EP.15 Nightmare (2)
Do you know why demonic arts are feared?
It is because they can mix with any mental cultivation method.
This holds true even when compared to the Nine Flames Wheel Art that I have learned.
The inner qi of the Nine Flames Wheel Art is a violent mental cultivation method that rampages throughout the entire body.
By wrapping qi around the body, one gains explosive physical abilities and destructive power, but a human body is ultimately consumable.
In the end, it is a martial art that brings forward the time when the body breaks down and causes it to explode.
Of course, as one's understanding of martial arts deepens and proficiency increases, it can undergo changes, but at the very least, it remains a violent and destructive martial art.
If one were to learn Wudang's Taiji or Huashan's Plum Blossom Mind Method alongside this, the Nine Flames Wheel Art and the orthodox mind method would clash, destroying the meridians.
This would ultimately lead to qi deviation.
To put it extremely, it means becoming half-crippled.
But demonic arts have no such thing.
This is the reason why, after the Demonic Cult appeared in the Central Plains, traitors sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain, regardless of whether they were from orthodox or unorthodox sects.
Wudang's Righteous Heaven Art gains sharpness added to its calm, flowing inner qi.
Huashan's Plum Blossom turns black but burns even more brilliantly.
Shaolin's One Step Divine Fist gains destructive power alongside its solidity and greatness.
The shortcomings of martial arts that one had no choice but to give up on, demonic arts can fill too easily.
This was all the power of the Heavenly Demon. Demonic arts need not be learned nor trained.
It is something naturally gained upon becoming a member of the Demonic Cult.
This was both a blessing and a curse bestowed by the Heavenly Demon.
"Shit... What the hell is going on?"
The demonic art I received from the Heavenly Demon was only one. It was the Demonic Source Absorption Art (魔導泉吸功).
A demonic art obtained through my ugly desire to solely become stronger.
A demonic art that absorbs demonic stones as inner qi, like a spiritual beast's inner core or a spirit pill.
This demonic art was the reason I could survive among the strong despite having less than mediocre talent.
However, that was strictly a story from my past life.
In this life, I hadn't even gone near the 'Ma' character of the Demonic Cult, and now was a time before the Heavenly Demon, let alone demonic humans, had appeared in the Central Plains.
'Then what is this situation...'
When I applied a slight force to the demonic stone that had turned transparent, it crumbled easily.
It was a characteristic of a demonic stone that had all its power drained by the Demonic Source Absorption Art. Even the inner qi accumulated inside was the same.
It was a very small amount, but it had clearly increased slightly.
One might say that regardless of any connection to the Demonic Cult, increasing inner qi is a good thing.
But the reason demonic humans are called demonic humans (魔人) is not because they learn demonic arts.
It is because they possess demonic qi (魔氣).
This was also the reason why the qi of orthodox martial arts, whether Wudang's Taiji or Huashan's Plum Blossom, turns black.
The problem was the effect that demonic qi had on the body.
Because I knew better than anyone how a human consumed by demonic qi ends up.
"But how on earth..."
The energy contained within the demonic stone was demonic qi. The Demonic Source Absorption Art absorbs that and brings it into the body.
This meant that demonic qi was now circulating inside my body.
I immediately circulated the Nine Flames Wheel Art to check my inner qi. I hastily checked every nook and cranny to find the demonic qi.
"...Why is it not there?"
Surprisingly, I couldn't feel any demonic qi.
Demonic qi that has settled in the body is bound to be noticeable.
I couldn't miss such an alien energy.
Yet I couldn't feel the demonic qi that should have been absorbed from the demonic stone. Even when I checked again, I couldn't feel demonic qi in my body.
'Is it because the demonic qi is too thin?'
At best, it was a green demonic stone, an amount that, if converted to inner qi, wouldn't even amount to half a year's worth, let alone half a gapja.
As I stood there with a blank expression, Muyeon approached urgently.
"Young Master, is your body alright? Are you hurt anywhere!?"
"I'm fine, I'm not hurt at all."
"I told you to stay in the carriage, so why did you rush out like that? What would you have done if you got hurt?"
"Sorry, I'll be careful next time."
It was an action that must have been very troublesome for Muyeon, who was my guard. Since I had been half-forcing it, I offered an apology.
I approached the other dead Green Antler Hound. With its antlers neatly cut off, it was the one Muyeon had dealt with first.
"Young Master?"
Once again, I wrapped the Nine Flames Wheel Art around my arm like before, pierced the creature's body, and extracted the demonic stone.
'Even if it's fucked up, I need to check.'
I wanted to pass it off as good luck or saying there was no demonic qi in the stone.
But demonic qi, once contained in the body, no matter how small the amount, will eventually slowly consume the body.
If demonic qi had already entered the body, it meant it was too late.
A tingling sensation was felt in my hand.
It was the same sensation as before. The green demonic stone I was holding faded in color and eventually became transparent. The amount of inner qi that filled my body was also the same as before.
Up to this point, it was fine. Up to this point, it was good, but.
This time, unlike before, I felt a sense of alienness. An energy I never wanted to feel again was there.
