"The extreme Yang energy and extreme Yin energy collided as if they were going to explode!"
I was seized by waves of agony worse than being stabbed in the stomach. My eyes rolled back, and I started gushing nosebleeds from both nostrils. Blood poured out in streams, but I was in such agony that I couldn't even care about it. It felt as if needles were stabbing into every inch of my flesh and turning it inside out.
"Ugh… aaaargh…!"
I screamed while crawling on the ground. Trying to sit cross-legged to stabilize my energy was out of the question.
At the same time, I felt a brief sense of internal relief, with sweat pouring down like rain from my back.
Inside me, the energy of the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and the Crimson White Lotus were mixing together. I felt as if my organs were being torn apart by the clash, but at the same time, the energy of the divine medicine was patching me back up.
Even in the midst of a pain like ants gnawing at every fiber of my body, I didn't lose consciousness.
"It was a suicidal act… If I had just tried to take the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng alone…"
The result would have been the opposite of what's happening now. The extreme Yin energy would have surged, and no matter how much I tried to suppress it with inner energy techniques, it would've been impossible. I shuddered at the thought of ending up frozen solid while trying to absorb the ginseng.
But now, I realized I had miraculously discovered the correct way to take the medicine.
Take the extreme-Yin Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and the extreme-Yang Crimson White Lotus at the same time!
That was the only way to survive ingesting the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
I could feel the pain gradually subsiding. More precisely, the Yin and Yang energies had started to merge, increasing in volume, and I was slowly drawing that energy into my lower energy center (danjeon).
"Ugh… cough… kuh…"
Desperately clinging to my senses, I managed to sit up in a cross-legged posture. Then, clenching my teeth, I attempted the highest level of energy circulation technique I knew.
I breathed through my nose, inhaling slowly until my lower abdomen swelled. Then I assumed the meditation posture.
Repeating that about three times, the Yang energy finally flowed down and settled in my lower energy center.
The moment the Yang energy settled there, the mingled energies of the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and the Crimson White Lotus began to harmonize, and my whole body started to tremble. But the pain had completely vanished. Instead, a mysterious energy (hyeon-gi) began to glow faintly in my eyes, and sweat poured endlessly from my entire body. Explosive power gathered in my energy center and struck at the surrounding energy meridians.
Rumble…
After a while, I opened my eyes.
A clear brilliance seemed to pierce through my entire body.
Around me, it looked like I had vomited up a whole basin of blood…
Because of the pain, I scratched the ground so hard that two of my fingernails were ripped out.
My whole body was covered in yellowish sweat mixed with blood. My tear ducts had dried out from crying blood, but none of that mattered anymore.
Mist-like energy was rising from my entire body like smoke.
I slowly gathered and stabilized my internal energy and stood up. I had succeeded in channeling all the energy into my lower energy center, and the power of the divine medicine began to spread throughout my limbs and meridians. As a result, I was able to break through the Gate of Life and Death .
At this moment, my internal energy had unmistakably reached the level of a true master.
The internal energy I now possessed was so overwhelming that even elders of major sects would find it formidable. From now on, any technique or energy skill I performed would have at least ten times the power it had before.
"I did it."
I had seized a miraculous opportunity through sheer effort.
There were no words to describe the feeling I had now.
****
7. Journey to Luoyang
After absorbing the power of the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, I felt as if I could fly.
For a martial artist, internal energy is the core that allows for superhuman strength. Possessing great internal energy usually meant one's skills operated on a completely different level. Of course, combat sense and martial techniques were just as important, but with strong energy as a foundation, anything seemed possible.
'Come to think of it, how much has my Light Body Technique (Qinggong) improved?'
I glanced up at the cliffside cave high above me. Before gaining this power, it would've made more sense to leave through the narrow mountain path, but now I was curious to test how far my Light Body Technique had progressed. On top of that, using up all that energy had made me hungry, and I felt a strong urge to hurry home for a meal.
Before, when I used Light Body Technique , I could jump a height of about five chi —roughly the height of an average person. That alone had been impressive, but now I felt confident I could do much more.
Standing at the edge of the cliff, I gathered power into my legs and launched myself upward.
Whoosh!
"Hmph! Hyah!"
To my surprise, my body soared far above the cliff's height, gliding effortlessly through the air. I instinctively reached out and grabbed the cave wall—my reflexes saving me from falling. Astonishingly, my Light Body Technique had more than doubled in power compared to before!
