Chapter 351 : Obtaining All of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles (1)

Chapter 351: Obtaining All of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles (1)

Yong Hwarin only loaded about an armful of charcoal onto the A-frame carrier.

It was to avoid arousing suspicion while tailing the woman.

When Yong Hwarin politely bowed and turned away, the old man still could not take his eyes off him, as if unable to believe what he had just seen.

Walking along the road, Yong Hwarin muttered.

"Talk about hidden weapons that can break Protective Energy, or martial arts specialized in destroying Protective Energy… none of that matters to me now."

Yong Hwarin feared that if he unfolded the Mother-Longing Energy using his qi, the woman might sense it and flee.

So, he only deployed it in his mind.

But he could no longer suppress the urge to form the Mother-Longing Energy that filled his thoughts.

Once the woman entered a small village and disappeared, Yong Hwarin decided it was safe and unfolded the Mother-Longing Energy right there.

‘Protective Energy wraps the entire body, making it useful against poison or hidden weapons. But because it covers the whole body, the qi consumption is enormous.

Due to its nature, it cannot be deployed partially.

Mother-Longing Energy, however, can be concentrated in a single area.’

Yong Hwarin swung his hand wildly in the air.

‘If I rotate it by combining Extinguish the Void of the Azure Bamboo Sword with the Dragon Claw Five Fingers, a whirlpool of qi about the size of a fingertip should appear in midair.’

He moved his qi in the air using the Dragon Claw Five Fingers, following the mnemonic of the Azure Bamboo Sword’s final form, Extinguish the Void.

Soon, eight small whirlpools of qi appeared in midair.

‘It works, it works.’

Yong Hwarin swiftly extended the Dragon Claw Five Fingers and created the Mother-Longing Energy.

In an instant, dozens of small whirlpools of qi formed before his chest.

These whirlpools were visible only to Yong Hwarin, who had reached the Qi-Vision Realm.

They were flows of qi invisible to anyone not at a similar level.

Yong Hwarin leaped back and struck toward the still-swirling Mother-Longing Energy with a palm force containing the power of Three Gaps.

Whooong!

The palm force of Three Gaps struck the spot where the Mother-Longing Energy was formed.

Puh-seok!

To his astonishment, the palm force of Three Gaps vanished into the Mother-Longing Energy with only the sound of a lump of hardened mud breaking.

"Heooh!"

At the incredible sight, Yong Hwarin involuntarily let out the exclamation of an old man.

To test if there was something wrong with his palm force, Yong Hwarin struck a small rock on the ground.

Puh-eok!

The rock, the size of a child’s head, shattered into hundreds of pieces.

The palm force of Three Gaps was not weak.

A thrilling shiver ran through his whole body at the power of the Mother-Longing Energy.

"Could it even absorb Nascent Qi?"

Still swirling, the Mother-Longing Energy drew his attention.

He activated the Taiji Dantian.

The qi of Three Gaps swirled through the Taiji Dantian and was amplified.

The amplified qi neared the level of Four Gaps.

He imbued that qi into the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword’s Yeoui Gwanchun technique and unleashed sword qi.

Bzzt!

When the power of Four Gaps was infused into Yeoui Gwanchun, Nascent Qi shot out.

Peng!

The Nascent Qi struck the Mother-Longing Energy and vanished.

With a sound like a leather drum bursting, the whirlpools of qi gradually disappeared.

The Mother-Longing Energy had been destroyed by the Nascent Qi.

"Heooh, so the Mother-Longing Energy can even absorb Nascent Qi!

If I deploy it through the Taiji Dantian, it might even absorb Twisted Qi."

Murmuring, Yong Hwarin stared blankly at the sky for a moment, astonished by the discovery.

Thickening snowflakes melted on his face, snapping him back to his senses.

With a startled "Oh no!", he stomped his foot.

‘The woman must have sensed the energy of the Nascent Qi.

I got so absorbed that I momentarily forgot I was tailing her.’

I leapt toward the village where the woman had disappeared.

As soon as I entered the village, the woman was already darting away using light movement arts, bounding like a grasshopper.

“Damn, she’s realized it and is fleeing after all.”

I sighed, realizing my tailing up to this point had gone to waste.

“Still, I’ve gained a great insight, so it’s not much of a loss.”

The woman was connected to Myeong Gujeong, and because she resembled my mother, I had been curious about her identity.

But since Myeong Gujeong was involved, uncovering her identity wouldn’t be difficult.

“Then why did she come all the way here?”

She wouldn’t have visited the village without purpose.

Thinking there must be something here, I lingered around for a moment.

In case it was her hiding place, I used Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art to conceal my presence and observed the village’s state.

It was an ordinary village.

Everyone was out in the fields or paddies, with only a few dogs wandering about marking their territory.

Just as I was about to leave in disappointment, I sensed a sinister, unnatural energy from the most isolated thatched hut.

A chill ran up my arms at the gloomy, eerie aura.

‘What kind of energy could be this wicked?’

Cautiously, I approached the hut and observed inside.

The malicious aura was clearly emanating from within.

The door was shut, so I couldn’t see inside.

I decided to release my qi and infer the situation within.

Kwa-jik!

Suddenly, the door burst open, and the inside was laid bare to my view.

Seeing faces I knew all too well, a strange thought crossed my mind.

‘What are they doing here? Dong-o seems to be placing his hand on a boy’s Celestial Opening and suppressing his energy. Beside him, Hong Ayul is restless. I can’t make sense of this.’

