The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan

Episode 1

 

Living with an unhealthy body in the Three Realms was akin to breathing with guilt instead of a heart, and it felt much like inhaling through blood rather than air. Danmoknyeon’s relatively short life in the martial world was no exception.

 

The backs of adults always seemed distant, and her younger sibling, who stood behind her, had moved ahead with the passage of time.

 

However, no one could prevent the imminent collapse of the martial world and the crumbling of the family in the hands of the resurging Blood River Gorge.

 

When death approached, it was almost a relief.

 

The excruciating pain, as if the body were pierced by needles everywhere, and the agony of watching one’s family endure suffering without being able to change anything—all of it would finally come to an end.

 

Finally, it was the end…

 

But it wasn’t.

 

* * *

 

“I don’t understand….”

 

A young girl sat on a bed with a serious expression.

 

Despite looking pale and frail due to illness, her eyes sparkled like stars within her pale face.

 

‘How? How did I come back to life? And not just come back to life, but reversing time…?’

 

The girl, Danmoknyeon, looked down at her shortened limbs and wrapped her head with her hands.

 

She had died. The memory of her death was vivid.

 

The pain that had tormented her throughout her life slowly faded away as she entered a long sleep that seemed to last forever. Buried in the earth, she had lingered in the world for a long time.

 

Suddenly, she was sucked into somewhere, witnessed too much, and then regained consciousness, finding herself in the present.

 

Observing the myriad things, the past and future, familiar and unfamiliar places.

 

‘And all this time, I was….’

As Ryeon pondered her hazy memories, a sigh burst forth from her lips like thunder.

 

“Ah!”

 

However, before Ryeon could reflect on what she had just recalled, someone entered from outside.

 

“Young miss, are you awake?”

 

The person entering was Jang, the nurse who had taken care of Ryeon since her birth.

 

Jang always smiled when she looked at her, and there were gentle wrinkles around her eyes.

 

“Nu…rse.”

 

“Young miss, there’s medicine today. After taking the medicine, you can have some porridge.”

 

Next to a white ceramic bowl that almost seemed translucent was a plate of medicine coated with a thin layer of sugar. However, Ryeon, familiar with the taste of the medicine, frowned.

 

“…Do I have to take medicine and even eat porridge?”

 

“Don’t say such things.”

 

Jang said sternly. Unable to refuse, Ryeon reluctantly took the bowl of medicine.

 

Jang had always taken care of her meticulously. During the seven years Ryeon had been lying down, unable to leave her side even for a moment, Jang had been there for her.

 

Knowing how much Jang had worried and agonized over her, Ryeon couldn’t just refuse to take the medicine.

 

Gulping down the medicine with determination and squinting her eyes, Ryeon saw Jang looking at her with a delighted expression. It seemed as if tears were on the verge of spilling from her eyes.

 

Once again opening her eyes, Ryeon saw that everyone in the household had a similar reaction.

 

Every time Ryeon attempted to say something, her lips quivered; every time she wrinkled her nose at the bitter medicine or let her expression melt after eating sweet dried persimmons, it seemed like everyone’s hearts were swelling, and tears were welling up.

 

How could they not!

 

“I haven’t come to my senses for seven years. I’ve returned to this time.”

 

For some reason, Ryeon’s spirit had bounced back right after her birth.

 

Thus, for seven years, her body, reduced to a mere shell, had been lying down helplessly. If no one had lifted her up, she would have remained lying down forever, and she wouldn’t eat anything unless forced. She neither cried nor laughed, nor did she speak.

 

Then, in an attempt to awaken herself somehow in the Three Realms, she decided to try the grand method known as “Worm Bathing,” a spell usually cast on newborns. It rapidly establishes the foundation, corrects the muscles and bones, and is suitable for shaping a body for learning martial arts.

 

It wasn’t a cure for illness, but with the determination to grasp at straws, they forcibly carried it out.

 

“Mother was so… even though we didn’t know if this expensive method would work or not, she just decided to try it.”

 

“Worm Bathing” is a spell typically cast on newborns. It establishes a solid foundation, corrects the muscles and bones, and shapes the body for martial arts practice.

 

Surprisingly, despite not being a conventional treatment, this method worked!

After the successful completion of the grand spell, Ryeon miraculously cleared her mind and rose from her bed.

 

For the first time, the small child began to express various emotions and speak. How would the adults feel watching her achieve these milestones?

 

Her mother, who had cried seeing Ryeon regain consciousness and had partly fainted from the overwhelming emotions, was now being attended to by the nurse.

 

Jang, the nurse, seemed to be feeling emotional as well, quickly wiping away tears and placing a bowl of medicine in front of Ryeon.

 

“Oh dear, how can you be so well-mannered?”

 

Thinking that the sweet persimmons were better than bitter medicine, Ryeon cautiously observed Jang’s reaction.

 

“Nurse, listen. I want to go outside. Just to the garden in front here.”

