Chapter 42
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42
Black Crow was the first to present a thick ledger.
“This is the settlement statement for all spirit stones and spirit materials that have passed through the Hundred Wares Shop over the past year. All membership fees and usage fees for the vein cultivation seats are recorded within. After deducting maintenance costs for each stronghold, the remainder has been converted to mid-grade spirit stones and stored.”
Along with the ledger, he placed a small storage pouch on the table.
“Would you like to verify it yourself, Society Leader?”
“Leave the ledger. You keep the storage pouch.”
“Understood.”
Black Crow pushed the ledger forward, then drew another storage pouch from his robes.
“And this is something I have brought for you.”
When the pouch was unsealed, a stack of books arranged themselves neatly on the stone chamber’s floor.
They showed hardly any signs of wear. Each cover bore the exact same title, distinguished only by its volume number.
Record of a Poor Tenant Farmer’s Return to Longevity
Volumes 1 through 72. A complete set.
Lee Hyun’s gaze lingered on the books for a moment.
“They say it is currently the most popular work in the mortal realm of the Earth Kingdom. It begins with the son of a poor tenant farmer in a war-torn border commandery. He is conscripted into military service, rescues an injured rogue cultivator on the battlefield, and obtains an Immortal Ascension Token.”
Black Crow held up one of the volumes.
“Starting as a lowly labor disciple, he steadily obtains cultivation resources and techniques. A hundred years later, his youth fully preserved, he returns to his hometown to punish corrupt officials and restore his fallen family. In the latter half, even the emperor personally begs him to become the State Preceptor.”
He added, “It was published steadily over ten years and concluded with Volume 72 this past spring. The members who read it gave it very high praise.”
“I shall enjoy reading it.”
“I am glad if it pleases you.”
Lee Hyun swept the books into his storage pouch.
The other members had no idea why Chief Badger collected mortal pulp novels.
Next was Gray Mountain Goat.
He unfolded three maps marking the spirit veins of the Earth Kingdom near the Hundred Wares Shop.
“The eleven vein cultivation seats in the Earth Kingdom are mostly in good order. However, we have closed the Seokho Sect’s Second Cultivation Seat, located nine thousand li east of Hoeam Market.”
“The reason?”
“The Seokho Sect altered the detection methods of their formations. Continued use carried a high risk of discovery.”
“And the members?”
“They were reassigned to other nearby cultivation seats. Their cultivation has not been significantly disrupted.”
“Well done.”
Gray Mountain Goat marked the closed seat on the map.
Next, he produced a jade box slightly larger than his palm.
Click.
Inside lay a blue-green bell the size of a human fist. Wave patterns ran down its surface from top to bottom, but there was no visible clapper to strike it.
“It is a Protective Bell.”
Gray Mountain Goat infused it with spiritual power.
Hummm—
The fist-sized bell floated into the air.
Dong—
With a low toll, the Protective Bell expanded rapidly. Moments later, the bell reached six cheok in height and slowly descended, hovering about an inch above the floor.
“Mole, test it lightly.”
Mole nodded and extended his hand.
Swoosh!
A stone spike one ja in length spun through the air, hurtling toward the Protective Bell.
Crash!
The stone spike shattered into pieces.
Dark blue ripples spread across the bell’s curved surface from the point of impact, and the force behind the spike dissipated into a low, echoing chime. The Protective Bell then shrank back to the size of a fist and settled onto Gray Mountain Goat’s palm.
“It is said to withstand multiple attacks from late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. It can even absorb a single strike from an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, though doing so may damage the bell.”
“A high-grade magical artifact, then.”
“Yes. It was cast with an alloy of Profound Resonant Copper, a Tier 2 mid-grade spirit material.”
Lee Hyun turned the Protective Bell over in his palm a few times, inspecting it before putting it into his storage pouch.
Gray Mountain Goat continued, “I have also uncovered some uses for the Purple Poison Orchid, Bone-Corroding Flower, and Yin Soul Grass you requested.”