From this, I realized that the woman who resembled my mother had followed Hong Ayul to this village.

‘But why was she chasing Hong Ayul?’

The question flickered through my mind, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

A flash of demonic energy lit up the boy’s eyes, and blue energy surged from his mouth.

‘What?’

That blue energy was all too familiar.

‘This is…!’

Focusing my gaze, I saw in the boy’s mouth the Azure Dragon Three Marbles.

And I recognized the boy as the one who had been lying in the coffin passed on by Man Inhwa.

‘Why are they using the Azure Dragon Three Marbles in such a way?’

The reason quickly dawned on me.

‘Of course. The Azure Dragon Three Marbles is a divine item that absorbs even a person’s spiritual energy or demonic qi. They’re trying to extract the demonic qi dwelling in that boy.’

But I shook my head.

‘They don’t know. To draw out the Azure Dragon Three Marbles’ power, you need the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique. Doing it like this is pointless.’

With that alone, one of my lingering questions was answered.

When Hong Ayul gave me one of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles and said the rest were needed elsewhere, she had been talking about this.

‘She’s refusing to give the Azure Dragon Three Marbles to her senior brothers so she can save her younger brother. Is that boy really her brother, as she said? But why was her brother in the Ihwa Palace?’

As my thoughts churned, the idea struck me that I could help them and obtain the Azure Dragon Three Marbles.

‘A deal is entirely possible. I have the cultivation method to heal Hong Ayul’s brother, and with Jo Heon as well, Hong Ayul would have no choice but to trade the Azure Dragon Three Marbles with me.’

With that decision, I vaulted over the hut’s wall.

Sensing someone entering, Hong Ayul drew her sword.

This was a crucial moment, and no interruption could be allowed.

“Whoever you are, if you value your life, leave this place at once!”

She infused qi into her voice and stepped outside.

“You…!”

Hong Ayul froze in surprise when she saw me standing in the yard.

“Forgive me for dropping in unannounced.”

“How are you here?!”

Her mouth hung open in shock, but she still kept her guard up and drew her sword.

“Ah, I’m not here to fight.”

“Then why have you come? Are you after the Azure Dragon Three Marbles?”

She was anxious.

She knew neither she nor even Elder Dong could match me, and she was prepared to block me at the cost of her life.

“I came to help. The Azure Dragon Three Marbles won’t reveal its power just by flooding it with qi. There’s a separate mnemonic to summon its power.”

“And how would you know that?”

Her voice sharpened with heightened wariness.

“Does Miss Hong not know that I come from the clan that possessed the Azure Dragon Three Marbles?”

Overwhelmed by surprise, Hong Ayul had momentarily forgotten that fact.

She asked in a low voice.

“Can you truly awaken the energy of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles?”

“Then why would I bother explaining myself here? I could just take it.”

Thinking it over, she realized my words were true.

With my skill, I could simply seize the Azure Dragon Three Marbles without trying to persuade her.

Her sword lowered slightly.

“Then… can you save my younger brother?”

“In exchange, I have a condition.”

Hong Ayul seemed to know what the condition was.

“You want the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, don’t you?”

Yong Hwarin nodded.

“Yul-ah, that won’t do. At least one of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles must be delivered to Il Taegong!”

It was Dong-o, speaking from inside the room.

“Grandfather Dong, I’m sorry to say this, but if Young Master Yong wants to take the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, there’s no one who can stop him. If that’s the case, I think it’s better to at least cure my younger brother.”

When Dong-o still hadn’t made a decision, Yong Hwarin drove the nail in.

“If I may add another deal, Lord Jo was gravely injured while fighting Man Inhwa.

Right now, Lord Jo is receiving treatment at the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.”

“Jo Family suffered defeat? Are you telling me to believe that?”

“Man Inhwa brought the Glass Divine Lady with her. Lord Jo fell to the Glass Divine Lady. All the martial artists who fought alongside him were annihilated.”

“The Glass Divine Lady?”

Dong-o’s face showed shock.

“You’re telling me the Glass Divine Lady is complete? It was truly her?”

“That’s right. It was undoubtedly the Glass Divine Lady. You can hear the rest of the details from Lord Jo later.”

Knowing Yong Hwarin was not the sort to lie about such things, Dong-o withdrew his hand from the boy’s Celestial Opening.

“This child entered qi deviation while cultivating Moonlight Demon Art at Ihwa Palace. The only way to extract the Moonlight Demonic Qi from him is with the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, so we were trying this. Are you truly saying you can awaken the Azure Dragon Three Marbles?”

Instead of answering, Yong Hwarin strode confidently into the room.

Watching his unhesitating actions, Dong-o let out a sigh of admiration.

‘Ah, this boy is truly a hero among men.

When he moves, it’s like Xiang Yu; when he thinks, it’s like Kongming.’

An ordinary person would worry about being attacked from behind, but he showed no such signs.

Because he held faith that his opponent wouldn’t attack, that faith could not be broken.

Such boldness was not something just anyone could possess.

In the end, Dong-o gave his consent through silence.

“I’ll step outside.”

Dong-o left the room on his own, not wanting Yong Hwarin to feel uneasy.

“Has the deal been settled?”

When Yong Hwarin asked, Hong Ayul weakly nodded her chin.

The boy’s hair was long and unkempt like a tangled mane, covering his face so it couldn’t be seen clearly.

After failing in his cultivation of Moonlight Demon Art at Ihwa Palace, he had been left neglected, living like a vegetative person, and had withered away like a mummy, nothing but skin and bones.