Doctor’s Rebirth

Chapter 93

A strong sulfur smell permeated the underground cave before him.

The area where the White Dragon Medical Pavilion is located is also a volcanic region with hot springs. But this place emitted heat far more intense than where the White Dragon Medical Pavilion’s main mountain is located.

Jin Cheon-hee took out a towel he had prepared in advance and soaked it in medicinal water.

It was something to block the distinctive rotten egg smell of sulfur.

As he wrapped the towel around his face like a mask and took a step forward, Hwanggu barked softly and stood in front of Jin Cheon-hee.

“Hwanggu. No. It’s too hot for you.”

Woof!

Jin Cheon-hee patted Hwanggu’s head and squeezed his body into the narrow underground cave.

“Keep watch around here until I come back.”

Hwanggu licked Jin Cheon-hee’s hand and sat down. Jin Cheon-hee smiled at Hwanggu.

How far had he pushed his body down?

His feet touched nothing below.

Jin Cheon-hee gathered his courage and jumped down.

Thud-

His feet hit the ground.

Looking up, he could barely see light from the surface filtering through the ceiling.

At this rate, it would be difficult to find the exit when night fell.

Woof!

“Yes, Hwanggu. Bark when I signal later.”

Woof, woof!

Fortunately, with Hwanggu outside, he could find his way back by following its barking.

Heat rose from the ground.

‘It’s hard to breathe?’

Jin Cheon-hee immediately circulated his Five-Elemental Divine Technique to resist the heat.

As he began to circulate Ice Qi from his danjeon, his body cooled quickly and his dizziness subsided.

‘When I have time later, I should try circulating Fire Qi and Water Qi in a place like this. It seems like it would be beneficial.’

Most medical pavilion disciples would never think of doing this.

If the circulation was interrupted midway, it would be extremely difficult to maintain consciousness in the heat. But Jin Cheon-hee thought that such extreme situations were opportunities to advance his internal energy by leaps and bounds.

‘That’s right. I’m young. It would be a waste to leave this young body idle.’

Young. Youthful. Great potential for growth. So he couldn’t waste this time.

Since he could prevent physical damage with his medical skills, continuous training without rest was the priority.

This was a thought he could have because it was his second life.

‘Good. I’ll keep circulating Ice Qi until I find the underground pond.’

The Ice Qi of the Five-Elemental Divine Technique is created by combining Water, Metal, and Earth.

It’s quite a tricky attribute.

But was it because he had gone through bone-melting and body-transforming?

Even without much conscious effort, the five elements’ energies moved on their own, combined, and flowed through his entire body’s meridians.

‘I didn’t expect this?’

It was as if the five elements had gained self-awareness and were moving to protect his body.

Jin Cheon-hee was inwardly surprised by this unexpected effect.

Moreover, the five elements’ energy, which was already pure, became even purer. He could fight the heat with less internal energy.

How much further down had he gone?

A pond of hot spring water came into view.

It was bubbling and boiling at a temperature that would cause full-body burns to an ordinary person within moments.

‘It’s exactly as described in the novel.’

Periodically, these hot springs erupt outside through underground caves.

The inside must be as hot as the depths of hell.

Jin Cheon-hee took a deep breath.

‘It’s okay. I can do this. I even took the Profound Origin Five Elements Divine Pill to break through here.’

If his master had seen this, he would have called it madness and dragged Jin Cheon-hee out, even if he had to hit the back of his head.

Jin Cheon-hee closed his eyes and focused on his internal energy.

He continued to circulate Ice Qi through his danjeon.

Normally, the cold energy would be enough to slow his heartbeat, but in here it was barely enough to block the heat.

‘It needs to be colder. And I need to push it out to every corner.’

He focused on sending internal energy to every meridian in his body.

His body grew colder and slower. It was like going into hypothermia.

A headache began to set in.

Jin Cheon-hee painfully put his hand into the underground hot spring.