“Speak.”
“The Purple Poison Orchid is indeed one of the main ingredients for Poison-Warding Pills. The nearest place that refines them is Cheongha Valley in the Great Yeon Kingdom. However, there is no information indicating that Cheongha Valley uses Bone-Corroding Flowers or Yin Soul Grass.”
Cheongha Valley was the sect where Lee Hyun had been an outer-sect disciple roughly 1,330 years ago.
Refining pills with Purple Poison Orchids makes sense. They were cultivating them in the Withered Yin Fields, after all. But they have no items made with Bone-Corroding Flowers and Yin Soul Grass? Either the intelligence is inaccurate, or Cheongha Valley lost the pill recipes over time.
Cheongha Valley’s prominence was nothing like its former glory; at this point, it was questionable whether they even had a single Golden Core cultivator left.
Yellow Field Mouse reported on the situation in the Great Yeon Kingdom.
“We have discovered four new residual-vein pockets in the southern region of the Great Yeon Kingdom. However, we have yet to construct cultivation seats there.”
“Why?”
“Perhaps because the environment is harsher, the sects of the Great Yeon Kingdom are far more sensitive about territorial boundaries than those in the Earth Kingdom. The cultivator clans occupying the spirit veins also patrol frequently. We judged that rashly excavating tunnels might expose our other cultivation seats.”
“You did well.”
Yellow Field Mouse bowed his head in relief.
“Instead, we are continuously recording their spiritual pressure and patrol intervals. We will observe for about three more years before reporting back.”
“Proceed as planned.”
Mole briefly reported that there were no anomalies in the cultivation seats under his charge.
White Owl carefully brought out a jade box from his robes. Inside, four jade bottles were arranged neatly.
“Here are the Purple Vitality Pills you requested. Twelve pills in total.”
Three pills were in each jade bottle. Tier 1 Spirit-Sealing Talismans were affixed to the mouths of the bottles, and the sealing wax bore the pill inspection seal of the Crimson Sky Sect.
Lee Hyun took out one of the jade bottles and examined the Spirit-Sealing Talisman and sealing wax.
“High-grade this time as well?”
“Yes. It has been less than half a year since they left the furnaces.”
Lee Hyun broke the seal and poured a single Purple Vitality Pill onto his palm. Faint flame patterns, resembling rising tongues of fire, marked the pill’s purple-hued surface. Examining its interior with his Qi-Observation Technique and divine sense, he saw that the refined medicinal efficacy was evenly concentrated at its core.
The Purple Vitality Pill was a Tier 1 high-grade pill taken by late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to accumulate magical power. Unlike Vitality-Raising Pills or Barrier-Breaking Pills, it was not intended for breaking through minor cultivation bottlenecks, but its medicinal properties were gentle and pure, shortening the time a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator needed to practice.
White Owl had supplied Purple Vitality Pills to Lee Hyun for over thirty years. Rather than simply trusting the Crimson Sky Sect’s pill inspection seal, Lee Hyun personally inspected the pills each time, but an issue had never once arisen.
Fine quality, as expected.
Lee Hyun returned the pill to the bottle.
Clink.
A pouch filled with mid-grade spirit stones appeared on the table.
White Owl checked the number of spirit stones before tucking the pouch into his robes.
“Will you be able to procure more next time?”
“Demand for Purple Vitality Pills has recently surged, even among Crimson Sky Sect disciples. It will likely be difficult for some time.”
“I see.”
Lee Hyun stored the jade box of Purple Vitality Pills in his storage pouch.
White Owl didn’t know why Chief Badger continuously purchased Purple Vitality Pills.
Does he belong to another gathering? I’ve never seen him trade Purple Vitality Pills in our circle…
White Owl was an outer-sect disciple of the Crimson Sky Sect and a state-resident cultivator dispatched to the royal house of the Anreung Kingdom, far to the northwest of the main mountain. The Anreung Kingdom itself possessed no strong cultivation factions, but in the cultivation world, it fell under the domain of the Earth Kingdom.
