Chapter 122

The Absolute Prohibition (1)

"Did you just say that the Northern Sea Ice Palace can restore my dantian?"

Baek So-cheon stared at Yeom Hwasin in astonishment. Judging by his expression, he was not joking.

"That’s right. As far as I know, the Ice Palace is the only place capable of repairing your dantian."

Yeom Hwasin had surprised him many times before. At that moment, he surpassed all his previous records.

"Didn’t you say you would restore it only after your martial arts reached the next stage?"

"As repayment for saving my life, I’ll restore your dantian first."

Baek So-cheon remembered what Yeom Hwasin had said earlier—that he would soon return to their path. He now realized that Yeom Hwasin had been referring to this.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You truly are an impossible man to understand."

"I’m not such a complicated person. Perhaps I seem complicated precisely because I’m too simple."

A sudden thought occurred to Baek So-cheon.

When Yeom Hwasin had been endangered by the beastman, had he truly not expected Baek So-cheon to save him?

Could he have been planning to restore Baek So-cheon’s internal energy from that very moment?

Yeom Hwasin was such an unpredictable man that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Looking up at the ice wall, Baek So-cheon asked,

"Do we have to climb over this to reach the Ice Palace?"

"No. We only need to wait here."

Baek So-cheon was puzzled.

The Northern Sea Ice Palace stood between the orthodox and unorthodox factions, but strictly speaking, it was closer to the orthodox side. How could it have a connection with Yeom Hwasin?

"I didn’t know the Cheukcheon Alliance had dealings with the Northern Sea Ice Palace."

"It doesn’t."

"What do you mean?"

"I’m saying that the Ice Palace Master and I know each other personally. Officially, the Cheukcheon Alliance has no relationship with the Northern Sea Ice Palace."

"What sort of relationship do you have with the Ice Palace Master?"

"You might say that we are destined to fulfill a long-cherished wish."

"Whose wish do you mean?"

Yeom Hwasin merely gave him an enigmatic smile and said nothing more about it.

"I hope it’s my wish."

"So do I. However, you should prepare yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"There’s a possibility that restoring your dantian will fail. Even without knowing the details, it obviously won’t be an easy task, will it? If something goes wrong, you might die."

Yeom Hwasin lowered his voice as though attempting to frighten him, but Baek So-cheon remained completely unconcerned.

"That’s your problem. You have far too little attachment to life. But that’s all right. You’ll soon recover not only your internal energy, but also your hope."

If anything, Yeom Hwasin appeared more excited than Baek So-cheon.

Although Baek So-cheon remained outwardly composed, his heart was also pounding with anticipation and excitement.

’How will they restore my dantian? If it is restored, what will happen to the internal energy I already possess? Will the two merge, or will I be able to control them separately?’

Of course, as Yeom Hwasin had said, the process would not be easy. The treatment itself might be extraordinarily dangerous, and his recovery of internal energy might be discovered in the process.

However, Baek So-cheon had realized something with certainty during this journey.

To oppose Yeom Hwasin, he needed to restore his dantian. Furthermore, he needed to use that process as an opportunity to grow even stronger if he wished to defeat him.

"Let me ask you one honest question."

"Go ahead."

"Why are you trying to restore my internal energy? Don’t give me any nonsense. I want an honest answer."

"If I tell you, what will you do for me?"

"I’ll honestly answer one of your questions as well."

"Very well. Then I’ll tell you. I’ve encountered a wall on my path to the next stage. I realized that I cannot break through it using ordinary methods, so I intend to choose an extraordinary one."

"And that extraordinary method is restoring my internal energy?"

"If I fight a battle in which I genuinely feel threatened with death, perhaps I’ll be able to break through that wall."

Baek So-cheon nodded. If Yeom Hwasin had encountered a wall, that method was certainly worth attempting. It was also something only those at their level could try.

"Now, is it my turn to ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

Yeom Hwasin moved his lips as though about to ask something, but soon backed down.

"I’ll ask when I think of something later."

"You should ask while you still can. You’re old enough to start becoming forgetful, aren’t you?"

"Hahaha!"

