I was startled when I confirmed what pill had emerged from the severed iron sphere.
The Demonic Essence Pill!
The Demonic Essence Pill was a miraculous medicine refined by our cult only once every ten years, a divine pill that granted a considerable amount of power to a demon practitioner who had cultivated demonic arts. The amount of inner energy one gained depended on the taker’s constitution and the mental art he had cultivated.
I was genuinely impressed. The Demonic Essence Pill was impressive enough, but what astonished me even more was the exquisite design of the sphere.
If the sphere were cut with sword aura, the heat would seal the hidden passage where the pill was concealed, preventing the Demonic Essence Pill from coming out.
A reward granted only to one who cut it with a sword, not sword aura.
At present, what I lacked most was inner energy, so the Demonic Essence Pill was truly nothing less than a gift from heaven.
“Nice to meet you, Demonic Essence Pill! Thank you, Father!”
Without hesitation, I sat down on the spot and immediately swallowed the Demonic Essence Pill.
The Demonic Essence Pill gave off a sharp fragrance as it melted in my mouth, then spread throughout my entire body.
A mighty energy coursed through every meridian in my body. I focused on my mental art and began absorbing all of it.
In my life before regression, I had taken miraculous medicines several times, so dissolving and absorbing one was not difficult. Because of the physical traits of the Heavenly Martial Body, I could also absorb more energy than ordinary people.
Like that, I fell into a trance and circulated my qi, opening my eyes only after two double-hours had passed.
The spiritual energy of the Demonic Essence Pill was absorbed into every meridian in my body like welcome rain after a drought, and through repeated, meticulous qi circulation, it was stored in my dantian as pure inner energy.
I rose from my seat and drew up my true qi.
Shwaaaak! Boom!
Even the sound from my thrusting fist was different. The sound of cutting through the air was sharper, and the explosive impact seemed as if it would burst my eardrums. I felt a joy so intense I could have flown at its power, which could not be compared to before.
“Hahahahaha!”
My irrepressible laughter rang thunderously through the stone cavern.
‘Ah, could it be?’
Had he taught me qi projection during the hunt so that I would be able to discern the cut line on the iron sphere here? Perhaps because Father had succeeded in cutting it the same way?
But soon I shook my head. No matter how extraordinary Father was, he could not have predicted that I would enter Socheondong because of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. No, perhaps he had considered that I might come here someday…
Whether he had wanted me to obtain the Demonic Essence Pill or to save the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s face, in any case, thanks to Father, I had gained a great fortuitous encounter.
‘Thank you, Father.’
After circulating my true qi once to settle both body and mind, I walked toward the next stage.
And so I arrived at the third trial.
I. Distinguish life from death.
II. If you do not succeed, another opportunity will be given after five days.
III. Those who are prepared, stand in the red circle.
Distinguish life from death? What kind of trial was this supposed to be?
And the retry period had been reduced to five days. For some reason, I had the feeling this was not something to be pleased about.
When I stood in the red circle, a table rose from the floor.
The moment I saw what was placed on it, a smile spread across my face.
There were ten herbs laid out there. This trial was one that required distinguishing medicinal herbs from poisonous herbs.
There was a saying in the murim that one had to beware of old people, children, and women, but in truth, what one had to be most wary of was poison. You must not carelessly eat food or drink offered by others, and if you had no choice but to eat, you had to check for poison with a silver needle.
So everyone had a sense of caution toward poison, but how many had actually studied how to distinguish poisonous herbs? Those who had would have rejoiced, while all the challengers who had not would have been at a loss.
I belonged to the former group. There was something I had once said to Gwiryeongja before my regression.
—I can say with pride that when it comes to mountain climbing, swimming, diving, and camping, I am an absolute master. I could even draw a map of the Central Plains with my eyes closed.
I was someone who had roamed every corner of the Central Plains in search of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp. Would I be skilled only at swimming and diving? I could distinguish all sorts of medicinal and poisonous herbs and knew their effects in detail. If some half-decent herb gatherer tried to boast before me, I could tell him to go over there and dig up bellflowers instead.
For that reason, there was no need to look at the writing Father had left behind right now.
I confidently picked up one of them. Among the ten poisonous herbs, it was the only one that was not poisonous.
Then the table sank back down, and a new table with fresh herbs rose again.
This time too, ten herbs had been placed on it, but they were different from the ones before.
“Ah!”
To prevent someone from passing the trial by sheer luck, one had to answer correctly twice in a row.
