Chapter 34
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34
Out of more than a hundred disciples, almost all of them are dead?
“When did Senior Martial Brother Gwak pass away?”
“About four years ago.”
“Four years…”
Lee Hyun looked around the residence he had been assigned, his eyes lingering on the details. It was meticulously maintained without a single speck of dust, showing no sign of having stood vacant for four whole years.
Do fatal accidents happen that often during pill refining?
Stepping outside, Lee Hyun surveyed the surrounding buildings far more carefully than before.
Just then, two figures walked down the mountain path from above.
The one in the lead was a female cultivator who appeared to be in her early thirties. A small pill cauldron emblem was embroidered on the sleeves of her green robe, and she radiated the distinct aura of the eighth layer of Qi Refining.
Behind her followed a man at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, sporting a short scar on his chin.
Upon spotting Na Gyeong-mun and Lee Hyun, the woman’s eyes curved into a playful crescent.
“Senior Martial Brother Na, teasing the newcomer again?”
“Teasing? When have I ever?”
“Just look at our new Junior Martial Brother’s face. I can already guess what sort of nonsense you’ve been feeding him.”
Na Gyeong-mun glanced back at Lee Hyun.
“What’s wrong with his face?”
“He looks like he’s convinced there’s a corpse buried beneath every single residence on Pill Cauldron Peak.”
Lee Hyun’s gaze slowly shifted toward Na Gyeong-mun.
Na Gyeong-mun coughed into his fist.
“I only spoke the truth.”
The scarred man clicked his tongue.
“I bet you told him that nearly all of Master’s disciples are dead, didn’t you?”
“Is that factually incorrect?”
“It isn’t wrong, but wouldn’t anyone hearing it for the first time take it the wrong way?”
Na Gyeong-mun raised his chin, completely unabashed.
“I was merely opening his eyes to the dangers of the cultivation world so he stays vigilant.”
The female cultivator turned to Lee Hyun.
“Believe only a third of what Senior Martial Brother Na tells you. The rest is either wild conjecture or baseless scare tactics.”
The scarred man chimed in as well.
“Senior Martial Brother Na is the type who believes someone is pulling the strings behind every single thing that happens under the heavens.”
Lee Hyun finally realized that Na Gyeong-mun had simply been trying to spook him.
A young punk barely wet behind the ears dares to play tricks on someone over a thousand years old!
The woman raised a hand in a light greeting.
“It’s good to meet you. I’m Sim Yeon-ju, a registered disciple under Master.”
The scarred man gave a nod of introduction as well.
“I am Bae Gyeong-song. A registered disciple as well.”
“I am Lee Dong-i. Since both of you entered the sect before me… should I address you as Senior Martial Sister Sim and Senior Martial Brother Bae?”
Sim Yeon-ju nodded.
“That’s right.”
Bae Gyeong-song scratched his cheek, looking a little awkward.
“Junior Martial Brother Lee’s cultivation realm is a layer higher than mine, so having you call me ‘Senior Martial Brother’ feels a bit strange.”
Na Gyeong-mun interjected, “Under our master, seniority within the same major realm is determined strictly by order of entry. If we took every minor Qi Refining layer into account, wouldn’t we have to swap titles every time someone broke through? Once you reach Foundation Establishment and receive an official post as an elder or a steward, then you can be addressed by that title instead.”
Lee Hyun cupped his hands without hesitation.
“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Bae.”
“Right, well met. Let’s get along from now on.”
Lee Hyun looked between the two.
“Then… is it truly false that most of Master’s registered disciples have died?”
Their expressions shifted subtly.
Sim Yeon-ju shot Na Gyeong-mun a sharp glare.
“See? This is why you should have explained it properly in the first place, Senior Martial Brother.”
Bae Gyeong-song turned to Lee Hyun to clarify.
“It has been over a century since Master first began accepting registered disciples. Including you, Junior Martial Brother Lee, a total of one hundred and seven have put their names on the roster—and fewer than twenty are confirmed to be alive.”
“So most of them really are dead.”
“They are. But there is nothing sinister about it. The vast majority of registered disciples were mere Qi Refining cultivators, so many of those who joined in the early decades simply reached the end of their natural lifespans. Others left for distant regions, after which all contact was lost.”
