Chapter 43

Chapter 42. Because it's a volcano. (2)

'What a waste, really!'

His energy is being drained away in large chunks. He tried to salvage as much as he could, but there is nothing worth using.

It's like trying to pick out edible parts from a completely rotten fruit; now he has reached the point where he is extracting the purest energy from the Snow Plum Pill. The energy that doesn't meet his standards is boldly expelled from his body.

This is something no one else would dare to imagine.

Isn't the essence of the Snow Plum Pill to enhance one's inner energy? Yet now, Qingming is expelling the inner energy of the Snow Plum Pill from his body.

If the people who made the Snow Plum Pill saw this, they would foam at the mouth and rush over immediately.

'Is this what I want to do?'

Damn foundation!

By gathering only the purest energy in his dantian, he can no longer increase his inner energy at will. Even the refined energy of the Snow Plum Pill is seen as a large impurity.

From the vast energy, only a handful of the purest essence remains.

He desperately guides this handful of remaining energy and pushes it into his dantian.

Rumble!

Soon, the essence of the energy merges with the dormant energy in his dantian and begins to circulate throughout his body.

One cycle. Two cycles.

In an instant, twelve cycles are completed. Qingming's body, sitting in a lotus position, begins to rise into the air.

This was something that should have been impossible with his current inner energy, but because the energy is so pure, phenomena that transcend the amount of inner energy begin to occur.

Rumble!

The purest energy circulates and circulates again throughout his body, filtering out all impurities from his flesh.

'Is this not what I intended?'

This was not what Qingming intended.

He only wanted to use the pure energy to restore his innate energy, but his energy, defying his will, began to regenerate his body.

The broken wrists on both hands heal instantly and the pain subsides. Bruises all over his body recover as if they were never there.

Drip.

The waste products that flowed out of his body soaked his clothes and formed streams that dripped onto the ground. Not only the major meridians he thought were already open, but even the minor meridians began to open wider and more expansively.

Qingming tilted his head unconsciously.

'Is this... Heavenly Passage (天通)?'

The Baihui point opens.

Lower Dantian.

The energy that started from the dantian, commonly known as the lower dantian, opened the middle dantian at the chest, and now it is opening the upper dantian.

Fear grips him.

Everything in the world has its stages. A child must crawl before walking. Even if a child tries to run without the strength in their legs, they will fall and hurt their head.

Qingming is in exactly this situation.

'I have to stop it...'

Energy that has lost control can do anything. When energy loses control and destroys the body, it is called "fire in the furnace" (走火入魔).

This is the initial stage of demonic possession. Even if the process itself is beneficial to the body, no one knows how it will end.

Qingming tries to block the energy with all his might. But the incredibly pure energy resists his will and continues on its own path.

'Damn it, listen to me! This is my energy!'

Qingming grits his teeth again. Only then does the energy pause, seemingly realizing who its master is.

But only for a moment. The energy, which had been cautiously observing, starts to surge again. Qingming clenches his teeth.

'I will stop it!'

Even if the energy reverses and harms his body, he must stop it now. As Qingming gathers all his will to suppress the energy, a voice echoes in his mind.

- So, are you a Taoist or a martial artist?

'Elder Brother?'

The voice of Elder Brother Zhangmen echoes in his mind.

Elder Brother's voice?

No! This is something he heard from Elder Brother Zhangmen in the past.

- A martial artist controls and suppresses. But those who follow the Tao let things be. Hey, you. Can you solve the problems of the world by forcing them? If you try to stop flowing water by building a dam, the water will overflow the dam.

Qingming's body relaxes.

- Let it be. When you let things be, everything flows according to its nature. Trying to alter nature with human will? Foolish. Humans are part of nature. How can there be no humans in the vast and high nature?

With Qingming's permission, the energy surges through his body. The raging inner energy, which had been boiling, now flows through his body like water.

The energy flows within him. The stream grows thicker, soon becoming a river, flowing and flowing through the universe that is Qingming.

How much time has passed?

Flash!

Qingming opens his eyes. A clear light flows from his eyes.

And...

Thud!

"Ouch!"

Qingming, who had fallen from the air to the ground, clutches his buttocks.

"What? Why was I floating?"

He never imagined his body would float in the air. Qingming rubs his sore buttocks and stands up.

"Phew. I almost died."

It was dangerous.

If he had made a slight mistake, he could have become paralyzed or even lost his life. The fall from the cliff earlier felt like a minor incident in comparison.

But the results were clear.

"Hmm."

Qingming lightly shakes his wrist. The broken wrist is completely healed, feeling even stronger than before.

It wasn't just his wrist.

'There were impurities after all.'

