Chapter 3 : Chapter 3

Chapter 3. I Will Walk My Own Path (3)

Should this be called a blessing in disguise?

He never knew that diligently conducting an investigation that others wouldn't do in the past would come back as such a blessing.

The place Han Cheong-un had now arrived at was a cliff on a deep mountain that had never been touched by human hands.

It was a place where human footsteps would never reach unless one came looking for it intentionally.

Han Cheong-un carefully checked the surrounding terrain and then said with conviction.

“This is the right place.”

Back then, Han Cheong-un had come to this place himself.

It was said that the ginseng digger had descended the cliff on a rope to pick stone mushrooms growing on the cliff rocks.

In the process, he discovered a small cave in the cliff and, out of curiosity, went inside, which resulted in him finding the elixir.

At that time, Han Cheong-un hadn't gone as far as the cave, but he was certain it was down here.

“Shall we go then?”

Han Cheong-un tied the rope he had prepared in advance to a thick tree. Then he tied the rope around his own body and, without hesitation, threw himself off the cliff.

Han Cheong-un's movements as he let out the rope and descended were extremely skillful.

“They say there’s nothing in the world that isn’t helpful…….”

This too was an experience he gained while living as a low-ranking warrior in his past life.

Among the training he received when he was dispatched to the northern military garrison was climbing castle walls with the help of a rope.

That experience was helpful now. And…….

“Found it.”

Han Cheong-un's eyes sparkled.

A small cave hollowed out in the cliff.

He could see a cave in a location that a person could never find unless they were a winged bird.

“There it is. It's definitely there.”

Elixirs like the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng possess spirituality and take root in places that are not easily reached by human hands.

He was certain that the elixir was there.

Han Cheong-un was excited, but he moved cautiously until the end.

He carefully moved along the cliff and reached the cave, and after that, he untied the rope and tied the knot to a rock at the entrance of the cliff.

And when he went inside…….

“Oh…….”

Found it.

This was it.

Discovering the spiritual herb that was faintly glowing inside the cave, Han Cheong-un finally stroked his chest in relief.

“Thank goodness. It was really here.”

He had come all the way to this distant land of Guizhou from the Murim Alliance, believing only in this one thing.

He had been certain.

But what if, by some chance, that certainty was wrong?

What if he came all this way for nothing?

He had been quite worried, but it was all just needless anxiety.

Han Cheong-un let out a sigh of relief and reached for the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng. No, he was about to.

Shhheeeek.

Had it not been for the electrifying killing intent that pierced through him, he would have.

“Keuk!”

Startled, Han Cheong-un took a step back and aimed his spear forward.

There was something.

Something that was clearly showing killing intent towards him.

And what revealed itself in the darkness was a radiance like a glowing red ruby.

The identity of the red radiance that revealed itself as it got closer was…….

Shhheeeeeee…….

It was a giant snake.

Black scales that melted into the darkness and red eyes like rubies.

The moment he saw the giant snake, which looked like it could swallow an ox in one gulp, Han Cheong-un became tense.

“Crazy…….”

Han Cheong-un did not have much knowledge about spiritual beasts or mystical creatures.

But anyone could tell that this was no ordinary snake.

The black snake slowly revealed itself, then coiled itself in front of the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng as if to protect it, and raised its head to look at Han Cheong-un.

As if to claim that this was its own.

“Damn it, just when I thought things were going too smoothly…….”

Han Cheong-un gripped his spear tightly.

It happens sometimes.

Drawn by the spiritual energy of a spiritual herb, spiritual beasts or mystical creatures would come and build their nests there. What he didn't understand was…….

“If there was a creature like this, how was an ordinary ginseng digger able to dig up the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng?”

Han Cheong-un had no way of knowing, but what was before his eyes now was a spiritual beast on the verge of shedding its skin.

It was a creature waiting for the right time to shed its skin and absorb the energy of the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng.

The ginseng digger had been lucky.

He had come and dug up the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng when the snake happened to be away to shed its skin.