 

“I will inquire with the elders and get permission for you, young miss.”

 

Saying so, Jang lifted Ryeon gently, patting her back as if comforting a child. The young girl, who had lived like a doll for seven years, was still too small to be called seven years old.

 

* * *

 

As soon as the nurse, who thought she had put Ryeon to sleep, quietly left, Ryeon abruptly stood up, grabbed a mirror, and infused a verdant energy that emanated from her fingertips.

 

Simultaneously, letters began to appear on the mirror. If someone had witnessed this scene, they would have been astonished and dumbfounded by the mystical nature of this technique.

 

[User Confirmation: Danmoknyeon]

 

[Viewing mode adjusted for convenience… ■■□□□]

 

Below this, a sentence began to slowly move from right to left.

 

[Displaying information that the user can comprehend.]

 

[Presenting information in the most easily understandable viewing mode.]

 

As the viewing mode changed, one square after another was filled in gradually, until all five squares were completed.

 

[■■■□□]

 

[■■■■□]

 

[■■■■■]

 

[Modification Complete!]

 

[The Immortal Mirror starts revealing itself!]

“‘Viewing mode adjusted for the user to comprehend most quickly….'”

 

It meant she had tailored the situation to be quickly and easily understood.

 

“Darn it. Is that the best my wit can come up with?”

 

That… well, she couldn’t deny it.

 

“Coming back from the dead is quite something….”

 

During the time she roamed the heavenly realm as a spirit after her death, she witnessed a lot and learned even more than that. To understand is to comprehend, and comprehension means it can be revealed once again.

 

Although returning to the past erased most of what her body couldn’t bear, like a person can’t go back to not knowing what they’ve learned once, Ryeon could access the knowledge engraved in her spirit through her experience in the heavenly realm. Only as much as she could handle and in a way she could understand—that was the method right now.

 

Suppressing embarrassment, Ryeon steadfastly glared at the mirror. Soon, characters, as if written with ink, gracefully emerged on the surface.

 

Exactly like this.

 

**Danmoknyeon**

 

**Attributes: Infinite Fountain of Spiritual Energy / Partially Known / Mourned by Evil Spirits / Sickly Flower in a Greenhouse**

 

**Harmony: 7th Grade**

 

**Insight: 2nd Grade**

 

**Purification: 1st Grade**

 

**Health: 3 / 100**

 

**Internal Energy: Unable to Acquire**

 

**External Energy: Not Acquired**

 

**Disposition: Measurement Error**

 

**Five Elements: Measurement Error**

 

**Spiritual Energy: 76 / 100**

 

**Warning: Maintain Spiritual Energy below 50. Prolonged maintenance of this state for more than two months will lead to death.**

 

“‘As much as possible, a mirror showing things in a way I can understand….'”

 

However, knowing how to see and having the ability were entirely different matters. Most of the attributes were remarkably simple. Health was at 100 with only 3, External Energy was unacquired, and Internal Energy was in an unacquired state.

“‘Unable to acquire Internal Energy at all.'”

 

Ryeon sighed, wrapping her head around it. Meanwhile, the Spiritual Energy attribute alone soared to the point where it could pierce the sky.

 

This was the biggest obstacle in her life.

 

In the martial world, where one couldn’t reach the pinnacle solely with External Energy, the inability to cultivate Internal Energy was a significant drawback. Despite the fact that she had died because the vessel of her physical body shattered due to the excessive outpouring of Spiritual Energy, how could she avoid this while surviving as a martial artist in this world?

 

In her past life, she couldn’t learn martial arts because she couldn’t accumulate Internal Energy.

 

Disposition and the Five Elements were labeled as measurement errors, and amid all this, the Spiritual Energy blinked in a vivid red color. Below it, a ‘Warning’ was displayed.

 

**Warning: Maintain Spiritual Energy below 50. Prolonged maintenance of this state for more than two months will lead to death.**

 

Yes, the most important thing now was the two months remaining in her life.

 

‘Maintain Spiritual Energy below 50?’

 

Still, even though the value was clearly visible, it brought a bit of relief to her anxious mind.

 

Whatever it took, she just had to lower it below 50. She didn’t know how to achieve that, but at least she had a clear number to aim for.

 

“What’s up with this attribute again….”

 

Terms like ‘Mourned by Evil Spirits’ or ‘Partially Known’ were a bit confusing, but ‘Infinite Fountain of Spiritual Energy’ and ‘Sickly Flower in a Greenhouse’ were understandable.

 

The reason she finally succumbed to death before her regression! It was due to her body being unable to control the overflowing Spiritual Energy, causing endless discomfort.

 

But now, it was different.

 

Ryeon clenched her fist tightly. For reasons unknown, she had somehow returned to the past.

 

She now knew why she had been in pain all this time. She also knew how to be healthy.

 

“In the future, I’ll definitely show that I can be safe, unharmed, and live a long life without any illnesses…!”