Chapter 355
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**Chapter 355: Did You Eat a Handful of Something So Precious?**
‘Jeokha’ means ‘red sunset.’
It is a name that probably reflects the taste of one of his parents.
What if it was his mother?
If it was his father who chose it because he liked it, the feeling would be different.
His father was an irresponsible man.
He didn’t care or worry if his son was mistreated by his stepmother.
Saying he was deathly ill does not justify his selfishness.
If he were in that situation, he would have first cared for his loved ones.
Anyway, although it is unknown who chose it, ‘Jeokha’ is a nice name, but ‘Namcheon’ was also liked very much.
As Yeon Jeokha savored the Taoist name ‘Namcheon’ given to him, Cheongbulno asked:
“By the way, have you taken any magical pills?”
“A magical pill? No. I skipped dinner today because I arrived late.”
“You just look good for someone who hasn’t eaten. Your immortal energy also seems denser.”
“Really? The only thing I ate today was a handful of fasting elixir.”
“What? You ate a handful of fasting elixir?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Idiot, the fasting elixir is taken one pill per meal. Who eats a handful at once? If that were the case, why bother making the fasting elixir instead of just eating?”
“Ah, is that so? Then it must be because I ate a lot of fasting elixir at once.”
Cheongbulno shook his head.
“That doesn’t make sense either. The fasting elixir only fills the stomach; it has nothing to do with immortal energy.”
“Really. I just ate a handful of fasting elixir the size of an acorn.”
“What? An acorn? The fasting elixir is the size of a pea. Where did you get that fasting elixir?”
“I found it in an abandoned cave in Namamgung. There was a white jar full of them. I brought a handful more to eat when I got hungry. Do you want to see it?”
Yeon Jeokha pulled out a handkerchief with the fasting elixir and handed it to Cheongbulno.
When Cheongbulno carefully opened the handkerchief, he let out a gasp of surprise.
“This is ‘Socheongdan,’ a treasure of the Wudang Sect! Did you eat a handful of something so precious?”
“What is ‘Socheongdan’?”
“Where have you been, ignorant? ‘Socheongdan’ is a panacea for commoners, but for Murim practitioners, it is an invaluable treasure that provides ten years of internal energy.”
Unlike Cheongbulno, who was very surprised, Yeon Jeokha remained indifferent.
Despite having eaten a handful, he didn’t feel that his internal energy had increased.
“Ah, really?”
“Were there a jar full of ‘Socheongdan’?”
“It wasn’t full, but there was a little more than half. That’s why I thought it was fasting elixir.”
Suddenly, Cheongbulno’s expression hardened.
“An alchemist capable of making so much ‘Socheongdan’ must be a genius among geniuses. If you took his belongings without permission…”
“There’s no problem. He had died a long time ago. He was lying there like a skeleton.”
“A skeleton?”
Cheongbulno looked at Yeon Jeokha with a bewildered expression.
According to his words, it wasn’t theft but a fortuitous encounter.
“Yes, there was a magical seal on the way to the cave, so I had to work hard to get there. I went up determined to confront the owner, but when I arrived, there was a skeleton in the bed.”
“What kind of magical seal was it?”
Cheongbulno, being an innate shaman/mystic, showed interest in the magical seal.
“First, a thick fog suddenly appeared. I couldn’t see an inch in front of me. Then, a snake appeared. It was so disgusting that I had no choice but to close my eyes and keep climbing.”
“Hmm! A magical seal capable of controlling the wind and clouds must be the work of a rare genius even in the Wudang Sect. Although, being capable of making so much ‘Socheongdan’, could he be a ‘Yakseon’ (Immortal of Medicine)?”
“A ‘Yakseon’?”
“The ‘Yakseon’ is a legendary figure of the Wudang Sect, a genius from Namamgung. The pills he made are still treasures of the Wudang Sect. The ‘Taecheongdan’ and ‘Socheongdan’ are the most famous.”
“Master, could you see if this pill is useful?”
Seizing the moment, Yeon Jeokha took out a pill the size of an acorn.
Cheongbulno examined it carefully and let out a sigh.
“Hmm, this seems to be the ‘Taecheongdan’… But, honestly, I’ve never seen a real one, so I can’t be sure. I recognized the ‘Socheongdan’ because I tried it when I was young.”
“Is there anyone who has seen the ‘Taecheongdan’?”
“I’ve heard rumors that the leader of Namamgung has one. Even if he doesn’t have it, the leader of Namamgung should know what this pill is.”
Yeon Jeokha nodded in agreement.
The leader of Namamgung, being a Taoist at the top of the alchemists, should have that knowledge.
“Do you want me to check it?”
“Yes. I need to know what it is to decide whether to eat it or discard it. Right now, I can’t even eat an acorn.”
“Do you remember where that cave is?”
“To bring more ‘Socheongdan’?”
“Yes, we can’t let a treasure of the Wudang Sect rot in a place like that.”
“Isn’t that property of Namamgung?”
“Bah, are we strangers? In the grand scheme of things, everything belongs to the Wudang Sect. If you’re worried, give a handful to the leader of Namamgung. He’ll be very grateful.”
“You’re right.”
Yeon Jeokha, having lived in Nokrim, completely agreed with Cheongbulno.
“By the way, if you ate so much ‘Socheongdan’, your condition should have improved…”
Cheongbulno tilted his head.
He couldn’t understand what kind of illness could not be cured after eating so much ‘Socheongdan’.
“Master, actually, I am poisoned with a strange poison.”
Yeon Jeokha told his master about the ‘Nakwol Dokjeong’ poison that Tang Unmang had given him.
“… They said it’s a poison made with 108 types of poisons. The only person who can completely detoxify it is Baek Il-un, the Medicine Buddha, but he went to Namamgung. That’s why I’ve been searching in Namamgung.”
