The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

Sshk-.

A regular sound was heard at regular intervals in the room.

It was the sound created by Cheon Myeong grinding the medicinal herbs in the mortar.

Sshk-.

Cheon Myeong's hand movements as he ground the medicinal herbs were extremely careful.

And for good reason, in the process of manufacturing an elixir, there should be no mistakes in each and every task.

The proper distribution of ingredients, the order of insertion, the number of times the pestle is moved, and even the force.

If all those processes were not carried out accurately, a proper elixir could not be made.

"..."

That's why the manufacturing of elixirs was difficult.

The manufacturing method could also be obtained after numerous trial and error, and the ingredients were also not easy to obtain.

But since Cheon Myeong already knew the manufacturing method accurately through the Medical Supplement Manual, all that was left was to carefully make the elixir according to it.

Drip-.

The work had already been going on for more than three hours.

Since Mihwa had obtained all the ingredients around evening, it had already become deep night outside, starting from that time.

Since he had not rested at all during that time and had maintained a tremendous concentration, the consumption of mental energy would be considerable.

Although he looked quite tired, since even a brief stop might affect the result, Cheon Myeong was proceeding with the work without rest.

"..."

How much more time had passed like that?

Cheon Myeong drew a curve on his lips and lifted a pill.

"It's done!"

A blue pill in Cheon Myeong's hand.

It was an elixir made based on the inner core of a bird of prey.

Swish-.

Cheon Myeong shouted and looked at the door without a word.

He was so happy about the completion of the elixir that he had unknowingly raised his voice.

Since it was a deep night now, he wondered if Mihwa and Soyeon Sang, who were sleeping, had woken up.

Cheon Myeong was watching the door with such worries, but fortunately, he did not feel any presence.

'It seems they didn't wake up.'

Slightly relieved, Cheon Myeong looked at the elixir again.

The elixir Cheon Myeong had made was called Azure Heaven Pill.

The main ingredient of Azure Heaven Pill was the inner core of a bird-type spiritual beast.

If Cheon Myeong had known exactly what kind of spiritual beast the bird of prey he had seen was, he could have made it into another elixir.

But since he didn't know the identity of the bird of prey, he had eventually chosen the Azure Heaven Pill, which had a wide range of applicability.

'At least, it looks fine on the outside.'

For something he had made for the first time, it looked like a pretty plausible elixir.

No, of course it should look like an elixir, and its effect should be the same.

If only the outside was fine and there was no effect at all, it would be nothing more than a good-looking but useless thing.

At least, since the appearance seemed to be the same as what was written in the Medical Supplement Manual, it seemed that he had passed the first gate.

'Good, then let's start right away.'

Cheon Myeong roughly moved the scattered tools and ingredients to one place and sat down there.

From now on, he would take the Azure Heaven Pill he had made.

Although it would take some time, he would be able to make it all his own before the sun rose.

Originally, it was common to have a guard at a time like this, but in the current situation, since there would be no one to bother him, it would be fine to proceed as it was.

Whoosh-.

As soon as he decided, Cheon Myeong immediately put the Azure Heaven Pill he was holding into his mouth.

The Azure Heaven Pill, whose shape disappeared the moment it entered his mouth.

And a considerable amount of ki began to be felt in Cheon Myeong's dantian.

'It's a success!'

Seeing this much ki being felt in his dantian, it seemed that the manufacturing of the elixir was successful.

But the joy was only for a moment.

Cheon Myeong immediately took a posture to handle the ki overflowing from his dantian.

"..."

The ki of an elixir is the same as circulating energy normally.

No matter how much ki there was in his dantian now, it was in an ambiguous state to be called Cheon Myeong's.

Depending on what he did from now on, it would be decided whether he could accept all the ki of the Azure Heaven Pill as his own internal energy, or whether he could not even accept half of it.

Woong-.

Of course, Cheon Myeong had no intention of missing even a little bit of the Azure Heaven Pill's ki.

For that, he would have to fully accept the ki that was rampaging disorderly in his dantian into his own dantian.

Cheon Myeong immediately began that work, reciting the incantation of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

"..."

The work of accepting all the ki of the Azure Heaven Pill continued for quite a long time.

