Chapter 47
Chapter 47: The One Who Eats Poison, Becomes Poison (2)
My herb and poisonous plant field was a place where spiritual energy flowed thickly.
A place where Yin and Yang formed a wondrous harmony in the Taiji.
There was no more suitable place for cultivating medicinal herbs.
The energy of Gangho is founded on Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements.
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water.
The energy of the Five Elements, each responsible for generation, expansion, harmony, fruition, and condensation.
To make the spiritual energy of my field even stronger, I had added the subtle principles of the Five Elements.
I had added the Five Elements Lamp to the legendary Heaven-Earth Five Elements Stone, allowing the essence energy to form meridian lines.
It had become a place reminiscent of the immortal paradise of the celestial realm.
But that was from my past life in Gangho.
My current field has neither the Five Elements Stones nor the lamps.
"But that's not something that would make me give up."
If they're not there, I just have to fill in as much as I can.
First, the energy of Earth was nothing to worry about.
The soil of the field was brimming with spiritual energy.
The energy of Fire was being supplied by the Three-Extremes Refining Furnace to the south.
The light and heat spreading in all directions when fire is lit.
Since I was endlessly making decoctions and elixir pills these days, I would just have to endure with this until I eventually obtained the Samadhi Sacred Fire.
The energy of Water was no problem either.
Having recently gained twenty million points, my field had expanded greatly.
Fortunately, it had been solved because it stretched all the way to the stream to the north.
Metal energy was important as well.
One might think that Metal is the opposing element in crop cultivation, but that's because they don't understand the Five Elements.
Metal refers to the energy of descending, converging, and bearing fruit.
It is found deep in the earth and is solid, so it's easy to understand if you think of metal gathering at the bottom of the ground.
Shennong had also taught me that when crops bear fruit, it is also a strengthening of Metal energy.
This had been resolved with the White Tiger Sword.
Metal is represented by the color white among the Five Cardinal Colors, and the White Tiger, the guardian deity of the west among the Four Divine Beasts, is its overseer.
Fortunately, the White Tiger Sword, which had risen several levels recently, was reliably managing this from the west.
"What remains is Wood."
One might think the medicinal herbs and poisonous plants handle this, but that would be mistaken.
The energies of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements must be gathered and concentrated into the medicinal and poisonous herbs, so a separate Wood energy was needed.
"Wood energy is related to wind."
If there were even a line of energy-powered electric fans with an Artificial Energy Center attached, I would have placed dozens of them—but.
No such product existed.
As a makeshift substitute, I had stuck the Blue Dragon Spear to the east.
Wood energy is the Blue Dragon.
It was not a treasure like the White Tiger Sword, so the Wood energy was weak.
"If only I could supplement the Wood energy, nothing would be more perfect."
***
【Entering 21st floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).】
【This is your first entry.】
【Mission (21st floor): Slay 30 members of Demon Wind Manor.】
—Time Limit: 3 days
—On Success: 100,000 Happiness Points awarded
【A bonus mission is given for first entry.】
【Bonus Mission: Slay the Manor Lord of Demon Wind Manor, Demon Wind Ghost King Myo Dan-u.】
—Time Limit: 10 minutes
—On Success:
① Mission (21st floor) counted as cleared (GOLD)
② Happiness Points tripled (×3)
—On Failure: Demon Wind Ghost King and all bonus mission rewards for this floor will permanently disappear.
"Ten minutes again this time."
It was fortunate that from 21st floor, the Happiness Points had become ten times higher at one hundred thousand.
I looked up at Demon Wind Manor perched on the cliff.
Fwooooosh—.
A fierce and sinister wind blew in.
Just like back then.
Behind the thicket there should be a plank road along the cliff face. That path would be faster if I wanted to rush—but.
"Direct assault."
I'll enter the same way I came all those years ago!
Energy swirled at the Yongcheon Point, and a gale whipped up beneath my two feet.
