novelraw Chapter 138 : An Ill-fitting Suit (1)
Chapter 138 : An Ill-fitting Suit (1)
High-grade elixirs are rare and expensive because most of them are born from the miracles and coincidences of nature.
The elixir of the Nan Yue Beast Palace that Jang So-gil had eaten before, the Fierce Bull Live Bezoar Pill, was also like that.
There is a black beast called the 'Fierce Bull' that only grows in Nan Yue. It is a very ferocious beast, twice as large as an ox, with two massive horns and red, burning eyes.
In the gall bladder of the Fierce Bull, a gallstone is formed with an extremely rare probability. This gallstone is called the 'Fierce Bull Bezoar'.
The Fierce Bull Bezoar is found in the corpse of a dead Fierce Bull. It is only natural, as one cannot cut open the gall bladder of a living one.
But sometimes. A coincidence occurs with a very miraculous probability.
When the Fierce Bull Bezoar is made soft and not hard, if the Fierce Bull is in a very healthy state, there are cases where the gallstone comes out of the body while sneezing loudly or hiccuping.
This is the 'Fierce Bull Live Bezoar'. A miracle of nature created by the overlapping of extremely rare probabilities.
The Fierce Bull Live Bezoar Pill was just the Fierce Bull Live Bezoar with a few medicinal herbs added.
Most of the elixirs found in nature are like that.
They are nothing more than the reprocessing of miraculous items that would only appear in legends and folk tales, such as the inner core of a ten-thousand-year-old carp or a human-faced spider, the red jade of a fire-breathing lizard, or the 'Gongcheongseokyu'.
But some elixirs are made by human hands.
The abbot of Shaolin had publicly stated that the 'Great Return Pill', which the Shaolin Temple prided itself on, did not contain any particularly great ingredients. However, since he had not made the manufacturing method public, no one knew if that was the truth.
On the other hand, in the case of the Huashan Sect's treasure, the Plum Blossom Divine Pill, even its manufacturing method was well known.
But even though the method of making the miraculous elixir, whose fame was renowned throughout the world, was already widely known, why was it not made elsewhere?
The reason was in the manufacturing method itself.
In Huashan, when the 'hour of the rabbit' arrived, six second-generation disciples who had purified their bodies would circle the Lotus Peak. It was to collect the dew that had formed on the plum blossoms.
The six Daoists would each collect six drops of dew. The number six meant 'flow' that flowed without blockage, meaning that all things would proceed smoothly like water.
When enough of this collected dew had filled a pot, it was the turn of the six first-generation disciples who had learned the 'Qianyuan Qingxin Method'.
These Daoists would put plum blossoms and medicinal herbs into the pot filled with dew and boil it. The medicinal herbs that went in at this time were not expensive medicinal herbs, but common ones that could be found even in private homes, such as 'chamchwi', 'yongdam', 'ikmo', and 'guyeopcho'. What was important here was not the price of the medicinal herbs, but the way they were boiled.
What heated the pot was not firewood, but the internal energy of the Daoists of the Huashan Sect. Since it had to be boiled for a whole day, the depth of the internal energy was of course important, but concentration was also very important.
If the mind was disturbed even a little, the firepower would be insufficient and it would not be boiled properly, and if the firepower was stronger, 'fire qi' would be lodged in the elixir and its purity would decrease.
The dregs that remained after boiling and boiling, which did not even amount to a handful.
To gather these dregs and make them into a single pill required a vast amount of time and effort, and even luck was needed.
If there was even a single error during the long work, such as the amount of dew being insufficient, the plum blossoms falling early due to a weather anomaly, there being a spoiled part in the medicinal herbs, or there being even a slight mistake in the control of the fire qi, the Plum Blossom Divine Pill would not be made.
If there was even a slight flaw in the manufacturing, the pill would become a 'Zixia Pill' instead of a Plum Blossom Divine Pill, and if there was a big flaw, all the alchemy work would immediately become a waste of effort.
For this reason, even though the manufacturing method of the Plum Blossom Divine Pill was known, it could not be made anywhere other than Huashan, and even the Huashan Sect could not make a large number of Plum Blossom Divine Pills.
