Chapter 431: The Moment My Busy Life Came to a Stop
It was a wine cup with a splendid yet mysterious feeling.
The pure white cup was designed to resemble the moon hanging over a snowy field. If I stared at it quietly, it felt as though I were standing alone in a snow-covered plain beneath the moonlight.
A crescent moon floated on one side of the cup, serving as a handle, making it easy to wear on the waist.
But what made that cup special wasn’t its appearance.
“Do you know what kind of cup that is?”
The Ice Palace Master hadn’t expected Geom Mugeuk to choose this cup.
“I’ve heard rumors that a sacred wine cup is kept in the Northern Sea Ice Palace. Isn’t it that one?”
“You saw correctly.”
She began to explain about the cup.
Ice Palace Chalice.
At a glance, it looked as though it had been made from pure white porcelain, but it was actually forged from metal. This specially alloyed cup was known to be incredibly light while being completely unbreakable and unbendable.
What truly mattered was the effect of the cup.
Because the cup naturally possessed cold properties, one could drink chilled liquor even in the height of summer. It was also said that drinking from the cup enhanced one’s inner strength and nourished the body.
Of course, the amount of internal energy gained was not greater than what could be attained through an equal amount of time spent cultivating. So drinking for the purpose of increasing one’s inner power at the expense of one’s health would be foolish.
Except for one person in all of the martial world.
For the Drunken Demon, who lived with liquor at every moment, this cup undoubtedly held great meaning.
Moreover, there existed only one such cup in the world, and it could only be found here in the Ice Palace Treasury.
For someone who loved liquor more than life itself and would spend their entire life drinking, this cup would be the finest gift.
“Are you really going to choose this?”
Geom Mugeuk replied with a smile.
“The Drunken Demon would prefer this cup over the Millennium Snow Ginseng.”
That wasn’t why the Ice Palace Master had asked. There were too many rare items here to be choosing something just for someone else. She looked toward the opposite side, where a piece of protective armor glistened beautifully even from a glance, and said,
“That Ice Tiger Guard could save your life. And while it may not rival the Ten Thousand Extreme Ice Essence you took earlier, there are also elixirs that can increase your internal energy more than the Millennium Snow Ginseng.”
“I’m fine.”
Realizing that Geom Mugeuk had made up his mind about the cup, the Ice Palace Master didn’t recommend anything else.
When she reached out her hand, the ice block containing the cup flew to her.
Using her unique internal energy, the Ice Palace Master easily melted the ice. For a typical master to melt this special ice with Heat Yang Energy, they would need far more energy than what she had just used.
The Ice Palace Chalice, now freed from the ice, revealed its mystical aura.
A white energy shimmered around the cup, like snowstorms sweeping across a snowy plain. Just by looking at it, anyone could see how precious it was—a cup that ordinary people couldn’t afford to carry around. Too many would try to snatch it away every single day.
“Here, take it.”
The Ice Palace Master handed the wine cup to Geom Mugeuk.
Carefully accepting the cup, Geom Mugeuk placed it in the center of his palm and admired it.
“It’s truly a magnificent cup.”
Geom Mugeuk was genuinely delighted at the thought of gifting it to the Drunken Demon.
The Ice Palace Master felt it. At this moment, Geom Mugeuk was sincerely joyful, like a pure-hearted boy.
‘So the rumors were all true.’
When she first heard the news that Geom Mugeuk had taken control of the Eight Demon Supremes, she had her doubts.
What kind of people were the Eight Demon Supremes? All of them, under his command?
Surely, not all of them followed him with sincerity. Some must’ve only formed a superficial alliance. After all, the Eight Demon Supremes weren’t ones a young successor could easily handle.
But now, seeing him like this, all her doubts vanished.
If they were close enough for him to gift such a precious item with such happiness, then even the word "control" felt inadequate.
“Thank you. I will never forget the great favor you’ve shown me today.”
Geom Mugeuk was truly grateful to the Ice Palace Master.
No matter how freely she had told him to choose anything, it wasn’t an easy thing to readily give up a wine cup titled with the name ‘chalice.’
“Compared to what you’ve done for this palace, it’s a small matter. Now, let us return.”
Geom Mugeuk left the Ice Palace Treasury with the Ice Palace Master.
Ssssssshhhhh.
As they opened the door, a strange sound rang out, and the maddening cold they had forgotten rushed back in.
Leaving behind a place where even conversation was difficult, the two quickly walked away.
As they retraced their steps and neared the end of the valley, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
“Sometimes, people of my age gather together.”
The Ice Palace Master knew. She was aware that even at the recent Three-way Summit, all the successors and siblings of each faction had assembled.
“I’ll invite your young lady as well, next time.”
The Ice Palace Master stopped walking.
