Three days had passed.
Time flowed away helplessly like running water, but my current situation was no different from before.
'I never expected to end up staying like this.'
My current physical condition was the worst.
The energy that had entered back then had widened my blood vessels, but that was only a temporary measure; it couldn't perfectly heal this body now.
As a result, this damned body wouldn't even allow me to open my eyes, let alone move a single finger.
Of course, I could solve it if I wanted to.
But I deliberately didn't take any special measures.
'...Not yet.'
That was because waking up without knowing my current situation wouldn't gain me anything.
'Furthermore, having heard the words Huashan Sect, stepping out recklessly felt a bit wrong.'
Fortunately, my consciousness was clear, and the chattering sounds around me could be heard distinctly.
Thanks to that, I was able to acquire more information than expected and organize the situation.
'They all called me Tianhui.'
I was dumbfounded when I first heard it.
Who was I?
The Absolute Heavenly Demon, Dugu Guyeon.
Not only the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and Tianshan, but the absolute being who had spread his awe-inspiring reputation to every corner of the Nine Provinces and Eight Desolations (Jiuzhou Bahuang) was me.
'Yet, Tianhui?'
If they had called me that once or twice, I would have just laughed it off.
But I couldn't just laugh it off.
They called me Tianhui every single day.
At first, I was confused.
Why they called me Tianhui.
And why I was in this state.
The more I pondered over it, only one answer emerged.
That I was now Tianhui.
What else could I do when there was no other answer?
'I just have to accept it.'
Accepting it, I organized my thoughts.
If my guess was correct, through the Great Art, my soul had taken over the empty shell left behind after the soul of a child named Tianhui departed.
'Then did the Yongsheng Bumie Junlin Dafa fail...?'
Irritation flared up instantly.
It was a Great Art into which I had poured a full ten years and all my knowledge.
Yet, a failure?
'No, it couldn't have failed.'
I recalled the situation back then.
The Yongsheng Bumie Junlin Dafa had activated, and five radiant, dazzling colors that didn't seem of this world enveloped me.
The Great Art was perfect just as it was written, so why did it end up like this?
'Could it be!'
A bolt of lightning struck my mind.
That eternal life and immortality meant moving the soul to take over another person's body...
'Damn it! He should have written down properly what would happen afterwards.'
A curse naturally escaped my lips.
Was it a relief, at least?
I had no lingering attachments to the past.
Neither fame nor status.
That was because, if I had lingering attachments in the past, would I have stepped down from the position of Cult Lord and left the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult without a second thought?
That being said, I also had no interest in eternal life and immortality.
Where there is life, there is also death.
I intended to follow the natural order.
Not being able to witness all the martial arts in the world was a bit regrettable, though.
But!
This dog-like state I was currently in didn't sit well with me at all.
The Huashan Sect? The Huashan Sword Faction?
The Huashan Sect of the Nine Sects and One Faction, those bastards who had been pissing me off since the old days?
And on top of that, I'm a disciple there?
This was absolute bullshit.
But there was nothing I could do.
The situation had already come to this.
'I need to learn about this guy named Tianhui.'
Since that day, I had held my breath and listened closely to gather information.
Fortunately, most of the visitors were people related to Tianhui, so information overflowed.
Listening carefully to their conversations, I stacked up the information piece by piece, and thanks to that, I was able to roughly grasp what kind of child Tianhui was.
A young age, not even old enough to study.
The disciple of Xian Qiang, the youngest of the late Sage Pei.
A pure and kind child loved by everyone in the Huashan Sect.
These were all words describing Tianhui.
And now, words describing me.
Pfft—
Who was it that said, 'When things are too absurd, you laugh'?
That was exactly how I felt.
Pure, kind, and loved?
Those were words I had never heard in my entire life.
If someone in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had said that to me, my first reaction would have been suspicion.
Of course, no one would dare say such a thing.
'Because the Tianhui they speak of is not me.'
As I was finishing all my thoughts.
