Chapter 15
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 15
Lee Hyun approached with extreme caution.
Ancient pines and verdant bamboo grew tangled along the mountainside, split only by a faint dirt path barely wide enough for a single person to squeeze through.
At the trail’s end, dense white mist gathered like a solid wall.
To ordinary eyes, it appeared to be nothing more than a fog-choked mountain ravine. But when scrutinized through his Qi-Observation Technique, countless threads of spiritual power interlaced in orderly patterns within the haze.
The fog held firm against the mountain wind. Beyond it lay a deliberately laid formation.
Keeping his distance, Lee Hyun observed the interior for a moment.
Through the translucent barrier of the formation, tiled roofs and timber pavilions faintly took shape. A small brook meandered along the valley floor, flanked on both sides by long rows of rustic shops and open-air stalls.
At some stalls, wooden crates brimming with medicinal herbs were stacked high. At others, talismans and weathered magical artifacts lay spread across coarse cloth. Cultivators strolled leisurely to and fro, sipping tea or quietly haggling over prices.
The cultivator he had trailed earlier, who carried a large pack on his back, had already vanished into the crowd.
The interior was by no means opulent, exuding instead the quiet simplicity of a mortal mountain market blended with a touch of mystical flair.
Relaxing slightly at the peaceful atmosphere, Lee Hyun edged toward the entrance.
Near the formation’s threshold stood a small stone stele, in front of which lingered three Early Qi Refining Stage cultivators who had just stepped out.
A middle-aged man in a worn blue robe, a young woman bearing a wicker basket of herbs, and a stout fellow clutching a fur bundle were conversing in hushed tones, seemingly well-acquainted.
Had it not been for the storage pouches tied to their waists, their modest demeanor could easily have seen them mistaken for mortal villagers.
Lee Hyun hesitated.
For over a hundred years, the only people he had held proper conversations with were street nut vendors and sleepy inn attendants. Cultivators were inherently dangerous and unpredictable.
Yet if he wanted to use the market, he had to ask someone about its layout and rules. In the grand scheme of the cultivation world, the three before him appeared about as harmless as cultivators could possibly be.
I can’t just hide from the world forever.
After verifying that his Qi-Concealment Technique was firmly active, Lee Hyun stepped onto the path.
Rustle—
At the sound of footsteps, all three cultivators snapped their heads toward him in unison.
The middle-aged man’s hand darted instinctively toward the storage pouch at his waist. The young woman took a sharp step back, while the stout man pulled his bundle tightly against his chest.
Tension seized their faces.
The moment the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes to probe Lee Hyun’s aura, the color drained completely from his face.
As expected of cultivators.
He had heard that rogue cultivators were notoriously wary. Meeting an unfamiliar face in a deserted mountain pass naturally warranted extreme caution.
Putting on his most amiable expression, Lee Hyun cupped his hands in greeting.
“Greetings.”
The trio flinched simultaneously. Paying their skittish reaction no mind, Lee Hyun spoke in a polite, gentle tone.
“I am merely a wandering rogue cultivator. Might this be a market frequented by fellow cultivators?”
A stifling silence fell.
The middle-aged man, evidently the eldest among them, hastily bowed so low his nose nearly touched his knees.
“Y-Yes! Indeed, Senior! This is Songun Market. A humble gathering place chiefly patronized by rogue cultivators of northwestern Untaek.”
“Songun Market…”
It seemed he had come to the right place.
Smiling, Lee Hyun inquired further.
“Senior? Please, I am merely in the Qi Refining Stage myself. My experience is shallow, so I seek your guidance. Are there any particular procedures required to enter the market, Fellow Daoist?”
“F-Fellow Daoist?!”
The man turned deathly pale. His two companions dropped into frantic bows beside him.
“How could Senior address mere Early Qi Refining rogues like us as ‘Fellow Daoist’? That is far too lavish an honor!”
“If we have committed any offense, please tell us! We beg you, Senior, please do not test us like this!”
The three fumbled in sheer panic, trembling as though Lee Hyun had laid a deadly trap at their feet.
Huh?
Lee Hyun was utterly bewildered.
“Wait a moment. Why do you keep calling me Senior? Am I not an Early Qi Refining cultivator as well?”
Terror flooded their expressions.
