The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

A fierce wind swept through the windowless underground chamber.

Yu Jeong-shin exclaimed in alarm, “Cover the Heavenly God Candlestick! The wind is strong.”

“Yes.”

Dam Hyun, blocking the front of the Heavenly God Candlestick, raised his hand and swung it upwards.

“Hup, Wind Aid Extension!”

Paaang!

The rough wind scattered right in front of Dam Hyun. His hair fluttered wildly.

Fortunately, the candle of the Heavenly God Candlestick did not go out.

Dam Hyun’s efforts did not stop there. He took out a jade bottle from his bosom and sprinkled its contents in front of him.

The thing that sparkled in the candlelight was salt.

The salt scattered on the floor, drawing a strange pattern as it fell.

“I’ve protected us from the intrusion of evil spirits, just in case.”

“Well done!”

Yu Jeong-shin laughed heartily from across the room.

Despite being confined in the Repentance Cave for several years, Dam Hyun’s skills had not rusted.

Considering he was under restriction on his internal energy, his skills seemed to have improved instead.

He efficiently completed everything that was directed and even took the initiative to supplement tasks that were not assigned.

It was due to his inborn insight and quick judgment that could only be described as natural talent.

Had Dam Hyun not been there, success would have been doubtful.

The enlightenment of the soul itself was not a difficult task, but preserving the spiritual energy and transferring it to Yi-gang was an exceedingly tough job.

Golden Needle Phantom, who was relatively more at ease than Yu Jeong-shin or Dam Hyun, shouted, “It has begun!”

Then, everyone except Yi-gang, who had lost consciousness, looked towards the center of the chamber.

The figure of the Immortal Divine Sword floating in mid-air started to blur.

“Amazing… To really attain Nirvana…” Golden Needle Phantom Do-hyu muttered as if overwhelmed.

Being a martial artist of the Taoist sect Azure Forest did not always mean being close to something surreal.

Rather, except for the Taoist flower disciples and honor flower disciples, they were not familiar with supernatural beings like yokai or spirits. The majority of martial flower disciples in the Azure Forest were similar to ordinary martial artists.

In this respect, it was also Golden Needle Phantom’s first time seeing a soul.

As a doctor, he had treated numerous people but also witnessed many deaths up close.

Over a hundred patients had taken their last breath in his blood-stained hands. Yet, he had never seen the soul of a deceased patient.

“I feel strangely emotional.”

However, watching the Immortal Divine Sword gradually achieving enlightenment, he felt comforted about his own life.

If only the patients who died in his care could have attained peace and enlightenment as well.

Yu Jeong-shin and Dam Hyun slumped down.

“Phew.”

Their task was now finished. Once the Immortal Divine Sword fully attained enlightenment and Yi-gang absorbed the spiritual energy, the remaining role was that of Golden Needle Phantom.

Golden Needle Phantom quietly observed the enlightenment of the Immortal Divine Sword. The sword, once radiating a golden light and boasting a vibrant presence, now seemed truly ephemeral.

Twitch—

Yi-gang’s body, lying down, twitched slightly.

Golden Needle Phantom calmly examined Yi-gang’s body.

From the tips of his right hand to the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head, and down to the Qihai acupoint in the lower dantian, there were densely placed gold needles.

If the spiritual energy left by the Immortal Divine Sword was properly absorbed, he could connect the first major meridian.

Worried about any anomalies in the body, he checked Yi-gang’s pulse and opened his eyelids.

His unfocused eyes were moist with tears. Whether it was due to external stimuli or another reason was unknown.

“Is he sending him off properly?”

Perhaps, Yi-gang was currently meeting with the Immortal Divine Sword that was on the verge of enlightenment.

Golden Needle Phantom smiled faintly and withdrew his hand. Yi-gang’s condition was stable.

But soon, his expression turned serious.

The reason was the eerie murmuring he heard.

“What a waste…”

Golden Needle Phantom slowly turned his head to look toward the source of the voice.

There sat Dam Hyun, sweating profusely. He appeared exhausted from the series of processes, hugging his knees and leaning against the wall.

“All this effort, and it only extends life by three years. To go through all this and hoard such an enormous amount of spiritual energy…”

Dam Hyun was muttering to himself. Although his words were an unguarded expression of his inner thoughts, they were not nonsense.

The spiritual energy the Immortal Divine Sword would leave on earth was indeed immense. It was the kind of spiritual energy that only an absolute master, who had unified the upper, middle, and lower dantians, could handle. It was enough to elevate a human to the status of an immortal.

If a plant had contained such an amount of spiritual energy, it would have become an elixir more potent than the Ten Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. Had an animal acquired it, it would have become a spiritual being.

