Chapter 159: Scripture Refining Mind Method

Suddenly, something foreign entered my body. Instinctively, I had no choice but to feel a sense of rejection.

I hurriedly moved my internal energy and divine power to block the path climbing up my hand.

“Huh?”

When its path was blocked, the thing climbing up my arm stopped moving.

“It’s gentle?”

I could not know its identity, but since it had suddenly entered my body, I thought it would be quite unruly.

Naturally, I expected it to clash in rebellion if I blocked its path.

However, it quietly stopped its movement and remained in place.

It was to the extent that it looked as if it were asking for permission.

“It is certainly nothing ordinary… Ah, now that I think about it?”

Suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind.

[The essence is what dwells in the seed inside the fruit, so you swallow only that. Then it too will be able to ascend with you when you climb to heaven. Well, if you take that seed, there will be some additional gains, so it’s a win-win.]

Recalling what Master Zhang Sanfeng had said, I could guess the identity of this thing that had entered my body now.

“The child left by the celestial peach blossom tree. Is this the essence of the peach blossom tree that was said to be contained in the seed?”

Since the foundation of the wood divine power I obtained was a existence like the mother of this essence, it seemed to have been drawn in by that.

“I thought I had to obtain it by eating the seed, but it seems it could enter in this way too.”

In that case, there was no reason to block it.

It was something I had intended to take anyway, and I didn’t think something from a celestial treasure would harm me.

With the thought of seeing how it would react, I opened the path I had blocked, and the thing that had been quiet crept upward.

“Does it have a consciousness?”

The cautious movement was as if it were asking, ‘Can I really go up?’

As if responding to that question, when I left it alone, it quickened its pace and before I knew it, entered my head, the Upper Dantian, and quietly settled down.

“…Is that it?”

Because I was told there would be additional gains, I had expected something, but it felt like nothing had changed much.

I felt as if my vision had become a bit clearer, but the difference was so negligible that I could dismiss it as a trick of my mind.

“Hmm… It doesn’t talk to me or anything.”

It didn’t seem much had changed, and I felt no sense of incompatibility.

It might just be a seed to ascend with me when I climb to heaven someday.

***

[Wake up.]

In the middle of the night, I woke up with a start at a voice that made goosebumps rise just by listening to it.

“Master Heavenly Demon?”

[Good, your response is fast.]

Unlike the other masters, he was someone difficult to treat with familiarity. Perhaps because of that, every single character of the sound reaching my head felt like cold valley water.

‘Woah! I’m wide awake.’

I trained during the day until my whole body was completely exhausted. Even though it was not easy to wake from a sweet sleep, my mind was clear. To the extent that I felt it was strange myself, the state of my body and mind was perfect, even more so than usual.

That meant I was extremely tense.

“Have you been well in the meantime…”

[If shoving shooting stars into the mouths of those damn bastards in hell and frying them in dung water can be called being well, then yes, I suppose so. I have been well.]

“…Ah, yes.”

It seemed to be the influence of my fear of Master Heavenly Demon.

Especially after hearing about hell from Master Zhang Sanfeng, those words did not sound like a joke.

[It seems you are still digging only into Sanfeng’s and that Bodhidharma fellow’s martial arts to death.]

“Haha… It’s because your martial arts are a bit difficult, Master Heavenly Demon.”

[Hmph! My martial arts are indeed a bit high-dimensional. It is also true that because the opportunity to build up step-by-step from the basics has disappeared, it is not something you can handle at your current level.]

He seemed to have taken it as praise for his martial arts, as his mood suddenly rose.

Well, since the masters were all great figures, merely stating the facts naturally became praise.

‘Huh? Wait! Then, as my level increases later, it means I’ll gradually get involved with Master Heavenly Demon more often!’

Suddenly, I felt like my future was turning gray.

Is my future really going to be okay?

‘No. Let’s think positively. Anyway, Master Heavenly Demon is also a master. He even sent Yi Hwa to me at a great loss for my growth. Once I get used to it, it will be fine.’

I vigorously waved the flag of hope in my head.

