Chapter 765: The Fragrant Scent Instead of the Smell of Blood
Geom Mugeuk bowed deeply, paying his respects to the white bones of Joo Ga-shin, the Alliance Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance from three hundred years ago.
“It has been three hundred years since your era, Alliance Leader. I cannot know what happened back then, but I believe the decision to divide and safeguard these orbs was made for the peace of the martial world.”
Of course, perhaps the orbs had not been divided for the sake of peace. They had probably been split as part of tangled schemes and mutual checks among rivals.
“I will make sure to protect the peace that you and the many seniors before me tried to preserve with these orbs.”
Geom Mugeuk carefully picked up the violet orb resting on the skeletal hand. The moment he held the orb, the Secret Box that had been vibrating within his robes began to shake even more violently.
He bowed his head once more toward the remains.
“Thank you.”
As though it had been waiting for that, the lid of the coffin closed automatically.
Clatter—
Then the coffin slid back into its original resting place, and the secret door sealed itself shut. No trace of a doorway remained between the guardian statues.
Geom Mugeuk took out the Secret Box from his robes. He was more tense than he had ever been during any previous absorption of an orb’s energy.
The Secret Box was smiling, just as it always had. It felt as if it had only been yesterday when he had drawn that smiling face upon it.
“Secret Box, it’s the youngest one!”
Wuuuuuuung—
He placed the violet orb atop the trembling Secret Box.
Srrrrrk—
The orb melted into it as smoothly as a liquid being absorbed.
Wuuung!
The Secret Box vibrated powerfully once more and floated up into the air. It usually spun in midair, but today was different.
Swoooosh!
A violet radiance burst forth from the Secret Box.
At the same time, the five energies that had awakened within his body began to emit their own colors. The five energies pierced through Geom Mugeuk’s body, bursting out as radiant light.
Six colors of light swirled through the air.
It looked as if six dragons were coiling around him.
Anyone who might have seen it would have believed they were dreaming—a sight truly beyond imagination.
The six energies whirled around Geom Mugeuk and then converged upon the Secret Box.
Shoooook!
The box, having absorbed the six energies, still floated in midair.
Swoooosh—
Then, the Secret Box fired the intertwined strands of six-colored energy toward Geom Mugeuk.
Like sword energy being unleashed, the rays of light shot out in straight lines.
And when he had absorbed all of that energy, Geom Mugeuk saw it—
Ssssss—
The Secret Box, having completed its mission, faded away like smoke in midair.
‘No, Secret Box!’
Until the very last moment, the Secret Box was smiling at him. The memories of the times he had spent conversing with it surged within him, and his chest tightened. He hated parting like this, but if this was the fate between him and the box—
‘Secret Box, thank you for everything.’
The Secret Box vanished with a bright smile. It was the farewell of a friend who had accompanied him all this time.
Though the Secret Box had disappeared, the six energies it had released were still rampaging through Geom Mugeuk’s body.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
At last, all six energies had come together.
Geom Mugeuk instinctively felt the immense potential that this power held. It was entirely different from any elixir or medicine he had ever encountered. No, it should not even be called an elixir in the first place.
He began to perform the mental cultivation method he had learned from the Great Secret Box—the very same technique he had obtained when he returned to three hundred years in the past.
—In moving the true energy, it must be as free as the wind, yet as weighty as the earth. It must surge as fiercely as fire, yet be able to halt as still as ice. It must be as deep as darkness and as powerful as lightning. If you can unite these six energies into one, you shall attain the greatest power of all time.
The six energies, which had entered as one intertwined flow, dispersed along different meridians throughout his body.
The true energy moved along paths he had never imagined. Sometimes it flowed in reverse, sometimes along routes that would normally cause internal injury. It was a cultivation method that shattered every convention of martial theory.
The six mysterious energies coursed through every meridian of his body, forging new paths, until at last, in the final moment, they all converged at his dantian.
The instant the mental cultivation ended and the six energies merged into one—
Flash!
Radiance burst forth from Geom Mugeuk’s entire body. The light was so brilliant that even the New Eye Technique could not perceive through it.
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk felt a refreshing energy unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life.
If there was a single word to describe that sensation, it was this—
Mystical.
The merged energy did not fade away; instead, it encircled his dantian, gently pulsing.
Perhaps because of that, the internal energy flowing from his dantian now carried a mysterious quality along with it.
‘My internal energy has completely changed.’
To describe that transformation merely as “more refined” would be far too insufficient.
Then it happened.
His whole body suddenly felt as though it were floating into the air, and dizziness washed over him. It must have been because of the new energy within his dantian.
Geom Mugeuk sat cross-legged on the spot.
He tried to calm his mind and stabilize his body, but the haze lingered.
How could he even describe this feeling?
It was like standing still while watching a massive tidal wave rushing toward him from afar—knowing he should run, yet unable to move, only staring blankly. His body refused to respond, though he longed to act.
He felt his heartbeat gradually slow, yet his body remained still. The Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique stayed inactive; even his instinct for danger did not react.
