novelraw Chapter 333 : Passing Down the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra
Chapter 333 : Passing Down the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra
Chapter 333: Passing Down the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra
Just as the Red-Haired Demon Empress’s sword was about to reach Hae Cheollyeong’s chest, a figure suddenly sprang out in front of him.
That figure embraced Hae Cheollyeong and spun around.
Then, they threw something onto the ground.
Bang!
A thick, white smoke rose, blocking the Red-Haired Demon Empress’s view.
“Futile!”
Thud!
The Red-Haired Demon Empress’s sword pierced through the chest of the figure who had suddenly appeared.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Demonic Master Demonic Master, who had charged forward prepared to perish together, unleashed his energy force. His energy strike slammed into the Red-Haired Demon Empress’s back.
Thud!
Demonic Master was blocked by her Protective Energy and suffered internal injuries once more before crashing to the ground.
Even so, Demonic Master’s strike gave the Red-Haired Demon Empress a considerable shock. Her breath scattered under the impact of his force.
“Kh!”
Because of that, she inhaled a mouthful of the thick smoke.
That was the fatal mistake. Before Demonic Master had unleashed his energy, Deung Hwaun had embraced Hae Cheollyeong and spread Jiangshi Poison in advance.
It was a perfectly timed and well-executed release, leaving even the Red-Haired Demon Empress unable to avoid it.
The Red-Haired Demon Empress yanked her sword out.
“Ahhh!”
Deung Hwaun screamed.
The Red-Haired Demon Empress, who had been approaching to strike Hae Cheollyeong again, suddenly frowned.
Poisoned by the Jiangshi Poison, her internal energy scattered, and her mind grew hazy.
Her vision blurred as if she were drunk, and in that instant, Geum Yujin, who had recovered his breath, leapt up to attack.
Slash!
Geum Yujin’s sword pierced through her weakened Protective Energy and slashed her side.
“Ah!”
Thinking this was his chance, Geum Yujin unleashed the Ice Butterfly Chaotic Dance.
The energy of the Black Tortoise Lunar Arts surged forth, pressing toward the Red-Haired Demon Empress, who sensed the danger.
Gathering her scattered energy, she blocked Geum Yujin’s attack.
At the moment, Geum Yujin was in the best shape, so the others pinned their hopes on his assault.
When Geum Yujin struck down at her head with the Black Tortoise Opening the Heavens technique, she barely evaded it. But as he relentlessly followed up with the Tortoise Wing Tail Swing, she was forced to parry.
Clang!
Spurt!
The moment she blocked it, the Red-Haired Demon Empress coughed up blood.
Her scattered energy allowed the Black Tortoise Lunar Arts’ force to infiltrate, stimulating her meridians.
Sensing that staying any longer might mean being taken down by an unexpected foe, she used her remaining energy to leap away.
“Hey! You old hag! Where do you think you’re running?”
Tang Duhwa shouted angrily, but the Red-Haired Demon Empress was already gone.
“Cheollyeong!”
Tang Duhwa rushed to Hae Cheollyeong, who was being held by Deung Hwaun.
Blood was welling from Deung Hwaun’s right chest.
Tang Duhwa quickly sealed her acupoints to stop the bleeding.
It was the Tang Clan’s secret hemostasis technique.
She then took something from her bosom and brought it to Deung Hwaun’s mouth.
At that moment, Demonic Master stepped in and grabbed Tang Duhwa’s wrist.
“What is that?”
“It’s a Reviving Pill. It’s made entirely of rare medicinal ingredients from the main house. It will calm her energy and heal internal injuries. Even I was only given one— that’s how precious it is.”
The Tang Clan’s special medicines were rare treasures in the Murim.
“Reviving Pill?”
Demonic Master knew well how rare the Tang Clan’s Reviving Pill was.
In the world, it was considered as precious as Mount Hua Sect’s Violet Essence Pill or Wudang Sect’s Great Purity Pill.
After feeding Deung Hwaun the Reviving Pill, Tang Duhwa checked on Hae Cheollyeong.
“Ah, what to do… The sword pierced through Grandma’s chest and stabbed into Cheollyeong’s back.”
Blood was flowing from Hae Cheollyeong’s back.
She hadn’t noticed earlier due to Deung Hwaun’s critical condition.
Tang Duhwa’s face darkened.
‘Damn it, if I’d known this would happen, I would have saved the Reviving Pill for Cheollyeong. I wasted it on the wrong person.’
Having used the only Reviving Pill she had, Tang Duhwa felt like making Deung Hwaun spit it back out.
“The demonic hag’s sword qi has jumbled his qi, and he’s in danger.”