I could imagine just how difficult this test must have been.
Think about it.
You had to get both choices exactly right, and there were ten options each time. What were the chances of guessing correctly twice in a row?
If you tried to pick this and that by relying vaguely on instinct, with bad luck, you might spend your whole life choosing poisonous herbs.
‘In the end, this test has to be solved by eating them.’
As if that were the correct answer, the amount of each poisonous herb was only enough not to kill you. Of course, if you were poisoned, you would still spend several days groaning in agony.
Even so, this was the best method. If you were lucky and found the medicinal herb quickly, you would get out quickly; if you were unlucky, it would take a long time.
I picked out the herb that was not poisonous from the second set. I half-expected a third set of herbs to appear, but it was not that cruel.
Once I correctly selected the medicinal herb the second time as well, the door to the next stage opened.
Had there been anyone else who found the non-poisonous herb twice in a row at once like me? A challenger who favored poison arts might have found them in one try, but most must have suffered here for a long time.
Curious about the writing Father had left, I went to the wall where the challengers had written their messages.
—Damn it! At this rate, I’ll become a poison man.
—What idiot came up with this test? How often do we even encounter poisonous herbs like these?
—There must be a clue to finding the medicinal herb. I have to study it.
—I don’t even remember how many times I’ve failed. Should I just eat all that poison and die? Now even fasting pills feel like poisonous herbs.
—I should have calculated properly from the start. I regret trusting my instincts.
—I succeeded after ninety-six attempts. Tears are blinding me!
—I ate too much poison, and a lot of my hair fell out.
At the very bottom was the writing Father had left.
—Fools! Don’t believe in luck.
I could tell. Father had eaten the poisonous herbs while memorizing them one by one from his very first attempt. He had immediately realized that leaving it to luck and picking at random was ultimately a waste of time.
Father had said he came out after two months.
Even though he said not to trust luck, it seemed Father had been quite lucky in this trial. Or perhaps he had possessed some knowledge of poisonous herbs to begin with and had been able to exclude several herbs.
“Thankfully, Father and son both kept their hair.”
* * *
The fourth trial was the final one. On the stone monument, it was written that this was the final trial.
I. Survive the Life-and-Death Illusory Formation.
II. If you die within the formation, you will die in reality as well.
II. Those who are prepared, stand in the red circle.
Astonishingly, a trial had appeared in which failure meant death.
The Life-and-Death Illusory Formation.
A formation where dying within it meant truly dying.
This time, the words left behind by our ancestors were those of people who had survived.
—It was truly an unbearably difficult fight. If I ever become the Heavenly Demon, I will find the one who made the Life-and-Death Illusory Formation and kill him.
—It was so frightening and exhausting.
—Damn it! Who the hell made this wretched formation?
—I will never again set foot in a Life-and-Death Illusory Formation for as long as I live.
Father’s writing was here as well. This time, there was no cursing, only a single piece of advice.
—Do not rest.
Of course, those words were meant as a clue for this trial, but they felt like something he had said about my life going forward. Perhaps because this was the final trial.
‘Yes. I will keep moving forward without rest.’
After calmly circulating my qi and filling my inner energy to the brim, I walked toward the red circle.
The moment I stood within the circle, the Life-and-Death Illusory Formation activated, and the scenery around me began to change.
A short while later, I was standing in a wasteland.
The sand slipping between my fingers, the dry leaves and bare branches of the trees, even the insects clinging to the rocks were all real. No, they felt real.
“A top-tier formation truly is amazing.”
Beyond mystery, I felt awe. How could it recreate such a vivid reality? It truly made me realize that real geniuses existed in this world.
It was then.
Along with a wind carrying sand, martial artists appeared. With no eyes, nose, or mouth on their faces, they were illusions created by the formation.
There were thirty in total.
They were illusions, but illusions with substance. Like the rock I had touched moments ago, their swords would be real as well.
The illusions surrounded me and emitted killing intent. Even someone who had cultivated superior martial arts would shrink back at this moment if they lacked real combat experience. The anxiety that one’s back might be stabbed, and the pressure exerted by multiple enemies, were greater than one might expect.
Of course, I had experience fighting even more opponents than this. Moreover, since my opponents were not human, my mind was actually at ease.
I swiftly launched myself forward and landed quickly among them.
Thuk! Thuk!
Starting by stabbing the chests of the illusions on my left and right in succession, the battle began.
Without the slightest mercy, I stabbed their throats and stomachs, broke their arms, and smashed their heads. Since they were not human anyway, there was no need to feel any pangs of conscience.