Sim Yeon-ju added, “Master doesn’t even take in that many registered disciples compared to others. Alchemists are rare, after all. Over on Spring Sword Peak or Outer Affairs Peak, a single elder might have hundreds of registered disciples under his name.”
“I see…”
Lee Hyun recalled the ledger in Go Won-hak’s possession. The red dots beside the names and the dark ink lines crossing them out were likely records of each disciple’s status, tracking whether they were alive, dead, or missing.
“Then did Senior Martial Brother Gwak, the previous occupant of my quarters, also pass away from old age?”
This time, neither of them answered right away.
Bae Gyeong-song unconsciously traced the scar on his chin.
“Senior Martial Brother Gwak died during the Azure Wood Ridge Herb Robbery.”
“The Azure Wood Ridge Herb Robbery?”
“It happened four years ago,” Sim Yeon-ju explained. “Our sect maintains an auxiliary spirit field at a place called Azure Wood Ridge, roughly a thousand li north of here. While the spiritual qi there is somewhat thin, the soil is exceptionally fertile, making it an ideal place to cultivate large quantities of spirit plants that require decades of maturation.”
“Once every few decades, the mature spirit plants are harvested and transported back to the main mountain,” Bae Gyeong-song continued. “That year, we harvested several Tier 2 spirit plants as well. Over fifty disciples and a Foundation Establishment elder from Outer Affairs Peak were assigned to escort the convoy.”
He paused, a dark shadow passing over his brow.
“I was among them.”
“Don’t tell me… the convoy was ambushed?”
“It was.” The humor vanished entirely from Bae Gyeong-song’s face. “The very night we departed Azure Wood Ridge, dozens of masked cultivators ambushed us. There were even two Foundation Establishment cultivators among their ranks.”
Sim Yeon-ju’s voice sank lower.
“Twenty-three inner-sect disciples were slaughtered that night. Five of Master’s registered disciples were killed as well, including Senior Martial Brother Gwak.”
“And those bastards weren’t just after the herbs,” Bae Gyeong-song said grimly. “They stripped the corpses of their identity tokens and robes. A few of the attackers even disguised themselves as surviving disciples and infiltrated the main mountain ahead of the convoy.”
“They made it all the way here?”
“Yes. They slipped past the outer restrictions of Outer Affairs Peak, but their disguises were exposed by the inner formation of the Nine Peaks Rejuvenation Formation. They scattered immediately. A few were captured alive after a fierce pursuit, but due to suicide restrictions placed upon their primordial spirits, we were never able to extract who had orchestrated the raid.”
Na Gyeong-mun crossed his arms with a knowing sneer.
“No matter how you look at it, that was never the work of a disorganized band of rogue cultivators.”
Sim Yeon-ju let out a weary sigh.
“Here he goes again.”
“Think about it! Dozens of men, including two at Foundation Establishment, lying in ambush with precise knowledge of our harvest schedule and transport route? On top of that, the Red Flame Flying Knives and Firecloud Formation they employed bore an uncanny resemblance to the methods of the Hongro Sect.”
Lee Hyun asked, “What kind of place is the Hongro Sect?”
Sim Yeon-ju answered, “A sect situated ten thousand li west of Azure Wood Ridge. They occupy a Tier 3 spirit vein brimming with potent fire qi and are renowned for crafting magical artifacts and treasures. We trade with them from time to time, but we also clash over commercial interests in the surrounding markets.”
Bae Gyeong-song glanced at Na Gyeong-mun.
“However, Red Flame Flying Knives can be purchased in almost any major market, and the Firecloud Formation is hardly an exclusive secret. Not a single Hongro Sect crest or token was recovered that night.”
Na Gyeong-mun retorted, “So you need cultivators from the Hongro Sect to march up to your doorstep and announce, ‘We did it,’ before you’ll believe it? If all they wanted were spirit herbs, why go through the trouble of stealing dead disciples’ identities to infiltrate our main mountain? From the very beginning, their target wasn’t the herbs at Azure Wood Ridge—it was our Everlasting Spring Sect!”
“I won’t dismiss the possibility,” Bae Gyeong-song said steadily. “I am merely saying we lack definitive proof.”
Na Gyeong-mun dropped his voice to a conspiratorial murmur.