Convinced that this eccentric powerhouse was determined to play with his food, cold sweat beaded heavily on the middle-aged man’s brow. Yet, terrified that remaining silent would invite an even swifter demise, he cautiously forced out an answer.
“Senior… humble Early Qi Refining rogues though we may be… we have at least mastered the Qi-Observation Technique.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“How could a cultivator whose entire body radiates light truly be in the Qi Refining Stage?”
The woman with the basket hastily chimed in, voice shaking.
“Indeed! Senior’s entire physical form glows uniformly! Your realm must be so unfathomably profound that your surplus residual spiritual power alone shines as bright as our dantians!”
The stout man nodded vigorously, nearly bowing to the ground again.
“Exactly! We have never heard of a cultivator whose entire being is saturated with uniform spiritual power. Just how terrifying must Senior’s foundation be to manifest such an absurd phenomenon? For us to dare call Senior a ‘Fellow Daoist’ would be unpardonable blasphemy!”
Ah…
Only then did the truth dawn on Lee Hyun.
The Qi-Concealment Technique he had acquired back in Cheongha Valley was a spell that draped a shroud over the entire surface of the body, dampening the fluctuations of spiritual power leaking outward.
While it had diminished the overall intensity of the light visible under the Qi-Observation Technique, it did not alter where the light emanated from. To them, instead of having a localized dantian glowing with Qi, his entire flesh was shimmering with suppressed, massive energy!
So that’s what happened!
Lee Hyun forced a dry, hearty chuckle.
“I-I see! Haha. I had no intention of putting you in a difficult spot.”
None of the three dared to utter a word.
“I won’t enter the market today. Go on about your business without worry.”
Executing his Lightness Technique and Earth-Shrinking Step, Lee Hyun spun on his heel and darted down the mountain trail.
Only after his silhouette had vanished completely into the foliage did the trio let out a collective, ragged breath.
“T-Thank goodness. At first, I thought he was…”
The middle-aged man snapped a finger to his lips, glaring.
[Hush! Speak through sound transmission. The reach of a great cultivator’s divine sense is far beyond our wildest imagination.]
The young woman shut her mouth, startled.
[I apologize.]
The stout man asked timidly,
[Still, he didn’t seem as terrifying as we thought. He didn’t even get angry after we saw through his realm.]
The middle-aged man shot him a reproving look.
[Foolish child. Do you still not grasp the terrifying depth of that senior’s scheming mind?]
[What do you mean?]
[Didn’t you see how perfectly he mimicked the clumsy Lightness Technique and Earth-Shrinking Step of an Early Qi Refining cultivator, even after being caught? Look at that frightening patience—striving to conceal his identity to the very end! If I hadn’t cast the Qi-Observation Technique, even I would have believed he was genuinely at the Early Qi Refining Stage.]
The young woman turned pale once more.
[Could he be… a robber cultivator who feigns weakness, waiting for someone to pick a fight so he can slaughter them and seize their treasures?]
[Highly likely. He seeks to plunder wealth without tarnishing his own reputation.]
[How horrific… To commit cold-blooded robbery while even securing a righteous pretext…]
The middle-aged man nodded grimly.
[These days, the cultivation world is so rife with plots that one can hardly tell who is a robber cultivator and who isn’t. I’ve heard tales of great eccentrics who wander about masking their cultivation, only to unleash their true might the moment someone shows the slightest slight, using it as an excuse to rob them blind.]
The middle-aged man gazed fearfully in the direction Lee Hyun had vanished.
[Fortunately, that senior’s concealment was too flawed to hide that mountain of spiritual light, so we weren’t deceived.]
* * *
Lee Hyun, having unwittingly earned the terrifying reputation of a deceptive robber cultivator, did not head straight back to Tunnel No. 1.
Traveling over a hundred li via Earth-Shrinking Step, he changed directions three times. He waded through running valley streams to wash away his scent and burrowed through mountain foothills using the Earth Escape Technique.
Wary of anyone potentially tracking him, he had traveled far in the opposite direction before looping back in an immense, sweeping circle.
Several days later.
Inside the quiet cultivation chamber of Tunnel No. 1, Lee Hyun kept his Qi-Concealment Technique active while inspecting his own body through the Qi-Observation Technique.
“This won’t do.”
It was exactly as the three cultivators had said.
The Qi-Concealment Technique lowered his apparent realm, but the dimmed glow remained evenly spread from head to toe.
