Episode 29: Training with the Five Elents Heavenly Record
Sanggwan Cheonse and Han Yeo-ok both felt deeply apologetic toward Jang So-cheon.
They said they hadn’t done much for him, yet it felt like they’d received a great favor.
To this, Jang So-cheon replied,
“I’m just repaying the kindness you and Deputy Leader showed before. We’re in the sa team—if sothing good happens, we should share it. Wouldn’t you both do the sa?”
“Of course.”
“ too.”
“That’s all I wanted. Deputy Leader, please help with my swordsmanship training later.”
“Haha! That’s easy enough. Want to teach you so magic techniques, too?”
“Magic techniques?”
“Yes. I can’t teach you everything, but I’ll show you a few basics.”
Sanggwan Cheonse tried to phrase it lightly so Jang So-cheon wouldn’t feel pressured, but Jang So-cheon already knew the Deputy Leader wouldn’t hold back his teachings.
“I’ll co by your room, if that’s alright?”
“Of course.”
“Jang Sa-je! Want to teach you so dark energy techniques, too?”
At Han Yeo-ok’s suggestion, Jang So-cheon waved both hands.
“I’m way too busy right now—if I try to learn that too, I’ll burn out. I’ll learn your secret techniques another ti, Sajeo.”
“Alright, I get it.”
As the two returned to their seats, Makjang gave Jang So-cheon a subtle look.
He was signaling for them to step outside the dormitory.
“What is it?”
“Ahem. I want to show you my secret weapon. Co on!”
Makjang was clearly putting on airs, whatever he was about to reveal.
He led Jang So-cheon to his own room and produced three talismans.
“Is this the secret weapon that’s supposed to blow my mind?”
“While you were gone, I finally perfected the Thunder Strike Talisman. It’s strong enough to take down the Poison Horn Iron Bull in one shot.”
“The Thunder Strike Talisman?”
Jang So-cheon eyed him with a hint of skepticism.
Talismans required the creator’s Law Power and consciousness. With Makjang’s current level, it shouldn’t be easy to make sothing this powerful.
“I poured my life into these, so use them sparingly. Want a few more Fla Talismans, too?”
When Jang So-cheon nodded, Makjang handed over a whopping ten Fla Talismans.
Then, he pulled out two white talismans from his robe.
“What’s with the reluctance?”
“These are Invisibility Talismans… I’ve only managed to make two so far.”
“How do you use them?”
“Stick it to your body and channel your Law Power. For one shichen, no one will be able to see you.”
“What about your presence?”
“That, I can’t hide. I was only going to give you one, but… what the heck, take both.”
“Thanks.”
Jang So-cheon’s gratitude was sincere—after all, a Flying Talisman Makjang had given him once saved his life.
“Compared to the Yellow Essence Pill you gave , this is nothing. You’ll make a Qi Spirit Pill soday too, right?”
“What? Hahaha!”
Jang So-cheon burst out laughing at Makjang’s words.
“We’ll see how you behave…”
As soon as he said it, he realized he might be asking too much.
So, Jang So-cheon tapped his Heaven and Earth Pouch and took out three Qi Spirit Pills from his dwindling supply.
“These are Qi Spirit Pills. Don’t take them yet—wait until you reach the sixth level of the Qi Refining Stage.”
“Keh-heh-heh. Got it. Thanks, really.”
“Put it on my tab. Pay back with talismans later.”
“Don’t worry. When I beco a master, you’ll benefit from it too. You can count on it.”
“Haha! Alright, I’m off.”
“See you.”
Once Jang So-cheon left, Makjang locked his door and took out the remaining Yellow Essence Pill from his robe.
If he advanced his cultivation, he’d be able to make even more powerful talismans.
So he needed to diligently take elixir pills and raise his level.
Back in his room, Jang So-cheon recalled the incantations of the Naless Manual of Intent.
But for so reason, even recalling the incantations was difficult.
One character at a ti.
Struggling to rember each word, Jang So-cheon began to interpret the earlier passages.
He started by examining what consciousness truly was.
The root of thought and mory for living beings resided in the soul and spirit.
But re thought alone couldn’t affect the outside world.
That’s why, outside the soul and spirit, consciousness was stationed to transform thought into alchemical intent.
