The Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda (10)
When Madam Ryeo finished meditating, Jin Somyeong spoke to her.
"How do you feel?"
"Better, thanks to you."
He nodded as he looked at her wry smile. Her complexion had brightened considerably; it seemed her condition was not bad.
"I've owed you a great deal since the Moonlit Golden Grass, Fellow Daoist Jin. I don't know how I'm supposed to repay this debt..."
Her tone was playful, but the sincerity beneath it was unmistakable.
At the very least, she knows what gratitude is.
That was a relief. Considering the proposal he was about to make, it was a good sign.
"A debt, is it... In that case, why don't we do this?"
"Pardon?"
Her shoulders gave a slight twitch. Was she nervous that he might ask for something outrageous?
Jin Somyeong gave a small laugh and waved a hand as if it were nothing.
"First, there is something I would like to ask you about formations. Would that be all right?"
"Ah... of course."
Perhaps she was relieved that the request was so trivial. As she gave him a look that said she found him ridiculous, he pointed toward the restriction.
"I don't know if you are aware of this, Madam Ryeo, but when one breaks a restriction like that inside this secret realm, there is an extremely dense concentration of spiritual qi inside."
"Dense spiritual qi?"
"Yes. Enough that two days of cultivation can accumulate half a year's worth of magical power. Ah, since this is the second floor, I suppose it would be closer to a full year. In any case, the concentration of spiritual qi is extraordinarily high."
"Wow... That's far higher than what my investigations outside suggested."
Her eyes widened in surprise, and Jin Somyeong continued.
"What I want to know is whether that spiritual qi can be contained with a formation. The moment the restriction breaks, most of the qi leaks out. It feels like a waste."
It was like trying to drink water from a jar whose bottom had been smashed open. No matter how fast Jin Somyeong cultivated, far more spiritual qi escaped through the cracks than he could absorb.
"So you want to know whether a Soul-Gathering Formation can trap the spiritual qi. The difficulty of setting one up varies wildly depending on the environment, but..."
She sank into thought as though calculating something, then nodded.
"It should be possible. If the flow of spiritual qi is too turbulent, I won't be able to stop it completely, but I should be able to slow the rate at which it leaks out."
"By how much, specifically?"
"Well... even at worst, it should be ten times slower."
"Oh."
Interpreted another way, her words meant the spiritual qi inside the restriction would effectively increase tenfold. If so, even sharing that qi with Madam Ryeo would not be a loss. It would be a gain.
"Forgive me for asking, but may I know why you are trying to reach the third floor?"
By this point, she seemed to have noticed his intention. Asking after her objective meant he was considering proposing that they travel together. If they were to move as companions, their goals at least could not be in direct conflict.
"Do you want me to set up Soul-Gathering Formations for you?"
"Yes. If it puts you in a difficult position, you are free to refuse."
For some reason, she fell silent and thought for a dozen seconds before nodding.
"All right. I believe you are someone I can trust, Fellow Daoist Jin. But could you promise me just one thing?"
"What is it?"
"If you obtain any Myriad Soul Tree Fruit, give me one. No, two. In exchange, you may take everything else, no matter what it is."
He paused at the boldness of the offer.
The Myriad Soul Tree... He felt as though he had heard of it in passing. It was a fourth-realm spiritual tree with the ability to heal souls damaged by curses or arts. For Jin Somyeong, whose soul was perfectly intact, it was not particularly necessary. Yielding it would not be difficult.
Still, she says I can take everything else. Does she even know what might be on the third floor? Is she certain she won't regret this?
It seemed the mental restriction was causing her to desire only the Myriad Soul Tree Fruit with blind fixation. It left a sour taste in his mouth, as if he were taking advantage of a sick person.
"...In my opinion, Madam, you are not yet in your right mind. Please try taking this first."
"Pardon?"
He held out the White Jade Serenity Heart Grass he had obtained after breaking a restriction on the second floor. Since this spiritual herb was especially effective against heart demons, eating it should allow her to escape the influence of the mental restriction, even if only temporarily.
I was planning to give it to her anyway. Might as well do it now.
After all, he had no intention of traveling with someone whose mind had been warped by a mental restriction. He still had more than twenty stalks of White Jade Serenity Heart Grass left, so it was hardly a precious loss.
Madam Ryeo accepted the snow-white herb in bewilderment and murmured, "White Jade Serenity Heart Grass?"
"Since you seem to know what kind of spiritual herb it is, I need not explain its effects. Eat it first, then we can speak again."
"If this went up for auction, it would fetch a considerable price... It feels a little wasteful. I'm perfectly fine."
