***
Bi Sa-yeong ultimately failed to kill the old man.
No, he chose not to kill him.
He simply shouted in a fit of rage at the old man, who kept telling him to take his life.
“If I kill you now! Are you telling me to make more bastards like me?! Or should I kill Dakam and those children along with you too?!”
To the old man who could not bring himself to answer those words, Bi Sa-yeong spoke as if spitting the words out.
“Don’t say words you can’t take responsibility for, and pay it back as much as you can while you are alive.”
“Pay it back... while I am alive?”
Then Bi Sa-yeong looked toward me and spoke to him.
“I’m stupid so I don’t know well, but my smart friend seemed to need your knowledge, old man. He said he needs information to invade the Blood Cult later. So spill everything you know. Whether it’s about the Blood Cult, or herbs, or poisonous plants—everything!”
Then the old man looked at him with a deep gaze and asked.
“...Will that really be enough?”
“Damn it! You think it will be?! Just do at least that! Stop irritating me! Argh! I can’t even curse in front of the kids.”
It seemed he had already cursed quite a lot, but I decided not to point that out.
We patted his shoulders warmly.
Throughout my past and current lives, except for the time he died remaining behind me, today’s Bi Sa-yeong seemed to look the coolest.
The old man, Seok Gyeong-dal, thought for a moment and spoke to Dakam.
“Go and bring what I made last time.”
What Dakam brought back was, unbelievably, a medicinal pill that emitted a deep fragrance.
The old man spoke.
“I do not know if it reaches the level of a Great Restoration Pill, but it should be around the level of a Small Restoration Pill. It is nonsense to call it an apology, so just think of it as something you picked up on the road.”
The startled Bi Sa-yeong shouted.
“Wha-wha-what?! You think my heart will soften if you give me this kind of thing?! I-I’m not that kind of person!”
However, looking at the way he held it blankly, it seemed he had already softened a bit.
We smiled broadly and congratulated him.
“You grumbled about never having eaten a spirit elixir, so this worked out well. Your wish has been fulfilled.”
“Indeed. To think it is the same class as a Small Restoration Pill, truly congratulations.”
“Now Sa-yeong can grow rapidly too. Be prepared, as I will push you even harder.”
However, Bi Sa-yeong, who was staring fixedly at the pill, held it out to us and spoke.
“Let’s... share this and eat it.”
When we opened our eyes wide at his unexpected words, he hurriedly made an excuse.
“Well, there is no other meaning. Did you not say that if external energy is over fifty percent, one falls into Qi Deviation? I don’t want that, and Jin needs internal energy right now, and the Squad Leader and Young Lady Cheong must become stronger to protect me more safely! That is what I mean. So...”
He rambled on with excuses, but there was no way we could not know his heart.
It seemed he had resolved to be cool today.
Squad Leader Seol Poong spoke with a warm smile.
“Yes, even for the sake of your sincerity, I will surely do my best to become stronger. However, I do not need a spirit elixir right now. I am in a state stuck at the limit of eighty years of internal energy, so I cannot accumulate more without enlightenment anyway.”
Young Lady Cheong-yeon also replied with a smile.
“It is the same for me. Right now, even if I consume a spirit elixir, I cannot accumulate internal energy anyway, so I will only accept the thought.”
The internal energy a normal person could accumulate was limited to one cycle, or sixty years. No matter how many spirit elixirs one ate like regular meals, the vessel would be full, and internal energy would no longer accumulate beyond that.
However, if one gained enlightenment—that is, if one crossed the wall of the Peak realm—the vessel of internal energy grew large enough to accumulate up to seventy years.
One had to gain enlightenment again to reach eighty years; those who step-by-step gained enlightenment and finally crossed the wall of one hundred years of internal energy were called Transcendent masters.
If there were no such limits to the vessel, the wealthy who could sweep up all the spirit elixirs would have all become the greatest masters in the martial world, so in its own way, it could be called a fair law of nature.
Squad Leader Seol Poong and Young Lady Cheong-yeon were saying that they were currently caught by those limits and could not accumulate more internal energy.
