Chapter 3
My Lunch
Namgung Sanyeong crossed her legs and looked down coldly at Hyungsam, who was prostrated before her.
"Is this really all?"
"Y-Yes, it is......!"
Even though Hyungsam had offered up everything that Un-hui had told him to bring, he still trembled under Namgung Sanyeong’s icy gaze.
Just how terrified would he have to be throughout this entire day?
The task Un-hui had given him was very simple.
‘Bring me everything you have that summarizes the current state of the martial world. Especially if you’ve investigated the outside martial sects, include that too.’
“You never even cared about the Tang family’s affairs, let alone the martial world. Why the sudden interest?”
Namgung Sanyeong still saw clearly in her mind the image of Un-hui, who, in the middle of being beaten, had looked at her and babbled nonsense like calling her an old woman or saying her breath smelled.
Had he taken the wrong medicine overnight, or maybe injured his head? He had become a completely different person.
Normally, he would already be crying and begging for forgiveness, saying he was wrong, but now he was far too quiet.
On top of that, even the errand he had asked the butler to do was strange.
He wasn’t going to eat these scraps of paper, so what on earth was he planning to do?
‘Could it be... he’s preparing to bare his fangs at the upcoming clan head’s visit event…?’
A certain thought flashed through Namgung Sanyeong’s mind.
But she quickly shook her head.
No matter how much Unhui had suddenly changed, there had to be a limit.
At the very least, the Un-hui she had watched for the past sixteen years didn’t know how to scheme.
Why else would even his own father have abandoned him so early, because of his foolish and naive personality that was so uncharacteristic of the Tang family?
So there had to be something else.
‘Could it be that he’s found another backer?’
Just because it was a branch family didn’t mean there weren’t factional struggles.
There were quite a few who wanted to use Un-hui as a pawn in the contest for the next branch family head.
“Uh, Madam... this... what should I... do with it...?”
Hyungsam, watching Namgung Sanyeong’s expression, scraped together the papers and scrolls scattered on the floor.
‘There’s less than an hour left...!!’
Facing Namgung Sanyeong reminded him of how terrifying she was, but the fear of Unhui still lingering in his chest hadn’t lessened—if anything, it had only grown stronger.
“Stop making a fuss and take it with you. Do your best to win Un-hui’s favor. But, as I’ve strictly ordered, no food is to be brought in until he shows true signs of remorse.”
“Y-Yes, Madam! I-I shall obey your command!”
Hyungsam, clutching the documents in case the order was changed, scurried out.
Namgung Sanyeong silently glared at his retreating back.
“Since we can’t be sure... it would be best to throw out some bait. If someone really is trying to scheme using Un-hui, they’ll get caught right away.”
Namgung Sanyeong had not the slightest intention of forgiving him until Un-hui clung to her feet again, crying and begging for his life.
* * *
In this household where there was not a single thing to my liking, the one and only thing worth looking forward to was this.
The dantian.
The Qi Sea point. Something the original me had never possessed.
“It’s small, but… it’s properly cultivated.”
My trembling voice, without me realizing it, revealed my feelings.
That was how deeply moved I was.
Because this was what I had longed for, even in my dreams.
— I want to learn Master’s sword.
That alone was the wish I had always dreamed of!
There exists something called the Divine Heaven Nine-Flow Sword Demon Canon.
It is the ultimate compilation of nine sword arts that Master either collected while wandering the world or created from his own realizations.
It’s often shortened to the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords, and some even compared it to the sect leader’s secret art, the Asura Breaking Heaven Dance.
I wanted, with my own hands, to unfold it no matter what.
Because I wanted to stand side by side with Master, seeing the same place, the same world.
But even the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords was ultimately a martial art based on the lower dantian.
In the end, for me, it had only been a delusional wish—
“…Now, it’s different.”
Although my lower dantian was very small and the meridians were not properly cultivated, such shortcomings could be overcome as much as needed.
The fact that I could wield a sword.
The fact that I could train in the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords.
That truth was what mattered most to me.
…And then.
“What if I add my original abilities on top of this?”
Martial arts and sorcery.
The realization that I might be able to unite what had until now been completely separate worlds stirred me to the core.
It also meant the birth of a “Perfect Being,” something that until now had only been passed down as legend in the martial world.
In truth, I believed this was the only way—no, I was certain this was the only way—to face the hidden mastermind who had defeated both me and Master.
