Chapter 46
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46
Mun So-ha’s hands stilled.
“Junior Martial Brother Lee, are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Lee Hyun took a small pouch from his storage pouch.
Clatter.
Twenty low-grade spirit stones spilled across the table.
Yeo Mun-deok’s eyes darted back and forth between the spirit stones and Lee Hyun.
“…Reaching the 9th layer of Qi Refining has certainly made you bold.”
Dang Yeon-bi chimed in.
“Fellow Daoist Lee, do you come from a cultivator clan?”
“No, I do not.”
“Then are you saving this for future generations?”
“I just happen to know someone who collects unusual spirit plants.”
Even after counting the spirit stones, Mun So-ha didn’t take them right away.
“Think it over one more time. While I believe it to be genuine, there’s no guarantee it will actually sprout. Once this is sold, I can’t give you a refund if you change your mind.”
“I’m sure. It’s fine.”
To Lee Hyun, twenty low-grade spirit stones were a trivial sum.
In the end, Mun So-ha slipped the spirit stones into her storage pouch.
After packing the wooden box away, Lee Hyun asked her, “If you happen to come across any other seeds like this in the future—cheap because they take too long to grow, or unsold because they’re unidentified—could you let me know?”
“You plan on buying more?”
“I’ll decide based on the price.”
A faint smile touched Mun So-ha’s lips.
“If anything like that comes in, I’ll get in touch with you.”
* * *
Back in the living quarters of the Outer Alchemy Courtyard, Lee Hyun placed the wooden box on his table.
When he opened the lid, the seed of the Ringless Divine Tree was revealed.
Placing a fingertip against the seed, Lee Hyun first channeled his Qi-Observation Technique, then followed it with his divine sense.
Only after a long and careful inspection could he detect an extremely faint trace of life force deep within.
It isn’t dead. She said it triggers Profound Nether Freezing Lightning after five thousand years, right?
Lee Hyun recalled Mun So-ha’s words.
—They say that when struck by Profound Nether Freezing Lightning, one’s magical power freezes, and even the thoughts of the primordial spirit grow sluggish.
The primordial spirit…
His thoughts naturally drifted to the news Dang Yeon-bi had shared earlier about the overseas cultivators who had seized the Ram Kingdom.
Lee Hyun recalled the crimson clouds, ash-gray snow, and inverted sea that had blanketed the skies of the Everlasting Spring Sect long ago.
Venerable Crimson Furnace’s voice had boomed, carrying the divine sense of a Golden Core cultivator and the very concept of flame. When Lady White Ash spoke, even those seething with rage were swept up in a sorrow for the dead. And when the Wanderer of the Azure Sea spoke of the principles of the ocean, Qi Refining cultivators felt as if they were standing alone before a boundless sea.
Back then, as the eyes of some Everlasting Spring Sect disciples had wavered, a Foundation Establishment elder had rung a bronze bell while Go Won-hak dispersed mind-clearing medicinal fragrances.
At the time, I wasn’t particularly affected, but…
Perhaps it was because his entire body, including his brain and spinal cord, had been baptized by spiritual power when he formed the Primordial Unity Body. But that had been a wide-ranging technique cast over the entire market; no one had focused a divine sense attack directly on him.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Everlasting Spring Sect were barely affected. But for those in the Qi Refining stage, just having Golden Core cultivators infuse their words with magical power and divine sense was enough to disrupt their thoughts.
Lee Hyun realized his vulnerability.
His spiritual power was incomparably vast compared to cultivators of the same realm.
However, he had never formally trained his primordial spirit.
If it’s a spell, I can clash with it using spiritual power. But if my mind is ensnared, I might not even realize I’m under attack.
What I need right now is a way to defend against divine sense attacks.
* * *
The following day, Lee Hyun stood in the Scripture Pavilion, in the section dedicated to inheritances that protected the primordial spirit.
On the wall, jade slips were displayed, each inscribed with a title and a brief description.
Heart-Calming Spirit-Nourishing Formula, Illusion-Breaking Heart-Clearing Technique, Three Soul-Calming Tones…
None of them were poor techniques, yet each fell slightly short of what Lee Hyun was looking for.
The Heart-Calming Spirit-Nourishing Formula consumed little spiritual power, but its effects were equally mild. The Illusion-Breaking Heart-Clearing Technique required one to realize they were under an illusion in the first place. The Three Soul-Calming Tones was better suited for dispelling delusions in groups rather than directly withstanding a potent divine sense attack.