Squad Leader Seol Poong was likely blocked by the eighty-year wall, and Young Lady Cheong-yeon was likely blocked by the one-cycle wall of the Peak realm.
The old man Seok Gyeong-dal, who was listening to our conversation with an expression of disbelief, spoke.
“In all my life, I have seen many people fight to take possession of a spirit elixir, but this is the first time I have seen a sight where people try to yield it to each other. What on earth are you rascals?”
We exchanged looks at his words.
It was just as he said.
A Small Restoration Pill was something that could not be obtained even for a thousand gold pieces unless one was destined for it; where else would there be a martial artist who suggested sharing it with others? And even if they could not eat it right now, who would refuse a spirit elixir?
Except, that is, for the people currently before my eyes.
The warm feeling felt from each other could not have been more cozy.
The old man waved his hand as if annoyed and spoke again.
“My entire life lived until now is about to become futile. Stop tormenting an old man and someone just eat it quickly. And there is no need to worry about Qi Deviation.”
“...Pardon? No need to worry about Qi Deviation?”
The first ones to realize the meaning of his words were Young Lady Cheong-yeon and I.
Startled, we looked at each other.
Had we not been curious about this before?
Why the Blood Cultists, who accumulate internal energy through essence absorption, do not fall into Qi Deviation....
I swallowed hard and asked.
“Is there some secret method?”
Then he laughed meaningfully and answered.
“You are now going to learn one of the Blood Cult's greatest secrets.”
Having said that, he held out a pouch containing black pills.
“This is a Poison Pill.”
“A Poison Pill?”
“Yes, a poison pill containing a very weak poisonous energy.”
His explanation that followed was as follows.
The Blood Cultists, who had accumulated internal energy by absorbing others' essence for a long time, discovered the fact that Qi Deviation does not occur if they regularly consume a weak poisonous energy.
“To use a metaphor, Qi Deviation is a clash between impure internal energy and pure internal energy within the body, but once an external enemy is created, they no longer clash with each other, so to speak.”
It was a fact that made one's mouth fall wide open.
“B-but how has that not been known at all until now?”
Then he laughed and replied.
“Did I not tell you? It is one of the Blood Cult's greatest secrets. Furthermore, even if someone who possessed poison pills died and they were taken, they are just poison pills, right? Who would think it is a special thing for a Blood Cultist to have poison pills?”
“Haa.”
The reason they could not be eradicated despite the historical killing of countless Blood Demons and the persecution of Blood Cultists was the temptation that one could easily accumulate internal energy by becoming a Blood Cultist.
Since they could easily accumulate sixty years of internal energy and quickly become the highest level of the first-class realm, the number of Peak-level masters could also be easily increased.
Of course, because they accumulated internal energy so easily, it was harder to gain enlightenment beyond that and develop further, but that much alone was enough to enter the ranks of the strong in the martial world.
And we had learned that secret today.
Suddenly, Young Lady Cheong-yeon spoke.
“Since the subject has come up, how about both of you consume the spirit elixirs now? In any case, Young Master Sunwoo is facing a duel as soon as we return, right?”
The squad leader also agreed.
“I agree. Now that we have found a method, there seems to be no need to hesitate.”
I also thought that was correct.
So, Bi Sa-yeong and I immediately consumed the spirit elixirs and entered a state of internal energy regulation.
The old man Seok Gyeong-dal, the squad leader, and Young Lady Cheong-yeon were all looking at us with satisfied eyes.
At that moment, Dakam, who was watching from the side, suddenly asked his siblings.
“But where did Rakun go?”
“Brother Rakun went out to look for you at dawn because you didn't come home, Brother Dakam.”
“Is that so? Surely he didn't go far, did he?”
At the same time, near the Poisonous Forest.
Puu-oong!
“Kyaaaaang!”
Along with the noise of a leather bag bursting, a giant black panther was sent flying while letting out a piteous scream.
It was the same black panther that had fought Seol Poong earlier.