They conversed and waited for a long time, but no one appeared.

"Putting aside the wall blocking your martial arts, don’t you think we should do something about the wall in front of us first?"

Yeom Hwasin pounded on the ice wall and shouted,

"Go and deliver this message! If you don’t open it immediately, I’ll smash my way inside! Consider yourselves warned!"

He seemed convinced that someone behind the ice wall was listening to their conversation.

"It doesn’t seem as though you’re welcome here."

"Where in the martial world would anyone welcome me?"

"Given the situation, will they really repair my dantian?"

"I am me, and you are you."

"But this is my first time here as well."

"Did you think restoring your dantian would be that easy? We might have to lie down in front of their Palace Master’s residence and refuse to move."

"I can’t bring myself to tell them to cut my stomach open if they want me gone, so you’ll have to do that on my behalf."

"Leave it to me. Being unreasonable is my specialty."

Baek So-cheon chuckled.

Life truly was unpredictable. Who could have imagined that he would one day stand at the entrance to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, trading jokes with the Leader of the Cheukcheon Alliance?

Even after they waited for a long time, no one appeared.

Perhaps Yeom Hwasin had expected this cold reception from the beginning, for he did not become angry at all.

"How long have we been waiting?"

"I believe it has been half an hour."

"We’ve waited long enough."

When Yeom Hwasin walked toward the ice wall, Baek So-cheon quickly asked,

"Surely you aren’t going to smash it simply because they refuse to open the door?"

"Why wouldn’t I?"

Yeom Hwasin infused his fist with internal energy.

"I’ll smash it on the count of three. One, two..."

He raised his fist high, appearing genuinely ready to destroy the wall.

At that very moment—

Rumble.

A door opened in the ice wall. It had been concealed so perfectly that they only realized a door had been there after it opened.

A woman dressed in white politely greeted the two men.

"I apologize for keeping our honored guests waiting. I will escort you to the Palace Master."

The woman led them inside. Judging by her swift and agile steps, her martial arts had reached the peak level.

Following her guidance, the two walked down an extremely long corridor.

The walls on either side looked as though they were made of ice, but closer examination revealed otherwise. The corridor had been constructed from stone that resembled ice, and beautiful paintings decorated it throughout.

There were various scenes: an adorable pair of male and female birds perched upon a snow-covered branch, children laughing and playing as they rode sleds across the ice, and a grandparent walking hand in hand with a grandchild through the snow.

Although every painting depicted things commonly seen in a cold region, each scene was filled with warmth.

Yet precisely because of that warmth, the presence of the hidden mechanisms beyond the paintings felt even more deadly. It was the same chilling presence one might sense from only the highest-grade mechanisms inside the Murim Alliance Leader’s residence.

In truth, these mechanisms were likely even more powerful than those of the Murim Alliance, certainly not weaker.

Throughout the history of the Murim, no martial faction had ever brought down the Northern Sea Ice Palace. In other words, the power and potential hidden within this place surpassed imagination.

Despite possessing such strength, its people had never left the Northern Sea and continued to live here quietly.

"Do you know why they never leave the Northern Sea?" Yeom Hwasin asked.

"I don’t."

"Because they live under an Absolute Prohibition forbidding them from leaving the Northern Sea and entering the Central Plains."

"Whose command was it?"

"Whose do you think? The useless old generations of the Ice Palace who have already become bones beneath the earth."

The woman walking ahead of them quickened her steps slightly. It was clear that the conversation made her uncomfortable.

"How did you learn about this?"

"I heard it from those who wished to leave this place."

"There are people here who want to leave?"

"There were in the past, and there still are today. To them, the Northern Sea is nothing more than a vast prison from which they wish to escape."

The woman ahead of them visibly flinched again. Her reaction revealed just how sensitive this subject was within the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

Baek So-cheon guessed that the Ice Palace must have its own complicated internal circumstances. After all, even a group of beggars living beneath a bridge would establish a hierarchy and engage in politics. Why would this place be any different?

Fortunately for their guide, Yeom Hwasin said nothing more about the matter.

