Rebirth of the Thunder God

'This isn't an acupoint.'

"Why do you look like you've eaten shit?"

"What do you mean, I look like I've eaten shit? Are you saying that because you've eaten shit?"

"It's just an expression. I'm asking why you're so stiff. Don't tell me the great Hidden Dragon can't release a mere acupoint cast by the Demonic Fist..."

"Tsk, tsk. Even if you provoke me like that. It won't make the impossible possible, nor will it make the possible impossible."

"...So you're saying it's difficult?"

There was no way an acupoint cast by a Transformation master could be easily released.

On top of that, the acupoint method was different for each sect.

The Diancang Sect, which was rumored to have the most vicious acupoint method in the orthodox faction, had a different trajectory from that of the Taoist sects, and there were often cases where one would become disabled if they tried to release it incorrectly.

That was how different the method of releasing it was for each sect, and one could suffer a great internal injury if they rashly tried to do it.

Moreover, if it was an acupoint cast by the Blood Cult, which was neither a Taoist nor a Buddhist sect, it would be even more so.

"It's difficult, but not impossible."

Although the Demonic Fist had reached the realm of the Extreme Demonic, which was called the Transformation, the same was true for Namgung Hui.

In fact, Namgung Hui's insight had already reached the Transformation a long time ago.

And the realm of his lacking vessel had recently matured perfectly through the Lesser Rebirth Pill.

Now, it was no exaggeration to say that he was a complete Transformation, and his insight from his past life had already far surpassed even that.

'So. Unless it's a simple martial arts confrontation, there's no reason for me to be pushed back by force. Shall I see what method he used to seal his internal energy?'

Namgung Hui closed his eyes and sent a handful of true ki into Cheon Museong's body.

The nature of the true ki he had injected to boost his energy before was different.

It was like a hunting dog used by a hunter?

Just as a hunting dog finds its prey with its sensitive sense of smell, he searched for the point where the internal energy was sealed with the keen sense of thunder ki.

'There's something in his dantian. It's not the energy of a spirit medicine... a bug?'

A creature presumed to be a bug was coiled in his dantian, completely blocking his internal energy.

Suddenly, at the sight of such a bug, he remembered the restriction that Cheon Museong had suffered.

'Gudok is also a restriction using a bug. If so, does that mean it was a technique originally used by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?'

Namgung Hui pondered.

Whether it was okay to burn and kill the bug as it was.

If it was a sensitive guy like a gudok, his dantian might explode the moment he touched it.

Normally, he wouldn't take the risk, but since he had been listening to Cheon Museong's story for quite a long time, he didn't have much time left.

'There's no choice. Even if it's somewhat dangerous, I have to take the risk.'

As they say, you have to strike while the iron is hot.

Namgung Hui, who had made his decision, began to condense the thunder ki in his body.

It was not a compression work that simply increased the destructive power.

Although the power was somewhat weak, he compressed the thunder ki as small as possible.

-Chijijijik!

The compressed thunder ki, smaller than a millet grain, rode Cheon Museong's blood vessels and headed for his dantian.

Since it was such a small compressed energy, the bug in his dantian did not perceive it.

Such a bug continued to block the dantian and did not give way.

As if it would not let any internal energy escape from here.

It was greedily devouring the energy in the dantian as if it were eating internal energy.

Namgung Hui, as if he didn't want to see such a grotesque sight, shot out the compressed energy in one go.

-Hwaaaak!

In a fleeting moment, the bug was burned to a crisp by the condensed thunder ki and disappeared.

As the bug that had been blocking the dantian disappeared, internal energy began to flow through Cheon Museong's body.

"Oh! As expected of the Hidden Dragon. You did it."

"Hoo... You'd be surprised if you knew what was in your stomach."

"There's a beggar in my stomach. You're not going to say something like that, are you? The reason I could put the scroll in my stomach is because I have a special talent."

"That's not what I mean. Just as there was a gudok in your head, there was a bug in your stomach that was eating your internal energy. That guy was blocking your dantian and not letting out a single handful of internal energy."

"...! No. Is there someone in the Blood Cult who has such a talent? Is it the Demonic Physician by any chance?"

"It would probably be possible if it were the Demonic Physician. Since he's an old monster over a hundred years old. Perhaps the gudok restriction method that the Hoicheon Association used on you also came from the Demonic Physician."

Cheon Museong slowly nodded as if he had realized something.

"Yes. If you trace back the roots of the Demonic Heaven, there's no law that says they didn't learn medical or sorcery from the Demonic Physician. Since most of them were from the elder faction, they would have been close to the Demonic Physician, who was also an elder."

"Anyway. If the Demonic Fist finds out you've regained your internal energy, there won't be a next time. She might destroy your dantian or even kill you."

"I'll take care of that. It's not that I don't have a way. From here on, leave it to me."

"Since there's nothing I can do for you anyway, and you're asking me to leave it to you, I will, but what on earth are you going to do alone?"

As long as he was held captive.

He had to attempt to escape on his own, but frankly, it was not easy for a single Transcendent master to shake off the masters of the Blood Cult.

Although a Transcendent master was not a weak person, the level of the Blood Cult was that high.

To be precise, the masters residing in the clan village.

"There's something like that. You might get hurt if you know. Anyway. Since we've exchanged everything we need to, you should go back now. Don't get caught and end up in a worse state than me. I won't help you even if you're caught."

"It's not 'won't,' it's 'can't,' right? Alright. I'll go back now, since the guards are about to wake up."

"Ah. And there's something I've hidden under my guest room bed. It's a kind of sleeping pill, so use it when you need it later."

"Alright. I'll use the gift gratefully. Then I wish you good luck."

Namgung Hui put on his mask again and performed the shadow-diving technique.

A concealment technique that improved day by day.

