The Sword Seed Bears Fruit

Jin Somyeong, who had been observing the sword seed—Mugeuk—flicked his finger.

Clang!

A streak of Sword Qi flew out, so clear and vivid that anyone watching might have mistaken it for a true blade. The moonlit slash touched the golden flower bud—and in that instant, it dissolved like smoke and was drawn inward in a swirling vortex.

It was the first time he had fed it Sword Qi since reaching Golden Core, and the reaction was indeed different.

"Is it that delicious?"

Mugeuk's silver leaves fluttered without pause, moving so violently they stirred sharp little gusts of wind. That furious flapping expressed pure satisfaction. It was the same reaction Mugeuk had only shown before when given Boundless Great Ability, yet now Sword Qi alone was enough to make it this happy.

In another two or three months, it should be fully grown.

The bud had nearly opened. Soon it would bloom, and after that, bear fruit. If he poured the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enormous sum of one hundred thousand Boundless Great Ability into it, its growth might accelerate even further.

"Wait just a little longer. I'll give you something even tastier."

Promising himself he would do so a month later, once his Boundless Great Ability had fully recovered, Jin Somyeong left. He headed for the training ground he had built inside the Mental Secret Realm and took out two Dharma treasures.

One was an ink-black millstone; the other, a bracelet set with three-colored jewels. Both Dharma treasures were spoils he had obtained from his battle against Hyeok Cheon-ung, the False Golden Core cultivator.

Was it called the Black Binding Wheel?

He first infused mana into the ink-black millstone, and its method of use and functions surfaced in his mind.

Third-rank, lower grade. A Dharma treasure focused on restraint and sealing...

The moment he threw the mana-infused Black Binding Wheel into the air—

Grrrrrk!

The millstone rotated with a rough grinding noise, then sprayed a web-like energy in every direction. Its range was roughly one hundred meters in radius, and its speed was respectable as well. Without Thunder Evasion, it would be difficult to avoid.

He tested how strong its restraining ability was, and even Jin Somyeong, with his toughened body, found it difficult to move his limbs freely. The spiderweb-like energy wrapped around him, hampering his movements enough that his speed seemed to drop by about twenty percent.

In a battle where a single instant decided life or death, losing twenty percent of one's speed was fatal.

Not bad, but...

Jin Somyeong repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist, then raised his blood energy.

Crack!

The force pressing down on his entire body shattered into fragments.

It was a useful function, but the power left something to be desired. Against someone in the middle stage of Golden Core, it likely would not work.

Tsk.

Jin Somyeong clicked his tongue, then paused. While examining the Dharma treasure's other function—its sealing ability—he had discovered something useful.

It can be used when transplanting spirit plants?

Some sensitive spirit herbs died the moment they were pulled from the soil, making them extremely difficult to transplant. But with the Black Binding Wheel, moving any spirit plant of the third rank or lower would become far easier.

In the first place, that was the Black Binding Wheel's main purpose. It was not a combat Dharma treasure.

That's good. From now on, if I find rare spirit herbs, it'll be much easier to move them into the Mental Secret Realm.

Next came the jeweled bracelet. He admired the gem where brown, blue, and green mingled in perfect harmony, then infused mana into it.

The Three-Colored Spirit Ring.

It could cause tidal waves or landslides, but that ability was something of a white elephant. The fact that it could sweep away an area several kilometers wide in a single strike was excellent, but the mana consumption was far too great.

Its power was awkward, too. It was excessive against Foundation Establishment cultivators, but not threatening enough against Golden Core cultivators.

This is also a Dharma treasure for raising spirit plants.

The Three-Colored Spirit Ring could absorb spiritual energy on its own and convert it into three types of energy: wood, water, and earth. That made it an extremely useful tool when cultivating spirit herbs.

I think I heard that having a Dharma treasure like this makes growing spirit herbs much easier.

He took out a jade slip he had been storing in his subspace and reviewed the third-rank spirit-planting art, the Azure Wood Life-Nurturing Art, from beginning to end once more.

As he focused, Jin Somyeong's eyes gleamed. One line inside the jade slip had drawn his attention.

