Chapter 87: Chapter 87
Jang I-seo was certain.
“If I can’t open it this time, it won’t be easy going forward, either.”
Right now, he was at the initial stage of the absolute realm.
This was different from the past, when he was merely first-rate with turbid internal energy.
He had improved by leaps and bounds.
But the Heavenly Demon had concluded there was no room for further growth.
In other words, this moment could very well be the strongest he would ever be.
His heart grew heavy, as if a pile of stones had just crashed down.
But Jang I-seo was the finest agent of the Hidden Pavilion, having survived in enemy territory for over a decade.
“Despair can wait. It’s not too late after I’ve tried everything I can.”
He wasn’t the type to be cowed by something like this.
And the previous owner who had left behind such an extraordinary technique as the Thunder Circulation Method would never have left nothing else behind.
“Huu…”
Jang I-seo exhaled a deep breath and stood roughly fifteen paces from the wall. He rolled his right shoulder and muttered.
“Nine thousand, eight hundred and seventy… as of today. Whatever number it is, today’s the day I end this.”
Jang I-seo steeled his gaze, sighted his target with his left hand, and drew his right hand back.
Then, ever so slightly. He drew in a silent breath, and the moment he held it.
『White Thunder』
His eyes flashed open as his right hand thrust forward.
FWIIIISH, THUNK!
The flying dagger flew in and embedded itself precisely into the groove at the center of the wall. Unlike before, his stabilized internal energy now made it a perfect hit every time.
The steel wire connecting the dagger to his wrist guard pulled taut, and Jang I-seo emitted his internal energy in a single burst.
VWOOM!
His white robes fluttered, and his gaze grew even more intense.
A potent demonic qi gradually emanated from him.
Compared to his past first-rate internal energy that had been nothing but murky, the difference was night and day.
But this was only the beginning.
『Thunder Circulation Method』
BZZZT! BZZZZT!
The internal energy that had been flowing gently through Jang I-seo’s body instantly transformed into lightning and completed the Great Heavenly Circuit. Dark light erupted from his eyes, and electrical currents writhed across his entire body.
It was the very manifestation of a Lightning God!
KWAANG!
As he pushed his internal energy to its absolute limit, the demon’s face on the wall began to fill with a dark radiance.
The speed was nothing short of astonishing.
Thirty percent.
Fifty percent.
Seventy percent.
Ninety percent.
And finally.
The moment the final dots were placed in the demon’s two eyes.
KUGUGUGUGU!
With a massive tremor, the Demon Wall split in two and began to open.
Seeing this, Jang I-seo shouted with a radiant face.
“It worked!”
CHRRRRRL! He retrieved White Thunder and was immediately flooded with euphoria. His clenched fists quivered.
Just how long had it been?
He had made over nine thousand attempts over the span of seven years.
And not once had he succeeded. But now he had finally conquered the Demon Wall.
KUUNG!
With a deep shudder, as if conceding defeat, the Demon Wall opened completely.
And the second cavern was revealed.
Jang I-seo surveyed his surroundings and advanced cautiously, one step at a time.
As he walked, long-forgotten questions resurfaced.
Who exactly was the previous owner who had left behind the Thunder Circulation Method?
Since this was Cheonsan, he was presumably someone from the Demonic Cult, but this made no sense no matter how he looked at it.
Why would anyone hide something this deeply underground? And with a secret passage through a well, no less.
The well in the old Guardian Dragon Hall outpost had even connected to the Heavenly Demon Palace.
Was the Heavenly Demon of that era simply bored?
He couldn’t know. But one thing was certain.
“This…”
The previous owner’s arrangements didn’t end with the Thunder Circulation Method.
Among the inscriptions on the wall, the first three characters read:
【Art of Creation】
Within this cavern existed yet another extraordinary technique left behind by him.
In that moment, Jang I-seo realized two things.
“I still have a way to grow stronger.”
That this was not his absolute limit, contrary to what the Heavenly Demon had said.
And the second thing was…
“If I can decipher all of this cipher.”
The previous owner who had created this place was, both then and now, very far removed from kindness.
【⍭⌵⌴⌯⌰⌡⌒…….】
Aside from the opening line, everything was inscribed in an incomprehensible cipher.
A grin crept onto Jang I-seo’s lips.
“However long it takes… I’ll decode every last bit of it.”
And so began his effort to communicate with the previous owner.
*
Drip, drip, drip.
Water droplets echoed without the slightest deviation in rhythm.
By now, it would be enough to drive anyone mad.
But Jang I-seo seemed not to hear them at all, gripping a stone and scratching furiously at the floor.
The vast floor was packed tight with white characters, as if someone had covered every inch in scribbles.
And when he finally straightened his back after what amounted to nearly a full day.
“Huu…”
At last, the wretched cipher was fully decoded.
This was only possible because it was Jang I-seo, the finest agent of the Hidden Pavilion.
A genuine smile settled onto his haggard face.
He then cross-referenced the cipher text he had written on the floor and began transcribing the previous owner’s bizarre text onto the wall, reading as he went.
【I am Han Mu-yeong.】
This was the first time.
He was learning who the man was. A brief but heavy greeting, characteristic of him. Jang I-seo clasped his hands in salute and replied.
“I am Jang I-seo.”
They had exchanged nothing more than a single name each, yet a strange sense of camaraderie arose. He pictured the previous owner who must have stood in this very place ages ago.
And the inscription continued.
【The Heavenly Demon is a god.】
Heh. A hollow laugh escaped him. Even across eras, their presence remained unchanged.
Well, he could understand. The current Heavenly Demon didn’t seem particularly human, either.
However.