It was truly a stroke of heavenly luck. But…….

Shhheeeeek.

The timing was not good now.

The venomous snake revealed its killing intent towards Han Cheong-un.

Some spiritual beasts have gentle dispositions and do not provoke humans first, but…….

“Keuk…….”

This one was not.

It had a firm claim to its territory and a strong obsession with what was its own.

It had no intention of letting the human who came seeking the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng leave alive.

The snake's huge body slowly approached Han Cheong-un.

‘I have no choice but to fight.’

Han Cheong-un held his spear firmly and took a stance.

Right now, he was a body that had to run away, struggling to handle even third-rate bandits, let alone a spiritual beast.

But now he couldn't run away.

Outside the cave was a sheer cliff, where could he run?

When Han Cheong-un showed signs of confrontation, the snake's head stealthily retreated. And the next moment…….

Swish!

That huge head shot forward like a lightning bolt and attacked Han Cheong-un.

With its mouth wide open, as if to swallow him in one gulp, Han Cheong-un threw himself to the side to avoid the snake's attack.

Crack!

Thanks to reading the sign of the attack in advance, Han Cheong-un avoided the snake's attack.

And he prepared to attack at the moment the snake's jaws were embedded in the ground.

He planted both his legs firmly on the ground.

A proper stance.

A proper center of gravity.

It was a stance his soul remembered, even if his body did not.

“Hap!”

With Han Cheong-un's shout, the spear went straight forward.

It was a sharp thrust, hard to believe it was made by someone with no internal energy. But…….

Crack!

Han Cheong-un's spear missed.

The target of the thrust was the eye, but the snake, sensing danger, hastily moved its head, causing the thrust to miss.

Han Cheong-un's thrust stabbed the side of the snake's head, but it only managed to scrape off a few scales.

Considering the huge size of the snake, it was nothing more than a scratch.

- Kiiieeeeeek!

Was it angered by having allowed a blow?

The snake let out a scream that seemed to come from its throat.

At the same time, its appearance changed a little.

Its scales stood up like an angry hedgehog, changing its form, and green saliva dripped from its mouth.

Every time it fell to the ground, it hissed and gave off acrid smoke, which was clearly poison at a glance.

“Looks like it's angry.”

No sooner had he said that than the snake attacked Han Cheong-un repeatedly.

Crack! Crack.

Two bites.

Han Cheong-un had no internal energy or anything, but he read the precursor to the attack well and dodged it.

The snake's only means of attack was biting, wasn't it?

So if he watched the movement of its head carefully…….

Whack!

“Keoheok…….”

Did it want to protest Han Cheong-un's prediction?

The snake's tail, which had flown in from the side, struck Han Cheong-un squarely.

Unable to dodge the unexpected attack that came from the darkness, Han Cheong-un flew into the cave wall and was embedded in it.

“Cough……. Damn it…….”

Vomiting blood, Han Cheong-un thought.

This was not good.

It seemed a few ribs were lightly broken.

His internal organs seemed to be a little damaged as well.

“Damn it……. I’m in a sorry state.”

Death was before his eyes.

The enemy was strong, and he was weak.

His body was not in a good condition, and his escape route was blocked.

It was truly a desperate situation. In other words…….

“This is a situation I’m used to.”

He was someone who started as a low-ranking warrior of the Murim Alliance and grew by rolling on the very bottom.

A desperate crisis?

He had lost count of how many times.

But even while crossing those countless lines of death, he had never died once.

Because he never gave up, no matter the situation.

And that was the same now.

Han Cheong-un corrected his stance again.

A proper stance.

A proper center of gravity.

The most basic of basics.

But the desperate resolve emanating from Han Cheong-un, who had taken that basic stance, was enough to make even the snake, which was frantic with anger, flinch.

Shhheeeek…….

The snake instinctively felt something was dangerous.

But its anger was greater than its instinct's warning. This insolent human had dared to come to its home, covet its treasure, and even wound it.

It would never forgive him.

