Seizing the Foundation Establishment Treasure
Jin Somyeong leapt down from the ice wall and moved fast, riding the wind like wings as he shot straight toward the place where the Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure was supposed to be.
...Ha. Now I’m going to die of heat instead.
If he had to name one thing that changed the moment he entered the heart of the Red Cloud Secret Realm, it was the temperature. The air had risen sharply, until it felt as though he had stepped inside a blazing cauldron.
Hoo.
Before long, beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. Even the wind, which ought to have been cool, felt like a fire-element attack spell. Jin Somyeong, who had been forcing himself to fly, finally descended to the ground. If he kept going like this, he really might burn to death.
And this was despite the fact that he had tempered his body through a body-refinement art and wore a top-grade first-tier magical robe. Other cultivators likely would not have been able to fly high in the first place.
It’s better once I’m on the ground.
Strangely, the higher one went, the hotter it became. When he looked up, the sky was filled with red clouds. It was not difficult to guess where they came from. All throughout the central region, volcanoes spewed crimson smoke without pause.
Red clouds. So that’s why they call it the Red Cloud Secret Realm...
After observing the sky for a moment, Jin Somyeong set off again. Using the information he had obtained from the Red Sun Sect, he moved swiftly in search of the Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure.
Whoosh!
He kept his route as short as possible, but he could not travel in a straight line. Each time he encountered a danger zone such as a volcano, he was forced to circle around it.
After running at full speed for a long while, he finally arrived at his first destination.
Please be there.
He was so desperate that he even prayed, something he rarely did.
Whoosh!
Jin Somyeong entered a forest in the middle of the desert, one that was bizarrely full of life, and bit his lip.
...It’s gone.
No matter how thoroughly he searched, the Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure was nowhere to be found. This was definitely the place marked on the map, yet it was empty, as if someone had already swept through before him.
Someone entered the central region before me?
His fist clenched so hard the tendons stood out. Then he exhaled, forcing himself to cast off the negative emotions. The Red Sun Sect had discovered more than one Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure. If he had time to curse, he had time to move.
All the more so now that an unknown competitor had appeared.
Tap!
His body, trained by body refinement, began to complain of fatigue. Still, he sprinted at full speed for a long time and eventually arrived at the second target location.
It was a valley steaming like a hot spring, and there—
Ah!
Amid heat so intense it stole his breath, he found the spiritual herb he had longed for.
The Nourishing Jade Essence Flower!
In other words, a Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure.
He stared as if entranced at the magnificent flower, whose presence was almost overwhelming.
Gulp.
From its straight, dark-green stem to its red petals that shone as brightly as the sun, it was flawless, without the slightest blemish.
With that alone...!
He could escape the pressure of his dwindling lifespan. His heart pounded. His fingertips trembled with the surge of emotion rising inside him, but Jin Somyeong forced his eyes shut.
Hoo.
After a short breath, he stepped back. Then he sharpened his senses and examined his surroundings.
The most dangerous moment was when one lost reason with a treasure like this before one’s eyes.
...As expected, demonic beasts are guarding it.
The valley was unbearably hot. Aside from the ice wall, the Red Cloud Secret Realm had always been a hot place, but this area was far worse. Around the Nourishing Jade Essence Flower in particular, the air shimmered with a scorching haze.
Perhaps that was why, for fire-element demonic beasts, the area near the Nourishing Jade Essence Flower was no different from paradise.
Three top-grade first-tier beasts.
Jin Somyeong narrowed his eyes and stared at the rocks scattered around the Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure. At a glance, they seemed like ordinary dark-red stones, but a closer look revealed otherwise. They were ceaselessly absorbing spiritual energy as though breathing, and he could sense faint movement from them as well.
Step.
Jin Somyeong concealed his presence as much as possible and took one step closer.
Rumble!
With a heavy vibration, one of the rocks raised itself up. A blue light flashed from what appeared to be its head, spinning quickly as it surveyed the area, almost as if an eye had opened.
