Chapter 495: Give it to me just once.

‘Otherwise, I would have died.’

Sin-ui’s words made my mind waver for a moment.

-That child possesses an incredibly immense energy. A vast energy that others wouldn’t be able to sense.

I took those words to mean a vessel of a completely different size than others.

Usually, having great energy meant something like that.

But.

-Incorrect.

Sin-ui gave the answer ‘no’ to this.

-That child doesn’t have a vessel at all.

What could that mean? I couldn’t understand Sin-ui’s words.

To not have a vessel, the source of power for humans, let alone martial artists.

Does that even make sense?

-Yes, that’s precisely why it’s a problem. Possessing such vast energy without a vessel.

-For you, it was the energy being too large compared to your vessel that caused the problem, starting the cracking.

-For that child… the problem was that there was nothing to even call a vessel in the first place.

Not that it was empty inside with nothing at all.

But that it was too vast to be grasped.

-If that’s the case, what do you think will happen?

I don’t know. I had never heard of having only energy without a vessel.

-Energy without a vessel is bound to scatter. And if that happens, what do you think will become of the child who was seen as energy itself?

I couldn’t give any answer.

Because I didn’t know Wi Seol-ah’s condition.

-It scatters.

All I could do was endure my pounding heart.

-Her physical body will scatter, or perhaps collapse.

-I estimated that period to be three years. That’s quite generous, mind you; in reality, no one knows how long she could hold on. Fundamentally, we didn’t even know how that energy was sustaining itself in the first place.

-That is why the Sword Venerable requested me to create a vessel for that child.

While I was listening to him continue speaking.

I looked up at the words that grated on my ears.

The talk about creating a vessel.

Does that mean it’s possible to make one? That seemed like a slightly contradictory situation.

Sin-ui had clearly told me there was no way to fix the vessel.

The same Sin-ui who had given me a terminal diagnosis was now hearing a request from the Sword Venerable to create a vessel.

As I asked back, unable to comprehend, Sin-ui continued speaking with a somewhat grim expression.

-I don’t know about fixing a vessel, but creating one isn’t impossible. I’ll tell you beforehand, this isn’t within the realm of medicine, so don’t be too curious.

Creating a vessel.

Then what was the purpose of the Demon Sealing Stone?

-It was an item for him.

The Demon Sealing Stone was an item to create a vessel?

Was it used to seal Wi Seol-ah’s energy?

-Sealing that much energy is impossible. While the Demon Sealing Stone’s role is indeed sealing, it wasn’t for the energy.

Then what was it for? What was being sealed? To such questions, Sin-ui provided an answer.

-The Demon Sealing Stone was used for the purpose of sealing the created vessel to prevent it from breaking.

Meaning, it was used not to seal Wi Seol-ah’s energy, but to seal the vessel’s form.

This meant that the vessel Wi Seol-ah currently possessed was an artificial one.

-So, what do you think the material for that vessel was?

What could it be? The material for a vessel that could contain such energy… Honestly, I had one specific guess.

I truly hoped it wasn’t that.

If it were, it would be far too immense an undertaking.

But, unfortunately, my guess was not mistaken.

-It was the Innate Vital Energy possessed by humans.

As Sin-ui uttered this with a frown, I had to bite my lip.

It was something I had feared.

-It was the most suitable material to withstand the energy.

That means they extracted humans’ Innate Vital Energy to create the vessel.

Indeed… from whom did they extract the Innate Vital Energy?

Perhaps I furrowed my brow without realizing it, because Sin-ui sighed and spoke to me.

-Don’t worry, they didn’t extract someone else’s Innate Vital Energy without permission… In fact, if they had intended to, I would have refused.

Then who was it?

I asked Sin-ui, who replied with a rather nonchalant expression.

-To contain that much energy, similarly immense Innate Vital Energy was required. Wasn’t someone like that right beside you?

Could that mean…

-The Alliance Leader.

I swallowed dryly at Sin-ui’s words.

-His Innate Vital Energy was poured out and used to create the child’s vessel.

My mouth fell slightly open at those words.

Because I hadn’t thought the Sword Venerable would go that far.

If the vessel is the source of a human’s power, then Innate Vital Energy is the source of life.

This meant the Sword Venerable had extracted his own Innate Vital Energy and poured it into Wi Seol-ah.

In that case, what would be the Sword Venerable’s condition?

