Chapter 872: Now, Thirty More Years of Infamy

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Insect Physician was deeply moved. Geom Mugeuk's words, "I can give it a try now," meant he had been thinking about her illness all this time.

Her gaze toward Geom Mugeuk filled with deep gratitude. On nights she was too pained to sleep, the Young Cult Leader before her must have been somewhere, worrying.

"Thank you for your concern, but my illness can't be cured," she said.

She had spent her life studying rare poisonous insects. In the process, she had been poisoned by extreme toxins many times, ruining her body. Conventional medicine had no effect, so she was barely holding on by using poison to counteract poison.

Geom Mugeuk shook his head. "Please, believe in me."

Jin Hagun shot Geom Mugeuk a look of respect that went beyond mere surprise. In this moment, he reaffirmed just how much Geom Mugeuk valued the bonds he formed.

The Insect Physician retorted again, "There's no need to waste your energy on this old body. It's already broken beyond repair…"

Just then, Pyo Jigwang rushed over and tugged on her arm. "Master, at times like this, you're supposed to say, 'Alright, do whatever you want with this already broken body!'"

"You rascal, let go of me!"

"Being stubborn in your old age just makes the young ones work harder. Now, hurry up and go inside."

"I said, let go!"

Pyo Jigwang forcibly dragged her into the room.

Geom Mugeuk followed them inside and told his friends, "This might take a while."

Bi Sayin nodded. "Take your time and do it well."

Just as I expected!

Finally, he understood why Geom Mugeuk had come here. The man could have simply said he came to keep a promise, and it would have been a simple matter.

However, he felt Geom Mugeuk had kept them in the dark deliberately, to convey a message: 'Let's live like this from now on, sincerely helping others rather than chasing honor, and always keeping the promises we make.'

Geom Mugeuk entered the room where the Insect Physician had been taken. She was still bickering with Pyo Jigwang.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine. I know my own body best."

"Have you ever seen a monk shave his own head? Even a physician needs to see another physician when they're sick. Now, please sit down."

"I said I'm fine," the Insect Physician complained, even as she reluctantly sat on the edge of the bed.

"Is there anything you need?" Pyo Jigwang asked Geom Mugeuk. Although he didn't say it, his eyes revealed just how desperate he was.

"I'm fine."

"Please call if you need anything at all. I'll be waiting right outside the door," Pyo Jigwang said. Before he left, he whispered in his master's ear, "Don't be needlessly stubborn and do exactly as the Young Cult Leader tells you!"

The Insect Physician shook her head. "If you're going to take on a disciple, you should get a young one. This one nags more than I do."

"Youngsters these days are terrified of poisonous insects. Just think of that old man as the youngest one available."

The Insect Physician, who had been smiling faintly, said with a serious face. "Listen, Young Cult Leader."

"Yes, Elder?"

"You don't need to push yourself. I mean it," she said, knowing just how difficult it would be to cure her body. "As I told you, I'm in a state where poison is suppressing other poison. Over time, I developed a tolerance, and I had to use stronger poisons, but those poisons have become entangled with each other, creating a mess. It has reached a dangerous point where it could explode at the slightest touch. Not even you can handle it. So just go out and tell them you tried but failed. Let's just chat for a bit and then you can leave."

It seemed she had allowed herself to be dragged in with that intention from the start.

Geom Mugeuk argued back, "If it explodes at the slightest touch, then I'll just have to touch it even more slightly."

His mastery of martial arts had grown incomparably since he made the promise to her. His inner qi, imbued with the profound energy of the Six Elements Origin Qi, had become exceptionally pure.

"Yes, I know very well how outstanding you are, but it's still impossible." The Insect Physician explained, "Even if my body could withstand the treatment process, you can't do it alone. It's impossible to separate the clumped poisons, but even if you could, both poisons must be expelled from the body in an instant. One person can't possibly handle both tasks simultaneously."