At this level, there were virtually no rocky outcrops or walls I couldn't leap over. I walked into the cave, trying to calm my pounding heart.
'What the… this internal energy is even more incredible than I heard!'
As far as I knew, the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng was a peerless elixir, said to grant immense internal energy upon consumption. But I had never imagined it would be this overwhelming, so I hadn't fully grasped its impact. Now, it felt like even a casual palm strike could unleash world-shaking power.
Whoosh!
"So fast…"
As I darted through the mountain valley like the wind, I could feel that my senses had reached an entirely new dimension. I leapt over jagged rocks and narrow paths effortlessly—none of it felt difficult or strenuous. It was as if time itself had slowed, and I could observe my surroundings in perfect clarity.
It was almost like I had a third eye attached to the back of my head—I could faintly sense what was happening behind me as well.
Even when I landed abruptly on a slippery boulder, I felt no sign of slipping—probably because my feet were enveloped in internal energy. I felt as if heaven and earth were mine to roam, flying freely like a bird.
If I had tried to reach this level of internal energy through ordinary martial cultivation, how many years would it have taken?
Fifty years? A hundred?
One thing was certain: I had made efforts in my own way, obtained the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, and was now reaping its rewards. From now on, all that remained was to wield this power as I saw fit. I had a feeling that even if I were to die now, I would have no regrets.
Maybe because I climbed the mountain trail at five times the normal speed, I was able to return to my thatched cottage before sunset. Not only was I able to avoid the coming rain, but after three years of periodic repairs, the place had become sturdy enough to qualify as a proper home.
I pushed open the wooden door and collapsed into a pile of straw.
"Damn…"
The pain from my torn fingernails flared up again. If I left the wounds exposed to the straw, they would surely get infected and fester, so I wrapped them with cloth as best I could. Having stocked up on essentials turned out to be a smart move.
Once the pain subsided a bit, I started thinking about what I should do next.
I had longed for power with such intensity. But now that I had it, I suddenly had too many things to do and no clear sense of where to begin.
"I want to take revenge on the village chief. But…"
The first thing that came to mind was revenge—killing the village chief who had put a hit on me. When I first reincarnated, I had sworn to bathe that man in blood. But now… I didn't feel like putting that at the top of my list.
Sure, smashing the village chief now with my newfound power would be satisfying. But "what comes after that?"
Before I died last time, after facing the assassins of the Eight Demonic Gates and the Blood Shadow Sect, my final thought had been:
"The world is terrifying."
Yes—the world is terrifying.
In this second life, all I had done was pressure a village chief, yet an entire wave of elite killers had been dispatched—far beyond what a mere wandering martial artist could deal with.
If I were to wipe out the village chief's family now, it might feel cathartic in the moment—but then the government would send someone to investigate the massacre…
Once things started, the Meihwa Escort Agency, which often shared drinks with the village chief, or even the Beggar's Sect, might launch a formal investigation. And if my identity were exposed in the process, word would spread in the martial world that a new killing force had emerged—and I might have to fight righteous martial artists from every region with no time to rest.
The world isn't something one can live in alone. There are rules. There is order. And if you break them, you are punished accordingly. The stronger you are, the easier it is to ignore such limits—but the influence of others is something you can't afford to overlook.
I didn't want to spend the rest of my life on the run just for wiping out the village chief and his family. More accurately, I didn't want to place their lives on the same scale as my own future. If I was going to get revenge, I wanted to do it after laying a solid foundation—after stabilizing my life like bedrock. Only then would I crush the village chief like a bug, with absolute finality.
And to do that, it wasn't enough to simply swing my power around and destroy everything. I needed to be strong, but also possess enough status, influence, and even wealth so that the world would have little reason—or justification—to restrain me when I acted.
"Haha…"
I let out a dry laugh.
Honestly, these were the kinds of thoughts I should've had before finding and consuming the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. But combing through thirty mountain peaks under immense pressure and fatigue didn't exactly leave room for long-term planning. When you're focused on a single goal, it becomes hard to think about what comes after.
"Let's not overthink it. First, I'll focus on what absolutely needs to be done."
Vengeance got pushed down the priority list.
So what was next most important to me?
After some long contemplation, I reached a conclusion:
"Deciphering the Tian'an Secret Manual ."
That had to come first.
