Chapter 164: Enjoy Your Meal
Read more at Nineheavens.org
The blooming energy created above Hae Su-yeon’s head had a feeling that was more noble than bewitching.
Namgung Sang-rin tilted his head and quietly asked through Secret Sound Transmission so as not to disturb her meditation process.
<Sect Leader Cheol, is this perhaps a phenomenon of entering the early stages of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown?>
He looked half-believing, half-doubting.
The enlightenment realm of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, where internal energy levels rise, commonly generates flower bud-like energy at the crown of the head.
What was currently formed above Hae Su-yeon’s crown also matched that shape and those characteristics.
It looked like the unique phenomenon of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, but… The number of that flower-resembling energy was one, not three, so it was somewhat puzzling.
That’s why he had asked like that.
Speculating that she had just stepped into the great enlightenment domain of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, with the first flower-resembling energy appearing.
<No.>
<Pardon? Then…>
<It’s a unique phenomenon demonstrating that the remaining potential of the Heavenly Demon Incarnation is awakening.>
At Cheol Ryu-heun’s simple explanation, Namgung Sang-rin soon fixed his gaze on the Enchanting Flower Sword placed on the table.
The red energy current connected like a thin stem.
‘Hmm, I see. Then does that flower stem-like thing mean the latent power of the Heavenly Demon Incarnation and the latent power of the Enchanting Flower Sword are resonating with each other?’
Sure enough, Cheol Ryu-heun’s Secret Sound Transmission continued again.
<Enchanting Body Union Dream. It’s the characteristic phenomenon that only appears when the Heavenly Demon Incarnation and Enchanting Flower Sword achieve the harmony of unification.>
<Enchanting Body Union Dream… As that name suggests, it seems to be a realm of enlightenment that can only be entered through very deep meditation as if dreaming.>
<Correct. It’s an achievement only possible by even shattering the wall of selflessness.>
<I’m impressed anew. Miss Hae’s talent… Surpassing selflessness shouldn’t be easy even for Buddhists or Taoists whose mind cultivation has reached supreme heights.>
<Your talent is the same.>
<Pardon?>
<You’ve already obtained one part of the latent potential of Nine Grade Martial Bones.>
Namgung Sang-rin widened his eyes at the unexpected words.
<What do you mean by that?>
<Recovery ability. When you first met me, you had injured your wrist bone. But it healed completely in less than a fortnight.>
<Ah…!>
<Awakening the dormant power of Nine Grade Martial Bones starts right there.>
<I had no idea. I thought the developmental stages of Nine Grade Martial Bones were limited to martial achievements… Until now, I just thought I happened to heal bones faster than others.>
Well, it was inevitable that he wouldn’t know.
The so-called blessing from heaven, Nine Grade Martial Bones, had been possessed by only a handful of martial artists throughout the long history, so there were no proper records remaining, and the commonly known information was merely that from birth, an auspicious light like nine small stars would appear at the center of the forehead for a day.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent Secret Sound Transmission once again secretly vibrated both sides of Namgung Sang-rin’s eardrums.
<The recovery ability of Nine Grade Martial Bones probably awakened first thanks to Namgung Family’s exquisite internal energy cultivation method. Anyway, once you fully obtain the latent power of Nine Grade Martial Bones, those bones will exhibit the marvelous function of being as solid as a thick iron wall. Impacts that would shatter other masters’ bones merely result in hairline fractures, and furthermore, unless it’s an injury serious enough to endanger life, recovery occurs within days.>
At that, Namgung Sang-rin clicked his tongue and nodded slightly.
<Wow… Sect leader Cheol, you truly know everything.>
Keeping his eyes fixed forward, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke briefly.
<It’s the final stretch now.>
At that moment, Hae Su-yeon’s body floated up in its lotus position.
Immediately after.
SASA… SASASA…
The red flower bud energy gathered at her crown descended, as if shedding petals one by one.
Perhaps because of her beautiful appearance.
It felt as if he were facing a mysterious celestial maiden seated in a paradise with petals scattering wildly.
Soon the Enchanting Flower Sword cried out.
HUMM-!
The thing resembling a red flower stem vanished in the blink of an eye.
Following that, the petals absorbed into Hae Su-yeon’s body.
Her eyelashes trembled.
Because a wave-like shiver had occurred from head to toe.