“Tsk tsk! What a situation! I thought you just wanted to fix your face.”
Cheongbulno couldn’t help but be surprised by his disciple’s story.
Aside from his grotesque face, he seemed normal, but he must be an extraordinary person.
‘The ‘Nakwol Dokjeong’ is definitely a deadly poison. How can he be fine after being poisoned with that?’
He must have incredible internal energy!
“Master, if that is really the ‘Taecheongdan’, could it detoxify me?”
“Difficult. Probably not. Although the ‘Taecheongdan’ is an invaluable immortal pill, it’s far from an antidote… It can restore vital energy and cure common ailments, but for poison, you have to treat the root.”
“Wow, I see.”
Yeon Jeokha set aside his hopes for the ‘Taecheongdan’.
After all, he had eaten a handful of ‘Socheongdan’ and had not improved; what difference would the ‘Taecheongdan’ make?
“By the way, I only know your name. Will you tell me your story?”
At his master’s request, Yeon Jeokha began to recount his life.
Cheongbulno couldn’t stop sighing and admiring his disciple’s strange life.
***
Cheongbulno accepted Yeon Jeokha as his named disciple, but he did not tell the Six Sages of Five Dragons, also known as the Taoist Masters of Five Dragons.
He wanted Yeon Jeokha to focus on finding Baek Il-un.
—————-
The next day.
Cheongbulno, excited about having accepted a named disciple, offered to give the morning lecture.
For the Six Sages of Five Dragons, it was a situation of ‘we dare not ask, but it is our wish.’
After all, Cheongbulno could ascend to heaven at any moment.
They wanted to hear his lecture at least one more time before that happened.
When the time for the lecture arrived, Cheongbulno stood before the practitioners of Five Dragons Palace.
His gaze lightly swept over the practitioners.
When he found Yeon Jeokha, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
“The Great Master Laozi said in the ‘Tongxuan Zhenjing (True Classic of Understanding Mysteries)’ about the origin of Tao: ‘There was something mixed and complete, which existed before heaven and earth,’ that is, before heaven and earth existed, it was mixed. In other words, the Tao is not a clean face like yours, but like that of that ‘practitioner.'”
Cheongbulno pointed at Yeon Jeokha.
Although he called him ‘practitioner’, the people did not realize because they were laughing.
“The Master Zhuangzi said: ‘The highest Tao is tranquil and deep, dark and silent.’ As the Master said, if you do not try to see or hear, and keep your spirit calm, your body will straighten itself. It’s like closing your eyes and climbing a cliff in a moment of life or death.”
The last part was a reference to Yeon Jeokha from the previous day.
Yeon Jeokha sighed internally at Cheongbulno’s words.
‘Ah! So today I have to go through that fog and the snakes again?’
Cheongbulno spoke freely about the Tao, alternating between the ‘Tongxuan Zhenjing’ and the ‘Zhuangzi’.
Yeon Jeokha listened intently, not missing a word.
Perhaps because it was his master’s lecture, it was especially easy for him to understand today.
***
“What’s going on?”
At the foot of the cliff of Namamgung, Yeon Jeokha scratched his head.
He has no good sense of direction.
Still, he wasn’t so bad as to not find the path he took yesterday.
But no matter how much he searched, the cave from yesterday didn’t appear.
Just in case, he checked all the caves he had visited recently, but it was in vain.
He climbed up and down the cliff until he was exhausted, but it was useless.
As if yesterday had been a dream, the cave with the magical seal did not appear.
Finally, Yeon Jeokha had to return to the Five Dragons Palace for dinner.
***
That night.
Five Dragons Palace.
Cheongbulno looked at Yeon Jeokha incredulously.
The cave of the skeleton from yesterday didn’t appear? He couldn’t understand what kind of phenomenon this was.
“Did you not find it no matter how much you searched?”
“Yes, I checked all the places I visited in the last few days, but there was no cave like that.”
“Wow!”
Cheongbulno couldn’t stop sighing.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have believed it.
But this was Yeon Jeokha.
For him, ‘Socheongdan’ was a pill he could or could not have.
“Maybe your connection with the cave has ended. A magical seal that controls the wind and clouds would have no trouble hiding.”
“Really? If I had known this, I would have brought the whole jar. What a pity.”
“Inseok, even the nine ‘Socheongdan’ you brought have incalculable value. Moreover, if that unknown pill is the ‘Taecheongdan’, the Wudang Sect would go crazy.”
“Still. I feel like I messed things up by being stupid. When you see something good, you should take it all so you don’t regret it. Leaving something behind thinking about the future was madness.”
“Bah! Madness? Was it yours? Bringing so much from Namamgung is already a lot. This is more than enough; don’t regret it.”
As Yeon Jeokha couldn’t stop lamenting, Cheongbulno quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, did you ask me to teach you the ‘Spiritual Eye Technique’ of the Five Dragons Palace?”
“Yes.”
“The ‘Spiritual Eye Technique’ is only for seeing ghosts. I know a superior eye technique.”
Suddenly, the dim eyes of Yeon Jeokha sparkled.
“Really? I thought the name ‘Spiritual Eye Technique’ was a bit strange. ‘Divine Vision’ from the Kunlun Sect sounds better.”
Cheongbulno nodded in agreement.
Even he thought ‘Divine Vision’ sounded better than ‘Spiritual Eye’.
“Actually, Master Gongyaja and I do not use the ‘Spiritual Eye Technique.'”
“So what did you use?”
“The ‘Eye That Penetrates The Heaven.'”
“Wow! I want to learn that!”
The name ‘Penetrates The Heaven’ sounds like it’s on another level compared to other eye techniques.
Yeon Jeokha, excited, moved restlessly in his seat.