The Value of Captives
And this was precisely Jekyeong's problem. He did not know how to perform a Soul Search, nor did he know any special restriction techniques. Fortunately, however, a solution presented itself on its own.
“Lord Dragon! We have captured prisoners!”
Two Qi Refining cultivators who had been lagging behind outside the island—they were the children of this Foundation Establishment couple. Even more fortunately and surprisingly, the couple seemed to cherish their twin children more than their own lives.
“Well done,” Jekyeong said.
Hyeongu, whom Jekyeong had kept on standby underwater just in case, had achieved a great feat.
“Me too! Me too!”
Well, Hyeongu and Cheongo.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes.”
But the one who had made the greatest contribution of all was Han Cheongyu, who had just escaped death. If he hadn't remained on the island alone to deceive the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was no telling how this battle would have turned out.
Of course, Jekyeong did not believe he would have lost to them. Their attacks couldn't even pierce his scales, so they had no way of winning from the start. Therefore, when he wondered how things might have turned out, he meant that he might not have been able to capture them alive.
Jekyeong did not know how to seal Dharma Power. Nor did he know how to damage their souls or minds. Thus, the most he could do to restrain these prisoners was to crush their limbs.
Normally, for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, simple physical damage was of little consequence. Of course, they could not survive fatal wounds like a ruptured heart or a severed head. However, any severe injury short of instant death could be healed as long as they had Dharma Power.
Yes. As long as they had Dharma Power.
Fwoosh!
“Ugh!”
A tiny spark of Yo-hwa scorched their flesh. Seo Muso and Yang Yuwan used their remaining Dharma Power to block the encroachment of his Monster Power. This was partly for their own sake, but also to keep their children alive. If they did not suppress this Yo-hwa with their Dharma Power, the Great Demon before them would immediately take action.
“Good. I will ask one last time. So...”
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Seo Muso and Yang Yuwan, were remarkably cooperative during his interrogation. Just having Cheongo perch alternately on their son's and daughter's heads made them speak twice as fast. They were truly exemplary prisoners.
At any rate, according to the story they repeated several times, they had come under a secret commission from someone to strike Heukgyodo, which was highly likely to be Gwak Jeong-sin's place of business or treasury. It was neither surprising nor new—a very common occurrence in the cultivation world.
“Hmm. I expect you to repeat those exact words to the person who will be arriving shortly.”
“The person arriving shortly?”
“Yes.”
Seo Muso and Yang Yuwan did not ask further. Only one thing mattered to them now.
“You will keep your promise, right? Do not lay a finger on the children.”
At Seo Muso's fierce glare, Jekyeong chuckled softly.
“I even swore an Oath of the Great Dao. Do you still not trust me?”
An Oath of the Great Dao was, quite literally, a vow sworn upon the Dao itself. It might sound like mere wordplay, but considering what the Dao meant to cultivators, one could grasp the sheer weight of its significance. This oath possessed no direct, physical enforcement. However, cultivators, who had to remain true to themselves and keep their minds free of lingering doubts, could not afford to take an Oath of the Great Dao lightly. Ultimately, since the Great Dao was what they pursued for eternity, swearing an oath upon it was akin to placing heavy shackles upon oneself on the path to immortality.
To those with no desire to advance further along the path, such an oath was nothing more than a meaningless verbal promise. But to those who harbored a deep yearning and resolve for the immortal path, the Oath of the Great Dao was an incredibly effective restraint.
Seo Muso and Yang Yuwan desperately hoped the Great Demon before them was the latter. Having failed in their attempt to plunder another's home and ended up captured, it was the only hope they had left to cling to.
Leaving the now-silent Foundation Establishment cultivators behind, Jekyeong began to inspect the Storage Bags he had confiscated from them.
The Spirit Stones were... utterly underwhelming. He had already emptied his mind of expectations the moment he heard their identities and motives for coming to Heukgyodo, so there was no disappointment. They were plunderers who had resorted to robbing others due to their own empty pockets, after all. How many Spirit Stones could such bastards possibly have?
The Alchemical Pills were the same. The cultivation pills were all low-grade things only fit for Qi Refining cultivators, and the rest were entirely healing medicines.
At least the Dharma Treasures were somewhat decent. The flying sword Seo Muso had used was of fairly high quality, sufficient even for a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Furthermore, flying swords were the most sought-after type of Dharma Treasure, so it would likely fetch a good price.
On the other hand, Yang Yuwan's side was... highly disappointing. It was a single bell-type Dharma Treasure, but its function was incredibly ambiguous. Supposedly, it had the power to clear a cultivator's mind, control their inner demons, and ward off evil. While it might be highly effective in specific situations—such as fighting a Ghost Cultivator or a demonic cultivator—how often would such a situation arise? Both Ghost Cultivators and demonic cultivators were quite rare in the cultivation world.
Jekyeong suspected that Yang Yuwan had kept this bell Dharma Treasure only because she had tried to sell it long ago but couldn't find a buyer.
Still, this isn't bad.
The Storage Bags he had obtained previously belonged to mere Qi Refining cultivators at best. The Storage Bag of the Black Flood Dragon Gang's leader, who had been a Foundation Establishment cultivator, had unfortunately vanished into Jekyeong's stomach along with its owner. Thus, this was the first time he had acquired a Foundation Establishment cultivator's Storage Bag. No matter how poor the harvest, a Foundation Establishment cultivator's bag could not be compared to that of a Qi Refining cultivator. Since it was his first real haul, Jekyeong was thoroughly satisfied despite the meager contents.
A few days later, Gwak Jeong-sin arrived at Heukgyodo.
“Fellow Daoist Jekyeong,” Gwak Jeong-sin greeted.