But even so, the ki was still overflowing from his dantian.

Perhaps because it was a Azure Heaven Pill that had used the two inner cores obtained from the birds of prey as ingredients at the same time, its effect was better than he had thought.

'Maybe that's also possible.'

As he converted the ki of the Azure Heaven Pill into internal energy, Cheon Myeong had a thought.

That was the opening of the Life and Death Gate.

In other words, the opening of the Ren and Du meridians.

'If I can open those two meridians, I can achieve tremendous growth as a martial artist.'

But it was not that easy to put it into practice.

So why else would they call it the Life and Death Gate?

If it was possible to open it, it would be possible to accumulate internal energy at a speed several times faster than now.

But if it ended in failure, Cheon Myeong's body would return to its former state.

In other words, it meant that he could fall into Qi Deviation again.

If he couldn't open the blocked acupoints at once, his internal energy would flow backwards, and this time he might die.

"..."

When he was Jangcheon in the past, Cheon Myeong had also opened the Ren and Du meridians.

But at that time, it could be said that he was really lucky.

It was fortunate that he had succeeded, but if it had ended in failure, the current Cheon Myeong would not be here either.

'The opening of the Ren and Du meridians can be called a fortunate encounter, but at this point when I have taken an elixir, I must create a fortunate encounter myself.'

If he used the power of the Azure Heaven Pill, it seemed that it would be sufficiently possible to open it.

Of course, he couldn't be sure about that either.

But since the reward for success was so great, Cheon Myeong thought it would be good to take a gamble.

'Good, let's do it!'

In order to become strong in a short period of time, it can never be achieved by ordinary methods.

The opening of the Ren and Du meridians would be a great help to Cheon Myeong in the future.

There was no need to think deeply.

Cheon Myeong immediately began preparations for the opening of the Ren and Du meridians.

Woong-!

Cheon Myeong's internal energy moved violently.

The internal energy followed the acupoints and arrived near the target.

'I have to gather as much internal energy as possible and open it at once.'

And he had to open both meridians at the same time.

Generally, this attempt was really nonsensical.

But Cheon Myeong decided to believe in his ability to operate his internal energy and the power of the Azure Heaven Pill.

Woong-.

Cheon Myeong was gathering as much internal energy as possible in front of the two meridians.

There was only one chance.

If he failed, his internal energy would flow backwards, and he would die.

So, thinking that this was the first and last chance, Cheon Myeong was planning to clash after gathering as much internal energy as he could.

'A little... a little more...!'

It was amazing that this much had already gathered.

If he didn't have Cheon Myeong's level of skill, it would have been impossible to hold on to this much internal energy.

But as if he was not yet satisfied, Cheon Myeong continued to gather internal energy.

And a moment later.

The internal energy he had gathered crashed into the two meridians as if it were exploding.

Kwang-!

Such a sound was not actually heard.

But to Cheon Myeong, it felt like a much louder roar had echoed inside his body.

"..."

The internal energy pushing to open and the two meridians withstanding it.

It was like watching a fierce wave and a wall blocking it.

And since such a brawl was taking place inside Cheon Myeong's body, the pain felt as a result was naturally enormous.

'Ugh...'

Cheon Myeong bit his lip tightly and endured the pain.

It was almost over.

If he couldn't endure the pain here and retreated his internal energy even a little or screamed, it would all be over.

Since he couldn't waste the opportunity he had obtained, Cheon Myeong endured and endured.

Woong-!

At that moment, the brawl stopped.

The internal energy was already flowing through the two meridians.

The internal energy that had been raging like a rough wave also began to flow calmly as there was nothing blocking it in front.

At the same time, the severe pain that had been following Cheon Myeong was also gradually disappearing.

'It's a success...!'

To think that he had already opened the Ren and Du meridians.

Although he had attempted it with the intention of succeeding from the beginning, Cheon Myeong couldn't help but be happy now that he had succeeded.

That's how much opening the Ren and Du meridians was a great fortunate encounter for a martial artist, and it meant that Cheon Myeong had grown several times more than in the past.

'If it weren't for the Azure Heaven Pill, I would never have succeeded.'