Tang Duhwa checked Hae Cheollyeong’s pulse and said,
“This is strange. It feels like the demonic hag’s energy is destroying Cheollyeong’s meridians.”
Demonic Master quickly examined him and was startled.
“This is Corpse Rot Yin Qi.”
Corpse Rot Yin Qi was a sinister demonic energy created by gradually absorbing corpse poison and refining it into sword qi.
“If left untreated, it’s deadly. In three days, his meridians and dantian will rot away, leading to a gruesome death.”
Seok Jamyung looked at his daughter and said—
“Unjeong, you take Young Master Geum with you. I’ll take Cheollyeong and head quickly to the merchant union.”
Even though Seok Jamyung called her name loudly, Seok Unjeong was staring blankly into the air.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
When he pressed her again, Seok Unjeong suddenly came to her senses.
“No, Father.”
“You take Young Master Geum with you.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Lord Hae, please take Madam Deung with you.”
“Understood. But what will going to the merchant union do?”
Ha Deokgong asked with a worried expression.
“The merchant union has medicinal ingredients that can deal with poisons, so I plan to show him to a physician first.”
Demonic Master carried Hae Cheollyeong in his arms and quickly strode toward the Sky Ocean Merchant Union. Even in the midst of this chaotic situation, there was one person detached from it all.
Seok Unjeong was still staring blankly at Geum Yujin.
‘How strange. When Young Master Geum executed his technique, it felt like I was being drawn into that energy. It was so familiar, as if I’d known it for a long time. What kind of energy was that? It felt like being immersed in warm water… so comfortable that my mind became calm. What is this energy?’
Seok Unjeong, caught in this strange sensation, kept her eyes on Geum Yujin.
Demonic Master entered the Sky Ocean Merchant Union and headed straight for the medical room.
The physician there turned pale when he saw the unconscious, bleeding Hae Cheollyeong.
“What are you standing there for? Treat him quickly!”
One physician looked at Demonic Master and said,
“Before that, since Young Master Yong has arrived, inform him immediately.”
Demonic Master’s head snapped up.
“Really? Young Master Yong has returned? Thank heavens! Thank heavens!”
Demonic Master, knowing that Yong Hwarin’s miraculous energy could heal people, felt greatly relieved.
He quickly sent someone to call Yong Hwarin to the medical room.
When Yong Hwarin, having received the news, arrived at the medical room and saw Hae Cheollyeong’s condition, his expression darkened.
As soon as Demonic Master saw Yong Hwarin, he spoke.
“Treat Cheollyeong first. I’ll explain everything later. He’s been struck by Corpse Rot Yin Qi — his meridians and dantian are being destroyed.”
Yong Hwarin placed his palm on the Mingmen acupoint and slowly infused qi. By channeling the energy of the Realm of Self-Existence into Hae Cheollyeong’s body, he managed to slow the outbreak of the Corpse Rot Yin Qi.
But in essence, Corpse Rot Yin Qi could not be expelled with ordinary qi.
Because it was fused with qi, it couldn’t be separated and removed on its own.
‘Such a vicious energy… To cultivate this, one’s own body would also rot to some degree. How can one train in such a thing? Demonic practitioners are truly ruthless.’
The frightening thing about demonic practitioners was that they willingly endured the damage their demonic arts inflicted on their own bodies in order to grow stronger.
Yong Hwarin eventually tried to gather the Corpse Rot Yin Qi into Hae Cheollyeong’s dantian to annihilate it, but he realized it was impossible — Cheollyeong’s dantian wasn’t strong enough to withstand it.
If he made a mistake, the Corpse Rot Yin Qi gathered in the dantian could spread through the entire meridian network, rendering any countermeasures useless.
Yong Hwarin closed his eyes.
‘Ah, to annihilate the Corpse Rot Yin Qi, I can create a Tai Chi Dantian with the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra and destroy it. But can Cheollyeong form a Tai Chi Dantian in such a short time?’
This was no time for hesitation.
He had to use every possible means to annihilate the Corpse Rot Yin Qi.
Yong Hwarin tapped Hae Cheollyeong’s upper dantian to awaken his consciousness.
“Uuugh!”
When he opened his eyes and saw Yong Hwarin, Hae Cheollyeong smiled faintly.
“You can smile right now?”
His lips were blue, and his complexion had the ashen hue of a corpse.
“Hehe… With Master here, I’ll live. So how can I not smile?”
Yong Hwarin patted his bold disciple’s head.
“Cheollyeong, from now on, listen carefully to what I say and focus your mind. Understood?”
“Yes, Master.”
Hae Cheollyeong would obey anything his master said. He believed his master was the strongest person in the world.
“Sit cross-legged.”
When Hae Cheollyeong, barely managing to straighten his body, sat cross-legged, Yong Hwarin began infusing him with qi while passing on the mnemonic verses of the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra.
