Chapter 1036
The lama was gasping for breath, looking as if he might pass away at any moment.
His face was extremely haggard, his lips were chapped as if he had not swallowed a single drop of water for days, and his complexion was incomparably pale. However, even though his breath was ragged, his eyes alone were clear and flashing, showing that he had not lost the dignity and righteous elegance of a high monk who had disciplined himself through a lifetime of ascetic practices.
Yet, red bloodstains spread over his tattered gray Buddhist robes, which were torn in places, and dirt and dried blood were tangled within them, making his appearance wretched.
‘This is not a simple injury.’
Jin Seol perceived that the old lama had been severely injured by an attack from a master with high-strength martial arts, and she asked cautiously.
“Who are you?”
“I have committed a discourtesy.”
Discovering Jin Seol approaching, the lama respectfully brought his palms together in a Buddhist salute despite his condition.
“This old monk’s injuries are severe, so I have unintentionally crossed your wall.”
Even though dirt was completely smeared over his injuries where bones were revealed in places, he maintained an undisturbed posture, and a natural dignity flowed from his voice and eyes. Guessing that the lama possessed an extraordinary internal energy, Jin Seol politely extended her hand.
“Let us treat your injuries first.”
“It is fine. I will merely catch my breath for a moment and set out again…”
When the old monk declined, Jin Seol spoke calmly.
“Since you have already caused trouble, I think it would be fine to cause trouble just once more.”
The old monk noticed that Jin Seol’s eyes were not only extremely bright, but a noble aura was also enshrouding her entire body. He smiled faintly and nodded his head.
“Then I shall cause you trouble.”
***
Jin Seol brought the old monk to her quarters and began treatment. Because this manor was a safe house that only high-ranking officials of Majeon could use, there were many useful medicines inside.
Jin Seol applied gold ointment, wrapped the wounds with clean bandages, and dissolved a Seunggi-Baekhang Pill in water to feed it to the old monk.
“You do not seem to be a physician, yet you are skillful in treatment.”
At the old monk’s words, Jin Seol spoke in a low voice.
“In the past, while helping a certain noble physician, I learned how to treat injuries by looking over his shoulder.”
Before taking on the duties of the Majeon Flower, she had once cared for patients while learning medicine under Gyo Junghak, the Hall Master of the Medicine Hall. However, seeing that the old monk’s eyes were righteous, he would clearly dislike the Demonic Path.
Therefore, she did not reveal her affiliation and glossed over it in this manner.
“Is that so?”
He then asked cautiously.
“Why does one at such a young age continue a lonely life in a desolate manor like this?”
This manor was a place that was considerably secluded and possessed a lonely scenery, making it a perfect safe house for those who were sick of the world or those who had retired from the martial world.
“It is merely a place where I am staying for a short while.”
Confirming that a deep furrow was formed between Jin Seol’s eyebrows and that her eyes were full of anxiety, the old monk showed a benevolent smile.
“This old monk has asked a useless question. As one gets older, one speaks of things outside one’s station without hesitation, so please understand.”
He then spoke in a gentle voice.
“Looking at your face, although there are hardships now, everything will be resolved before long.”
“Are you saying you can read physiognomy, Monk?”
“Is there much to reading physiognomy?”
The old monk showed a pleasant smile.
“If you live long and look into other people’s faces a lot, it is something you naturally come to know.”
A slight smile flowed across Jin Seol’s dry lips.
This western monk looked to be a little over a hundred years old, but his voice overflowed with strength, and his stories contained humor.
“Now that this old monk’s body has become lighter…”
The old monk tried to stand up, but his body wobbled. Although the Seunggi-Baekhang Pill was effective enough to be called a spiritual medicine for healing internal and external injuries, it had the disadvantage that its medicinal effect was too strong.
“Please close your eyes for a moment.”
The old monk tried to refuse. However, in a situation where his injuries were severe and he had completely consumed his true energy, he had taken the Seunggi-Baekhang Pill, so drowsiness was pouring in to the extent that he could not move his body at all.
“I shall be rude.”
Leaving behind those words, he fell into a deep sleep just like that.
Yet, at that moment, as the old monk fell asleep, a small wooden box slipped out from his bosom. Jin Seol picked it up without thinking much of it and placed it on the table. However, she discovered a faint light flowing out from the wooden box.
“What is this?”
She cautiously opened the wooden box. A small key inlaid with a bead was revealed.
The light flowing from the wooden box was emanating from that small bead.
‘This is an extraordinary object.’
