To all appearances, not a muscle stirred — but inside Woo Geom-san's body, a violent battle was raging.
The Heavenly Pleasure Pill's potency was relentless.
No matter how firmly he steeled his mind, desire erupted like an active volcano, consuming his reason from within.
On top of that, Scarlet Child's merciless external stimulation only compounded the assault.
She had mastered virtually every bedchamber art and soul-seduction technique the Western Regions had to offer.
With the movement of her fingertips alone, she could rouse the loins of an old man one breath away from death.
Scarlet Child took her time, stimulating Woo Geom-san and watching for reactions. But unlike her usual composure, irritation had crept across her face.
Despite her meticulous ministrations, Woo Geom-san was not responding.
"What? Is he actually impotent?"
"Can't even handle one little brat, sister?"
Azure Cold's voice cut in from behind, shattering Scarlet Child's concentration.
"Shut up! What do you know?!"
"Ho ho! I thought you'd be in full swing by now, but you haven't even started. So much for the mighty Scarlet Child."
Azure Cold sneered.
She had always resented Scarlet Child.
Simply because the older woman was born first, she claimed first pick of everything — and Azure Cold had never liked it.
For all her arrogance, the fact that Scarlet Child could not handle a mere boy was laughable.
"Why not hand him over to me? How long do you expect me to keep waiting?"
"I said shut it! I'll get a rise out of him any moment, so sit there quietly and watch your elder sister work."
"Sure, sure. I'll get wrinkles waiting for my turn."
"You...... seriously......"
"What did I do?"
Scarlet Child and Azure Cold's voices rose higher and higher.
They bickered over Woo Geom-san, who lay between them.
As a result, Woo Geom-san was momentarily left unattended.
It was a golden opportunity.
For the first time, the relentless external stimulation tormenting him had ceased.
He had fought desire with everything he had, but he had nearly reached his limit.
Had Azure Cold not intervened, it would not have been long before he succumbed to Scarlet Child.
The Heavenly Pleasure Pill's potency was that terrifying.
'How exactly does this drug work to arouse this kind of desire?'
Woo Geom-san turned his focus inward.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been utterly impossible for him.
Gazing inward at one's own body required a level of cultivation far beyond ordinary training.
Woo Geom-san had not yet reached that stage.
But the current situation was exceedingly unusual.
The Heavenly Pleasure Pill had awakened every one of his senses to a razor's edge.
This had made him vulnerable to desire, but in return, his remaining senses were sharper than they had ever been.
Those knife-edge senses missed not even the smallest internal change.
Thanks to this, Woo Geom-san could gaze fully into his own interior.
What caught his attention was his qi center.
An alien energy had taken up residence there.
Squatting heavy as a boulder in his qi center was the Heavenly Pleasure Pill's potency.
Coiled like a serpent, the pill's energy was distributing its effects throughout his body via the meridians.
'It's as though it were alive.'
Of course, the Heavenly Pleasure Pill did not possess actual will.
It spread through the body's most vulnerable points with ruthless efficiency — and that was why it gave such an impression.
'I need to drive this energy out of my qi center.'
The qi center was the most vulnerable part of his body.
Scarred from the grave injury he had sustained, his qi center was so damaged that accumulating qi was impossible.
That was why, even now, he dared not attempt to store qi.
Woo Geom-san focused on the very incompleteness of his qi center.
'What if I let the Heavenly Pleasure Pill's energy pass through, the way qi passes through?'
He did not deliberate long.
He acted on his idea at once.
He abandoned the notion of holding anything inside his qi center.
Instead, he opened it wide.
So that any energy — whatever it might be — could flow through freely.
Baek Ho-yang had once told him:
The wind blows of its own will, and water flows to lower ground.
Qi is the same — do not try to grasp it. Let it flow.
If you try to hold it, it scatters instead. That is the nature of things. Trust in it, and let it go.
He had understood Baek Ho-yang's words in his head.
He had genuinely tried to put them into practice.
But it had not been as simple as words made it sound.
He kept hitting a wall he could not cross and crumbling back.
Now was different.
There was nowhere to retreat, no path to return to.
It was an unreasonable situation that offered him no choice.
Woo Geom-san staked everything on a faint possibility.
He did not try to control the Heavenly Pleasure Pill's energy. He simply let it flow of its own accord.
The only thing he focused on was guarding his mind — holding fast.
With nothing left but that single steadfast resolve, he released all control over his qi center and his senses.
He felt as though his entire body were sinking, as if dragged down by heavy weights into deep water.
Even so, he did not panic. He accepted the situation exactly as it was.
The moment he released control, the Heavenly Pleasure Pill's potency surged through his body like wildfire.
His senses sharpened to an even more excruciating edge, blood raced through every vein, and his face flushed crimson.
He felt as though the slightest touch would make his body explode.
Still, Woo Geom-san did nothing.
He simply hoped the pill's potency would flow through and drain away naturally.
He was utterly defenseless — but fortunately, Scarlet Child and Azure Cold were too busy arguing to pay him any mind.
They failed to notice the change taking place within him.
Woo Geom-san was having a wondrous experience.
He could clearly see the paths through which the Heavenly Pleasure Pill's energy traveled.
Qi, by its nature, is invisible to the human eye.
Having no inherent form, it cannot be seen.
Even when accumulated inside the body, this remained true.
One could only guess at its presence through sensation and feeling.
The qi channels and blood vessels through which qi flowed were no different.
No ordinary human eye could perceive them.