Compared to a normal cultivator, it looked utterly bizarre. He couldn’t pass for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator like this.
“If I enter a market looking like this, everyone will treat me like a monster. Being mistaken for an expert isn’t inherently terrible, but…”
While looking like a powerhouse might deter petty bandits, it would attract the scrutiny of genuine experts.
If even a single cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage or higher became curious about what kind of eccentric had appeared, Lee Hyun would have no way to defend himself.
“Wait. What about the Spirit-Concealment Technique instead of the Qi-Concealment Technique? I recall its principles were fundamentally different…”
Postponing his trip to the market, Lee Hyun retrieved the wooden plaque inscribed with the formula for the Spirit-Concealment Technique from his shelf.
One year later.
Lee Hyun reached Initiation in the new spell!
【Spells (Initiation): Spirit-Concealment Technique, …】
Activating the Spirit-Concealment Technique, Lee Hyun examined himself using the Qi-Observation Technique.
Still not enough… Hm?
Though light still radiated from his entire body, he noticed a clear distinction between the Spirit-Concealment Technique and the Qi-Concealment Technique. The glow across his flesh was mottled and uneven.
His palms and forearms were noticeably dimmer, whereas his thighs were somewhat brighter. The parts he had focused on practicing the most over the past year were precisely his hands and arms.
Could this mean…?
After studying it further, Lee Hyun discovered a crucial difference between the two techniques.
While the Qi-Concealment Technique was an active camouflage that suppressed spiritual fluctuations escaping from within, the Spirit-Concealment Technique was a passive restraint that prevented the body from generating fluctuations in the first place.
In other words, if Qi-Concealment was throwing a thick cloth over a lantern, Spirit-Concealment was trimming the lantern’s wicks one by one.
The advantage of Spirit-Concealment was that it consumed far less spiritual power than Qi-Concealment and allowed him to selectively suppress specific areas of his body.
Conversely, its disadvantage was the immense time required to master it. Because of this hurdle, most cultivators opted for the much faster Qi-Concealment Technique, with hardly anyone willing to squander precious decades mastering Spirit-Concealment.
I see! Once I reach Major Accomplishment in the Spirit-Concealment Technique, I can just suppress the rest of my body except for an area the size of a dantian.
Fifty years passed.
Lee Hyun achieved Major Accomplishment in the Spirit-Concealment Technique!
That was not all. He had reached Initiation in the Farsight Technique, Enhanced Hearing Technique, and Scent-Tracking Technique from the Six Perceptive Arts, and elevated seven spells that had previously lingered at the Initiation level to Minor Accomplishment.
【Spiritual Power: 83 → 101】
【Spells (Initiation): Farsight Technique, Enhanced Hearing Technique, Scent-Tracking Technique, …】
【Spells (Minor Accomplishment): Qi-Concealment Technique, Lightness Technique, Earth-Shrinking Step, Cheonggang Sword Formula, Spirit Light Shield, Fireball Technique, Qi-Observation Technique, …】
【Spells (Major Accomplishment): Spirit-Concealment Technique】
Because he had poured fifty years into Spirit-Concealment, he hadn’t invested much time into cultivating raw spiritual power.
Even so, notable progress across eleven spells meant his practical combat capability had increased considerably.
Channeling his Spirit-Concealment Technique, Lee Hyun looked down at his body through the Qi-Observation Technique. Not a trace of spiritual light leaked from his flesh. Viewed purely through Qi-Observation, he appeared less like a cultivator and more like a vigorous young mortal brimming with natural vitality.
As he focused his intent, a fist-sized pocket of light bloomed below his navel. It gathered into a neat, round sphere, perfectly mimicking the dantian of an ordinary Early Qi Refining cultivator.
A bright smile spread across Lee Hyun’s face.
“It worked! Now I can appear as a mortal if I wish, or disguise myself as an ordinary Early Qi Refining cultivator.”
With a mere shift of his mind, the brilliance adjusted freely, ranging from someone who had just stepped into the 1st layer of Qi Refining to the 2nd layer.
Even while training in the Spirit-Concealment Technique, Lee Hyun had made his rounds across the five spirit fields once every ten days.
Currently, in spirit field No. 1-1, there remained 119 stalks of Bone-Corroding Flowers, 298 clumps of Yin Soul Grass, 79 bulbs of Purple Poison Orchids, and 58 clusters of Earth Vein Flowers, all exceeding 53 years of medicinal potency.
