Though Yumo had passed away, Gangchan’s daily life remained unchanged.
He entered the forest early in the morning to search, returning home before sunset.
As he traveled the rugged paths within the forest, his legs gradually grew stronger.
When night fell and there was nothing else to do, Gangchan trained the Cheongangmun heart method Inuigiseong inside his room.
Inuigiseong, the correct breathing technique recorded in the Palseonbirok, was a form of meditation that could be practiced during everyday life once mastered.
Since Gangchan was three years old and began reading, he never skipped training Inuigiseong as a daily habit.
Today marked three months.
Without fail, Gangchan began the same routine again.
The winter in Guihon Village was as harsh as its geographical location in the northern continent suggested.
Soon, the brutal winter would arrive. If he failed to find his older brother before then, he might have to leave him lonely forever.
Determined, Gangchan decided to venture deeper into the forest today.
Quickening his pace more than usual, he delved further inward until hunger suddenly crept in.
Because of the hurried movements, his vitality drained rapidly, and a gnawing emptiness settled in his stomach.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Gangchan searched for a suitable spot to ease his hunger.
Then his eyes caught sight of a Gwaemok, a grotesque tree whose thick roots tangled above the ground in strange shapes.
Drawn to the rare Gwaemok, Gangchan sat down, resting his hips against one thick root.
Its wide-spreading branches and dense leaves even blocked out the sky above.
Biting into the rice ball he had prepared, Gangchan chuckled softly, recalling Yumo’s parting words.
Since Yumo’s death, Gangchan made sure to eat three meals a day, no matter what.
It was like a sacred ritual.
Eating three times daily, Yumo would have praised him, gently stroking his head, and Gangchan felt warmth fill his chest.
***
After finishing the rice ball, Gangchan rose, only to notice a hollow space beneath the roots.
That empty spot intrigued his senses.
“What’s this?”
He reached inside, and his hand sank in deeply.
A coldness met his touch.
There was indeed a hollow.
Feeling the space was fairly wide, Gangchan slipped his body under the roots.
Curling up, it was just big enough for an adult to fit snugly inside.
Despite it being daytime, the interior was pitch black.
Surveying the darkness briefly, a sudden wave of fear washed over him.
He quickly pulled out and scanned the forest around him.
Alone in the woods, Gangchan scolded himself for being startled by nothing.
Remembering he had brought a Hwaseopja for emergencies, he lit it swiftly and crawled back inside.
Strangely, the space inside wasn’t damp.
He felt a breeze flowing through somewhere.
The dry air meant nothing unusual.
Quietly lying down, the initial fear vanished, replaced by a feeling of comfort as if cradled by a mother’s arms.
‘How long had he been lying there?’
Uncomfortable curled up, he stretched his back slightly.
Suddenly, his head touched the end of the space and was pushed inward—not abruptly, but steadily.
Startled, Gangchan covered his head with both hands, fearing something might attack.
Suppressing his fear, he quietly opened his eyes.
What he’d thought was the end was actually a wall with a hole, revealing a larger space beyond.
Summoning courage, Gangchan cautiously entered the inner space.
The back room was wide enough for him to stand.
Faint sunlight filtered in, allowing him to distinguish objects even without the Hwaseopja.
In one corner of the room, roughly the size of a room, stood a wide stone altar.
On it lay a book and a strange object.
Carefully approaching, Gangchan picked up the book.
Suddenly, the back cover that had been stuck to the stone crumbled and fell apart.
Startled, Gangchan set the book down again.
Gently, he brushed the dust off with his hand.
‘Gwihoonbirok’
I, Cheonmyeongseon, am one of the descendants of the Korean Eight Immortals.
***
After the heavens opened, divine energy was sealed in eight locations across the Korean Peninsula, and whoever unlocked them would become a celestial immortal.
After the sealing of divine energy, eight sages each sought to release their respective energies.
After thousands of years of effort, they finally found a method, but the world had become the age of humans as representatives of heaven.
Humans who discovered this divine energy feared the eight sages and their descendants who sought to unlock it.
To protect their power, they secretly hunted and killed the sages’ descendants.
Ultimately, out of fear, the descendants hid themselves deep within the world to survive.
As time passed, the sages’ teachings gradually vanished from the world.
…omitted…
I, Cheonmyeongseon, a descendant of the Eight Immortals, lamented the permanent loss of their teachings and wandered the world seeking the studies of the remaining Seven Immortals.
After seventy years of wandering, I finally compiled the immortal teachings into two books: the Palseonbirok and the Gwihoonbirok.
The Palseonbirok contains the path of humanity, and the Gwihoonbirok contains the path of the immortals.
For ten years, I searched for a worthy person to inherit the Eight Immortals’ Secret Record, but my illness worsened on the road, and I could no longer find a successor.
Death approached swiftly.
Reluctantly, I gave the human teachings, the Palseonbirok, to a Goryeo refugee passing through here.
And here I leave the Gwihoonbirok.
Without the Palseonbirok, the Gwihoonbirok is merely an illusion. It is like not becoming human, yet expecting to become an immortal.
Alongside this, I leave the Samhonbu, the Three Souls Axe, which I inherited and used as a descendant of Busun.
Whoever you are, whatever you do, this is the will of heaven.
I hope you become a person who benefits the world.
The writing ended here.