The moment she lightly touched the key, the light flowing from the bead began to grow even deeper. Realizing that it was a mysterious treasure, she cautiously closed the wooden box and placed it on the table. When Jin Seol walked outside the pavilion, before she knew it, a shadow dressed in black clothes was kneeling on one knee and prostrating respectfully.
“Majeon Flower Jin Seol.”
It was none other than Yang Jeong, the Pavilion Master of the Ghost Pavilion, who had been guarding the area around the secluded manor under the orders of the Demon Emperor.
“You must not bring a suspicious person from the outside into the manor.”
His martial arts were formidable, so he had already perceived that Jin Seol had brought an outsider into the manor.
‘It cannot be helped.’
It was fine that the lama had secretly entered the manor, but he had made a loud sound upon landing. However, what was surprising was the fact that Yang Jeong, who was more than a hundred zhang away from the manor, had detected it.
“I will take care of it.”
When she came here, Jin Seol had not requested any guards, but the Demon Emperor had attached a guard unit of his own accord. In the past, she would have been moved by the thought that he was looking out for her, but now, it merely felt as if he had attached people to monitor her.
“Do not report this matter to the Elder. He will worry unnecessarily.”
“Understood.”
After bowing, Yang Jeong quietly turned his body. However, he was a subordinate of the Demon Emperor, not Jin Seol’s servant. An unexpected situation was slowly unfolding, but she did not notice it at all.
“Send a carrier pigeon.”
Once Jin Seol left, Yang Jeong spoke in a low voice.
“Report that Majeon Flower Jin has brought a suspicious person into the manor, so we will handle it according to orders.”
The Demon Emperor had given instructions to immediately handle any suspicious person who might come to the manor. However, because Yang Jeong was cautious and knew the Demon Emperor’s personality, he intended to make such a report one more time.
[Understood.]
A low and polite answer was heard from space. Yang Jeong stared at the quarters where Jin Seol was staying for a long time, and then he turned his body.
***
Jin Seol sat on the bed and circulated her energy.
Unlike ordinary seated methods, her energy circulation method gathered the index and middle fingers, making both mudras face the sky.
It was something the Demon Emperor had taught her, a method to simultaneously strengthen the spirit and internal energy by utilizing the Void Absolute Non-Phase Scripture and the Non-Augmentation Heart Method simultaneously. She thought that if her martial arts grew stronger and the barrier of her mental focus became firm, she might regain her memories. While staying in the manor, she practiced energy circulation and meditation instead of sleeping.
It was because of the thought, ‘Could I perhaps regain my lost memories?’
“In the end, it was an impossible task.”
If the Demon Emperor had intentionally manipulated or destroyed her memories, it could absolutely never be restored with just a heart method or a core secret. Because the sky of the Demonic Path would absolutely never make a mistake.
‘If that is the case…’
Such thoughts soon led to doubt. If the Demon Emperor had intentionally erased her memories, she arrived at the thought: ‘Is the heart method text for controlling the mind that he passed down to me truly intact?’
Although it was merely a brief sentiment, such thoughts during energy circulation lead to a breakdown of the spirit.
Hum, hum.
The further she continued her energy circulation, Jin Seol’s internal breath became uncontrollably disordered, and an ominous vibration lingered around her ears. Because she had unconsciously rejected the heart method taught by the Demon Emperor, the aftermath was completely encroaching upon her body and mind.
‘I must withdraw my doubts.’
Jin Seol desperately suppressed her doubts and random thoughts toward the Demon Emperor. However, just as it is difficult to withdraw a technique once deployed, shaking off doubts that have bloomed within the mind is an extremely difficult matter.
In the end, a crack appeared in her mental focus, and a heart demon manifested.
Thick veins rose up across her entire body like earthworms. If things continued like this, not only would the internal energy she had accumulated over a lifetime perish, but her spirit could also completely collapse, turning her into an idiot.
Whoosh!
The energy that surged like an explosion from her dantian soon became a scorching heat, rampaging as if to burn her entire meridian system.
‘I am dying here.’
Jin Seol instinctively sensed death.
Escaping from a heart demon that manifested during energy circulation is close to impossible. To make matters worse, the heat surging from her dantian was causing even her nerves and senses to disappear.
‘I cannot see ahead.’
The tangled chaotic energy and the pain that felt like burning her flesh suddenly vanished, and her vision was slowly dyed in darkness. She could not even scream.
Her breath gradually tightened, and her consciousness grew faint.
To arrive at the final destination of life so futilely.
‘No…’
In the end, at the moment her soul was about to be sucked into an infinitely black space.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, a refreshing yet warm energy spread out from behind her back. That energy began to calmly settle Jin Seol’s true energy, which had been chaotically tangled and rampaging.
Her blurred vision slowly began to brighten.
