Closed-Door Cultivation
When Jin Somyeong arrived at the Red Sun Sect, he turned to Beom Chang, who had followed along at his side.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go collect the Spirit Stones and be right back.”
“Uh, yeah. No—yes, sir.”
The moment they were alone, Beom Chang had reverted to the demeanor of a deferential servant. Leaving him there, Jin Somyeong headed for a certain cave dwelling and began pounding on the entrance formation without hesitation.
Thud, thud, thud!
“Senior Sister Sim! Please come out for a moment!”
After some time, Sim U-yeon appeared in thin, casual robes and shot him a glare. Perhaps he had irritated her; her tone was distinctly cold.
“Junior Brother Jin? Why are you here? Don’t tell me something happened to Beom Chang.”
“Nothing of the sort. You promised to give me three hundred Spirit Stones, Senior Sister. In fact, I came by this morning hoping to receive them before the grand auction, but you weren’t here.”
“...You really are shameless. You actually came to collect Spirit Stones from me?”
Who was calling whom shameless?
The way she treated a broken promise as only natural was exactly what one would expect from a disciple of the Red Sun Sect. Jin Somyeong could only sigh. Then, staring straight into her face, he spoke clearly, one word at a time.
“Senior Sister. Did you really think I learned nothing at all, and that I performed the surveillance mission on Cheong Hwa-ran half-heartedly?”
“Oh? Are you trying to say you had results but gave me a sloppy report anyway?”
“Of course.”
Sim U-yeon gave a nasal little hum, as if amused, then smirked.
“Fine. A promise is a promise. But don’t misunderstand. I’m giving them to you because I like that boldness of yours.”
Her finger tapped her storage pouch, and a heap of Spirit Stones floated up into the air. Sim U-yeon jerked her chin as if telling him to take them. Jin Somyeong gave her a polite greeting, collected all three hundred Spirit Stones, then paused.
“I’m asking purely out of curiosity, but why did you tell me to look for that cultivator named Wang Shin?”
“Why? Did you happen to find a trace of him?”
“No. No matter how I look at it, he doesn’t seem like anything special. Since you insisted I find him, I was wondering. It’s troublesome.”
When Jin Somyeong shrugged, Sim U-yeon answered with an air of disappointment.
“He’s a mountain hand who used to run errands for the junior brother who had your mission before you. So if you find Wang Shin, don’t report it officially. Tell me separately. I’ll at least give you some Spirit Stones for it.”
“Understood.”
Jin Somyeong gave a casual nod and left at once. He had confirmed what he had secretly wanted to know—whether Wang Shin had been a spy—and now he had no further business with Sim U-yeon.
He returned to Beom Chang and held out a pouch.
“Here are the Spirit Stones I borrowed.”
“Huh. You actually brought them back. To think there was someone else in our Red Sun Sect you were close to, little brother...”
“It’s not important, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, take these for me.”
Jin Somyeong pulled a thick stack of paper from his robes, then began sweeping his brush across them without the slightest hesitation.
I attempted to infiltrate the Blue Flood Dragon Gang again this month, but failed.
The guards of the Blue Flood Dragon Gang are unusually vigilant. For reference, their cultivation is at the mid stage of Qi Refining.
Cheong Hwa-ran appears to be focused on cultivation. She does not come out from within the formation.
...
Before Beom Chang’s eyes, he rapidly wrote up dozens of reports. Had it even taken three minutes?
A full year’s worth of reports was completed, and Jin Somyeong handed them over just like that.
“L-Little brother. This isn’t what I think it is, right?”
Beom Chang asked with desperate hope in his eyes, but the answer was perfectly clear.
“They’re mission reports. I wrote a year’s worth in advance, so please submit them whenever you have time, Brother.”
“Cough.”
Beom Chang’s mouth hung open. Unable to say a word, he accepted the reports like a broken puppet. Jin Somyeong grinned broadly and cupped his fist.
“I am always grateful for your hard work, Brother. Then I’ll be focusing on cultivation for the next year.”
Whoosh!
Jin Somyeong even cast Wind Riding Art as he returned to his cave dwelling, then activated the formation. He shut off every line of contact as if preparing for true closed-door cultivation.
Until the secret realm opened, he intended to care about absolutely nothing and devote himself solely to cultivation.
It felt somewhat reckless, but that did not matter. After all, the moment he came out of the Red Cloud Secret Realm, he planned to leave the Red Cloud market entirely.
Putting all useless matters out of his mind, he began his cultivation in earnest.
Shrring!
The instant he drew the Boundless Divine Sword...
“Ah.”
The cold touch of metal cleared his mind. A famed sword, it was said, did more than merely cut—it defended and protected its master. He felt as if he and the sword had become one body.