Browsing slowly through the section, Lee Hyun paused before a single jade slip.
Spirit-Guarding Origin-Protecting Art (守神護元法).
[A secret art that forms an Origin-Protecting Seal within the sea of consciousness to shield the primordial spirit from another’s divine sense. Maintaining the Origin-Protecting Seal continuously consumes spiritual power, and the drain increases relative to the force of any attack on the primordial spirit. Contribution Points: 90.]
Hm?
Lee Hyun read the description again.
While the continuous drain of spiritual power was a massive disadvantage for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator, for Lee Hyun, it was an entirely different story.
If spiritual power consumption is its only drawback, then for me, it has practically no drawback at all.
The Spirit-Guarding Origin-Protecting Art allowed one to form the Origin-Protecting Seal in advance. Once the seal was up, even if he failed to notice an incoming divine sense attack or illusion, it would automatically react to safeguard his primordial spirit as long as he maintained it.
This was precisely the inheritance he had been seeking.
Lee Hyun headed straight to the managing disciple.
“I would like to view the Spirit-Guarding Origin-Protecting Art.”
The managing disciple placed Lee Hyun’s identity token onto a formation plate.
Wuuung—
The 368 contribution points remaining on the token flickered, and 90 of them vanished.
“Proceed to Inheritance Room Eleven. You have two shichen.”
“Understood.”
Even after committing every word of the jade slip to memory in Inheritance Room 11, Lee Hyun did not leave immediately. He decided to look around a bit more.
This time, he headed toward the artifact crafting section.
I’ve accumulated too many magical artifacts…
Currently, his high-grade magical artifacts included six Bronze Flying Swords, a Black Iron Spear, and a Protective Bell. He also had his mid-grade Mountain-Suppressing Sword and Force-Dispersing Underarmor.
Before he knew it, he was carrying five distinct types of artifacts.
It was a hassle to consult an artifact crafter every time one of them suffered minor damage or an issue arose with its internal restrictions. He needed to be able to perform inspections and simple repairs himself.
After examining several jade slips, Lee Hyun settled on the Magical Artifact Maintenance Manual.
[Contains methods for inspecting artifact restrictions, nurturing them with spiritual power, and repairing minor damage. Contribution Points: 42.]
He paid the contribution points and studied the manual as well.
Having reviewed both inheritances, Lee Hyun finally sought out records concerning the Ringless Divine Tree.
The Compendium of Ancient Spirit Trees, which he viewed for 10 contribution points, contained a brief entry:
[The Ringless Divine Tree is a spirit tree aligned with Water among the Five Elements and Yin within Yin and Yang. It grows over vast stretches of time in shaded, damp environments.
Force-feeding it dense spiritual qi will only cause it to shrivel. Only the natural passage of time can nurture a Ringless Divine Tree.]
So the density of spiritual qi doesn’t matter? What’s more, given its nature, cultivating it in a tunnel is a perfect fit…
Lee Hyun felt a surge of satisfaction.
If, like other spirit plants, it took nearly three times as long to grow without a spirit vein, he would have had to wait 15,000 years instead of 5,000 to witness the Profound Nether Freezing Lightning.
Even for me, waiting fifteen thousand years is a bit much…
After committing everything to memory, he stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion.
After checking out the Spirit-Guarding Origin-Protecting Art, the Magical Artifact Maintenance Manual, and the Compendium of Ancient Spirit Trees, 226 contribution points remained on his identity token.
Other outer-sect disciples rarely spent so many contribution points on knowledge at the Scripture Pavilion. Pills, spirit stones, artifacts, and other cultivation resources could all be procured with points as well.
But Lee Hyun had no lack of spirit stones.
While most items could be bought with spirit stones, the Crimson Sky Sect’s verified inheritances could not. Having lived as a rogue cultivator for ages, Lee Hyun understood their true value better than anyone.
It will still take quite a while for my lower dantian to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. I can always earn more contribution points in the meantime…
A few days later, having completed all his assigned alchemy duties, Lee Hyun requested leave.
Nine days later, he was in Tunnel No. 3.
After inspecting the water supply and spirit fields, Lee Hyun headed to an empty cavern located far from the main chambers.
The cavern was cold and damp. Groundwater seeped steadily through fissures in the bedrock.
This should be a suitable place to plant the Ringless Divine Tree.
Using earth and stone-shaping spells, Lee Hyun reshaped the cavern.