"Fucked..."
This was definitely demonic qi. There was no mistaking it. The very small demonic qi gradually swelled and moved to swallow the inner qi in my body.
But an anomaly occurred to the demonic qi that was swallowing the inner qi as if starved.
- Whoosh.
The Nine Flames Wheel Art held in my dantian had instead swallowed the demonic qi.
"What is this...?"
This was the part where I could understand why the demonic qi from the first demonic stone I ate wasn't felt.
'Did it purify the demonic qi?'
Is it correct to use the expression purification?
What I felt was the sensation of the Nine Flames Wheel Art voraciously swallowing the demonic qi.
It was definitely something that didn't exist in my past life.
If demonic qi swallowed things, it swallowed them; I had never seen the reverse happening.
Even the mind arts of the Daoist sects and Shaolin were often crushed and devoured by demonic qi, so why?
"I don't understand what's going on at all."
I don't know why things keep happening differently from what I expected. Is it because it was twisted from the very beginning?
For now, the fact that there's no demonic qi in my body should be a good thing.
Perhaps I might be able to purely take only the inner qi while purifying the demonic qi from the demonic stone.
The problem is.
'Why I can still use the Heavenly Demon's demonic art.'
That's the most incomprehensible thing.
If it was bound to me even beyond death, this was definitely a curse.
I couldn't get entangled again in such a bullshit situation when I had barely escaped.
'...For now, let's be satisfied that there's no demonic qi in my body.'
I'll figure out the important things later. First, I needed to sort out the situation.
"Young Master...!"
Wi Seol-a opened the carriage door wide and immediately ran out to grab my hand.
"What do I do... It's a mess..."
The hands that Wi Seol-a had carefully wrapped yesterday had all come undone and were ruined due to the intense movement.
"Young Master, are you okay...? Are you hurt anywhere...?"
"As you can see."
"Then that means you're hurt really badly!"
"...No, it means I'm perfectly fine. Where exactly do I look injured?"
"Your face...!"
"What the hell?"
Is she dissing me right now? Is she mocking me just because she's pretty?
Wi Seol-a carefully touched my cheek.
"Young Master, you look really tired, just like our grandfather."
"Do I look that old?"
"Young Master looks scary, but you don't have an old face!"
"Tell me honestly... You're just dissing me, right?"
The attendant who came out of the carriage late saw me and Wi Seol-a and was so startled that he pulled Wi Seol-a away.
"Seol-a! You can't touch the Young Master's face so carelessly!"
Wi Seol-a fell away with a 'Eek' sound.
When she pulls away so startled like that, it hurts my feelings a little too.
"Young Master."
Wi Seol-a was dragged away by another attendant, and not long after, Muyeon called me.
Looking behind, the corpses of the Green Antler Hounds were piled up.
The skin and bones of demonic beasts were worth some money, so after closing the Demonic Realm Gate like this, it was better to take the corpses if possible.
"The Gu Family's Sword Squad has arrived, they say."
"What? They've already arrived?"
Not even an hour had passed since the incident occurred. No matter how fast they were, could they have arrived already?
When I checked the new presence, they were familiar faces. They were none other than the Sword Squad members who had appeared at the Nine Dragons Assembly.
"I am Hyeok Juyeom, Vice Commander of the Four Swords Squad. I greet Young Master Gu."
He was the man who had participated in the Nine Dragons Assembly as the proxy for the Commander of the Four Swords Squad.
"Elder Yi sent us. We rushed here urgently but were late... I apologize. It is my negligence."
"Elder Yi?"
An unexpected person popped up. I thought I heard he had departed early, so what was this about?
When I expressed my doubt, Hyeok Juyeom was rather flustered.
"Did you not hear? Elder Yi clearly said he would depart together with the Young Master..."
"What do you mean? Elder Yi didn't come with me...?"
What did that old man do for the situation to turn out like this again?
'Did he secretly follow me? Why on earth?'
No, if he was going to do that, he could have at least helped when the Demonic Realm Gate opened, why did he have to use such a troublesome method?
A Sword Squad member approached from afar.
"Vice Commander, the Green Antler Hounds are all in clean condition. There seems to be nothing to throw away, what should we do?"
"All eleven are clean?"
"Ah, two had their sides pierced, but it doesn't seem like severe damage."
...That was probably referring to what I did, so I kept my mouth shut.
"We can't take everything, so debone them and take only the skin and bones."
"Understood."
"And the remaining..."
Hyeok Juyeom started to speak and then stopped. It was because he made eye contact with Muyeon who was behind me.
Muyeon slightly bowed his head and offered his respects to Hyeok Juyeom. Hyeok Juyeom let out a short sigh and continued speaking.
"You said you were going to rest, so I thought you'd be holed up at home sleeping, but you're doing sword work after all?"
Did they know each other?
Muyeon didn't answer Hyeok Juyeom's words. Hyeok Juyeom didn't seem to particularly care either.
"Do it in moderation and come back. The Commander also said it wasn't your fault."
"...Yes."
Hyeok Juyeom, having said only what he needed to say, looked at me again and spoke.