When thought settled into consciousness, it beca alchemical intent, which could then control Law Power or Spiritual Energy.
Law Power and Spiritual Energy could be seen with Divine Sight, but consciousness had no form and couldn’t be observed, even with Divine Sight.
Moreover, it didn’t always match one’s cultivation stage.
So investigators, though at the Qi Refining Stage, possessed the consciousness of soone at the Spirit Refining Stage.
Jang So-cheon suspected Makjang was like that.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to craft talismans several tis stronger than his own level.
To strengthen this intangible, invisible consciousness required special training.
Naly…
Relentlessly pouring thoughts into one’s consciousness.
But idle thoughts were useless.
Only consistent, profound contemplation—like probing the laws of heaven and earth or seeking ultimate truths—would suffice.
And if enlightennt struck, consciousness could grow explosively.
It seed harder than expected, but Jang So-cheon had learned sothing from his team leader, Gwak Mu-jin:
A tenacious spirit that never gives up.
As he trained with the Naless Manual of Intent, Jang So-cheon found himself pondering the aning of human existence.
That led him to consider what it ant to be human, and as he delved deeper, he seriously wondered where to draw the line.
The answer was the soul and spirit.
Remove the soul and spirit from a human body, and it’s nothing but a corpse.
But that didn’t an the soul and spirit were the true origin of humanity.
Even the soul and spirit eventually separate—one ascending to the heavens for reincarnation, the other dispersing into the earth.
Ultimately, the purpose of life was to cultivate the Dao Root within the soul.
As the Dao Root deepened, the soul would attain divinity, and in the next life, one could grasp the truths of the world even faster.
In that sense, Law Power and consciousness were nourishnt for the soul.
The Dao Root was the lotus throne upon which the soul sat…
Having co to understand his own identity through cultivation, Jang So-cheon began to contemplate the roles of the body and the spirit in greater depth.
He realized the importance of the physical body—without it, even the most refined soul and spirit would eventually scatter.
There would be no way to further cultivate the Dao Root…
The sa was true for the spirit.
Though it would eventually dissipate after death, the spirit held all the mories and cultivation experiences of one’s life.
That was what made faster cultivation possible.
Through the Naless Manual of Intent, Jang So-cheon realized he needed to cherish every part of himself.
Exploring the origin of life was no easy task.
Even though not much ti had passed, Jang So-cheon felt a deep, gnawing hunger.
He wasn’t physically hungry.
It was as if he’d exhausted all his ntal strength—his mind felt blank and empty.
After finishing his training with the Naless Manual of Intent, Jang So-cheon imdiately began practicing the Mystic Heaven Wuji Heart thod.
Despite the Alchemical Saint’s advice, Jang So-cheon never stopped accumulating Divine Power.
He believed Divine Power was just as important as Law Power.
But he had no intention of wasting it recklessly as he once had.
He planned to use it sparingly and accumulate it, so his Primordial Spirit could manifest Divine Power.
If he succeeded, the first eighteen forms of the Dragon Flying Peak Martial Art would reveal their true might…
If he soared through the sky with the Flying Divine Artifact and unleashed the Dragon Flying Peak Martial Art with the Primordial Divine Sword, he was confident he could face investigators of a higher level.
Returning to Present Ghost Peak, Jang So-cheon found himself with a mountain of things to do.
The next day, he spent the entire day training swordsmanship with Deputy Leader Sanggwan Cheonse.
He also learned magic techniques—naturally, fire-based secret arts.
“So, you’re saying I should use Spiritual Energy to create a form and then infuse it with alchemical intent?”
“That’s right. But don’t let your mind wander—if you do, your avatar could fall apart.”
“Is there a special secret technique for this?”
“Of course. To control your avatar well, you need to split your consciousness in two. Now that you’ve reached the Eight Stars of Spiritual Energy, it shouldn’t be too hard.”
“And after that?”
“Imbue your avatar, ford from Spiritual Energy, with a firm alchemical intent so it can attack your enemies. You can even give it new commands…”
“That doesn’t sound easy.”
“But you’ll manage. You’ve refined your skills with fire-based Spiritual Energy through alchemy.”
“I’ll give it a try.”
