Tang Mujin and Tang Pae’s expressions turned grave at Jeok Wigang’s words.
Had anyone else made such a claim, they would have shouted at him to stop joking.
But the words had come from Jeok Wigang.
The thought that White Horse Heaven possessed a hundred monsters like the Four Divine Demons, who had once thrown the entire martial world into chaos, was chilling.
“W-wait! If they possess such overwhelming power, why did they send only the Four Divine Demons into the Central Plains and remain quiet until now?”
“You can think of the Four Divine Demons as agents sent to gather information on the Central Plains.”
“You mean they weren’t even a vanguard? The martial world was nearly conquered by men sent here merely to collect information?”
“Yes.”
“Hah....”
Tang Mujin had personally encountered the Four Divine Demons.
He remembered the Poison-Mandate Divine Demon in particular—the man who had wielded poison with even greater skill than he did.
Tang Mujin had lost their battle and barely survived. From that day forward, he had devoted himself to poison arts with a single purpose: surpassing the Poison-Mandate Divine Demon.
That was how Tang Mujin had risen to become one of the One Emperor and Eight Kings.
Yet the man he had made his lifelong goal had been nothing more than a scout.
The revelation struck hard.
“The martial world could not even stop the Four Divine Demons. Why would such a powerful faction leave it untouched? Did they decide we were too weak to be worth conquering?”
“No. I don’t think that’s it. There seems to be some other reason, but I don’t have enough information to say for certain.”
“Hmm. Then they could invade as soon as tomorrow?”
“It’s possible.”
“How did you learn all this?”
“I captured several members of White Horse Heaven who had entered the Central Plains. That’s where the information came from.”
“Several? So there was more than one or two.”
“That’s right. And there are still others I haven’t found.”
“You haven’t found them?”
“They seem to be operating throughout the Central Plains, but I don’t know their exact numbers.”
“They are already active here? Is that not a dire situation?”
“They haven’t made any significant moves yet, so perhaps we still have time.”
“Hmm....”
“You’ll have difficulty fighting them with poison. Quite a few of them seem to specialize in poison themselves, and poison does not appear capable of inflicting particularly serious damage on them.”
At the warning that poison would be ineffective, Tang Mujin and Tang Pae’s expressions grew even more severe.
“Then if they emerge into the world, the Tang Family will not survive unscathed.”
“You’ll have to strengthen your martial arts.”
“What? We’ve already strengthened them. How are we supposed to go any further?”
“This region is overflowing with poisonous creatures and plants. Why not convert their poison into inner qi?”
“We already do. The problem is that there are limits. If the poison is too potent, the pain makes it impossible to concentrate during qi circulation. A single mistake can cause cultivation deviation, poisoning, or death. We cannot use just any poison, and the poisons we can use are weak. Accumulating inner power through them takes an eternity.”
“Yet you still managed to become one of the One Emperor and Eight Kings?”
“I increased my inner qi using pills made from carefully balanced combinations of poison and antidote.”
“Then keep doing that.”
“The problem is... it costs an enormous amount of money.”
“Would you try a method that costs nothing?”
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae immediately looked intrigued.
“D-do you know such a method?”
“I know a cultivation method that can do it.”
Ye Yahyeon converted poison into inner qi, so Jeok Wigang was well acquainted with the relevant cultivation methods.
With a few alterations to make one suitable for humans, the Tang Family would be able to use it without difficulty.
Tang Mujin spoke with naked desperation.
“C-could you teach it to us? If you do, I will grant you anything you desire.”
“That won’t be necessary. When White Horse Heaven enters the Central Plains, just make sure you stop them.”
“Of course! When they come, we will fight them with our lives on the line!”
“That’s enough.”
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae gazed at Jeok Wigang with reverence.
He was made of different stuff.
Had they possessed such knowledge, they would have used it to extract something in return.
The comparison made them ashamed of the lives they had led.
“The cultivation method is called the Myriad Poisons Return to Origin Method.”
“You’re going to teach it to us right now?”
“I’ll put it into a booklet for you.”
“You would go that far...?”
Both men were deeply moved.
They immediately ordered a blank booklet brought to them.
“Here it is. If you require anything else, I will be waiting outside. You need only call.”
“I will assist as well.”
The Supreme Family Head and Family Head of the Tang Family personally volunteered to attend to Jeok Wigang’s needs.
Jeok Wigang grinned, placed his palm upon the blank booklet, and murmured,
“Knowledge and thought, bind into a seal.
Mind’s image, emerge upon the page.
Without brush, write yourself.
True record, engrave the words.”
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae tilted their heads, wondering what he was saying.
Then the booklet suddenly began shining brilliantly.
They stared at it in confusion until the light faded.
Jeok Wigang lifted the booklet and held it out to Tang Mujin.
Tang Mujin looked at him blankly.
“What is this?”
“Take it. It’s the Myriad Poisons Return to Origin Method.”
“What? Are you playing a joke on me? This is a blank booklet. Mocking an old man is hardly admirable.”
“It really is the Myriad Poisons Return to Origin Method. Open it.”
Tang Mujin frowned.
To think Jeok Wigang would toy with the Myriad Poison King himself.
Had it been anyone else, Tang Mujin would have forced a bowl of poison down his throat. But Jeok Wigang was too strong, so he decided to endure it and play along.
“Thank you for granting us something so precious.”
Tang Mujin spoke teasingly as he opened the booklet.
“Urk?”
A strangled sound escaped him as he recoiled in shock.
“W-what is this?”
“I told you. The Myriad Poisons Return to Origin Method.”