Her hesitation irritated him, so he simply gestured for her to hurry up and eat. With a sigh, she raised her magical power.
Crack.
The spiritual herb crumbled into powder, transformed into light, and vanished into her mouth.
Seeing her eat it without further hesitation, he suddenly felt mischievous.
"What would you do if that were poison, eating it so readily?"
"...!"
She flinched and thumped her chest with her fist. Apparently, it had caught in her throat.
Her face flushed red as she glared at him, then finally swallowed the rest of the herb. Several minutes passed.
Once Madam Ryeo had completely digested the White Jade Serenity Heart Grass, she spoke in a sharp tone.
"Don't joke like that. Why would you give me poison, Fellow Daoist Jin?"
"I might."
When he said it with a smirk, she snorted.
"And why would you bother? If someone as strong as you ordered me to do something, a powerless woman like me would have no choice but to obey."
"Huh..."
Now that he thought about it, her reason for trusting him was perfectly clear. An absolute difference in strength. She was far more rational than he had expected.
In any case, she seemed to have returned to her senses, so he resumed their conversation.
"Are you truly all right with me taking everything except the Myriad Soul Tree Fruit?"
"I'm not the sort of person who forgets a favor."
Her answer was so firm that he found himself impressed. It seemed he had chosen a good companion.
"...Very well. Depending on what we obtain, I will make sure you receive a fair share."
"I won't decline that much."
Jin Somyeong nodded and took out a flying vessel, the Black Jade Flying Boat. If the two of them were going to travel together, it would be more convenient to use a vehicle.
"This runs on Spirit Stones, so it should help us conserve magical power. We can take turns controlling it until we reach the third floor."
Whoosh.
The Black Jade Flying Boat carrying the two of them shot across the sky and began making its way toward the stone tower.
"By the way, what kind of spiritual object are you going to the third floor to find, Fellow Daoist Jin?"
"Anything that helps improve my realm will do."
"Even so, if you had to choose what you wanted most?"
"A Nascent Soul spiritual object, naturally."
"Ah, so you're aiming for the Void Shadow True Flower Grass."
"Void Shadow True Flower Grass? Is that a spiritual object necessary to reach the Nascent Soul stage?"
"As far as I know, yes. I heard it's an essential ingredient in making the Nascent Soul Pill."
Jin Somyeong's eyes widened.
To think he would obtain information about the Nascent Soul stage so suddenly. This was an unexpected harvest.
Jin Somyeong had done his own investigation into the Nascent Soul stage, so he knew of the Nascent Soul Pill. If one had to pick a single thing necessary for advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, nine times out of ten, the answer would be the Nascent Soul Pill.
His goal grew a little clearer.
Void Shadow True Flower Grass. As he repeated those five words to himself, Madam Ryeo, who had been watching him quietly, spoke as if the thought had only just occurred to her.
"Come to think of it, we haven't even properly exchanged names. I am Ryeo Jeong."
He considered it for a moment, then decided there was no harm in giving her at least his name.
"I am Jin Somyeong."
"Jin Somyeong."
She murmured his name slowly, as if determined to remember it, and he gave a small laugh.
"It would be best if you did not go around telling others that you know me."
"...Why not?"
"I have many enemies."
Her face, which had stiffened for a moment, relaxed at once. She snorted as if to say, Is that all?
"My, how remarkable. As it happens, so do I."
At the very moment Jin Somyeong set out for the third floor, a mountain cultivator named Sa Cheonung had already arrived there.
No one could have reached the third floor before me.
Ever since he was young, he had understood his own greatest strength quite well. He was absurdly lucky, and after entering the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda, he had felt the truth of that all over again.
To think a mental restriction was added. What a blessing.
Sa Cheonung's natal magic treasure was the Heavenly Favor Heart-Spirit Bell. Whatever else the bell might lack, its ability to protect the mind was first-rate.
Jingle...
As the bell's sound rang out, his head cleared. The desire swelling in his heart subsided. Thanks to the Heavenly Favor Heart-Spirit Bell, he could maintain his reason even under the influence of the mental restriction.
Let's not get too greedy.
Sa Cheonung's plan was simple. Before the other competitors reached the third floor, he would break through a restriction as quickly as possible, obtain several fourth-realm spiritual herbs, then hide somewhere secluded.
Good. Let's begin.
The moment he formed a hand seal, a golden firebird appeared in midair and charged toward the restriction.
Boom!
A noise loud enough to make his head ache erupted.
"Guh!"
The firebird reflected by the restriction came hurtling back several times faster than before. Sa Cheonung barely managed to block it with a spell, then broke out in a cold sweat.