In other words, it required two people.

After a moment of thought, Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected. "I'll have to call an assistant, then."

Thinking he meant one of his friends waiting outside, the Insect Physician shook her head. "They can't handle the poison dwelling in my body. Do you want to watch your young friends spend the rest of their days massaging their aching shoulders and legs?"

Geom Mugeuk might be fine because of his Myriad Poison Immunity, but the poison was something others could not endure.

An astonishing statement came from Geom Mugeuk's lips. "There is. There is one other person who can withstand the poison."

"!" The Insect Physician's eyes widened in shock.

"Poison has no effect on my assistant."

Her eyes widened even further. "There's another with Myriad Poison Immunity besides you?"

She had used a lifetime's worth of ingredients to grant him Myriad Poison Immunity. How could there be another such miraculous encounter?

"You'll see, but please, try not to be surprised."

Even with the warning, the Insect Physician couldn't help but be astonished.

"Gasp!"

Her eyes flew open. A scene beyond mere surprise, something truly shocking, unfolded before her.

A being stood behind Geom Mugeuk, having appeared without a sound.

It was the Heavenly Demon Soul, manifested in human size.

"Relax your eyes! This is a very important person!" Geom Mugeuk broke the tension with a joke. After all, even reduced to human size, the presence exuded by the Heavenly Demon Soul was not something a person could easily withstand. "This is my Heavenly Demon Soul, manifested from my martial arts. It's a being that no poison can affect."

The Insect Physician was astounded. She had only heard about the Heavenly Demon Soul in stories before today. "From what I've heard, I thought it was enormous."

"It normally is, but my neck started to hurt from having to look up to chat with it." Geom Mugeuk turned to the Heavenly Demon Soul. "Friend, I need your help."

The Heavenly Demon Soul, which had been gazing at him, gave a slight nod.

The sight astonished the Insect Physician even more. Geom Mugeuk was communicating with a being born from his martial arts.

Geom Mugeuk said honestly, "To be honest, this is the first time I've attempted a treatment like this with the Heavenly Demon Soul, so I can't be certain." He glanced at his Heavenly Demon Soul. "However, I feel like I can succeed with my Heavenly Demon Soul by my side."

He sometimes used the Heavenly Space Secret Art to spend time with the Heavenly Demon Soul on a beach. All they did was sit quietly, watch the waves, and feel the sea breeze, but he felt himself growing closer to it. He could clearly sense the Heavenly Demon Soul's emotions and its potential.

"What do you say? Will you entrust yourself to me, no, to us?"

The Insect Physician's hesitation was brief. Geom Mugeuk was willing to manifest the Heavenly Demon Soul itself to treat her. Her connection with this Young Cult Leader ran deep.

Looking at Geom Mugeuk, she gave her consent. "Alright. Even a physician needs to find another physician when they're sick."

Geom Mugeuk was delighted and helped her sit in the middle of the bed. "Here, please sit comfortably."

The Insect Physician sat down cross-legged.

"It will be difficult if you remain awake. Please sleep for a while."

The Insect Physician nodded, following Geom Mugeuk's wishes. Even if she were to die like this, at least the last thing she would see was the Myriad Poison Immunity she had yearned for all her life.

Yes, it can't get any better than this.

Geom Mugeuk pressed a pressure point to put her to sleep, then said to the Heavenly Demon Soul. "Alright, the two of us are going to extract every last bit of poison from the Elder's body. Do as I say."

The Heavenly Demon Soul gave him a reassuring look. With it by his side, he was confident he could succeed.

Geom Mugeuk sat behind the Insect Physician and placed his palm on her back. The Heavenly Demon Soul sat in front of her and placed its palm on her chest.

"Alright, let's begin."

First, a stream of Geom Mugeuk's qi flowed into the Insect Physician's body. He slowly examined her interior. As expected, her blood vessels were severely damaged.

This won't do.

