Chapter 103
Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture (4)
Thanks to practicing the Sun and Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture nonstop with Saran for two full months, my unitary spiritual power had reached a considerable level of purity.
'But it won't get any purer than this.'
Was it the triple seal on the jade slip causing the issue? It felt like the technique couldn't fully unleash its power, so it wasn't purifying my spiritual power any further.
If pure spiritual power was water so pristine it defied grading, then unitary spiritual power was grade-four quality. Better than the previous grade-five murkiness, but still quite turbid compared to pure spiritual power.
Even so...
'I can use the Fusion Technique.'
Since both were my own spiritual powers, maybe pure spiritual power wasn't purifying it? It had only gotten slightly purer than before, but pure spiritual power blended seamlessly with unitary spiritual power, activating the Fusion Technique without issue.
'If that's the case, you could've cut me some slack sooner...'
How many times had I been in a bind because I couldn't use the Fusion Technique?
...Well, in hindsight, my previous unitary spiritual power had been so murky it was practically grade-six, bordering on sludge. Even pure spiritual power couldn't have helped with that.
'Plus, I've refined my spells even further based on insights from the Hidden Escape Art, boosting their performance... Maybe this worked out for the best.'
One might think this meant I didn't need to visit the origin site of the Three Lives One Origin Scripture, but who knew what fortuitous encounters awaited there? I couldn't skip it.
After all, I didn't need to go to the Star Formation Secret Realm two months from now either, but I was heading there anyway on the off chance of encounters. Cultivators were like moths drawn to fortune's flame, in the end.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, I finished inspecting my spiritual power and turned to Saran.
"Saran."
"......"
I called her familiarly, but she stayed silent, hands covering her face as she stood perfectly still.
She'd been like that since waking up this morning. Was she finally feeling embarrassed about all the things we'd said and done while making love?
"Saran?"
"Absent."
I called again, and she whipped her whole body sideways with that curt reply.
"Absent? What is?"
"Saran is not here."
"What are you talking about?"
"Absent!"
She yelled it out, then scurried to a corner and hunkered down, as if telling me not to look for her. I watched her for a moment, sighed, and walked over.
"Is Saran really not here?"
I wrapped her tightly in my arms as I said it.
"Shall we check?"
"Hic...!"
I teasingly toyed with her body a little, and she quickly unraveled, legs giving out as she leaned into me.
"That's weird. I smell our Saran right here."
"W-what smell...?"
"The scent of a bitch in heat, starving for a man."
I teased her like that, and she puffed out her cheeks, glaring at me. The sight was so adorably out of character for a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator who'd lived over a thousand years that I burst out laughing before I knew it.
"Ahahaha!"
"D-don't tease me!"
"Then from now on, answer me properly without any weird nonsense. Got it?"
"......"
I cupped her chin and whispered.
"Got it? Or should I... help you remember who you are again?"
I turned her chin toward the mirror as I spoke, and she shrank back in horror, dodging her reflection.
"O-okay... I got it, so please don't... That, that... It feels so weird. Like I'm not myself."
"Heh. Alright, I get it."
I let her go, and she sighed in relief before slumping to the floor. After a long moment, she stood and looked at me.
"So... why did you call me?"
"Master."
"......Master, why did you call me?"
She hesitated before saying "Master," and I grinned happily, suggesting we head out.
"We've been cooped up for two months—let's get some sunlight. Can't you hide your skin? People might stare if I walk around with a jiangshi."
At my words, she examined her body and released the energy of the death aura, enveloping herself.
A moment later.
Her jiangshi-blue skin vanished, replaced by normal flesh tones. Her pointed fangs shrank to ordinary size, and her pale eyes darkened to black.
"Whoa, neat. How'd you disguise yourself?"
"No idea."
"......"
I held out my hand, but she recoiled in panic, hugging herself protectively against my touch.
"I really don't know! It just... happens."
"So it's not some spell or technique—it just works...?"
Did that mean this human-disguise ability was a biological trait of ghost cultivators? Why would ghost cultivators from the underworld need to mimic mortals from the human realm?
'...Do ghost cultivators need to come and go from the human world for some reason? Is that why they evolved the ability to look human?'
It piqued my curiosity, but it wasn't urgent, so I set it aside and wandered the market town with Saran, gauging the situation.
More cultivators had gathered than two months ago, and now some were even selling rare Moonlight Stones at street stalls.
Those who'd gathered enough stones were offloading them to others in exchange for secret realm prep items—most refused spirit stones, insisting on barters.
Overall prices in the market had spiked too, reminding me of High Heaven Sect during the Dao Tournament prep when everything skyrocketed.
Luckily, I had no need to buy; Gong Ga-jin's storage pouch held plenty of pills and talismans usable from Foundation Establishment up to Core Formation.
Items a Nascent Soul cultivator like Gong Ga-jin barely needed, tucked away in the pouch's obscure corners.
Time to put them to good use.
After getting a feel for the market vibe, I returned to the inn. The bedroom was spotless, and I decided to pick Saran's brain for info.
"Ever heard of the Star Formation Secret Realm?"
"...Ah, so that's why the cultivators are trading Moonlight Stones?"
She seemed to know it from my question alone, and I nodded.
"It's opening two months from now."
"Sounds good. The Star Formation Secret Realm has tons of heavenly resources perfect for Qi Refining cultivators. My husband and I went twice."
"...Any chance of finding materials to fix the Meritorious Six Paths Flood Dragon?"
"That'll be tough."
Saran shook her head.
