Chapter 31

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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I began to move my body along with the dynamic movements of the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art. Following the dynamic movements, the internal energy that filled the well of the Qi Ocean acupoint in my lower dantian moved and spread to every corner of my body.

Along with the movement of the internal energy, the cold energy inside the Xuanwu Cave gathered around my body.

I swallowed the Yin energy and spat out the turbid energy.

As I repeated this, a chill was raised in the dense internal energy.

Adjusting the force field of the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art, I began to swirl my true qi even faster.

‘To the limit.’

I accumulated qi up to the upper limit that my acupoints could withstand and accelerated the speed of the heavenly circuit. The speed of the moving dynamic movements also quickened.

With accumulation upon accumulation, my acupoints swelled as if they were about to burst, and the internal energy swirling along the dynamic movements accelerated furiously like a swollen river during the rainy season.

The Spirit of the upper dantian commanded all those flows of internal energy, and the Essence of the middle dantian controlled them.

As I spread both hands wide and brought them together in front of my chest,

‘Gather.’

Following my intent, the accelerated flow of internal energy gathered near the heart, at the Danzhong acupoint. The waves of internal energy that had been swimming through the wide acupoints were sucked into the narrow Danzhong acupoint and spun furiously.

According to the principle of centrifugal force, the energy of the Primal Chaos of One Qi split into the Two Qis of Yin and Yang. Since cold energy was heavy and hot energy was light,

‘Lower the temperature.’

Among the energies circling the Danzhong acupoint, the Yin-cold supporting force cooled the meridian passage.

At that moment, I stopped breathing.

By blocking the circulation of external qi, I had stopped adding true qi to my internal energy.

It was to utilize the formula I had used when digesting the Lesser Cleansing Pill, the teaching of Bernoulli (Cultivating leaks and tears of reason), a scholar from the Netherlands.

‘Pressure plus density multiplied by velocity squared is constant (Pressure, sum, density, factor, speed, multiplied by two, as usual).’

According to the principle that moves all things under heaven, the speed of the internal energy, which was blocked from the external air, gradually slowed down, and the kinetic energy (ability) of the speed was substituted by pressure and rose.

It was exactly as Bernoulli’s discovery that the sum of pressure and velocity was constant.

Added to that,

Thump.

Along with the strongly contracting heartbeat, the internal energy in the Danzhong acupoint gathered like a single grain,

And melted along with the relaxing movement of the heart.

Again,

Thump.

Compressing it, adding to the size of the elixir pill,

It melted,

Thump.

It hardened,

It flowed,

Thump.

The pure internal energy became an amorphous sphere.

Thump.

It compressed along with the heartbeat, and when it relaxed, the internal energy flowing out of the sphere settled in the Danzhong acupoint spread throughout the whole body.

I had reached the Elixir Condensation Stage, where true qi took the form of a single elixir pill.

**

The wide training ground of the Greedy Wolf Unit was unusually deserted today. It was because most of the unit members had gone out into the Jianghu on missions.

Even in the midst of this, there were those who were engaged in training: Myeong-hun and Yi Chae-yang.

“Hah!”

With a shout, Myeong-hun thrust his sword toward Yi Chae-yang’s Danzhong acupoint. Yi Chae-yang raised her palm-edge diagonally to let the sword blade slide past, and at the same time, she pushed Myeong-hun away with a heavy stomp and the high technique of Tai Chi Chuan’s Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane.

“Hoo.”

Since there was no major impact thanks to the force release not being fully applied, Myeong-hun caught his breath and readjusted his grip on the sword. In the meantime,

“Senior Sister?”

Yi Chae-yang, who was sparring in the Greedy Wolf Unit’s training ground, was casting her gaze over Myeong-hun’s shoulder.

Myeong-hun also withdrew his sword and turned his head.

A welcome face was there.

“Junior Brother Yeon!”

Myeong-hun approached Yeon Baek-jung, who was walking through the main gate of the Greedy Wolf Unit, while sheathing his sword.

“Has your secluded cultivation finished well?”

Yeon Baek-jung nodded at Myeong-hun’s question.

‘Hmm?!’

At that moment, Myeong-hun felt a sense of incongruity. It was because his junior brother’s presence, felt through his qi sensitivity, had changed somehow. However, Yeon Baek-jung’s change could not be pinned down exactly. But one thing was certain.

