novelraw Chapter 12 : Chapter 12
Chapter 12 : Chapter 12
Chapter 12 - The Earth-Drawing Spirit Pill
“Ssssp.”
Biyoung closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He wanted to climb the mountain path right away, but there was an order to things.
He sat cross-legged on the ground and began his energy circulation meditation.
It wasn't that he was particularly patient.
It was just that the experience from his past life was telling him.
That if he climbed the mountain in his current physical state, he would not escape a dog’s death.
Ssssk…….
A place where even martial artists who were decent with a sword were likely to die if they missed a step.
That was Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Not only were the mountains steep and rugged, but it was also easy to slip as snow was piled up all year round.
Biyoung had experience climbing Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the past.
“W-w-w-w-w-watch out there!!”
“Uwaak!! I was almost a goner!!”
“What kind of mountain is this that it’s hard to even take one step!!”
He would break into a cold sweat with even the slightest slip, and whenever that happened, Biyoung would spit out curses.
Sizzle sizzle
As he circulated the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art, a hot energy rose from Biyoung’s entire body.
The internal energy flowing inside his body felt stronger than usual.
At that change, Biyoung unknowingly raised the corners of his mouth.
‘Are you getting excited too since we’re getting closer?’
The one Biyoung was speaking to was none other than the Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill.
It was the fellow that would only ‘peek’ its head out after he finished circulating the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art, as his energy would be depleted.
But now, its momentum hadn’t subsided even after he finished circulating his energy.
Perhaps it, too, had been eagerly awaiting this moment.
The Earth-Drawing Spirit Pill.
The day it would meet its other half.
“……Good.”
How much time had passed?
Biyoung, who had been fixed without the slightest movement, snapped his eyes open.
The fatigue accumulated from the journey was refreshingly gone, and vitality began to spring forth in his body again.
The waste products that were not easily discharged even with sweat had been expelled from his body.
Thanks to that, he gave off a rather unpleasant smell, but even that disappeared as if washed away by the cool wind of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
“Let’s see……”
Even the cold of the snow-covered mountain was no problem for Biyoung, who had performed the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art.
In fact, the hot energy around his body was at a point where it could push back the cold.
Biyoung raised his head and scanned the entire view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
He had seen it a few times, but it was a magnificent view every time.
The peaks soaring high as if to touch the sky and the steep cliffs.
Even the snow that had settled over the entire mountain like a blanket.
Even the wind that rode up the mountain ridges seemed to add to the charm.
Before long, Biyoung’s gaze fixed on one spot.
“……Is it over there?”
At a glance, it was an unremarkable spot on the mountainside.
However, there was a place that appeared special to Biyoung, even if others didn’t know.
His eyes twinkling once, Biyoung moved his steps without delay.
***
The sound of crunching snow spread ticklishly.
Biyoung intentionally put force into his feet and stomped on the snow strongly.
As if waiting for someone to step on these tracks.
One quarter-hour.
And another quarter-hour.
Biyoung silently walked the snow-covered path.
Finally, someone began to walk along Biyoung’s footprints.
That someone was none other than,
Biyoung himself.
“……!”
It felt like he had been walking straight ahead, but surprisingly, the footprints he had made appeared before his eyes.
Upon confirming the footprints, a joyous voice burst from Biyoung’s mouth.
“Found it!”
Although it was as good as having walked in vain, the corners of Biyoung’s mouth were raised high to the sky.
He had been waiting for this area to appear.
A special place where no matter how much you walked, you returned to the same spot.
He was talking about the area where a formation was cast.
There was a good reason for deliberately stepping on the snow with force.
“Since I walked for about this long…”
Biyoung estimated the time he had walked to calculate the size of the formation.
Since he had moved his steps at a constant rhythm from the start, it wasn't difficult to calculate.
Soon, Biyoung was able to reach the following conclusion.
‘It’s the same as before.’
A satisfied smile spread across Biyoung’s handsome face.
Seeing the size and method of the formation, it was undoubtedly the same form as in the past.
If it was a formation he already knew, breaking it was a piece of cake.
Moreover, since this formation was made with the techniques of the Diancang Sect, it posed no problem for Biyoung.
Biyoung followed the footprints before him, sometimes deviating from the path to move forward.
There was another reason why Biyoung’s expression had brightened after confirming the formation.
The fact that the formation was not broken meant that the place beyond the formation had not been invaded.
It was highly likely that the person Biyoung wanted to meet was still here.
“If he’s alive, that is……”
Biyoung recalled a gray-haired old man with particularly protruding front teeth and cheekbones.
Hyeokri Chong.
The Medical Saint and elixirist regarded as the most outstanding in Jianghu.
He was the person Biyoung wanted to meet.
He was the one who made the Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill for the Diancang Sect, and the owner of the Earth-Drawing Spirit Pill.
In fact, both elixirs could be said to be the work of the same person, but the Diancang Sect and Hyeokri Chong divided the storage.
Why?
The reason was…….
-I can’t watch some idiot who calls himself a sect leader eat up my masterpiece! Only after receiving my permission can one be called the true sect leader of the Diancang Sect! Indeed!
Hyeokri Chong, who would shout while ceaselessly moving his protruding cheekbones.
Remembering him, Biyoung smiled gently.
“Crazy old man.”
How dare someone who wasn't even a member of the sect judge the sect leader?
However, considering the efficacy and rarity of the elixirs Hyeokri Chong made, one couldn't help but nod.
Once every ten years.
Or once every twenty years.
Hyeokri Chong’s masterpieces, the Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill and the Earth-Drawing Spirit Pill, were rare elixirs that could only be made after an absurd amount of time.
The conditions (?) were also strict.
Just eating the Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill was not enough to draw out all of the elixir’s energy.