Calming his wildly beating heart, Gangchan hurriedly gathered the book and the Samhonbu.
Without a second thought, he ran straight toward Cheongangmun.
***
Back at Cheongangmun, Gangchan placed the Gwihoonbirok and the Samhonbu on the desk.
His heart still pounded fiercely.
Taking a deep breath, he focused and carefully organized his thoughts.
The fated opportunity had come to him.
“Oh! The Gwihoonbirok…
A secret manual and weapon with the power of heaven.
And the Palseonbirok I had been training since childhood.
This was destiny.”
Even after that fateful day, outwardly, Gangchan’s routine did not change.
He entered the forest early to search for his brother and returned by sunset.
But inside his mind, things were different.
He examined the Palseonbirok again and memorized the Gwihoonbirok perfectly.
He pondered how to master them.
Yet Gangchan was only ten years old.
Frustrating time passed slowly.
In the darkened room, Gangchan sat alone at his desk.
A brush was held in his hand.
He tried writing down his thoughts.
And he discovered one truth.
To accomplish what he intended, he must become incredibly strong.
And the Eight Immortals’ Secret Record would grant him that strength.
From that day on, Gangchan stopped going into the forest and spent all day studying every book in Cheongangmun.
***
Winter approached.
The Chonjang, pitying the young Gangchan spending winter alone, occasionally brought firewood and food.
Elder Jang’s care was a great help to the young boy.
Of course, Ganghwan, his father, had saved silver and gold for his sons’ futures.
But without Yumo, there was no adult left in Cheongangmun.
It would be unwise for young Gangchan to spend those treasures recklessly.
Gangchan rarely left Cheongangmun.
He invested all his time trying to understand the Eight Immortals’ Secret Record.
Yet the Gwihoonbirok was so abstruse that grasping its meaning was no easy feat.
The contents of the Gwihoonbirok were as follows:
Eight Immortals’ Secret Record
Footwork — Gwihoonbo
Light and relaxed like a ghost’s steps, but with instant swift movement.
When Gwihoonbo is exerted to the extreme, the heavens resonate with celestial energy.
Lightness Technique— Cheonryeongchukji
Making the body as light as a feather, folding the earth as if to travel ten thousand miles with minimal qi.
Martial Arts — Cheonryeongmu
Barehanded martial art based on Gwihoonbo, using all body parts as weapons.
Strike, Kick, Spin, Bind, Pierce.
Archery — Sayecheonryeong
Iljeomsi — A single pinpoint arrow flies like a comb, piercing even a small spot a hundred paces away. When connected with qi, the arrow’s direction can be controlled.
Yinyang Arrow — Conceals qi arrows within real arrows. Both real and qi arrows fly towards the target, separating by the caster’s will and striking in timed succession.
Gwihoonsi — An invisible arrow compressed with qi. Requires Jiuiqiseong to exceed rank 8 and Sayecheonryeong rank 9 to fire once. When shot, celestial cries resonate from heaven.
Spear Technique — Gwihoonbirohanchangbeop
Axe Technique — Hyeolbu Cheollyeong
Zen Three Forms
Bibuhoengyeon — A swinging technique with dozens of variations, cutting all within one chang.
Noiseomp’a — A martial art only usable by the Samhonbu, a lightning-fast thrust piercing all.
Chuyeongmyeolhon — Like lightning striking from heaven, an axe strike so fast the opponent can’t even follow the shadow and feels their soul vanish.
Zen Three Forms require Seungcheonmugukgiseong rank 5.
Later Three Forms
Bungsangyeongcheon — Mountains crumble, the heavens tremble.
Myeolcheonse — Destroys all objects within a five-chang radius as if breaking the sky.
Buseonhwapyenryeong — The Samhonbu dances in the heavens, scattering flower petals.
Later Three Forms require Seungcheonmugukgiseong rank 7 or higher to perform.
The final Buseonhwapyenryeong requires Seungcheonmugukgiseong rank 10.
The Samhonbu’s usage becomes naturally known upon reaching Seungcheonmugukgiseong rank 3.
Internal Energy Mind Methods
Seungcheonmugukgiseong
Inuigiseong — The study of feeling human energy (training the body to freely absorb and use Jiuiqiseong).
Jiuiqiseong — The study of feeling all natural energy including the earth’s qi (like normal internal energy, enhancing physical strength and natural healing).
Cheonuigiseong — The study of feeling heavenly energy (cleansing the mind with heavenly energy to cultivate unshakable composure).
The harmony of heaven, earth, and human energy completes Seungcheonmugukgiseong.
Inuigiseong rank 3, Jiuiqiseong rank 2, and Cheonuigiseong rank 1 combine to form Seungcheonmugukgiseong rank 1.
Inuigiseong is recorded in the Palseonbirok.
Gangchan was eleven years old.
For the past five months, he had committed every word and illustration of the Gwihoonbirok to memory without missing a single detail.
On the day he finally organized the Gwihoonbirok completely in his mind, Gangchan burned the book.
“Grandfather Cheonmyeongseon, except for the lost secret teachings of Uiseon and Geomseon that were torn out when I first found the Gwihoonbirok, I have now memorized all of it. I can’t promise when I’ll master everything, but I’ll do my best to become strong.”
When I finish what I want to do, I will find the right person and pass it on so that the legacy you feared would disappear will continue.
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