LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 32
You can bring the dead back to life.
Having experienced miracles in various forms, I found being able to revive the dead initially astonishing, but now I’ve grown accustomed to it.
The real problem is the demonic flames that flowed from the corpse.
When it was simply lying there dead, it remained quiet, but as soon as I touched a certain ‘golden measure’, the whole body ignited and burned to ashes.
I managed to revive a dead person, only to discover they were someone possessed by the Heavenly Demon’s ritual.
Question.
Was there no way to notice this in advance?
“That’s impossible.”
The Sword Saint answered my question.
“What you refer to as that Black Yang Divine Skill… what they call the Heavenly Demon Divine Skill is an area of external laws that even I can’t perceive.”
“Is such a thing even possible?”
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have allowed Yu Gwain or Yu Giyeon to join our Mo Yong Family.”
The Sword Saint responded while tossing sparks towards the two burning coffins.
“The Heavenly Demon isn’t remarkable. It’s the Heavenly Demon Divine Skill that’s formidable.”
They say a true craftsman does not distinguish between tools, but perhaps it’s the opposite for the Heavenly Demon.
“If a child wields a blade and swings it, an adult is bound to get cut. Especially if it’s a blade coated in extreme poison.”
“Is the Heavenly Demon a child, then?”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t argue against the Sword Saint’s assertion. There was no reason to refute him, and besides, I thought the same way.
“If someone who mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Skill to such an extent were not the current Heavenly Demon but a different being, I would have resigned myself to losing an arm.”
I might have won.
While I felt a strong confidence in victory, the real concern was how much I would be hurt.
The current Heavenly Demon had been defeated without even landing a blow against the Sword Saint.
“You know, the Heavenly Demon is an unpredictable entity. It sounds a bit harsh to say this about a person, but its intellect is pitifully low.”
“Ignorant yet possessing immense strength, it suppresses all who come at it with that powerful force.”
The Heavenly Demon is not a normal human.
It’s the pinnacle of abnormality among humans.
Decades ago, the Heavenly Demon caused chaos across the Central Plains due to two reasons.
First, the brains of the Demon Cult aligned with the Heavenly Demon and diligently manipulated it.
Just as the eunuchs flatter a foolish emperor, the Heavenly Demon’s law protectors cunningly led it in the direction they desired.
– There’s a sect we need to attack, we need the power of a supreme being.
– A clan head said something embarrassing like, “The Heavenly Demon could defeat them with a single finger.”
That kind of scheme.
This was actually what I heard from my master.
The Heavenly Demon is foolish, but its power is overwhelming.
To fill that ignorance, it gathered intelligent women from the Demon Cult in a bid to mix its brute strength with their intellect.
Truly a problematic being, but ultimately it was defeated by the Sword Saint.
If the Heavenly Demon roams the heavens, encompassing all existence, then the Sword Saint exists in the higher realm, akin to a star in the night sky.
Indeed, it’s a story that makes one exclaim, “How could the heavens create both the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Saint!”
“Reviving the dead overturns the natural order, and while it may be a violation of common sense, that’s not the most crucial matter.”
The Sword Saint pointed to his own mouth, then alternated to indicate Mo Yongseol and me.
“In the end, as long as we keep this matter from the outside world until our death, no one shall defy the natural order to resurrect the dead, then the world shall remain oblivious to this miracle.”
A secret to take to the grave.
Even if someone dies, it’s a secret that should not be hastily revived.
“Father, that…”
“Seol Ah. I know what you’re trying to say. But a dead person is a dead person.”
Even the Sword Saint felt a flicker of possibility at first, but ultimately abandoned it—this was a secret he had resolutely made up his mind about.
“The dead must not return to life. How many did Qin Shi Huang torment in search of the elixir of immortality? The entire Central Plains, no—everyone living in this world would rush to snatch even a drop of blood from Physician Seok.”
“…”
“Simply referring to it as a drop of blood does not capture it. If the Demon Cult or the underworld were to get wind of this, a far uglier scenario would arise. And you, Physician Seok, must have thoughts racing through your head.”
“Indeed, Gaju-nim.”
For instance, locking me away underground and continuously slicing off my flesh.
Perhaps chopping me up and consuming me, to monopolize miracles in this world.
Or, being tied up by the Heavenly Demon, losing my intellect and forced to live my life steeped in medicine like some vast cauldron where herbal concoctions simmer.
“If it’s said that the ‘infinite herbs’ regenerate over time, anyone would want to exploit that.”
I only refer to it as herbs because I’m a physician; if I were a merchant, I would call those herbs ‘money trees’.
In other words.
“We are not as foolish as the Heavenly Demon. Even if we possess a miraculous method akin to reviving the dead, we can endure, hold back, and keep it hidden. I can, and so can all of you.”
The goose that lays golden eggs would not dare to slice open its belly, for nurturing it properly would yield golden eggs each day.
“However, the Heavenly Demon is different.”
The Heavenly Demon would go beyond merely slicing open the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs; it would throw the goose into a cauldron and boil it.