For one who cultivated the sword, being able to hold such a weapon was a profound happiness. From the moment he had first grasped it at the auction house, he had wanted nothing more than to train with it.
He had been curious what would happen if he performed the Cloud-Stepping Sword Art, which he had been diligently practicing, with the Boundless Divine Sword.
Swish!
He performed the Cloud-Stepping Sword Art from beginning to end. The sharp cry of the wind pleased his ears. As though something he had pressed down and endured had finally burst free, he began swinging the sword without restraint.
“Ah...”
As time passed, his spirit grew increasingly exalted. Almost like a man intoxicated by wine, he thrust and cut along the path guided by the Boundless Divine Sword.
At the same time, he felt the ideal pursued by the Cloud-Stepping Sword Art.
To sense and twist the flow of force, to break free from every pressure in the world, and become as unbound as a cloud.
The instant he realized it, a boiling heat surged up from his dantian and escaped through the sword’s tip.
Slash!
A keen energy extended from his cut and sliced through the barrier. The powerful formation linked to the high-grade spirit vein shook violently.
“...Sword Qi.”
Jin Somyeong muttered blankly and examined the blade. There was no way he could fail to understand what the faint haze flowing along its edge meant.
The mark of an immortal who wielded the sword. The proof of a sword cultivator—Sword Qi—had come into his hand.
It was the change that had occurred as the Cloud-Stepping Sword Art advanced beyond entry level and into proficiency.
“...I became a sword cultivator.”
Sword Qi grew alongside a sword cultivator, becoming stronger without end. It would be of immense help in his future training.
For a long while, he stood there motionless, overcome by an emotion he could not quite name.
One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws.
It was the most famous phrase used to describe sword cultivators.
A true sword cultivator could cut through ten thousand laws with a single sword.
Click.
Carefully sheathing the blade, Jin Somyeong raised one finger. The instant he released his will to cut, a sharp sword wind coiled around his fingertip.
He had learned Sword Qi through the Boundless Divine Sword, but it was not a power subordinate to the sword itself. Since he could use Sword Qi barehanded as well, it meant that his own skill had genuinely grown stronger.
Yes. I learned it. It feels as if I was taught.
Glance.
As he looked at the pitch-black treasured sword hidden proudly in its sheath, he almost wanted to bow to it. If this thing had been capable of speech, would he not have taken it as his master?
After opening his eyes in this merciless world, he had encountered kind instruction for the first time. He was moved enough to feel genuine gratitude.
Jin Somyeong stroked the scabbard in admiration, then sank into thought.
They say a sword wielded by a true master can turn even an ordinary iron blade into a divine sword.
When a sword immortal who had reached a high realm swung a sword, sword intent remained behind. If one had the karmic connection, one could gain enlightenment by witnessing that sword intent.
Who in the world used this sword before?
Curious, Jin Somyeong observed the Boundless Divine Sword more closely. He even held the sword while trying the various minor spells and cultivation arts he had collected so far.
Now that I look at it, it only reacts to martial arts...?
Strangely, he did not feel as if it offered instruction when he used immortal arts. There had been a reason the Thousand Treasures Pavilion failed to properly recognize this sword and sold it cheaply.
Instruction specialized for martial arts?
Other cultivators would find it difficult even to notice, and even if they did, it would mean little to them.
Could this have been the sword of someone who reached astonishing heights through martial arts?
Of course, martial arts were not the only sword-wielding techniques in this world. As mentioned before, there were also sword cultivators, immortals who made the sword their primary path.
Still, because the sword reacted so well to martial arts, he judged that its previous owner was likely a martial artist.
Or perhaps the sword’s spirituality was damaged, and it can’t respond to arts with too many omissions, like immortal techniques.
He could not know the truth, but in fact, it was not all that important. What mattered most was how he would use the special nature this sword possessed.
Thump.
After swinging the sword for quite some time, Jin Somyeong sat down cross-legged. Practicing the Cloud-Stepping Sword Art was enjoyable, but he could not neglect his other training.
Inhale...
Dense spiritual energy seeped into his lungs with his breath. How long had he focused while reciting the formula of the Ojangbaekryeongyeol?
The pressure of the spiritual energy he continuously absorbed grew greater and greater, to the point where it exceeded the limit his lungs could endure.
Then Jin Somyeong’s eyes snapped open, and he tossed a Blood Qi Pill into his mouth.
Boom!
The energy that crossed the critical point began destroying his lungs. At the same time, the condensed energy transformed into blood qi and restored his living tissue.
Kh...
He gritted his teeth and endured the pain. To evolve his lungs—one of the five viscera—into a spiritual organ, he had to withstand this agony.