Jin Somyeong tensed and slowly gripped his sword.
Grrrk...
The demonic beast that had risen returned to being an ordinary boulder. It had sensed something strange, but it had failed to find him.
More sensitive than I thought.
Despite its sluggish appearance, it was extremely keen. If he took even one more step, he would likely be discovered.
After a moment of thought, Jin Somyeong made his decision.
I can’t waste time here.
If any more time passed, other cultivators would break through the ice wall and pour into the central region. Then he would have to compete not only with those demonic beasts, but with other cultivators at the same time. The difficulty would become several times more absurd.
Crack!
Once he decided, he did not hesitate. He consumed five beads of the Boundless Great Ability at once, and his presence faded until he seemed like a ghost.
Then Jin Somyeong stepped forward.
Step... step...
He approached carefully, taking care even with the sound of his breathing. One step after another. When only three paces remained between him and the Nourishing Jade Essence Flower—
Rustle!
The rock that had risen earlier began to tremble faintly.
Now!
Jin Somyeong’s eyes flashed, and he burst forth with spiritual energy. The stealth technique, now meaningless, was abandoned. He staked everything on speed.
Crunch!
He stepped with the Rising Dragon Step, a movement technique specialized for short-distance bursts, and shot past the demonic beast just as it began to rise. His hand reached for the proud, blooming flower.
There was no time to leisurely dig up the soil. He wrapped his hand in Sword Qi and carved out the entire section of ground in one stroke.
Gwooooh!
At the beast’s furious roar, dozens of spikes erupted from the ground, trying to skewer him.
Woooong!
For an instant, the barrier rising from his top-grade first-tier defensive artifact, the Blue Bamboo Robe, protected him. In that moment, he stored the flower inside his subspace and kicked off the ground, fleeing without even looking back.
Booooom!
A flame storm erupted with a tremor like an earthquake. The valley, which only moments ago had boasted such beautiful scenery, was reduced to ruins by that overwhelming force.
But Jin Somyeong had already escaped hundreds of meters away.
Ten minutes later.
“Haa!”
Breathing hard, Jin Somyeong wiped the sweat from his forehead and curled the corners of his mouth upward.
Whoosh!
He took the Nourishing Jade Essence Flower out of his subspace and examined it closely. From stem to petal, every part of it was hot. When he held it in his hand, he could feel a strange, heavy pulse, as if he were holding a heart.
It felt like pure life force condensed into the shape of a plant.
...I won’t be able to replant it.
After its roots had been pulled up, he could sense its vitality slowly dispersing. If it were a person, it would already be drawing its last breath.
Jin Somyeong took out a specially crafted jade box, placed the Nourishing Jade Essence Flower inside, and attached a talisman to it. Stored this way, its life force would be prevented from scattering.
He could not replant it, but it would be more than enough as an ingredient for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
As he looked down at the box wrapped tightly in talismans—
“...Haha. Ahahahahaha!”
All at once, he could not hold it in any longer and burst into laughter.
Of course he did. After years of effort, he had finally seized his objective.
It felt as if something blocked inside him had been blasted open. At that moment, even the scorching heat did not bother him. He was simply happy.
Ever since the instant his lifespan had been halved, he had felt as though he were being chased toward a crumbling cliff. Now, at last, he felt freed from that pressure, and the release was exhilarating.
“Hah...”
Still laughing, he lightly slapped his cheeks. This place was still dangerous territory. Getting too excited here would be a problem.
He barely regained his reason and searched through the map in his head.
I need to get a few more.
The more Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures he had, the better. Hadn’t even the Giant Sword Gate, a Golden Core-level force, said they would exchange five of them for a Foundation Establishment Pill?
He did not necessarily have to make that exchange, but there was no harm in increasing his options.
The success rate for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill is usually thirty to forty percent, they say.
To make a Foundation Establishment Pill, he would need to find the most skilled person among first-tier alchemists. Since one Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure was consumed with each attempt at refinement, he needed at least three or four to be safe.