I dodged attacks and also countered them. I executed a technique without using inner force, and then executed it with inner force infused into it. Since my opponents did not tire, I could test out various things.
Whenever they died, they burst with a pop, and every time I heard that sound, I felt refreshed.
Once I had defeated all thirty of the first group, a brief interval was given.
Just as I was about to quickly circulate my qi and regulate my breath, I recalled the words Father had left behind.
Do not rest.
‘Ah, so this was what he meant.’
His advice was that even though time was given to circulate qi in between, I should not replenish my inner energy but keep fighting. It was advice to make good use of the inner energy I had and fight as if it were a real battle.
After all, in an actual battle, I would not have the leisure to replenish my inner energy like this. This was an unparalleled opportunity to practice controlling my inner energy in real combat.
‘Still, Father, this is the Life-and-Death Illusory Formation, where life and death are on the line. And you tell me not to rest? Truly, that is advice worthy of you.’
In accordance with Father’s intention, I waited without recovering my inner energy.
After enough time had passed to circulate my true qi once, the next illusions appeared.
This time there were twenty of them. Their numbers had decreased, but they were far stronger than the previous group. Their movements were faster, and the martial arts they used were also of a higher level. On top of that, this time they used a variety of weapons—not only sabers and swords, but also arrows from a distance, and hidden weapons as well.
A dangerous battle in which a single misstep could cost me my life continued, but to be honest, I was exhilarated. It was because, for the first time since my regression, I was able to experience a battle that truly felt like real combat.
‘Too slow! Come faster!’
I stepped on their shoulders and crossed over them, and I also knocked dozens of incoming hidden weapons out of the air. I subdued an illusion and used it as a shield while fighting, and I even faced them with my eyes closed.
Even after the second battle ended, I did not circulate my qi. I fought with the resolve to use only half of my remaining inner energy, though I did not know how many stages there would be.
The third set of illusions appeared.
This time, there were ten.
I was certain they would be the last. Judging by the momentum of the illusions that had appeared this time, this was the limit of what challengers could endure.
Many challengers must have died here.
As expected, the enemies who appeared this time were incomparably stronger and faster than the two groups before them.
Conversely, I felt regret.
‘It’s already ending!’
I wanted to fight more.
I wove among the illusions, practicing evading their attacks.
And when I decided it was time to end it, I ended it spectacularly.
Since I was certain this was the final battle anyway, I poured out all my power.
My sword created dazzling sword lines. From my past experience, the Flying Heaven Sword Art was evaluated differently depending on the opponent. In the end, martial arts could only be seen to the extent one understood them, so the weaker the opponent, the harsher their assessment that it was merely a flashy sword art on the surface. But the stronger the expert, the more they realized, to their shock, that the seven sword forms composing that brilliance contained boundless variations and depth.
As the ultimate techniques of the Flying Heaven Sword Art unfolded one after another, the ten illusions were swept away in succession. They were the strongest illusions in the formation, yet they were extinguished the fastest and most spectacularly. The enemies bursting apart with pop, pop sounds looked almost like fireworks.
And so, as the final illusion disappeared, the Life-and-Death Illusory Formation broke.
Because my realm was too high, the desperate situation Father had wanted did not occur. But it was a battle that left me refreshed, and it felt as if the anger lodged in my chest had been blown open.
Yes, that alone was meaningful enough for me.
When the Life-and-Death Illusory Formation vanished, a door leading outside opened, and a stone monument stood beside it.
I. If you wish to leave, push this stone monument aside.
II. Congratulations on safely passing the trials. May you use your strength for the development and revival of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Thus, the trials of Socheondong came to an end.
Astonishingly, I had passed the trials of this Socheondong in a single day.
If this news spread, our cult would probably be thrown into an uproar. Father had taken two months, but I came out in a single day? Rather than praise, it would be filled with disbelief.
Gu Pyeongho, who had dueled me, would probably foam at the mouth and claim I must have used some trick to manipulate it. Father and the Eight Demon Venerables, too, would try by any means necessary to find out how I could have come out in just one day. There would be no end of troublesome matters.
In the end, I decided not to go out.
Yes, I would train.
I would train here. I had to preserve Father’s dignity too, so I would fill exactly one hundred days and then leave.
Fortunately, there was plenty of training to be done, and even more of those dreadful fasting pills piled up.
Let’s train! Chewing on loneliness, and chewing on fasting pills too.