The Second Eunuch Regains His Manhood

Chapter 19: The Basics of Charm

After taking the Hongyang Platform, I sat down in a lotus position, closed my eyes, and focused on the Energy Circulation Method.

Vwooom!

Hongyang Platform is an elixir filled with Yang energy. To absorb this Yang energy, I had to use the Minor Yang Heart Method.

Chanting the mantra of the Minor Yang Heart Method, I guided the Yang energy absorbed from the Hongyang Platform through my meridians.

Wooosh!

The hot Yang energy from the Hongyang Platform flowed through my meridians like waves.

Shudder!

My body trembled.

With the rising body temperature, my entire being felt like it was burning.

Just a slight misstep could lead to the Qi channels being eroded by the elixir’s Yang energy, turning me into a vegetable. Yet, I felt relaxed.

Although I didn’t have the vast internal energy I had in my past life, I bore the profound enlightenment I had attained at the realm of Hyun-gyeong firmly in my mind.

And there it was.

‘Yang energy! I’ve finally accepted the Yang energy!’

For the first time since my reincarnation, I was meeting real Yang energy instead of the trickles I had been absorbing through herbs and plants, and I was inwardly cheering.

Yang energy is the essence of masculinity, an energy that can be translated into vigor.

Naturally, accepting Yang energy was important.

Of course, as the saying goes, “Excess is as bad as deficiency,” excessively accumulating only Yang energy wouldn’t be good for the body.

Pure extreme Yang energy could indeed harm masculinity.

The Sun’s Extreme Meridian, a fate of short life, is a prime example of a man born with blocked Qi channels that causes problems in his sexual functions due to an overly strong Yang energy.

Everything needs a balance; adjusting the yin and yang is crucial.

However, since I didn’t have enough Yang energy to throw off that balance, I could convert this much Yang energy into vigor without straining my body.

Hoooh…

Slowly breathing, I directed the Yang energy from the Hongyang Platform through the pathways of the Minor Yang Heart Method.

It felt as hot as if lava were coursing through my veins.

It was a burning pain, like I had been scalded all over.

Ouch.

The saying that burning pain is the most horrible kind of pain isn’t just for show. It truly hurt.

But at the same time, I was happy.

This pain, this agony is a vivid proof that I was accepting Yang energy and converting it into vigor, a true growing pain.

Once this pain passes, I would become much stronger and more masculine with denser bones.

Kabooom!

The blazing Yang energy from the Hongyang Platform streamed into my entire body, burning away the stagnant energy within.

Although it wasn’t to the extent of cleansing my marrow and expelling all waste like Sahyeong, the Yang energy burned away about half of the stagnant energy that had accumulated over time.

The pathways that the Yang energy had passed through grew stronger and firmer along with the heat.

I could feel the remaining waste being expelled through my skin’s pores.

While I wouldn’t smell as much as Sahyeong, I was certain to emit some odors after completing the Energy Circulation Method.

Having burned through a significant amount of stagnant energy in my body, I expected my internal energy to flow more freely now.

But those effects didn’t matter.

‘It may not be a complete cleansing, but successfully expelling some waste will likely improve my skin.’

Hehehe.

I chuckled in my mind.

Although I hadn’t achieved the perfect cleansing I had hoped for, I would likely see some skin whitening effects since I expelled some stagnant energy.

At this rate, I wouldn’t need to worry about acne during adolescence.

Considering how even expensive laser treatments struggle to completely heal adolescent acne scars, an elixir that makes skin perfectly healthy is a secret that even modern dermatology cannot replicate.

Of course, absorbing the elixir wasn’t ending just here.

The real important part was now.

Hoo.

I let out a hot sigh as I continued to guide the Yang energy.

Drip drip drip.

The heat from the Yang energy caused sweat to pour down my forehead like rain.

Vwooom!

My dantian responded, filled with the Yang energy from the Minor Yang Heart Method.

Burning away the stagnant energy, cleansing the pathways, the Yang energy directed toward my dantian.

During this process, while the elixir’s essence spread through my entire body, the vital energy was absorbed.

To minimize the loss of essence and fully convert it into internal strength, I shouldn’t let the vital energy spread through my whole body like this.

I needed to gather all the effects toward my dantian and convert it into internal strength through my heart method.

The percentage of the essence contained in the elixir that would convert to internal strength is the key to consuming the elixir.

The lower the loss rate of the vital energy, the better the conversion rate into internal strength; that is the common knowledge of the Martial World.

But I was doing the opposite right now.

‘If I spread the essence of the elixir through my entire body rather than gathering it in my dantian, my body becomes healthier.’

Sometimes, ordinary folks, not martial artists, would find elixirs in secluded valleys and consume them.

What common people learn as a method, at best, would just be the Breath Regulation Method, and often, they wouldn’t have learned anything at all.

So, when a civilian consumes an elixir without any acquired method, it’s natural that the essence of the elixir wouldn’t gather in the dantian but spread through the whole body, residing within their bones and meridians.

In this case, instead of gaining internal strength, they would receive a healthy and vibrant body that guarantees longevity.

Am I going to be so vibrant as to guarantee longevity?

Being vibrant means having good foundational stamina.

Having good foundational stamina means having good vigor.

Exactly. Spreading the elixir’s essence throughout the whole body turned into increased vigor.

This isn’t theoretical; there are clear real-life examples.

‘Among those who found and consumed elixirs, there are men over ninety who still father children, men whose streams of urination are so powerful they overturn a chamber pot.’

All actual verified cases from my past life.

Men over ninety still producing a tremendous amount of male hormones, enjoying robust vigor!

The secret is taking in the Yang energy from the elixir through their whole body and bones.

Also, it wasn’t just stamina.

The bones infused with Yang energy transformed into a more masculine form.