I should go immediately.
Before his competitors crossed the ice wall, he had to seize as many spiritual treasures as possible.
Whoosh!
Having chosen his direction, Jin Somyeong flew toward the next target.
Before he knew it, Jin Somyeong was covered in dirt, but despite his grimy appearance, he smiled brightly.
“Good!”
He had obtained another Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure.
Two already!
The smooth progress delighted him. Jin Somyeong placed the Nourishing Jade Essence Flower into a jade box and recalled the map. He had to decide on his next target, but—
Too far.
Even the closest Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure from here was quite a distance away. It would take at least another half day of travel. The Red Sun Sect had poured all its effort into discovering quite a few locations, but the secret realm itself was vast.
As he plotted out a route in his head, Jin Somyeong murmured to himself.
I should stop by the place with the Red Silk Fruit along the way.
His top priority was still the Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures, but in terms of route efficiency, it was better to obtain the Red Silk Fruit first.
Whoosh! He lightly rose into the air and cast the Wind-Riding Art.
After traveling on the wind for some time, Jin Somyeong landed atop an enormous towering boulder and surveyed the surroundings. According to the information he had traded for with the Blue Serpent Gang, the Red Silk Fruit should be somewhere nearby.
In case he missed it, he even strengthened his eyesight with spiritual energy.
He swept his gaze across the land, then suddenly stopped.
Found it!
On a hill made of black stone stood a tree that seemed to be burning. Each of its leaves was shaped like a flame, making it instantly conspicuous.
It was surely the Red Silk Fruit tree, a treasure that could extend one’s lifespan.
However...
This time, there was competition.
It was an unknown cultivator cloaked in black. He controlled more than a hundred insects, using them to guard the surrounding area while he looked up at the Red Silk Fruit.
Seventh layer of Qi Refining? Still, that’s a relief.
The tree was fairly large, so there should be enough Red Silk Fruit to go around. If Jin Somyeong revealed his presence and pressured him, the other party would likely yield one or two fruits.
Jin Somyeong was silently approaching when—
Is he insane?!
He was shocked by the black-robed man’s sudden action. That madman had sent his swarm of insects to gnaw away at the entire Red Silk Fruit tree.
Clang!
Jin Somyeong drew his sword at once and unleashed his movement technique. He charged so fast he left afterimages behind, scattering Sword Qi like a bombardment.
Uncondensed Sword Qi lost much of its power, but it was more than enough as a diversion.
“Hm?”
The black-robed man flinched, recalled his insect swarm, and widened the distance between himself and Jin Somyeong. Using that gap, Jin Somyeong placed himself with the Red Silk Fruit tree at his back.
“Well now. To think someone else made it all the way here already. Another lucky bastard like me, is it? Were you also transported straight into the heart of the secret realm?”
“...”
Jin Somyeong ignored him and reached out. He plucked the sole remaining Red Silk Fruit, the only one that had not yet disappeared, and swiftly examined it. Fortunately, he had protected it before the insects could bite into it, so it was completely intact, without a single flaw.
Whew.
He had nearly lost ten years of lifespan.
Jin Somyeong tucked the Red Silk Fruit away into his subspace and glared at the black-robed man.
The man sneered as if he found him pathetic.
“You must have been so thrilled, being transported into the central region by luck despite being only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining... But that luck has led you straight to your death.”
“Heh.”
Listening quietly, Jin Somyeong found the whole thing absurd. Absurd enough that he almost wanted to see how far the man would go.
“To reveal yourself over a mere Red Silk Fruit. You’re no different from a monkey that can’t restrain its desires. If you’d stayed hidden, you might have kept your life. Hahaha!”
Jin Somyeong calmly listened to the mockery and laughter, then smiled back.
Brightly enough to show his white teeth.
“You’re laughing?”
The other man frowned at him as if looking at a lunatic.
Srrrng...
Jin Somyeong drew his pitch-black treasured sword and, without saying a word, kicked off the ground.