Wind God Steps.
The unparalleled movement technique I was able to use again after gaining twenty million points all at once.
It's in a completely different class compared to the previous Big Dipper Eighteen Steps.
A single gust of wind pierced through Demon Wind Manor's sinister wind in an instant.
I charged toward the manor's front gate.
The solid front gate was right before me!
"It's been a long time, so I should enter politely!"
Crash boom!
The moment the Soul-Crushing Drum struck the front gate like a battering ram, the gate blasted inward with a tremendous roar. The solid gate panels couldn't offer a single moment of resistance and shattered away like a storm, and fragments of wood, dust, and broken iron shards whirled and filled the air.
And within that boundless cloud of dust, two green glints flashed.
Eyes that shone softly yet terrifyingly, like the eyes of a beast.
"……I'm here. Junior disciple."
The shockwave that struck tore through the manor's air currents.
Boom! The ground cracked and shattered along the lines where I planted my vibrating step.
The stone slabs surged up like waves and came crashing down over Myo Dan-u.
"W-who are you!"
Myo Dan-u, whom I was facing for the first time in decades.
The moment surprise flickered in his eyes, the Wind God's gale became a white bolt of lightning that struck Myo Dan-u's neck and swept through.
Crack!
Just as it had been back then, what I held in my hand was Myo Dan-u's head, wrenched and torn off.
Flop, flop. Thud. Roll, roll—.
Boom!
A beat late, the shockwave of surging energy struck the chests and ears of the manor's masters.
"G-good heavens!"
"The manor lord!"
Shhhhhk—!
Toward the manor's warriors who hadn't yet come to their senses, I scattered Yama's Life-Chasing Threads in all directions.
Where Yama's Life-Chasing Threads, said to cut even iron as easily as soft flesh, had grazed through, the shredded blood and flesh of enemies came pouring down.
【Bonus Mission Cleared】
【Time elapsed to clear mission: 2 minutes 35 seconds】
【Overwhelming clear (GOLD)!】
【21st floor of the Murim Tower turns golden.】
【The entire world turns its attention to the Republic of Korea's tower.】
Notification messages flew in, but there was no time to linger.
The moment I had entered Demon Wind Manor, I could tell.
This period was not long after I had been brought here.
In the solitary cell of the underground dungeon, the eleven-year-old Dang Seon might be there!
My mind was filled with nothing but that thought.
Could I meet him?
My body bent like a bow and shot forward, rushing straight to the underground dungeon.
A corridor appeared, and the manor's warriors packed into the corridor!
"Out of my way!"
Yama's Life-Chasing Threads were swung out like lightning.
Continuous Twelve Slashes. The sword drew continuous arcs in the air and tore through, and then Noble Eighteen Whips continued without restraint.
It was a single moment.
The warriors standing there couldn't even scream as they were scattered in all directions in a spray of blood.
Flesh was rent and bones were broken, bodies flying with cracking sounds.
The storm of energy surged like a shockwave, ringing out as if to tear the eardrums.
There was not a single pause.
A leap!
Kicking off the ground and springing up, the extended energy enveloped the entire corridor.
Sword energy split the floor, and the lingering force of the whips swept away entire pillars.
Two steps. Just two steps were enough.
By the time I reached the far end of the long corridor, not a breath, not a groan, not a footstep of the enemy remained behind me.
Boom-crash!
A shortcut made by smashing through a stone wall.
The underground dungeon.
"Dang Seon, are you there!"
What would I do if I came face to face with him?
I hadn't decided.
Thud, thud…….
All I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat, louder than my tense footsteps.
I stopped before the iron bars of the cell.
"……."
Inside the cell, there was no one.
As I had thought……
With a long exhale, I grabbed the iron bars and crack crack crack! tore them off and threw them to the floor.
To me now, who could bring down a fortress with a single strike of energy—how was it that these trivial iron bars had looked so thick to the young me back then.