Tang Mujin had thought the booklet blank, but its pages were now filled with writing.
“I-it was unquestionably blank!”
“I used sorcery to transfer the contents of my mind into the booklet.”
“Sorcery can do that?”
“Of course. The calculations are complicated enough to give me a headache, but it’s still better than writing everything out by hand.”
Still unable to believe it, Tang Mujin and Tang Pae repeatedly examined the booklet.
Its contents proved even more shocking.
“To think such a method existed!”
“If this truly works, the Tang Family’s oldest aspiration will finally be fulfilled, Father.”
“Yes! Just as you say, our ancient wish will finally come true.”
Tang Mujin looked at Jeok Wigang.
“A-are you truly giving us something this precious?”
Jeok Wigang nodded.
Tears welled in Tang Mujin’s eyes.
The Tang Family had not adopted poison because they loved it.
The world had pointed fingers at them, cursed them, and declared that any family using poison should be cast out of the righteous faction.
Yet they had continued to use poison despite it all.
Geography had left them little choice.
The Tang Family estate stood in a region teeming with poisonous insects and plants.
The area was such a notorious source of deadly poison that people called it the land of insects in the south and snakes in the north.
To survive there, the Tang Family had needed a deeper understanding of poison than anyone else. Handling poison had naturally followed.
Children born and raised in that land developed resistance to poison as a matter of course.
The problem began after that resistance took root.
The fundamental energies of most powerful martial arts were either fire or lightning.
Lightning energy was exceedingly rare and notoriously difficult to cultivate. With that excluded, fire energy overwhelmingly predominated.
Unfortunately, fire energy and poison energy were fundamentally incompatible.
A body already adapted to poison could not withstand martial arts founded upon fire energy.
If the Tang Family wished to grow stronger, they had no choice but to cultivate martial arts solely through poison energy—and that was extraordinarily difficult.
It was a problem bordering on impossible.
Jeok Wigang had solved it in an instant.
That made him the Tang Family’s benefactor.
“You are the benefactor of our Tang Family.”
What if they used this cultivation method to strengthen Tang Un?
The strongest martial artist in the Tang Family’s entire history might be born.
The only regrettable part was that Tang Un had been born in Jeok Wigang’s era.
Still, what did it matter if they could not accomplish it now?
They finally possessed a reliable cultivation method. Another opportunity would come someday.
“Ask anything of us. Whatever lies within our power, we will do.”
“That’s right. The Tang Family always repays its debts of gratitude.”
Jeok Wigang grinned at the claim.
“You repay favors twofold, don’t you?”
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae nodded.
Then they flinched at what followed.
“And grudges tenfold.”
“Th-that’s right. But you are an exception.”
“Then are all our accounts settled?”
“What are you talking about? We were the ones at fault. What grudge could we possibly claim? If anything, we are the ones who now owe you.”
“As long as you see it that way.”
“We will spare no effort in helping the True Martial Merchant Company establish itself in Sichuan.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! Are our companies not partners?”
“Understood. Then, as agreed, we will sell only weapons.”
“You may sell everything.”
Jeok Wigang gave him an ominous smile.
“Really? The goods will be made by me. Are you sure that’s all right?”
“What? Y-you’ll be making them?”
“Yes. Do you think you can compete?”
“N-no. If you’re the one making them... please show us some mercy!”
“See? That’s why I said we would sell only weapons.”
“Will you be making the weapons too?”
“Most of them.”
“W-we’ll buy them! Make the Tang Family your first customer in Sichuan.”
“Really? I heard the Tang Family specializes in hidden weapons and manufactures them internally. Don’t you produce your other weapons yourselves as well?”
“We do. But weapons made by you are another matter. I insist on seeing them at least once.”
Tang Mujin’s face was filled with anticipation.
“Don’t expect too much. I happen to have brought some goods to sell, so I’ll show you.”
“Very well.”
SNAP—
Jeok Wigang snapped his fingers.
The air rippled, and a man suddenly appeared and prostrated himself upon the floor.
Tang Mujin recoiled in shock.
He had not sensed the man’s arrival at all.
What if that man had appeared behind him?
Tang Mujin would have been helpless.
A chill ran down his spine.
“Go bring the weapon chest.”
“Yes!”
The figure vanished the instant he answered.
Tang Mujin looked around repeatedly before turning to Jeok Wigang.
“W-who was that just now?”
“My younger brother and subordinate.”
“Younger brother?”
“Yes.”
“He looked older than you.”
“They say the stronger man is the elder brother.”
“W-well, that is....”
Tang Mujin started to agree, then closed his mouth.
If he accepted that logic, he might end up having to call Jeok Wigang his elder brother as well.
Reading his expression, Jeok Wigang chuckled and reassured him.
“Don’t worry. His circumstances are unusual, so I took him as my younger brother. I have no intention whatsoever of making an elder like you my younger brother.”
“I-is that so? Whew. For a moment, I feared I was about to gain an elder brother young enough to be my grandson.”
“He isn’t from the Central Plains.”
“What? What does that mean?”
As Tang Mujin asked, the figure reappeared carrying a chest.
“Muryang. Show them your true face.”
“Yes, elder brother.”
Jin Muryang’s face rippled, then transformed into a terrifying visage.
The instant Tang Mujin saw it, he recoiled in horror and began trembling.
“Y-you! The Ghost-Annihilating Divine Demon!”
“It has been some time. We meet again after Cloud Dragon Gorge.”
“You know about Cloud Dragon Gorge. Y-you truly are him!”