After greeting Jekyeong, Gwak Jeong-sin frowned as he looked at the two haggard Foundation Establishment cultivators. “Are these the ones?”
“Indeed. They are a cultivator couple named Seo Muso and Yang Yuwan. Have you heard of them?”
While Foundation Establishment cultivators were not common, they weren't exceptionally rare either. Considering the sheer population of the Human Race, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were practically overflowing. Furthermore, if they were only at the early Foundation Establishment stage and rogue cultivators to boot, it was difficult for even Gwak Jeong-sin to remember every single one.
“Hmm. I believe I have heard of them.”
But if they had managed to linger in his memory regardless, it was because they possessed some unique trait.
“They are fairly well-known rogue cultivators and Bandit Cultivators. I hear that the number of small cultivation clans that have perished at their hands is too many to count on one hand. I was told they slaughtered every last soul.”
“Cultivation clans?”
When Jekyeong asked back skeptically, Gwak Jeong-sin smiled and replied,
“A cultivation clan is not necessarily anything grand. There are quite a few families with fewer than ten members in total.”
Not all rogue cultivators were Bandit Cultivators, but the vast majority of Bandit Cultivators were rogue cultivators. This was the case for Seo Muso and Yang Yuwan as well. Being a rare Foundation Establishment couple with a substantial track record, their names were reasonably well-known. However, they had survived this long only because they knew how to distinguish between targets they should never touch and those they could get away with plundering.
But no festival lasts forever. The brief, bloody carnival of this bandit couple had finally reached its end due to a single mistake.
“May I conduct a brief interrogation of them?”
“Go ahead.”
Gwak Jeong-sin threw a few questions at them first. Unwilling to lose their precious children, Seo Muso and Yang Yuwan naturally answered meekly, and the answers he received carved deep furrows into Gwak Jeong-sin's brow.
He believed that the words spilled by the two captives were the truth. In his estimation, there was no particular part of their story that required fabrication, nor did they have any reason to lie in the first place. Their demeanor—having given up on their own lives and caring only for the safety of their children—was that of typical parents.
“Are you not going to use a Soul Search?”
When Jekyeong approached and asked, Gwak Jeong-sin shook his head with a bitter smile.
“I know how to use it, but I am not proficient. If I were to perform a Soul Search, their souls and minds would quickly shatter, and they would die.”
“What a pity. If you pay a reasonable price, Fellow Daoist Gwak, I can hand them over to you. Then you can Soul Search them without any worries.”
“Haha.”
Gwak Jeong-sin shook his head once more, indicating he had no intention of doing so. Qi Refining cultivators held value as captives. Whether used for manual labor or other purposes, there was always a demand for them, primarily because they were cheap. However, cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and above were not only expensive but also difficult to manage, making the demand for them extremely low. Since Gwak Jeong-sin already trusted over ninety percent of their testimony, he had no desire to pay such a steep price just to clear up the remaining ten percent of doubt.
“I can only apologize for causing you such trouble, Fellow Daoist Jekyeong.”
“I was indeed a bit startled. But fortunately, no major harm was done.”
“This incident can be seen as having occurred because of me, so I will ensure you receive appropriate compensation.”
Jekyeong had summoned Gwak Jeong-sin to demand compensation for damages, and Gwak Jeong-sin was well aware of this. Jekyeong did not exaggerate the damage he had sustained, nor did Gwak Jeong-sin attempt to downplay the incident as a trifle. Such petty behavior would only sour the relationship between them.
Since both understood each other's positions and refrained from playing cheap tricks, the negotiation proceeded smoothly. Jekyeong demanded a higher-level array formation legacy and a practical Soul Searching technique from Gwak Jeong-sin.
“That is not difficult,” Gwak Jeong-sin agreed, a faint smile playing on his lips as he accepted Jekyeong's demands. He seemed relieved that Jekyeong had not asked for something even greater.
“However, similar incidents may occur in the future.”
Gwak Jeong-sin's meaning was clear. He would compensate Jekyeong this time, but he would not do so again. Ultimately, trade involved a mix of profit and loss for both parties, so each side had to bear the risks of the transaction on their own. In that sense, Gwak Jeong-sin paying compensation this time could be seen as him going out of his way to show sincerity.
“I am aware,” Jekyeong replied.
Jekyeong did not press further against someone who had shown such sincerity.
“Ah, by the way, do you have a way to restrain Foundation Establishment cultivators?”
“Restrain them? We do have shackles that restrict Dharma Power, but...”
“Excellent. I will buy one—no, two of them.”
Looking at the puzzled Gwak Jeong-sin, Jekyeong merely smiled without a word.
Jekyeong's reason for requesting the shackles from Gwak Jeong-sin was, of course, to put the two Foundation Establishment cultivators to proper use.
I should sell them to the right buyers.
To the Beast Race, cultivators of the Human Race were like a potent tonic. However, if the medicinal effect was too strong or did not suit their constitution, it could cause trouble. This was because the cultivation of the Beast Race was fundamentally based on Blood Food, making it crude and chaotic. Thus, a human cultivator who had accumulated pure cultivation was a precious tonic to the Beast Race. Their cleanly refined spiritual energy or Dharma Power served to cleanse the chaotic aura of the beasts.
Of course, this might not apply to beasts born with noble bloodlines, but the vast majority of the Beast Race did not possess such luxury. However, there was a prerequisite. First, there must not be too great a disparity between the realm of the human prey and the realm of the beast consuming them. If the human cultivator's realm was too high, the beast would likely be unable to withstand the 'medicinal effect.' Conversely, if the human's realm was too low, the 'medicinal effect' would be insufficient.