The potent energy of the elixir coursed through every vein in Mu-hui’s body, so overwhelming that even the inner strength he had cultivated through the Jahasim Method struggled to break free from his dantian.

Determined, Mu-hui relentlessly drew upon his inner strength, forcing it to seep through the cracks and gradually spread the Jahasim energy throughout his body. Like a stream trickling through the crevices of a rock, the flow of Jahasim was weak but unbroken, connecting seamlessly with his entire network of veins.

Instead of resisting the elixir’s energy, Mu-hui chose to ride its current. The Jahasim energy, now bolstered by the elixir, slowly began to assert its dominance. Despite the blood pouring from his nose and mouth, Mu-hui pressed on.

“The Jahasim Method alone won’t suffice,” he realized. Though renowned in the martial world, the method was not enough to handle the excessive consumption of an elixir akin to the legendary Gongcheongseokyu.

Any other martial artist would have perished, their veins bursting from the strain. But Mu-hui, recalling the principles of the Taehomu-ryeong Method, began to integrate its teachings.

A purple mist enveloped his body as the flow of Taehomu-ryeong merged with Jahasim, yet controlling the elixir’s energy remained a daunting task. If the energies of Jahasim and Taehomu-ryeong were like a mighty river, the elixir’s energy was a turbulent ocean, with waves of heat and cold crashing over him in turns, as if he were traversing between fiery and icy hells.

“Embrace it. This is good,” Mu-hui thought, feeling his consciousness blur, as if slipping into a dream. The connections he had pondered before beginning his meditation faded, replaced by the intense heat and cold.

In the midst of this duality, Mu-hui found a profound sense of self. Just as he was about to succumb to the solitude of his dreams, a realization struck him: he knew not only Jahasim and Taehomu-ryeong but also another method.

“The Dokgo Method.”

Born from the fusion of countless unorthodox techniques, the Dokgo Method was the sole martial art that had accompanied the Sword Demon through his past life. Now, it awakened within Mu-hui, ready to shatter his solitude. Like a trinity, the Dokgo Method joined the flow of Jahasim and Taehomu-ryeong.

Immersed in the intricate patterns of these methods, Mu-hui surrendered to the dream.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself not in a cave, but standing alone in a barren wasteland. The desolate landscape was devoid of stones or weeds, and the sky alternated between deep blue and red.

“A familiar sight,” he mused.

The changing sky seemed to reflect the yin and yang energies within him, with flames erupting and ice spreading across the plain in response to the shifting colors. Whether this was a mere dream or a state of transcendence, Mu-hui couldn’t tell. What he knew for certain was that this space was a manifestation of his own mind.

As he walked through the endless wasteland, hands clasped behind his back as if on a leisurely stroll, Mu-hui recalled the Dokgo Method. Though it was a synthesis of many unorthodox techniques, its essence was surprisingly akin to orthodox methods. It lacked the profound depth of orthodox arts but possessed its own unique depth and grace. Unlike the rapid achievements of unorthodox methods, it twisted and turned through contradictions, breaking through barriers with ease.

The Dokgo Method, an unorthodox art with the characteristics of an orthodox one, was possible because the Sword Demon saw no distinction between right and wrong in martial arts. In the vast sea of martial arts, distinctions of good and evil were meaningless. All streams eventually returned to the great ocean of martial arts.

Unity and convergence—this was the core philosophy of the Dokgo Method, encapsulating the Sword Demon’s martial journey.

Reflecting on his past insights from his duel with the Blue Ice King, Mu-hui murmured to himself, “The Taehomu-ryeong and the Six Harmonies are part of the Dao that forms the world and all phenomena. There’s no need to separate them.”

Recalling these insights, he recited, “All landscapes and phenomena unfold on Mount Hua.”

As he pondered, Mu-hui continued to walk, unaware of how much time had passed. After countless steps, he stopped.

The essence of the Dokgo Method, the enlightenment of Taehomu-ryeong and Jahasim, began to coalesce into a new mantra.

“In the Six Harmonies lies the Taehomu-ryeong. In the Taehomu-ryeong lies the Six Harmonies. Together, they return to Jahasim. United in Jahasim, the world is contained within.”

As Mu-hui’s mantra intertwined with the words of the Six Harmonies Sword Saint, a new core principle emerged, uniting their insights.

“The connections I’ve forged, from the present to the past, form my world. By embracing Jahasim, I embrace the world, and through it, I cast off solitude.”

As Mu-hui wove the mantra into a cohesive whole, his mental landscape began to tremble. The three methods—Dokgo, Jahasim, and Taehomu-ryeong—filled his mind like constellations, their mantras sprouting into grass and trees, transforming the barren plain into a lush landscape.

The once desolate mental landscape now teemed with life, the myriad phenomena of the world unfolding before him. The three methods, once separate, now intertwined and unraveled at his will. After countless combinations and transformations, they finally united around the words of the Six Harmonies Sword Saint and Mu-hui.

Forests, meadows, canyons, and seas. Mountains and rivers. The myriad phenomena coalesced into a singular form, ceasing their transformations.

A towering peak, sharp as a sword, rose into the sky. From afar, the clustered peaks resembled a single flower, with mist and clouds lingering at their summits.

The familiar landscape was none other than Mount Hua.

Gazing at the newly formed Mount Hua within his mind, Mu-hui looked up. The sky, once alternating between blue and red, underwent a transformation. Blue light surged from the north and south, while red light poured from the east and west. Meeting at the zenith, the two colors merged into a single, radiant hue—a brilliant purple.

