The Holy Land of Cultivation, Cheongdan City
Jin Somyeong accepted the jade case containing the sealed Foundation Establishment Pill and swept his gaze over the area.
No one was watching him. Not even the Divine Sense of the old Foundation Establishment monsters brushed against him.
The Foundation Establishment Pill was too important. Even if it had come from a Golden Core immortal sect, he had to verify it for himself.
Click.
After a moment’s hesitation, Jin Somyeong carefully opened the jade case.
In the next instant, a clear, exquisite fragrance rushed out so powerfully that it nearly intoxicated him. His head seemed to clear at once, and the fatigue that had accumulated over a month inside the secret realm melted away.
...It’s real.
A dense spiritual energy emanated from the blue pill. He found himself staring at it as though bewitched before snapping back to his senses.
He immediately put it into his storage pouch and never took it out again.
The reason he placed it in the pouch rather than his subspace was simple caution. He had no idea just how sensitive the senses of a Golden Core sword cultivator might be, so he did not dare reveal the existence of his subspace.
Once I’m farther away, I’ll store it in the subspace right away.
He was barely managing to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upward when someone spoke to him.
“Fellow Daoist. If you wish, we can take you to a nearby market.”
“Ah, I would appreciate that.”
“Very well. Then please wait until the secret realm has fully closed.”
He waited in the clearing where the disciple of the Giant Sword Sect had guided him for some time. Eventually, he saw the Red Sun Sect disciples emerging from the secret realm.
Beom Chang, in particular, kept looking wildly in every direction without pause. He was clearly searching for Jin Somyeong.
Since Jin Somyeong would be leaving soon anyway, he saw no need to acknowledge him.
Just as he quietly turned his gaze away, those who had gathered five Foundation Establishment spiritual objects began to appear one by one.
Each of them went through the same procedure as Jin Somyeong, and no matter how cold-blooded they had seemed, once the Foundation Establishment Pill was placed in their hands, their eyes reddened with emotion. One Qi Refining cultivator even burst into tears.
By then, Jin Somyeong’s excitement had settled, and he watched them in silence. He understood all too well what they must be feeling.
It must feel as if they’ve grasped the whole world in their hands.
Twelve in total.
That was the number of people who had emerged with five Foundation Establishment spiritual objects.
Only twelve out of tens of thousands?
Jin Somyeong thought the number was remarkably small, but the reaction of those around him was the complete opposite.
“Heavens, twelve people?”
“There are that many lucky bastards? I’m so jealous I could die!”
“Do they look like they were merely lucky to you?”
“Then what?”
“Sigh. Forget I said anything.”
Just as the nameless rogue cultivators’ conversation came to an end—
Rumble!
With a tremendous roar, the entrance to the secret realm vanished.
The Golden Core sword cultivator, who had remained as still as a stone statue, slowly opened his eyes.
“This secret realm has ended. Those who have yet to emerge are as good as dead. There is no need to wait.”
“Ah...!”
Countless people sighed in grief, but the Golden Core sword cultivator’s attitude remained cold. Without sparing them so much as a glance, he tapped his sword sheath.
Whoosh!
The flying sword rose on its own and grew enormous in an instant. Now as vast as a warship, it radiated a terrifying pressure.
Then the Golden Core sword cultivator jerked his chin at the twelve people, Jin Somyeong included.
“All of you, board. I will personally take you to a nearby market.”
The twelve, each gauging the others, leaped onto the flying sword almost at the same time. Once the surviving Giant Sword Sect disciples had boarded as well, the colossal sword rose into the air.
By the time the cultivators looking up from the ground had shrunk to less than ants—
Vrrrmmm!
A bone-chilling sword hum rang out.
“Urgh!”
A fierce wind slammed into them, strong enough to send anyone flying if they let down their guard. Even Jin Somyeong briefly lost his balance and staggered.
He quickly steadied himself and looked around. The scenery streaked past in blurs.
It was moving too fast for him to make anything out properly.
Just as he was marveling at the incredible flight speed—
“We have arrived.”
Only a few minutes had passed, yet Jeokyang Market already appeared before them.
The twelve Qi Refining cultivators stood with their mouths agape. The Golden Core sword cultivator spoke to them in an even voice.
“No one is watching this place right now. Do not worry. Go your own ways.”
“...Thank you, Senior!”
With the Golden Core sword cultivator’s assurance, everything became much easier. Jin Somyeong moved faster than anyone else.
He circled through the most secluded areas he could find and changed his appearance dozens of times. In the end, he became an old man in his seventies with a full head of white hair, strolling leisurely through the Inner City with his hands clasped behind his back.
Of course, by then, the Foundation Establishment Pill had long since been placed in his subspace.
