Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 58

The fight with the Chief lasted much longer than Chung Myung thought it would.

Lee Song-baek and the Chief, who had confidently jumped in, seemed to have a good rapport, engaging in a desperate battle for over an hour.

To Chung Myung, the fight was as exciting as watching paint dry.

‘Should I have just beaten him up myself?’

But seeing Lee Song-baek, half-dead and dripping with sweat, Chung Myung couldn’t bring himself to say such a thing. Even in that state, he wore a triumphant smile, proud of having subdued the Chief.

‘Wipe your sweat, why don’t you…’

“Huff, the fiend… Cough, the fiend… I have subdued the fiend.”

Hwang Jong-i watched Lee Song-baek gasp for breath as he spoke, nodding awkwardly.

He wanted to say something sharp, but seeing Lee Song-baek’s trembling legs, he just felt sorry for him.

“You’ve worked hard. The Eunha Guild will remember what Jongnam did.”

“Tha, thank… Thank… Thank you.”

“Get some rest.”

Before the words could even finish, Lee Song-baek collapsed on the spot without even managing a reply.

Normally, Hwang Jong-i would have felt at least a little gratitude towards Lee Song-baek for doing his best to subdue the fiend. But now, Lee Song-baek’s appearance didn’t even register in Hwang Jong-i’s eyes.

Hwang Jong-i kept glancing at Chung Myung.

‘What on earth should I make of this situation?’

Had it only been two days since Chung Myung appeared here?

Chung Myung had solved a problem that Hwang Jong-i had been dragging on for nearly a year in just two days, and with utter perfection.

‘Was it a problem that could be solved so easily?’

Of course not.

Hwang Jong-i knew.

Everything in the world seems simple only after it’s over. If this matter had been so simple from the start, why hadn’t anyone noticed the existence of the fiend until now?

‘It’s as if a wise old master is hiding inside that small child.’

Though that couldn’t be possible.

“It seems like things are roughly settled now, right?”

“Why on earth was the Chief targeting my father?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Didn’t you stir things up because you guessed something?”

“Nope.”

Hwang Jong-i was slightly dumbfounded.

As if guessing Hwang Jong-i’s feelings, Chung Myung said nonchalantly.

“Finding out the reason is the job of the authorities, and my job is to solve the problem and receive compensation. Speaking of which, I hope the compensation is adequately prepared?”

Usually, no matter how great the achievement, one wouldn’t demand compensation so brazenly. People are, by nature, concerned with appearances.

But Chung Myung had no more face to save. He had gone from the Plum Blossom Sword Saint to a third-generation disciple sweeping fallen plum blossom petals. What face did he have left to save?

It was absurd, but as if proving that Hwang Jong-i was no ordinary man, he nodded calmly without a change in expression.

“Of course. But you’re forgetting one thing. The problem isn’t solved at all yet. I never asked you to catch the fiend. What I want is for my father to get out of bed and be healthy again. Can you do that?”

Chung Myung puffed out his chest slightly.

“That goes without saying.”

His voice was full of confidence.

“If that’s the case.”

Hwang Jong-i’s voice was firm, showing he meant every word.

“I promise to support Hwasan, even if it means mobilizing all the power of my merchant guild.”

Chung Myung gripped Hwang Jong-i’s hand tightly, as if deeply moved.

Hwang Jong-i smiled, as if understanding Chung Myung’s feelings.

“There’s no need to be so moved. It’s only natural…”

“Are you kidding me?”

“…Huh?”

Chung Myung’s face twisted.

“The compensation should be for me, not Hwasan! Are you paying my school instead of me? I did all the work!”

Hwang Jong-i was speechless.

It seemed he was even more insane than he had thought.

❀ ❀ ❀

Chung Myung, standing before Hwang Mun-yak lying on the bed, clicked his tongue.

If he succeeded in treating Hwang Mun-yak, all the work here would be finished. Then he could return to the school, whistling merrily.

Everything was perfectly handled.

There wasn’t anything particularly difficult. And he even managed to give those Jongnam bastards a hard time in the process, which he liked even more. He liked it very much.

But amidst all that, there was one single problem…

‘To be honest, I’m not confident.’

Everything up to this point was something he could somehow manage. But curing Hwang Mun-yak was, to put it bluntly, something he didn’t know if it was even possible.

If it were Chung Myung the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, not the current Chung Myung, there would be no need to worry even a little. No one knew more about demonic energy than he did, and no one possessed such abundant and pure inner energy.

No matter how vicious the demonic transformation, it was ultimately caused by demonic energy. If Chung Myung’s inner energy, like a vast ocean, were to erase all the demonic energy, that would be the end of it.

But the current Chung Myung was not the Plum Blossom Sword Saint.

All he possessed was a very small amount of inner energy, purer than in the past but now only the size of a chestnut.

There was no guarantee that he could completely remove the demonic energy spread throughout Hwang Mun-yak’s body with that. Rather, if he clumsily touched it and caused the demonic energy to flare up, the weakened Hwang Mun-yak would die instantly without even being able to scream.

“Will this be enough?”

No one could know without trying.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue again and approached Hwang Mun-yak.

If he didn’t know the result, there was only one thing to do.

If left as is, Hwang Mun-yak would die. No matter how reckless Chung Myung’s life was, wasn’t he fundamentally a Taoist? He couldn’t just leave a dying person to die because he lacked the ability.

“Don’t blame me if it goes wrong.”

If it goes well, it’s good for everyone.

