Chapter 52
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52
“Thank you.”
Lee Hyun offered a slight nod, then glanced back toward the Qi Condensation Quiet Room.
“Feel free to inspect the quiet room,” the administrative disciple said.
After a quick walk around the interior, the disciple retrieved the jade token.
“Everything is in order. Please wait a moment.”
Moments later, he returned holding a sealed letter stamped with the seal of the Foundation Establishment Courtyard.
“Take this to the Inner Affairs Courtyard to receive your Inner-Sect Identity Token. Your department and cave dwelling will also be assigned there.”
“Where is the Inner Affairs Courtyard?”
“It is on Cheongok Peak, about fifty li to the east.”
“Understood.”
As Lee Hyun stepped out of the Foundation Establishment Courtyard, a gentle breeze rustled through his long robe. He paused and looked around.
Though it was the same mountain and forest as before, the world felt entirely different.
The flow of spiritual qi along the mountain slope was distinctly clearer, and he could feel the wind weaving through trees and rocks much farther into the distance.
Just then, a shadow darted overhead.
Lee Hyun looked up.
A cultivator was soaring through the air without the aid of any magical artifact. Beneath his feet, faint ripples of spiritual light undulated and dispersed like water.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator.
It was common knowledge that upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, one could fly through the air using pure spiritual power, without relying on flying magical artifacts.
Lee Hyun tried casting the Wind-Riding Formula.
Whooosh—
Carried by the wind alone, his body lifted nearly three chi off the ground.
“Oh.”
But when he tried to move forward, his body suddenly tilted to the right. Hastily withdrawing his spiritual power, he touched back down on the ground and smoothed his robes.
I don’t think this is how it’s done… Come to think of it, shouldn’t Foundation Establishment cultivators be able to fly even without knowing the Wind-Riding Formula? I’ll have to look into it when I get the chance.
Lee Hyun retrieved the Flowing Cloud Disk from his storage pouch.
Hummm—
The Flowing Cloud Disk rose into the air.
The Inner Affairs Courtyard of Cheongok Peak was built where several mountain ridges converged. Viewed from below, it resembled a six-story pavilion, but countless chambers and passageways extended deep into the cliff behind it.
Foundation Establishment cultivators constantly came and went before the pavilion.
To one side, a cultivator requesting repairs on a dilapidated cave dwelling was raising his voice at the steward in charge.
“I’m telling you, water is leaking through the walls!”
“As long as it’s properly connected to the spirit vein, what does a little leaking water matter? Just block it with a spell!”
“I don’t know any Earth-Attribute Spells! Can’t the Inner Affairs Courtyard fix it for me?”
Lee Hyun watched the pair for a moment before heading inside the pavilion. He handed the sealed letter to the Foundation Establishment cultivator seated at the reception counter, who promptly broke the seal.
“Lee Dong-sam. Twelve years in the Outer Alchemy Courtyard, thirty years on state-resident duty in the Anreung Kingdom…”
Glancing up from the letter, the man looked at Lee Hyun.
“You spent quite a long time in the Anreung Kingdom.”
“It was manageable,” Lee Hyun replied.
“Congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishment, Fellow Daoist.”
“Thank you.”
The administrative cultivator stamped the letter with the seal of the Inner Affairs Courtyard. Next, he took Lee Hyun’s Outer-Sect Identity Token and placed it atop a crystal-clear formation plate. Light flowed from the formation plate, enveloping the identity token.
The pattern denoting an outer-sect disciple vanished, replaced by an insignia of three-layered flames and clouds.
“Fellow Daoist, your department is the Inner Alchemy Courtyard, and your master’s lineage is under Elder Dam Un-saeng of Yeonha Peak.”
“Elder Dam…?”
“He is a middle-stage Golden Core cultivator and a Tier 3 alchemist. He excels at the harmonization and nurturing of medicinal properties. Since you worked as an alchemist in the Outer Alchemy Courtyard and possess triple spiritual roots of Wood, Fire, and Earth, it was decided that his tutelage would be the most suitable.”
The administrative cultivator handed the completed identity token to Lee Hyun.
