Chapter 60 : Chapter 60
Chapter 60 : Eureka
Snow Wind Sword Venerable, Baek Un-han, feigned ignorance.
-Master, I didn't see you that way....... You had slush funds you didn't tell me about!
Cold Snow Demon Queen, Jang So-ryeong, began to pour out nagging words like rapid fire.
"Didn't he say he doesn't know if it's still remaining?"
-Y, Yeah. It's been such a regret that I couldn't sell that off and use it!
-Then you should have at least given me a hint!
"Ahem, who are you talking to?"
"You don't need to know."
Currently, I, Hyeokryeon Yeom, was walking westward from the Ice Palace together with the Holy Hand Divine Physician, Seong I-han.
"Groan, if it was a spiritual elixir that could be found just by blindly searching like this, it would have been found long ago!"
"I suppose so."
I can't tell the Divine Physician, but I didn't come out thinking of finding a needle in a haystack.
Sword Venerable's Secret Cave.
It was uncertain whether the secret cave created three hundred years ago would still exist.
But, if only I could find it.
'It's definitely there, right?'
-Yes. I didn't know it would become a legendary spiritual elixir, but it was a medicinal ingredient I used to eat often in my prime.
To think something he often ate three hundred years ago has become a legendary medicinal ingredient now.
Time was heartless.
"Know that you are alive thanks to me, Elder Divine Physician."
My father-in-law looked ready to kill him for real.
Just how much did he rip off for father-in-law to show such a reaction?
"Ahem. I thought I could return after some time had passed."
"Why did you return to the North Sea despite receiving such treatment, Elder?"
"The Southern Barbarians were too hot. Now I'm sick of the heat."
"Did you treat people and receive money there too?"
"I don't just receive money. Others think of me as some saint or hermit, but I have never treated anyone for free."
If he is a physician of the Divine Physician's level, he must have treated countless people and gained a lot.
"Why did you, Elder, who likes money so much, step up to even check Miss Seol's pulse for free?"
"Because the Young Palace Head is the first patient I couldn't cure in my life. But rumors reached even the Southern Barbarians. Stories that the North Sea Ice Palace's Young Palace Head showed improvement."
Ah.
Only then could I realize why the Divine Physician returned to the North Sea.
It must have been due to pure curiosity as a physician that a patient he couldn't cure had been cured.
"Also, I wanted to feel the cool breeze of the North Sea while I was at it."
"Thanks to that, I bought time."
This is true.
If not for the Divine Physician, I wouldn't have even been able to come out to find the medicinal ingredients like this.
"There's no need to be too grateful. I intend to demand something from you too."
"I haven't received treatment from you, Elder."
"Didn't I treat the person who will become your wife?"
"For a quack who can't even treat people without medicinal ingredients."
"What?!"
By the way.
'Is it still far?'
-Well. Since it's been so long, the surrounding scenery all looks the same.
It seemed finding the secret cave just by eye measurement would be difficult after all.
-Wasn't there anything memorable nearby?
-There was.......
'What was it?'
-Looking at the state, it seems everything has disappeared.
'Tell me what it was.'
-It was next to a hot spring water. I used to enjoy the hot spring and rest in the secret cave.
At those words, I stopped walking.
Because it felt like I heard something strange just now.
***
At the time Hyeokryeon Yeom's party was looking for hot spring water.
"I apologize with my head bowed like this."
The Hell Poison Demon bowed his head to the Ice Palace Lord, Seol Baek-ho.
Seol Baek-ho shook his head.
"I know it wasn't the Poison Demon's child's fault."
"However, I think I have no choice but to admit that my child was bewitched due to his weak martial prowess."
Furthermore.
If Yayul Jin hadn't packed the Seven Steps Soul Severing Poison, this wouldn't have happened.
Although it was natural for a demonic practitioner who learned poison arts to carry poison around.
It was clearly wrong to bring such a hideous poison on a good day.
"It is done. I believe the Third Young Master will save the Young Palace Head again."
"You seem to trust the Third Young Master very much."
"I do. To the point I'm grateful to the Heavenly Demon."
Yayul Cheon-ung couldn't help but find Seol Baek-ho's reaction fascinating.
Perhaps because even though he saw Hyeokryeon Yeom's changed appearance, he showed an appearance that was worlds apart from when he was in the Demonic Cult.
It still didn't feel real at all.
"Rather than that."
Seol Baek-ho's eyes began to twinkle.
"Is there anyone who comes to mind regarding who committed such an act?"
Seol Ye-rin thought that since Hyeokryeon Yeom would come up with a method together with the Divine Physician, Seol Baek-ho should do what only Seol Baek-ho could do.
And that thing he had to do was.
'Catching the culprit.'
Poisoning his daughter whom he wouldn't find painful even if he put her in his eye, and making it look like the Demonic Cult's doing.
A group or organization trying to alienate the two forces.
"I judged the masked men to be martial artists of the Murim Alliance and Saphaeryeon."
"I also received a report on that."
"If it's not the Murim Alliance and Saphaeryeon, there is a need to find out where on earth the guys appeared from."
What controlled Yayul Jin was clearly an evil art.
Or a type of illusion art.
Sects that could use such things were limited.
"A sect that wants to kill the Young Palace Head while being reluctant about us joining forces."
"According to Hyeokryeon Yeom, when Yayul Jin unfolded the poison art towards the Young Palace Head. Yayul Jin's pupils turned red."
At the story that the eye color turned red, the Hell Poison Demon, Yayul Cheon-ung stroked his chin.
"It couldn't be that they are becoming active again, right?"
"By 'they', you mean......."
"The Blood Cult."
At Yayul Cheon-ung's words, Seol Baek-ho shook his head.
"It has already been over a hundred years since the Blood Cult disappeared."