The boiling hot spring warmed Jin Cheon-hee’s frozen body. But that was only for a moment, as the heat of the spring water began to fight with the Ice Qi of the Five-Elemental Divine Technique.

Jin Cheon-hee adjusted his Five-Elemental Divine Technique to maintain balance with it.

Eventually.

Jin Cheon-hee submerged his entire body.

Splash!

“Hah!”

As soon as he judged it manageable, he deployed a miscellaneous skill learned from the Zhuge Library.

Ten Thousand Catties Hammer.

His body became as heavy as a thousand catties and sank deeper and deeper into the water.

The deeper he went, the higher the temperature rose and the stronger the currents became. Jin Cheon-hee maintained the Ten Thousand Catties Hammer.

Boom-

Finally, his feet touched the bottom.

Jin Cheon-hee took out a night pearl.

It was larger and brighter than ordinary night pearls.

He had obtained it from the ceiling when he helped Hwanggu before, not knowing he would use it like this.

As the night pearl illuminated the surroundings, he could secure a decent field of vision.

Jin Cheon-hee moved forward.

After some time, he discovered a creature similar to a crayfish.

Life exists even in such intense heat.

He knew this intellectually from reading books, but seeing it firsthand was truly amazing.

Jin Cheon-hee caught it and tied it with a strand of his hair.

Minor Summoning Attack.

A miscellaneous skill for giving simple commands to small animals.

The command Jin Cheon-hee gave was as follows:

-Go to where the most terrifying creature lives.

The crayfish-like creature shuddered once, then began to crawl in one direction.

Jin Cheon-hee continued forward, following the creature.

After walking for some time, the crayfish stopped. It meant they had arrived.

When he released the Ten Thousand Catties Hammer, his body shot upwards like a diver releasing weights.

“Puha!”

As he emerged above the water surface, a huge underground lake revealed itself.

Jin Cheon-hee felt his body cooling rapidly and withdrew the Ice Qi. Cold water rushed between his fingers.

‘It’s exactly like in the novel. Only here is the water cold.’

It matched the description of the pond where the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp lives.

‘I absolutely couldn’t have found this without reading the novel. No, I couldn’t have found it without Hwanggu either.’

Jin Cheon-hee took out metal rods from his breast.

When assembled at the joints, they became a spear.

‘I’ll catch it with this!’

Ten Steps Divine Spear!

So far, he could handle small fry with his bare hands. But the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp was the real deal.

To face this creature, he had to put his life on the line.

Jin Cheon-hee secured the night pearl more tightly to his waist.

‘I’m the bait.’

In this pitch-black underground lake, the only thing shining was the night pearl.

It was clear that the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp would attack upon detecting the light.

The problem was that this was an underwater battle.

Jin Cheon-hee unwound the Black Heavenly Blood Silk from the bracelet on his wrist and wrapped it tightly around the spear shaft. The pre-twisted Black Heavenly Blood Silk was like a rope.

‘Little brother of the Heavenly Demon, thank you!’

He never thought he’d use Yeo Ha-ryoon’s gift like this.

Then he closed his eyes and focused on his feet while floating in the water.

How much time had passed? Something slippery brushed past beneath his toes.

He felt a hot and hard sensation.

It was the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp’s fin.

The creature passed by Jin Cheon-hee. It seemed to be judging whether he was food or not before biting immediately.

And then, for a moment.

The water surged.

Looking down, he saw the creature’s open mouth rushing towards him. Jin Cheon-hee hurriedly swung the spear shaft to stab it.

At that moment, it moved so fast he couldn’t even see how.

The creature’s tail struck Jin Cheon-hee.

Thud!

Jin Cheon-hee’s body floated up to the water’s surface.

It was just one hit, but his internal organs reverberated, and he felt like he might lose consciousness.

‘I’ve seen killer whales play with seals like this!’

They would hit seals with their tails, sending them flying above the water surface, and when the seal fainted, they would eat it at that moment.

As expected of a spirit beast, it seemed quite intelligent.

