Chapter 155
Chapter 155
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Lay Promotion (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The term for those without spirit roots is mortals.
And the term for those without immortal bones is mundane bones.
Seoran was an immortal bone non-possessor—in other words, a mundane bone.
Damcheong couldn't hold back his shock.
"No immortal bone?! Does that mean Seoran can never become an immortal?!"
Deung Baekwol denied it as smoothly as flowing water.
"That's not the case. Without a spirit root, no method in the world can make you a cultivator, but lacking an immortal bone doesn't mean you can't become an immortal."
"Ah, is that how it is?"
"Exactly. Of course, it's true that your realm progression will be markedly slower compared to immortal bone holders. But as long as you can ascend to the next realm before your lifespan ends, you can become an immortal. In fact, there are cases of mundane bones who encountered multiple fortunes and still became immortals."
Damcheong let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, fortunate among misfortunes."
"It might even be a stroke of luck."
"A stroke of luck? Being born with mundane bones?"
Deung Baekwol nodded.
"Of course. It's not as if she had an existing immortal bone that vanished. Senior Brother Liu still possesses brilliant talent. If she truly is a mundane bone, that would be even better. Gaining an immortal bone would allow her to progress realms even faster."
Damcheong successfully recalled a previous conversation.
"Ah, right. You mentioned something like that before. That in the immortal realm, there are ways to compensate for lacking immortal bone aptitude."
"There are many methods. You can consume spirit herbs that improve your constitution or cultivate techniques with similar effects. Or you could just rely on your talent and reach the True Immortal Realm. After all, once you undergo bone shedding and rebirth, differences in immortal bone aptitude become irrelevant."
"I see. Seoran, if you ever need my help, just say the word. I'll search for spirit herbs or techniques alongside you."
Seoran, who had been frozen like a stone statue from the shocking test results, finally came to her senses.
"Thank you for your concern, Damcheong."
"What are friends for?"
"You're right."
Deung Baekwol, arms crossed in thought, spoke up.
"Truth be told, we haven't confirmed she's definitively a mundane bone yet. There could have been an error in the testing process, or it might be an immortal bone so rare it hasn't been reported in academic circles until now. Let's verify it among ourselves separately."
Seoran asked.
"Are there other ways to check for immortal bones besides testing? Ah, perhaps by consuming constitution-altering spirit herbs or cultivating techniques? If she's a mundane bone, a new one would form, right?"
"That would be far too dangerous. Once you alter your constitution through spirit herbs or techniques, it's irreversible. If Senior Brother Liu truly is a mundane bone, there'd be no issue, but if she possesses an unknown immortal bone, it could cause problems. In the worst case, her talent could regress dramatically."
"No, can immortal bones regress?"
Deung Baekwol spoke in a grave tone.
"Naturally. A careless handful of spices can ruin an entire dish's flavor—it's hardly uncommon. The same goes for immortal cultivation."
"Then how will you verify it?"
"I have a technique that only mundane bones can cultivate. Try learning it. If she can, she's a mundane bone; if not, she has an immortal bone. Of course, not right now. It's a Supreme Star Realm technique."
The realms of high-rank cultivators are divided into four stages: Cloud Mist Realm, Supreme Star Realm, Radiant Crimson Realm, and Silver Radiance Realm.
Seoran was currently at Cloud Mist Realm, so just one step up would suffice.
In the end, it all circled back to cultivation.
Seoran diligently cultivated the nameless technique.
*****
After ten straight days of all-night cultivation, Seoran stepped out of the temporary training chamber.
Seoran was in an exceptionally good mood right now.
Thanks to the nameless technique taught by Deung Baekwol.
Its nature pursued extreme harmony, featured uniquely flexible spiritual power circulation, and boasted its own completeness.
It fit Seoran's tastes perfectly.
She even thought that if the chance arose, she'd like to meet the technique's creator in person.
Seoran ascended into the sky and looked down at the Extreme Light Archipelago.
Buildings scattered here and there, flying artifacts bustling between islands, schools of merfolk swimming in groups.
Though she'd only spent ten days inside the temporary training chamber, the archipelago had changed beyond recognition.
Looking around, Seoran spotted her targets.
Deung Baekwol and Damcheong were leisurely picnicking on a palm-sized islet.
Seoran began descending toward the islet.
Deung Baekwol spotted Seoran and greeted her.
She was lounging in a hammock strung between two palm trees.
Wearing dark sunglasses.
Damcheong was over by the beach.
His face was the only part sticking out while he underwent a sand bath.
Also wearing dark sunglasses.
Seoran approached Deung Baekwol and asked.
"I heard the spirit herb we consigned to the auction house sold?"
"Yes, it fetched a bid at dawn today. Apparently, the sea immortals got into a bidding war, so it sold for far more than I expected. Take a look."
"Wow, what unit is this..."
After deducting the prepaid auction starting bid and the auction house fees, it was an unimaginably vast sum.