That was precisely why Biyoung felt hungry all the time even after eating.
The Heaven-Shaking Divine Pill and the Earth-Drawing Spirit Pill only become perfect when they meet each other.
Since there were only a few and eating just one was problematic, even in the Diancang Sect, they could only bestow it upon the future sect leader.
Other sects also tried to persuade and sometimes intimidate Hyeokri Chong to make these two elixirs.
However, due to a past incident, Hyeokri Chong only provided elixirs to the Diancang Sect.
‘At least, that was the case until fifteen years ago.’
After breaking through the formation, Biyoung swallowed hard.
Even in Biyoung’s past life, Hyeokri Chong was already a gray-haired old man.
Since he was called a Medical Saint, he would have taken care of his health, but people in Jianghu often died from accidents rather than chronic diseases.
If Hyeokri Chong had become a ghost, his purpose of obtaining the Earth-Drawing Spirit Pill would also come to nothing.
‘Please be alive. Old man.’
When Biyoung exited the last area of the formation with a nervous heart, a stone gate appeared before him.
Its width seemed to be at least 1 zhang, and its height was nearly 2 zhang.
It was a scale that made one not even dare to think of opening the gate without a key.
“Hmm.”
A firmly locked stone gate appearing at the end of breaking through a formation?
It was something that would make even a patient person do a handstand and foam at the mouth.
But Biyoung, far from getting angry, approached it with a smile.
In the middle of the stone gate, there were thin grooves carved in several directions.
It looked like someone had drawn them for fun, or like someone angry at the stone gate had slashed it with a sword in a fit of rage.
Biyoung slowly closed his eyes in front of the stone gate.
In his hand was a thick tree branch he had picked up while breaking the formation.
The way to open this stone gate, which had no lock or proper keyhole.
As far as Biyoung knew, there was only one way.
Swoosh.
Biyoung, with his eyes closed, gripped the tree branch like a sword.
He crouched one foot as if ready to spring out at any moment, then brought both hands together and pulled them back tautly like a bowstring.
A sight that would make a common ruffian tilt his head.
However, it was a sight that would make someone with knowledge of martial arts widen their eyes and let out a cry of astonishment.
The stance Biyoung took was the sword form known as the highest martial art of the Diancang Sect.
It was the preliminary motion of the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
Paaat.
The tree branch Biyoung was holding moved at an invisible speed.
It was the execution of the notoriously infamous technique that divided the body into nine parts and struck in all directions, said to be impossible to dodge.
The Nine-Shooting One Flash.
Paaaat!!
Twitch.
‘Keuk…!’
A sharp pain shot through Biyoung’s shoulder.
This current movement was nothing more than a simple imitation.
He didn’t infuse any special internal energy into the sword, nor did he execute it by leaping from a long distance.
He simply used a tree branch to imitate the shape of the Nine-Shooting One Flash.
However, just by imitating the form, Biyoung’s shoulder muscles were injured and his internal energy became twisted.
It was only because it was Biyoung that it was only this much; if it had been a mediocre martial artist, his shoulder would have been dislocated or he would have suffered internal injuries.
‘Did… it work?’
Biyoung, who had closed his eyes in pain, cautiously opened one eye.
The ‘form’ of the Nine-Shooting One Flash (射九一閃) was enough to open the stone face.
Even without embedding sword energy into the hard wall, as long as the form was accurate, the door would react on its own.
“………….”
However, contrary to Biyoung’s expectations, the stone gate did not move at all.
Was it a failure…?
Was a tree branch insufficient instead of a sword?
After opening his other eye, Biyoung looked at the tree branch he was holding.
Snap!
As if sensing his gaze, half of the tree branch fell limply like a crane with a broken neck.
“……Ah, no!”
Biyoung’s desperate shout echoed in the quiet, snowy mountain.
Although there were some side effects, Biyoung’s body had withstood the form of the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
However, it seemed the tree branch in his hand could not handle that extraordinary technique.
Even though it couldn't contain a single grain of rice worth of internal energy, even that was too much for the tree branch.
“Aiiiing!”
Biyoung frowned and threw the tree branch to the ground.
“Whyyyy are tree branches these days so weak? No matter how much mountains and rivers change in ten years, back in my day, you could even do a Vacuum Sword, no, a Vacuum Wood with a tree branch! They lack grit, grit!”
He jumped around spouting nonsense, but naturally, there was no reply from the broken tree branch.
“This is driving me crazy. I can’t just bring a real sword and perform the technique either……”
It was possible to execute the form with a sword.
Provided it wasn’t the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
Even within the Diancang Sect, which pursued extreme quick-sword techniques, the Sun-Shooting Sword Art was revered as the fastest and most destructive.
His insides felt like they were twisting just from swinging a tree branch; if he used a real sword, it wouldn’t be the branch that broke, but Biyoung’s body.
“Can’t be helped. First, I need to find a sturdier branch……”
Twitch.
“?”
Just for a moment.
Biyoung, who felt a subtle presence, turned his head with a pleased expression.
But the stone gate was still unchanged.
“……Was I wrong?”
Just as Biyoung was about to turn his head again, this time, a clear tremor was seen from the stone gate’s direction.
Twitch.
“Oh…!”
Kugugung!
“Ooh!!!!”
Since being reborn as Biyoung, his mouth opened the widest it ever had.
Kugugugugugugung!!
The stone gate, which seemed like it would never budge, was opening its maw on its own.
The admirable (?) tree branch, even as it was breaking, had accurately inputted the form of the Nine-Shooting One Flash into the stone gate.
Jjeo-eo-eo-eok!
“It worked! Uahahaha!!”
Biyoung’s laughter echoed through the cold Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
At the same time, the stone gate, which had been rumbling loudly, finally swung wide open.