Chung Myung took a deep breath and slowly placed his hand on Hwang Mun-yak’s dantian. And he slowly pushed his inner energy into Hwang Mun-yak’s body.

Chung Myung’s inner energy, which had been dormant in his dantian, slowly flowed out.

In the past, Chung Myung’s inner energy was like a gently flowing river. Sometimes it became a raging torrent, and sometimes it became a vast ocean encompassing the world.

But the inner energy flowing through Chung Myung’s body now had a distinctly different quality.

It was clear.

Perfectly clear. Like pure water flowing through a deep mountain valley, it was a clarity unmixed with any impurities.

That clear energy flowed into Hwang Mun-yak’s body, steeped in demonic energy.

Oooooong.

Hwang Mun-yak’s body twitched slightly.

The damp and gloomy demonic energies dared not invade Chung Myung’s inner energy. Wherever the inner energy touched, they were startled and busy retreating.

‘Oh?’

Chung Myung exclaimed inwardly.

‘How strange.’

He had quite a bit of experience controlling demonic energy with inner energy. But this was the first time he had encountered such a case.

Why was demonic energy demonic energy?

It was called demonic energy because it went against the natural flow. Demonic energy that had infiltrated another’s body destroyed the body like a poison, antagonizing and repelling all energy.

But now, the demonic energies filling Hwang Mun-yak’s body were not rushing towards Chung Myung’s inner energy; they were busy running away like beasts seeing fire.

‘If this goes well…’

It might be possible.

No, no!

‘I went through so much trouble to gather this! It has to do this much!’

If Chung Myung hadn’t been so obsessed with purity and had just done it normally, he would have gathered more than ten years’ worth of power by now. He had already experienced gathering nearly a cycle’s worth of power.

But now, the amount of inner energy filling Chung Myung’s dantian didn’t even reach a year’s worth. Even that was only possible because he had eaten Snow Plum Pills.

But now, that mere year’s worth of inner energy was pushing back the demonic energy’s army single-handedly, like a single soldier holding off an entire army.

‘I didn’t expect this either.’

At first, he had simply tried to build a more pure and perfect foundation to reach a higher level than in his previous life. But as time went on, his obsession with that purity deepened, and progress became too slow.

He was just thinking about whether he should abandon this obsession now…

‘Come to think of it, this is only natural.’

Divine energy was fundamentally the opposite of demonic energy. Divine energy, containing the power to destroy evil, had the power to purify all impure things in the world. Chung Myung’s energy was fundamentally divine energy. And among them, it was the purest divine energy.

So, there was no way that demonic energy could dare to approach it.

The vicious demonic energy began to neutralize in an instant.

The demonic energy lost its power and returned to nothingness so easily that even Chung Myung was dumbfounded.

At the same time that Chung Myung’s inner energy neutralized Hwang Mun-yak’s demonic energy, it began to cleanse his energy pathways. It purified the body so violently, as if it would not tolerate even the smallest impurities, let alone demonic energy.

It was as if he was undergoing a deep body purification.

‘What’s going on now?’

Marrow cleansing was something that could only be attempted with very ancient and rare medicines and extremely powerful masters. How difficult would it be to return a body already filled with impurities to a completely pure state, like that of a newborn baby?

Even in Shaolin, where there were so many masters that even highly skilled masters had to sweep the floors, and so many elixirs that no one bothered to retrieve them even if they rolled away and were taken by dogs, marrow cleansing was rarely even attempted.

But now, Chung Myung was performing the feat of marrow cleansing on an old man weakened by demonic energy, all by himself.

The problem was that this was not a result that Chung Myung had intentionally planned.

Oooooong.

Hwang Mun-yak’s body began to tremble slightly. At the same time, his body began to be stained with pure white and pitch black simultaneously. The areas that Chung Myung’s inner energy had encroached upon were stained white, and the areas that the demonic energy still occupied were stained black, as if ink would flow out at any moment.

The demonic energy was also desperately resisting the intruder who had invaded its territory.

‘Hold on!’

Hwang Mun-yak’s body, which had instantly turned into a battlefield, was screaming. Even though he was clearly unconscious, his whole body was trembling, and blood was flowing back up his mouth.

Chung Myung gritted his teeth as he saw the dark red blood staining Hwang Mun-yak’s front.

This was not a fight between Chung Myung and the demonic energy.

The key to the fight was whether Hwang Mun-yak could hold out until he had completely removed the demonic energy.

‘I’ll end it in one go!’

If he hesitated, thinking about Hwang Mun-yak’s condition, the burden would only increase. It was better to leave everything to fate and take a gamble.

Having made up his mind, Chung Myung gathered his energy.

He pushed the last bit of his inner energy into Hwang Mun-yak’s body without leaving anything behind. Large beads of sweat began to pour down Chung Myung’s forehead like rain.

Inside Hwang Mun-yak’s body, Chung Myung’s inner energy began to fiercely drive out the demonic energies. It absorbed and neutralized everything in its path, melting even the surrounding impurities. At the same time, it expanded Hwang Mun-yak’s narrow and blocked energy pathways like highways.

The demonic energies, which had been fiercely resisting, lost their momentum and began to gather in one direction. Chung Myung was horrified when he saw that direction.

‘Ah, no!’

His head.

The demonic energy, having lost its way, was pushed in the opposite direction of the dantian where Chung Myung was injecting his inner energy. In an instant, Hwang Mun-yak’s head turned black and began to swell.

As if it would burst at any moment!