Future Goals
"Your condition looks fine enough."
Master's first words were a check on my well-being.
"But what is all this? Didn't you say you were going demon beast hunting?"
Her follow-up left me speechless, even if I had ten mouths to speak with. Simply going to hunt demon beasts, or even traveling with several cultivators, wouldn't have been a big issue. But hunting a Foundation Establishment demon beast that was way above my station? That changed everything.
Master slowly turned her head. Just her gaze alone straightened my awkwardly hunched back. Her eyes were calm—not angry, nor the indifferent stare one might give an inanimate object. But that inexplicable stillness felt several times more terrifying to me.
"Well... it really was demon beast hunting at first."
A lame excuse slipped from my lips. Of course, that had been the original plan. I just hadn't expected things to spiral like this... Though claiming ignorance the moment I stepped in here would be a lie.
In the end, I decided to lay it all out truthfully. Starting from why I needed the demon beast's essence blood, to encountering those three at the market town. And finally, the clash with the magus cultivator.
There was nothing I needed to hide, so I told Master everything I knew. She didn't respond with words but swept her gaze across the cavern once. The blood ritual formation. The corpse of the Qing Mu snake. The three desiccated like withered wood. And in one corner, a half-formed bud stained with blood.
The moment she saw it, her expression shifted ever so slightly.
"That bastard was after this."
I seized the opening without missing a beat.
"I only realized it when I got here. I truly had no idea."
This much was true. Even on the way here, I'd had some resonance with herbs and such, but this spirit plant? Nothing. Maybe it was beyond my level. I'd have to experiment later if I got the chance.
She walked silently toward the spirit plant. With a flick of her finger, the unopened bud began to slowly unfurl. This was a spirit plant that required a Foundation Establishment cultivator's blood sacrifice to bloom. Yet before a Core Formation cultivator like her, it flowered with a mere gesture.
I stared blankly at the sight.
"No wonder he staked his life on it."
Master gently caressed the fully bloomed spirit plant before it could wither.
"You'll need something like this someday too. Remember it well."
The fully opened flower was a deep crimson, shaped like a trumpet vine blossom.
"This is a Blood Spirit Flower."
A name I'd never heard before. I'd have to study spirit plants diligently once I returned to the sect. No point having them if I couldn't recognize them.
"It's a key ingredient for Core Breaking Pills used by Foundation Establishment cultivators."
"Core Breaking Pills?"
Only then did I understand why the magus cultivator hadn't abandoned this flower to the end. Cultivators would do anything to grasp that breakthrough.
At my level, just holding it felt burdensome.
"But this one's ruined. Forcing it to bloom with blood essence has twisted its medicinal properties. It's not entirely useless... but it should have aged at least a century."
She took out a small jade box and placed the Blood Spirit Flower inside.
"Still, it's too early for you to take it. I'll hold onto this."
Disappointing, but unavoidable. It wasn't like I knew pill refinement anyway. Would've been nice if I could grow another one.
I glanced briefly at the spot where the Blood Spirit Flower had been uprooted. A few thin roots remained tangled in the soil and rocks.
'Those...'
I discreetly used my storage space to scoop up a few residual roots. Master showed no reaction, as if letting this much slide.
"Did you get what you wanted, then?"
The bean soldier beside me silently offered the wooden box. Inside, the jade vial of essence blood was intact.
As I moved to store the vial,
"Hold on."
With those short words, Master's fingertip brushed over the vial. A thin cyan-green energy swept across its surface in an instant.
"No seals on it."
Her words put me at ease. Truth be told, I'd been suspicious when that now-dead magus cultivator handed over the essence blood so readily. Who knew what tricks he might've hidden in the vial?
"Now that you've gathered everything, let's go. I don't like lingering where a blood ritual was performed."
I nodded without argument. Truthfully, I had no desire to stay longer in this damp cave either.
I stored the wooden box and took a step forward. But with the tension released, my strength was ebbing away.
I stumbled.
My body went limp for a moment, nearly toppling me. Master couldn't have missed it.
"That's what you get for overreaching beyond your station."
Her words were cold, but cyan-green energy flowed from her sleeve cuff. The mist-like energy enveloped me, and my body floated lightly.
"...Thank you."
I mumbled softly, and without even glancing my way, Master stared ahead.
"Your mouth still works, I see. Now, let's head back to the sect."
The cyan-green energy surged gently once more, and my vision blurred abruptly.
'Is this the view from a Core Formation cultivator?'
The scenery rushed backward. Stalactites in the cave, trees, rocks—all whipped past like projectiles. In no time, the cavern vanished, and Qingyun Sect appeared in the distance. Before I knew it, Qingling Hall lay beneath my feet.
My feet touched solid ground, and my legs trembled. Now that my body realized it was truly over, aches throbbed everywhere. Still, ending up like this was fortunate enough.
Master glanced at my state and entered Qingling Hall first.
"Come in."
She didn't head straight to the main hall but to what looked like a reception room. She gestured to a seat with her chin.
"Sit."
I collapsed into it without further resistance.
'Whew. Feeling a bit alive now.'
In the meantime, Master began brewing tea. Soon, a cup floated toward me.