‘What in the world is about to happen to me?’
This was a condition of the body he had never experienced before. Could it be poison, or the effect of Soul Reaping Art? No—it was clearly the side effect of the energy he had absorbed.
At the moment when the great tidal wave within his mind surged over him—
Crack!
“Ugh!”
A cry burst from Geom Mugeuk’s lips. He was a man who would not so much as flinch at ordinary pain, yet now his expression was twisted in agony.
Crackkk!
A sound of bones breaking echoed from within his body.
“Urghhh!”
He screamed. The bones throughout his body began to twist and snap one after another. Something impossible was happening.
He tried to rouse his inner energy to stop it, but the energy within his body would not move. His own body felt as though it no longer belonged to him.
The energy encircling his dantian—!
‘Was this energy actually a trap?’
A trap laid to destroy him?
No, that could not be. It was impossible that such a snare would have been hidden so subtly without him noticing.
Then why was this happening?
Crackk—
“Aaaargh!”
The bones within his body moved of their own accord.
Crack! Crunch!
The muscles and tendons attached to his bones stretched and then contracted violently.
“Uwaaaaah!”
It was pain beyond what any human could endure.
* * *
Geom Mugeuk was dreaming.
The ground was soaked with blood. When he looked around, he found himself standing before the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
Those who lay fallen in pools of blood were the pavilion’s guards.
Among them was Hui. Sitting lifeless against the wall that guarded the gate—he was dead, his eyes still open.
‘Uncle.’
Geom Mugeuk instinctively understood.
‘So this is that day.’
Yet before the regression, he had never made it this far. He had been killed by Hwa Moogi before reaching this place.
That was why this scene must have been a vision created by his subconscious.
After gently closing Hui’s eyes, Geom Mugeuk opened the doors of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion and stepped inside.
Splash.
Blood covered the floor—the path of blood had become a literal river of crimson.
In the distance stood the Throne Mat. Seated there was not his father, but another man. His father sat upon the floor before it, facing him. Geom Mugeuk instinctively knew his father was already gone.
‘Father!’
He knew this was a dream, he knew it was his own mind’s creation, but still, his chest felt as though it were being torn apart.
Upon the Throne Mat sat Hwa Moogi, staring straight at him.
The arrogance and pride in his gaze were exactly the same as the eyes that had looked down upon him on the day of his death.
Geom Mugeuk knelt before his father.
He did not know what battle had taken place that day, but—
“This time, it will be different, Father.”
At that moment, Hwa Moogi extended his hand.
Whoooosh—
Geom Mugeuk’s body was flung helplessly through the air by the grip of his hand. It was an overwhelming display of Void Telekinesis.
Hwa Moogi looked down at him with a cold gaze and asked,
“What is it that’s supposed to be different?”
Geom Mugeuk met his eyes and answered calmly,
“You’ll find out later.”
A faint sneer appeared on Hwa Moogi’s lips—
—and without the slightest hesitation, he snapped Geom Mugeuk’s neck.
Crunch.
“Aaaargh!”
With a scream, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes shot open.
Crack! Crackle!
Inside the tomb, lying on the cold floor, the bones within his body were still shifting, seeking their new places.
* * *
How much time had passed?
When Geom Mugeuk opened his eyes again, he felt heat surging violently throughout his body. Never before had he experienced such pain.
But the transformation within him continued.
If his bones had been completely reconstructed earlier, now it was his flesh’s turn.
Tcheoook—
His muscles tore apart, and new ones regenerated in their place.
Tcheok! Chuk!
Even though Geom Mugeuk already endured the agony of his bones being reshaped, the pain of his muscles ripping was another level entirely—one no human could easily withstand. Yet he clenched his teeth and endured.
He drifted in and out of consciousness—losing awareness, regaining it, and then losing it again.
And during that time, his old body collapsed while a new one was being rebuilt.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The true energy that exploded from his dantian coursed through all his meridians. Every blocked pathway burst open. The meridians through which the energy flowed widened and strengthened. It was a transformation entirely different from the Heavenly Meridian Strengthening Technique.
Once both his flesh and meridians had been completely reconstructed, another change began.
All the pores of his skin opened, releasing the turbid energy and impurities that had accumulated within his body.
A stench so unbearable filled the air—it was hard to believe it came from his own body.
And that wasn’t all.
Every strand of hair on his body fell out, only to begin growing anew. His skin peeled off, replaced by fresh skin beneath. It was a true shedding.
Geom Mugeuk could no longer distinguish whether he was dreaming or awake. In fact, he continued to dream even then.
Splash.
He once again stepped into the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
As before, blood covered the floor.
When his gaze turned toward the Throne Mat, Geom Mugeuk froze in shock.
The person sitting upon the Throne Mat was not Hwa Moogi—but his father.
And beneath him sat Hwa Moogi.
Just as in the previous dream, where his father had been seated, now Hwa Moogi sat dead in that same place.