Adding in the lay promotion subsidies for Seoran and Damcheong, money wouldn't be an issue for the foreseeable future.
Seoran returned the terminal to its owner and headed to the beach.
Sensing her presence, Damcheong said.
"They say this place is warm year-round. With summer as the only season, it's paradise itself."
"No wonder it's all palm trees."
"Palm trees... Come to think of it, I've only known them from knowledge, never seen one in person before."
Seoran beckoned, and a breeze plucked two palm fruits neatly from the tree.
"Damcheong, you've never tried palm fruit, have you?"
"Oh, is it edible?"
"Of course. Just give it a taste."
Damcheong's two arms suddenly jutted up from the sand.
Seoran thumbed a hole in the palm fruit's husk.
Then placed it firmly in Damcheong's hand.
Seoran explained how to eat it.
"Drink the water and the white part inside the husk."
Damcheong pressed his mouth to the hole and gulped noisily.
Soon after, he crunched through the fruit husk and all.
He'd probably never need a dentist in his life.
Seoran ate her share of the palm fruit while gazing at the turquoise sea and the isles large and small.
From now on, she planned to seriously recruit mortals.
Thanks to the immortal realm's abundant heaven-earth spiritual energy, there was no need to worry about the turbidity mortals emitted.
She already looked forward to the sight of the Extreme Light Archipelago—the Golden Bamboo Sect's territory—filled to bursting with cultivators and mortals.
Far off, the massive true form of Shishan Daibeng sat in the sea, enjoying a half-body bath.
*****
Lay promotion year 1: Deung Baekwol completed the water attribute secret scripture ritual.
Combined with her existing one, she became a fire-water dual spirit root holder.
She returned laden with souvenirs—piles of glass-clear conch shells.
Lay promotion year 10: Ho Hye-mun reached Foundation Establishment.
It happened at age 82.
She was revealed to possess the Heavenly Martial Body immortal bone.
Lay promotion year 18: Jang Seonhwa reached Foundation Establishment.
It happened at age 58.
Regrettably, she was not an immortal bone holder.
And lay promotion year 20: Geum Yeongyeong reached Foundation Establishment.
It happened at age 88.
She was a mundane bone.
For reference, Geum Yeongyeong had succeeded at Foundation Establishment a few years ahead of Ho Hye-mun, who was a dual spirit root holder.
Yet her golden core formation came a full decade later.
While Ho Hye-mun did possess an immortal bone, at lower realms, spirit root aptitude mattered far more.
Truth be told, it wasn't even about immortal bones.
Her realm progression was slower than Jang Seonhwa, a fellow single spirit root holder without an immortal bone.
At the time Geum Yeongyeong became a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Jang Seonhwa hadn't even been born yet.
It was the utter opposite of Seoran, who progressed twenty times faster than the immortal realm average—a nonsensical situation.
But nothing in the world was truly nonsensical by nature.
Especially for self-proclaimed late-bloomer talent Geum Yeongyeong.
The core issue ultimately came down to the terminal and the Heavenly Net.
Foundation Establishment cultivators could bathe in mercury unscathed.
But dopamine addiction left them utterly defenseless.
Geum Yeongyeong haunted the Heavenly Net like a ghost.
Forum refresh, forum refresh, refresh again.
Her brain, pickled to ruin in dopamine, endlessly craved new stimuli.
Seoran's sighs grew daily out of worry for her friend.
"Sigh..."
Damcheong, munching on a freshly planted giant cactus, asked.
"What's troubling you?"
"It's Yeongyeong. She's neglecting cultivation and staring at her terminal all day."
"I wonder if it's worth worrying over. It didn't seem that fun anyway. She'll tire of it soon enough."
Contrary to Seoran's concerns, Damcheong surprisingly hadn't fallen into Heavenly Net addiction.
Preferring real things over videos and outdoor activities over sitting around, he was an outdoorsman at heart.
Thanks to that, he quickly lost interest in the terminal.
Of course, it didn't apply to Geum Yeongyeong.
Seoran let out yet another sigh—she'd lost count.
Then she headed home to the newly built mansion.
Damcheong followed, his mouth smeared with cactus juice.
Geum Yeongyeong, savoring brunch, greeted them.
"Seoran, good morning. Sleep well? Rest well, Damcheong?"
Seoran and Damcheong greeted her back.
"Yeah, slept great."
"Indeed."
It wasn't morning now, but they let it slide.
Damcheong grabbed a ball and headed out to play.
Seoran entered the training chamber.
From beyond the closing door, Geum Yeongyeong's voice rang out.
"Ah, these people just won't listen. Shouldn't we ban the Heavenly Net for types like this?"
Geum Yeongyeong was, as ever today, fiercely debating in the Immortal Arts Exchange Forum.
The topic: "Spiritual Artifacts or Spells—which is stronger?"
As a veteran debater, she couldn't afford to lose.
She staked her ancestors' honor on it.