Encouraged by Sanggwan Cheonse, Jang So-cheon released fire Spiritual Energy and ford a dragon.
He’d chosen a dragon, not a snake, because his training in the Dragon Flying Peak Martial Art had filled his mind with thoughts of dragons.
A massive Fire Dragon.
Its gaping maw looked ready to spew flas at any mont as it writhed in the air.
He’d succeeded in creating the form, but imbuing the Fire Dragon with alchemical intent was no easy task.
Even splitting his consciousness in two had worked, but the intent wouldn’t take hold.
At that mont, Sanggwan Cheonse tossed him a book.
“Not so easy, is it? Read this first. It’s the Five Elents Heavenly Record, a secret manual of our sect.”
“Is it really okay to just show a secret manual like this?”
“No, it’s not!”
“But…”
“That’s why you need to read it quickly and give it back. I’ll close my eyes until then.”
Thinking his senior was incorrigible, Jang So-cheon flipped through the book from start to finish.
It didn’t just cover fire-based magic techniques.
It contained all the magic techniques of the Five Elents.
Jang So-cheon morized the entire book and handed it back to Sanggwan Cheonse.
“You’ve already finished reading it?”
“Yes. But I think I’ll wait to imbue my avatar with intent.”
“Why?”
“I realized I can’t just do it carelessly.”
“Haha! I thought you’d skimd it, but I’m glad you didn’t. That’s right—first, you have to clearly visualize what kind of intent you want to instill. Only then should you imbue your avatar with it…”
“Then, shall we practice swordsmanship so more today? I’ll practice the magic techniques back in my room.”
“No thanks. I’ve never beaten you in a spar—how can I keep showing my face for another match? I’d rather spend that ti ditating.”
“You’re ending your training this early? That’s suspicious.”
“What?”
“Are you going to et soone? Now that I think about it, Han Sajeo hasn’t shown up at all today.”
“Ahem. Must be busy. Jang Sa-je! I’m heading out first.”
Watching the Deputy Leader flee the training hall, Jang So-cheon smiled.
He knew today was Han Sajeo’s birthday.
Back in his room, Jang So-cheon took out a sheet of paper.
He ground his inkstone and placed two brushes side by side.
Splitting his consciousness in two, Jang So-cheon drew with his right hand and wrote with his left.
Then, he switched—writing with his right hand and performing martial arts with his left.
Now that he’d reached the Eight Stars of Spiritual Energy, splitting his consciousness posed no problem.
Two things at once.
He’d heard so masters could do even more.
Creating avatars with Spiritual Energy was no problem at all.
Focusing in his room, he ford a Fire Dragon even larger than the one he’d made in the training hall.
He changed its appearance, adjusted its form and size, and then created two avatars at once.
Then, he had the avatars fight each other.
After watching the battle for a while, Jang So-cheon rged them into one.
He then absorbed it through his palm and sent it to his lower dantian.
The greatest challenge in the Five Elents Heavenly Record was concretizing the intent to instill in the avatar.
He hadn’t managed it in the training hall.
But following the incantations in the Five Elents Heavenly Record, as he poured his thoughts into his consciousness and made them concrete, the dragon took on exactly the form he desired.
It wasn’t just a ferocious dragon.
It soared freely through the air, breathed fire, and wielded magic—an awe-inspiring beast.
Wow!
Once the intent was concretized, Jang So-cheon summoned a dragon from his lower dantian.
He infused the Spiritual Energy-ford dragon’s head with his intent.
The result:
Whoooosh!
The Fire Dragon, made of Spiritual Energy, opened its eyes as if it had gained a soul and began to rampage through the air.
Fwoooosh!
It breathed fire and even cast Claw Shadow across the sky—a wondrous, mystical Fire Dragon.
With his fire-based magic a success, Jang So-cheon tried a water-based technique next.
This ti, he created a small White Horse.
Neigh!
With a large horn on its forehead, the White Horse’s eyes flashed as soon as it was imbued with intent.
It danced through the air around Jang So-cheon, scattering droplets of water.
He felt he could probably perform wood and earth-based magic as well, but decided not to for now.
He’d created avatars of fire and water—a dragon and a white horse—but wanted to consider the other elents more carefully before proceeding.
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