‘It is gentle, yet continuous.’

The movement of his body, and the amplitude of the force wave vibrating along with that movement, had changed.

Feeling a sensation similar to when he faced Myeong-jin or Yo Yeon-myeong, the oldest members of the Greedy Wolf Unit, Myeong-hun felt his throat go dry.

At that moment, Yi Chae-yang approached behind Myeong-hun with shining eyes.

“I wondered when you went into secluded cultivation, but could it be…”

She scanned Yeon Baek-jung’s entire body with the eye technique of the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition and spoke with certainty.

“Congratulations on the Elixir Condensation Stage, Junior Brother.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

At the conversation between the two, Myeong-hun felt his mind go blank.

‘The Elixir Condensation Stage?!’

It was because he could not easily believe it even after hearing, seeing, and feeling it.

Myeong-jin, Yo Yeon-myeong, Yoon Heun, and others.

Even within the Greedy Wolf Unit, there were only a few senior brothers and sisters who had reached the Elixir Condensation Stage. They were the ones who could be called the core figures of the Nine Sects and One Association. The ones whom the prestigious orthodox sects put forward as their so-called first-generation disciples were precisely the disciples who had reached the Elixir Condensation Stage.

Among the rising stars of the Jianghu who had not yet passed the age of forty, those who had reached the Elixir Condensation Stage were few and far between.

Forty years old meant having seen the first day of the first lunar month forty times.

However, Yeon Baek-jung was still a rookie among rookies who had not even reached twenty. He was at an age too young to even be called a rising star.

Yet, the Elixir Condensation Stage.

This was a rare event that was hard to find a precedent for in the Jianghu.

“You are amazing, Junior Brother!”

An exclamation of admiration burst out of him naturally.

Myeong-hun wanted to immediately request a duel.

However, his wish could not be fulfilled.

It was because the Leader of the Greedy Wolf Unit, Hye-won, stood before them.

**

In the eyes of Martial Aunt Hye-won looking at me, satisfaction and complexity could be seen at the same time.

“Has something happened, Martial Aunt?”

I felt slightly anxious. It seemed that the other senior and junior brothers around had also gone out into the Jianghu for missions.

I worried that something might have gone wrong with my Master’s venture into the Jianghu. But fortunately or unfortunately, it was not that kind of matter.

“You must go on a mission immediately. All three of you.”

“What is the matter, Master?”

“A request for cooperation has come from the Secret Arts Pavilion.”

The Secret Arts Pavilion was the group to which the disciples of technique studies belonged.

I could instinctively tell that this mission was of a different nature than the ones I had gone on so far. And it was just as I thought.

“The Taoists belonging to the Taiqing Temple in Yunxi County have requested help. They say that monsters are attacking the innocent people in packs. We need people to escort the disciples of the Secret Arts Pavilion.”

Taiqing Temple was one of the sub-sects of the Wudang Sect. It was a Taoist temple established by a disciple of the technique studies lineage.

Yunxi County, where that Taiqing Temple was located, bordered Shaanxi.

Although it was not very far from Wudang Mountain, which was at the northwestern tip of Hubei, most of the way there was mountainous, so there was a need to hurry.

It was not a rebellion of bandit groups or unorthodox sects.

Specters referred to entities that deviated from the natural order and caused harm to the world. They were existences that appeared sometimes according to natural phenomena, and sometimes due to human intervention.

In order to root them out, martial arts disciples alone were not enough.

“We will prepare.”

After we finished speaking, we immediately completed our preparations and left the South Rock Palace.

By the Mountain Gate near the Sword-Untying Pond, three slender-looking Taoists welcomed us.

“I am Myeong-ryun of the Secret Arts Pavilion. These are my junior brothers, Myeong-ha and Myeong-jeong.”

“I am Yi Chae-yang, a disciple of the True Martial Pavilion’s Greedy Wolf Unit. These are Myeong-hun and Yeon Baek-jung.”

After a brief introduction, we immediately set out into the Jianghu.

The disciples of technique studies would not have learned martial arts.

I intended to carry them on my back one by one and run. However,

“It is fine. I will take only the thought.”

Senior Brother Myeong-ryun only laughed pleasantly and did not climb onto the back I offered.

When I showed a puzzled expression at Senior Brother Myeong-ryun’s refusal, Senior Brother Myeong-hun and Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang pulled me along.