He had survived the War of Heaven and Demon in his previous life, so he wouldn’t die immediately, but…

-Losing Innate Vital Energy isn’t permanently consumed… but the Alliance Leader’s condition is likely not very good.

It would be true that the Sword Venerable’s power is significantly weakened right now.

Furthermore, if a vessel was made using such Innate Vital Energy, would that vessel be alright?

-As I said, that too is just a temporary measure.

Naturally, Sin-ui said no.

-Just like you, he’s likely in a state where he needs to take medicine to endure.

And if he doesn’t take it?

-I don’t know what method you used to create your vessel… but given that your situation and the child’s are different, I don’t expect a good outcome.

Those were truly bitter words.

Because it meant Wi Seol-ah was still in a very dangerous condition.

-However, as you mentioned, if you yourself induced changes in the vessel… then I cannot be certain either. An exception has occurred.

It came down to doubt, not certainty.

Even so, the situation hadn’t improved.

‘…What should I do?’

I walked quickly, thinking.

After finishing my talk with Sin-ui, I came outside first. He said he’d give me the White Horse Stone later when he checked my condition.

I had learned that Wi Seol-ah was secretly taking medicine and knew her condition, but there was nothing I could do.

I wondered if perhaps changes were occurring, like my vessel breaking,

‘Does an artificial vessel count for this too?’

It was also questionable whether this applied to Wi Seol-ah, who had no vessel to begin with.

I didn’t know.

Was the Divine Sword in my previous life in a similar situation?

Probably.

That must be why.

‘Jang Seon-yeon, that bastard, must have used this against me.’

I recalled how he had approached me threateningly, mentioning Wi Seol-ah’s condition, and gnashed my teeth.

It sucks. Even after experiencing regression and becoming stronger, it felt like the fundamentals hadn’t changed.

That was truly infuriating.

‘I need to run more.’

I need to push myself harder.

I will hone myself relentlessly and create some kind of result. I had to.

[Calm down. You’ve gotten too heated.]

Old Master Shin warned me. At his words, I took a breath and closed my eyes.

I felt how overheated I was, just as he said. Lest I become unable to handle the situation due to my anger, I applied techniques to cool my emotions.

As a result, I felt a little better.

‘…Thank you.’

After greeting the Old Master, I looked back at those following me. When there was barely enough time to finish tasks one by one, it was overwhelming to think about other matters simultaneously.

Right now, I was traveling with others.

Spotting Woo Hyuk among them, I asked.

“…What is that you’ve got there?”

“Hmm?”

Woo Hyuk was using his Lightness Skill while carrying something on his shoulder.

Looking closely, it seemed to be a wild boar.

Hearing my question, Woo Hyuk smiled brightly and said to me.

“Ah, this. It’s a gift for my Master.”

“…A wild boar?”

“My Master likes wild boar meat.”

“…”

My brow furrowed at those words.

Aren’t you guys cultivators? Why do you keep stuffing your faces with meat…?

I wanted to shout that, but I barely held back.

It wasn’t the first or second time that lunatic had been weird, so if his Master was also weird, it wasn’t surprising.

I should just give up. That was easier.

I let out a small sigh and glanced at Woo Hyuk’s side.

Someone else was there, Namgung Bi-ah.

I looked at Namgung Bi-ah, who was following along with her usual sleepy expression, and asked.

“Why are you tagging along, anyway?”

At my question, Namgung Bi-ah met my gaze.

“…Can’t I…?”

Her characteristic hazy voice reached me.

“No, it’s not that you can’t… I don’t even know if it’s allowed in the first place.”

I was about to say it wasn’t disallowed, but changed my words as I lacked certainty.

I was currently on my way to meet the Monster Immortal with Woo Hyuk.

The Monster Immortal had suggested meeting up first.

It was because we hadn’t finished our conversation.

But, would it be okay to bring Namgung Bi-ah along?

While I was preparing to meet the Monster Immortal, Namgung Bi-ah saw me and decided to tag along, starting to move with us.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t even asked Woo Hyuk if it was okay.

Woo Hyuk responded nonchalantly to this matter.

“He’ll probably be fine. My Master isn’t the type to worry about things like that.”

“Then that’s a relief….”

It bothered me slightly that the Monster Immortal was born into the Namgung family.

If there were no issues within his family, he wouldn’t have left to belong to the Shamans…

‘He himself told me not to worry too much about it. So it should be fine?’

Given that the Monster Immortal had said as much before, I decided to assume it would be okay for now.

However.

As always.

Not a single thing went as I expected.