“Hwaaam.”
As he yawned with utter nonchalance, his eyes swept the streets. They were filled with a subtle excitement, noticeably different from usual.
“Shouldn’t they have arrived at the market by now? I heard there were twelve of them...”
“Let’s just find one. A senior I know said he’d reward us handsomely if we discover the location of a Foundation Establishment Pill. He said even the Inner City is fine.”
“Khehe. If this goes well, we’ll make a killing.”
With his keen hearing, Jin Somyeong caught someone whispering.
When he examined them with Divine Sense, he found cultivators wearing bamboo hats. The gray rat perched on one man’s shoulder looked far from ordinary.
The rat, which appeared to be a spiritual beast, kept sniffing the air without pause.
Are they tracking the scent of the Foundation Establishment Pill or the Purple Sun Jade Essence Flower?
Jin Somyeong narrowed his eyes and walked past them.
The gray rat failed to find any clue and merely kept sniffing.
No matter how specialized its sense of smell was, a spiritual beast could not detect an object stored in subspace.
That’s a relief. Just as I expected.
Quietly reassured, Jin Somyeong headed straight to Cheonbo Pavilion.
“Welcome!”
The branch manager greeted him with familiar courtesy, and Jin Somyeong spoke.
“Proprietor. I’d like to board a transport vessel bound for Cheongdan City. Is there a seat available?”
“Er... there is, but may I ask where you heard about the transport vessel?”
“Hoho. At my age, do you think I wouldn’t know of transport vessels? Here are five hundred Spirit Stones, so prepare one seat for me.”
In a certain nameless market, inside a bustling tavern packed with cultivators, a bearded man drained a large cup of liquor and grinned.
“You know the Red Cloud Secret Realm that’s been causing such a stir lately, don’t you?”
“Of course. If I were five years younger, I’d have tried my luck myself.”
“Bragging now, are you?”
The bearded man gestured at his companion, who laughed awkwardly. After glancing around, the bearded man’s expression turned a little more serious, and he whispered.
“They say a Foundation Establishment master died in the Red Cloud Secret Realm.”
“Huh? ...Good grief, for a second I thought you were serious. Don’t make jokes with such a straight face.”
“I’m telling you, it’s true!”
“Oh, come on! Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe that? Even if a hundred Qi Refining cultivators charged him, they couldn’t beat a Foundation Establishment master!”
“I said it happened inside the secret realm. Their cultivation would have been restricted to the same level, so why would it be impossible?”
“Hmph! You’ve never met a Foundation Establishment cultivator, that’s why you’re getting swayed by such idiotic rumors.”
The bearded man thumped his chest, looking as though he might explode from frustration.
He repeated himself several times, but it was no use. His companion refused to believe him.
“Enough. Just drink.”
“Ugh. This is driving me insane.”
Their voices grew louder and louder.
They were arguing so fiercely it seemed they might grab each other by the collar when an old man drinking at the next table gave a soft snort of laughter.
“Stop fighting. You seem not to know, but the dead man’s identity has already been revealed.”
“Old sir. Is that true?”
“It is. The protagonist of that rumor is the old monster Heukra of the White Demon Sect. They say he went to the Red Cloud Secret Realm with a Formation-Breaking Talisman to find a hidden treasure and died there.”
“Th-the White Demon Sect?! Those insane murderous bastards?”
“Heh heh.”
The Qi Refining cultivator, who had been gaping, flinched. In a low, probing tone, he asked the old man, “But a hidden treasure? What’s that supposed to be?”
“Burp! I’m drunk. How would I know?”
“Come on.”
The disappointed bearded man jerked his chin toward his companion, as if to say, Did you hear that properly?
“Ahem. In any case, if it’s true, then that really is incredible. What kind of Qi Refining cultivator could defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”
“Maybe they rushed him as a group?”
“Well, yes. I suppose that must be it.”
“No! No, no! You really know nothing at all.”
By now, the old man’s face had gone flushed with drink, and he butted into the conversation again.
“Tsk tsk! A Foundation Establishment cultivator who survived in a demon sect would hardly be a fool. Do you think he’d face a crowd head-on? In a secret realm where his realm was restricted, no less?”
“Then are you saying some Qi Refining cultivator killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator alone? That makes even less sense!”
Gulp... gulp...
The old man sipped from his gourd flask, his eyes growing hazy.
Ignoring the cultivators he had been speaking with just moments ago, he muttered to himself.
“But what sort of person could endure a thousand years of accumulated life essence at the level of Qi Refining? That truly makes no sense...”
“What is that old man suddenly babbling about?”
“...No idea.”
The Qi Refining cultivators looked at the old man with uneasy eyes, then began moving away from him one by one.