“Ever since the Grand Sect Master entered seclusion, he has not shown his face to the world for decades. It was around that time that neighboring powers began probing the Everlasting Spring Sect’s true strength. What happened at Azure Wood Ridge was almost certainly one such test.”
Sim Yeon-ju’s expression hardened.
“Do not speculate recklessly about the Grand Sect Master.”
“I am simply pointing out how outside forces might perceive our situation.”
“It amounts to the exact same thing.”
Bae Gyeong-song stepped between them before an argument could spark.
“At any rate, Junior Martial Brother Lee, keep this in mind: our Everlasting Spring Sect is not one to pick fights unprovoked. But that does not mean this place is free from danger.”
He gazed past the alchemy rooms dotting the mountain slope toward the towering peaks of the sect rising into the clouds.
“We cultivate spirit plants and refine precious pills. To the eyes of outside powers, we will always look like a treasure vault waiting to be plundered.”
Lee Hyun nodded slowly.
“I will keep that close to heart.”
Na Gyeong-mun smiled, looking thoroughly vindicated.
“See? Wasn’t it helpful that I gave you a proper sense of vigilance from the start?”
“I think it would have been considerably more helpful had you explained the full truth from the beginning, Senior Martial Brother.”
“Hah! A man remembers lessons best when they are delivered with a good shock.”
“And where on earth did you learn that?”
“A profound truth derived from my own life experience.”
Sim Yeon-ju clicked her tongue in exasperation.
“Junior Martial Brother Lee. Whenever Senior Martial Brother Na opens his mouth, make sure you verify every word for yourself.”
“Understood.”
Afterward, guided by the three seniors, Lee Hyun toured the Yang Fire Courtyard’s communal alchemy room, the medicinal herb warehouse, and the lecture hall.
Rather than hastily spending his wealth to hoard Vitality-Raising Pills, Lee Hyun chose to take his time, first immersing himself in the daily life of the Everlasting Spring Sect and grasping the wider lay of the land.
The atmosphere on Pill Cauldron Peak proved relatively laid-back. So long as one had no pressing duties, an artisan disciple could leave the sect grounds for days at a time without question—allowing him ample opportunity to slip back to Tunnel No. 2 whenever needed.
* * *
Three months later.
The lecture hall of the Yang Fire Courtyard.
Inside the spacious hall, where twenty pill cauldrons stood in neat rows, roughly a dozen disciples had gathered.
Go Won-hak stood beside the foremost cauldron.
Resting on a low table before him were three jade dishes, each holding a single vibrant blue-green leaf.
“Does anyone recognize what these are?”
A disciple spoke up promptly.
“Clear Vein Leaves.”
“Correct.” Go Won-hak pointed to each leaf in sequence. “And their medicinal age?”
Several disciples immediately circulated their spiritual power, activating the Qi-Observation Technique alongside specialized spells for examining herbs.
A moment later, Sim Yeon-ju offered, “All three appear to be around eighteen years in medicinal age.”
“Correct. They are of the exact same strain, all harvested from runners split off from a single mother rootstock. Their size, shape, and luster are virtually identical.”
Go Won-hak cast a sweeping glance across the room.
“Then, if all three are refined using the exact same method, will they yield the exact same medicinal properties?”
No one dared answer right away.
With a flick of Go Won-hak’s finger, three small bronze boxes resting beside the jade dishes lifted into the air, hovering at precise intervals above the cauldron.
He tapped a formation inscription carved into the stone floor, and three identical plumes of flame surged from the cauldron’s fire vents.
Whoosh—
Go Won-hak dropped a Clear Vein Leaf into each bronze box.
Under the searing heat, the three leaves slowly began to curl, their verdant hues deepening.
After roughly ten breaths, a pure, crystalline azure vapor began wafting from the first box. The mist gathered at the center, condensing into a shimmering droplet of liquid essence.
From the second box, however, a sudden burst of violent white steam hissed outward.
Sssss—
The azure medicinal properties scattered into the air alongside the steam, wasted.
The third leaf seemed unchanged at first glance, but soon, dark discoloration crept outward from the veins. Within moments, nothing remained inside the box but a pool of charred, viscous black sludge.
Go Won-hak extinguished the flames.
“I applied the exact same heat. They were introduced at the exact same moment, and the size and material of the bronze boxes were identical. Yet the results were entirely disparate.”