"It seems a hundred years have passed since the North Sea Martial God hasn't appeared either though."
At the Poison Demon's words mentioning the Martial God, Seol Baek-ho's expression hardened.
"Since ancient times, it was said that heroes appear in turbulent times."
History proves it.
A hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, even three hundred years ago.
Whenever a Martial God appeared in the North Sea.
A Heavenly Demon existed in the Demonic Cult, and,
'The Blood Cult also became active.'
Both Yayul Cheon-ung and Seol Baek-ho knew that fact.
"Such a thing... must not happen."
Yayul Cheon-ung knew the reason Seol Baek-ho spoke like this.
"Do not turn away. Doesn't the Palace Lord know best that both of them might have been seen as favorite prey of the Blood Cult?"
Whenever the Blood Cult became active in the Jianghu, there were people they targeted.
Martial artists with special constitutions.
Heavenly Martial Body, Heavenly Killing Body, Extreme Yang Body, Extreme Yin Body, etc.
The fact is that the Blood Cult has always targeted martial artists with special constitutions.
"There is only one way. If the Third Young Master or the Young Palace Head don't want to become targets, there is no choice but to cure those special constitutions."
The furrows between Yayul Cheon-ung and Seol Baek-ho's brows began to deepen gradually.
***
Hot springs?
Hot spring.
A spring where groundwater heated by geothermal heat comes out to the surface.
It usually means water with a higher temperature than the average temperature of groundwater.
Such hot spring water exists in the North Sea?
-There were many in the past. If you soaked your body in the faintly rising hot spring water, it was truly paradise.
It seems plausible if it was three hundred years ago.
'Then.......'
Instead of searching around like this, digging the ground to see if groundwater pops out might be faster.
Wait.
'You said water soared up?'
If the Sword Venerable's words are true, it means there is a possibility that geysers, etc., existed in this area among hot springs.
Then it means there must be a vein where hot spring water flows leading to a geyser below the ground of the freezing North Sea, and that means.......
'If I find the hot spring vein flowing as groundwater, it could lead to where the secret cave is.'
I quickly began to put my face on the ground.
"......."
Nothing can be felt.
"Is there anything we can help with?"
"Hm?"
While I was demonstrating tremendous concentration and sticking my head in the ground.
"When did you come?"
"Protecting the Young Palace Head's safety is our job. If there is anything we can do, please order us!"
Before I knew it, the Small Snow Squad had chased after us, who had departed first.
"I came too."
The Potala Palace's Young Palace Head, Cheon Deung-jin, was also visible.
"Miss Cheon was also together."
"What are you looking for that you have your face against the ground?"
I debated whether I should tell them this or not, and after consideration, I brought up the story.
"I am looking for a hot spring."
"Suddenly a hot spring?"
"You were looking for something preposterous."
The Divine Physician listened to my story, then sighed deeply.
"Did you turn your direction to a hot spring because you don't think you can find the medicinal ingredients?"
"I didn't turn. I cannot tell you the details, but the whereabouts of the medicinal ingredients are related to the hot spring."
Although I can't explain the whole story, at the words that finding the hot spring would lead to finding the medicinal ingredients, the personnel of the Small Snow Squad also began to stick their heads in the ground.
A bizarre situation where the entire Small Snow Squad stuck their heads in the ground looking for a hot spring began to unfold.
"Everyone... is crazy."
The most flustered one was the Divine Physician, Seong I-han.
Even in the Southern Barbarians, they didn't look for something in such an ignorant way.
In the first place, the saying itself that finding a hot spring would lead to finding medicinal ingredients was nonsense.
The problem is,
'Those guys who believe that straight away are also strange guys.'
Even if North Sea people are ignorant, there is a limit.
'Is it because he's a Demonic Cult guy?'
Conversation didn't work at all.
Since they were the action faction who acted first, their propensity didn't match with the Divine Physician.
'Hm?'
But the amazing thing was that for some reason, he harbored expectations.
It was clearly visible in the eyes of the Divine Physician, Seong I-han.
'Extreme Yang Qi is permeating into the ground.'
To find the hot groundwater underground, he is probing below the ground through Extreme Yang Qi.
'Maybe.......'
He harbors the expectation that they might really discover a hot spring.
'Ay, there's no way.'
This is the North Sea.
The Divine Physician had never heard a story that a hot spring burst out in the North Sea in his entire life.
Pause.
At that time, Cheon Deung-jin raised her body and spoke.
"Captain!"
"Uh, I think I got a feeling too."
Simultaneously as Cheon Deung-jin raised her body, I also raised my body.
Vroom-
Soon, Extreme Yang Qi began to boil up throughout my entire body.
'Gasp.'
It's hot.
Heat hotter than the sunlight felt in the Southern Barbarians was spewing out from Hyeokryeon Yeom.
The Divine Physician took a few steps backward.
'What is he planning to do?'
Soon, Extreme Yang Qi gathers in my fist.
"Surely......."
Boom!
As soon as he said sure, my fist struck the ground.
Thud-
The ground was dug out just like that.
The power of the fist wrapped in tremendous heat was enormous.
"A little more!"
Boom!
"Your fist will be ruined first!"
The Divine Physician tried to dissuade urgently, but.
"It's okay!"
Vroom-
Inner Qi wrapping the fist, and Yang Hard Qi surrounding that Inner Qi.
"Ha."
It was the first time in his life seeing someone handling Extreme Yang Qi that well.
The speed at which the ground was being dug was truly marvelous.
"Once more!"
Boom!
As I pounded and pounded again like that,
Splosh!
"Crazy."
Hot hot-spring water began to soar.
"Eureka (I found it)!"
The Divine Physician, Seong I-han, gained a realization watching the cheering Hyeokryeon Yeom.
That the one defining human limits was himself.