Because the Earth Vein Flower was a plant where multiple stems sprouted from a single root, Lee Hyun counted each interconnected root cluster as one plant.
In the remaining four spirit fields grew 478 stalks of Bone-Corroding Flowers, 1,195 clumps of Yin Soul Grass, 319 bulbs of Purple Poison Orchids, and 238 clusters of Earth Vein Flowers, all having just surpassed 20 years of medicinal potency.
Not every specimen planted had survived. On rare occasions, root rot struck, or shifts in underground water veins created excess moisture that troubled a corner of a field.
Even so, the overall survival rate remained remarkably high.
The potency of the spirit plants grew steadily stronger, yet Lee Hyun had no gauge whatsoever for their true market value.
“Just how much is a fifty-three-year-old Bone-Corroding Flower worth? Heheh…”
Watching the spiritual herbs across the five fields grow more precious with each passing year filled him with immense pride.
“Now that I’ve achieved Major Accomplishment in Spirit-Concealment and can hide my realm, it’s truly time to get some fresh air. I should obtain seeds for a variety of spirit plants to cultivate as well.”
Lee Hyun decided to seek out a market other than Songun Market. If the three Qi Refining cultivators he met fifty years ago saw his face, it might cause unnecessary complications.
“Let’s head to my original destination, the Cloud Capital. A market near the capital should have far more goods than Songun Market, and there ought to be an authority maintaining order. Of course, even if I go to another market in Untaek Kingdom, I might still run into those three from fifty years ago… I should put on a simple disguise.”
Lee Hyun prepared for his journey. This time, he meticulously saw to his disguise before setting out.
Smearing dirt over his face to rough up his skin, he shaped his eyebrows and beard differently from fifty years ago. He altered his hairstyle and dabbed a bit of gray powder to make his hair appear faintly salt-and-pepper.
“I should look into spells or arts that change one’s appearance too. Wandering around with the same face for decades might cause problems down the road…”
Finally, Lee Hyun activated his Spirit-Concealment Technique, suppressing the fluctuations across his body and leaving only a faint glow equivalent to the 2nd layer of Qi Refining below his navel.
After checking himself repeatedly with the Qi-Observation Technique, Lee Hyun nodded in satisfaction.
“Now I truly look ordinary.”
* * *
Five days later.
The capital of the Untaek Kingdom, the Cloud Capital.
Standing atop a low hill, Lee Hyun looked down at the vista below.
A colossal metropolis sprawled before his eyes.
Three tiers of concentric city walls rose in staggered heights. The outermost ramparts stretched endlessly to the left and right, their distant edges lost in the horizon’s shimmering haze. Even from his vantage point atop the hill, he could not take in the entirety of the Cloud Capital at a single glance.
Outside the walls lay countless villages, manors, and open markets. The outskirts alone appeared large enough to swallow dozens of ordinary county seats whole.
The massive Unsu River, flowing from the northwest, branched into multiple tributaries before the capital. Dozens of waterways pierced beneath the city walls to flow into its heart, spanned by hundreds of bridges both large and small.
Upon the waters, grain-laden tribute transport ships, ornate pleasure boats, and flat ferries bustled in dense traffic.
The rooftops of the outer city were mostly gray and black, but within the inner city where the royal palace sat, vermilion walls and golden-glazed tiles gleamed dazzlingly beneath the sun.
In the dead center of the metropolis soared a nine-story pavilion, towering several times higher than any surrounding structure. At its summit fluttered an enormous banner emblazoned with a cloud motif.
“It’s huge…”
Just beholding the outskirts of the Cloud Capital sent a thrill of awe through his chest.
I doubt even the ancient capitals of Earth were this grand… To think the capital of a mere kingdom, not even an empire, is this massive. A mortal nation is certainly nothing to look down on.
Perhaps because the world itself was so vast, the scale of the city was astonishing, despite its rudimentary level of technology.
The official highway leading toward the city gates teemed with carriages and people. Officials and scholars arriving from the provinces, merchant companies hauling cargo, and peasants herding oxen and horses filed past, kicking up trails of dust.
Scholars and nobles in silk robes mingled with spirited merchants along the grand avenues, while music and laughter drifted incessantly from teahouses and taverns.