A disciple tentatively raised a hand.
“Were they stored under different conditions?”
“No.” Go Won-hak pointed to the first box. “This leaf was harvested at the hour of Wu, following three consecutive days of clear, unbroken sunlight. Its medicinal properties were evenly suffused through the blade and stem.”
He then gestured to the second box.
“This one was harvested immediately after a Spiritual Rain Spell was cast upon the field. The leaf was saturated with excessive water qi. Even if you wipe the surface dry, the moisture that has deeply seeped into the veins cannot be purged in a short period.”
Finally, he looked toward the black sludge in the third box.
“This one was picked before dawn. During the night, the primary medicinal essence of a Clear Vein Leaf recedes downward toward its roots, leaving behind an accumulation of subtle, turbid qi within the foliage.”
Several disciples hurried to record the explanation in their notebooks.
Go Won-hak continued, “Suppose a pill recipe calls for an eighteen-year-old Clear Vein Leaf. Are all three of these leaves suitable ingredients for that recipe?”
“They are not.”
“Then is the pill recipe incorrect?”
“No, that isn’t it either.”
“Precisely.” Go Won-hak pointed to the blackened residue. “Pill refining begins long before an ingredient ever touches the cauldron!”
He struck the cauldron with his open palm.
Thud—
“A pill cauldron is a miniature heaven and earth. Its fire vents function as formation stations, and the restrictions inscribed upon its surface serve as formation inscriptions. The circulation of medicinal essence inside is no different from spiritual qi flowing through a formation.”
He spread his arms wide, his voice resonating through the hall.
“They say a formation master commands hundreds of li of heaven and earth! Yet an alchemist wields total dominion over the heaven and earth sealed within his cauldron. The scale may differ, but the underlying principles are one and the same. Let me ask you, then: do the grand principles of heaven and earth dwell only within formations and alchemy?”
He leaned forward, his gaze intense.
“An alchemist who knows nothing but alchemy will never take a single step beyond the recipes he was handed. Formations, spirit-plant cultivation, artifact crafting, talisman making, celestial seasons, geography, military tactics, music, divination, insect control, ghost control, beast control, illusory arts, poison arts, medicine, bedroom arts, and even the culinary methods of mortal chefs! Seek knowledge everywhere. Ponder everything, and extract the principles that can elevate your alchemy. Only those who know how to seek the Dao in places others overlook will ever forge a path forward!”
A disciple asked hesitantly, “Doesn’t one require vast contribution points to access inheritances in such diverse fields?”
“Hmph! A pathetic excuse. Do you have any idea how many books and jade slips an inner-sect disciple can freely consult in the Scripture Pavilion without spending a single contribution point? If you managed to read every single one of them, I would gladly take you as my own master!”
The disciple flushed and lowered his head.
“This disciple was shortsighted. Forgive me.”
Go Won-hak stroked his beard, his tone softening slightly.
“When the door stands wide open, there is no excuse not to walk through it. Do not squander your time.”
“Yes, Master!” the disciples answered in unison.
* * *
Once the lecture concluded, Lee Hyun stepped out of the Yang Fire Courtyard alongside the others.
He had originally planned to return to his quarters to rest, but Go Won-hak’s impassioned speech had stirred his interest in the Scripture Pavilion.
I have nothing urgent to attend to anyway. I might as well go read.
Everlasting Spring Peak.
Located at the very center of the nine peaks, Everlasting Spring Peak was vastly taller and broader than Pill Cauldron Peak. Imposing administrative halls handling the Elders’ Council and the general governance of the sect lined the stone paths, and disciples bustled past in constant streams.
The Scripture Pavilion was situated halfway up the mountain.
It was an imposing five-story pavilion constructed from rich brown spirit wood, with delicate bronze rattles suspended beneath every eave. Even in the dead calm, the rattles chimed at irregular intervals, constantly probing the surrounding spiritual qi and discerning the presence of visitors.
As Lee Hyun approached the entrance and presented his identity token, an invisible spiritual barrier parted smoothly before him.
Inside, thousands of narrow niches were carved into the soaring walls, each housing a solitary jade slip. Paper tomes and stone tablets were neatly arranged on long wooden shelves below them.
At a desk just inside the foyer sat a middle-aged cultivator at the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother.”