Yet now, Woo Geom-san could see all of it with perfect clarity.
He was not seeing it with his physical eyes — but his perception was just as vivid.
Mingled with the Heavenly Pleasure Pill's energy, it was as though crimson dye had been poured into his qi channels, making every pathway starkly visible.
It was a mystical experience beyond words.
His entire body had felt ready to burst from the rampaging energy, yet every last pathway was being seared into his mind with absolute clarity.
As time passed, the energy that had raged as if to tear him apart began to settle.
The violent currents found their optimal routes and moved of their own volition.
When there was overflow, the energy flowed of its own accord to where it was lacking. When nothing was forced in, it naturally sought out the empty spaces.
After completing a full circuit through Woo Geom-san's body, the energy passed through his qi center and was expelled outward.
Gradually, his body found its equilibrium.
The pathways the Heavenly Pleasure Pill had carved were now imprinted in Woo Geom-san.
He realized that his qi channels had been opened.
If energy could be released from inside to outside, then the reverse was also possible — drawing energy from outside to inside.
For now, his attainment was too meager to draw any significant force, but as he grew, so too would the power he could harness.
Woo Geom-san realized that in the worst of circumstances, he had stumbled upon a fortunate encounter.
Qi channels that would have taken years of dedicated effort to open had been carved open effortlessly, thanks to the Heavenly Pleasure Pill's rampage through his body.
The first to sense something amiss was Scarlet Child.
"Wait — what's happening?"
"Why the sudden change of subject?"
"Quiet, you fool!"
Scarlet Child shoved Azure Cold aside and rushed to examine Woo Geom-san.
His body, which had been flushed an explosive red, had already returned to normal.
No trace of the drug's intoxication remained.
Only then did Azure Cold realize something was wrong.
"How is this......"
In that instant, Woo Geom-san opened his eyes.
His clear gaze held not a flicker of desire.
More than that — his hands and feet moved freely once again.
Having confirmed his body's condition, Woo Geom-san sat up.
"You — how did you break free of the Heavenly Pleasure Pill? Do not tell me you had an antidote prepared beforehand?"
"You know better than anyone that I had nothing of the sort."
"That is true! But then......"
Scarlet Child had reflexively agreed with Woo Geom-san's words before catching herself with a start.
Something in his gaze sent a chill down her spine.
Instinctive revulsion surged through her.
"I do not know what dark sorcery you used to break free, but you still cannot escape our hands."
"Dark sorcery is what you used, not I."
"I did not wish to damage you, but there is no help for it. If the Heavenly Pleasure Pill will not work, we will simply have to subdue you by force."
As Scarlet Child gathered power into both hands, Woo Geom-san's expression turned grim.
He may have inadvertently gained a fortunate encounter, but that did not instantly elevate his ability.
Without proper sword techniques, he was still powerless.
Nor could he resort to the fist techniques he had learned in the past.
That was when a voice of salvation reached his ears.
"Shameless witches — whom do you think you are subduing?"
The wrathful voice belonged to none other than Baek Ho-yang.
He had somehow already entered the room where Woo Geom-san was being held.
At the sight of Baek Ho-yang, whole and unharmed, the color drained from Scarlet Child and Azure Cold's faces.
"This cannot be!"
"How did the old man—"
"I have already subdued the head monk and the other witches of this temple. Do not resist. Surrender quietly."
At Baek Ho-yang's words, both women shook their heads.
"Do not lie, old man!"
"How dare you try to deceive us. Die!"
They lashed out with killing techniques.
Instinctive terror had driven them to act before they could think.
Baek Ho-yang sighed and evaded every one of their attacks.
"How foolish."
There were those who would not understand until they had tasted blood.
Baek Ho-yang did not enjoy inflicting harm. But leaving these two unchecked would clearly lead to more victims, so he did not hesitate.
THWACK—! THWACK—!
His sword-finger seal struck Scarlet Child and Azure Cold in their qi centers in rapid succession.
He had unleashed the Heart-Shattering Formula.
"AAARGH!"
"N— no!"
Both women screamed as their cultivation shattered to nothing.
As if struck squarely by the passage of years, their beautiful faces and skin shriveled at an alarming pace.
The youth they had maintained by draining others' vital essence vanished in an instant.
Where stunning beauties had stood, only wrinkle-covered crones remained.
Woo Geom-san's jaw dropped at the unbelievable sight.
Baek Ho-yang patted his grandson's shoulder.
"You endured well. And it seems you gained a fortunate encounter as well......"
He had read Woo Geom-san's condition at a single glance.
Woo Geom-san gave a sheepish smile.
"It... happened by accident."
"It seems you have grasped the art of letting things flow."
"I could see it. The pathways."
"Then misfortune has truly turned to fortune."
"I was lucky."
"I am glad."
Baek Ho-yang nodded.
Though Woo Geom-san had endured an ordeal no one could have foreseen, the reward he had gained was not small.
He had not been maimed or killed — so on balance, it was Woo Geom-san's gain.
Woo Geom-san asked.
"Did the others all end up like those two?"
"They did. They have all lost their youth and their power, reduced to less than ordinary men."
"Their lives will be miserable from here on."
"Does that make you feel sorry for them?"
"Not in the least."
"Good. There is no reason for pity. They are merely paying the price for the evil they have committed. For the moment, it may seem as though no reckoning has come — but the Dao of heaven is fair and always collects its due. You must engrave this truth in your heart."
"I will."
"Good. That is enough."
Baek Ho-yang smiled a smile as vast as the sky itself.