His qi gently enveloped her blood vessels, protecting and stabilizing her vessels and natural qi. He reinforced them with his own qi, as if shoring up a crumbling dam.

As he slowly soothed her insides, he found the poison deep within her blood vessels.

Here it is.

The poison was clumped together. As she had said, various poisons had accumulated over time, becoming entangled like one large mass.

Geom Mugeuk approached the poison cautiously. If he mishandled it and caused it to flare up, it would be over.

Slowly, very slowly, he examined the poison. Just as she had said, it was largely divided into two parts. However, they were intertwined like a spider's web, and separating them did not look easy. It was too large to be moved as it was.

I have to untangle it and split it into two pieces.

He sent a signal to the waiting Heavenly Demon Soul.

[Now it's your turn to help!]

The Heavenly Demon Soul injected a stream of its qi.

Geom Mugeuk grinned. He had only recently discovered that the Heavenly Demon Soul could use qi. He didn't know if it was a normal ability or if his was special, but it could move its qi with the same deliberation as he could.

Once the Heavenly Demon Soul's qi reached the poison, Geom Mugeuk began to seriously separate the tangled toxins. His qi moved like the hands of a living person. Untangling intertwined poisons with qi alone was a feat that required his level of martial arts mastery.

The Heavenly Demon Soul assisted in this task. Having been born from Geom Mugeuk's body, it knew what its master wanted without being told. In that moment, the Heavenly Demon Soul was the finest assistant in the world.

Just as only a true master can display the art of patience, Geom Mugeuk worked so slowly that one might wonder if the treatment would ever end. As he worked, the Heavenly Demon Soul's qi would envelop and calm any poison that tried to escape into the blood vessels.

Geom Mugeuk was truly the physician, and the Heavenly Demon Soul was perfectly playing the role of the assistant physician.

The more he worked, though, the more he could see why the Insect Physician had been unable to remove the poison herself. All sorts of unknown poisons were entangled. It was such a mess that it was impossible to know where to even begin.

Still, he calmly untied the knots one by one. He was a man who had spent a lifetime searching for materials for his grand technique.

No matter how tangled it is, can it be harder to unravel than my life before I regressed?

Two hours passed, and then another four. Time continued to flow, but Geom Mugeuk's concentration remained as sharp as when he started.

As he began to untangle the last knot of poison, he conveyed to the Heavenly Demon Soul.

[Alright, get ready.]

They had reached the most critical moment of the treatment.

The tangled poison completely separated after a series of delicate qi movements. At that very instant, Geom Mugeuk and the Heavenly Demon Soul enveloped the poisons with their qi and began to move them along blood vessels in opposite directions.

[We have to get the poison out before it runs rampant!]

Once separated, both the suppressing poison and the suppressed poison began to run wild. The tendency to suppress and the feeling of liberation were both activated. The qi of Geom Mugeuk and the Heavenly Demon Soul surrounded them, moving them as quickly as possible toward the blood vessels where their palms were placed.

"Ugh!" A short cry escaped the Insect Physician's lips. Even in her sleep, she seemed to feel the poison expanding and about to erupt.

[A little faster!]

The blood vessels swelled, and the poison was on the verge of exploding.

SWOOOOSH!

Half of the poison reached Geom Mugeuk's palm and was sucked in. Just as the poison was about to spread out from his palm in all directions…

FWOOSH!

Geom Mugeuk instantly incinerated it with his True Samadhi Fire.

However, there was not just one flame.

FWOOSH!

Above the Heavenly Demon Soul's palm, the poison also vanished with a burst of flame. The Heavenly Demon Soul had also succeeded in expelling the poison from the body before it could wreak havoc inside.

"Hooo…"

A sigh of relief escaped Geom Mugeuk automatically. The procedure had been a success, but just barely. He expressed his gratitude to the Heavenly Demon Soul. "I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you, my friend."

A faint smile seemed to form on the Heavenly Demon Soul's lips, and then it vanished without a sound.