The man looked up, sizing him up. “A fresh face, indeed. From Pill Cauldron Peak?”
“I am.”
“I am Im Do-gyeom, overseer of the first floor. Since this is your first visit, listen closely to the rules: any inner-sect disciple is permitted to freely read all texts and jade slips kept on the open shelves of the first floor. However, under no circumstances may any item be removed from the pavilion.”
“Understood.”
Lee Hyun first made his way toward the alchemy section.
Twelve Variations of Heat Control, Compendium of Tier 1 Spirit-Plant Medicinal Properties, Essentials of Distinguishing Pills from Poisons, One Hundred Cases of Conflicting Medicinal Effects, Records of Restoring Failed Pills…
Countless titles he had never encountered before lined the shelves.
Lee Hyun picked up several jade slips, pressed them to his forehead, and swept through their contents with his divine sense.
While many dealt with fundamental theory, they also contained rigorous, systematic classifications and extensive analyses of failed refinements—invaluable knowledge that an independent alchemist fumbling in the dark could never hope to obtain.
Joining a sect was definitely the right choice…
After immersing himself in the alchemy texts for a time, Lee Hyun wandered into an adjacent aisle and stumbled upon the section dedicated to formations.
Primer on Formation Inscriptions, Records of the Eight Gates and Their Transformations, Distinguishing Formation Implements from Formation Plates, Treatise on Earth and Water Veins Attracting Spirits, Emergency Procedures for Mountain-Protection Formations, Hundred Categories of Restrictions, Thirteen Ways to Break Illusion Formations…
An entire wall was devoted to the study of formations. While the shelves lacked complete formation diagrams or instructions for forging advanced formation implements, the materials provided remarkably detailed insights into deciphering existing formation structures and operating pre-existing arrays.
Lee Hyun walked back to Im Do-gyeom’s desk.
“Senior Martial Brother Im, may I ask a question?”
“Speak.”
“There’s a surprising amount of literature on formations here. Are all of these truly free to read, without needing contribution points?”
“They are.”
“But aren’t formation inheritances typically guarded as precious secrets?”
Im Do-gyeom nodded calmly. “Inheritances for designing new formations or crafting formation plates and implements are indeed strictly guarded. However, the materials on this floor deal almost entirely with recognizing existing formations and maintaining their operation.”
He gestured toward the nine peaks visible through the grand arched window.
“If an enemy attacks our gates and our formation masters are wounded, we can’t have the surviving disciples standing idly before the formation controls, wringing their hands in ignorance, can we?”
“Now that you mention it, I heard formations played a crucial role during the Azure Wood Ridge Herb Robbery as well.”
“Indeed they did…” Im Do-gyeom’s expression darkened slightly. “I was stationed on Outer Affairs Peak back then. The moment the infiltrators were exposed, they ambushed the two formation masters on duty before anything else. But our inner-sect disciples, having studied the basics of formation inscriptions, stepped up to man the auxiliary stations and held the line until the formation masters from Formation Craft Peak could arrive.”
He looked back toward the shelves.
“That is all the sect expects from its general disciples. We cannot turn everyone into a formation master, but in times of crisis, every disciple must know which station to hold and what duties to carry out.”
Lee Hyun nodded in understanding.
“So that was the intent.”
From that day forward, Lee Hyun visited the Scripture Pavilion whenever he had the time.
He began by familiarizing himself with the fundamental structure of formation inscriptions and the four basic functions they governed:
Gathering (聚) to pool spiritual qi, Guiding (導) to channel its flow, Blocking (禁) to restrict movement and intrusion, and Transformation (化) to alter inherent properties.
A single inscription was rarely limited to a single function. Depending on its position within the overall formation diagram and how it interlinked with neighboring inscriptions, the exact same glyph could draw spiritual qi inward or violently repel it.
Now that I grasp the underlying logic, the formations I encountered in the past look entirely different.
Of course, comprehending theory was leagues away from inscribing a functioning formation from scratch. For now, Lee Hyun had merely crossed the threshold from complete illiteracy to basic comprehension.
After roughly a month of frequenting the pavilion, Lee Hyun pulled a weathered, dust-laden jade slip from a shelf containing miscellaneous theoretical treatises.
Treatise on the Five Primordial States and Formations
What is this…?