【And I… killed that god.】
Thump! Jang I-seo was momentarily stunned.
What in the world did this… Then!
“You killed… the Heavenly Demon?!”
That was exactly what he was saying.
That he had killed the Heavenly Demon with his own hands.
【The mission is complete.】
He had even been acting under someone’s orders.
His head buzzed.
“You were… a spy, just like me…”
Now everything made sense.
Why the Thunder Circulation Method had to be a demonic art beyond the realm of humanity.
Why it was riddled with ciphers, and why a secret passage leading to the Heavenly Demon Palace existed.
All of it…
was because he had been a spy dispatched to kill the Heavenly Demon.
How could something like this have…
Jang I-seo urgently collected himself and resumed decoding the cipher.
And.
【But it was a mission I should never have undertaken.】
He was struck by another massive shock.
【Soon, he will awaken from his slumber.】
His pupils quivered.
【An immortal being.】
Scratch, scratch. Clack.
Jang I-seo wrote two characters and then dropped the stone.
Two characters that were almost impossible to believe.
【The Blood Lord.】
The infamous master of the Blood Cult.
Jang I-seo’s jaw dropped.
One overwhelming name after another kept emerging.
It would be easier to believe if this were a novel written by some nobody.
“This doesn’t make any sense. The previous owner killed the Heavenly Demon, and killing the Heavenly Demon brought forth the Blood Lord?”
It wasn’t just one mountain beyond another. For the peace of the Central Plains, it was truly horrifying.
Moreover, from his current standpoint, it was difficult to accept at face value.
“For one thing, the Blood Cult doesn’t even exist anymore.”
Why? Because it had already been destroyed.
Jang I-seo shook his head quickly and thought about it realistically.
“Besides, we don’t even know when the previous owner lived. Even the cipher is outdated. It’s full of indecipherable pictograms. And the fact that no one knew about this place supports that. This had to have been at least a century ago, probably more.”
Thinking of it that way eased his mind considerably.
It was undoubtedly an astonishing secret history, but it involved events from an unknown era.
The word “immortal” was undeniably unsettling, but there was no need to panic over nothing.
And the letter left by the previous owner, Han Mu-yeong, ended there.
What followed was the oral formula for the Art of Creation.
Jang I-seo shook his head, banishing every last trace of distracting thoughts.
“Anyway, what matters now is mastering this Art of Creation.”
Focus on the task at hand.
Jang I-seo picked up the stone from the floor again. He cross-referenced the inscriptions with the cipher text.
Scratch, scratch. The formulas were inscribed onto the wall one by one.
After another considerable stretch of time had passed and the wall was completely filled, he read through it several more times.
Clack. The stone dropped to the floor again, and a time of contemplation arrived for Jang I-seo.
“…Until now, I haven’t been able to properly utilize the Thunder Circulation Method. I couldn’t gather my internal energy and release it like Mao’s More-the-Better Fist, and emission was beyond imagination. Why? Because it was too fast.”
That was the truth. He had taught Mao how to slowly circulate his energy, but the one who was actually failing to execute it properly was Jang I-seo himself.
Because the speed of his lightning qi was as fast as light, he couldn’t control it.
So while he could convert his qi’s nature to lightning and rapidly complete the Lesser and Great Heavenly Circuits, he couldn’t unleash overwhelming power.
The only time he could demonstrate his true capability was when using White Thunder, which absorbed lightning qi.
And the previous owner had felt the same way.
“The Art of Creation’s formula states that lightning qi cannot be chased even by intention. Because artificial force cannot surpass the power of nature. In other words, qi that has already flowed past can never be controlled.”
So the previous owner had decided to change his thinking.
Instead of trying to control the lightning qi, he would guide it to where he wanted.
And the thing that taught him how was none other than White Thunder.
“White Thunder possesses the property of attracting lightning qi. That’s why it seeps in on its own even with just a little circulation. Leaving only the blade behind, and keeping it in the wrist guard, were all to accumulate lightning qi without any interference.”
In other words, the lightning qi gathered on its own.
The Art of Creation was a technique born from this very principle.
“A cultivation method is the art of managing internal energy. Seen in that light, the Art of Creation is a cultivation method, yet not a cultivation method. Because it doesn’t handle internal energy. The Art of Creation is a secret art that manipulates all the energy inherent within the body.”
Yes. This was why the previous owner had named it an Art rather than a Method.
Jang I-seo spread his left palm and extended it forward. He slowly circulated his internal energy and spoke.
“The Art of Creation is not an accumulation technique that requires building internal energy over a long period. It is simply an application art that allows you to precisely manipulate all the energy within your body. But for me, who wields the Thunder Circulation Method, it is a better cultivation method than anything else.”
VWOOM!
Internal energy surged from Jang I-seo’s body. He slowly concentrated it toward the acupoint at his fingertips. Dark demonic qi wavered around his hand.
This was the standard form of gathering qi.
But if he converted this to lightning qi.
『Thunder Circulation Method』
BZZZT! The internal energy gathered in his palm flashed brilliantly and scattered throughout his entire body in an instant.
“As expected, gathering lightning qi through conventional methods is impossible.”
Jang I-seo let the Thunder Circulation Method dissipate and sat down cross-legged.
‘The formula records two techniques. One is the Qi Guard, which protects the internal energy and body with yin and yang energy. And the second is the Charge, which generates a magnetic force within the body to draw lightning qi to the desired location.’
And what Jang I-seo was most eagerly anticipating right now was the second technique, the Charge.
If he could just succeed at that alone, a new path would open for the Thunder Circulation Method.
But to do that, he first needed to master yin and yang energy.