The most important thing when raising spirit herbs was providing the proper nutrients at regular intervals. There could not be too much, nor too little. Supplying only the exact nourishment a spirit plant required was the foundation of spirit-planting arts.

It sounded simple enough, and in some ways it was, but it demanded a great deal of attention.

The Moist Earth Wood-Forming Formation was an array designed to eliminate that inconvenience. Once installed, it automatically infused nutrients into the spirit plants within its range. Unless the herb was something especially unusual, most spirit herbs grew well on the three energies of wood, water, and earth, so it reduced the need for constant care.

The Moist Earth Wood-Forming Formation also had a special effect: the grade of the soil within the array slowly rose as time passed.

So as plants are raised, the soil improves, and in better soil, higher-quality spirit herbs grow. A virtuous cycle...

The required conditions were a stable spirit vein environment and a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dharma treasure with special functions like the Three-Colored Spirit Ring.

Those conditions would be difficult to meet in this sea, where the spirit veins were unstable, but Jin Somyeong already had both.

It's the perfect formation to install in the Mental Secret Realm.

The soil inside the secret realm would gradually improve. There was no reason not to set it up.

After carefully reading through the installation method, he first tried registering the third-rank spirit-planting art, the Azure Wood Life-Nurturing Art, into his proficiency system.

It works?

The registration cost was only one Boundless Great Ability. It might as well have been nothing.

The low cost was nice, but no new formulae or knowledge surfaced in his mind. That was because spirit-planting arts were fundamentally closer to scholarship than spells.

Merely entering the beginner stage meant little. Only by building proficiency and internalizing the knowledge could he truly say he had learned it.

Hmm... It doesn't really feel suited to being under Dharma Arts.

After thinking for a moment, he consumed a small amount of Boundless Great Ability and created a new category instead of leaving it under Dharma Arts.

Only the format displayed on the status window had changed, but it was far easier on the eyes.

In any case, even from beginner, the required proficiency was one hundred thousand. That meant it would take over a million Boundless Great Ability to raise it to Orthodox.

For now, I'll learn it myself. I need to see how quickly the proficiency rises.

He poured Divine Sense into the jade slip containing the Azure Wood Life-Nurturing Art. From beginning to end, he read it slowly and carefully, learning the knowledge necessary to cultivate spirit plants.

One month later.

Jin Somyeong, who had been studying the Azure Wood Life-Nurturing Art in order to install the Moist Earth Wood-Forming Formation, was drenched in sweat.

Installing a formation is no easy task...

He had done nothing but follow the detailed installation method described in the jade slip, yet it had been so complicated that it took him an entire month. He failed five times, but in the end, he succeeded.

Seeing the completed Moist Earth Wood-Forming Formation before his eyes filled him with satisfaction.

At the center hovered the Three-Colored Spirit Ring Dharma treasure, while fifty-odd flags formed a circular fence around it. Inside the array, faint talismanic characters flew like a swarm of bees, endlessly circulating between the Three-Colored Spirit Ring, the earth, and the spirit herbs as they transported spiritual energy.

Good. This should be enough.

He liked it. It might have been his imagination, but the spirit herbs planted in neat clusters seemed greener and more vibrant than before.

Nodding, he headed toward the center of the spirit herb field.

Time to use Boundless Great Ability.

Between installing the formation and studying the spirit-planting art, a month had already passed. That meant his one hundred thousand Boundless Great Ability had fully recovered.

The moment he arrived at the center of the spirit herb field, he saw the sword seed, Mugeuk, rooted in the place where spiritual energy was densest.

"Have you been well?"

Its silver leaves swayed gently, as if answering him. Jin Somyeong gazed at the golden flower bud, which was on the verge of full bloom, and focused his mind.

Become a good sword.

He made that wish, packing many meanings into those brief words.

What was a good sword? Opinions would differ from person to person, but Jin Somyeong believed a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good sword was one that was sharp and durable. If it could also protect its master and lead him toward growth, then it was the best of all.

Into Mugeuk, who might become the companion that accompanied him through long years of cultivation, he poured the immense amount of one hundred thousand Boundless Great Ability.

In that instant, the golden flower bud trembled and began to bloom wide, as though time itself had been fast-forwarded.

A dandelion?

