Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 228

“Ugh. My pride!” Chung Myung spat out dirt and grimaced. “Me, beaten by a snake! Ptooey! Dirt! Ptooey, ptooey!”

Each time he spat, blood flowed from his nose like a red waterfall.

Yoo Iseol watched his messy state and shook her head. “Wipe your nose,” she said, taking a handkerchief from her sleeve and walking towards Chung Myung.

*Ah, she’s going to wipe it for me…* Chung Myung thought.

Shove! Shove!

“Aya! Ayaya!”

Yoo Iseol shoved the handkerchief into Chung Myung’s nose.

Chung Myung tried to pull away, but Yoo Iseol gripped the back of his neck. Her face was blank, but her eyes showed a hint of concern as she pushed the handkerchief deeper into his nostril.

“……”

*Is this helping or hurting?* Chung Myung wondered, judging by his pained expression, it felt more like hurting.

Chung Myung, with a handkerchief stuffed up his nose, gritted his teeth.

“Kkeueueung. Not a single part of me is unscathed.”

The Beast Palace Lord, quietly watching the Hwasan disciples fuss, spoke softly.

“The Muklin Blood Serpent is the most dangerous magical snake in this area. Luckily, it is usually calm and doesn’t attack unless you enter its home. If it was aggressive, it would be a disaster.”

“Mild?”

“Indeed. It is relatively mild-mannered.”

“Kkeueung.”

“However, it fiercely protects its home. It does not tolerate even a single stone or blade of grass being touched. Tricking the Muklin Blood Serpent so it doesn’t notice us and taking the Divine Herb is nearly impossible.”

She could have mentioned that sooner…

“So, in the end, we have to defeat it to obtain the Violet Cloud Grass.”

“That is correct.”

The Beast Palace Lord nodded.

“I regret having to say this to you, from the Plum Blossom Sword School in the Central Plains, but the Beast Palace cannot offer any assistance in this matter. You must resolve it entirely on your own.”

Having finished the conversation, Baek Cheon approached Chung Myung with a grave expression.

“Chung Myung, I think we should give up on this.”

“Give up? What nonsense are you spouting?”

“We can’t win. Swords don’t work. How can we fight it? We were lucky just now. If we hadn’t been, even you would have become its meal.”

“Kkeueung.”

Chung Myung groaned.

Truthfully, he had nearly died.

If it had been anyone other than Chung Myung, that tail swipe would have sent them neatly to the afterlife for a deep conversation with King Yama.

‘What is that thing?’

The power came from a massive form, but even more terrifying was the unbelievable hardness of those scales.

Even with all his inner power focused, he couldn’t even scratch the scales.

The current Chung Myung could cleave through even ten thousand-year-old black iron, which meant each of those scales possessed a strength greater than that.

Chung Myung scratched his head roughly, as if annoyed.

Originally, swordsmanship was created to fight people. It was honed on the premise that a sword would cut when it touched the body.

In other words, if the sword couldn’t cut, then all swordsmanship was meaningless.

“So, it all comes down to inner power, huh?”

“Yes. With your current inner power, it’s impossible. Perhaps we should return to the Central Plains and find a way…”

“I understand. Let’s go back for now!”

“Oh?”

Baek Cheon stared at Chung Myung with slight surprise. What was this? Was he actually listening to reason for once?

“We’re going back to the Beast Palace for now!”

“……”

Ah, he only listened to half of it.

Of course.

“If my inner power is lacking, then I’ll just increase it! Swordsmanship be damned, I’ll smash it with brute force!”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

To be beaten and forced to run away from a snake that he could have skewered with chopsticks back in his Plum Blossom Sword Saint days… A wave of sorrow washed over him.

Aigo, Sasuk! Sect Leader Sasuk!

This is how I live!

Chung Myung glared at the lake once more, his eyes gleaming, and muttered.

“You and I will meet again shortly.”

And then he turned sharply and began running towards the Beast Palace.

“Wait for us!”

“No, what are you planning to do now?”

The disciples of Hwasan hurriedly followed after Chung Myung.

The Beast Palace Lord, watching their antics, chuckled heartily.

“They are amusing fellows.”

“No one come in!”

“Hey, you rascal, what on earth…”

Bang!

Chung Myung slammed the door shut and disappeared inside. Baek Cheon sighed deeply as he watched.

“…What is he planning now?”

Yoon Jong, seeing Baek Cheon sigh, cautiously spoke.