"……."
The voices that had been occasionally reaching me completely stopped.
Following that, the spreading silence eventually swallowed the medical hall completely, which I could feel.
'I've obtained enough information to gather, so shall I try moving now?'
Concentrating my mind, I observed my body.
As expected, the inside of my body was a mess.
It would take a long time for the blood vessels to become sturdy, and the Twelve Meridians through which Qi and blood circulated within the body were tightly blocked.
A state where it wouldn't be strange if I died at any moment.
Contrary to Tiangu's words three days ago that I just needed to rest, my body was precariously riding the boundary between life and death.
And that was natural.
No matter how much he had learned medicine, he couldn't grasp the detailed inner condition.
What he had grasped at that time was only the blood vessels widened by using the energy of the Zisodan.
Anyone other than him would have judged that Tianhui had stabilized.
'Of course, if he had known about this current physique, he would have at least noticed something was off... If he had known that, he wouldn't have left me like this until now.'
What I discovered while examining my body.
The reason I had collapsed wasn't because I was frail.
It was because of a bizarre Severed Meridian Syndrome.
'I didn't know it actually existed.'
It was back when I was deeply immersed in medicine.
I recalled a medical text covered in white dust from a corner of the Heavenly Demon Archive.
The Number One Medical Text Under Heaven (Tianxia Diyi Yishu).
The medical text with an absurd title from the start was the work of Shengshi Guaiyi, a quack doctor who used to practice bizarre medicine.
Unlike its title, 'The Number One Medical Text Under Heaven,' the book was not a proper medical text.
How to efficiently create Jiangshi.
If a rotten arm is transplanted, can one learn the Jiangshi martial art, Gulou Gong (Skeleton Art)?
It contained records of human experiments that a proper doctor would never conduct.
'Excluding the fact that it was supposed to be a medical text, it was quite an entertaining book.'
Still, I suppose a doctor is a doctor; it did have aspects worthy of a medical text.
It detailed the various Severed Meridians and physiques that existed in the world.
Perhaps it was through human experimentation.
Constitutions that were unheard of also existed.
Such as the Sanling Chunyin Zhitai (Three Spirits Pure Yin Physique), Wumo Zhitai (Five Demons Physique), Buhui Tiangang Tai (Indestructible Heavenly Dipper Physique), or Tiansha Guangyin Mai (Heavenly Slaughter Light Yin Meridian).
At the time, I thought the contents were absurd, but now I could believe them.
No, I had no choice but to believe them.
Because this body was one of those detailed Severed Meridians.
Yinyang Tailing Juemai (Yin-Yang Great Spirit Severed Meridian).
It was a constitution born with the Yin Qi of a hundred people and the Yang Qi of a hundred people at once.
The young Taoist who was the original owner of this body probably had a hard time enduring those energies.
Then, eventually unable to withstand it, he would have fallen ill and died.
'And my soul must have taken over that empty shell that lost its soul.'
I could guess what had happened.
'Thinking about it any further will only complicate things. Let's just fix the Severed Meridians for now.'
If Shengshi Guaiyi were here right now, I figured he would snort in derision.
—The Yinyang Tailing Juemai is a more cursed Severed Meridian than any other. How could a single human endure and process the Yin and Yang Qi of a hundred people?
Even that guy who conducted all sorts of outlandish human experiments said there was no method for the Yinyang Tailing Juemai.
And yet, fixing the constitution?
It would be a matter of Shengshi Guaiyi sneering at such nonsensical talk.
'That's what you think.'
But instead, I was the one snorting.
'Of course, ordinary people like you would have failed, but if it's me, it's possible.'
I slowly scanned the energy within my body.
Fortunately, the energy was sufficient.
The energy of the Zisodan sleeping in the blood vessels, unabsorbed.
Then...
Thump—
Blood circulated rapidly throughout my body.
Along with it, my spirit soared, and then—
Hwaaak!
A massive internal energy surged.
It was truly terrifying.