"The Meritorious Six Paths Flood Dragon was my husband's creation, inspired by my Underworld Star Soul Needle Seal. He used the Six Paths Reincarnation profound method to balance death aura energies. But the one in your soul is too badly damaged."
"Missing the power of one dragon's worth?"
"Yes. Even if you found a spirit beast with similar power, you couldn't just slot it in. Those flood dragons were blood kin with deep bonds, perfectly balanced for the Six Paths Reincarnation method to control the death aura. A new spirit beast..."
"Yeah, that'd be tricky."
In other words, even finding a flood dragon-grade spirit beast meant two steps to repair: reshape it to match the dragons, then refine it anew with death aura.
"Besides, those original flood dragons lived in Death Aura Valley before we settled there. Refining a new spirit beast with death aura from scratch would take over a thousand years."
"Hmm. What if we don't repair it to original specs but modify it instead?"
Saran pondered again. Her Qi knowledge came entirely from her husband, so it took her time to judge.
"First, extract the death aura to revert the dragon's body, then establish a new profound method besides Six Paths Reincarnation. With five left, align them to the five elements. Perfect timing for the Star Formation Secret Realm—we can gather materials there and refine with the five stars' energies."
"Five stars?"
"The five stars symbolizing the elements: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Star energy layered on elemental power makes it far more profound than plain five elements."
Reforging the dharma treasure with stars and elements... Saran said since it was already completed once, detailed knowledge would make reforging straightforward.
Without a true Qi Refining expert's hand, though, it'd just be a patched-up job—needing proper fixing later.
"That works. I know a good Qi Refiner."
"We can forge a temporary version for immediate use. But given the damage, it'll top out at Nascent Soul grade."
"A bit disappointing. But the potential stays Soul Transformation grade?"
"Yes."
"Then better to gather materials in the secret realm and reforge it at Nascent Soul level than chase a perfect Soul Transformation fix right now."
I nodded at Saran's explanation, setting my first goal for the Star Formation Secret Realm.
Repair the Meritorious Six Paths Flood Dragon.
"By the way. Know anything about this dharma treasure?"
I'd need a new name for the reforged Flood Dragon anyway, so I showed her the design diagram from the cultivator who'd targeted the Dharma Wheel.
"It's a flying dharma treasure that helps break through to Soul Transformation."
"A Buddhist dharma treasure. Suits you, Master, with your pure spiritual power. Materials look plentiful... but the hull wood's the issue. Heavenly Bodhi Wood is among the top heavenly resources for Buddhism—hard to acquire."
"No way around it?"
Saran thought a moment, then spoke.
"I know where Heavenly Bodhi Wood grows. Corrupting something like that makes it ideal for demonic Soul Transformation cultivators."
"...So it's in demonic hands?"
"Precisely, one demonic sect was cultivating it."
Propping her chin, she mused.
"Falling Star Sect settled Death Aura Valley, and decades later, a new sect appeared. Called Fu Clan Sect."
"......"
"The Bodhi Wood hasn't matured yet, so raiding them might work."
"Fu Clan Sect... Never heard of it."
"Yes, it's quite far. I'll tell you the location just in case. Still, crafting such a treasure just from refining materials and a diagram, without Qi arts..."
Saran admired the diagram repeatedly.
"Pure Land Ferryboat..."
"Hm? It had a name?"
"Yes. Written small on the prow diagram."
"Oh, yeah."
I carefully stowed the Pure Land Ferryboat diagram and pulled out the jade slip with the Divine Spirit Naesa Cheonju production method.
"Next..."
"No, wait... Why are these treasures just pouring out? What insane luck lets a Core Formation body hold all this...?"
"No clue. I'm just lucky. Oh, and my sect's the top righteous great sect."
"...High Heaven Sect cultivator?!"
"Yep."
Saran jolted in shock upon realizing my identity.
"I-it makes sense for a High Heaven Sect cultivator to have such treasures... No, even that's too much."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever—check this one. You've got more to look at."
"Y-yes. Hm... This uses divine powers to manifest ritual implements purely from spiritual power."
"One of my dharma treasures is super strong but guzzles spiritual power. Found this while looking for a way to use it."
"I see. You want to start using it now?"
"Yeah. Possible?"
"This one's tricky. Some divine powers build from spells step-by-step, but this crystallizes spiritual power into matter—spell-level power won't cut it."
"Too bad."
A little disappointed, I showed her Gong Ga-jin's mirror dharma treasure next.
"Got this from a storage pouch I took from a Nascent Soul monster. Oh, the heavenly resource that woke you? Also from that old coot."
"I see."
"And the dual cultivation method we used? From him too."
"R-right... Yes. Let me see..."
I kept tossing in extra info, and Saran ground her teeth, clenching and rubbing her thighs.
Teasing a Soul Transformation cultivator was this fun? Hilarious.
"......"
Then, as she examined the mirror, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Th-this is..."
"What's up?"
"...This mirror dharma treasure is the Soul Refining Great Void Mirror. In the past, it appeared and wiped out five whole sects. Extremely powerful."
"Oh? What does it do?"
"Whoever holds this mirror can temper their soul and nascent soul. Rumor has it a perfected Nascent Soul cultivator used it to strengthen theirs to early Soul Transformation levels."
After hearing her full explanation, I stared at the mirror in astonishment.
This was that kind of item? Reeling from the unbelievable truth, I pondered the mirror a moment—then realized something.
"Ah."
...Was this why Gong Ga-jin could stand against the more talented Gyeol Ja-yeon?