The black panther, worthy of a feline, regained its posture in the air and landed on the ground, but it could not prevent a massive man from pouncing on it.
Puu-oong!
“Kyaaaaang!”
When the man's palm struck the back of the panther's head, the fellow collapsed right there with a single scream.
And it did not rise again.
Then, the men who had been watching the fight with bated breath from the surroundings began to chatter with brightened faces.
“Ohhh! As expected of the Blood-Seeking Demon Lord! To handle such an extraordinary monster in a single blow!”
“It is a natural thing! Is such a lowly creature even worthy of the Demon Lord, who assisted the Blood Demon and was active in the last holy war?!”
Letting the subordinates' admiration go in one ear and out the other, the Blood-Seeking Demon Lord, Ji Gwang-ok, commanded them.
“I did not kill it, so take that fellow as well. A poisonous black panther—it is a curious creature. The Blood Demon might perhaps take an interest in it.”
“Yes! I understand!”
As several subordinates tied up the panther to capture it, one subordinate with a slick impression spoke to Ji Gwang-ok in a flattering voice.
“This subordinate cannot understand why the Demon Lord would personally step out for something like collecting poisonous creatures. Even if there is a limit to using a cow-butchering knife to catch a chicken, it seems the Blood Demon was a bit too much this time.”
Then Ji Gwang-ok’s ferocious gaze turned toward him.
“Do you dare to harbor doubts about the Blood Demon’s judgment right now?”
At that beast-like gaze, the slick subordinate's face instantly turned pale.
“A-ah, no, sir! How could this subordinate, I just thought it might be inconvenient for the Demon Lord to personally walk all the way here...!”
Crush!
The subordinate could not even finish his sentence.
This was because Ji Gwang-ok’s thick hand, which he swung simply, crushed the subordinate's skull like a watermelon.
Looking at the subordinate's corpse as it fell powerlessly after losing its head, Ji Gwang-ok spoke with an expressionless face.
“A cultist who does not obey the Blood Demon is not needed in the cult.”
Seeing the far too simple death of their comrade, the subordinates swallowed hard and hurriedly finished the task of capturing the panther.
The Blood-Seeking Demon Lord Ji Gwang-ok, who was said to have been active as the hunting dog of the Evil Wisdom Blood Demon Jeon Mu-gwang since the last Great War between the Orthodox and the Blood Cult, was indeed as the rumors said.
Both in his martial prowess and his ferocity.
They were currently in the Poisonous Forest under orders from the Blood Demon to collect highly toxic substances.
The group originally consisted of one person at the entry level of the Peak realm and seven people at the highest level of the first-class realm, but the Blood-Seeking Demon Lord Ji Gwang-ok had come along as their supervisor this time.
The Blood Cultists could not help but be tense at the joining of a man who was famous even among them for being narrow-minded and ferocious.
Furthermore, they had only just arrived at the Poisonous Forest, yet three people had already died.
Two had died to the black panther, of course, but while those two were being attacked by the panther, Ji Gwang-ok had merely watched with an interested gaze, so he had effectively stood by and watched his subordinates die.
Furthermore, he had just personally killed the only Peak-level master among them.
It was a part that allowed them to feel to their bones what kind of existences he considered them to be.
Now, all the Blood Cultists only wanted to collect the poisonous substances as quickly as possible and get away from him.
At that moment, a subordinate who had gone out on patrol returned with something he had caught. It was a Miao boy with dark skin.
“Lord Demon Lord! I have captured a Miao child nearby! Seeing as he is still a child, it seems there is a Miao hideout near here! Furthermore, this brat possessed an incense sachet that repels living corpses!”
Then Ji Gwang-ok’s beast-like eyes turned toward the child.
The child, unable to move due to his blood points being struck, was crying and shouting.
“No! This is a place where I live alone! There is no such thing as a hideout! You monsters!”
Ji Gwang-ok muttered as if interested.
“A hideout near the Poisonous Forest. Considering that the living corpses are sensitive to poisonous scents, that could be the case. And you say he even has an incense sachet that repels living corpses.”