The Crimson Sky Sect and the Azure Gauze Sect had both established Immortal Service Courtyards within the royal house of the Anreung Kingdom. They dispatched outer-sect disciples there to supervise rogue cultivators hired by the royal house, identify children with exceptional spiritual roots, and screen tributes bound for their sects. Mediating disputes between rogue cultivators or minor cultivator clans also fell to the state-resident cultivators.
Though “state-resident cultivator” sounded prestigious, from the perspective of the main sect, it was little more than a dead-end assignment for an outer-sect disciple who had fallen behind in internal competition. The cultivation resources granted were meager, and the spirit veins of the Anreung royal house offered little help in advancing one’s cultivation realm quickly.
His motivation for joining the Twin Heavens Society had begun with utilizing their vein cultivation seats while traveling between the Crimson Sky Sect’s main mountain and the Anreung Kingdom. Operating so far from the main mountain made interacting with local rogue cultivators and members of the Twin Heavens Society feel relatively natural.
Every three or four years, White Owl returned to the Crimson Sky Sect to escort tribute convoys or report on missions. Using the purchasing privileges granted as rewards for external missions, he bought various goods, one of which was the Purple Vitality Pills requested by Lee Hyun.
The supply schedule was irregular, but the quality was beyond doubt. White Owl presented pills stamped with the Crimson Sky Sect’s inspection seal without hesitation, making little effort to conceal his status as a disciple of a great sect. That identity alone gave him a solid footing within the Twin Heavens Society.
Finally, Blue Snake unrolled a map of the Heavenly Yang Kingdom. The map marked the Insect-Rearing Courtyards in the northern part of the kingdom, Tier 2 spirit veins, and fortresses garrisoned by Insect-Bonded Warriors.
“Patrols of the spirit veins have recently increased in northern Heavenly Yang. Fortunately, the Twin Heavens Society’s cultivation seats have not yet been discovered.”
“Keep watch, but do not take unnecessary risks.”
“Understood.”
Blue Snake hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“Also, a member active in Heavenly Yang wishes to pay his respects to you in person, Society Leader.”
“Who is it?”
“Black Marten. He joined three years ago and has provided valuable intelligence regarding movements within the Insect-Rearing Courtyards on multiple occasions.”
Blue Snake added, “He recently acquired a rare treasure and wished to present it to you, so I brought him along. He is waiting outside.”
“Send him in.”
A moment later, a cultivator wearing a Black Marten mask descended the stairs into the stone chamber and dropped to both knees at its center.
“I pay my respects to the Society Leader.”
“Rise.”
“Thank you.”
He drew an elongated wooden box from his robes.
“This is a Spirit-Vein Probing Ruler.”
Black Marten held up the wooden box.
“When pressed against the earth and infused with spiritual power, it indicates the direction in which surrounding spirit veins and residual veins extend. Believing it would assist in discovering new cultivation seats, I wished to offer it to you, Society Leader.”
“Bring it forward.”
“Yes.”
Black Marten approached, holding the wooden box aloft with both hands. In that instant, the spirit-insect pouch at Lee Hyun’s waist gave a slight twitch.
“Here it is.”
He opened the wooden box.
Click.
Inside lay a metal ruler one cheok in length, with a transparent bead embedded at one end.
It was the precise moment Lee Hyun lowered his gaze.
Transparent threads erupted from Black Marten’s fingertips, tearing through the air. Half targeted Chief Badger’s dantian and chest, while the rest streaked toward the vital acupoints of his neck and limbs.
Simultaneously, dense black smoke exploded from within the wooden box.
“Society Leader—!”
Before Blue Snake’s cry could even fade—
Chiiiing.
As though time itself had stopped, a brief, ringing sword hum resonated through the stone chamber.
None of the members saw when their leader had even moved his hand. All they saw were the transparent threads, severed helplessly in mid-air and scattering across the floor.
Shhh.