Forcibly ignoring the terrible pain that seemed to tear him apart from the inside, he focused on absorbing spiritual energy.
Hsssss...
He gathered even the energy seeping in through his skin and guided it all into his lungs. Destruction and regeneration repeated without end.
“Hoo...”
After concentrating for a long while, he breathed out turbid air.
The “Hundred Refinements” in Five Viscera Hundred Refinements Art meant exactly that—a hundred refinements. It was not an art that could be completed overnight.
After resting briefly, he sat cross-legged once more. He had trained the Cloud-Stepping Sword Art and the Ojangbaekryeongyeol, so next came the Five Elements Qi Refining Art.
The Five Elements Qi Refining Art was his natal cultivation method, so he could never afford to be careless with it.
Whoooosh...!
The spiritual energy of the high-grade spirit vein, at least twice as dense as a mid-grade vein’s, swirled around him. It revolved around Jin Somyeong and was absorbed without pause.
One year remained until the Red Cloud Secret Realm opened.
If he wanted to reach the sixth layer of Qi Refining before then, he had to give it everything he had.
Time passed swiftly.
One week before the Red Cloud Secret Realm opened.
“Inhale...”
Holding the black sword, Jin Somyeong assumed an upper-guard stance and gathered his concentration. The moment he lightly brought down the sword he had raised above his head...
Shhhk!
A pale sword wind split the air. A fine cutting sound brushed past, and the barrier protecting the cave dwelling was divided in two.
Rumble!
With a single sword strike containing Cloud-Stepping Sword Qi, the formation he had sealed so tightly for closed-door cultivation was undone.
Jin Somyeong watched in silence for a moment, then put away his sword.
Having become a lively young man before he knew it, he smiled with a longsword at his waist.
He had achieved his first goal. Before entering the secret realm, he had successfully ascended to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
Now I at least have the minimum qualification.
A high-grade spirit vein, the Mental Secret Realm, and cultivation pills swallowed as easily as water. If even one of those had been missing, he would not have reached the sixth layer already.
All his preparations were complete.
For this day, he had even refrained from using the Boundless Great Ability recklessly and maintained it at maximum capacity.
All that remained was to enter the secret realm and seize the Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures.
In truth, he felt a little regret. If the secret realm had opened just three years later, he could have entered at the late stage of Qi Refining.
But he could not postpone it. If he missed this chance, the next secret realm would open only thirty years later.
Absolutely not. How could I wait thirty years when I have no idea what might happen?
Ssssss.
By the time the formation restored itself and the raging spiritual energy had settled, all the messages that had piled up during his closed-door cultivation came pouring in.
Dozens of sound-transmission talismans that had been waiting outside the barrier approached Jin Somyeong and delivered their news.
“Brother Jin. If you tell me when you’ll end your closed-door cultivation, I can prepare in advance...”
“I’ve found new information about the secret realm. First, three more locations of Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures have been confirmed...”
He examined them one by one with care. Most of them were letters Beom Chang had sent to him.
After informing Beom Chang that his closed-door cultivation had ended, Jin Somyeong stroked his chin.
There was a thought that had occurred to him during cultivation, and he wanted to test it.
If I use the Boundless Great Ability, can I enter the secret realm before everyone else?
Just one week.
No—even entering a single day early would grant him quite a large advantage. In an empty Red Cloud Secret Realm, he could seize countless fortuitous opportunities ahead of the others.
Let’s go.
Filled with expectation, Jin Somyeong arrived at the place where the secret realm would open, only to furrow his brow.
There was nothing special about it whatsoever.
All he could see was a barren wasteland, and doubt welled up inside him.
Is this really the place?
Honestly, he could not sense anything at all, but he closed his eyes for the time being. Silently focusing on his breathing, he sharpened his senses.
Hmm...
How much time passed?
A vast, burning something began to make itself faintly known.
Seizing that instant, Jin Somyeong activated the divine ability engraved into his soul.
Crack!
He consumed several beads of the Boundless Great Ability and examined the secret realm’s restrictions. He checked whether he could enter before the others.
It seems possible...
Roughly fifty beads would allow him to enter about half a day early.
Half a day is fine. I can sprint at full speed and seize the Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures first.
If he managed that, he would obtain at least one or two Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures for virtually nothing.
The problem was that it would consume fifty golden beads. That bothered him. His combat strength would weaken by that much.
What should I do?
As he stroked his chin, debating whether or not to enter ahead of the others...
“Brat. How did you know this was the weakest point among the secret realm’s restrictions?”
“...!”
The sudden voice sent chills racing over his skin.
He turned his head stiffly, like a rusted hinge, and saw a drunken old man standing right beside him, sipping from a gourd bottle.