Even without him explaining, she knew why he wished to invite her daughter.
Han Seol would only grow further by stepping beyond the Northern Sea and meeting many people.
But could she really send a daughter who had never once set foot in the Central Plains? The thought alone was worrisome.
When she turned to look at Geom Mugeuk, his eyes seemed to say,
Do not worry. I will take good care of her and return her safely.
It was his way of showing gratitude for the precious gift she had given him. Whether or not she could trust him enough to send her daughter, though, was another matter altogether.
When Geom Mugeuk returned, the Drunken Demon was lying on his bed.
“How are you feeling?”
“I feel like I’m dying.”
Just a while ago, when the physician came by, he had accepted the treatment with dignity. Without so much as a change in his gaze or expression, he had displayed the majesty of the Demon Supreme.
But the moment he saw Geom Mugeuk, he started acting spoiled.
“I can’t even lift my arm. It hurts so much.”
The Drunken Demon, still lying down, lifted one of his feet to show it.
“Look here. If you’d taken the shard out earlier, it wouldn’t hurt like this.”
“My persistent brother. That’s why I brought you a gift.”
“A gift? I’m dying over here, and you’re talking about gifts?”
Geom Mugeuk placed a small box on the table.
“You really don’t want it?”
“I don’t need it.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“It’s booze, isn’t it? You brought liquor, didn’t you? Typical.”
Pretending not to care, the Drunken Demon sneaked a glance at the box.
“It’ll be no use regretting it later.”
When Geom Mugeuk reached to take it back, the Drunken Demon casually asked,
“What is it? Let me at least take a look.”
“You’ll only torment yourself for nothing.”
How could he not look, being teased like this?
“Come on, just show me!”
“Only with your eyes. You have to give it back.”
Geom Mugeuk slowly opened the box.
The moment he saw what lay inside, the Drunken Demon’s eyes went wide. Even if the rest of the world didn’t recognize it, he would.
“Uwaaah!”
With a shout, the Drunken Demon lunged toward the table. Forgetting the pain in his foot, he ran.
“No way, this? Is it really that? It is, isn’t it?”
The Drunken Demon was speechless. This was the one thing he had wanted more than anything.
“How is this here?”
His voice trembled.
“Picked it up on the way.”
“Don’t joke with me!”
“I got it as a gift from the Ice Palace Master.”
The Drunken Demon immediately understood what had happened. The Ice Palace Master must have given it as a reward for the recent affair.
“You gave up your own share to get me a gift.”
“That would’ve been truly touching, but I got mine too. So don’t feel pressured and just take it. Or wait—didn’t you say you didn’t want it?”
“What are you talking about!”
The Drunken Demon spread his arms like wings to guard the wine cup. The arms he said he couldn’t even lift were now forming a perfect defense.
“Just take my life instead! It’s mine! Get away!”
How could he not know? That Geom Mugeuk could have chosen something else instead of this wine cup. He had given up the value of the Ice Palace Chalice to gift it to him.
A wave of emotion swept over the Drunken Demon. Among all the gifts he had ever received, this was the most precious—because it was the one thing he had wanted the most.
Geom Mugeuk had known he’d like it, but he hadn’t expected him to love it this much.
“Here, have a drink. I washed it clean before I came.”
Geom Mugeuk poured him a drink.
Torrreuleung.
It was the moment when liquor was poured into the Ice Palace Chalice, which had been sealed away for so long. Was it just his imagination? The shimmering white aura around the Ice Palace Chalice seemed to grow even stronger.
The Drunken Demon took a deep breath and drank. The cold liquor flowed down his throat without pause, gulp after gulp.
“Kyaaaa! This is amazing!”
Geom Mugeuk shouted “Kyaa!” alongside him. Just watching made it look unbelievably delicious.
“Pour me a cup too!”
This time, the Drunken Demon filled the chalice to the brim.
As he poured, the moonlight within the cup seemed to glow even more gently.
Geom Mugeuk drank the liquor from the Ice Palace Chalice in one long swig. It was icy cold and incredibly delicious. A genuine “Kyaa!” escaped from his mouth in awe.
“It’s unbelievable!”
The taste of liquor always depends on one’s mood, and there wouldn't be many days when it tasted this good.
“Here, one more for me.”
“Stop! You’re on medicine!”
“Just one more! Just one!”
As Geom Mugeuk poured another, he said,
“This wine cup—it’s not a gift to make you drink more. It’s a gift to help you drink less. I was told it has a protective effect on the body. So, for my sake, every time you pour liquor into this cup, drink one instead of two. If you’d normally drink two, drink one really good one instead. Think of it that way.”
Geom Mugeuk’s concern was clear. He had nagged him before to eat some side dishes, and now, even after coming all this way, he was still nagging.