The billowing black smoke engulfing their vision split cleanly down the middle, like a massive curtain being torn in two. A path opened with picturesque precision, leading from where Chief Badger sat straight to Black Marten’s chest.
Yet Black Marten did not retreat.
Spiritual pressure suddenly detonated from his body.
Boom!
Blue Snake, who had been about to step forward, froze in his tracks. The savage aura crushing down upon the stone chamber sent the ledgers and maps on the table fluttering wildly.
This was no Qi Refining presence.
Early-stage Foundation Establishment.
And it wasn’t the aura of a cultivator—it was that of an Insect-Bonded Warrior!
Crack! Screeech!
Black Marten’s robes swelled to bursting. Chitin burst through his flesh, grotesquely encasing his right arm in an instant.
Hurling the wooden box aside, Black Marten lunged forward.
Crack!
His right foot crushed into the stone floor. Power welling up from his toes surged through his twisted waist and spine, pooling all at once into his right fist. Yellow Field Mouse choked on his breath just from witnessing the motion. The air before the fist distorted into pitch-black ripples, saturated with a force that threatened to bring the stone chamber crashing down.
Whooosh—
The distance between them was far too short.
Black Marten’s fist hurtled straight toward Chief Badger’s chest.
At that moment, the flow of the world seemed to slow before White Owl’s eyes. Amid the tempestuous wind from the fist, Chief Badger’s sleeve rippled gently.
A streak of pure white sword light blossomed into dozens of radiant slivers, like an unfolding fan. It branched with the breathtaking grace of plum blossoms blooming against a night sky, only to condense back into a single point in the blink of an eye.
Flash!
The ferocious fist force and Chief Badger’s sword light collided head-on.
A chilling white line was drawn right through the center of the Insect-Origin True Qi shrouding Black Marten’s fist. Along that line, the Insect-Origin True Qi split in two. The bifurcated force grazed past either side of Chief Badger and slammed into the stone wall behind him.
Rumble-crash!
The entire stone chamber trembled.
Yellow Field Mouse instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, then forced them open.
Chief Badger remained calmly seated, unmoved.
Only Black Marten stood frozen, his fist still thrust forward. The white line carved into his fist extended in an unbroken trace up his forearm, over his shoulder, across his chest, and down to his lower abdomen.
Craaack.
The black carapace and his Body-Protecting Spirit Light ruptured at the exact same moment.
Spuuurtt!
Dark crimson blood geysered forth a beat too late.
Black Marten stared down at the white line cleaving his body in utter disbelief.
How…?
Before his final thought could even form, the piercing shriek of parted air trailing the sword light finally echoed through the chamber.
Kiiiing—
Thud.
Black Marten’s bisected body collapsed to the floor.
Deep inside his lower abdomen, something squirmed.
Bubble. Bubble.
Soon, the skin around his dantian turned black, and slender protrusions resembling insect legs jutted out from within. Yet that movement did not last long. Cleaved in two alongside its host by the sword light, the life-bonded insect wriggled a few times before rapidly withering away into a pile of ash.
Mole stared at the corpse, his face pale.
“An Insect-Bonded Warrior…?”
Blue Snake broke into a cold sweat. He was the one who had brought Black Marten here. In the Society Leader’s eyes, this ambush could easily look like a plot hatched between the two of them. Should the leader conclude as much, no one would lift a finger to stop the next sword light from severing his own throat.
Blue Snake dropped hastily to his knees.
“Society Leader! I swear by the heavens, I am not in league with him! I had no idea he was an Insect-Bonded Warrior, nor did I know he was targeting you!”
The eyes of the other members gathered on Blue Snake.
Lee Hyun flicked the blood from his Mountain-Suppressing Sword.
“I will hear your excuses later.”
Blue Snake’s shoulders flinched.
“First, examine the body.”
“Yes!”
Only then did the six members regain their wits. With trembling hands, Blue Snake stripped off Black Marten’s mask and outer robe. Beneath the mask was the face of a man around forty, with no prominent scars or distinguishing features.