The ceiling was low, and the walls were damp with moisture.
A pile of straw thrown into a dark corner was filled with nothing but the smell of rotting grass I remembered from that time.
There was a small shard of broken porcelain on the floor.
I picked it up and held it in my hand, then felt along the wall.
A line scratched and carved in with the porcelain shard was visible.
One line.
The first day.
"……You've been through a lot."
I quietly pressed my forehead against that trace, and clenched the porcelain shard until blood was drawn.
***
That early childhood.
Eliminating Demon Wind Manor Master Myo Dan-u had been a gamble and a stroke of fortune.
Had the manor lord faced me with his true martial arts, I would not have been able to withstand him.
The Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art—one who becomes poison by consuming poison.
Because Myo Dan-u didn't know of this, the poison he had fed me intending to weaken me had instead made me stronger.
But even that had been insufficient.
If Myo Dan-u had ultimately scattered his own poison energy, and I hadn't been able to absorb that poison energy, it would have been my head that had been torn off.
After killing Myo Dan-u in my past life Gangho.
I used the poison energy I had absorbed from him to slay every single warrior of the manor.
And in doing so, I came to understand how I had ended up at Demon Wind Manor.
The one who had sent me to Demon Wind Manor was none other than—
"Kongtong Sect of Gansu Province."
They had paid a large sum to have me entrusted to Demon Wind Manor.
Father had asked Wind Flower Valley to ensure my safety, but they had broken their promise.
I was the sole surviving direct bloodline of the Sacheondang Family.
The family's wealth and status had become ownerless land, and most of it had been divided among the Alliance Leaders and League Leaders—but.
There was still plenty to take.
And so.
"For a sect like Wind Flower Valley that sought a position like the Sacheondang Family, I was an obstacle."
Rather, it was the Kongtong Sect of Gansu Province, adjacent to Sichuan Province, that had kept my life alive.
Of course, it surely wasn't only out of the compassion of those who walk the Taoist path.
"They must have entrusted me in order to keep Sichuan Province in check."
Demon Wind Manor is also located in Gansu Province.
My very life was a key that could swing the interests and politics of Sichuan Province.
Rustle.
I took in my hand the Cheongeum Manor banknote I had seen in my past life.
The price for Demon Wind Manor taking me in.
In my past life, as I raided Demon Wind Manor and fled, I had burned this banknote immediately.
Even looking at it had made me furious.
The manor was already destroyed, and the Murim Tower was but a remnant of my memories.
Gold and silver coins were products of the tower, and had value in and of themselves—but.
"This is nothing but a scrap of paper."
I was about to just throw it away, but for some reason I was swept by nostalgia and tucked it into my breast pocket.
"Next."
I searched Demon Wind Manor one by one, gathering valuables.
In my past life, I had fled in a rush and hadn't had the leisure to take everything—but now was different.
I searched thoroughly and gathered things that would be useful.
There was nothing particularly extraordinary.
It felt somewhat as if the tower had already cleared everything away in advance.
Still, I gathered the valuables and precious things in sight, and this time in particular I made sure to collect some clothing.
Every time I entered the tower, my clothes would be soaked in blood and had to be discarded.
On top of that, seeing me in modern attire, the Gangho warriors of the tower would look at me as if seeing a madman.
The climbers I couldn't communicate with didn't matter, but since I could converse, it seemed like it would be needed someday.
"The most important thing remains."
The Treasure Orb.
‘Wind God Sacred Jade.’
It is a treasure with the technique of containing the winds of Demon Wind Manor's valley and erecting a barrier.
The wind of the Wind God Sacred Jade should be more than sufficient to complete the Five Elements formation in the medicinal herb field.
The jade orb tinged with green energy was the size of a head.
"To have shattered this orb from a distance."
The archery skill of the Choi brothers was once again astonishing.
"Alright, let's take it."
Thud.