Hae Su-yeon was returning to reality beyond meditation while feeling the sea of energy point in her lower abdomen rapidly expanding.
Her body descended again.
The energy that had been falling like petals blown by the wind had all been absorbed into her body and disappeared from sight.
“Phew…”
A quiet breath escaped between her lips.
Following that, her eyelids rose.
JOLT.
Hae Su-yeon, having finished Energy Circulation, rose to her feet with a pleased expression.
“Wow! My internal energy has risen tremendously! Not only that, but the power dwelling in that sword is also coming through very strongly! It feels like we’re connected by an invisible thread!”
A bright smile.
In that moment, Namgung Sang-rin felt as if tens of thousands of flowers were blooming in full and approaching him.
‘UGH! Remarkable. Is this the effect of her achievement in enchanting energy being strengthened?’
He wondered if Hae Su-yeon could even bewitch a deeply Buddhist Shaolin Temple high monk if she set her mind to using the Enchanting Flower Sword’s power.
Having inwardly exclaimed in great admiration, he told her what he had heard earlier.
“Miss Hae, you have just achieved complete mastery of Enchanting Body Union Dream, the harmony of unification between the Heavenly Demon Incarnation and Enchanting Flower Sword.”
“Oh my! Really? Ha, no wonder the mind realm phenomenon I saw felt like profound enlightenment…”
At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun pointed to the Enchanting Flower Sword on the table.
“Pick it up.”
At that, Hae Su-yeon quickly grasped the Enchanting Flower Sword and asked.
“Is there something else remaining?”
“Yes, making that enchanting energy pure.”
“Pure…?”
“I’ve balanced the yin and yang, so now I need to balance purity and wicked lewdness.”
Wicked lewdness meant lust and lascivious.
Hae Su-yeon immediately grasped the hidden meaning.
“Aha! Yes, I understand what you mean. Enchanting energy basically has a wicked lascivious nature, so there’s a possibility that the Heavenly Demon Incarnation, now connected through unification harmony via Enchanting Body Union Dream, could also lean toward wicked lasciviousness?”
“Like in the case of past Thousand-Tail Enchanting Demon.”
Thousand-Tail Enchanting Demon was a master from the distant past who was born with a Heavenly Demon Incarnation and also possessed the Enchanting Flower Sword – at that time, she had caused turmoil by having relations with all sorts of men regardless of orthodox or unorthodox faction.
The number of martial artists whose families were broken and divorced at that time alone exceeded several hundred.
In truth, the reason Thousand-Tail Enchanting Demon became that way was precisely because she had been deeply steeped in the wicked lascivious nature within the enchanting energy.
Hae Su-yeon murmured to herself as if surprised.
“Ah… So that’s why Thousand-Tail Enchanting Demon was infamous as a legendary promiscuous woman.”
“To balance purity and wicked lasciviousness, an internal elixir called Enchanting Essence Light is needed.”
“Enchanting Essence Light? If you’re saying I need to consume that internal elixir, then why the sword…?”
When Hae Su-yeon made an uncomprehending expression, Cheol Ryu-heun again answered expressionlessly.
“Because it’s inside there.”
“…!”
Their eyes wavered with surprise.
Both Hae Su-yeon and Namgung Sang-rin.
What was he saying – that Enchanting Essence Light was inside the Enchanting Flower Sword…
Cheol Ryu-heun continued speaking regardless.
“It’s easy for you. Earlier you even opened subtle and dormant meridians, so the Heavenly Demon Incarnation has entered the perfected stage. Focus your mind, think of producing a lump of energy through the sword’s tip, and keep operating your internal energy.”
Having regulated her breathing, Hae Su-yeon gripped the Enchanting Flower Sword and raised her internal energy.
ZIIING-
The blade began to tremble.
It was the effect of having a large amount of true energy injected.
Namgung Sang-rin held his breath to the utmost and watched the scene.
Soon a round haze formed at the tip of the sword.
A transparent sword-tip sphere.
“More.”
No sooner had Cheol Ryu-heun’s brief word ended than Hae Su-yeon once again injected a large amount of true energy into the blade.
ZIIING-
With the blade’s trembling, the transparent sword-tip sphere grew larger, then suddenly turned red.
Following that.
SHUSHUSHU, SHUSHUSHU…
The sword-tip sphere began spinning and played an energy sound.
Suddenly.