...This is much trickier than I expected.
The restriction's counterattack was far too fierce. He had nearly died an absurd death. But after coming this far, he could not give up. He gritted his teeth and attacked the restriction with all his strength.
And then—
"Friend. What are you doing making all that racket? I can't sleep."
"Hup!"
The voice came from right beside him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. Sa Cheonung instinctively retreated in terror, only to find a scrawny old man covered in wrinkles staring at him while yawning.
He used every sense he possessed to examine the other man, but could not glean a single shred of information. What that meant was obvious. The old man, who looked as though he might drop dead at any moment, was a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Damn it. A Nascent Soul cultivator entered the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda? Is he not afraid of being bewitched by the tower?
While cursing the man inwardly with every insult he knew, Sa Cheonung beamed on the outside. Pouring every ounce of effort into creating a friendly smile, he clasped his hands and greeted the old man respectfully.
"This junior greets Senior. If there is anything you command, I will gladly obey."
"Senior? I'm a senior?"
"A-are you not?"
Sa Cheonung stammered despite himself, but the old man paid no attention. He only looked around, tilting his head.
"But where did Yeongjin go?"
"Pardon? Who, er... might Yeongjin be...?"
"You don't know that? My, my... Who was he again?"
There was no context to the conversation. At this point, Sa Cheonung had no choice but to sense that something was wrong.
Keeping his head lowered so as not to provoke a Nascent Soul expert, he carefully observed the old man and realized the truth.
He's not sane.
The old man groaned and clutched his own head, and there was no reason in his eyes. They were merely hollow and light. From his tone of speech to his every movement, he was like a child.
"Yeongjin! Where did Yeongjin go? Your father is calling, and you won't come out? You ill-mannered brat! Do you know how I raised you?"
In other words... he was a senile old man.
This was completely different from having one's desires amplified by the mental restriction. It seemed his mind had collapsed because of the tower itself. Whoever this Yeongjin was, the old man had been bellowing for him to come out at once when he suddenly scrunched up his face.
"Friend. Do you have anything to eat? I'm hungry."
Sa Cheonung, at a loss for what to do and drenched in cold sweat, felt the corner of his eye twitch.
To think he had encountered a Nascent Soul old monster who could not even be reasoned with. Perhaps he needed to take back what he had said about being lucky.
"Er..."
"I said I'm hungry!"
The scrawny old man merely shouted, yet Sa Cheonung's knees went weak. Was this what it felt like for an ordinary mortal, one who had never cultivated, to stand before a tiger?
He forced his body, which was about to lock up, to move. Desperately, he rummaged through his storage pouch. He pulled out the first edible thing his hand found, then froze.
He had been so nervous that he had taken out the most precious fruit he possessed.
Guh! I suffered for fifty years to obtain this.
Swallowing tears of blood inwardly, he respectfully offered up the peach-like spiritual fruit. Since it had come to this, he decided he might as well establish some connection with this Nascent Soul expert.
"This is a Purple Cloud Spirit Fruit. If consumed, it will purify one's magical power and—"
Whoosh.
Before he could finish speaking, the fruit vanished from his hand.
...Madness.
The Purple Cloud Spirit Fruit was already in the old man's hand, but Sa Cheonung could not understand what method he had used to take it.
His shock lasted only a moment.
Crunch.
The Purple Cloud Spirit Fruit Sa Cheonung had spent fifty years gathering Spirit Stones to buy disappeared into the old man's mouth.
The old man chewed the fruit with a childish giggle, then paused.
"...Hm?"
His eyes widened as though he had experienced something unbelievable, and he glared down at the Purple Cloud Spirit Fruit.
They said it tastes heavenly. I wonder what it tastes like.
For some reason, Sa Cheonung swallowed, his heart pounding.
Then, very slowly, after moving his jaw a few more times, the old man gagged as though he had eaten filth. His brow furrowed deeply, and he looked at Sa Cheonung with pity in his eyes.
"Friend. You were poor."
"Pardon?"
"Is this the sort of thing you usually live on? Ugh, you poor thing."
The old man looked as though he might burst into tears. He squeezed his eyes shut and chewed the rest of the Purple Cloud Spirit Fruit. He choked it down like a man suffering punishment, as if he could not bear to spit out something a friend had given him.
"..."
For a moment, Sa Cheonung went blank and doubted his own ears.
After gobbling down the Purple Cloud Spirit Fruit he had worked so hard to obtain, what did that old bastard say? Before Sa Cheonung realized it, his clenched fist was trembling.