Whoosh.
The gentle energy injected behind her back slowly drove out the hot heat enshrouding her entire body to the exterior. As if a stream of clear spring water had flowed into a fierce blaze, the chaotic air currents were organized one by one.
Jin Seol turned her head.
There, the old monk, who should have been in a deep sleep, was placing his hand upon her Life Gate acupoint and injecting internal energy.
“How…”
Jin Seol asked in surprise. The old monk had clearly collapsed in an extreme state and lost consciousness, so how had he recovered so perfectly in less than a single shigeng?
“The physical body of the Dharma Heaven Golden Cicada is convenient. Not only does it quickly recover from light internal and external injuries, but even if one sleeps for a single quarter of an hour, one can obtain the same effect as having slept soundly for an entire day.”
‘The Limitless Realm!’
Jin Seol widened her eyes in surprise. To think that this old western monk was a master of the Limitless Realm who looked down upon the world.
“Concentrate your mind. The energy within your body has not been entirely controlled yet.”
Jin Seol nodded her head, focused again, and began to practice energy circulation. However, because her doubts had not been resolved yet, whenever she quickly unified the energy within her body, the Void Absolute Non-Phase Secret and the Rotten Demonic Ancestor Heart Method felt in an extremely uncomfortable form.
‘There is nothing I can do right now.’
Jin Seol forcibly moved her true energy to control the energy within her body. Fortunately, the true energy delivered by the old monk accommodated even her true energy like the sea, so the energy within her body slowly regained stability.
“It seems the crisis has passed.”
When the old monk wiped away his sweat and withdrew his hand, Jin Seol bowed her head.
“Thank you.”
Hum, hum.
Yet, a faint light was flowing out from her two hands. It was a light of the exact same color as when she had touched the bead attached to the key earlier.
“Why is there light in my hands…”
Jin Seol was surprised enough to faint while looking down at her hands, but the old monk spoke in an unconcerned manner.
“Oh, so you were a bloodline of the Sacred Domain.”
“The Holy Constellation Immortal. Is he still enjoying longevity like an immortal? I do not know why he left his granddaughter alone in a manor like this.”
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
Jin Seol asked with a bewildered expression.
“What kind of place on earth does the Sacred Domain refer to?”
The old monk asked as if it were strange.
“Are you saying you are not a person of the Sacred Domain?”
“I do not even know what kind of place the Sacred Domain refers to.”
“There is no way.”
The old monk shook his head.
“There are no individuals who are born with the energy of the Sun and Moon Creation, and the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor, except for the bloodlines of the Sacred Domain.”
“I am…”
She stammered in confusion. If that were the case, was she a bloodline of a place called the Sacred Domain?
Seeing Jin Seol’s confused expression, the old monk spoke with a benevolent expression.
“May I ask the benefactor’s identity?”
“I am…”
Jin Seol hesitated. What was her identity right now? A former Flower of Majeon? Or an adopted daughter whose utility had been discarded by the Demon Emperor?
“I am merely…”
When Jin Seol was about to continue her words, she suddenly felt dizzy and staggered. Once again, an unknown feeling started from her dantian and surged all the way to her Baihui acupoint in an instant.
“This is…”
Exclaiming, the old monk supported Jin Seol.
“Are you not controlling your energy using the Sacred Domain Secret Transmission?”
“I do not know what you mean.”
Jin Seol’s lips were turning pale.
“I am a person who has no relation to a place called the Sacred Domain.”
It felt as if the energy spreading from within her body was gradually growing stronger, and her blood was boiling to the point of evaporating. She forcibly practiced energy circulation, but it instead merely stimulated that energy.
“There is no way.”
Detecting the intense heat blooming from Jin Seol’s body, the old monk shook his head.
“That energy cannot be controlled with a general internal energy heart method.”
“But I…”
Her body was feeling a heat that seemed to burn brightly, but strangely, she was trembling as if she had entered an ice cave.
“I cannot understand it.”
Shaking his head, the old monk injected true energy once more and spoke.
“From now on, practice your energy circulation according to the core secret that this old monk recites. Even if it is not perfect, you will be able to control that energy.”
He then began to transmit an internal energy secret core consisting of about a thousand characters to Jin Seol. The text was not particularly long, but a profound truth was contained within each and every word. Even though she possessed an extraordinary brain capable of memorizing the contents of several books all at once, strangely, it was difficult to memorize the core secret of about a thousand characters at one time.
“My goodness, you have mastered an ancient internal energy secret science.”
Only then did the old monk realize that the heart method utilized by Jin Seol was an ancient supreme internal energy secret science that had already disappeared from the current martial world, and he lamented.