“You will see when you look.”

It was just as my senior brother said.

Surprisingly, the disciples of technique studies showed a stride that was not at all inferior to the speed of the Flowing Cloud Movement Skill’s footwork force.

“It is the secret technique of the technique school’s secret transmission, Mysterious Void Stride.”

At the words of Senior Brother Myeong-hun, who had once gone on a mission with the disciples of technique studies, I closely observed the footwork of the disciples belonging to the Secret Arts Pavilion.

‘What is this?’

The form of stepping was not much different from the footwork of the Nine Palaces Movement Skill, one of the Nine Accomplishments of Wudang, which was a basic skill. However, it was a speed that could not be explained by the footwork of the Nine Palaces Movement Skill.

Only after closely observing their steps was I able to grasp the source of that speed.

‘As if the ground is repelling, it is bouncing the feet. Added to that, a favorable wind is felt around the feet following the steps.’

Even so, no sign of using internal energy was felt.

It meant that natural energy responded even without the operation of internal energy.

However, there was no way they were using a force that violated the natural order.

Because I had never heard that the Wudang Sect’s immortal secret techniques dealt with a force that deviated from the natural order through which all things in the universe operated.

‘Then.’

I exerted the sensitivity of the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition to the limit.

Over my eyes, which had become much clearer after reaching the Elixir Condensation Stage, the flow of true qi appeared much more distinct than before, and I grasped the structure of the flow.

And I was able to know.

That a foreign force originating from the upper dantians of the senior brothers belonging to the Secret Arts Pavilion was inducing true qi to their toes.

Though it was unfamiliar when I first saw it, an soon-familiar flow of force was also felt.

‘Are they minimizing the operation of internal energy in the lower dantian and utilizing the Spirit of the upper dantian?’

Since the upper dantian was a space where the Hun and Po resided, and at the same time, a space of thought, that is, intent.

‘So that is telekinesis.’

I vaguely recalled hearing that those who practiced immortal secret techniques trained the telekinesis of the upper dantian rather than accumulating internal strength in the lower dantian.

‘Mysterious Void Stride.’

Not being inferior to the speed of the Flowing Cloud Movement Skill’s footwork force at all, yet barely needing to utilize internal energy?

‘That is nice.’

Come to think of it, the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition I learned was also about growing the telekinesis of the upper dantian.

‘Could I not do something similar?’

I began to concentrate the internal energy I had been using for the sensitivity of the Tai Chi Diagram Exposition entirely on the upper dantian at the Hundred Convergences acupoint.

**

‘Hmm?!’

Secret Arts Pavilion disciple Myeong-ryun had no choice but to doubt his own eyes for a moment. And the same went for Myeong-ha and Myeong-jeong.

They exchanged glances with each other.

—Did she not say he is a True Martial Pavilion disciple?

—I have never heard of a disciple named Yeon Baek-jung in the Xuanwu Palace or the Secret Arts Pavilion?

—Then what is that?

It was because, surprisingly, the young-looking martial arts disciple who was matching their pace and operating footwork force beside them was utilizing the Mysterious Void Stride secret technique.

‘What on earth.’

Myeong-ryun’s gaze turned from his junior brothers to Yi Chae-yang and Myeong-hun. And what appeared on their faces were mischievous smiles.

‘What is this?’

Seeing them keeping their mouths firmly shut despite his gaze demanding an explanation, Myeong-ryun suddenly recalled a rumor.

It was about the nickname of the youngest disciple to pass the True Martial Pavilion of the Wudang Sect.

—Bringer of Chaos.

Although he had passed it over, thinking that it was quite an audacious nickname to be attached to a disciple of the prestigious Taoist Wudang Sect, especially a promising prospect,

Watching that young boy closely mimicking the achievement of the Mysterious Void Stride, he could not help but think thus.

‘It suits him.’

In addition, at the fact that the protagonist of the rumor had stepped forward as their escort, the disciples of technique studies felt incredibly reassured. Since there were some among the Bringer of Chaos that showed strong physical force, it was more troublesome for the disciples of technique studies, who had not properly learned martial arts, than dealing with minor ghosts.

However, if such disciples stuck by and accompanied them, there would be no need to worry much.

While they were hurrying their steps with a much lighter heart like that, the martial arts disciples suddenly stopped their steps.