"Drink."
One sip, and a warm energy eased my heavy body.
'Not ordinary tea, as expected.'
Master sat across from me, watching silently. It wasn't an urging look, but somehow, staying quiet felt even scarier. I stared at my cup before cautiously speaking.
"I'm sorry."
No other words came to mind. Master took a sip from her cup.
"No need to apologize."
An unexpected response. I'd wandered off on my own and even mobilized Master's steps.
Yet she truly seemed unconcerned.
"You used the item I gave you. What's there to fault?"
Those words only made me more embarrassed. I fiddled with my cup before managing to reply.
"Still... in the end, I ended up borrowing your strength, Master."
"When you're in danger, that's only natural. What are you on about?"
She said it as if stating the obvious.
"But this time, you were lucky. There might not be a next. This cultivation world has matters even I can't handle fully. Be cautious."
Right. If the opponent's realm had been higher, even Master's protective charm and Black Wood Spirit Tablet wouldn't have saved me. Or if someone stronger than her appeared. This time luck was on my side... I couldn't be so reckless next time.
"And the reason I called you here is something else."
I nodded quietly, and Master set down her cup. A clear chime echoed through the reception room.
She didn't beat around the bush.
"Jin Country has four Nascent Soul sects: our Qingyun Sect, Golden Phoenix Valley, Blood Demon Sect, and finally Tianxuan Sect. We four manage most of the country's spirit veins, cultivation resources, and forbidden zones."
My eyes widened at "forbidden zones." Master continued calmly, as if expecting my reaction.
"One of them, the Yu Yue Secret Realm, opens in five years."
Managed jointly by four Nascent Soul sects. That alone told me it was no ordinary secret realm.
"Cultivators keep increasing, but resources are always finite. Likewise, our four sects added one restriction to protect those resources."
"A restriction?"
"Yes. Only disciples below Foundation Establishment can enter."
Meaning only Qi Condensation disciples.
"Why is that?"
Looking back, it felt like a dumb question, but she didn't chide me.
"The ancient formation inside the Yu Yue Secret Realm restricts entrants to Qi Condensation. But divine sense can still be used, hence the realm limit."
"Ancient formation?"
"Yes. One laid down long ago, even before Qingyun Sect existed, from what I've heard."
Restricting realms above Foundation Establishment? Whoever set that up must have been insanely powerful.
"But what's divine sense?"
"You'll learn naturally upon reaching Foundation Establishment. For now, know it's the ability to sense your surroundings without looking."
Ah, that. The biggest difference between Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators. Qi Condensation can draw in spirit energy but can't convert it to magic power. Foundation Establishment converts it and gains divine sense—like a radar with offensive capabilities built in.
Vague memories resurfaced. I'd probably been detected easily in the cavern because of it.
"Every time the Yu Yue Secret Realm opens, the sects select disciples to send in."
She lightly lifted and set down her cup.
"In five years, you'll likely go too."
"Me too?"
"Yes. Relying solely on handed-down opportunities has its limits. Only those you seize yourself will truly make you grow."
I absently rubbed the rim of my cup with my thumb.
"No need to fear. Raise your realm sufficiently by then. And until that time, don't even think of leaving the sect."
"For five years?"
"Yes. But I'm not telling you to enter secluded cultivation. Just don't cause another incident like this."
Master drove the point home.
"For the next five years, focus on raising your realm within the sect."
"......Understood."
Only then did Master nod faintly. She flicked her sleeve, and a thin jade slip dropped before me.
A spell to evenly regulate the spirit energy in spirit plants. Might help with those residual roots you pocketed.
I looked up, and she wore an all-knowing expression.
"Did you use something like this to make the Blood Spirit Flower bloom earlier?"
"It's a branch of it."
She looked like she'd said all she needed to.
"Go rest today. Your mind must be cluttered."
I flinched inwardly. My head was already packed with thoughts on the Purple Soldier Beans, the five-year secret realm, and more. Any additional info would probably go in one ear and out the other.
I rose from my seat. My legs still wobbled slightly, but far better than when we arrived at Qingling Hall.
"Master... thank you."
As I carefully tucked the jade slip away, Master waved her hand.
"If you're grateful, don't abuse your body."
"...Yes."
Master added one final word.
"Ambition is good, but next time, keep it within what you can handle."
Leaving Qingling Hall, a cool breeze from Qingling Peak brushed my face.
Five years. A short time for cultivators, but for a ten-year-old like me, it was no small span.
From the black wolf, to the tournament, to this demon cave incident. Looking back, I'd been living half on borrowed time lately. Luck had carried me, and this time Master's token saved me. But that wouldn't cut it forever.
No one would help inside the secret realm.
"Whew..."
'Novel protagonists smack down higher realms effortlessly. Why can't I?'
Yu Yue Secret Realm in five years. By then, I needed to be much stronger.
'At least this haul wasn't empty.'
Grow the Purple Soldier Beans to maturity, revive the Blood Spirit Flower. Learn spells, study spirit plants separately. The tasks piled up like mountains.
But first.
Gurgle—
"Ah, gotta fill the stomach. After all that, Spirit Food Hall it is today."