The moment I touched the Wind God Sacred Jade—
【Absorbing the energy of wind. One…… two…… three.】
【Wind God Steps level rises.】
—Wind God Steps Lv3
"……Hm?"
The energy unexpectedly absorbed from the Wind God Sacred Jade had ended up raising the level of my Wind God Steps.
Crumble-crack—!
And the Wind God Sacred Jade shattered.
"Well. Whether I should be happy about this or not."
It was good that the level of Wind God Steps had risen, but it was no help in completing the Five Elements formation I had in mind.
If only the jade orb hadn't shattered, I could have gathered the wind again and used it—but.
"From the next floor onward, I'll have to be more careful."
Satisfaction and regret crossed each other.
I muttered to myself and climbed to 22nd floor.
【Bonus Mission Cleared】
【Time elapsed to clear mission: 2 minutes 18 seconds】
【Bonus Mission Cleared】
【Time elapsed to clear mission: 1 minute 55 seconds】
I cleared 22nd and 23rd floors consecutively.
【Overwhelming clear (GOLD)!】
【22nd floor of the Murim Tower turns golden.】
【23rd floor of the Murim Tower turns golden.】
As the level of Wind God Steps had risen, the clearing time grew even faster.
I killed Manor Lord Myo Dan-u immediately as well.
There wasn't the same emotion as on 21st floor.
I stood before the door returning to my medicinal herb field from 23rd floor.
The luggage gathered from the manor was a full load.
"If I sell them at the Black Market, I'd roughly get around twenty billion, I suppose."
The Wind God Sacred Jade excluded, of course.
Being careful not to let them touch my hands, I also packed two Wind God Sacred Jades wrapped in silk kerchiefs.
Fwooooosh—.
Even without the jade orb, the wind blew quite strongly.
Demon Wind Manor viewed from afar.
Below it, the world under heaven had no end.
The feeling was the same.
The world under heaven was vast.
And there were many enemies to take revenge upon.
"……Still."
***
Tsk—.
I pulled out the Blue Dragon Spear I had stuck to the east of the medicinal herb field, and planted the Wind God Sacred Jade in its place.
Hmmmm—.
Wind poured out, and the Five Elements formation was completed.
"Now my little green sprouts will grow better."
With a satisfied heart, I headed toward the stream to the north.
"All that remains is to plant the most important gain."
I looked at the poisonous plant I had newly acquired from Demon Wind Manor.
The underground dungeon of the manor. Below that even.
It was a poisonous plant that had been growing in a corner of that place.
This poisonous plant had to be planted together with the one remaining Wind God Sacred Jade beneath the flowing stream.
"Wind Fur Moss."
A type of moss.
It is a moss with fur-like filaments that flutter as lightly as wind.
The underground dungeon that had hardly seen sunlight.
The moisture that flowed there. It was the optimal place for moss to grow.
Ordinary moss grows in places with poor ventilation, but Wind Fur Moss was different.
As shown by the character for wind in its name, Wind Fur Moss is one that grows by feeding on wind.
The crevices of the underground dungeon.
Green and violet Wind Fur Moss had settled densely within.
A poisonous plant that clung tenaciously in the cracked crevices of a dungeon untouched by a single ray of sunlight, holding onto passing dew and emanating a faint luster.
This Wind Fur Moss acquires peculiar properties depending on the method of preparation.
Specifically, it causes all the hair across the entire body to fall out in droves.
Even with a small dose of Wind Fur Moss poisoning, like a dandelion seed drifting on the wind, it can send hair, eyebrows, and all manner of fur flying away entirely.
A poisonous plant I had used once or twice on skilled female fighters in my past life.
"Then, why exactly did I go out of my way to harvest Wind Fur Moss?"
【The Great Law of Reversal is applied. Poison becomes medicine, medicine becomes poison.】
Wind Fur Moss, which sends all one's hair flying.
If my Reversal, which can produce the complete opposite effect, were applied to this—?