“Your lineage designates whom you learn from, while your department determines where you work. As it happens, Elder Dam is one of the elders of the Inner Alchemy Courtyard, so the two naturally coincide for you.”
“I see.”
“For your cave dwelling, you may use Cheongu Ravine, northwest of Yeonha Peak.”
The cultivator reached toward a map hanging on the wall. As spiritual power infused it, the mountain ranges and valleys upon the map rose in three dimensions. Several slender spirit veins branched out in all directions from Yeonha Peak. Among them, a red dot appeared over a small valley roughly thirty li to the northwest.
“It is connected to a Tier 2 spirit vein and has been vacant for about a year. The cave dwelling has a cultivation chamber and a small storeroom, and outside there should be a spirit field.”
“Is the entire Cheongu Ravine assigned to me?”
“Indeed. Though the ravine is not particularly large.”
The administrative cultivator retrieved an elongated wooden box from beneath the table.
Click.
Inside the wooden box lay twelve one-chi-long formation flags, neatly arranged. Inscribed upon the flags’ fabric were formation inscriptions resembling white clouds and mountains. At the center rested a palm-sized bronze formation plate, beside which sat a single mid-grade spirit stone fitted into a small groove.
“This is the Cloud-Screen Residence-Protection Formation. It is a Tier 2 low-grade defensive formation issued to inner-sect disciples upon receiving a new cave dwelling. The mid-grade spirit stone is your annual stipend as an inner-sect disciple.”
From beneath the box, he also took out a slim booklet titled Deployment Manual for the Cloud-Screen Residence-Protection Formation.
“This details the arrangement of the formation flags, how to link the formation plate to the cave dwelling’s Spirit-Gathering Formation, and how to sustain the formation with spirit stones if that connection is severed. Since the deployment differs between ravines, mountain peaks, and watersides, simply set it up according to the terrain once you arrive at your dwelling.”
Lee Hyun flipped it open. The manual contained diagrams showing cross-sections of ravines and peaks with the positions for the formation flags clearly marked. Toward the back, it even detailed the procedure for replacing damaged flags with considerable detail.
“An alarm will sound if anyone possessing spiritual power approaches. It can also withstand attacks from an early Foundation Establishment cultivator for a considerable time.”
He handed the wooden box and the map of Cheongu Ravine to Lee Hyun.
“The formation is issued only once, when your cave dwelling is first assigned. If you lose or damage it, you must acquire a replacement yourself, so take care. I have also notified Yeonha Peak, so someone should arrive shortly if you wait a moment.”
Lee Hyun stowed the wooden box into his storage pouch.
Half a shichen later, a middle-aged cultivator stepped into the pavilion. He was tall and broad-shouldered, though his face was long and gaunt. The scent of medicinal herbs drifted from the sleeves of his robe.
“Is Junior Martial Brother Lee Dong-sam here?”
“I am Lee Dong-sam.”
The cultivator looked Lee Hyun over.
“I am Do Mun-gyeom. Master’s chief disciple and your Eldest Martial Brother.”
Lee Hyun cupped his hands.
“Greetings, Eldest Martial Brother Do.”
Do Mun-gyeom nodded, then looked toward the administrative cultivator.
“Is the registration finished?”
“It just finished. His cave dwelling has been assigned, and the Cloud-Screen Residence-Protection Formation has been issued.”
Do Mun-gyeom turned around.
“Follow me.”
The two departed Cheongok Peak. As Do Mun-gyeom stepped out into the open air, a faint crimson spiritual light manifested beneath his feet, and his body rose smoothly above the mountain slope.
Seeing Lee Hyun bring out his Flowing Cloud Disk, Do Mun-gyeom slowed his pace.
“You haven’t learned the Air-Treading Technique yet?”
“I only just emerged from the Qi Condensation Quiet Room today.”
“I see.”
The two flew side by side toward Yeonha Peak. Before long, two peaks of dark rock blocked their path. Between the peaks lay neither road nor pavilion, only a hazy white barrier rising vertically to fill the empty sky.
Do Mun-gyeom halted before the barrier.
“Take out your identity token. You must register your aura with the formation.”