Yet, even with such immense spiritual energy, it was not enough to completely cure Yi-gang’s meridian blockage disease.

It would only connect the major meridian from the right hand to the lower dantian and extend Yi-gang’s lifespan by three years.

“So wasteful it’s disgusting.”

Golden Needle Phantom felt a sense of dissonance at Dam Hyun’s murmuring.

It wasn’t the content of the words that caused it.

It was because Dam Hyun, at some point, had taken out a doll and placed it in his hand, speaking to it as if it were a person.

He whispered to the doll, “If you had it, you could use it better. You might even get your real body back.”

Golden Needle Phantom realized that there really was something residing within that doll.

Dam Hyun brought his ear close to the mouth of a fox. Naturally, there was no response.

“As expected, I can’t hear your words.”

A look of disappointment.

“There’s nothing I can do…”

Golden Needle Phantom could no longer just watch this scene.

“Dam Hyun! Come to your senses. What kind of madness is this?”

“Martial Uncle Do Hyu.”

“Stop this nonsense!”

The reason he raised his voice was to catch Yu Jeong-shin’s attention. It was uncertain what Dam Hyun might do.

“Junior Brother Yi-gang seems like a fine lad.”

Dam Hyun had clearly shown favor towards Yi-gang. It was rare for him to think well of someone, which even surprised Yu Jeong-shin.

But in Dam Hyun’s listless eyes, there flashed an unreadable intent.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

The reason a madman was frightening was that one never knew what he might suddenly do.

“Such spiritual energy cannot be wasted on a mere three years of life.”

“Th-this brat…”

Before Yu Jeong-shin could react to the signs and rush over, before Golden Needle Phantom could take action — suddenly a light burst forth.

Paahh!

It was from where the Immortal Divine Sword had been. Its soul, leaving behind only light, had attained enlightenment and scattered.

While Golden Needle Phantom and Yu Jeong-shin’s attention was briefly diverted, Dam Hyun made his move.

He threw a jade bottle, which had been in his bosom, into the air. It was a bottle of a different color than the one that had contained salt.

“Such a useless act!”

Golden Needle Phantom frowned and reached out his hand.

Despite the suddenness of the surprise attack, Dam Hyun’s internal energy was under restriction, and Golden Needle Phantom was a martial master skilled enough to catch the jade bottle.

However, the moment Golden Needle Phantom’s hand touched the bottle, it shattered far too easily into pieces.

A black powder exploded out.

Golden Needle Phantom, in alarm, flailed his arms in the air. He did this to scatter the unknown powder with the wind from his sleeves.

Simultaneously, Dam Hyun kicked a ritual vessel at his feet. The flying vessel knocked over the established Soul-Slaying Banner.

Yu Jeong-shin, who was running over, was shocked and twisted his body towards the Soul-Slaying Banner.

The time Dam Hyun bought was extremely short, just enough to take a breath.

But, it was sufficient for him to reach out towards the Heavenly God Candlestick.

Yu Jeong-shin, heading towards the Soul-Slaying Banner, was shocked and changed direction again.

Tampering with the candles of the Heavenly God Candlestick right now was something only a madman would do.

“Don’t do it, Hyun! If you do this, you’ll…”

“I’m sorry, Master.”

As Dam Hyun said this, he pinched out three candles with his fingers.

Sizzle—

Along with the acrid smoke of burning flesh at his fingertips—

A cloud-like black mist rose up, enveloping Dam Hyun in a barrier.

“I will go and meet junior brother.”

With a flicker, Dam Hyun’s figure was obscured as he collapsed, losing consciousness.

Just as Yi-gang had experienced, Dam Hyun also felt a sensation like drowning in water.

However, since he forcibly entered using the Heavenly God Candlestick, the process was much rougher.

He felt a suffocating inability to breathe and a painful sensation as if his insides were being wrung out. The Heavenly God Candlestick was a top-tier Treasure for handling barriers.

The three candles were the maximum Dam Hyun could handle. By extinguishing all three at once, he gained that much control over the barrier.

Thanks to that, he was able to forcibly invade Yi-gang’s mental world. A mistake would have meant death, but Dam Hyun was not afraid of dying.

There were only two candles left, so they could no longer be used. If misused, both Yi-gang and Dam Hyun could be lost, so Yu Jeong-shin dared not follow them in.

‘That spiritual energy suits you, Cheongho.’

Dam Hyun gripped the doll in his bosom tightly, focusing his mind.

Cheongho, who always stayed in his bosom, was currently unconscious. As time passed, Cheongho, having consumed more and more spiritual energy, frequently fell into such deep slumbers.

