Chapter 357
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## Chapter 357: The Medicine Buddha, Baek Il-un
The monks and practitioners all focused their attention on Master Gwangseong’s words.
Monks’ training methods vary.
While meditation and breathing are central, some introduce strange methods.
Among them, there are many that people can’t understand.
But since “the Tao is this” cannot be defined, the eccentricities of monks are considered part of the pursuit of the Tao.
The question “Is the Leader of the Yoomyung Cult, who seeks divine immortality, a seeker of the Tao?” was very delicate.
Gwangseong looked at the practitioner who asked the question, Jang I-do, and replied:
“In a broad sense, she could be considered a seeker of the Tao.”
“Ah…”
A sigh escaped the lips of the monks and practitioners.
Calling the leader of the Yoomyung Cult a seeker of the Tao could be considered an insult to the Tao.
But it was also true that there was no other way to describe her actions.
“However, her Tao is the Demonic Path.”
Finally, the monks and practitioners understood Gwangseong’s words and nodded.
Definitely, there was no more appropriate expression than “Demonic Path.”
Jang I-do, who asked the question, also seemed satisfied and did not ask any further.
The long and fervent lecture came to an end.
The monks and practitioners left Five Dragons Palace in order.
As they descended to the courtyard, the monks and practitioners kept looking towards a corner.
A rare beauty in the world was standing in the shade of a tree like a painting.
If it were in Sangcheong Palace or Taihe Palace, it would be understandable.
But the monks of Five Dragons Palace didn’t recognize Namgung Yeon, the “Incomparable Among Ten,” and only looked at her sideways.
Only Master Cheonmyeong, the leader of the Five Dragons Palace, recognized her and rushed over.
“What brings the ‘Incomparable Among Ten’ to the Five Dragons Palace?”
Cheonmyeong was respectful even though Namgung Yeon was the age of his granddaughter.
Even the Seven Sages of the Five Dragons Palace were like fireflies compared to the sun when compared to the fame of the “Incomparable Among Ten”.
“I came on an errand from my father and decided to stop by.”
Namgung Yeon tried to evade the question using the name of her father, the Sword King Namgung Byeok.
It wasn’t a lie, as she had just delivered a letter from her father to her grandfather.
“Don’t you have any interest in mystical techniques?”
Cheonmyeong looked at her with eyes of disappointment.
The desire of the Seven Sages of the Five Dragons Palace was to raise a disciple like the “Incomparable Among Ten”.
“I appreciate your words, but I haven’t been able to take advantage of everything I have learned yet.”
At Namgung Yeon’s polite refusal, Cheonmyeong only licked his lips.
“Did you come to see a young man named Yeon Dubi?”
Since Yeon Dubi had been recommended by the Sword Emperor, he decided to ask just in case.
“Yes. Can I see him separately?”
“It’s lunchtime, so you can do whatever you want. Since people might feel uncomfortable, would you prefer that I call Yeon Dubi separately?”
“No. Wudang Mountain is big, so it’s okay if we meet outside of Five Dragons Palace.”
Namgung Yeon had been on Wudang Sect since she was a child, so it wasn’t strange to her.
Cheonmyeong nodded.
She was the granddaughter of the elder of Taihe Palace, so he thought she would know what to do.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Yes, be careful.”
After bidding farewell to Cheonmyeong, Namgung Yeon turned her gaze to the practitioners who were leaving.
“Ah!”
For a moment, Namgung Yeon’s eyes widened.
She had thought it was Yeon Jeokha because of the nape of his neck, but his face was completely different.
Confused and not knowing what to do, a whisper reached her ears.
– Noona. It’s me. My face is a little swollen because the poison hasn’t completely dissipated.
Hearing the familiar whisper, Namgung Yeon knew that the young man with the swollen face was Yeon Jeokha.
But what did he mean by the poison not having completely dissipated?
With her heart pounding, Namgung Yeon sent a whisper to Yeon Jeokha.
– Follow me.
Namgung Yeon, who was standing in the shade of a tree, left the Five Dragons Palace area through the Woldeung Gate.