Lee Hyun held up his newly acquired identity token. The three-layered flame pattern on the token glowed brightly. A light streamed from the barrier, swept over Lee Hyun’s token, and a circular passage opened straight ahead.
Passing through the passage, a far denser heaven-and-earth spiritual qi enveloped their bodies.
The panorama of the Crimson Sky Sect’s Inner Sect unfolded before his eyes. Peaks that had been hidden by clouds from the outer mountains now stretched on endlessly.
In the distance, a colossal red formation blanketed an entire valley.
“That is the Inner Alchemy Courtyard’s Communal Alchemy Pavilion,” Do Mun-gyeom said, pointing toward the valley. “It draws flames up from an Earthfire Vein and distributes them among dozens of alchemy rooms. It saves the spiritual power required to heat a cauldron directly, and because the firepower is relatively steady, it is quite convenient. Most Tier 2 alchemists of the Inner Alchemy Courtyard use the Communal Alchemy Pavilion, not just the disciples under our Yeonha Peak.”
Fwhoooom—
Beneath the red formation, circular stone chambers were lined up at regular intervals. Each chamber was outfitted with a cauldron and a formation to control the earthfire, and a large opening was carved into each roof.
Suddenly, purple smoke billowed from one of the chambers. A nearby Foundation Establishment cultivator hastily unfurled a large cloth, absorbing every wisp of the purple smoke.
A moment later, something shot out of the stone chamber.
Bang!
It was a soot-blackened cauldron lid.
Do Mun-gyeom glanced in that direction. “Pay it no mind. It happens often.”
Lee Hyun watched the cultivators soaring between the mountain peaks. While some relied on flying magical artifacts, more than half traversed the sky unassisted.
“Eldest Martial Brother, how does one fly without a magical artifact?”
“A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual power doesn’t disperse easily, even when released from the body. You must use that spiritual power to support yourself from beneath your feet and all around you, balancing in midair.”
The red spiritual light beneath Do Mun-gyeom’s feet spread wider.
“At first, it’s slower than a flying magical artifact and consumes more spiritual power, but once you grow accustomed to it, it is exceptionally convenient.”
“Do I need a separate spell for it?”
“Don’t worry. Master will pass on the Air-Treading Technique to you.”
Do Mun-gyeom turned his gaze ahead.
“Counting you, there are twenty-four disciples in our lineage. All belong to the Inner Alchemy Courtyard, and with the exception of yourself, every one holds the qualification of a Tier 2 alchemist.”
“Are they all on Yeonha Peak?”
“Of those currently within the sect… probably fifteen. The others are on external assignments.”
Do Mun-gyeom pointed ahead.
“That is Yeonha Peak.”
A verdant peak, its waist shrouded in mist and clouds, came into view. Spirit fields of varying sizes spread in terraces along the mountainside. Above them, pavilions with blue-tiled roofs and smaller gazebos were nestled sparsely among ancient pines.
Do Mun-gyeom descended toward a broad stone terrace halfway up the mountain. Lee Hyun rode the Flowing Cloud Disk down right behind him.
Behind the terrace stood an ancient pine tree. Seated upon a flat rock beneath it was a middle-aged man wearing a pale blue robe. Looking just past forty, he possessed a gentle expression and slightly drooping eyes. Beneath his rolled-up sleeves, his fingers were stained with shades of purple and blue.
Rather than a Golden Core elder, he gave off the comfortable impression of a spirit plant farmer who had tended fields for years.
At a stone table beside him, Jin So-yeong and a short-bearded man were discussing a pill that had been split in half.
“The firepower was too strong,” Jin So-yeong said.
The man shook his head. “It was right before pill condensation. If firepower were the cause, shouldn’t there be scorch marks on the surface?”
The middle-aged man picked up the pill and inspected its cleaved interior.
“Both of you are wrong. Bring me your answers again tomorrow.”
“Yes, Master.”
Only then did the middle-aged man turn his gaze toward Lee Hyun.
Do Mun-gyeom stepped forward. “Master. I have brought Junior Martial Brother Lee Dong-sam.”
Jin So-yeong’s eyes widened. “Lee Dong-sam? You succeeded in Foundation Establishment! Have you become a disciple of Yeonha Peak? I suppose I should call you Junior Martial Brother Lee now.”