They had been moving so insidiously all this time that even the Heavenly Demon Cult and the martial world had been completely deceived.
How many secrets were hidden there, I couldn’t even begin to guess.
Surely, there had to be something beyond even the Heavenly Demon Cult, which was said to have reached the height of its thousand-year history.
The problem, however, was that in order to learn the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords, the Tang clan’s body technique cultivation method that resided in this body was rooted in the orthodox path, and thus was incompatible.
So I needed a stepping stone that could connect the two.
“Let’s try.”
I sat cross-legged and closed my eyes.
As I sank my consciousness deep beneath the unconscious, an endless library of bookshelves appeared before me.
Fwoooosh!
—The Heavenly Demon Library.
Since childhood, my upper dantian had been extremely developed, granting me perfect memory, which allowed me to store certain domains as virtual spaces within my mind.
One of those was this very library, which in the cult only the leader and their successor were permitted to enter.
It was the grand repository of tens of thousands of secret manuals the Heavenly Demon Cult had amassed over more than a thousand years, scouring both the Central Plains and the outer lands.
“At least that’s a relief. Doesn’t look like too much has been lost… and most of what disappeared were things we hardly used anyway. Phew!”
I had worried that during the process of the Primordial Soul Reincarnation Wheel a large portion of my memory might vanish, but thankfully the damage didn’t seem too severe.
As I continued scanning through the tomes, my eyes locked onto one.
Grin!
“Found it.”
—The Poison Dragon Seeking Art.
As I drew out the tome, a unique foul stench pricked my nose. The lingering poison fragrance left behind by its original owner.
“Really… there was no need to replicate even this. But since I have to remember everything in complete detail, it’s such a hassle.”
Of course, it was only an illusion, so ignoring it would suffice.
As I opened the book, brushing aside the tingling sensation on my fingertips, the contents I had long forgotten began to resurface naturally one by one.
It was the poison art—both venom and demonic cultivation—created by a poison master who, though born of the Sichuan Tang family, was falsely accused and forced to drift all the way to Tianshan.
This would be more than enough to serve as my stepping stone.
—Based on the Sichuan Tang family’s proud technique, the Daoist Companion Triple-Yang Returning Art, combined with the Venomless Hundred Poisons of the Five Poisons Sect, and the White Lily Demonic Art of the Beast Forest, the Poison Dragon Seeking Art had been forged solely to counter poison and break through memorization techniques.
One could even dare to claim this was the perfected form for all poison cultivators.
“If I use this as the foundation to rebuild my body and prepare the basis for cultivating the Heavenly Demon Tiger Heart Art… it’ll be more than enough.”
The Poison Dragon Seeking Art didn’t deal with demonic energy directly, but with poison qi.
Which meant that even if practiced within the Tang clan, it would never cause deviation.
And since it was demonic cultivation, it was highly efficient as well? Ah, there’s no way I could resist that. Of course not.
—But the Poison Dragon Seeking Art was by no means easy to begin. One had to regard their body not as a body, but solely as an experimental vessel to contain poison, and that path was nothing but a thorn-filled road of suffering.
Naturally, the convenience came at the price of terrible agony.
Agony that would make one’s teeth chatter.
But since when had I ever feared such things?
The faster I regained the martial strength of my previous life, the better it would be for me.
That way, I could run to Master all the sooner.
Tak!
I carefully examined the contents of the book to the very end, then quietly closed it.
Even without reading further, the knowledge and understanding remained vividly etched in my mind.
At the same time—
Twitch!
My lower dantian stirred as, for the first time, inner energy began to move. My qi started to boil fiercely.
It was an unfamiliar yet pleasant sensation.
* * *
The foundation of the Poison Dragon Seeking Art lay in body modification.
By regularly swallowing specially refined pills of extreme poison to put the body into a poisoned state, and then overcoming it, one would temper and harden the muscles and bones.
The ultimate goal of the Poison Dragon Seeking Art was to perfect Venomous Body Poison Resistance and Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons.
“The problem is, I don’t have the ingredients to make the Extreme Poison Pills.”
I couldn’t even leave this White Pavilion for now, and Namgung Sanyeong certainly wouldn’t provide any support.
But I actually thought that was just as well.
For me, confinement was the same as closed-door training, and as for the pills—I could simply create them artificially.