[When my turn comes, I will roll you very well.]

“Ahahaha…”

I felt like I could hear a crackling sound in my head.

It was the sound of the flag of hope burning.

[Well, we will talk about the things in the near future later. Let’s get to business.]

‘In the near future…?’

Although I felt like I was repeatedly catching his words, for some reason, I could feel a sense of incompatibility hidden like a trap between his words, so I could not just let it pass.

[I will teach you a martial art.]

“…Yes?”

[Concentrate.]

Master Heavenly Demon was suddenly throwing a martial art at me.

The mnemonics of the martial art transmitted by Master Heavenly Demon began to enter and lodge themselves into my head.

As expected of a celestial-branded martial art, the mnemonics of the martial art took their place in my body.

‘Huh?’

However, this martial art was somewhat strange.

‘The major meridians are not moving?’

It seemed to be a type of mind cultivation method, but it was completely different from common mind cultivation methods.

As if showing it was indeed a celestial-branded martial art, it was matchlessly peculiar.

No, this time it was not of a nature that could be explained by the word peculiar.

‘A mind cultivation method that doesn’t focus on the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Does that make sense?’

The major pathways representing the channels through which internal energy passes are the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Primary Meridians. This is because they are the largest and widest in the body, making them the best pathways for internal energy to pass through.

Among them, the most important places for a martial artist are the Conception and Governing vessels, which are major pathways of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Circulating the qi that entered from the outside through breathing in a full circle through these two vessels, called the dual vessels of Conception and Governing, is called the Microcosmic Orbit.

Building up internal strength through this Microcosmic Orbit is the basic internal cultivation method.

Needless to say, mind cultivation methods called supreme divine arts also develop by gradually expanding into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Primary Meridians with these dual vessels of Conception and Governing as the base.

‘An internal cultivation method that does not pass through the dual vessels of Conception and Governing. Just like the Clear Brightness Mind Method… Clear Brightness Mind Method?’

The Clear Brightness Mind Method, which had settled in the Middle Dantian, was similar to this.

‘Which means…’

When I observed the internal changes, there was something actively moving in the Upper Dantian of my head.

It was the essence of the peach blossom tree that I had accepted during the day.

The thing that had been quiet moved diligently and began to grow in size through the stem connected to my head.

It was as if a tree were taking root.

In the body, there are blood vessels.

In that case, what is connected to the head, the brain?

Of course, the brain also has blood vessels, and it is a pathway of the major meridians, but something more fundamental is connected to it.

The nerves.

Extending like tiny roots throughout the entire body from the brain.

As the essence of the peach blossom tree settled in my head extended roots through the nerves, a mysterious sensation began to envelop my entire body.

[I pondered all along. Bodhidharma’s martial arts train the physical body, and Sanfeng’s martial arts train the mind. Because those fellows preempted the foundation of martial arts first, the domain for me to step forward was bound to be limited. So, when I thought about where my power settled in the Upper Dantian could exert influence, the answer came out.]

Master Heavenly Demon’s martial art, the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand, had outstanding power, but training in it was not easy.

He did not visit frequently to give advice on training like Master Zhang Sanfeng or Master Bodhidharma did.

It was also true that it was difficult to train in Master Heavenly Demon’s martial arts in terms of location.

So he brought an absurd martial art.

A martial art that trains the nerves…

‘Wow! I wondered if this makes sense, but it does.’

Although I had heard that there was a martial art called Sensory Martial Arts, which is said to be deployed through experiences gained in countless actual combats and sharply refined senses, that is literally a martial art learned by crossing the line of death, not in this haphazard way.

[You were lucky. Originally, I intended to pass it on to you when your training had progressed a bit further, but looking at you today, I saw you obtained something interesting.]

I had heard that if you do good deeds, blessings arise and luck follows, but could this also be its aftermath?

It was merely obtained by chance, but watching the sequence of how things worked out, I even felt it was very contrived.

[I named it the Scripture-Refining Mind Method. Since I intend to pass on martial arts that utilize it in the future, you must diligently practice what I have given you now.]