Before long, the area around the old man had gone empty. He laughed softly and shouted.
“What does it matter! If fate binds us, we shall meet!”
He gripped his gourd flask, laughed heartily, and then vanished in a streak of light.
Aboard the transport vessel flying through the sky, Jin Somyeong had been trying to use the Boundless Great Ability to resolve the resentment clinging to his soul, but he shook his head.
Unfortunately, he had failed.
I’ll have to try again after my Divine Sense becomes stronger.
He left the cabin and moved onto the open deck.
As he studied the horizon, his eyes shone.
Finally, we’re here!
In the far distance, Cheongdan City came into view. Even at a glance, its sheer scale was overwhelming, and a smile rose naturally to his lips.
There had been twists and turns, but in the end, he had left Jeokyang Market with his body intact.
If nothing unexpected happened, he expected to stay in Cheongdan City for quite some time, so he observed it carefully.
Incredible...
In terms of sheer area alone, it was dozens of times larger than Jeokyang Market.
Its walls rose higher than the clouds, and the phrase “city of immortals” fit it perfectly. Complex talismanic characters shimmered over every brick composing the walls, and judging from them, a powerful formation had been installed. It looked extremely safe.
Worthy of being called a holy land for rogue cultivators.
He was curious what a city of this rank, governed by a third-realm cultivator also known as a Golden Core Master, would be like.
For now, its first impression was excellent.
The countless cultivators going in and out through the city gate looked full of life.
Thud!
Jin Somyeong stepped off the landed transport vessel and approached the city gate.
He joined the end of a long line. Before long, a gatekeeper spoke in a businesslike manner.
“Is this your first time in Cheongdan City?”
“Yes.”
“If you provide your name, we will issue you a temporary identity token. The fee is five Spirit Stones.”
“Yeo Dongbin.”
Soon, the gatekeeper handed him a wooden token engraved with a blue flower petal and said, “Fellow Daoist Yeo, since you are at the late stage of Qi Refining, your daily residence fee is one Spirit Stone. How many days will you be staying?”
There was a fee even to stay in the Outer City. And one Spirit Stone per day at that.
It’s fine for me, but isn’t that too expensive?
His brow furrowed in puzzlement, but those around him remained calm. Since everyone reacted as though this were perfectly normal, he knew it was not a scam.
“...I’ll stay for a month. Here are the Spirit Stones.”
With Jin Somyeong’s level of wealth, a few Spirit Stones were nothing.
The moment he paid the residence fee and passed through the gate, refreshing air like that of a forest welcomed him.
“Huh.”
“This is amazing.”
Exclamations rose from here and there. Those visiting Cheongdan City for the first time, like Jin Somyeong, stood with their mouths open in amazement.
The reason was simple.
The concentration of spiritual energy was tremendously dense.
Even though this was only an ordinary street, it seemed comparable to a first-grade lower-tier spiritual vein.
Did they gather spiritual energy here using a formation?
The term “holy land of cultivation” suddenly felt very real.
With spiritual energy this rich, one could actually use it for training. For cultivators in the lower layers of Qi Refining, it would be rather helpful.
In fact, he could see cultivators sitting with their eyes closed in meditation at various points along the streets.
Cultivating in a public place was extremely dangerous, so the sight was somewhat astonishing.
Does that mean public order is that good here?
He followed the long avenue and looked around.
The street was packed with countless shops, enough that it seemed one could obtain anything one needed here.
After spending the entire day diligently exploring, Jin Somyeong felt deeply satisfied.
The more he learned about Cheongdan City, the more he liked it.
This is a good place!
Just as he had heard, it truly was a holy land of cultivation for rogue cultivators.
As long as one had Spirit Stones, this was an environment where one could focus on cultivation without inconvenience.
Moreover, one could even rent a second-grade spiritual vein, which would be of great help when attempting Foundation Establishment.
There was nothing more to say.
If this were the Red Sun Sect, the Foundation Establishment elders would have monopolized that spiritual vein.
Cheongdan City was a good place to live, provided one had Spirit Stones.
Spirit Stones?
Jin Somyeong had no shortage of Spirit Stones whatsoever.
The treasures piled high in his subspace were more than enough to support his cultivation all the way to Foundation Establishment.
“Heh.”
Rubbing his palms together in anticipation, Jin Somyeong calmed his excitement.
He began organizing his tasks one by one.
First, I need to sort through what I gained from the secret realm, then expand the Spirit Stone mine right away.
Next came Ojangbaekryeongyeol.
Once he opened the final organ, his physical body would become as powerful as a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s.
To evolve his heart into a spiritual organ, he would need an enormous amount of resources, but that was not a problem at all.
After all, he had harvested countless spiritual herbs from the Red Cloud Secret Realm.