At the end of the long corridor, they emerged into a garden.

The scenery was breathtaking enough to draw an involuntary gasp of admiration.

Baek So-cheon was genuinely impressed.

In the distance stood the majestic buildings of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. Designed to appear as though they had been sculpted from ice, they were dazzlingly beautiful.

Trees covered in frost flowers surrounded them, while statues carved from ice decorated the grounds. Each was so intricate and beautiful that they were works of art capable of stopping people in their tracks.

The men and women passing through the garden were all dressed in white, and every one of them was strikingly handsome or beautiful. Some were martial experts, while others knew no martial arts whatsoever.

They greeted the two visitors with bright, radiant smiles as they passed. They all appeared happy, as though they were strolling through the gardens of paradise.

Yeom Hwasin stopped and asked Baek So-cheon,

"What do you sense from them?"

Baek So-cheon answered honestly.

"They feel unnatural."

"Exactly! You noticed it as well."

There was something artificial about their apparent happiness. It felt as though this joyous scene had been deliberately staged because the two men were visiting.

Even if that was not the case, their happiness did not feel genuine.

Eventually, the two arrived at the Palace Master’s residence.

Martial experts stood in a line on either side of the hall. Every one of them had reached a level ranging from the peak to the transcendent realm.

At their center sat a woman dressed in a magnificent pure-white robe adorned with elaborate ornaments.

She was Seo Bingbing, the current Palace Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

She was far younger than Baek So-cheon had expected. At the youngest, she appeared to be in her mid-twenties, and at the oldest, in her early thirties. Judging by her age, Baek So-cheon assumed she had not inherited the position of Palace Master very long ago.

By contrast, all the experts standing guard around her were older women.

"Why have you come to our palace again?"

Her first words were prickly and openly hostile.

Yeom Hwasin grinned at her.

"It’s good to see you too."

At that moment, Baek So-cheon understood.

’Something happened between these two.’

Judging by how she treated her guest, Yeom Hwasin had undoubtedly done something that infuriated her.

"Our palace is not a place just anyone can enter whenever they please."

"But I’m not just anyone, am I? The friend who came with me is also someone special."

Everyone’s attention turned toward Baek So-cheon.

Baek So-cheon cupped his fists toward Seo Bingbing and spoke calmly.

"I am Baek So-cheon."

"I know who you are. Great Hero Baek, you are a hero of the orthodox factions. Why are you traveling with a villain like him?"

She openly called Yeom Hwasin a villain without hesitation.

"As you may have heard from the rumors, I lost my strength and ended up in this state."

"That is truly unfortunate."

At Seo Bingbing’s lament, Yeom Hwasin laughed.

"There will be no need to pity him any longer."

"What do you mean?"

"This man is going to regain his original strength."

"The entire world knows that Great Hero Baek’s dantian was destroyed. How can he possibly regain his original strength?"

Yeom Hwasin stared directly at her.

"Because the Divine Physician of Life and Death will treat him and restore his dantian."

Seo Bingbing’s expression instantly hardened at the mention of the Divine Physician of Life and Death.

Baek So-cheon, on the other hand, was astonished.

"He is still alive?"

The Divine Physician of Life and Death had once been hailed as the reincarnation of Hua Tuo and was considered the greatest physician of his time.

Even Ban Wol-ryang, the Divine Physician of the Murim Alliance, had acknowledged him as the greatest physician of their generation. That alone demonstrated just how exceptional his medical skills were.

However, he had eventually vanished from the Murim, and no one had seen him since. Everyone had assumed he was dead, but it appeared that he had come to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

Seo Bingbing spoke in a tone as cold as her expression.

"The Divine Physician of Life and Death is not here."

Yeom Hwasin remained relaxed, as though he had already anticipated that answer.

"The Divine Physician of Life and Death must be here. And he must treat this man."

The corners of Seo Bingbing’s lips curled upward as she asked provocatively,

"Why?"

Baek So-cheon was hardly the only person Yeom Hwasin possessed a talent for startling.

Words that shocked everyone present emerged from his mouth.

"Because in return, I will lift the Absolute Prohibition."