No token confirming his identity was found on his person. However, tearing open the lining of his robe revealed a black iron token the size of two finger joints. Carved on the front was a black sun, and on the back, an insect with closed eyes.
Blue Snake’s face turned even paler.
“It is the Black Sun Bureau.”
“What kind of organization is that?”
“An intelligence agency of the Heavenly Yang royal house. They investigate the illicit circulation of unauthorized life-bonded insects and plant spies within various factions outside the royal court.” Blue Snake looked down at Black Marten’s face once more. “This is my first time seeing an operative of the Black Sun Bureau in person. I only knew their insignia.”
Mole discovered a black jade bead. Fine red lines were interwoven inside it. He examined the bead with his Qi-Observation Technique, then paused.
“This appears to be linked to something outside.”
“A sound transmission magical artifact?”
“I cannot say for certain.”
“Set it aside.”
The members spread the items retrieved from Black Marten’s robes and storage pouch across the table. The iron token, the jade bead, the Spirit-Vein Probing Ruler from the wooden box, talismans of unknown purpose, and silver needles were all classified as potential tracking hazards.
“I will handle these.”
What remained were some thirty mid-grade spirit stones, healing pills, common talismans, and ordinary spirit materials. After confirming there were no special markings or suspicious formation inscriptions on them, Lee Hyun transferred them into his own storage pouch.
The members watched this as a matter of course. Since it was the Society Leader who had slain the enemy, the spoils naturally belonged to him.
Lastly, a small spirit-insect pouch was found at Black Marten’s waist. Mole and Blue Snake examined the exterior, finding no noticeable tracking formation inscriptions.
“Open it.”
Lee Hyun peeled away the Spirit-Sealing Talisman and opened the pouch. A faint jade glow leaked from within. Curled inside was a spirit insect resembling a white silkworm, about two finger joints long. Its skin was translucent like jade, and thin blue meridians coursed through its body.
White Owl’s eyes widened in shock.
“A Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm!”
“Do you recognize this insect?”
“It is a Tier 2 life-bonded insect,” White Owl explained. “I have heard it possesses the rare ability to bridge a host’s meridians directly with their life force. Better yet, the bonding process is said to be far safer than with ordinary life-bonded insects.”
“A Tier 2 life-bonded insect… does that mean it rivals a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”
“It is still only a larva. However, once fully matured, it can coexist with an Insect-Bonded Warrior at the Foundation Establishment realm. That is why it is classified as Tier 2.”
The Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm showed no signs of having bonded its life to anyone yet. It was an entirely separate entity from the insect that had perished inside the dead man.
“Why would an agent of the Black Sun Bureau carry such a thing?”
“He may have intended to recruit a local martial artist or implant it into a newly turned informant. I cannot say for certain, however.”
Lee Hyun nodded. He slipped the Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm back into its pouch and tucked it away into his robes.
With the traceable items, ordinary spoils, and the silkworm cleared away, the stone table sat bare once more.
Once everything was in order, Lee Hyun turned his gaze upon Blue Snake.
“Where did you meet him?”
“Three years ago, at our cultivation seat in Heukseok Ridge within the Heavenly Yang Kingdom.” Blue Snake prostrated himself once more, pressing his forehead against the cold stone floor. “He was an unaffiliated rogue cultivator cultivating alone in that residual-vein pocket. I initiated contact. After putting him through several trials, I admitted him into the Twin Heavens Society.”
“How did you test him?”
“I leaked false rumors across different locations to observe his reactions, and I thoroughly examined his storage pouch and the techniques he utilized. I found no traces of Insect-Origin True Qi or a life-bonded insect on his person.”
“And you were the one who brought him here today?”
“Yes.” Blue Snake kept his forehead glued to the ground, his voice heavy with dread. “The fault lies entirely with me. I will accept whatever punishment the Society Leader sees fit to deliver.”
“Raise your head.”
Blue Snake carefully straightened his posture.