Even though he thought his body was completely cleansed, as his realm improved, he could see more. He cleansed the remaining impurities in his body again. In the future, as he reaches higher realms, he will see things he cannot see now.

But all of this is a secondary issue. The most significant change was in his qi and blood.

It feels as if his entire body is open.

From the top of his head to the tips of his toes, there is not a single blocked spot. If his meridians were once like small paths on a mountain, they are now like the wide roads leading to the imperial palace. If we exaggerate a bit, it feels like horses could gallop and eagles could fly through his qi and blood.

"My inner energy has also increased."

His inner energy increased as he refined his body. Given that it took a long time to increase his inner energy by just a little, even with the purest and clearest energy, this is a very encouraging development.

'My innate energy is completely restored.'

So, if we summarize all of this:

"The vessel has grown larger."

For Qingming, his body is the vessel that holds his martial arts. If the vessel is small, the amount it can hold is limited. By surpassing a new boundary through the Snow Plum Pill, the vessel has clearly grown larger.

Right now, he is only slightly stronger, but this vessel will be the foundation for Qingming to surpass his past realm.

Qingming smiles contentedly.

'If it weren't for Elder Brother's teachings, I would have been in big trouble.'

It's as if he gained some enlightenment from dying once. The words of Elder Brother, which he used to consider mere nagging, now carry a completely different meaning.

He realizes anew:

"I was just a sword practitioner."

He was not a Taoist.

Huashan is both a sword school and a Taoist school, and that is its identity. But Qingming is an ambiguous person who cannot easily call himself a Taoist.

Can such a Qingming really revive Huashan?

"Ugh."

Qingming scratches his head. This kind of worry doesn't suit him.

Let's just try it!

"If it doesn't work, so be it."

Qingming walks slowly to the chest. With each step, his body moves forward more quickly than expected, but since this was a more natural movement in the past, he quickly adapts.

Click.

Qingming takes the box containing the Snow Plum Pills and Plum Blossom Pills from the chest and slides it into his sleeve.

"Tsk. What a waste."

Now, these have no meaning for him.

He was able to reorganize his body because the energy of the Snow Plum Pill served as a medium, not because the energy itself added to his inner energy.

Even the highly refined Lingdan would be nothing more than an impurity when compared to Qingming's inner energy. Perhaps a Zisodan would be a bit better, but it wouldn't make a significant difference.

Of course, it would help a little, but it would be a waste to use the Snow Plum Pill this way. Someone else would benefit much more from it.

"Ugh."

Qingming smacks his lips. The situation has turned out quite delicately.

"Ah!"

He closes his eyes tightly.

Why hold on to something that is no longer his? He has already seen effects that cannot be achieved with ten Snow Plum Pills.

"Greedy people end up losing everything. Qingming, eat only what you can digest."

Qingming turns his body without any attachment...

Thud!

"Ahem! Ahem! Ah!"

A couple of wine bottles from the chest wrap around Qingming's waist.

This is not because he wants to drink. It's out of pure curiosity about the taste of wine that has aged for a hundred years.

Qingming, who has put away the wine and the box, stands at the cave entrance and glances back.

"I feel strange."

It's probably because of the traces.

This cave is the only place in the completely changed Huashan that retains its past appearance. Being inside this cave makes him feel like he is living in the past.

It's nostalgic.

And heartwarming.

Qingming, who silently gazes into the cave, smiles and turns his head.

'I should visit sometimes.'

He won't drink and play like before, but it's a good place to rest when his heart is heavy.

"But I won't come often. The past is just the past."

The fact that he was the Plum Blossom Sword Master Qingming is undeniable. But now, he is not the Plum Blossom Sword Master Qingming, but the third disciple of Huashan, Qingming.

One cannot move forward to the future while being bound to the past.

The past is just a milestone that guides his life in the right direction.

"Alright."

Qingming throws his body out of the cave without any attachment.

Whoosh!

His body, now incredibly light, allows movements that were impossible when he entered the cave.

His feet lightly kick the cliff and rise up, and up.

"Ugh!"

With each leap, he jumps nearly three zhang high multiple times. Qingming quickly climbs the cliff and stands at the top.

"Not bad."

He takes a deep breath.

The clear air at the top of the cliff fills his nose, making him...

"Ugh!"

He feels nauseous.

Only then does he realize that his clothes are covered in thick, sticky waste products that have flowed out of his body. Qingming contorts his face and quickly takes off his clothes.

"What, this stuff came out of my body!"

Qingming, who has stripped off his clothes, holds them up with his fingertips and sighs deeply.

"Really, nothing is going right. Where's a nearby stream?"

He will wash these clothes before returning to Huashan.

Qingming trudges down the mountain.

That day, the animals that drank from the stream as usual without a care all fell ill and suffered for several days.