Sure, I could go out now and chase wealth or fame with my new power—but the mysterious ability of the Tian'an Secret Manual to reverse time still had far too many unknowns. Realistically, I had already experienced two time reversals. Even if there were no third, I wouldn't have any grounds to complain—because I still didn't know a single line of its content beyond the title.
This ability to reverse time—if used correctly—could let one dominate the entire world. Even if I couldn't uncover everything about the manual, I felt I absolutely had to at least figure out what the true nature of this time-reversal power was.
To do that, I'd need to find the smartest sage in the land.
But where would such a person be?
I thought hard for a while… and finally made my decision:
Luoyang .
The most populous city under heaven, and the capital where the Emperor of Daerok resided. I didn't know the political details well, but I figured: Where power and wealth gather, so too must the brightest minds.
'Oh—come to think of it, I still owe Mr. Song at the cloth shop some money.'
He was the man who had kindly given me food and new clothes when I first arrived in Hwangsan. Though I hadn't seen him since, as he lived in the next village over and I'd been preoccupied searching for the ginseng, I hadn't forgotten the debt I owed him.
For a moment, I considered giving him the money I'd earned from selling timber at the lumber mill… but I shook my head.
The gratitude I felt back then couldn't be repaid with just that.
I wanted to repay him with something more proper.
Whether it was gratitude or resentment, my nature was to return what I felt—exactly as I felt it.
Though I planned to repay him in my own way, I first wanted to ask what he might want. Besides, I needed a new set of clothes anyway, so the next day, I wrapped up my life in the thatched hut and left Hwangsan. I went to visit Mr. Song at the cloth shop.
Despite all the time that had passed, Mr. Song was still running his business in the same spot. I walked up to him with a friendly smile and greeted him.
"Hello, it's been a while."
"Uh… who are you again…?"
"Thanks to the meal you gave me back then, I was able to make it safely to the Sagong Escort Agency."
"Ah! That boy from back then!"
He seemed to remember me clearly. That made me even happier, and we started chatting about various things.
"Oh… so you became an escort after that?"
"Yes."
"But then why are you dressed like a beggar again?"
"I've been wandering in the mountains…"
Hearing that, Mr. Song clicked his tongue.
"Sorry, but business hasn't been good lately, so I can't just give you free clothes like last time…"
"No, no—clothes? I haven't even repaid the favor from before…"
Then, I gently asked:
"By the way, if I may ask… why aren't things going well?"
"It's nothing complicated. Clothes still sell well, but the tribute payments keep going up. That's all."
He took out some tobacco from the side and lit it up with heavy puffs. It wasn't exactly good for his health, and seeing him smoke it from a long-stemmed pipe suggested just how stressed he was.
Of course, people like Mr. Song—independent merchants—almost always had to pay tribute to someone. But it seemed things had gotten out of hand.
"Who do you pay tribute to?"
"What do you think this place is?"
"Hwangsan, right?"
Mr. Song tapped his long-stem pipe on the floor.
"Then obviously, the Hwangsan Sect."
"Ah…"
It sounded like a simple back-and-forth, but I could immediately feel just how powerful the Hwangsan Sect was. Even though there were more martial sects near Hwangsan than I could count—dozens that I personally knew of—it was simply assumed that tribute went to the Hwangsan Sect. That spoke volumes about their influence.
"How much are you paying in tribute that you've lost all room to breathe…?"
"Don't even get me started. I spend an entire month selling cloth and doing tailoring, and I barely make two taels of silver—if I'm lucky. But those bastards from the Hwangsan Sect demand one tael just like that. Damn bandits, the lot of them!"
"…!!"
Even calling them bandits didn't do justice to the outrage.
Even the most successful martial sects, if they claimed to be part of the righteous path , were supposed to exercise restraint when it came to collecting tribute. Excessive demands like this weren't just immoral—they tarnished a sect's reputation and often triggered interference from local officials.
That is, unless the sect was part of the unorthodox or demonic path, in which case they would simply use violence to silence anyone before the matter could be reported to the authorities.
Which is why I asked, not fully understanding:
"Is it just you they collect from?"
"Of course not. Everyone in this village and the surrounding areas pays the same."
"And if someone can't pay…?"
"Then they can't make a living. The Hwangsan Sect pressures the landlords to evict tenant farmers, or they shut down the merchants entirely. There's no way around it."
I cautiously suggested:
"Can't you report their tyranny to the authorities?"
"Hmph… if we could, we would've done it long ago. But don't you know? Even the local magistrate and the provincial governor are under the influence of the Hwangsan Sect."