“It would have been nearly impossible for you to see through an Insect-Bonded Warrior,” Lee Hyun said evenly. “If a Foundation Establishment expert resolves to conceal his true nature, how could a Qi Refining cultivator like you hope to expose him? Moreover, as an agent of the Black Sun Bureau, infiltrating and masking his identity was his craft.”
“Even so, I brought danger straight to our sanctum.”
“Indeed. For that reason, this place is abandoned as of today.” Lee Hyun turned toward Black Crow. “Continue operating the Hundred Wares Shop as usual, but destroy the formation inscriptions leading down to this subterranean chamber. I will notify everyone of the location for our next gathering separately.”
“Understood.”
“Blue Snake, abandon the cultivation seat at Heukseok Ridge along with every contact post that man ever set foot in. Scatter the affiliated members across separate regions and sever all contact with them for the foreseeable future.”
“Yes, Society Leader.”
“From this moment forth, we will accept no new recruits.”
The six masked figures bowed their heads in unison.
“Re-examine the backgrounds and induction paths of every existing member,” Lee Hyun instructed. “Even when recruitment eventually resumes, any prospective candidate must have two sponsors and undergo at least a decade of observation. Furthermore, no member who has been with the Society for less than thirty years is permitted to attend the Central Gathering.”
“We will carve your words into our bones.”
When Blue Snake parted his lips to apologize again, Lee Hyun raised a hand, cutting him off.
“Had you been in league with him, you would have struck the moment his ambush faltered. There is no need for further excuses.”
“Thank you, Society Leader.”
After gathering the remaining materials from the gathering, Lee Hyun raised his hand and unleashed the Fireball Technique. A blaze erupted, incinerating Black Marten’s corpse until not a speck of ash remained.
“This concludes today’s gathering.”
The six members clasped their hands respectfully.
“Farewell, Society Leader.”
Lee Hyun’s silhouette sank effortlessly into the earth below.
Sssshhh—
The underground chamber fell dead silent. The six members stood frozen in place, staring at the empty patch of ground where he had just vanished.
Yellow Field Mouse was the first to break the stillness, his voice barely a whisper. “Did anyone actually see him draw his sword?”
No one answered.
Gray Mountain Goat fixed his gaze on the cleaved granite wall and murmured, “Black Marten was by no means weak. Had that blade been aimed at any of us, not a single soul here would have walked away alive.”
White Owl looked at the gouged stone where Black Marten had fallen, recalling the horrifying, continuous wound carved from the man’s fist down to his lower abdomen. “Just how strong… is our Society Leader?”
Mole’s eyes drifted toward the solid rock where Chief Badger had dissolved into nothingness.
“His realm,” Mole breathed softly, “is far beyond anything we could ever hope to fathom.”
* * *
Two shichen later.
Having traversed more than a thousand li from Hoeam Market, Lee Hyun tunneled twenty-five li down into the crust where the Earth Vein Layer began.
There, surrounded by searing subterranean heat, he produced the black iron token, the jade bead, the Spirit-Vein Probing Ruler, and several talismans and silver needles of unknown origin.
Without hesitation, he cast them one by one into an open fissure pulsing with raw Earthfire.
Fwhoooosh—!
The black iron token flared cherry-red before warping, while the crimson threads inside the jade bead snapped and burst in rapid succession.
Crack! Snap!
Lee Hyun waited patiently, departing only after confirming that every single trace of tracking aura and material form had been melted down into slag.
* * *
The following day.
Inside the quiet cultivation room of Tunnel No. 3.
Lee Hyun arranged four jade bottles before him on the ground. Each bottle contained three Purple Vitality Pills.
Twelve pills in all.
Over the past two hundred and eighty years, he had cultivated exclusively in top-tier Vein Cultivation Seats ranging from Tier 1 high-grade to supreme-grade. Even so, the sheer depth of spiritual energy demanded by the Primordial Unity Body was utterly preposterous.
By his earliest estimates upon breaking through to the 7th layer of the Qi Refining Stage, reaching the 9th layer should have taken six hundred years, with another four hundred required to achieve Great Perfection.