As the sky turned violet, the entire expanse was suffused with the glow of Jahasim, dissolving the boundaries of heaven and earth, uniting them into a singular, harmonious world.

Mount Hua, enveloped in Jahasim.

As the three methods merged into one, forming a complete mental landscape, Mu-hui emerged from his trance.

When he awoke, his body was in disarray, with the Jahasim energy barely sustaining his life force. But he knew instinctively, “It’s enough.”

With newfound clarity, Mu-hui began to recite the new mantra, channeling his inner strength along the new pathways.

The Jahasim energy, both familiar and transformed, surged through his veins, racing through the heat and cold within him.

The newly evolved inner strength was miraculous, gradually gaining the upper hand against the elixir’s energy.

Guided by the Jahasim energy, the elixir’s power was absorbed, swelling the Jahasim energy as it circulated through his veins, gathering in his dantian before surging upward.

“Let’s go,” Mu-hui resolved, guiding the Jahasim energy.

It surged through his body, ascending like a dragon through the pathways of Hwan, Sangwan, Geoguel, and Jungjeong, before piercing through Okdang, Seongi, Cheondol, and Yeomcheon, finally reaching Baekhoe.

Boom!

As the energy broke through the blocked pathways, a thunderous roar echoed in his mind, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth splitting apart. Yet Mu-hui did not cease his meditation.

The Jahasim energy, having breached the Ren Meridian, coiled briefly at Baekhoe before coursing through the pathways of Noho, Amun, Daechu, Sindo, Jungchu, and Myeongmun, circulating throughout his body.

Mu-hui’s internal energy, having already cleared the Ren and Du meridians, gathered once more in his dantian before spreading throughout his body, breaking through the remaining blocked meridians.

Simultaneously, natural energy began to flow in through the Baihui point, allowing his body to communicate directly with nature.

As he absorbed the essence of the elixir through a new mental technique, his internal energy advanced in both quality and quantity.

With this elevation, the balance of mind, energy, and body was finally achieved. The wall of enlightenment that had been blocking him crumbled, and the sudden surge in his level was more than Mu-hui’s vessel could handle.

Crack!

His entire body convulsed as his muscles and bones repeatedly broke and healed. Even the meridians, which were already in the process of recovery, underwent the same transformation.

In this way, his body was being reshaped to match his martial prowess and level.

As his body underwent this metamorphosis, Mu-hui shattered the massive wall that had been obstructing his path.

Just as he had cleared the Ren and Du meridians moments before, he crossed the boundary between the pinnacle and transcendence in an instant.

While the pinnacle fills one’s vessel to the brim, transcendence shatters that vessel, surpassing its limits.

As proof, Mu-hui began to directly absorb natural energy. Transcendence marks the beginning of a journey beyond human constraints, towards the realm of the divine.

Thus, it is called the realm of transcendence.

And now, Mu-hui was reaching out to that realm. From the Baihui point, where he communicated with natural energy, five streams of energy materialized in succession.

Blue, red, black, white, and yellow.

These five colors of energy swirled around Mu-hui, forming rings. A blue ring was joined by a red one, followed by a black one, until five rings hovered above his head.

The phenomenon of the Five Energies Converging to the Origin appeared, and Mu-hui, who was meditating in a lotus position, began to levitate.

The surrounding natural energy surged towards the center of the five rings, which then merged into a single ring, emitting a violet light.

Hummm!

The violet ring floated for a long time, radiating a violet glow, before disintegrating into particles that settled into Mu-hui’s body.

When his meditative form returned to the ground, Mu-hui opened his eyes.

His eyes shone with a violet brilliance, and a vivid violet ring glowed around his pupils.

A violet aura shimmered around his entire body, distinct from the one produced by his previous technique.

The violet glow cascading from his shoulders down his back resembled a long robe made of violet silk.

As Mu-hui operated his technique, the violet glow spread across his broad back like a sky.

“Ha.”

Mu-hui marveled at the power of his internal energy, which surged through his meridians centered on his dantian.

The fusion of the three energies—Zixia, Taihe, and Dugu—had transformed into a completely new internal energy, surpassing his previous capabilities with ease.

It was worthy of being called the Divine Energy of Zixia.

“It lacks nothing to be called a divine art.”

He was confident it could rival the Yangyi Divine Art he had encountered on Wudang Mountain.

“Zixia Divine Art.”

Mu-hui named this new technique the Zixia Divine Art.

A new divine art to support Mount Hua had blossomed.

***

Baili Family in Shanxi.

A gentle wave of energy swept through the tranquil Baili estate, causing the petals of the garden flowers to tremble.

The letter in the old man’s hand suddenly caught fire and turned to ash in an instant. Having incinerated the letter with his Samadhi True Fire, the old man finally spoke.

“Sword Saint…”

That single word carried the weight of the old man’s lingering regrets. Though the sound dissipated into the air, the emotion it carried lingered.

After uttering just one word, the old man stood motionless like a statue, then suddenly raised his hand.

The doors of the hall swung open, allowing sunlight to stream in.

As the old man stepped into the sunlight, a middle-aged man was already waiting outside.

The middle-aged man bowed naturally, and the old man spoke.

“We’re going to Shaanxi.”

“Yes, Grand Elder.”

The Sword King of Baili, having ended his long seclusion, began to turn his gaze towards the martial world.

The End