Tianhui was a Taoist who hadn't learned any martial arts.
Yet, such massive internal energy?
'As expected, it manifests even without inner qi.'
It was the effect of Juedai Junlin Gong (Peerless Dominion Art).
Ordinary mental arts manifested by accumulating inner qi in the lower dantian, but Juedai Junlin Gong was on a completely different track.
Generally, mental arts were a system of accumulating inner qi in the lower dantian and manipulating it.
Therefore, it was natural for one's martial prowess and power to be dictated by the amount of inner qi accumulated.
But Juedai Junlin Gong shattered that framework.
The soul.
The soul was the vessel of Juedai Junlin Gong.
That was why it could be awakened.
It might not look much different from other mental arts on the surface, but that one factor alone set it apart and elevated its class.
Coupled with my outstanding talent, Juedai Junlin Gong transformed into a peerless mental art that soared far beyond all the martial arts known in the world.
'Since the vessel isn't placed in the lower dantian, I can control all three dantians.'
Grrrk—
The Baihui acupoint opened.
Through that opening, an indescribable energy rushed in like a tide, and began to strike the energies of the Zisodan that had been lying dead asleep in the blood vessels.
Boom! Boom!
The Eight Extraordinary Meridians opened up.
The Yin Qi and Yang Qi of about a hundred people circulated through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and flowed through the Twelve Meridians.
From the Dumai (Governing Vessel) and Renmai (Conception Vessel) to the Chongmai (Penetrating Vessel), Daimai (Belt Vessel), Yangqiao Mai (Yang Heel Vessel), Yinqiao Mai (Yin Heel Vessel), Yangwei Mai (Yang Linking Vessel), and Yinwei Mai (Yin Linking Vessel).
All the circulation was natural.
Finally, when the energies began to sweep through all the Twelve Meridians, it was over.
* * *
Flutter—
Eyes that felt as heavy as a thousand pounds opened.
With a refreshed mind as if waking from a long sleep, I moved my neck.
Pop— Pop—
My neck was still stiff to move, but compared to earlier, it was pure bliss.
Like that, I got up from the bed.
"……."
I felt the change instantly.
A noticeably lowered eye level.
And petite hands and feet.
It was obvious that I had become younger.
"They said fourteen, but it's much smaller than I thought."
I touched my neck at the thin voice that suddenly came out.
Then I scratched the back of my head.
Would just standing still and worrying aimlessly solve anything?
Moving was the priority for now.
"Shall I check it out myself first?"
I raised my head and stared out the window.
The morning sun rising in the distance was driving away the deep darkness as if seizing the moment.
Thud— Thud—
I slowly took a step forward.
Walking along the dark interior for about an incense stick's time, I saw a closed door.
The moment I opened the door without delay.
Hwaaak!
Pure white light invaded my eyes.
"Ugh!"
I raised my hand against the intense light.
Perhaps because I hadn't seen light for a long time.
My eyes stung when I faced the light.
After blinking my eyes a few times.
Swish—
I slowly removed my hand.
Beautiful colors began to dye the pure white light, and a breathtaking scenery unfolded.
Plum blossom petals fluttering in the wind.
Treacherous peaks that looked as if cut by a sword.
I was mesmerized for a moment.
It was a beautiful scenery completely different from the barren landscape I had seen in the Tianshan Mountain Range.
—Haah!
Instantly, at the sound of a powerful shout coming from below, I pulled my chin back and looked down.
There was a massive training ground there.
And on that training ground, Taoists wearing doboks embroidered with plum blossom patterns were vigorously swinging their swords.
"Damn it!"
Looking down at the Taoists with entirely displeased eyes, I vigorously scratched my head.
"It really is Huashan."
The Grandmaster of the Demonic Path, Juedai Tianma.
The man who had made the Nine Provinces and Eight Desolations tremble had awakened as a disciple of the righteous faction, and of all places, the Huashan Sect, one of the pillars of the Nine Sects and One Faction.