Because of this, Lee Hyun had spent the past century quietly stockpiling cultivation pills whenever the opportunity arose.
His lifespan was infinite, yes, but endless cultivation was a dull, grueling chore—and he had already devoured virtually every popular novel in circulation across the surrounding territories.
Furthermore, his subterranean spirit fields were bursting with centuries-old spirit herbs. Wasting years of his life just to hoard spirit stones had long become a terrible trade-off.
Among the cultivation pills accessible in this region, the Purple Vitality Pill offered the greatest medicinal purity. The batches he had acquired from White Owl alone numbered over seventy pills, which had propelled him straight to the peak of the 8th layer of Qi Refining.
Lee Hyun picked up a Purple Vitality Pill and tossed it into his mouth.
Gulp.
As the pill dissolved down his throat, a smooth, dense wave of medicinal energy washed through his limbs.
Lying back comfortably across the stone floor, Lee Hyun channeled the Primordial Unity One-Qi Art.
Whoooosh—
Primordial Unity True Qi surged through his meridians like a raging river, devouring and refining the medicinal potency.
One shichen later, he swallowed and completely absorbed a second pill.
The incoming tidal wave of refined power pressed relentlessly against the upper limits of his dantian.
Thump.
A dull resonance rippled through his flesh and meridians.
By the time the eighth Purple Vitality Pill dissolved, Primordial Unity True Qi was churning like a tempest within him.
Then, with an explosive surge, the circulating energy broke through its confines and expanded outward.
Rumble—!
The swelling spiritual power shattered the final barrier standing in its path.
A visible ripple of force emanated beneath Lee Hyun’s frame. The stone dust and loose pebbles scattered across the floor floated into the air before clattering back down in a noisy cascade.
Patter, clatter.
The 9th layer of the Qi Refining Stage!
Lee Hyun closed his eyes, slowly circulating his breath until the turbulent Primordial Unity True Qi settled into a calm, steady rhythm.
Eventually, he pushed himself up.
A refreshing lightness suffused his entire body. His spirit felt crystal clear.
“Good.”
He walked over to the storage room and retrieved a wooden plaque that served as his Handmade Status Window—something he had not touched in a very long time.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t updated this in nearly three hundred years.”
After quietly inspecting his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, he utilized the Yang Metal Formula to scrape away a portion of the old characters, carving new strokes into the wood.
【Age: 1,393】
【Cultivation Realm: Qi Refining, 9th layer】
【Spiritual Power: 733 → 1,333】
【Physique: Primordial Unity Body, Stage 9】
Lee Hyun stared quietly at the wooden plaque.
Qi Refining, 9th layer.
“Is the next hurdle a Foundation Establishment Pill…?”
Foundation Establishment Pills were on an entirely different level of scarcity compared to Vitality-Raising Pills.
As far as Lee Hyun knew, the only power in the surrounding territories capable of concocting and openly trading Foundation Establishment Pills was the Crimson Sky Sect of the Earth Kingdom.
Even within a behemoth like the Crimson Sky Sect, Foundation Establishment Pills were guarded like divine treasures.
Public sales were practically nonexistent; the vast majority were distributed directly to True-Inheritance Disciples and Inner-Sect Disciples, with only a tiny fraction set aside as rewards for Outer-Sect Disciples who had accumulated immense merits over decades of service.
Given the demands of my Primordial Unity Body, I will need at least fifty pills. But if I try to hoard them slowly one by one, the spiritual qi inside the earlier pills will bleed away long before I gather enough…
If I cannot secure a massive stockpile within a narrow window, my best option is to obtain the pill recipe alongside the rootstocks of the required spirit herbs, cultivate them in my tunnels, and brew them myself.
The problem is, the recipe for a Foundation Establishment Pill is a closely guarded legacy secret even within the premier sects…
Lee Hyun lay back down against the stone floor.