Even though Cheon Museong had his eyes open, it seemed as if Namgung Hui had disappeared from that spot.

'To think he can deceive even me, a Transcendent. It's a great concealment technique. And that looks like the martial arts of the Blood Cult... He has no prejudice against demonic arts. He's a very scary guy.'

And so, a resolute light appeared on Cheon Museong's face as he looked at Namgung Hui.

* * *

Namgung Hui, who had returned to his guest room, immediately checked if the guards had woken up from their sleep.

Fortunately, their breathing was as steady as a sleeping baby's.

It was a natural result, as Namgung Hui had thoroughly adjusted his ki to match the time they would wake up.

'While I'm at it, I'll go find the sleeping pills in Cheon Museong's guest room.'

Namgung Hui took out the sleeping pills from under Cheon Museong's bed and also put the book he had glimpsed into his robes.

Since that guy would not be coming back here anyway, it would be better to keep it than to let it fall into the hands of the Blood Cult.

As Namgung Hui returned to his guest room, the guards also began to wake up.

They, realizing that they had fallen asleep for a moment, finally had their breathing slightly disturbed.

'Even so. They can't question me. Since I came as a guest of the Great Elder. And my appearance now is that of a person who has fallen asleep. Itself.'

Namgung Hui enjoyed the gazes of the guards and really went to sleep as it was.

For some reason, it was a night that felt sweet, as if he had eaten a sweet candy in his dream.

The next day. Morning.

As soon as the day broke, the Second Elder, Ma Jincheol, knocked on Namgung Hui's door.

"Hey. Manager I. Are you up? The Great Elder is looking for you."

"Yes. I'm up. I'll be right out."

Namgung Hui, as if he had expected Ma Jincheol's visit, had already tidied his clothes and was ready to go out.

"As expected, just as the early bird catches the worm. If you're a manager, your actions are truly swift. Now. Let's go right away. The Great Elder is waiting for you."

"Yes. Let's go."

Namgung Hui followed Ma Jincheol and thought about the Great Elder.

His true name, no, rather than a name, the title that referred to him.

'Perhaps the Great Elder is also a demonic head who has been granted the title of Demonic.'

It was a ki that was not greatly inferior even when compared to the Vice Cult Leader, the Demonic Fist.

Of course, due to the nature of the Blood Cult's martial arts, you had to fight in a real battle to know who was stronger, but there was no way a person who had not been granted the title of Demonic could emit such a strong ki.

If the Great Elder, who felt ominous for some reason, had not been granted the title of Demonic, it would rather feel strange.

"Now. I hope you will be as polite as yesterday."

"Of course."

"Then I'll open the door."

Deureureuk.

The door opened, and the thick stench he had smelled before wafted out again.

It was not a quality that one would get used to, as Ma Jincheol had said.

'This is the real smell of a rotting corpse. Is the Great Elder's sense of smell paralyzed? How can he live in such a smell?'

Admiring the fact that he could endure such a stench more than the Great Elder's outstanding ki, he greeted him.

"Greetings to the Great Elder. I hope you had a peaceful night."

"Thanks to you, I couldn't sleep. Because you made a very unexpected proposal. Hahaha!"

Perhaps because of the contents of the letter Namgung Hui had handed him, the Great Elder smiled with satisfaction.

In fact, the deal Namgung Hui had proposed was not his own.

It was just a content that the Young Guild Leader of the Pungun Merchant Guild, Gang Yuseong, had asked Namgung Hui to deliver.

Gang Yuseong had used the fact that the Blood Cult was threatening him to rather try to get something out of the Blood Cult.

'It must have been possible because he had heard from Cheongi-ja where the Blood Cult was located. He knew well what was abundant in the Hundred Thousand Mountains and what they needed most.'

Clothes, grains, and alcohol that could be easily obtained in the Central Plains.

He would provide clothes and food, which were indispensable among the three necessities of life.

In fact, the items that the Blood Cult had threatened to provide were those, but Gang Yuseong had proposed more items and quantities than they had requested.

The reason the Great Elder was smiling so contentedly was probably because it was beyond his expectations.

Even alcohol was not on that list, and silk, along with the salt needed for cooking, might be a more precious resource to the Blood Cult than gold.

If so, what did Gang Yuseong demand from the Blood Cult while taking such a loss?

'It was the condition to hand over the herbs and spirit herbs that grow naturally in the Hundred Thousand Mountains at half price. If it's half the market price based on Guangdong Province, it's only a quarter of the Central Plains standard.'

And that was not based on the general selling price, but by cutting it from the purchase price.

If he sold the herbs purchased at a quarter of the purchase price at the selling price of the Central Plains, he could sell them at a markup of at least ten times, and at most, dozens of times.

If the profit margin was that good, the food and cloth provided to the Blood Cult would really be nothing.

Not only that, but Gang Yuseong had also said that he would purchase all the leather produced in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

For the Blood Cult members, leather was just a material for making clothes, but in the Central Plains, it had a value beyond that of cloth.

This was a bit new to Namgung Hui.

Because in his past life, leather was not that expensive.

'It has become no different from a luxury item. In a way, it might be an incident that occurred because the number of animals that were common in the past life decreased due to the Righteous-Demonic War.'

Namgung Hui felt a little sorry, as if he and Beak Seolhwa had a share in it.

Besides that, there were also trivial things like mining rights for mines, but.

Since the Great Elder said he liked the conditions, he just let it go.

But as soon as Namgung Hui had that thought, the Great Elder wiped the smile from his face, exuded a killing intent, and opened his mouth.

"Child of the Pungun Merchant Guild. But why are you on the side of the military strategist Bukgung? If you don't tell me the truth, I will not forgive you in the name of this Demonic Poison (毒魔).”

(End of Chapter)