“Still, it’s Chung Myung. He’s always found a solution whenever there’s a problem.”

“…And when has one of his solutions ever ended quietly?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s not that I’m worried about him doing something strange. That’s a given. I’m worried that he’s doing something strange in the Namban Beast Palace.”

“…Ah, that’s…”

That was certainly true.

Yoon Jong glanced around. Feeling the gazes of the Beast Palace disciples subtly watching them, an awkward smile naturally crept onto his face.

“He’s not *that* reckless, is he?”

“I wish I could believe that…”

Baek Cheon, knowing that a sad premonition never misses, sighed deeply.

Chung Myung, having entered his quarters, took out two wooden boxes from his bundle.

One large wooden box, and another small one.

He then pulled out another small wooden box from his inner pocket, placing all three boxes before him as he sat cross-legged.

And then he took a deep breath.

‘This was something I had to do eventually.’

He had always known this day would come.

He was growing stronger at a dizzying pace compared to his past life, but it still wasn’t enough.

Of course, the current Chung Myung was at an age where he would still be training in Hwasan in his past life. But he had more to do, and more enemies to face.

He didn’t have the time to leisurely grow stronger.

Even if he only focused on training, he would catch up to his past self within 30 years…

‘But there’s no guarantee that nothing will happen in those 30 years.’

The Jongnam or Wudang could go mad and attack Hwasan, or the remnants of the Demonic Sect, lurking somewhere, could revive and push into the Central Plains.

And if he was unlucky, he could be eaten by some bizarre spiritual creature.

To overcome any situation that might arise, Chung Myung had to become stronger first. Only then could Hwasan become stronger as well.

‘In the end, it’s inner power.’

He was almost finished adjusting his martial arts to fit his current body. Now, all he needed was inner power to naturally unleash the martial arts of his past life.

“Now, then…”

Chung Myung smacked his lips and looked at the three wooden boxes placed before him.

Click.

The first, large wooden box opened.

Inside was the Hongyuan Pill that Chung Myung had snatched from Hyun Jong. Chung Myung gazed at the brilliantly shining Hongyuan Pill with profound eyes, and then looked at the second wooden box.

Smaller than the first box, but more luxurious.

Click.

As soon as the second wooden box opened, a smell hit Chung Myung’s nose. It was sharp and bitter, like burning wood, and it filled the air, making his eyes water slightly.

Inside was a black pill. It looked scary and made you feel cold.

This was the Tang Clan’s special item, the Heavenly Poison Pill.

The Heavenly Poison Pill was known as the best medicine of the Tang Clan. Usually, they wouldn’t give it to people outside their family, but Tang Gun-ak owed Chung Myung a favor, so he made an exception.

Even though it was black and looked dangerous, the Heavenly Poison Pill was a very special medicine. It was supposed to make you stronger inside.

If you took it, most poisons wouldn’t hurt you. And if you did get poisoned, it wouldn’t be as bad.

It was a very valuable item that protected you from poison just by swallowing it.

“Hooo…”

Chung Myung sighed deeply.

Then, he looked at the last wooden box.

“Okay, first two are fine,” Chung Myung thought to himself. “But this last one…” The first two medicines were okay. Chung Myung was strong enough now; they wouldn’t hurt him.

Even Tang Gun-ak wasn’t sure about giving this one away because he didn’t know what it did.

Chung Myung opened the box, but he didn’t really want to. Inside, there was a small, smooth, white porcelain bottle. It felt cool to the touch.

He took a deep breath and opened the bottle.

Whoosh!

As soon as it was opened, a scent filled the air. It was a little sweet but also fresh. Just the smell of it felt better than the Hongwon Pill.

But you couldn’t trust that smell.

Inside the bottle was a poison from the Tang Clan.

It was a deadly poison called Beauty’s Tears.

“Hoo.”

Chung Myung looked at the smooth bottle for a moment, then smelled the poison.

“Ugh…”

As soon as he smelled the sweet but sharp scent, like old flowers mixed with metal, he wondered if he really had to go this far.

“Can I really trust that rascal?”

The smell of the poison reminded Chung Myung of a silly conversation from long ago…

“Hey, Chung Myung.”

“What?”

“Do you know what the best medicine is in the Central Plains?”

Chung Myung frowned a little at the question. Tang Bo always started talking like this.

“The Great Revival Pill? Or the Taecheong Pill? No, it must be the Hongwon Pill.”