Well, there is no need to rush. I only just entered the 9th layer of Qi Refining. I can cultivate toward Great Perfection at my own pace while figuring out a solution.
He returned the wooden plaque to the storage chamber.
Only then did he recall the Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm he had retrieved from Black Marten.
“Might as well take a look at it now.”
Lee Hyun stepped into a separate underground chamber where none of his ordinary Fluffy Bees were permitted to roam.
He had no desire to implant an alien insect into his own flesh. Nor was it safe to fence a life-bonded insect tied to the Black Sun Bureau on the black market.
More importantly, his Fluffy Bees had reacted with violent hunger when the silkworm was close by. Feeding it to them to observe potential mutations seemed the most practical choice.
First, he loosened the drawstring of his Spirit-Insect Pouch and summoned three specific Fluffy Bees—the very trio whose agitation had warned him of Black Marten’s ambush the previous day.
Bzzzt— Bzz-bzz—
The moment they took flight, the three bees circled excitedly around Lee Hyun’s head.
Chirp. Chirp-chirp.
“Are you really that hungry?”
When Lee Hyun opened Black Marten’s Spirit-Insect Pouch, a faint, soothing jade luminescence spilled into the cavern.
Rustle—
Sensing the open air, the Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm poked its head out, wriggling slowly as if taking in its surroundings.
It instinctively tried to siphon the ambient Heaven-and-Earth spiritual qi, but as an immature larva, its presence was remarkably faint and fragile.
In that split second, the three Fluffy Bees struck.
Bzzzt!
The Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm recoiled, but it was already too late.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Three streams of viscous fluid shot from the bees’ mouths like high-velocity darts.
The sticky mucus plastered across the silkworm’s head, torso, and tail with terrifying precision.
The silkworm thrashed violently, but the secretion hardened almost instantly, pinning its jade-colored form flat against the stone floor.
Trapped within the translucent amber-like slime, the creature panicked, sending out desperate ripples of spiritual power. It was instinctively reaching out, pleading to bind its life force to any living vessel nearby.
Unfortunately for the silkworm, its only companions were Fluffy Bees—natural predators bred specifically to slaughter spirit insects.
The three bees descended upon the pinned larva.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch…
The jade silkworm vanished into their mandibles at a visible pace. The three bees shoved and butted heads, greedily contesting every scrap of meat.
Bzzz! Chirp!
“Don’t fight. Share it equally.”
Within moments, not a single trace of the Meridian-Softening Jade Silkworm remained.
Having devoured a Tier 2 creature whole, the three Fluffy Bees sported abdomens that were swollen into round, glistening spheres. They buzzed unsteadily, wobbled through the air for two awkward flaps, and collapsed onto the dirt floor one after another.
Plop. Thud.
All three rolled onto their backs, legs twitching lazily in the air.
Chirp…
“A food coma?”
In all his years of keeping them, Lee Hyun had never seen a Fluffy Bee eat itself into immobility.
Upon closer inspection, however, rhythmic pulses of heat and spiritual energy were throbbing from their plump bodies.
“Hm?”
Lee Hyun scooped one of the bees onto his palm.
Its carapace was radiating an intense, feverish warmth.
Are they preparing to evolve?
Without wasting a breath, Lee Hyun cast the Soil-Softening Technique, molding the surrounding granite into three small, seamless stone jars.
He placed one bee into each container, shaped lids using the same earth spell, and pierced tiny breathing holes using the Yang Metal Formula.
“Just to be safe, it is better to keep them separated.”
Lee Hyun carried the three jars to an isolated alcove adjoining his storage room.
Standing in the dim light, he paused in quiet reflection.
Although the Fluffy Bees were fond of him, they had never undergone a formal master-servant blood pact through any secret Insect Control heritage art. Their bond was purely one of domestic familiarity, built upon centuries of feeding, shelter, and gentle care.
If they truly mutated into Tier 2 spirit insects, there was no telling whether their primitive instincts might overcome that loyalty.
It seems I will need to track down a proper insect-binding secret technique to imprint true ownership on them.