This alone was enough to be surprised, but he said it was only the beginning.

Now I was even tired of being surprised.

‘The Clear Brightness Mind Method became the main body of the Three Talents Unified Qi Art. Then will the Scripture-Refining Mind Method also become a pillar supporting the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand in the future?’

My heart pounded naturally.

What kind of amazing martial art will this evolve into?

[You need to become stronger than you are now. I cannot say more because I have no room left in terms of causality, but there is a good reason why Bodhidharma cannot come to see you. Besides, the fellow connected to me… Tsk!]

Master Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue as he cut off what he was saying halfway.

‘No, if you cut off your words in the middle like this…’

Because the process of the essence of the peach blossom tree taking root through the Scripture-Refining Mind Method had not finished yet, I could not open my mouth and could only blink my eyes.

“Master Heavenly Demon?”

By the time some time had passed and the essence of the peach blossom tree stopped moving, no answer came.

He seemed to have already left the Meridian Mirror.

In the end, I had no choice but to deduce it myself.

“If it is a fellow connected to Master Heavenly Demon… the Demonic Cult? Is he telling me to watch out for the movements of the Demonic Cult? The way Gyeong Sang-eon, a former high-ranking official, died in Suzhou was similar to Sang Woo-kyung, the Demonic Cult spy who infiltrated the Mount Hua Sect. So I deduced that there might be some connection between the Demonic Cult and Crane. Is it related to that?”

I fell into thought, furrowing my brow, but I could not continue the deduction with just the few clues given.

***

I pondered through the night, but the conclusion I eventually reached was the reality that what I could do right now was extremely limited.

It was rather a realistic and practical action to train myself.

Anyway, what Master Heavenly Demon directed was also that I must become stronger than now.

When that conclusion came out, the first thing I thought of was the issue of compatibility between the divine powers.

‘Is this guy okay?’

Since the essence of the peach blossom tree, which had taken root through the Upper Dantian to the nerves of the entire body, had its attribute, I was worried that it would not get along well with the fire divine power.

‘It’s fine?’

Fortunately, the essence of the peach blossom tree had no major problems.

Perhaps because the domain where the essence of the peach blossom tree settled was basically the Upper Dantian and the nerves, there was little contact with the fire divine power moving through the major meridians.

It was not entirely absent, but the earth divine power, which had good compatibility with wood, actively blocked it.

What was surprising was the feeling that the fire divine power, which acted as if it would devour the wood divine power moving through the major meridians, slightly pretended not to see the peach blossom tree essence.

I relieved my worries.

As training began like that, I felt the rapidly changed points.

“Pant… Pant… Did you… ugh… eat something good at night before sleeping? Why is your… gah… condition so good?”

Baek Mu-ho, who was gasping and dying even though it was not yet noon, glared with questioning eyes.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why! …Huff! Completing the count… pant… is much faster… ugh… than other times!”

The advantage of group training is precisely the competitor. Compared to training alone, efficiency increases as one catches up to the surrounding speed.

In Baek Mu-ho’s case, he had adjusted his speed with me as the standard.

“I didn’t think it was different from usual?”

“What do you mean not different! You did… gah… twenty percent more than usual! Aaah! I’m dying… phew! Huah!”

As if even raising his voice was difficult, Baek Mu-ho panted heavily.

‘I thought I did it as usual… If anything, it was closer to adjusting it moderately because I lost sleep at night.’

Was it the function of the peach blossom tree essence and the Scripture-Refining Mind Method?

I felt grateful anew.

My hand, rising unconsciously, patted my head, the back part where the peach blossom tree essence and the Scripture-Refining Mind Method settled.

“…Thank you.”

However, as if responding to that, a sensation of something flinching was transmitted.

‘Does it really have a consciousness?’

It felt like a young child who liked receiving praise.

Simple, pure, and instinctive.

Learning that, I suddenly thought that maybe I should give it a name.

Around the time such a thought crossed my mind.

“…”

I didn’t know the reason, but Yi Hwa’s eyes seemed to have changed slightly.