“What is the matter?”

At Myeong-ryun’s question, Yi Chae-yang brought a finger to her lips, and Myeong-ryun closed his mouth. Among the group, Myeong-hun stepped forward, placing his hand on the sword hilt.

“If you are honorable, reveal yourselves.”

At those words, a corner of the bushes rustled, and then,

“Ah, so I said we should just join up from the beginning.”

“You punk, still, our Beggars’ Sect has its pride.”

They were beggars of the Beggars’ Sect.

**

I scanned the number of knots tied at the waist of the beggars stepping forward.

It was four, one less than Gold-Knot Wandering Beggar whom I met previously.

“You are the Hall-ranking members of the Beggars’ Sect.”

As Master had said previously, the aura of a four-knot beggar was weak compared to a five-knot.

One among them who seemed to have a slightly superior aura stepped forward and clasped his fists.

“Hehe. To even recognize that we are Hall-ranking members of the Beggars’ Sect. I did not know that Wudang Sect’s Bringer of Chaos had such broad knowledge compared to his age.”

‘Bringer of Chaos?’

I tilted my head at what the Beggars’ Sect disciple said, and,

“Has that nickname already spread even to the Beggars’ Sect?”

“Indeed.”

My Senior Brother and Senior Sister nodded as if agreeing to something.

“Hehe. I am Sang-won belonging to the Beggars’ Sect’s Hall of Rectitude. This side is a fellow Hall-ranking member, Yi-so.”

“Yi-so of the Beggars’ Sect greets the Wudang Sect immortals.”

Even though they were clearly older than me—even seeming as old as Senior Brother Myeong-ryun, the oldest in our group—they spoke to us with respect without hesitation.

Furthermore, as if they had met a junior from their hometown who had been separated, they approached me with a friendly attitude and talked to me.

“It is my first time seeing you this close, but it seems your torso has grown longer than before?”

“Is that so? To me, it does not seem to have changed much?”

“You punk, why do you even carry those eyes around?”

“Have you seen me before?”

“Ah, because until not long ago, this gentleman was serving as the Sub-branch Leader in Wuchang.”

At Yi-so’s words, I finally nodded.

He seemed to be one of the beggars I encountered when dealing with the remnants of the Blood Selling Cult.

At that time, Senior Brother Myeong-hun and Senior Sister Yi Chae-yang stepped forward.

“But what is the matter?”

“Hehe. Isn’t it us beggars who run around until the soles of our feet wear out wherever a storm breaks in the Jianghu?”

As he did so, Sang-won swept his gaze around the surroundings and spoke carefully.

“Your party seems simple… but by any chance, where are the Taoists of the Secret Arts Pavilion?”

To his question, Senior Brother Myeong-ryun replied.

“We are right here.”

**

“Pardon? Ah, no. N-Not you gentlemen.”

Toward the flustered Sang-won, Senior Brother Myeong-ryun replied once again.

“That is why I am saying we are here. I belong to the Secret Arts Pavilion.”

“…Pardon?”

Sang-won stared at the Secret Arts Pavilion disciples, including Senior Brother Myeong-ryun, with a blank face.

And for good reason, because the Secret Arts Pavilion disciples looked like ordinary scholars or literati, not like martial artists. Even to the eyes of Sang-won, a Hall-ranking member of the Beggars’ Sect, they must have seemed like just ordinary commoners.

He scratched his head and asked me.

“…Young Friend Bringer of Chaos, is it true?”

“Yes. They are indeed my Senior Brothers of the Secret Arts Pavilion.”

At my reply, Sang-won let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh. What should we do about this. You will suffer quite a lot to cross the mountain with those gentlemen.”

“What do you mean by that?”

To Senior Brother Myeong-hun’s question, Yi-so peeked at Sang-won’s expression and answered instead.

“From here to the entrance of the Ghost Immortal Valley, all kinds of minor ghosts and Specters are swarming.”

“Ghost Immortal Valley?”

“Yes. There was intelligence that the remnants of the Ghost Immortal Valley, one of the Six Great Evils, had sneaked in here, so we were also investigating.”

At his words, we looked at each other. We thought it was a simple Specters disturbance, but we did not expect the name of the Six Great Evils to come up. Dark clouds began to drift over our Wudang Sect Secret Arts Pavilion escort group’s journey.