As soon as she left Five Dragons Palace, Namgung Yeon ran using her light movement technique.
She crossed a mountain in the blink of an eye and then stopped abruptly.
Beside her, Yeon Jeokha landed like the wind.
Namgung Yeon turned quickly and examined Yeon Jeokha’s face.
“What happened? Why did your face, which used to be so clean, end up like this?”
“It’s because I met three people called the Three Heroes of Qingzhou in Huchang.”
Yeon Jeokha briefly explained what had happened with the Three Heroes and Tang Unmang.
“… At that time, Tang Unmang used a poison called Nakwol Dokjeong. I subdued him and he gave me an antidote, but the poison was complex, so I ended up like this.”
“Tang Unmang did that?”
“Yes, and he told me to look for someone called Baek Il-un, the Medicine Buddha.”
“Baek Il-un disappeared from the martial world a long time ago.”
“Noona knows him too?”
“Yes, he is a famous doctor. I will look for him, so hold on even if it’s uncomfortable. If I ask for the cooperation of the Beggar Sect and the Haomun Sect, it won’t take long.”
“I know where he is.”
“Really?”
Namgung Yeon’s face, which was on the verge of despair, lit up.
Even with the help of the Beggar Sect and the Haomun Sect, finding someone wasn’t easy.
“Yes, he is on Wudang Mountain.”
“Wudang Mountain? Did he enter Namamgung?”
As the “Incomparable Among Ten,” Namgung Yeon immediately knew that he was referring to Namamgung when she heard “Wudang Mountain.”
“Yes. They say he entered Namamgung a long time ago to make pills.”
“Let’s go.”
Namgung Yeon took Yeon Jeokha’s hand and dragged him.
“Where?”
“To Namamgung.”
Pressed by Namgung Yeon’s determination, Yeon Jeokha ran north, even though he was hungry.
***
Wudang Mountain.
Namamgung.
A man and a woman appeared at the entrance of the cliff with a furious wind.
They were Yeon Jeokha and Namgung Yeon.
Namgung Yeon, who was looking at the cliff of Namamgung with piercing eyes, asked:
“How far have you searched?”
“I’ve been searching a little every day, so I haven’t been able to cover much.”
Yeon Jeokha pointed out the areas where he had been recently while walking in front.
“I’ve been to that sharp peak. I’ve covered everything up to the top, so you can start searching from there.”
“Tsk. Are you saying you’ve covered all that?”
“Yes. The cliff is high and steep, so it’s difficult to cover more than five in a day. There are also magic seals.”
Yeon Jeokha shrugged his shoulders.
It was understandable, as he had been doing that difficult work every day.
Then Namgung Yeon shook her head.
“Jeokha.”
“Yes.”
“Baek Il-un is a doctor who doesn’t know martial arts. He can’t survive in steep places. He is far from the magic seals.”
“Ah, really?”
“So he probably settled in a place that ordinary people can easily access. You don’t need to look at cliffs of more than ten jang (approximately 30 meters).”
“Really?”
“No matter how much he dislikes encountering other people, he can’t climb. So you just need to investigate up to ten jang.”
“Is that so?”
Yeon Jeokha scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.
Now that he thought about it, it seemed like he had been searching in places that were too difficult.
“There must be drinking water, so let’s look in low-lying areas where water can be obtained.”
As she spoke, Namgung Yeon moved agilely towards the inside of the cliff.
Unlike Yeon Jeokha, who had a poor sense of direction, Namgung Yeon knew Namamgung like the back of her hand.
She not only knew the entrance of Namamgung, but she had practically covered the entire place in all directions.
Namgung Yeon investigated five caves in two hours.
Surprisingly, she found two alchemists refining pills.
Yeon Jeokha, who had already lost his sense of direction, simply followed Namgung Yeon.
‘Noona finds alchemists quickly.’
Somehow, he felt that they would find Baek Il-un today.
“Noona, do you have any special technique for finding alchemists? You’ve already found two.”
Namgung Yeon laughed.
“You just need to look around places with water. They can solve food with fasting elixirs, but they need to drink water every day.”
