CHAPTER 57: RECOVERY AND REALIZATION

He could hear Heo Taegeon calling his name, and he desperately tried to respond, but his lips wouldn’t even tremble.

"Give me the Gluton Beast’s body. We need to take it back for examination and warn the other villages—ouch!"

Without thinking much of it, Heo Taegeon reached out to take the corpse, but the moment he touched it, an immense force erupted from the Gluton Beast’s body and sent him flying.

Fortunately, the other villagers reacted quickly and caught him before he hit the ground.

Heo Taegeon barely managed to steady himself, then gaped at Bok Taejin in shock. "W-What... What’s going on with Taejin?"

Second Uncle snapped out of his deep thoughts and turned to Bok Taejin, his frown deepening.

At that moment, Bok Taejin felt the outside world growing more distant.

His consciousness was being pulled inward—toward his dantian.

The Taiji Diagram in his dantian spun faster and faster, nearly forming a vortex that sucked in all of his life and death energy.

Most of his vitality had already been absorbed, yet it still wasn’t enough.

Meanwhile, the death energy was running rampant through his body, eroding his meridians, muscles, and organs—rapidly aging his once-young body.

This was the second time since arriving in this world that Bok Taejin had felt death creeping so close.

Just as he thought he was about to die of old age in his youth, the small light between his brows suddenly flared.

A powerful will surged forth, overwhelming his life and death energy and forcefully suppressing the raging death energy.

Bok Taejin felt a metallic taste rise in his throat.

If not for his tightly sealed lips, he would have coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The intent once again controlled several key acupoints in his body and causing them to tremble rapidly.

Acupoints were connected by meridians, and their synchronized pulsation seemed to unlock something.

The vibrating acupoints were directly absorbing something from the outside world.

It was vital energy!

Although Bok Taejin’s cultivation required the interplay of life and death energy, both provided by his own body without the need for external sources, he still followed the old sect master’s teachings before entering a cultivation state—attempting to sense the drifting spiritual energy in the world.

However, due to his limited aptitude, he had never succeeded.

Yet today, under these circumstances, he had directly sensed vital energy from the outside world?

With the influx of external vital energy, the rampant death energy within him gradually calmed, and the metallic taste in his throat was washed away.

Once his internal state stabilized, his tension eased, and he unexpectedly lost consciousness again, entirely unaware of when the Gluton Beast’s corpse in his hand turned to dust.

Golden sunlight, bright but not scorching, slanted into the room, and the eyelids of the person lying on the bed trembled slightly.

Bok Taejin opened his eyes and silently stared at the ceiling for a while.

Then, after briefly sensing his internal condition, he got up with a wry smile and walked outside.

The Taiji diagram in his dantian was still present and functioning, its rotation seemingly a little faster than before.

The speed at which gray energy was produced had indeed increased.

However, the small light at the center of his brow was now extremely dim—even his troubled intent could no longer approach it.

No matter how many questions he had, he could only keep them to himself.

Thinking carefully, he realized he had skipped breakfast today, and judging by the sky, he had missed lunch as well—it felt like he had skipped countless meals.

At this thought, his face stiffened.

Bok Taejin was shocked to realize that he had started measuring the day’s worth by how much he had eaten?!

He could only put all the blame on Im Beomhyeon.

It had to be because he had spent too much time with Im Beomhyeon that he was now infected by his foodie’s habits.

Bok Taejin first went to check the backyard.

The nine remaining radishes in the field were still growing vigorously, even taller than they had been in the morning.

He then walked to the open space outside the ancestral hall.

Though it was not mealtime yet, many strong men were bustling about, working with intense energy.

The ground was filled with laid-out game, making the large open space feel slightly cramped.

These animals were being prepared as meat provisions for the winter and the following year when it would be difficult to hunt in the mountains.

The amount of meat being processed was exceptionally abundant.

Some men were chopping meat, while others were rubbing salt into it.

Despite the late autumn weather, they wore thin clothes and still exuded steam from their bodies.

The women had lighter tasks, mostly applying various seasonings to the meat or pre-processing herbs and spices.

Each villager had their own role, turning what seemed like a chaotic process into something efficient and orderly.

As long as everyone did their part, the meat would be properly prepared in the end.

Bok Taejin was unfamiliar with the process and didn’t want to recklessly interfere.

It wasn’t just because he was inexperienced—more importantly, everyone was working within their skill range.

An extra person might just get in the way rather than help, and he would likely cause trouble rather than contribute.

He scanned the crowd but didn’t see Second Uncle—only Aunt Seo.

Just as he was about to ask Aunt Seo where Second Uncle had gone, he suddenly recalled that Second Uncle had mentioned yesterday that he planned to make medicinal ointments today.

Deciding not to disturb anyone, he quietly made his way to Second Uncle’s house.

At that moment, Aunt Seo, who had been pounding garlic, wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and looked up to rest her eyes for a moment—only to spot Bok Taejin.

Surprised and delighted, she immediately put down the pestle and walked quickly toward him.

"Taejin! You’re finally awake?!"

She grasped Bok Taejin’s hands, scrutinizing him from head to toe, then felt his forehead and squeezed his wrist.