Ji Gwang-ok snatched the Miao child by the neck and lifted him up before his eyes.
The child was now completely paralyzed with terror.
Locking eyes with the child, Ji Gwang-ok opened his mouth with a sinister voice.
“Listen to my words.”
As he spoke, his eyes were emitting an eerie green light.
Then the child's gaze began to grow gradually hazy.
Although he had not mastered the Blood Gu technique that turned an opponent into a complete puppet, soul-possessing a single child who had not even mastered martial arts was not a very difficult task for the Blood-Seeking Demon Lord Ji Gwang-ok.
Seol Poong and Hae Cheong-yeon were drinking tea brought by Dakam while waiting for Sunwoo Jin and Bi Sa-yeong to finish their meditation.
It was a fairly long time, but they did not even notice time passing as they talked with the old man Seok Gyeong-dal.
His erudition, as someone who was originally a martial scholar and had studied medicine, was like a new world to the two of them.
Seol Poong asked back with a shocked expression.
“Then are you saying the spirit elixirs those two just ate were made from poisonous substances?”
“That is.... but no poisonous energy was felt at all?”
“Think carefully. Is poison not originally something whose energy is biased to one side, causing balance to break? However, it is also said that a spirit elixir becomes poison if its energy is biased to one side. Then, if you balance the energies of poisons by combining them, what would that become?”
“...Are you saying that is a spirit elixir?”
“Exactly. Since a spirit elixir is originally something in which harmonious energy is deeply accumulated, if you can harmonize the deeply accumulated energies of poisons, that is also no different from a spirit elixir. This is not even a theory I created. It is said that in the past, the Elder Nang Bin, who was called the Eccentric Physician, combined poisonous energies to cause a person paralyzed on one side to undergo a complete rebirth.”
Meeting someone with whom he could share a high-level conversation for the first time in a while, the old man Seok Gyeong-dal also seemed inwardly excited.
It was then that their conversation led to the subject of the demons.
“Then, the demons. Are you saying that all those things called living corpses appearing now are experimental subjects? To create living corpses of a higher realm?”
To Seol Poong’s question, the old man answered with a heavy expression.
“Yes. It was the biggest reason I left Mu-gwang’s side. What Mu-gwang wants to create is...”
It was then.
One of Dakam’s siblings, who was looking out the window, shouted urgently.
“Grandfather! It’s Rakun! Rakun is bringing strange people!”
“What?!”
Then the expression of the old man, who looked out the window with Seol Poong’s support, turned deathly pale.
“That fellow is.... Everyone run! Run out the back door immediately!”
“What is the matter? Who on earth is that that you are acting like this, Elder?”
“The Blood-Seeking Demon Lord, it is the Blood-Seeking Demon Lord Ji Gwang-ok! That fellow soul-possessed Rakun and found his way here! You must flee right now!”
At those urgent words, Seol Poong and Hae Cheong-yeon looked at each other’s faces.
The Blood-Seeking Demon Lord Ji Gwang-ok.
As those fighting the Blood Cult, it was absolutely impossible not to know that name.
He was a demon master who had taken the lives of countless Orthodox sect members since the last Great War, and he was a Transcendent monster with over one hundred years of internal energy.
Dakam shouted to him.
“B-but Poison Elder! What about Rakun?!”
“It is unfortunate, but Rakun has been soul-possessed by that fellow! If you try to save Rakun, everyone will die!”
The old man’s words were correct.
If that fellow truly was the Blood-Seeking Demon Lord Ji Gwang-ok, they had to flee right now.
However, Seol Poong looked at Sunwoo Jin and Bi Sa-yeong, who were still meditating.
Those who were meditating could not move.
Therefore, it was natural that Seol Poong himself could not flee and leave them behind.
Seol Poong spoke to the old man.
“Escape with the children. I will try to buy time somehow.”
“That is reckless!”
Then Hae Cheong-yeon cut in.
“You were wrong, Squad Leader. You should have said ‘we,’ not ‘I’.”
As she spoke, not a single point of hesitation was contained in Hae Cheong-yeon’s face.