As Yong Hwarin and Hae Cheollyeong sank into meditation, Demonic Master quickly summoned the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect to guard the medical room.
Later, Baek Seom and Deuksang, upon hearing the news, deployed their subordinates to set up an impenetrable defense.
At that time, Geum Yujin was meeting Jo Gyeongmae.
“Young Master Geum saved Young Master Yong’s disciple?”
Perhaps finding it unexpected, Jeong Suji looked at Geum Yujin with suspicion.
“On my way to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union to recover my father’s remains, I saw an old woman pursuing Young Master Yong’s disciple. I fought her, and it turned out that the old woman was the Red-Haired Demon Empress, Lee Myeongja.”
“It’s fortunate you came out unharmed after meeting such a master. And to think that Young Master Geum defeated Lee Myeongja — the late Manor Lord Geum would be proud of you in the afterlife.”
Jo Gyeongmae spoke quietly.
“If you had perished after Manor Lord Geum passed away, I would have had no face to meet him. Truly, it’s a relief.”
Jo Gyeongmae treated him warmly, leaving no room for Geum Yujin to think otherwise.
“I’m the one without face. I am an unfilial son who fled, leaving my father behind.”
Seeing that Geum Yujin seemed genuinely remorseful, Jo Gyeongmae did not press the matter further.
Whatever had happened because of Geum Myeongnyeol, the fact remained that they had survived, and so they owed the Geum Family Head a debt of gratitude.
In such a situation, she could not bring herself to interrogate Geum Yujin.
What mattered was to console him and ensure he carried on the will of the Geum Family Head.
“First, pay your respects to the late master. For now, we have enshrined him in the shrine of the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.”
“Thank you truly, Manor Lord.”
Geum Yujin turned with a somber face.
Then, as if remembering something, he spoke.
“Ah, on my way to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union, I overheard something from some people. Have you perhaps heard about the duel of the Three Swords Beyond the Heavens?”
“The duel of the Three Swords Beyond the Heavens?”
The most surprised among them was Jeong Suji.
With Yong Hwarin running all over to search for the Royal Consort Record and the Jeong Family staying only within the Sky Ocean Merchant Union, they had not kept up with recent developments in the Murim.
“So you haven’t heard. I didn’t believe it at first either, but hearing it from so many martial artists, it didn’t seem like an empty rumor.”
After fleeing, Geum Yujin had wandered from inn to inn, and during that time, he had overheard martial artists gossiping.
The Three Swords Beyond the Heavens (Cheonoe Samgeom, 天外三劍) referred to masters whose skill was considered outside the normal rankings of the Murim.
More commonly, they were known to the public as the Three Supreme Swords (Jeil Samgeom, 第一三劍).
The First Sword of the Continent (Daeryuk Jeilgeom, 大陸第一劍) — Baek Gongseong (百功城)
The First Sword Under Heaven (Cheonha Jeilgeom, 天下第一劍) — Jo Wonmok (趙元默)
The First Sword of the Central Plains (Jungwon Jeilgeom, 中原第一劍) — Hwang Wan (黃完)
These three were called the Three Swords Beyond the Heavens or the Three Supreme Swords.
Their duels were famous because every few years, they would choose a location and engage in a martial contest.
Countless martial artists of the Murim dreamed of seeing their duel at least once in their lifetime.
Jo Gyeongmae murmured,
“How intriguing… Why would the Three Supreme Swords choose to duel at such a time? In this period of chaos?”
“Their duels have always been held without regard for the Murim’s circumstances, Mother. There’s nothing strange about it.”
When Jeong Suji said this, Jo Gyeongmae nodded slightly.
“That is a fair point, but still, the timing is awfully coincidental.”
“Well, even if the Three Supreme Swords are dueling, to ordinary martial artists it’s nothing but a pie in the sky.”
That was because they always set up a formation at the site of their duel, one so profound that most could not pass through it.
Those who managed to pass the formation were permitted to witness the duel, but it was said that very few had ever succeeded.
“Perhaps I should attend the Three Supreme Swords’ duel myself?”
Jeong Daji quickly cut in.
“Sis, don’t go sticking your nose in and end up getting hurt. Not even Young Master Yong can guarantee passing the formation of the Three Supreme Swords.”
Jo Gyeongmae spoke to her two daughters.
“Enough chatter — take Young Master Geum to the shrine.”
As her daughters and Geum Yujin left, Jo Gyeongmae murmured,
“The situation in the Murim is changing rapidly. I fear for what’s to come — we cannot see even an inch ahead.”
She gazed up at the sky with dark eyes.
Contrary to her heart, the sky was perfectly clear.