Shhheeeeeeeek!

The enraged snake launched an attack.

It didn't matter if it was stabbed with that tiny spear.

If it charged forward with its mouth wide open, it could protect its eyes. And that human's attack was only enough to scratch its scales. It couldn't pierce it.

The snake, having finished its calculations like a spiritual beast, tried to swallow Han Cheong-un whole. And Han Cheong-un…….

‘Not yet, not yet…….’

In a moment that followed a moment.

Han Cheong-un only sped up his thoughts and waited for the right time.

Unlike his prime self, to exploit the opponent's opening now, he had to aim for a very brief moment.

The giant snake's jaws got closer and closer, but Han Cheong-un waited without moving a muscle.

Like a rock, without even the slightest movement of a living, breathing creature. And…….

‘Now!’

Just before the giant snake's jaws were about to swallow him whole, Han Cheong-un extended his foot forward.

At the same time…….

[ Half Step of the Spirit Realm: Wave Impact Annihilation Strike ]

A strike launched while deploying the domain.

Internal energy to perform the move?

There was none.

So instead of the non-existent internal energy, he squeezed out a handful, if that, of innate true qi.

A whole-hearted strike that squeezed out everything Han Cheong-un currently possessed.

It entered the snake's jaws precisely. And the moment that spear tip touched the snake's jaws…….

Thump.

A sound like hitting an empty drum rang out.

And at the same time, the snake felt the world shake.

The shock that started from a very small point spread like ripples in a lake and struck its brain.

No creature in the world can endure when its brain is shaken.

Kuuuuung!

The giant snake collapsed as it was.

And Han Cheong-un…….

“Cough…….”

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and then collapsed.

The side effect of consuming innate true qi.

The injuries sustained in battle.

And even the snake's poison that he was covered in while making the final attack…….

“D… damn it……. I barely won.”

He had won the fight.

But the problem was the injuries, from which it wouldn't be strange if he died right away.

Han Cheong-un tried to somehow reach for the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng that was far away.

He had to eat it.

If he didn't eat it, he would…….

“Keuk…….”

As his consciousness gradually faded, Han Cheong-un finally let go of the thread of consciousness.

* * *

After Han Cheong-un collapsed.

Shhheeeek.

The snake slowly lifted its head.

The Wave Impact Annihilation Strike that Han Cheong-un had unleashed.

If it had been him in his prime, he would have turned the inside of the snake's head into mush, and its brain would have flowed out of its seven orifices.

But now, it was only enough to knock the snake out for a moment.

He had won the fight as a warrior, but in the law of the jungle, the law of the strong eating the weak, it was a failure.

And…….

Shhheeeek.

In the wild, the loser pays the price with death.

The snake, having regained consciousness, approached the fallen Han Cheong-un. And it opened its jaws wide.

It would swallow that human in one gulp. And the moment the snake was about to swallow Han Cheong-un…….

“…….”

Han Cheong-un's body rose.

Han Cheong-un, who got up without a word.

He stared at the snake in front of him with eyes whose meaning could not be understood.

At that moment.

The snake's entire body stiffened.

It was a fear that brought resignation beyond despair.

An instinct that herbivorous animals feel when they are in front of an absolute predator.

It was something the snake, possessing spirituality, had never felt before.

“…….”

Han Cheong-un extended his hand towards the snake.

The snake, feeling an indescribable fear at that small gesture, trembled and backed away.

But the hand approached, regardless of its retreat.

The snake, retreating and retreating from that white hand, finally reached a dead end.

What a creature pushed to the limit of fear chooses is convulsive aggression.

Just as a cornered rat attacks a cat, this snake did the same.

Kiiieeeeeek!

And Han Cheong-un…….

“Hmph.”

Smiled.

A cruel and arrogant smile.

That smile was the last memory the snake saw alive.

* * *

“Ugh……. Uuugh…….”

When Han Cheong-un regained consciousness again…….

“What is this?”

He couldn't help but be surprised.

His body was in perfect condition.