“It is good to see you, Senior Martial Sister Jin.”
Setting the pill down, Dam Un-saeng smiled warmly.
“So you are Lee Dong-sam. Come here.”
Do Mun-gyeom lifted the teapot from the stone table and poured spirit tea into an empty cup. Handing the cup to Lee Hyun, he gave a subtle nod toward Dam Un-saeng.
Lee Hyun held the teacup in both hands.
“Disciple Lee Dong-sam pays respects to Elder Dam.”
Dam Un-saeng accepted the tea and took a sip.
“I heard you served thirty years on a post abroad, then returned and succeeded in Foundation Establishment. Your will is steadfast. You have worked hard.”
“Thank you.”
“From now on, do not address me as Elder, but as Master.” Dam Un-saeng looked at Do Mun-gyeom. “Mun-gyeom, introduce his fellow disciples.”
“Yes, Master.”
Do Mun-gyeom pointed first to Jin So-yeong. “This is Junior Martial Sister Jin So-yeong. It seems you two are already acquainted.”
“We are. Long ago, we took the entrance exam together during the Skilled Practitioner Selection.”
Do Mun-gyeom then indicated the short-bearded man. “This is Junior Martial Brother Bang Je-un. To you, he is Senior Martial Brother Bang.”
“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Bang.”
Bang Je-un gave a brief nod. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Dam Un-saeng pointed to the opposite side of the stone table.
“Sit.”
As Lee Hyun sat, Dam Un-saeng spoke again.
“I hear you have just broken through to Foundation Establishment. Does the cultivation art you have been practicing extend to a Foundation Establishment chapter?”
“It does not.”
“What are your spiritual roots?”
“They are triple spiritual roots of Wood, Fire, and Earth.”
“I see. That works out well. To commemorate you becoming my disciple, I shall impart a spell to you.”
Dam Un-saeng took out a red jade slip from his storage pouch.
“This is the Fire-Dividing Thread Technique. Examine its contents.”
Lee Hyun accepted the jade slip, pressed it to his forehead, and infused his divine sense into it. The spell’s formula and several diagrams of spiritual power circulation flowed into his consciousness.
The Fire-Dividing Thread Technique was a spell that divided a single flame into dozens of slender fire threads. When refining pills, one could apply different levels of firepower to each medicinal ingredient within the cauldron. In battle, the dozens of fire threads could hinder an opponent’s movements or tenaciously burn away their Body-Protecting Spirit Light.
Dam Un-saeng said, “Merely splitting the flame into multiple strands is not enough. Only when you can control the firepower of each strand independently will it be truly usable in alchemy and combat.”
“I will practice it diligently.”
Dam Un-saeng produced another jade slip.
“This is the Air-Treading Technique. Now that you are a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you must learn how to fly. Return both jade slips to me once you have mastered them.”
Dam Un-saeng looked at Lee Hyun again.
“Until you earn the qualifications of a Tier 2 alchemist, you will assist your senior martial brothers and sisters with pill refining at the Communal Alchemy Pavilion and learn how to process Tier 2 spirit plants. For now, arrange your cave dwelling and stabilize your cultivation realm. Come back in half a month.”
Before Lee Hyun descended Yeonha Peak, Jin So-yeong approached him.
“Junior Martial Brother, where was your cave dwelling assigned?”
“Cheongu Ravine.”
Passing by, Bang Je-un chimed in, “Cheongu Ravine… Not a bad place. The spirit vein is stable, and there should even be a small spirit spring.”
Do Mun-gyeom pointed toward the northwest. “If you head about thirty li that way, you will see a waterfall. Come find me if you run into any trouble getting your cave dwelling in order.”
“Understood.”
Lee Hyun gave a respectful bow to the three before boarding the Flowing Cloud Disk. The disk rose away from Yeonha Peak and headed northwest.
Cheongu Ravine was a narrow gorge bordered on both sides by steep cliffs. The precipices were blanketed in blue-green moss and hanging vines, and water cascading from above formed a small waterfall deep within the ravine.
Riding the Flowing Cloud Disk, Lee Hyun circled the ravine twice.