“Having failed with one scheme based on its own level, it is likely to attempt something else to manipulate us.”
“Do you mean through low-grade schemes like those created by the Purple Sword Gate?”
“Yes. While it might seem oddly trivial to us, for the Heavenly Demon, that probably feels like a well-thought-out plan.”
“….”
Really, is this allowed?
“The true problem arises when such an idiot possesses intellect. Especially the kind of intellect that worries me.”
“What kind of intellect are you referring to?”
“The many greedy individuals within the White Path Martial World.”
White Path.
They are not just a part of the Demon Cult or a shortened name for a faction known as the ‘White Path Sect’.
“The Nine Major Families excluding Mo Yong, various gray organizations like Hao Moon, and there’s the new martial world. Furthermore, the Imperial Palace, the Heavenly Demon can concoct the Extreme Yang Reversal just for curing Sickness of Absolute Meridians and the tales are already rampant, but what if it were to reach the point of the ‘life revival’? The outcome would be as clear as day.”
The Sword Saint shook his head vigorously.
“Thus, we will pursue a more active approach than before.”
“Active approach?”
“Even if the truth spreads later and causes issues, rather than embracing greed and making Mo Yong an enemy, we must think of the grudge with Mo Yong and seek benefits, expanding our allies for the sake of peace in the martial world rather than chaos. The first step is…”
“Is it the Sword Mistress?”
“Yes.”
“To the Sword Mistress, we must also hide the ‘method of reviving the dead’, right?”
“Correct.”
The Sword Saint nodded vigorously at my question.
“While we can respond to every other issue, the ‘life revival’ must be concealed. The desire to overcome death… is something fundamentally present in every human being.”
I understand.
If Mo Yongseol were to die right now, I would surely try to use any means necessary to revive her, whether it be shedding my blood or giving a kiss.
“And one more thing.”
The Sword Saint put his hands behind his back and approached the blazing coffin.
“So far, I’ve been speaking about the policy regarding your miracle as a martial world practitioner, but now I’m speaking as the head of an organization… one who could be called a ‘Gaju’.”
The Sword Saint’s tone seemed longer and more serious than usual.
“What someone at the top of an organization must consider is how their choices will impact the lives of many people and what mindset they ought to hold.”
“…….”
Is he telling me to listen and contemplate?
Perhaps, it’s also for the future.
And it’s likely meant for Mo Yongseol but also suggests I should take it seriously.
“If we manage to sway one leader among the forces in the martial world, specifically those in the White Path, we could gain most of the individuals beneath them to our side.”
“Are you suggesting we build friendships with the sect leader or clan head?”
“More specifically, I mean the one who holds the highest position in that organization.”
The Sword Saint pointed at himself.
“The number one. The strongest.”
“I understand.”
“The foremost of the Mo Yong Family is me, Mo Yongcheon, and the greatest expert of the Haedong Sword Sect is the Sword Mistress. Typically, the strongest in each sect or family is often their representative.”
“Are there cases when this isn’t true?”
“Yes. For instance, places like the Hwasan or Musan are like that.”
The Hwasan Sect and the Musan Sect.
Both belong to the Taoist sects.
“Among those currently active, an example would be the Xin Sheng of the Shaolin. He is the strongest martial monk of Shaolin but is not the abbot.”
Being the strongest does not equate to being the most powerful within an organization.
“Mo Yong aims to recruit these top individuals to protect our family.”
“Are we doing it by listening to their wishes as we did with the Sword Mistress?”
“Indeed. For that… we should start from the closest.”
The Mo Yong family is in the Liaodong region.
“To the south, there’s the Paeng Family, and to the north, the Imperial Palace.”
Among the closest powers within the martial world that can rival Mo Yong, one can cite the Hebei Paeng Family.
While the palace is somewhat untouchable, it also presents a potential issue.
“I will treat the Sickness of Absolute Meridians with the Extreme Yang Reversal and seek collaboration with the Imperial Palace. Physician Seok, can you prepare the Extreme Yang Reversal?”
“Of course, Gaju-nim. But…”
Our eyes met.
It seemed she was flustered, knowing she was also a Sickness of Absolute Meridians patient.
“I understand the Hebei Paeng Family to officially have no such patients, Gaju-nim.”
“Is there an unofficial patient? The best swordman of the Paeng Family, the ‘Blade Emperor’?”
“No, that’s not it. However… um.”
The Sword Saint paused for a moment, looking at me before slowly speaking.
“Physician Seok, you mentioned that your miracle is achieved through ‘desperate longing’.”
“Yes.”
“In that case.”
The Sword Saint pointed upward.
“……Can you make a lush thicket grow in a barren, burnt-out wilderness?”
“That.”
The Sword Saint was trying to speak as gently as possible to be courteous to the Blade Emperor, a hero and senior who lived in the same era.
“So, you are asking if a bald person can grow hair, correct?”
If you asked whether a miracle of hair growth was possible.
“Uh, well. We’ll find out if we try?”
It’s something that can only be confirmed through direct experimentation.
“If I can revive the dead, then surely I should be able to revive from a dead hair root?”