The probability of success was too low compared to the effort put in. To make one Plum Blossom Divine Pill, even the Huashan Sect had to invest a full ten-odd years.
'Is it because I ate that precious thing? The effect is no joke.'
When he had taken the Fierce Bull Live Bezoar Pill, he had used a foolish method because his 'qi' was strong.
It was a matter of do or die. He had torn and regenerated the qi meridians of his whole body dozens of times to draw out the effects of the Fierce Bull Live Bezoar Pill, and had been able to obtain one sixty-year cycle of internal energy.
But he could not do that with the Plum Blossom Divine Pill. Since he already had one sixty-year cycle of internal energy, his qi meridians would not be easily damaged as before, and as his internal energy had increased, the reaction would be stronger, so the probability of his life being in danger was too great.
So this time, he took it in a rather ordinary way. He had fasted for two days to cleanse his internal organs, and after bathing and purifying himself, he had entered into training.
Since he had used an ordinary method, even if it was the Plum Blossom Divine Pill, he would not gain one sixty-year cycle of internal energy like last time. Jang So-gil and Sima Hui had expected that after eating the Plum Blossom Divine Pill, his internal energy would increase by about ten years.
But they were mistaken.
One hour after entering the training. Since not even half of the expected time had passed, he thought that the absorbed effects would also be less than half, but the amount of increased internal energy had already well exceeded ten years.
'Is it because I borrowed the exclusive training room that only the Martial Alliance Leader uses? Or was the Plum Blossom Divine Pill an elixir that was a perfect match for my constitution? Anyway, it was a miscalculation, but a pleasant miscalculation.'
He didn't know the clear reason. But his heart was light.
The breathing technique was originally a matter of life and death. In the process of receiving the qi of nature and accumulating it in one's body, if even a small disturbance occurred, one's life was in danger.
So during the breathing technique, the mind should never be disturbed.
But a human being is a creature that, if you think that you shouldn't think about something, you will instead think of that thing.
If you are strongly bound by the thought that you shouldn't be anxious, you shouldn't be scared, you shouldn't fall into confusion, your mind will instead become distracted.
But the current Jang So-gil's mind was not shaken at all.
He had set up reliable guards, Ye-er and Yang Gwan, and was training in the safest place in the martial world, the headquarters of the Martial Alliance, and in the most secure place within it, so what danger could there be?
It was a world of difference from the first elixir experience, which had felt like having a knife to his throat, a gimlet in his nose, and a fire on the soles of his feet while being tortured.
Jang So-gil, with a pleasant feeling as if a hum would come out on its own, felt the effects of the Plum Blossom Divine Pill.
As if riding on a cloud, a wind blew.
A cool wind from the Lotus Peak blowing from inside his chest. He entrusted his body to the wind full of the scent of plum blossoms and enjoyed its flow.
The corner of Jang So-gil's mouth slightly raised.
A paradise where he could forget all the affairs of the world, happiness was here.
"..."
"..."
Ye-er and Yang Gwan, who were standing guard, stared blankly at Jang So-gil with bewildered eyes.
Jang So-gil's body was floating in the air while sitting in a cross-legged position.
And on top of his head, three flowers had bloomed.
The 'Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit', the entry stage of a transcendent master. It was a proof that the internal energy that had started from the lower dantian had passed through the middle dantian and had perfectly 'broken through' to the upper dantian, forming a great meridian.
A martial artist becomes a peak master when he can use 'sword qi'. And from the time he can handle 'true qi' like his own hands and feet by achieving the 'Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit', he is called a transcendent master.
Before entering the 'un-gong', Jang So-gil's martial arts level was at the beginning of the peak.
'But to suddenly skip the middle and end and become a transcendent master from the beginning. What is this?'
He had skipped the stages of martial arts in one go. For a martial artist who had just entered the beginning of the peak to become a transcendent master right away just by eating an elixir and doing some 'un-gong', it was something no one would believe.
But that was what was happening right before their eyes.