And if he hadn't combined the two inner cores at once to make an elixir, he might have lacked strength.

He would probably have failed to open the two meridians, and as a reaction to that, his acupoints would have been twisted.

"..."

Meeting the two birds of prey in Musan, finding the Medical Supplement Manual in Yakssobang, and even properly manufacturing the Azure Heaven Pill.

Cheon Myeong thought that he was able to achieve such a result because various factors had fallen into place at once.

'Let's finish up quickly.'

Even though he had opened the two meridians, there was still a little bit of the Azure Heaven Pill's ki left.

In order not to waste even that little bit, Cheon Myeong maintained his energy circulation until the end.

And a moment later.

Only after sucking the Azure Heaven Pill dry so that not even a speck was left did Cheon Myeong open his eyes.

Flash-.

A strange light appeared in Cheon Myeong's eyes.

Although it could be called a short time, in the meantime, Cheon Myeong had become a completely different person.

'It's refreshing.'

With this, he would have gotten a little closer to his original appearance.

Cheon Myeong thought so as he looked at the sunlight coming into the room.

* * *

"Hmm..."

With a deep groan, Soyeon Sang watched Cheon Myeong, who had come out to the yard.

Although he had decided to trust Cheon Myeong and not say anything, worrying was a separate matter.

Rather, since he had only resolved to watch, his worries could only deepen.

'Is he going to swing his sword a few times in the morning today and then go back in again?'

Before going to Musan, Cheon Myeong had been training in the form of a duel with Soyeon Sang.

However, for some reason, after returning from there, Cheon Myeong had only been practicing forms by himself and had not once proposed a duel to Soyeon Sang.

'Am I no longer needed...'

To think he no longer proposed the duels that he used to propose to him like a daily routine.

He didn't know it at the time, but as time went on, Soyeon Sang was secretly disappointed by that fact.

However, since he was somewhat reluctant to propose a duel to Cheon Myeong first, Soyeon Sang could only watch Cheon Myeong from a distance, like a man secretly watching the woman he had a crush on.

Whoosh-.

As if he didn't know Soyeon Sang's feelings at all, Cheon Myeong was lightly swinging his sword.

How long had he been swinging like that for about thirty minutes?

Cheon Myeong stopped his motion and walked towards where Soyeon Sang was.

'Is he going to go in already?'

It didn't seem like it had even been half an hour since he had come out to the yard.

At the shorter training time, Soyeon Sang was about to sigh, so he was about to go inside before Cheon Myeong.

"Soyeon Sang."

At that moment, Cheon Myeong's voice called out to Soyeon Sang.

Soyeon Sang stopped his steps, which were about to go into the house, after hearing the voice.

"What is it?"

"Have a duel with me for the first time in a while."

"..."

Soyeon Sang was surprised to hear Cheon Myeong's words.

He had not expected Cheon Myeong to say such a thing to him at all.

"Did you say you want to have a duel?"

"Yes, or do you have something to do? It seemed like you were about to go inside earlier."

"No! I have nothing to do! I'm really free!"

It didn't seem necessary to say that he was free so desperately...

Although Cheon Myeong was slightly flustered, he soon smiled and said.

"Really? Then let's start right away."

Saying that, Cheon Myeong walked to the center of the yard.

Soon, Soyeon Sang followed behind him.

Although it didn't show on his face, Soyeon Sang was now very excited.

'It's been a long time since I've had a duel with the Young Master.'

Could it be that his skills have rusted in the meantime?

If so, he would engage in the duel somewhat roughly in the sense of telling him to get a grip.

With that thought, as Soyeon Sang drew his sword, Cheon Myeong said to Soyeon Sang with a relaxed face.

"Soyeon Sang, you'll have to be on your toes, unlike before."

"...?"

What does that mean?

Since he hadn't had a duel with him recently, Cheon Myeong's skills would have rather deteriorated than before, and would by no means have improved.

Soyeon Sang thought so and looked at Cheon Myeong.

But at that moment.

Woong-!

Something red rose from Cheon Myeong's sword.

Soyeon Sang was at a loss for words for a moment at the sight.

(End of Chapter)