“Ah.”
“If you think about a place to live with the mindset of ‘I am an ordinary doctor’… the places to go are predetermined. For example, that place.”
Namgung Yeon’s thin, white finger pointed to a spot below the top of the mountain.
Then, Namgung Yeon ran without hesitation.
The entrance to a fairly large cave appeared about ten jang above the cliff.
Namgung Yeon explained to Yeon Jeokha, who was following her:
“This level of height is a place anyone would like. It’s quiet and cozy.”
“That’s true.”
Yeon Jeokha looked around the cave.
Indeed! It seemed like a suitable place for an ordinary person to live.
While looking inside the cave, he heard an old voice.
“Who’s there?”
Suddenly, Yeon Jeokha’s mouth opened.
There was another person.
It was the third alchemist they had found.
He introduced himself a step faster than Namgung Yeon.
“I am Yeon Namcheon, a practitioner of the Five Dragons Palace. I am looking for an alchemist named Baek Il-un.”
Namgung Yeon looked at him with curiosity.
Master Cheonmyeong had definitely called him “Yeon Dubi.” Why “Yeon Namcheon”?
“Come in.”
Yeon Jeokha and Namgung Yeon looked at each other with meaningful eyes.
The previous alchemists had said: “There is no such person here.” But this time they said: “Come in.”
Upon entering the cave, they saw an old man sitting in front of a brazier in the center.
The old man, who was stoking the brazier, raised his head.
“Why does a practitioner of the Five Dragons Palace seek Baek Il-un?”
Yeon Jeokha replied respectfully:
“I was poisoned with a poison called Nakwol Dokjeong, created by Tang Unmang. I subdued him and he gave me an antidote, but there are still traces of poison in my body. I was told that Baek Il-un, the Medicine Buddha, could cure me, so I have been looking for him.”
“Who said that?”
“Tang Unmang.”
“Tsk!”
The old man’s face seemed complicated.
Then, the old man said nothing more and continued to stoke the brazier.
Yeon Jeokha, who was standing silently watching the old man, tilted his head.
There was a brazier in the cave, but it wasn’t hot.
Looking at the brazier, he noticed that there was no fire underneath.
The fire seemed to have gone out a long time ago, and there were no embers left.
So the old man was stoking a cold brazier.
‘Is he crazy?’
It was difficult to think otherwise seeing an old man with white hair doing that.
Yeon Jeokha was about to speak when Namgung Yeon said:
“You are the doctor Baek Il-un, the Medicine Buddha, right?”
The old man looked at Namgung Yeon with a displeased expression.
“Who are you, miss?”
“I am Namgung Yeon.”
“Are you from the Namgung Family?”
“Yes.”
The old man nodded, as if he didn’t know Namgung Yeon.
“What is your relationship with the Sword Emperor?”
“He is my father.”
“I see.”
The old man seemed to have said everything he wanted to say and focused on stoking the brazier.
Yeon Jeokha asked:
“Grandfather, you are Baek Il-un, the Medicine Buddha, right?”
He absolutely trusted Namgung Yeon’s judgment, so he thought the old man was Baek Il-un.
The old man replied reluctantly:
“Yes.”
Then Yeon Jeokha took something out of his pocket.
It was a paper with the names of the 108 poisons that Tang Unmang had dictated to him.
“Use this as a reference to make an antidote. These are the names of the 108 poisons that Tang Unmang dictated to me.”
But Baek Il-un didn’t even look at it.
Frustrated, Yeon Jeokha waved the paper in front of Baek Il-un’s eyes.
“Grandfather doctor? Tang Unmang recommended him. Can you stop stoking the brazier and make the antidote?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to do anything else now. I must refine this pill for a thousand days, and I still have 99 days left. So find someone else.”
“What are you refining if there is no fire?”
“Don’t bother me and go away. It just seems like the fire is low because I have reduced it.”
Yeon Jeokha put his hand under the brazier.
There were no embers, not even a speck of ash.
Even the huge brazier was cold, almost icy at the bottom.
‘What is this?’