Geom Mugeuk injected his qi to check the rest of the Insect Physician's body. Only after confirming that no poison remained did he wake her.

The Insect Physician slowly opened her eyes. The look in them was different from before.

"…I'm alive."

No, she was more than just alive. She could feel that the terrible poison that had dominated her body was completely gone. As the poison vanished, the excruciating pain that felt like her whole body was melting away disappeared with it.

She couldn't even remember the last time her body hadn't been in pain.

"You did it," she croaked hoarsely, her voice trembling as much as her gaze.

"It wasn't me, it was you, Elder Physician."

"……"

"If you hadn't given me the miraculous encounter of Myriad Poison Immunity, today's treatment would have been impossible."

"……" The Insect Physician silently grasped Geom Mugeuk's hand. This withered hand would no longer need to massage her shoulders and legs.

Geom Mugeuk apologized, "I'm sorry I couldn't treat you sooner."

"……" The Insect Physician's grip on Geom Mugeuk's hand tightened. Her face overflowed with an unconcealable joy and emotion.

"Now you'll be able to spread your infamy for at least another thirty years," Geom Mugeuk added, smirking.

When the two of them came out of the room, everyone was waiting outside.

The moment Pyo Jigwang saw the Insect Physician, his eyes filled with tears. He could tell just from her gait that the treatment had been a success.

"Master!" he cried, bursting into tears. The way he bowed his head and wept showed how much he cared for the Insect Physician.

The Insect Physician looked at her disciple and said mischievously, "You rascal, you still have to give me my morning massages."

Pyo Jigwang wiped his tears with his sleeve. "Then you have to promise me that you'll drink a glass of water first."

Jin Hagun, Bi Sayin, Lee Ahn, Jin Haryong, and Han Seol were all looking at Geom Mugeuk. The fact that it had taken so long meant the treatment had been truly difficult, but as always, Geom Mugeuk had accomplished the difficult task.

"I'm starving. You guys didn't eat without me, did you?" Geom Mugeuk asked suspiciously. "Where's your loyalty?"

Everyone smiled brightly at him as he made a silly comment, just as he always did.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" The Insect Physician swung the arm she previously couldn't even lift due to pain.

Geom Mugeuk's eyes widened in alarm. "You shouldn't be moving like that yet."

"Nonsense. Just wait, I'll cook for you myself."

"Does this mean I finally get to taste your bug cuisine, Elder?" Geom Mugeuk asked. He had tried the bug cuisine once before, back when he was undergoing the grand technique for Myriad Poison Immunity.

To everyone but Geom Mugeuk and the Insect Physician, though, this statement struck them like a thunderbolt.

Geom Mugeuk grinned, planning to tease his friends. "It was gross, but it tasted alright."

Not only the women but also Jin Hagun and Bi Sayin were startled.

It has to be a joke, right? If the Insect Physician really offered it, we won't be able to refuse out of politeness!

However, the Insect Physician shook her head. "No, I won't do that."

"Huh?" Geom Mugeuk blinked in confusion. Was this really the same Insect Physician who used to tear the wings off poisonous insects and eat their legs raw because of the pain?

The Insect Physician snorted. "Why would I feed bugs to such precious guests? Gwang, go buy all the ingredients for a feast. Get beef, pork, and chicken! We're having a grand banquet today!"

Everyone was relieved, but Geom Mugeuk alone shouted with a look of disbelief. "But you fed the bugs to me!"

"Well, I didn't think you'd actually eat them just because I told you to." The Insect Physician turned to the others. "Just wait, I'll cook you all a delicious meal."

Everyone smiled warmly.

"Yes! We'll look forward to it, Elder Physician!"

Only Geom Mugeuk yelled, "You said one has to know how to eat poisonous insects to know life!"

The Insect Physician walked away with an expression that said the very thought was disgusting. "Who eats bugs these days?"