If he could take away the spiritual energy of the Immortal Divine Sword, Cheongho could obtain a real body instead of being a doll.

Then, surely it would help its friend Dam Hyun in his revenge.

Swoosh—

Dam Hyun roughly emerged above the water’s surface.

“Gasp, huff, huff.”

He was above a golden lake. After coughing and regaining his breath, he realized that this golden liquid was all spiritual energy.

Mysteriously, his clothes were not wet. It was as if the lake was made of mercury.

“…Senior Brother?”

Turning his head, he saw Yi-gang standing there.

The Immortal Divine Sword was nowhere to be seen, perhaps having attained enlightenment.

Dam Hyun, about to greet Yi-gang, suddenly tilted his head in confusion.

“Have you been crying?”

Yi-gang had a displeased expression on his face.

“I didn’t cry.”

“Your eyes are a bit red. When I cry, my eyes get red like that.”

“I didn’t cry.”

Dam Hyun nodded at Yi-gang’s firm denial.

“It seems that the soul has attained enlightenment.”

“…Yes, I sent him off well.”

“Right, thanks to my hard work outside.”

“Thank you.”

Yi-gang expressed his gratitude sincerely. Dam Hyun smiled, seemingly surprised.

“Good to hear you’re thankful; now I don’t need to feel sorry.”

“Why would you feel sorry?”

“It’s just a waste to use such a level of spiritual energy to heal your body. I do like you, though.”

Yi-gang listened to Dam Hyun’s words with a calm expression.

Dam Hyun, liking Yi-gang even more for this, explained everything with a sense of regret.

He had come here, risking ruining everything, with the idea of gifting the spiritual energy to the yokai residing in the fox doll.

He told Yi-gang that resistance was futile and to stay calm. He was going to take the spiritual energy.

“Don’t hate me too much for it,” he added, as if the decision was already made.

Yi-gang listened patiently to the end.

And thought to himself.

‘What a lunatic.’

He was grateful for the help with the ritual, but the idea of Dam Hyun intercepting the spiritual energy left by the Immortal Divine Sword for Yi-gang was utter nonsense.

With a thought that Dam Hyun must be carrying a bag of nonsense on his body, Yi-gang looked him up and down.

Dam Hyun seemed to interpret his gaze differently.

“Don’t even think about running away. This is inside the mental world. Here, the restrictions on my internal energy don’t mean anything.”

Saying this, Dam Hyun loosened up his body, moving much more freely than outside.

“Subduing Junior Brother will be easy.”

As he said this, he slowly approached Yi-gang.

Yi-gang remained still.

The will of the Immortal Divine Sword - of course, the sword was already a ghost, but Yi-gang took the words it left before enlightenment as its will - was there.

‘Your senior brother, his face looks just like a weasel.’

Recalling that will, Yi-gang shared it.

“My grandfather used to say that. Senior Brother looks just like a weasel.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Dam Hyun replied.

Dam Hyun took the remark about looking like a weasel as a sincere compliment.

“Don’t mention it. What happens here won’t be known outside, right?”

“Of course. Why, are you feeling a bit more at ease?”

Yi-gang didn’t respond.

It was because he remembered another will left by the Immortal Divine Sword.

‘So what if he’s your senior brother. In a place where no one can see, beat him until he wets himself. That’s the only way to tame a beast like him.’

Yi-gang muttered, “Grandfather…”

“I’m not your grandfather.”

Dam Hyun’s words were ignored.

There’s no greater filial piety than following a will well.

“There truly is wisdom in the elderly.”

With those words, Yi-gang clenched his fist tightly.

Dam Hyun smiled wryly and reached out his hand towards Yi-gang, his movement quick and agile like a snake.

Yi-gang countered with a punch of his own.

Dam Hyun, scoffing, spread his thumb out wide.

“Too slow.”

Dam Hyun’s plan was to pierce the Qiyu acupoint in Yi-gang’s fist to immobilize him.

When he first met Yi-gang, he tried something similar but ended up getting countered.

However, things were different now.

In this mental world, the restrictions on Dam Hyun’s body didn’t work. He could easily subdue a weakened Yi-gang. His ample internal energy strengthened Dam Hyun’s physical strength.

But then, the golden spiritual energy pooling at their feet surged up Yi-gang’s body.

And Dam Hyun’s finger, which had pierced the back of Yi-gang’s hand, snapped off.

Crack—

It was as if he had stabbed into a piece of iron.

“What?”

Dam Hyun looked at his broken finger in dumbfounded shock.

Yi-gang’s fist hit squarely on his brother’s stunned face.

Crash—

The sound of front teeth breaking resounded loudly.

It was the sound of filial piety.