there’s more than one path.’

For a man to make his name in the world, passing the civil exams and becoming an official wasn’t the only way.

One could do business, leap into jianghu and become a master, or roam jianghu and make a name through calligraphy and painting.

Martial arts were the same.

Of course, for raising one’s realm, having the physical body, mind, and internal energy in harmonious balance was the most stable and effective.

But that wasn’t the only path.

Ju-seong murmured to himself.

The Blood Flower Crone continued in a stern voice.

“What is called the ‘evil path’ is merely the biased classification of orthodox Taoist and Buddhist practitioners. The martial arts of our Crimson Spider Sect refine only Energy and Spirit to their extremes, striving to reach the pinnacle.”

“…”

“…”

The Silver Thread Lady and Gongsun Su watched the Blood Flower Crone with blank expressions.

“You rashly tried to raise your realm and touched something strange… truly lamentable.”

Ju-seong interjected at this point to ask.

“…Does the Sect Master know what they touched?”

The Blood Flower Crone shook her head.

“I don’t know. But according to rumors, the leaders of various evil factions in Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian have explosively grown stronger recently.”

“Hmm…”

This was news even Ju-seong hadn’t yet heard.

The Blood Flower Crone continued.

“I’ve lived long in jianghu, so I know. Elixirs can’t possibly be that common. No matter how brilliantly they secretly hoarded them, that many people all getting stronger is absurd.”

Currently, the evil factions of Jiangnan had nearly doubled their total power compared to before the Orthodox-Demonic War.

No wonder the Martial Alliance’s plan to quickly crush Jiangnan and sweep away the evil path was faltering.

Ju-seong quickly mapped the Jiangnan front situation in his head, but being ignorant of the news there, nothing came to mind.

The Blood Flower Crone said bitterly.

“Silver Thread, child… you’ll likely find it difficult to break through to higher realms now.”

The Blood Flower Crone’s internal energy arts neglected physical training and instead soared through the ascent of internal energy and spirit alone.

Thanks to this, even she… who had begun serious training only in her thirties… was able to quickly raise her realm.

But in the case of the Silver Thread Lady and Gongsun Su…

‘Since their bodies have caught up to a certain level, they’ll actually be held back from breaking through further.’

No matter how they tried, a substantial portion of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth they absorbed during cultivation would be greedily devoured by their bodies.

For a martial artist who had evenly developed Essence, Energy, and Spirit from the start, it wouldn’t matter.

‘But since they focused on internal energy and mind training from the beginning of their cultivation…’

Ju-seong nodded.

‘Probably when people like the Blood Flower Crone advance further, they undergo something called “shedding the old body for a new one.”‘

Shedding the old body for a new one.

That wasn’t mere jianghu tall tales.

When one focused intensively on cultivating internal energy and mind, upon reaching a certain realm, the physical body would belatedly explode in growth.

Inhaling the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth like a whirlpool, the old, decrepit body would be forcibly rebuilt…

For Ju-seong, whose physical foundation was already solid, it was a marvel he’d never experience.

Gongsun Su and the Silver Thread Lady looked hollow.

The Silver Thread Lady’s eyelids trembled faintly as she stammered.

“Mother, I… Thinking that if Gongsun Su took the Crimson Spider Sect he would obviously purge our siblings…”

The Silver Thread Lady, too, knew full well what Gongsun Su was like. He was a cunning opportunist, an ambitious man who never left potential threats behind.

Though the Silver Thread Lady was poor at socializing and always cold, she had deep attachment to the siblings raised under one mother.

After all, she was someone who had already lost her family once before.

The Blood Flower Crone nodded as if understanding her heart.

“Through my own lack of virtue this came about… whom shall I blame?”

She turned her head toward Gongsun Su.

“Su.”

“…Yes, Mother.”

Looking at him, Gongsun Su seemed half-convinced he would be forgiven. His voice had strangely regained stability.

Ju-seong shook his head.

‘This is really like an evil path overlord.’

If Gongsun Su was spared here, the Crimson Spider Sect would plunge right back into power struggles.

True to the self-serving nature of the evil path, the Blood Flower Crone seemed about to forgive Gongsun Su, swayed by her maternal affection.

“Mother… Your child was wrong.”

The Blood Flower Crone used her cane stuck in the wheeled chair to push herself up and limped toward Gongsun Su.

“Don’t blame yourself, my baby…”

Her wrinkled hand stroked the back of Gongsun Su’s bowed head.

“It’s my fault for not looking after you earlier.”

“Mother…!”

“It’s my fault. My fault.”

“No, I…!”

Just as Gongsun Su, his voice tear-stained, was exclaiming and lifting his head…

-TU… PEOK!

The Blood Flower Crone’s palm stroking Gongsun Su’s head suddenly flashed.

-TEOL-SEOK.

“…!”

Gongsun Su collapsed face-first, bleeding from all seven orifices.

Instant death.