It was definitely a mess before he fainted.

He had used up his innate true qi and was also poisoned.

But now, his body was in perfect condition.

“What on earth is this…….”

He moved his arms and legs.

He was definitely injured during the battle, but all four limbs moved perfectly fine.

How could this be?

‘Did I unconsciously consume the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng?’

But that wasn't it either.

The Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng was still there. Instead of that, so to speak…….

“Why is this like this?”

What Han Cheong-un saw was the giant snake, which had become like a dried-up mummy.

A completely dried-up snake with no signs of life.

When he reached out his hand…….

Crumble.

The moment he touched it, the snake's body crumbled like a rotten leaf.

This was the creature that had only suffered a scratch even when he attacked it with all his might.

“What on earth happened……. Huh?”

And as Han Cheong-un examined his own body, he discovered one change.

The shape of the black tattoo on his chest had changed slightly.

It seemed to have gotten a little bigger, and the shape had changed somehow.

It had changed into a small whirlpool-like shape.

The evidence that he had regressed.

There was a change in that evidence.

“Really……. what happened?”

He still couldn't find the answer.

* * *

Han Cheong-un pondered for a long time.

And as a result…….

“It can't be helped. Let's move on for now.”

What he didn't know, he didn't know.

There was nothing he could do.

For now, he just had to remember it and look forward to the future.

For now, he had to do what he could.

“First, let's consume the elixir.”

Because he had no power, he had almost died against a single snake like that.

First, he had to set everything aside and gain power.

Han Cheong-un used his spearhead to carefully dig the ground so as not to damage a single rootlet of the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng.

And he carefully brushed the dirt off the fully dug-up ginseng. The Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng gradually revealed its form. And…….

“Oh?”

Han Cheong-un was shocked.

For a moment, he saw a palm-sized child.

Startled, he rubbed his eyes and looked again, and only then did he see the normal appearance of ginseng.

“A spiritual herb is a spiritual herb. It even knows how to bewitch people.”

Truly a Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng.

An eternal elixir evaluated as a precious item among the top ten elixirs.

If this thing were to go outside the cave, there would undoubtedly be a huge commotion.

Even at that time, the number of warriors who died due to the Guizhou Bloodshed Incident exceeded three hundred. So…….

“It would be for the good of the world for me to eat and get rid of such a mystical creature.”

Whether the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng would agree with that was questionable.

Anyway, the elixir went into Han Cheong-un's mouth. And…….

“Huuup!”

Han Cheong-un clamped his mouth shut.

The moment he swallowed the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng, his body began to fill with energy.

If he carelessly opened his mouth here, the energy would leak out.

He hurriedly clamped his mouth shut and began to control the energy.

‘This is what’s important.’

What's important when eating an elixir is how much of its energy you can accept.

The heart art taught to the apprentice warriors in the Murim Alliance was the Three Origins Heart Art.

It was a heart art that had no risks, but was extremely mediocre and inefficient. With that, he couldn't digest all the energy of the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng. So…….

Supreme Polarity Mysterious Heaven Divine Art.

It was the only superior heart art Han Cheong-un had learned.

A grace he received from ‘him’ in the past.

He, who thought highly of him, who was just a low-ranking warrior, and passed on his personally developed unique internal energy heart art.

Unable to forget that grace, Han Cheong-un dedicated and devoted his body for the sake of justice.

In that sense, it was not a heart art that only had good memories.

But at this point, there was no other alternative.

‘If we meet again in this life, I will repay this debt.’

Having made that vow, Han Cheong-un fell into a state of selflessness.

The Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng is an elixir that ranks among the top ten among elixirs that can be found in a pure, natural state.

It does not discriminate against the aptitude of internal energy and has no particular side effects. In addition, upon consumption, one can immediately obtain one sixty-year cycle of internal energy.

One sixty-year cycle.

In terms of internal energy alone, it could be said to have surpassed the average of a first-rate master.

To accumulate that much internal energy through normal methods would require ten years of time, even with a superior heart art.