In other words, I was taking a big step closer to achieving the ultimate physique of a chiseled alpha male that I so desired.

‘Indeed, vigor is far more important than internal strength.’

Which is more important, internal strength or vigor? It wasn’t even worth pondering.

Needless to say, vigor is far more important.

Anyway, just as I pushed the vital energy to the very limits in my bones and meridians, I directed the remaining essence toward my dantian.

Vwooom!

According to the mysteries of the Minor Yang Heart Method, the essence directed into the dantian was wholly converted into internal strength.

Hoo.

Having finished absorbing the elixir, I let out one last hot sigh.

I could feel the hot Yang strength filling up my dantian.

After measuring, the amount of dormant internal strength in my dantian was equivalent to fifteen years.

Comparing this with my pre-elixir condition, where I had less than a year’s worth of internal strength, it was a remarkable improvement.

I gathered the remaining energy and opened my eyes.

Hehehe.

The corners of my mouth lifted automatically.

The hazy vision gradually cleared up.

Along with that, the waste dampening my clothes and the stench rising from it brushed against my nose.

It wasn’t as pungent as the stench when I performed the perfect cleansing, but to my sensitive sense of smell, it was still quite odorous.

And I had no intention of leaving this stench unattended.

‘Cleanliness is the essence of charm.’

In the medieval Martial World, my face cannot be changed due to my fate.

But aside from my face, other parts can be changed entirely with effort.

To capture the hearts of women, it was essential to cultivate a man’s charm.

And I knew that the first step of charm came from cleanliness.

Even in modern times, when women look at men, the very first thing they notice, the aspect they are sensitive about, is cleanliness.

Naturally, a clean man scores better on first impressions than a dirty one.

Unless you’re a handsome man who combines the beauty of Song Ok and Ban An, no woman would prefer a guy with greasy hair and body odor.

‘Damn Sahyeong, he smells like wildflowers even without bathing.’

That’s precisely why Sahyeong was enviable.

A perfect face, with a body that smells like wildflowers even without bathing.

If it weren’t for his gynecomastia, he’d truly be a perfect scam character.

But since I wasn’t some scam character like Sahyeong, maintaining cleanliness was fundamental to winning over a woman’s heart, and furthermore, it was the secret logic of color spectrum that could lead a beautiful woman onto the bed and into the cloud and rain pleasure.

Moreover, this was the medieval Martial World, where hygiene concepts are lower than modern times.

Simply keeping my cleanliness based on modern standards would earn me bonus points in winning women’s hearts.

Thus, I always carried dried herbs in my pocket to make a scent pouch and crafted handmade soap out of ash and oil to bathe daily in the creek.

‘Anyway, I need to wash up.’

Thinking that, I looked around.

This was the secret cave where the legendary Primordial Sword Technique, the greatest swordsman in the world produced by the Gongdong Sect, had secluded himself in his later years.

According to legends, the Primordial Sword Technique transcended Hyun-gyeong and reached the Boundary of Life and Death.

Still, no matter how transcendent a master at the Boundary of Life and Death, he was human, meaning he would undoubtedly need to relieve himself and clean his body.

So there had to be some sort of bathing facility that the Primordial Sword Technique created somewhere in this secret cave.

Since Sahyeong wasn’t here, it was clear that he had already finished his perfect cleansing and left to find a bath to wash away his waste.

I sent my energy through my ears and utilized the mysteries of Cheonli Ji Cheongsul to enhance my hearing.

Drip drip drip.

I heard the sound of water flowing from a passage next to the table.

That’s likely a bathing area.

I thought that as I grabbed the soap-filled container and a cloth for drying and headed toward the passage.

Standing in front of the dim passage lit by the Night Pearl, I could hear the water sound more clearly.

It seemed that was indeed a bathing area.

But I wouldn’t be reckless enough to step into the bath and commit the foolish act of barging in.

‘Those are Sahyeong’s footprints.’

I found Sahyeong’s traces at the entrance of the passage.

Since there were no signs of exit, it was obvious that Sahyeong was inside, washing himself.

If I went in now, I would surely run into a naked Sahyeong.

As I thought that, I felt my bones quiver.

‘Washing together with a man in the nude? No way!’

Bathing with another man, naked.

Just the thought of that terrifying and horrific idea sent chills down my spine, making my back and butt cold and sweat trickle down.

My purity had already been taken away.

I wasn’t foolish enough to take my life in such a situation by bathing with a male Sahyeong.

I didn’t want to end up in a mishap while picking up soap in the bath.

“Sahyeong! Are you currently bathing?”

My voice, infused with qi, echoed through the passage.

“Ugh, yeah! Saje! I’m bathing right now! So, d-don’t come in! Absolutely!”

Immediately, Sahyeong’s embarrassed voice echoed back.

Not entering while bathing with another man.

At first, I thought it was a bit unexpected, but upon reflection, it made sense.

‘He caught me noticing his gynecomastia earlier.’

Even in modern times, gynecomastia is an embarrassing condition to show others.

Let alone in this medieval Martial World, where the difference between men and women is emphasized, showing gynecomastia to others was out of the question.

Thanks to the Mita Sacred Water that I used for the perfect cleansing, my bones had transformed more feminine, enhancing the gynecomastia even further.

Though he didn’t have to say that, I had no intention of entering.

“Understood! Sahyeong! I’ll wait at the entrance, so please finish bathing and come out!”

“Got it! Saje! Thanks!”

Hearing Sahyeong’s reply, I leaned against the wall near the entrance.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Beyond the entrance, the sound of water and Sahyeong washing himself echoed.

The sound of a man bathing was horrifying, like dirt was being fouled in my hearing.

I immediately blocked my hearing with my internal energy.

A pleasant stillness enveloped me.

Yes.

Now it feels a lot better.

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