With her hand still on his head, she had released a sudden burst of power and turned his skull to mush.

A death so swift he couldn’t even register that he was dying. The Blood Flower Crone squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.

“…Take him away. I don’t want to see him.”

Crimson Spider Sect members gathered and urgently carried away the corpse.

The Blood Flower Crone clutched her knee and rose, her whole body trembling.

If this were the usual Ju-seong, he might have said “That was the right decision, Sect Master.” But the atmosphere right now was not for that.

With the Blood Flower Crone at the center, the very air felt oppressively heavy.

In a voice that seemed to have aged ten more years, she said wearily.

“Silver Thread, child, clean up here.”

“…Yes, Mother.”

The Silver Thread Lady answered with a sunken expression.

The Blood Flower Crone gripped the armrest of her wheeled chair with trembling hands and climbed in, then turned to Ju-seong.

“…In any case, because you set the stage, I was able to appear in time and settle things.”

“…Ah, yes.”

The Blood Flower Crone gave Silver Thread a small gesture.

“This is the Crimson Spider Sect’s debt. Silver Thread, child.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“If this child here makes a request that isn’t excessive, grant one for him later.”

“Ah… Yes.”

What the Blood Flower Crone was discussing was repayment for saving the Crimson Spider Sect’s very existence.

In truth, even without the Blood Flower Crone, Ju-seong would have struggled to subdue Gongsun Su and install the Silver Thread Lady as sect master.

And by specifying these terms, the Blood Flower Crone was strongly indicating that she was passing her sect master position to the Silver Thread Lady.

Soon the old woman lowered her head and spoke in a drowsy, drooping voice.

“Let’s go, Heuk-wol dear, let’s go…”

Heuk-wol wordlessly gave Ju-seong a brief nod, then pushed the wheeled chair and disappeared.

Ju-seong stroked his chin.

‘Hmm… No one’s mentioning the matter of consuming pills made from living people’s lives.’

Well, these people probably didn’t even know how Vital Blood Pills were made.

‘Black merchants employed by the Ten Thousand Ears Gang probably sold Vital Blood Pills separately to Gongsun Su and the Silver Thread Lady.’

Being the heirs of Guizhou’s foremost sect, they would have bought one each, figuring they had nothing to lose.

A few months ago, Gongsun Su, feeling threatened by the succession issue, first consumed his and raised his realm.

Then the Silver Thread Lady, feeling threatened by such a Gongsun Su, also swallowed her Vital Blood Pill.

‘In the end, the elated Gongsun Su caused this disaster, and the civil war erupted.’

If so, their goal was ultimately the Crimson Spider Sect’s strife and destruction.

“Ugh, gives me chills.”

Ju-seong vigorously rubbed his forearms.

Those who designed such schemes were skilled. Hiding in the shadows, manipulating, subtly warping people’s judgment to make them choose wrong…

“Come to think of it.”

The Blood Flower Crone must have grasped the general outline of events.

She was a shrewd old woman by nature. Ju-seong pressed his temples.

‘She’s probably not planning to let the people who killed her son get away with it.’

She was likely preparing her revenge. He suspected it would be her final undertaking in what little life remained.

“Young Hero.”

A low, calm voice drew Ju-seong’s attention.

Ju-seong examined the woman who had quietly approached.

“The Silver Thread Lady. Pleased to meet you.”

She looked to be a bit past thirty… not a beauty, but a face with backbone and dignity.

Judging by his street-learned physiognomy, a face that would gain more grace and become one of virtuous aspect as she aged.

‘Seems like a good connection for the long term.’

The woman quietly approached and pressed something into Ju-seong’s hand.

-CHA-REUK.

It was nothing other than links of a chain… and what lay in Ju-seong’s hand were two links.

Small spiders were carved in intaglio.

“These are links from the chain sickle mother used when she first debuted in jianghu.”

“…Oh. An item of historical significance in martial world history.”

Ju-seong made a careless remark, but the Silver Thread Lady continued regardless.

“Properly, I should give only one, but I owe a personal debt as well, so I give you two.”

“What’s better about two?”

The Silver Thread Lady sighed softly and answered.

“It means that someday the Crimson Spider Sect will help you once with all our might. Mother, of course, being unwilling to let me suffer any loss, hinted I should give only one…”

‘Ah.’

So “if it isn’t excessive, grant one” probably meant to hand over only one chain link.

She tapped the chain links in Ju-seong’s palm and said.

“Watching what you did today, you seem like someone who will become great.”

Ju-seong tucked the weighty tokens of gratitude into his robe and grinned.

“A great person collects debts worthy of their stature… are you sure you can handle it?”

The Silver Thread Lady nodded calmly.

“In stormy times, one must cling to a great tree.”

“A great tree…”

Ju-seong chuckled at the flattering assessment.

“Well, that’s not entirely wrong. See you again later.”

Whether he was a great tree was unknown, but indeed, jianghu was experiencing a tempest.