To be able to obtain that in one go, the people of Jianghu had lost their minds and started a bloodbath.

“It's beyond imagination.”

Han Cheong-un's expression was flushed.

He had absorbed all the energy of the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng, which was his initial goal. The heavy energy that had settled in his lower dantian was well over one sixty-year cycle.

The corners of Han Cheong-un's mouth slowly rose.

Due to the overflowing qi, the vitality of his body had completely changed. His body was itching to release this energy in a hurry.

“I’ve finally fastened the first button.”

The corner of Han Cheong-un’s mouth curled up.

* * *

In a wide, open space where no one was watching.

Han Cheong-un stood alone, holding his spear and taking a stance.

And he slowly began to move his spear as he remembered.

The spear, which gently cut through the air, gradually picked up speed, and eventually…….

Whoong! Shweek!

The trajectory of the spear disappeared.

A flash of light and the sound of cutting through the air that burst out without rest.

Within that, Han Cheong-un continued to move in a state of selflessness.

In the past, what his spear pursued was the Eight Trigrams.

It was the direction of his martial arts that he naturally came to pursue as he pursued the brief teachings he received from him.

Geon, boundless like the sky.

Gon, steadfast like the earth.

Jin, swift like thunder.

Gan, unyielding like a mountain.

Ri, blazing like fire.

Gam, flowing like water.

Son, agile like the wind.

Tae, serene like a lake.

Han Cheong-un's spear pursued the Eight Trigrams.

Martial arts must each have a goal they aim for.

The Sword of the Emperor pursued by the Namgung Clan.

The Way of the Hegemon pursued by the Hebei Peng Clan.

The pinnacle of illusionary swiftness pursued by the Mount Hua Sect.

Martial arts without direction can never reach the peak.

And what Han Cheong-un had reached by pursuing the teachings of the Supreme Polarity he received from him was precisely this.

Celestial Pole Eight Trigrams Spear.

It was a martial art created with half his help, but it was an excellent superior martial art.

It was the martial art that had brought Han Cheong-un the title of the number one spear under the heavens in the past.

He unfolded the spearmanship in his memory one by one.

And indeed, the result was…….

“Hoo……. ”

Han Cheong-un, who had been breathing out for a long time, opened his eyes.

Within a zhang around him, not a single fallen leaf remained, and it was perfectly tidy.

For a fifteen-year-old young warrior, the martial prowess he showed could be called phenomenal. But…….

“Tsk, I'm still a long way off.”

Han Cheong-un clicked his tongue with a dissatisfied face.

This level was not even one-twentieth of his martial prowess in his prime.

In fact, he had expected it.

Even though he had eaten the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng and obtained over a sixty-year cycle of internal energy, it was impossible for him to have regained all of his martial prowess from his prime.

His current body was too weak to fully display the martial arts he remembered.

His training was insufficient, but more than anything, he hadn't fully grown.

Han Cheong-un's current physical age was fifteen.

He was still in a state where his growth had not ended.

“Tsk, only time will solve this, I guess.”

Here, Han Cheong-un had two choices.

The first was to hole up in a deep mountain valley and perfect his martial arts.

If he holed up for about three years, he would be able to regain about half of his martial prowess from his prime.

The second was to move immediately.

Although the martial power he possessed in his body was still a little lacking, he had now obtained the minimum martial arts. More than anything…….

“There are things that can only be done if I move now.”

He realized this after obtaining the Human-shaped Heavenly Ginseng this time.

Right now, his biggest advantage was not the supernatural ability of the domain, nor the Celestial Pole Eight Trigrams Spear.

It was that he had a head start on information about the future.

Depending on how he utilized this, he could gain a much bigger advantage. So…….

“I should move now.”

No matter how much he thought about it, it was a waste.

There was also information that could not be utilized after time had passed.

He couldn't give that up.

Having come to that conclusion, Han Cheong-un nodded his head and said.

“First, shall we go to Sichuan?”

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