Its shape was similar enough to remind him of a plant from Earth. The difference was that every one of its hundreds of petals shone gold.

He watched with anxious anticipation. Then, all at once, the vibrant golden petals withered, twisted dry, and fell to the ground.

Uh...?

His confusion lasted only a moment. Where the flower had bloomed, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a fruit began to form.

He did not know whether sword seeds were naturally like this, or whether it was because he had poured in one hundred thousand Boundless Great Ability, but its growth was terrifyingly fast.

In less than a minute, the fruit, which resembled a tuft of fluff, grew to the size of a fist and dropped free.

At the same time, the stem, leaves, and even the dried petals that had fallen earlier all turned into smoke and were absorbed into the fruit.

Jin Somyeong stared blankly at the fruit—or rather, the ball of fluff—floating in the air, then muttered,

"Mugeuk?"

The gold-and-silver fluff darted back and forth through the air. It looked like an excited puppy racing circles around its owner.

He was bewildered.

This is a sword?

For that, it was far too round.

He was almost worried that he had fed it too much food—or rather, too much Sword Qi.

He had no idea how to react and could only blink. Then, behind the sphere as it passed, a gold-and-silver shimmer scattered like an afterimage. Looking closely, he realized it was all Sword Qi.

"Stop for a moment."

He caught Mugeuk, who had been circling him, and examined it closely.

"Huh."

Only now did he see it. The sphere he had thought was merely fluff was actually a condensed mass of hundreds of thousands of microscopic strands of Sword Qi.

If that Sword Qi were released all at once, it would devastate everything for several dozen li in every direction.

Despite its soft appearance, it possessed vicious power.

A sigh of admiration escaped him. Now he was looking forward to seeing just how much strength Mugeuk could display.

But how do I use it?

Its appearance was far too different from an ordinary sword. In the end, it was a round sphere.

As he inspected it from every angle, he infused it with mana and Divine Sense. A faint will was transmitted to him.

"You want a sword?"

Jin Somyeong left the Mental Secret Realm, placed the Five Elements Sword he usually wore at his waist into his subspace, and brought it back inside. The moment he held out the Five Elements Sword toward Mugeuk, Mugeuk seeped into the blade.

Wooooong!

With a ringing sword cry, the sharpness flowing from the Five Elements Sword amplified in an instant. It leapt beyond the level of an upper-grade second-rank weapon and reached the level of a third-rank Dharma treasure.

Clack.

As though entranced, Jin Somyeong took it in hand. The cold sensation unique to metal cleared his mind.

"...A fine sword."

After gauging the sharp energy gathered along the blade, he took a wolf demon king's claw from his subspace. Of all the items he possessed, this claw was the hardest.

He swung the sword experimentally.

Slice!

The claw, which he had once failed to scratch, was split in two at once.

The power of his Sword Qi had strengthened by at least twice.

"Incredible."

After that, Jin Somyeong swung the sword for quite some time, identifying the abilities Mugeuk possessed.

First was sharpness enhancement. Mugeuk had the function of amplifying the cutting edge of Sword Qi. The degree of strengthening was roughly double.

That alone was excellent, but because Mugeuk had been born as a plant, it could also grow on its own. It was capable of absorbing all kinds of treasures of heaven and earth—swords, minerals, and more—to raise its grade.

Its seeping into the Five Elements Sword had been an expression of that ability.

Given time, Mugeuk would completely absorb the Five Elements Sword and make it its own.

Once it fully digests a Dharma treasure, it can imitate that treasure's appearance and abilities...

There was a limitation: if the treasure was not related to sharpness, its absorption efficiency would fall. Even so, it was an extraordinary ability.

In the distant future, Mugeuk might be able to use the abilities of thousands, even tens of thousands of swords.

He felt that pouring so much Boundless Great Ability into it had been worth it. At this level, it was more than worthy of becoming his Birth Dharma Treasure.

Still, I need to test it in actual combat.

With a good new weapon in hand, his fingers itched to use it, but he restrained himself.

For the next month, he grew accustomed to his new sword and the Windfire Divine Scripture. Then, once his Boundless Great Ability had fully recovered again, he left the cave abode.

He intended to test the power of the Mugeuk Sword—and hunt a demon beast king while he was at it.