“Never overdrink. Got it?”
“Got it. But just one last one. I have to drink three.”
“Fine, just for today!”
The two looked at each other and laughed.
After drinking three cups, the Drunken Demon wore the Ice Palace Chalice on the opposite side of the Blood Calabash. The two vessels strangely complemented each other. Of course, that was probably because it was the Drunken Demon who wore them.
“Then rest up.”
As Geom Mugeuk turned to leave, the Drunken Demon spoke from behind.
“Thank you, Young Cult Leader.”
Because there was no hint of teasing in his voice, Geom Mugeuk answered sincerely as well.
“You did something great this time, Drunken Demon.”
* * *
Back in my room, I activated the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique to absorb the White Eye Orb.
Snap! With a flick of my finger, I stood in a different space.
It wasn’t the beach I usually opened to, but the second space—a snowy plain with a small hot spring.
It was the very place I had created in the past after being moved by my father’s own hot spring. And this place truly matched the Northern Sea more than anywhere else.
Only three things existed in this space:
White snow, the night sky filled with stars, and the warm spring.
First, I took out the Secret Box and the White Eye Orb from my chest.
Wooooong.
The moment the White Eye Orb appeared, the Secret Box began to vibrate in response.
Though it was already the third time, I couldn't help but feel nervous.
I carefully placed the White Eye Orb onto the Secret Box.
Sseuuuuk.
Then, as always, a wondrous sight unfolded. The hard White Eye Orb melted into the Secret Box as if it were liquid.
Once the Secret Box had fully absorbed the White Eye Orb, it began to vibrate strongly.
Sseuuuuh!
Something white began to emerge from the Secret Box.
As always, it wasn’t smoke, nor liquid, nor light. It was something beyond words—something indescribable—that spread through my hands and arms, and soon, across my entire body.
The Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique, which had achieved mastery, still didn’t activate. That meant it was safe. Trusting in the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique, I sought out and absorbed the energy.
A refreshing sensation spread through every inch of my body.
The moment that energy filled me, a radiant light burst from within. So bright that I couldn’t open my eyes.
When I reopened my eyes, the white energy had already been fully absorbed into my body. That made three energies now absorbed through the Secret Box.
Just like the two previous times, there were no visible changes in my body. The energies didn’t mix. It meant my body wasn’t yet ready to undergo a greater transformation. Or perhaps, I still needed to absorb more energies.
Tuk.
The Secret Box expelled the now spent White Eye Orb. It had become nothing more than an ordinary stone.
“Just who made you?”
As always, the Secret Box simply gave a silent smile.
Having absorbed the energy from the White Eye Orb, I tossed aside my clothes and slipped into the steaming hot spring.
“Ah, this is it.”
Cold winds blew from above, and warmth rose from below.
I closed my eyes and immersed myself in the hot spring. These moments of solitude were precious to me.
Since returning in regression, my life had been packed tight, every day passing by at full speed. One tightly packed day after another.
But in this moment, alone within the Temporal and Spatial Transference, my life—always rushing forward—finally slowed down.
And the more it slowed, the more distant I felt from my own life. I liked that distance. Naked as I was, I had thrown off all responsibility.
“The martial world is falling? The demonic path is crumbling? What do you want me to do about it! Don’t interrupt my break!”
This sort of irresponsibility only slowed the pace of my life further.
And as it slowed more and more, eventually, it came to a complete stop. The moment my once-busy life fully halted—only then did I become truly free.
At the same time, I met another version of myself.
The version of me from before regression—who had piled up so much loneliness that he became loneliness itself.
The one who never rested, never once comforted himself properly, and ran forward relentlessly for a single goal.
We stood facing each other, separated by the large, pitch-black hole inside my heart.
Was the me on the other side lonelier?
Or was it the me smiling among countless people who felt more alone?
I couldn’t come to an easy answer.
Still, there was something I wanted to say.
―It’s thanks to you that I made it this far.
I had said all kinds of kind words to those around me, but this was the first time I had ever offered comfort or gratitude to myself.
―Thank you. Truly.
I gazed at the lonely version of myself across the void with gentle eyes. I didn’t want him to disappear. After all, he was still me.
―Just don’t fall into this pit.
At my words, the me on the other side sent a look that seemed to say: “You should be the one to be careful.” The ones who fall into holes are always the ones trying to be perfect, the ones smiling on the outside.
In the next moment, the dark pit between us transformed into a hot spring, and I found myself soaking in it once more.
I looked up at the sparkling stars for a long while before stepping out of the spring.
It was time to return to reality.
“The martial world mustn’t fall. My demonic path mustn’t collapse. So what do I do? I go out and protect it.”
Snap!