The method to forge an Extreme Poison Pill with a toxicity fiercer than any other poison was right in front of me.
“How long are you going to keep glaring like that, Martial Uncle? Keep it up and your eyeballs will pop out.”
Across from the bed where I sat, Cheon Hwa-jin was pointing furiously at me, his eyes bloodshot red.
「No matter how many times I call you insane, insane! Do you dare think that after putting me—the Vice Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult—in such a state, you’ll come out of this unscathed!!」
Of course, if it were only Cheon Hwa-jin, then Cheon Hwa-jin would have reason to be bitter.
「Release us, Young Cult Master!」
「Are you not afraid of our resentment?」
「To dare leave the Demon Dragon Sword in such a state! The First Heavenly Demon himself will not stand idly by!」
Even the elders and officials who had perished together with the Infernal Flames of Spirit Explosion were now clinging to me as resentful spirits, circling around.
Just moments ago, when I opened the Violet Demon Eyes, the upper dantian of “Tang Un-hui” had been forcibly unlocked, and they became visible.
It meant that the ability of the Lion’s Eye had already settled firmly into this body.
「Young Cult Master!」
「Young Cult Master!!」
And yet, all they did was yammer on and on. These old ghosts were so noisy I could die.
Paaang!
With a light tap of my hand on the floor, the voices of the old ghosts vanished as if they had been lies.
I had unleashed spiritual power and crushed them all.
“Well then, if you had planned to kill me, shouldn’t you at least have been prepared for this much?”
Grinning darkly, I pulled my right hand inward.
At once, the space wavered, and a mass of chains appeared.
Cheon Hwa-jin and the elders were all dragged in helplessly, rolling miserably across the ground.
Some dropped to their knees, lamenting their wretched fate.
I was the king to whom all wandering spirits and ghosts of the Nine Heavens offered their crown—The Ghost King.
Anyone who died by my hand, regardless of orthodox or demonic, inevitably fell into slavery under me. That’s what this meant.
“You want to be released, don’t you?”
Clang, clang—
Each time I shook the chains, the old ghosts’ gazes swayed along with them.
This was more fun than I expected.
“If you stay like this, you’ll never reincarnate and remain as wandering spirits forever. That’ll make you impatient, won’t it?”
The elders pressed their lips tightly shut in unison.
「How much longer are you going to let that arrogant brat prattle on, Elders! Before he seduces us again with that devilish silver tongue of his—grraaahh!」
Cheon Hwa-jin, who had been running his mouth carelessly, was suddenly yanked by my pull on the chains and dragged all the way to my feet.
Clatter, clatter!
「Let go! I said let me gooo!」
Struggle all you want. It won’t make the slightest difference.
This was, in fact, the Forbidden Soul Chains I had forged together with Master, refining a rare Spirit-Iron I had obtained by chance for three long years.
As a spiritual artifact and a type of sorcery, it was bound to my soul, allowing me to summon and use it at will like this.
While alive, he might have been revered and fawned over, but now that he was dead, what could he possibly do?
「I don’t know what you plan to do, but if you think I’ll obediently cooperate with y—」
“Mm. No need. You don’t have to.”
「…What?」
Still smiling faintly, I placed my hand atop Cheon Hwa-jin’s head. Then I pressed down hard.
Crunch!
His head shattered.
There was no scream. Only the wailing shriek of his soul remained.
Kyaaaaaaaaah!
Crunch, squelch.
Still staring at the elders, I crushed Cheon Hwa-jin’s soul in one hand.
The tall body, once over six feet, shrank in an instant to the size of a clenched fist.
「!!」
「!!」
「!!」
“Do you know what this is, old men?”
I held out what had once been Cheon Hwa-jin before the stunned elders.
“This is a Spirit Wraith Pill. It’s packed with the resentment and grudges of the dead, making it far more toxic than most poisons. Just a single bite is enough to drive someone mad. But right now—”
I popped it into my mouth in one gulp.
Crunch, crunch!
Gulp!
“My lunch.”
「!!!」
「!!!」
「!!!」
Well? What better extreme poison could there be for tempering the Poison Dragon Seeking Art?
Watching the elders’ faces grow even paler than when they were alive, I thought this might actually make conversations with them far easier.
A steady source of precious elixirs, and smoother negotiations.
Two birds with one stone, huh? Mmhmhm.
Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God
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