“Where is this cave dwelling supposed to be?”
Touching down before the waterfall, Lee Hyun cast the Qi-Observation Technique. A faint trace of spiritual qi was being drawn toward the area behind the waterfall. Reaching out his hand, his spiritual power parted the torrent.
Craaash—
From behind the waterfall, a stone door draped in vines and moss revealed itself. Exerting his strength, Lee Hyun pushed, and the stone door slowly swung inward.
A wave of damp air accompanied by the scent of aged earth wafted out.
Lee Hyun flicked his fingers, conjuring a small orb of light that floated up to illuminate the interior. The cave dwelling consisted of a spacious stone chamber and two smaller rooms. Carved into the floor of the room on the right was a Spirit-Gathering Formation connected to a Tier 2 spirit vein, while the room on the left was lined with stone shelves for storage. A narrow passage behind the main chamber led outside to a spirit field.
Instead of spiritual herbs, only overgrown weeds choked the field. At one side, a small spirit spring trickled clear water through crevices in the rocks.
“Better than I expected.”
Lee Hyun inspected every corner of the dwelling. There were no traces of hidden formation inscriptions. The only remnant left behind by the previous owner was a single worn stone mortar.
Using the Cleansing Spell to clear away the dust and moss, Lee Hyun set the wooden box down in the center of the stone chamber and opened the Deployment Manual for the Cloud-Screen Residence-Protection Formation.
It’s written quite clearly.
Over the course of half a day, he refined the formation plate and the twelve formation flags, then systematically installed them around the ravine’s entrance, the cliffs, the waterfall, and the spirit spring. Finally, as he linked the formation plate to the Spirit-Gathering Formation, all twelve cloud patterns on the plate illuminated simultaneously.
Lee Hyun channeled spiritual power into the formation plate.
Fwhoooosh—
The water mist scattered throughout the ravine slowly drifted over the waterfall, the cliffs, and the stone door of the cave dwelling. The outline of the stone door blurred until, moments later, only an ordinary, moss-covered cliff remained in its place.
“I should spruce up the dwelling when I have time. No, before that, I need to master the Air-Treading Technique.”
Lee Hyun retrieved the jade slip for the Air-Treading Technique and pressed it against his forehead.
Unlike techniques bound to the Five Elements—or to wind, lightning, light, or darkness—the Air-Treading Technique had no elemental affinity. Any cultivator with spiritual power at the Foundation Establishment level could learn it, regardless of their spiritual roots.
A few days later.
Above the cliffs of Cheongu Ravine, a figure slowly rose into the air.
A faint spiritual light radiated from beneath Lee Hyun’s feet. His cautious, tentative movements soon grew bolder, and with a burst of acceleration, he shot past the waterfall and soared straight into the azure sky.
Whooooosh—
The hem of his robe snapped violently in the wind.
With nothing but air beneath his feet, he could maneuver freely in any direction, despite a lingering awkwardness in his control.
Lee Hyun circled high above the ravine.
“Haha.”
A laugh escaped his lips before he even realized it.
He picked up speed, carving through the clouds before descending once more to the cliffs of Cheongu Ravine.
“Only now does it truly feel like I’ve reached Foundation Establishment.”
Lee Hyun spent the rest of the afternoon soaring between the ravine and the surrounding mountain peaks, only returning to Cheongu Ravine as the sun began to sink below the horizon.
* * *
Two years later.
In the Communal Alchemy Pavilion of the Inner Alchemy Courtyard, earthfire burned quietly beneath a pill cauldron.
Seated before it, Lee Hyun formed the final hand seal, and the flames licking up from the fire port swiftly receded.
Hummm—
A low resonance hummed from within the cauldron.
He waited a moment for the medicinal qi inside to settle before reaching out.
Clack.
The heavy lid lifted, releasing a faint medicinal aroma into the air.
Resting at the bottom of the cauldron were three thumbnail-sized blue pills.
Watching from behind, Bang Je-un picked up one of the pills.
He examined its surface and sniffed its medicinal scent before cleanly splitting it in half.
“It retained about seventy percent of its medicinal efficacy, and the impurities are within an acceptable range.”