FLASH!
The sword-tip sphere that had emitted brilliant light shrank small, as if compressed by a giant’s grip.
At that moment.
Petal-like energy currents bloomed countless times along the Enchanting Flower Sword and were absorbed all at once into the sword-tip sphere as if drawn in.
And then.
FLASH!
The sword-tip sphere, emitting light once more, abruptly stopped spinning and fell weakly to the floor.
ROLL, ROLL.
Hae Su-yeon, having stopped operating her internal energy, was flabbergasted.
‘My goodness!’
The sword-tip sphere she had created through true energy had transformed into a pill…
Seeing that, Cheol Ryu-heun indicated with a chin gesture.
“It’s the miraculous internal elixir Enchanting Essence Light that only an owner who has perfectly resonated with the Enchanting Flower Sword can obtain. Enjoy your meal.”
* * *
The bustling district of Wuyang, a mid-sized city in Hunan region.
On that main road crowded with all sorts of people, there was one woman in her twenties who captured gazes.
“Wow…!”
“Crazy. Is she even human?”
“No… How can anyone be that pretty?”
“My eyes are feasting today.”
“Hey, look at that. Her figure is just luscious to the point that…”
“Shh, shh, she’ll hear.”
Murmurs quietly leaking out from here and there.
The beauty of the woman walking down the street was like seeing a beautiful flower.
Truly a peerless beautiful face.
Neatly pinned-up hair, a smoothly sloping forehead, crescent-moon eyebrows, and clear shining eyes with a nose bridge curved up as if drawn in a painting… Moreover, her plump lips seemed to stir the urge to touch them once.
Indeed, her graceful figure was one that would make any man drool.
Dressed in snow-white palace attire, she even gave off the feeling of a celestial fairy descending from heaven.
Her clothes were even gorgeously embroidered with orchid flower patterns reminiscent of an unparalleled artist’s skill, further highlighting her natural beauty.
The identity of this woman flaunting such an alluring and sensual appearance was none other than the Tower Master of Celestial Flower Tower – an intelligence-gathering organization of the unorthodox martial world – Hundred Dreams Charming Maiden Gongse Dan-yeong.
Among the countless men on the street, not a single person came up to her to strike up a conversation.
The reason was simple.
Because at a glance, one person with an extraordinary presence was following behind as if guarding her.
A bald man in his forties with a short dark beard.
He was Xuan Dao Grand Master Yeok Bi-mang, the strongest master in Celestial Flower Tower and its Vice Tower Master.
Gongse Dan-yeong, who had been walking ahead, suddenly frowned.
“Geez, this is too much.”
At that, Yeok Bi-mang pressed close behind her and asked quietly.
“Tower Master, why is that? Are you uncomfortable with all these people staring? Shall I intimidate them a bit?”
Gongse Dan-yeong shook her head slightly and opened her mouth again.
“No. It’s not that…”
Having trailed off, she soon continued speaking.
“No, does that person still not know I like him?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean Former Hall Master Mun.”
She meant Dark Sword Fragrance Mun Bin of Dark Hall.
“Ah… That person…”
“I gave him the Ink God Robe as a gift, so he should have picked up on it… Goodness. I was hoping to receive a confession.”
“Um… Tower Master, please don’t think too impatiently… You can take it step by step.”
“Ah! Surely… He doesn’t have another woman in his heart, does he?”
“According to intelligence our tower has obtained, Former Hall Master Mun hasn’t even had a proper romance yet…”
Just then, someone’s voice struck both their ears.
“Hoho, where are you coming back from? I’ve been waiting a long time.”
The moment Gongse Dan-yeong turned her head to the side, drawn by that voice, she was delighted.
“Ah! Grandfather!”
“There, there. Have you been well?”
An elderly man in his seventies wearing gray rags.
Dressed as a beggar, he was none other than Northern Dipper Beggar Woo Yong, an elder of the Beggar Sect, a massive organization of the martial world.
Gongse Dan-yeong, delighted, quickly grabbed his hand.
“What brings you all the way here?”
“Well…”
Northern Dipper Beggar Woo Yong’s eyes took on a rather heavy look, and soon he switched to Secret Sound Transmission for his answer.
<Hmm, Dan-gyeong. It’s quite a serious matter, so I won’t beat around the bush. The truth is… In the martial world here… A demonic force is stirring.>