Jin Cheon-hee’s body, thrown into the air, plunged back into the water surface. And there, the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp’s mouth was waiting.

Even a decent expert would be finished the moment they entered that mouth.

Jin Cheon-hee recalled the mantra of the Bewildering Thunder Spear, that is, the Ten Steps Divine Spear, and thrust the spear downward.

Bewildering Thunder Spear.

Thunder Technique Deployment!

Blue lightning surged from Jin Cheon-hee’s danjeon and gathered at the spear tip.

Fortunately, the creature was off guard now!

If it realized Jin Cheon-hee’s true ability, the fight would be over.

No matter how skilled Jin Cheon-hee was, unless he was a novel protagonist like the Heavenly Demon Yeo Ha-ryoon, he couldn’t maintain the madness of battling a fish underwater with martial arts for long.

So he had to end it in one decisive move.

The blue lightning gathered at the spear tip began to grow thicker. But suddenly, the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp tried to close its mouth again.

‘Dammit! It’s quick-witted too.’

Before the lightning could gather satisfactorily, Jin Cheon-hee simply shot the spear into its mouth.

Shwack-!

The spear lodged in the roof of its mouth. The Ten-Thousand Fire Carp began to resist in pain.

The entire lake shook.

Jin Cheon-hee swam to the edge of the lake while unwinding the Black Heavenly Blood Silk.

The Black Heavenly Blood Silk began to unwind rapidly in sync with the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp’s movements.

And as soon as Jin Cheon-hee’s feet touched the ground, he grabbed the Black Heavenly Blood Silk.

Grasp!

But due to the Ten-Thousand Fire Carp’s strength, Jin Cheon-hee’s body was dragged forward.

‘Ten Thousand Catties Hammer again!’

As his body became heavier, his feet dug firmly into the ground.

The next technique Jin Cheon-hee would use was just one:

Great Mountain Immense Strength!

That’s right. It was a secret technique found in the erotic book he had borrowed from the library.

It was a martial art left behind by an eccentric who had honed his external strength to the extreme, and for some reason, had it inserted into an erotic book by hiring an artist.

To learn this, one had to tear the book apart and reassemble it page by page.

Jin Cheon-hee recalled the mantra of Great Mountain Immense Strength.

He moved his muscles according to the mantra.

He maintained his weight with Ten Thousand Catties Hammer and pulled with the strength of Great Mountain Immense Strength.

The iron spear lodged with the Bewildering Thunder Spear was stuck in the creature’s throat and wouldn’t come out.

The Ten-Thousand Fire Carp resisted.

Splash!

Jin Cheon-hee didn’t waver.

The divine item gifted by Yeo Ha-ryoon, the Black Heavenly Blood Silk, was pulled with tremendous force but didn’t break.

As long as it didn’t break, there was hope.

Jin Cheon-hee slung the Black Heavenly Blood Silk rope over his shoulder. He pulled and pulled while shouting.

“Heave-ho, heave-ho!”

From here on, it was a battle of endurance.

If he could pull the creature out of the water even by one centimeter, Jin Cheon-hee would win.

He kept pulling and pulling repeatedly.

While continuously maintaining the internal energy for Ten Thousand Catties Hammer, he kept circulating the external strength of Great Mountain Immense Strength.

How many shichen had passed like this?

Jin Cheon-hee felt his entire body growing stiff.

Purple bruises spread on his arms wrapped with the rope.

He couldn’t feel any sensation. But the creature must be struggling just as much.

Jin Cheon-hee circulated his Five-Elemental Divine Technique.

It wasn’t a full circulation, but just one cycle through the meridians was enough to send vitality to his body.

He relieved his fatigue and pulled again.

“Heave-ho, heave-ho!”

It wasn’t the impressive battle between human and spirit beast that Yeo Ha-ryoon had once shown. It was just pure stubbornness and repetition.

Finally, the creature’s snout began to appear above the water surface.

Splash-

It began its final resistance.

At this moment, Jin Cheon-hee summoned his last remaining strength.

‘Pull!’