“Wrong. Those aren’t even good enough to be called medicine.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Tang Bo chuckled when he saw Chung Myung’s face.

“Hey, guess what? The *real* best medicine is from our Tang Clan!”

“The Tang Clan’s Heavenly Poison Pill isn’t as good as the medicines from other groups. Isn’t the Tang Clan made fun of because they’re good at making poison but can’t make good medicine?”

“Ugh.”

Tang Bo smacked his lips like he had nothing to say.

“Anyway, it’s not something like the Heavenly Poison Pill. The Tang Clan’s real medicine is Beauty’s Tears.”

“Beauty’s Tears? Never heard of it.”

“That’s because it’s a poison. And it’s very hard to make, even in the Tang Clan.”

“…A poison is a medicine? Have you been hit too many times? Are you crazy?”

“Who said I’ve been hit! You’re the one who hits me!”

Chung Myung slowly stood up. Tang Bo looked scared and backed up against the wall.

“N-not that I’m complaining!”

Chung Myung chuckled and sat back down.

“Keep going.”

“This Beauty’s Tears is made by mixing lots of poisons from all over the world.”

“So, it’s a really strong poison?”

“…Well, it’s not as poisonous as you might think.”

“Huh?”

Tang Bo smiled awkwardly.

“The truth is, I thought if you put all sorts of poisons together, it would be super toxic, but it didn’t really work that way. They sort of canceled each other out, so it’s not a very good poison.”

Chung Myung looked at Tang Bo like he didn’t believe him.

“So, what’s your point?”

“Hey, Chung Myung, what is inner strength?”

“…Energy.”

“That’s right. It’s energy. Animals and plants only have energy that matches their size. But martial artists keep storing that energy in their bodies, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But some animals can hold energy. We call them special creatures. They create an inner core inside them and become stronger than normal animals.”

“Stop talking about obvious stuff and get to the point.”

“Aha, we’re almost there. But special creatures aren’t the only animals that can hold energy. Poisonous creatures can also hold energy.”

“Huh?”

Tang Bo grinned.

“If a non-poisonous animal holds energy, it becomes a special creature. If a poisonous animal holds energy, it becomes a venomous creature. Special creatures gather energy in their inner core, but venomous creatures…”

“Gather energy in their poison?”

“Exactly. How else would poison get stronger just because the creature got bigger? The poison of a venomous creature is like an inner core that gathers all the energy that creature has collected in its life!”

Chung Myung tilted his head.

‘This sounds like a scam.’

“So, our Tang Clan has tried a few times to absorb this Beauty’s Tears, which is a mix of all sorts of venomous creatures’ poisons, and use it as inner strength!”

“How did it go?”

“They all died, of course.”

“…”

What is this guy saying?

Chung Myung’s arm tensed up, and Tang Bo waved his hands and backed away.

“N-no! Listen to the end! To the end!”

“Are you going to keep talking nonsense?”

“It’s not nonsense! It failed, but it did something!”

“How do you know? They died, didn’t they?”

Tang Bo grinned.

“The Tang Clan’s experts rushed to stop the guy who was going crazy from the poison, and he beat them all up. The Tang Clan was almost destroyed because of that huge inner strength. It happened two hundred years ago.”

“…”

“Of course, he didn’t handle the poison well and turned into bloody water, but it still did something! You can get a lot of inner strength that other medicines can’t give you! Beauty’s Tears might not be the best poison, but it could be the best medicine! If you can purify it!”

Chung Myung sighed deeply.

“So, how do you purify it?”

“…I don’t know.”

“…”

“If I knew that, would I be living like this? I would have already drunk a bowl of Beauty’s Tears and broken your back… Oops, I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Broken?”

“…”

“My back?”

Chung Myung smiled and stood up.

“Ha, haha.”

Tang Bo slowly backed away with an awkward look.

“Oh, really? Let’s fight today!”

Chung Myung ran towards Tang Bo without stopping.

“Eeeeek! Chung Myung! Ack! That’s not it! Hey, you horse-faced jerk! Is it okay for a Taoist to hit someone like this… Ack! Please save me!”

“Die! Die, you jerk! Die!”

“…”

Chung Myung remembered the past and sighed as he looked at the bottle of Beauty’s Tears.

He remembered Tang Bo’s crazy ideas. *Could this really work? Or is this just another one of his scams?* Chung Myung felt a knot of worry in his stomach.

“…I think I’m being tricked by a crazy guy.”

Should I eat this? Or not?