Finding cultivators didn’t seem like it would be difficult.
Lee Hyun activated his Qi-Observation Technique from the hill, but the aura of vitality radiated by countless living beings blended together like a massive sea of fog. While there were points of light likely belonging to cultivators, the sheer distance caused them to blur together, making it nearly impossible to distinguish who was emitting what.
I don’t know if it’s due to my proficiency… but discerning distant auras with Qi-Observation really isn’t easy.
This time, he surveyed the sights using the Farsight Technique. True to its name, it was a spell meant for seeing far.
Hm? Look at that!
Inside the outer city, Lee Hyun spotted an individual in luxurious robes strolling past with a storage pouch strapped to their waist. Losing track of time as he observed the capital for about a shichen, he caught sight of two more people bearing storage pouches.
As expected, there are quite a few cultivators around.
Outside the West Gate lay a sprawling bazaar formed by peddlers and peasants who hadn’t entered the city.
Amid stalls selling grain and vegetables stood merchants with stockpiles of herbs, animal pelts, and timber. Fish hauled from the Unsu River splashed vigorously in brimming wooden tubs.
Dressed like an ordinary scholar in a modest jade-colored robe—purchased nearby to commemorate his arrival in the Cloud Capital—Lee Hyun strolled leisurely through the streets.
Hm?
At the market’s periphery, Lee Hyun spotted a cultivator in the Early Stage of Qi Refining.
He was an emaciated man who looked to be in his fifties. His sun-bronzed face was etched with deep wrinkles, and he wore faded gray clothing. Before him, mud-caked roots and deep green aquatic plants lay spread across a bamboo mat. Outwardly, he was indistinguishable from an ordinary herb gatherer hawking plants dredged from the riverbank.
Yet, when viewed through Qi-Observation, a faint glow clearly leaked from below his navel. The light gathered in a neat sphere within his dantian, a disguise that looked almost identical to the one Lee Hyun was currently using.
The man appeared to be at the 3rd layer of Qi Refining.
After a quick glance at his surroundings, Lee Hyun stepped up to the stall.
“What kind of herbs are these?”
“Water Root Grass and Cheongbi Leaves. They grow in the river. Water Root Grass brings down fevers, and crushed Cheongbi Leaves keep wounds from festering.”
“Are they also spiritual herbs used by cultivators?”
The man’s gaze instantly sharpened.
Without answering, he narrowed his eyes, his focus seemingly fixed on the area below Lee Hyun’s navel. A moment later, the wariness on his face softened.
“While Water Root Grass imbued with spiritual qi can be classified as a spiritual herb, everything here is mundane. But it seems you haven’t come to buy herbs, Fellow Daoist.”
He finally called me Fellow Daoist!
Lee Hyun was inwardly ecstatic. The fifty years he had spent mastering the Spirit-Concealment Technique had not been in vain.
“I am Lee Dong-il,” he said, using the alias he’d chosen in honor of Tunnel No. 1. “A rogue cultivator who trained elsewhere. This is my first time in the Cloud Capital. I’ve been searching for a market frequented by cultivators, but knowing no one, I decided to take a chance and ask you.”
“I am Jang Pyeong, a rogue cultivator living along the Unsu River,” the man replied. “You’re looking for a market? Your most sensible choice would be the Emerald Cloud Market to the south. However, it’s over five hundred li from here, so it’s quite a trek on foot.”
“Is it always open?”
“It is. It’s not a grand place, but its proximity to the capital ensures a decent stock of goods. The market is managed by the Emerald Cloud Association, a small faction of rogue cultivators.”
“What kind of organization is the Emerald Cloud Association?”
“Nothing too grand. Just a group formed by several rogue cultivators at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining or higher who have lived in the Untaek Kingdom for years. They banded together to safeguard the market and look out for one another.”
“Do you have to pay to enter the Emerald Cloud Market?”
“Entering to buy goods is free. However, if you want to sell your own wares there, you must pay a ten percent tithe to the Emerald Cloud Association. It’s no small sum, but if a dispute arises within the market, the association will step in to resolve it.”
As Lee Hyun nodded in understanding, Jang Pyeong asked, “The market aside… since you’ve traveled all the way to the capital of Untaek, are you also planning to join the Bureau of Heavenly Service?”
“What is the Bureau of Heavenly Service?”