“While a profound heart method like this may be able to augment one’s martial arts, it makes it impossible to use the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor.”
“It would have been better if you had not learned a heart method at all.”
Murmuring lowly, the old monk redoubled his internal energy and began to suppress the energies rising within Jin Seol’s body. In the end, the heat generated from Jin Seol’s body was calmed once more.
However, thick sweat was gradually forming on the old monk’s forehead. He had consumed a vast amount of true energy to save Jin Seol.
“Why do you bestow this great grace upon me?”
Realizing that the old monk had sacrificed the internal energy he had painstakingly cultivated to save her, Jin Seol bowed and offered a salute.
“If you tell me your Buddhist name, Great Master, I will surely ensure that I repay this grace in the future.”
“Did you not save this old monk as well?”
The old monk showed a benevolent smile.
“What is so great about the true energy coming from an old, bent body?”
“But…”
“There are no debts between each other, so do not mind minor things.”
Merely treating a wound and sharing one’s original true energy, which equates to life force, cannot be the same. However, the old monk spoke unconcernedly, as if he had shared a piece of dumpling left in his pocket.
“this old monk’s body has become comfortable, so I shall be on my way now.”
Lest Jin Seol feel burdened, he intended to leave the manor quickly. However, his internal injuries had not perfectly recovered, and because he had consumed his full strength to save Jin Seol, his body became wobbly once more the moment he turned around.
“Great Master.”
Jin Seol quickly stopped the old monk and spoke.
“There are many good medicines in this manor.”
She then spoke concisely.
“Please rest here further until your body recovers.”
“If this old monk stays here, you may fall into danger as well.”
“Formations and guards that no one can easily infiltrate are deployed in this place.”
The old monk pondered for a moment. In truth, because he had used his internal energy to save Jin Seol, the internal injuries he had barely suppressed had flared up again. It was a time when it was difficult to even deploy movement techniques.
Just as she said, the surroundings of this manor seemed to be guarded by warriors possessing mysterious movement techniques and powerful martial arts, so it would be fine to indebted himself for about a day.
“Then I shall be indebted to you just once.”
“Before that, your Buddhist name…”
“I am called Takma.”
The old monk, Takma, spoke simply.
“I lead a small buddhist sect.”
Jin Seol widened her eyes.
No matter how ignorant a person was of the West and the martial world, they could not fail to know the originator of Western Buddhism, the Mu Sect.
“Great Master, so you were the Sect Leader of the Mu Sect.”
It was no exaggeration to say that the Sect Leader of the Mu Sect was virtually the highest expert of the West.
The internal energy heart method of the Mu Sect, the Red Ring Secret Core, was the number one under heaven, and the Red Ring Mysterious Energy cultivated by it possessed a mysterious power beyond internal energy. However, that profound secret core was transmitted extremely secretly through a single disciple transmission, and only the Sect Leader of the Mu Sect could master it.
Therefore, except for the leadership of each faction in the martial world who knew the facts, the Mu Sect’s grand reputation was not particularly well-known in the Central Plains.
“Did you transmit the Red Ring Secret Core to me?”
Jin Seol bit her lip. The internal energy secret core of about a thousand characters that Takma had transmitted to her just moments ago. He had unsparingly injected the highest secret science of the Mu Sect, which descended in secrecy, into her.
“Do not worry, I only detached and transmitted enough to treat your condition.”
Seeing the surprised Jin Seol, the old monk, Takma, cracked a joke.
“Regrettably, the benefactor possesses a woman’s body, so even if you shave your head, you cannot become the leader of this sect.”
“I have committed a discourtesy, Great Master.”
No matter how separate Western martial arts and Central Plains martial arts were, the Sect Leader of the Western Mu Sect could be considered of the same generation as the Buddha Lord, who held the highest seniority in the current martial world. For such a person to unsparingly transmit a secret core and true energy to save a young woman he did not know at all.
“First, follow me.”
To allow Takma, who was sweating profusely, to recover quietly, Jin Seol guided him to a secret chamber of the manor that could block out external noise. She then prepared clear water, a spiritual medicine capable of controlling internal injuries, and lit a clear mind incense that clears the mind and body.
“Thank you.”
Takma, who sat cross-legged with difficulty, showed a smile.
“Then I shall be rude.”
White smoke rose up like a pillar from the crown of his head as he entered an energy circulation state in an instant. Jin Seol closed the door with a worried expression.
Since he was the Sect Leader of the Mu Sect who possessed the number one internal energy under heaven, his internal injuries would be easily controlled. However, because she had caused him to sacrifice his true essence, Jin Seol was merely greatly worried about that.