Anticipating that the tree might grow into a towering giant in the distant future, he raised the ceiling high. He then spread a broad layer of black loam and fine sand brought from other regions across the ground. He also dug a shallow drainage ditch on one side to prevent groundwater from forming stagnant pools.
One shichen later, spirit field No. 3-1 was complete.
In the center of the spacious spirit field lay a small hollow, shallower than the span of a hand.
Lee Hyun took the seed from the wooden box.
Placing the seed into the hollow, he covered it with a thin layer of soil. He pressed the surface lightly with his palm and moistened the dirt with groundwater seeping from the bedrock.
“Now, all that’s left is to wait.”
He smoothed the soil evenly one last time. When it came to waiting, he had absolute confidence.
After filling the water reservoir to the brim, Lee Hyun departed Tunnel No. 3 and returned to the Crimson Sky Sect.
* * *
Nine years later.
In the cultivation chamber of his quarters in the Outer Alchemy Courtyard, Lee Hyun sat cross-legged, circulating the modern, refined Primordial Unity One-Qi Art.
Guided by the spirit-gathering formation, ambient spiritual qi coalesced in the chamber.
Huuuung—
Entering through his skin and breath, the spiritual qi was refined into Primordial Unity True Qi.
When he first deviated from tempering his entire body evenly to focus on his lower dantian, Lee Hyun had worried there might be friction between the two approaches.
However, the later-generation formula and the Primordial Unity Body formula were the exact same art; they only differed in what they defined as the dantian. Since then, not a single issue had arisen.
Now I understand with even greater clarity. A cultivator’s realm isn’t determined simply by the volume of spiritual power accumulated in the body.
Even if a cultivator depleted all their spiritual power, their realm didn’t fall, and they could restore it within a few shichen. What truly defined a realm was the state of the physical body and dantian—their capacity to absorb spiritual qi, refine it into spiritual power, and store it.
Each time the ceiling of his spiritual power rose through repeated cultivation, the minute structures of his flesh, blood, and meridians underwent a subtle metamorphosis. To borrow a phrase from his past life, it was as if every cell capable of wielding spiritual qi was evolving into something higher and more profound.
Breaking through to Foundation Establishment with just the lower dantian is possible. But in the end, merely circulating liquefied spiritual power from the lower dantian throughout the body won’t automatically elevate the rest of my flesh to the Foundation Establishment level.
Only when the rest of my body is separately tempered to the point where it can independently refine heaven-and-earth spiritual qi into liquid spiritual power will I achieve a true Foundation Establishment-grade Primordial Unity Body.
Wuuuung—
A surge of spiritual power rippled around Lee Hyun’s Qi Sea Acupoint.
The volume and purity of spiritual power that could be held within that space had reached the absolute zenith of the Qi Refining stage—it could not expand any further.
His lower dantian had reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!
The spiritual qi converging in the cultivation chamber subsided.
Observing the transformation at his Qi Sea Acupoint, Lee Hyun retrieved the wooden slate he used as a handmade status window from his storage pouch.
【Spiritual Power: 1,333 → 1,341】
The increase in his maximum spiritual power was limited to what the lower dantian’s breakthrough yielded.
If my entire body had advanced from the early 9th layer of Qi Refining to Great Perfection, it would have risen by 350, not a mere 8… Regardless, as long as I get a Foundation Establishment Pill, I can now attempt my breakthrough.
Lee Hyun stood up.
“Time to find out where I stand in line for a Foundation Establishment Pill.”
* * *
A few days later, Lee Hyun stepped into the Mission Pavilion of the Outer Alchemy Courtyard and stopped in his tracks.
The wall where mission tablets usually hung was bathed in a vibrant crimson.
Dozens of red wooden tablets had displaced the regular mission tablets, claiming the wall for themselves.
Disciples of the Outer Alchemy Courtyard clustered before them, conferring in hushed tones.
“It increased again from last month.”
“Just how many bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills is that?”
“It’s not just bottles anymore; they’re ordering by the hundreds of bottles.”
Lee Hyun examined the nearest red mission tablet.
[Tier 1 mid-grade Blood-Staunching Pills: 300 bottles.
Deadline: Two months.]
Similar missions lined the wall beside it.
[Qi Recovery Pills: 200 bottles.]
[Clear Heart Pills: 150 bottles.]
[Detoxification Pills: 200 bottles.]
They were all standard pills crafted by the Outer Alchemy Courtyard, but the quantities and deadlines were completely out of the ordinary.
“Are they expecting us to make all of this in two months?” one outer disciple muttered in dismay.