When Geom Mugeuk looked up with a face full of joy, his father, upon the Throne Ma,t spoke.
“Now, only the unification of the martial world remains.”
The instant those words reached his ears, Geom Mugeuk awoke with a start.
He was still lying on the floor of the tomb.
Then he heard it—the sound of his blood flowing through his veins. It was a truly bizarre sensation. He could hear his heartbeat, feel the touch of air brushing across his skin, and the scents he had never noticed within the tomb pierced sharply into his nose.
Amid that dizzying flood of sensations, Geom Mugeuk once again lost consciousness.
How much time had passed this time?
When he next opened his eyes, he stood among countless stars. In the depths of the dark void, he saw an illusion of innumerable twinkling stars streaming past him.
The largest of those stars flew straight toward him.
The instant it collided with him—Geom Mugeuk’s eyes snapped open.
He could tell that he was now completely awake. How many days had passed?
Slowly, Geom Mugeuk rose to his feet. The maddening pain that had wracked his body was gone as if it had been a lie. His senses, once overwhelmed to chaos, had now calmed into perfect clarity.
‘I feel like I could soar.’
His body truly felt light—so light that the phrase “light as a feather” finally made sense.
But then, he frowned at the stench wafting from himself.
His entire body was smeared with filthy grime.
Snap.
Geom Mugeuk immediately activated the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique.
In an instant, he appeared at the place within the snowy plains—the warm hot spring.
He threw off his clothes and dove straight into the steaming water.
Splash!
Immersed in the warmth, Geom Mugeuk scrubbed his body clean.
Once wasn’t enough, so he conjured another hot spring and bathed again.
After cleansing himself thoroughly, he stepped out of the water and snapped his fingers once more.
A large bronze mirror appeared before him, tall enough to reflect his whole body.
When Geom Mugeuk gazed upon his reflection, his face filled with astonishment.
His body had changed.
It wasn’t drastically different, yet his bone structure had clearly transformed. His shoulders, arms, and legs—their width, thickness, and length—had all shifted.
His skin was flawless, every old wound completely gone.
When he touched it, it felt smooth like jade, soft as a newborn’s.
But Geom Mugeuk could sense it—the muscles beneath that skin were now far stronger than before. Even the skin itself was no ordinary flesh.
And that wasn’t all. His already sharp vision had become keener still; his hearing, smell, and touch had grown astonishingly sensitive. If he focused, he could even hear the faint sound of an ant crawling far in the distance.
In that moment, Geom Mugeuk was certain.
‘I have truly undergone rebirth—shedding my bones and remaking my flesh!’
When his bones had twisted, he had suspected it might be possible.
But this was the greatest of all martial fortunes—a complete rebirth of body and essence.
He had once doubted such a miracle could even happen to one. Yet what he experienced was exactly that—the death of his old body and the birth of a new one. The pain had been the price of perfection.
With trembling hands, Geom Mugeuk picked up the Black Demon Sword lying on the ground.
Shiiik, shiiik!
Inside the space of the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique, Geom Mugeuk swung his sword.
The sensation of wielding the blade was completely different now. Until this moment, he had believed his body had already been optimized for martial arts—but that had been a misconception, an arrogance.
‘It feels even better!’
His body had become perfect for performing martial techniques.
A bright smile spread across Geom Mugeuk’s face, and soon, his laughter echoed resoundingly through the world within the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique.
His joy was not simply because he could now face Hwa Moogi with greater strength.
It was because he had attained a body closer to perfection, sharpened senses, and a clearer mind.
He was, after all, a martial artist—a true warrior born with the Heavenly Martial Body.
Killing Hwa Moogi was not his entire purpose in life. Even if he reached the summit of a mountain that few could ever conquer, that did not mean he would remain there forever.
The energy left by the Secret Box had given him more than just a rebirth. The fused energy of the box still surrounded his dantian, and his internal energy pulsed with a strange, mystical force.
Swaaash—
Geom Mugeuk unleashed the Nine Calamities Demon Art. Perhaps it was due to the mysterious energy infused into his internal power—
—it demonstrated far greater might with far less energy than before.
When he circulated his Qi to replenish it, the new internal energy continued to form with that same mysterious strength.
It was as if he had gained an entirely new dantian.
Though he could not yet tell whether this power merely made his energy more efficient and potent, or if it had some other deeper effect, he believed it would aid him in the coming battle with Hwa Moogi.
After washing his clothes clean and drying them with the Heat Yang Energy, Geom Mugeuk stepped out from the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique. A faint fragrance lingered upon his body.
‘After enduring all that pain, I should better smell pleasant, at least.’
Geom Mugeuk stood once more before the wall where Joo Ga-shin’s coffin had vanished and offered a respectful bow.
“When the day comes that we meet again, I will greet you properly then.”
Then, walking toward the entrance of the tomb—the boundary between life and death—Geom Mugeuk raised his voice to the generations of past Unorthodox Alliance Leaders.
“I will live with this fragrant scent instead of the smell of blood. I swear it—I will live that way!”
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