Perhaps it was not an impossible thing. Although Jang So-gil's training period was short, he had eaten two peerless elixirs. And he had received all possible support.
A good teacher and an understanding person. A peerless divine art and environment. Wouldn't it be stranger if he didn't become stronger?
'But the Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit. Hah... no matter what, this is still strange.'
Even the dull and stoic Yang Gwan could not help but feel the strangeness.
A person who had learned martial arts for a little over a year had become a transcendent master.
He had lightly overtaken the Fire Dragon, Yang Gwan, who was called a rising star of the martial world, and was running far ahead.
In front of the absurd situation that would only appear in a five-coin novel that you would read for fun, Yang Gwan, who was about to let out a hollow laugh because he was at a loss for words, hurriedly covered his mouth.
A guard should not even make a breathing sound. Because you should not disturb the breathing technique and the 'don-o'.
"..."
He was afraid that Jang So-gil's 'don-o' would be broken by his own breathing sound and Ye-er's sigh.
Yang Gwan stealthily sent a glance to Ye-er. Ye-er, who had felt the glance, broke out in a sweat and silently and stealthily stepped back.
The breathing technique continued.
Jang So-gil's 'un-gi' ended ten days after that.
* * *
From the entry of the peak to the entry of the transcendent.
Since he had made a leap of growth that could not be put into words, his joy was great.
But it was the people around him, rather than Jang So-gil himself, who were making a fuss.
The Alliance Leader, congratulating Jang So-gil's great achievement, said they should hold a feast. Although Sima Hui had sighed, it was a sigh about the scale of the feast that the Alliance Leader was trying to hold, not a sigh about the feast itself.
The inspector, who had become one with the Martial Alliance to the point of being more than just favorable, had become a transcendent master. It was a matter worthy of holding a feast.
In addition, although not as much as the Alliance Leader, Sima Hui was also feeling joy at Jang So-gil's achievement in his own way.
No one had formally established a master-disciple relationship with Jang So-gil. But if the one who had taught him martial arts was called a master, then Gumen Long accounted for three-tenths of that share, and Sima Hui accounted for seven-tenths.
Although not a master, he could be called a teacher. There was no teacher who would not be happy about his disciple's achievement.
But Jang So-gil, who had heard the stories of the two, shook his head.
"It's okay. I'm busy."
"No, but isn't it a happy occasion? You have to have a feast and go."
"I'm really busy. Didn't I use up ten days?"
The time for the breathing technique that Jang So-gil had thought of was at most half a day. He had never imagined that it would eat up ten days.
Although the achievement of his martial arts was a matter to be congratulated, the planned schedule had become a mess.
Jang So-gil, tapping his thigh with his fingertips, continued his thoughts.
A few movements as if flicking an abacus followed, and the calculation was finished.
"I'll leave right away."
"Right away? Military Advisor Zhuge and Military Advisor Namgung are investigating other orthodox sects. There's no need to hurry so much, is there?"
"There are many orthodox sects that have traded with the Four Black Alliance. But matters such as the trade of stolen goods and information, trivial commissions, or smuggling are things that can be ended with a few warnings and a fine. Compared to the Maoshan Sect, those guys are all petty criminals."
The Maoshan Sect was different from them. They were truly 'evil' and 'unorthodox'.
Since evil people were quick in their head rotation when it came to bad things. Their decisions were faster, and sacrifice was a much easier matter.
Recalling Seok Pacheon, who had killed his subordinate to cut off his tail without any hesitation, Jang So-gil said with force.
"Since ten days have passed, the Maoshan Sect has already received the news and has started to act. If we're any later, all the evidence will disappear. We have to leave right away."
"If you say so, I can't help it. Is there anything you need?"
"How far can I use my power in this matter?"
At Jang So-gil's question, the Alliance Leader, instead of answering, pointed to the golden plaque hanging from the end of the scabbard of the White Azure Divine Sword.
The golden plaque was a plaque of full authority, meaning that the Martial Alliance Leader would take responsibility for everything. It was a sufficient answer.
"Then I'll leave right away."
(End of Chapter)