The disciple beside him shook his head. “Look below, there are smaller batches too.”
Beneath the red tablets hung a series of smaller blue wooden tablets.
[Blood-Staunching Pills: 10 bottles.]
[Blood-Staunching Pills: 20 bottles.]
[Blood-Staunching Pills: 30 bottles.]
“Didn’t we make this much last month, too?”
“That’s what’s so unsettling. Just how much do they intend to stockpile in the storehouses…?”
Lee Hyun reviewed the red tablets once more.
Pills for staunching bleeding, restoring spiritual power, neutralizing poison, and stabilizing the primordial spirit. It was an assortment designed for a scenario where hundreds of cultivators were injured or drained their spiritual power all at once.
Is the Crimson Sky Sect preparing for war?
Lee Hyun entered the Outer Alchemy Courtyard’s central hall, situated in the valley.
Upon spotting him, Steward Kwon swept him with a brief probe of divine sense.
“You’ve reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Lee Hyun asked, “Steward Kwon, may I ask a question?”
“You came to inquire about the Foundation Establishment Pill, I take it.”
“Indeed. What must I do to receive one?”
Steward Kwon checked a ledger for a moment.
“Based on your current tenure and contribution points, it will take about seventy to eighty years for your turn to come. If more candidates join the queue in the meantime, it could easily be pushed back to ninety years.”
Ninety years!?
It was longer than he had expected.
Currently, his public identity, Lee Dong-sam, was that of a forty-seven-year-old Tier 1 alchemist at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. A cultivator’s lifespan was at most around 150 years, and typically closer to 120.
“So with luck, I might receive one just before I die of old age.”
Steward Kwon shook his head.
“That calculation is just a mechanical projection. Long before your turn comes, you’ll be removed from the list of candidates due to your age and declining probability of a successful breakthrough. Why would the sect bestow a precious Foundation Establishment Pill on a Qi Refining cultivator who is over ninety? As age advances, the odds of a successful breakthrough plummet.”
“Then…”
“At this rate, it’s virtually impossible for you to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill. It’s a predicament shared by most outer-sect disciples, not just you.”
Steward Kwon closed the ledger.
“That is why disciples undertake hazardous or undesirable missions outside of their regular duties—to advance their place in line.”
He paused thoughtfully, then continued.
“As it happens, an opportunity is available right now. If you are willing to be deployed as a State-Resident Cultivator to the Anreung Kingdom, you could cut roughly fifty years off your wait for a Foundation Establishment Pill.”
“A State-Resident Cultivator?”
“The Outer Affairs Courtyard is holding an informational briefing tomorrow. Attendance is open even if you don’t apply, so you should go see for yourself.”
Steward Kwon handed Lee Hyun an announcement notice.
“I don’t understand. Why would serving as a mere State-Resident Cultivator in a mortal kingdom shorten the wait for a Foundation Establishment Pill by so much?”
“I am not privy to the full details either. All will be explained at the briefing.”
* * *
The next day, in a small conference hall under the Outer Affairs Courtyard, roughly twenty late-stage Qi Refining outer disciples sat before a long table, all interested in the deployment mission.
At the front hung an expansive map of the northwestern Earth Kingdom.
South of the Anreung Kingdom stretched the lengthy border of the Heavenly Yang Kingdom, traced in a thick black line. The lands that had once belonged to the Untaek Kingdom were now fully encompassed within that border.
Presiding over the meeting was a Foundation Establishment steward from the Outer Affairs Courtyard.
The steward spoke, “Let me make one thing clear from the outset. The Crimson Sky Sect is not at war with the Heavenly Yang Kingdom.”
His finger traced the border depicted on the map.
“Over the past several centuries, the Heavenly Yang Kingdom has annexed the Untaek Kingdom and various smaller states to its north. As a result, it now shares an extensive border with the Anreung Kingdom.”
The steward placed three red tokens over Tier 2 spirit veins in the north.
“Over the last five years, the Heavenly Yang Kingdom has steadily increased the number of Insect-Bonded Warriors stationed at these three northern spirit veins.”
Next, he positioned a token along the official highway connecting to the Anreung Kingdom.
“They have overhauled their border checkpoints and begun to strictly restrict the movement of any cultivator or Insect-Bonded Warrior lacking royal authorization.”
Finally, he set a token down upon a small market near the border.
“Two months ago, three rogue cultivators from the Anreung Kingdom vanished near the frontier. One of them was an individual assisting our Immortal Service Courtyard.”