"We will handle the remaining matters from here. Young Master, please also get some rest."
After Hyeok Juyeom left, I looked at Muyeon. Since Muyeon had a troubled expression, I just ignored him and returned to the carriage.
I was a bit curious, but I thought if it was something to say, he would say it on his own.
As soon as I entered the carriage, Wi Seol-a tried to rush at me again holding medicine, so I ordered the attendant to hold her firmly and leaned back in my chair.
It felt like even bigger problems had intruded into my already complex and difficult thoughts.
"It's fucking hard to try to live properly even once."
Perhaps because of the nightmare I had earlier, it seemed like I'd lose sleep for a few days.
******************
Gu Yangcheon's quarters.
Inside the quarters were the Sword Venerable and Elder Yi. The Sword Venerable held the now-familiar broom in his hand.
Slowly sweeping the courtyard, the Sword Venerable spoke to Elder Yi.
"Thank you, Gu Ryun."
"Ahem..."
At the Sword Venerable's words, Elder Yi let out a dry cough. He had a very sheepish face.
"I didn't really do anything."
"Regardless, didn't you move for our child?"
Usually, once one reaches the Elder level, they don't move in the family. Let alone that there was no need for an Elder to personally handle something like the Nine Dragons Assembly.
The reason Elder Yi moved was because the Sword Venerable had asked him to.
"I just went for a walk while coincidentally checking on our children."
Elder Yi answered with a sheepish expression.
The Sword Venerable's granddaughter, Wi Seol-a.
The reason Elder Yi had gone out of his way to attend the Nine Dragons Assembly was because of Wi Seol-a.
Since he was curious about the Sword Venerable's granddaughter anyway, there was also a part of him that had half-voluntarily stepped forward to see her once.
"I'm also grateful to you, senior, so this much is fine."
That the Sword Venerable was currently in the Gu Family was surprising enough in itself.
But when the Family Head and the Sword Venerable first asked for Wi Seol-a's safety.
Elder Yi had said it would be fine if the Sword Venerable went himself or simply didn't send her to the Nine Dragons Assembly.
Yet the reason he immediately changed his mind was because of the Sword Venerable's expression at that time.
His endlessly exhausted expression, as if burdened by something heavy, was a face that couldn't be seen even in the era when the Sword Venerable roamed the Central Plains bearing the honor of the orthodox sects.
'Even the Sword Venerable under heaven falls into a heart demon.'
Because he had been active in the same era as the Sword Venerable, it was truly regrettable that he had come to this.
'But it wasn't just an annoying matter.'
Elder Yi recalled Gu Yangcheon with the Sword Venerable behind him.
Speaking of Gu Yangcheon, he was the Family Head's sore thumb and a pitiful child in many ways.
He had inherited the Gu Family name, but with a lazy and indolent nature, he would often run away whenever he saw him, and his martial talent was also considerably lacking in Elder Yi's eyes.
A boy he would have given up on long ago if he weren't the only male heir of the Gu Family.
It was around the time when he thought he should slowly let go of even that.
But when he saw Gu Yangcheon again, something had changed.
That the Nine Flames Wheel Art had reached the Second Star wasn't particularly unusual.
Right there, even Gu Yeonseo was at the Third Star.
'But the density contained in the mental cultivation method was different.'
Gu Yeonseo's mental cultivation contained within her body was still jumbled.
The Nine Flames Wheel Art must endlessly rotate within the body even without being wrapped around the flesh.
Gu Yeonseo's rotation was clumsy. The speed wasn't constant, sometimes rough and sometimes weak.
Let alone in an immature state, she was bound to be swayed by her emotions as well.
This wasn't to say Gu Yeonseo was lacking. She was clearly at an outstanding level compared to her peers.
The problem was her point of comparison, Gu Yangcheon.
The energy contained within his body was extremely shallow.
But the level at which he handled that shallow energy was distinctly different from Gu Yeonseo.
How surprised was he inwardly when they met at the Nine Dragons Assembly after a long time?
The ring of the Nine Flames Wheel Art held in Gu Yangcheon's dantian always maintained a constant speed.
Even when Gu Yangcheon became enraged by his remarks that crossed the line during the sparring at the Nine Dragons Hall, the ring inside his body still maintained a constant speed and shape.
This meant he possessed distinct understanding and proficiency.
It was a realization that not only he, an Elder, but even the Family Head could only attain after passing the age of thirty.
Afterward, Elder Yi gained certainty during the sparring between Gu Yangcheon and Gu Yeonseo.
'That child is hiding himself.'
He didn't know the reason, but Elder Yi was certain.
As Elder Yi was organizing his thoughts, the Sword Venerable spoke.
"But Gu Ryun, you."
"Hmm?"
"I heard you half-killed the Peng Family child and made yours into a spectacle, is that alright?"
"It seems the rumors have been greatly distorted. I didn't half-kill him."
"...So the latter part is true. Will you be okay?"
"What do you mean, senior?"
"It seemed like the Family Head keeps looking for you."
"...."
Elder Yi quickly fled the scene.
He planned to avoid the Family Head for the next few days.