Curious, Lee Hyun pressed the jade slip to his forehead.
As his divine sense sank into the jade, an immense tapestry of text and intricate diagrams unfurled within his mind.
[Formations are constructed from acquired spiritual qi and spirit materials. Material substances cannot restore the innate state, but by tracing its transformations, certain manifestations can be imitated.
Thus, we borrow the theory of the Five Primordial States to discuss the origins of various restrictions.
What are the Five Primordial States? The transformations before the creation of heaven and earth can be divided into five stages:
Primordial Change (Taiyi): the state in which even qi has yet to appear.
Primordial Beginning (Taichu): the state in which formless qi first appears.
Primordial Inception (Taishi): the state in which traces of form begin to emerge within qi.
Primordial Substance (Taisu): the state in which form acquires substance and begins to gain material existence.
Supreme Ultimate (Taiji): the undivided state in which qi, form, and substance are all present, but have yet to separate.
The Supreme Ultimate divided into the Two Modes: yin and yang. Clear, light yang rose to become heaven, while turbid, heavy yin sank to become earth.
The Two Modes differentiated into the Four Images, and the Four Images into the Eight Trigrams. Meanwhile, the natures of all things in heaven and earth manifested through the mutual generation and restraint of the Five Elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water…]
Primordial Substance…
Lee Hyun paused, rereading the passage carefully.
In the terms of my past life, is this close to the stage where form gains material substance and mass?
He delved deeper into the slip.
The subsequent sections introduced various experimental restrictions derived from the philosophical framework of the Five Primordial States. Most of them were theoretical hypotheses and records of failed attempts rather than complete formation diagrams.
Among them, however, one specific entry seized Lee Hyun’s undivided attention: the Primordial Earth Sky-Suppression Chapter.
[There are several branches of flight-sealing restrictions. Some disrupt wind qi to upset the balance of flight; others interfere with flying magical artifacts or obstruct a cultivator’s circulation of spiritual power. Among the more advanced Flight-Sealing Formations are methods that anchor themselves to earth veins and generate Primordial Earth Pressure.]
Primordial Earth Pressure?
A detailed schematic of a Tier 2 Great Flight-Sealing Formation appeared in his mind’s eye. Formation implements positioned across the eight cardinal directions were linked directly into subterranean earth veins, with dense downward vectors inscribed over every physical object within the array’s perimeter.
Once triggered, everything within the formation’s boundary was dragged toward the earth with overwhelming force. Flying magical artifacts burned through immense amounts of spiritual power simply to maintain their altitude, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators struggled to lift their feet off the ground near the formation’s core.
[Primordial Earth is not the earth element. The earth element is merely the anchor and medium that fixes Primordial Earth Pressure to an earth vein. When form acquires substance, weight arises, and anything with weight sinks toward the center. Tracing its origin through the theory of the Five Primordial States leads to the material substance of the Primordial Substance state.]
Lee Hyun’s eyes widened with profound realization.
They’re describing gravity.
In the knowledge of his previous life, the force pulling objects toward the ground was gravity. This world was incomparably larger than Earth, but people and objects still fell to the ground. Cultivators simply seemed to understand that force through an entirely different framework.
Lee Hyun continued reading the jade slip.
[The acquired spiritual qi of the Five Elements cannot reproduce innate Primordial Substance.]
[However, by harmonizing the spiritual qi of the Five Elements, one can temporarily return it to the aspect of Primordial Unity and use formation inscriptions to imitate the transformation in which form acquires substance and condenses. The force generated through this is called Primordial Earth Force.]
[To generate Primordial Earth Force through a formation, one must anchor it to an earth vein and prepare formation implements and plates of the Five Elements to complete the transformations of Return to Unity and Materialization.]
[Currently, among the formulas for Return to Unity and Materialization sufficiently verified for use in a Tier 2 Great Flight-Sealing Formation, the most widely used are taken from the Foundation Establishment Chapter of the Primordial Unity One-Qi Art—a cultivation art that almost no one practices directly.]
Lee Hyun’s divine sense froze on that sentence.
He checked again, making sure he hadn’t misread it.
The Foundation Establishment Chapter of the Primordial Unity One-Qi Art.
It was written there as clear as day.
The Foundation Establishment Chapter?