Bang Je-un inspected the remaining two pills in turn.
“All three are usable.”
Lee Hyun let out a quiet sigh of relief.
According to the regulations of the Inner Alchemy Courtyard, one had to successfully refine a basic Tier 2 pill three times in a row to qualify as an alchemist.
This was his third consecutive success.
“Did I pass?”
“Yes. You can officially call yourself a Tier 2 alchemist now.”
“This is all thanks to Senior Martial Brother Bang’s guidance.”
Two years had slipped by since Lee Hyun joined Dam Un-saeng’s lineage.
He had spent the first six months under Bang Je-un’s tutelage, processing Tier 2 spirit plants and assisting other alchemists. After that, he learned to manage the cauldrons and earthfire himself. Three months ago, he had finally begun refining Tier 2 Qi Recovery Pills.
For now, the Qi Recovery Pill was the only Tier 2 pill he could refine. His success rate and the quality of his pills were still nowhere near Bang Je-un’s or Jin So-yeong’s level.
Even so, he was now an officially recognized Tier 2 alchemist within the Crimson Sky Sect.
Lee Hyun asked, “Once you’re recognized as a Tier 2 alchemist, do the pill recipes available to you increase?”
“Of course. You can pay contribution points to consult the Tier 2 pill recipes held by the Inner Alchemy Courtyard. The recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill is among them.”
Lee Hyun was startled.
“Even the recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill can be viewed?”
Bang Je-un chuckled.
“That surprises most people the first time they hear it.”
Closing the cauldron’s lid, he continued, “The recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill isn’t the grand secret most people imagine it to be, at least not within the Crimson Sky Sect. Of course, copying it or leaking it outside the sect is strictly forbidden…”
“Then why are Foundation Establishment Pills so scarce?”
“The problem is the ingredients,” Bang Je-un said. “While most of the supporting herbs can be grown in the Crimson Sky Sect’s spirit fields, several of the main ingredients can’t. Some only grow in specific secret realms.”
Bang Je-un added, “Other spirit plants have to be purchased from outside sources. Even when all the ingredients are gathered, they’re so expensive that the sect entrusts the refining process only to the most experienced alchemists. So, just knowing the recipe doesn’t mean you can actually make a Foundation Establishment Pill.”
That evening.
At his residence in Cheongu Ravine, Lee Hyun opened his right hand.
Fwoosh—
A red flame ignited over his palm and split into dozens of slender fire threads.
The threads wove themselves into the shape of a palm-sized butterfly.
The crimson butterfly fluttered its wings, circled Lee Hyun once, and then settled upon a dry blade of grass at the edge of the spirit field.
The blade of grass remained unscorched, even as the tiny flame licked its surface.
With a twitch of Lee Hyun’s finger, the butterfly unraveled back into dozens of fire threads and flowed back into his palm.
“I guess I’ve finally crossed the threshold of the Fire-Dividing Thread Technique.”
Unlike the Air-Treading Technique, mastering the Fire-Dividing Thread Technique had taken nearly two years.
Lee Hyun flopped onto his back on the floor.
By now, he was thoroughly accustomed to his life as an Inner-Sect Disciple. His routine was simple: every month, he received instruction from Dam Un-saeng at Yeonha Peak, and on the other days, he shuttled between the Communal Alchemy Pavilion and Cheongu Ravine.
Having qualified as a Tier 2 Alchemist, his opportunities had broadened immensely.
As for alchemy, I just need to keep practicing like I have been.
He might have earned the rank of Tier 2 Alchemist, but that hardly meant he had mastered the art. In truth, he had barely crossed the threshold.
I can also access the Inner Pavilion of the Scripture Pavilion now. I should browse the spells available to Foundation Establishment cultivators and see what might be useful.
I should upgrade my magical artifacts, too. I’m a Foundation Establishment cultivator now, and it’s not like I was ever short on spirit stones.
There was so much to do, but his first priority was crystal clear.
First, get the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe. And while I’m at it, I’ll look for any pill recipes that use Bone-Corroding Flower, Purple Poison Orchid, Yin Soul Grass, and Spirit-Accumulating Ginseng.