The atmosphere in the hall grew somber.
One disciple inquired, “Were they killed by the Insect-Bonded Warriors of Heavenly Yang?”
“Unconfirmed,” the steward replied. “It may have been the work of robber cultivators, or they may have simply vanished of their own accord.”
The steward’s finger pointed south on the map toward the Chang Kingdom.
“Some of you may have heard rumors that cultivators from overseas factions occupying the Ram Kingdom have appeared in the southern reaches of the Chang Kingdom.”
Several disciples nodded.
“How the Myriad Insect Sect will respond to them remains unknown. Nor is it confirmed why the Heavenly Yang Kingdom chose this precise moment to heighten vigilance along its northern frontier.”
The steward paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
“The two events may well be unrelated. However, our sect does not wait for threats to materialize before taking action. In consultation with the Azure Gauze Sect, we have resolved to preemptively reinforce the garrisons at the Immortal Service Courtyards throughout the Earth Kingdom. The Anreung Kingdom’s Immortal Service Courtyard is among them.”
Another disciple asked, “In that case, wouldn’t it be better to dispatch Foundation Establishment cultivators?”
“Foundation Establishment cultivators are a scarce resource. Moreover, deploying them en masse to the border could be interpreted by the Heavenly Yang Kingdom as a preparation for war.”
The steward’s finger tapped Heavenly Yang and Chang in turn.
“Our sect wants both kingdoms to stem the northward advance of the overseas powers. We have no wish to needlessly provoke Heavenly Yang or Chang, nor do we desire a rift with them. Therefore, our first step is to reinforce the ranks with Qi Refining disciples to support the existing State-Resident Cultivators and the armed forces of the mortal kingdom.”
Lee Hyun grasped the underlying implications.
“War has not broken out, so there is no need for excessive dread,” the steward continued. “However, because this mission entails confronting a risk that has not yet fully materialized, the compensation is substantial. The deployment period is twenty years. Complete your term, and your position in the queue for a Foundation Establishment Pill will be advanced by fifty years. Even if nothing occurs during that period, the reward remains unchanged.”
A muted murmur swept through the hall.
A disciple raised his hand. “What specific duties will we be assigned?”
“You will share the existing duties of the resident cultivators. Supervising rogue cultivators employed by the royal court, receiving tributes, screening children for superior spiritual roots, and mediating disputes between cultivator clans are all standard affairs. Artisan disciples will also oversee their respective fields. An alchemist, for example, will manage the Immortal Service Courtyard’s medicinal stockpiles and handle the refining and inspection of pills required locally.”
“What are the defensive capabilities of the Immortal Service Courtyard?”
“There is a Tier 2 defensive grand formation that can be activated in an emergency. In addition to the State-Resident Cultivators from the Crimson Sky Sect and Azure Gauze Sect, the courtyard is garrisoned by Qi Refining rogue cultivators hired by the Anreung royal court and martial arts masters of equivalent strength.”
The steward’s gaze swept over the hall. “However, a formation does not guarantee absolute safety. Should the Immortal Service Courtyard come under attack, you too must fight.”
He added in conclusion, “Upon successfully establishing your foundation, you will earn the right to enter the inner sect and the opportunity to study under a Golden Core elder. You must judge for yourselves whether that opportunity is worth this degree of risk.”
The briefing continued for one shichen.
On paper, the terms were enticing, yet more than half the disciples departed the hall the moment the briefing ended. Most seemed to sense that the situation was far more dangerous than it appeared.
Lee Hyun, however, remained seated, his gaze fixed on the map at the front of the room.
The Anreung Kingdom.
It was the kingdom where Tunnel No. 3 was located. He was already familiar with the surrounding terrain and the local factions.
Above all, he was the leader of the Twin Heavens Society. It felt wasteful to continue neglecting an organization he had spent nearly three centuries building. Stationed in Anreung, he could monitor its status and gradually resume its operations.
Besides, even if I don’t volunteer now, the Crimson Sky Sect will forcibly draft outer-sect disciples if matters deteriorate.
At that point, there would be no guarantee that braving the same danger would improve his standing for a Foundation Establishment Pill. If he were drafted to another kingdom, he would be pulled far away from both his tunnels and the Twin Heavens Society.
Volunteering now provided certainty regarding the duration, location, and responsibilities of the mission.
It’s far better to pick the post I want while I still have the choice.
Lee Hyun looked toward the Anreung Kingdom on the map.
As my past life taught me, a shorter commute does wonders for one’s quality of life.