After a day passed, Takma came out from the secret chamber. Whether he had controlled his internal injuries well in the meantime, his complexion had improved and his bent waist had straightened. However, the faint energy located within his eyebrows did not leave.
“Your body has not completely recovered.”
When Jin Seol assumed a worried expression, Takma shook his head.
“That is not an internal injury, but a wound obtained long ago by being struck by a terrifying demonic art.”
Jin Seol assumed a strange expression. Who on earth had deployed a demonic art that even the highest expert of the West who had reached the Limitless Realm could not dissolve? However, right now, such things were not important to Jin Seol.
“Great Master, there is something I wish to ask you. I pray you do not refuse and give me an answer.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
“You said I was a bloodline of the Sacred Domain.”
She then asked cautiously.
“What kind of sect on earth is the Sacred Domain?”
Takma assumed a difficult expression.
Since she possessed the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor, he naturally thought she was a descendant of the Sacred Domain Lord.
But what if she was an individual unrelated to the Sacred Domain?
He would have spoken useless words carelessly and caused harm to her.
“It seems this old monk made a mistake after all.”
He spoke with a difficult expression.
“Please forget the words about being a bloodline of the Sacred Domain.”
Jin Seol was frustrated to the point of dying, but she suppressed her emotions.
“Understood.”
She then spoke earnestly.
“Instead, I wish you would tell me what the Sacred Domain is.”
“Why on earth?”
Jin Seol could not bring herself to say she was the adopted daughter of the Demon Emperor, so she spoke cautiously.
“There is a reason for it.”
Pondering for a moment, Takma let out a sigh and spoke.
“If this old monk was not mistaken, the energy flowing from your body yesterday is an energy that only the bloodlines of a mysterious sect called the Sacred Domain can use.”
“A mysterious sect…”
“Correct. Thanks to that energy, they can deploy sorcery that an ordinary martial artist can never master in a lifetime, and they can use the highest treasures of the martial world that a commoner cannot even touch, such as the Sun and Moon Creation.”
“I see.”
“However…”
Takma spoke with a worried expression.
“As I said just now, if a martial artist unrelated to that sect comes to know about such a name, they will suffer a disaster. Therefore, there is a part that is difficult to speak of in detail.”
“Are you referring to a place called the Sacred Domain?”
“Correct. If you do not know a place called the Sacred Domain, you must absolutely never utter that word. If you do, you will suffer a great disaster.”
Jin Seol’s heart pounded.
‘The fact that I might perhaps be a bloodline of a place called the Sacred Domain.’
If it was a sect so grand that even the Sect Leader of the Mu Sect was reluctant to speak of it, it would be a place that could be beneficial to the Demon Emperor. Perhaps because she was a bloodline of a place called the Sacred Domain, he had kept her by his side.
“Great Master, in truth, I am in a state of having lost my memories.”
Jin Seol spoke honestly.
“I do not possess any memories before the age of seven at all.”
Takma assumed a strange expression.
“If you have lost only your memories before the age of seven, that is surely a sign that someone intentionally took action.”
Takma’s eyes narrowed.
“A person capable of erasing memories of such a specific period…”
However, he could not continue his words, and his complexion suddenly turned stiff. He then let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“So this was also a trap of the Demon Emperor.”
Greatly surprised, Jin Seol asked.
“What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”
Takma stared blankly into Jin Seol’s clear pupils and then shook his head.
“It seems the organization you were briefly a part of was Majeon. And you are a figure in a key position of Majeon.”
“How do you know that…”
“Those who are coming toward this place right now, those who possess such a sinister energy. Are they not none other than the hands and feet of Sado Muryeong?”
Only then did Jin Seol detect a sharp wave of murderous intent spreading along with a faint sound of movement around the pavilion.
It was clearly the energy of the warriors of the Ghost Pavilion.
“Could it be…”
Grasping the situation, she spoke to Takma.
“It seems there has been some misunderstanding. Please wait for just a moment.”
She then walked outside. Dozens of warriors were encircling the pavilion as if surrounding it while holding sharp precious swords. In front of them, a middle-aged man dressed in shiny black martial robes stood tall. It was none other than Yang Jeong, the Pavilion Master of the Ghost Pavilion.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Jin Seol asked with an angry expression.
“Did the Lord perhaps tell you to kill me?”
“In the end, it has turned out that way.”
“What did you say?”
“It is said that Western monk is an individual whom our main sect has been pursuing for a long time.”
A chilly murderous intent flashed within Yang Jeong’s pupils.
“It was a supreme command that descended from a long time ago. Anyone who comes into contact with that Western monk must be killed.”
