Chapter 13
Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Foundation Establishment Realm (2)
When I met Geum So-ryeo, she had given me a Sound Transmission Jade Token with the instruction to contact her once I reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The mere fact that she handed a Sound Transmission Jade Token to an Inner Disciple like me just for achieving Foundation Establishment showed exactly how much she valued talent.
But instead of contacting Geum So-ryeo through the token, I headed back into the eastern sector and sat in meditation.
The spiritual power in my body is surging wildly. I've only just broken through to Foundation Establishment, so it's not stable yet. First, I need to settle my power.
Even using Blazing Palm Seal once had made my power roil uncontrollably like this. If I'd gotten into a fight in this state, I could've damaged my Dao Heart and lost my realm despite the hard-won breakthrough.
After spending three months stabilizing my cultivation, I turned my attention to the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle next.
Vast Bounty ().
True to the meaning of the characters—bestowing favor widely—this gourd was an item overflowing endlessly with the vital energy of water, the source of life itself.
But this was only the power it displayed unregistered to an owner, before its function as a dharma treasure had been activated.
Holding the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle in my left hand, I cut my right palm and drew out a drop of vital blood from the wound.
Now that I'd reached Foundation Establishment, my evolved body produced vital blood, where ordinary blood merged with the essence of life. Dripping this onto a dharma treasure and linking it with Divine Sense was how one claimed ownership.
The moment my vital blood touched it, it seeped into the engraved characters on the gourd's surface. The characters glowed with a vivid crimson light, and soon the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle began greedily sucking in my Divine Sense with terrifying momentum.
"Ugh…!"
As Yong Yoo's Divine Sense was devoured at an alarming rate, I hurriedly offered Kang Young-jun's Divine Sense instead. But the gourd devoured that too, just as voraciously.
I alternated between feeding it my two streams of Divine Sense, buying time for each to recover. After a full month of clinging to the gourd and pouring in Divine Sense, I finally succeeded in registering as its owner.
"Huff… huff… What the hell is this thing?"
I'd guessed it was extraordinary since it had been used by Geum Yang-pyeong during his Soul Harmony Realm cultivation, but I never imagined registering ownership would take a whole month.
After completing the registration, I examined the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle and tested its abilities in earnest.
When I activated the gourd, the rope around its mouth wrapped tightly around the stopper, sealing it completely.
Once sealed, the water spiritual energy that had been spilling out wildly began swirling inside the gourd. It flowed in an infinity shape between the small bulge at the top and the large one at the bottom, then converged into the concave section.
And then.
Plip.
Such a sound came from inside the gourd.
"Hm? What was that?"
Plip, plip, plip-plip.
At first, I didn't know what the noise was, but it soon sounded like water droplets falling. As the water began to pool, a faint patter of rain echoed from within the gourd.
Judging by the downpour, it seemed the gourd would fill in at most one gak—fifteen minutes—so I waited for the rain to stop. But the sound didn't let up, and the gourd grew steadily heavier.
"Huh? Wh-what?"
It got so heavy even I, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, struggled to hold it, so I grabbed the stopper and pulled it out.
The rain sounds ceased, leaving only the quiet slosh of water inside.
I lifted the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle with effort and cautiously sipped the water within.
"Oh."
How to describe it… It was incredibly delicious.
Truly, insanely, unbelievably tasty water.
And when I checked with Divine Sense, it was washing away all the impurities, filth, and corruption in my body, purifying it into something pristine and immaculate.
"…What if I brew Spirit Liquor with this?"
The thought hit me, and I immediately began brewing Spirit Liquor with the gourd's water.
Since the water was so delicious and purged all impurities from the body, leaving it pure, I named it Nectar Water. The Spirit Liquor made from it would be Nectar Spirit Liquor.
I quickly set some to brew and age, then decided to handle other matters while it fermented.
First, I headed to the Scripture Pavilion to find a cultivation method suited for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
For Kang Young-jun's spiritual root, the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art was more than enough. It was an advanced method that included three divine abilities usable only at Nascent Soul Realm, so it should suffice all the way to Nascent Soul.
The real issue was Yong Yoo's spiritual root. To develop a Three Elements Spiritual Root like his, I needed to cultivate three different elemental methods.
This was the disadvantage for those with many spiritual root elements.
Having to learn and cultivate separate methods for each element meant gathering spiritual power far slower than single-element root holders, who could focus on one.
It was unfair enough to have inferior aptitude, but cultivation had to be harder too…
The solutions were special methods that allowed simultaneous multi-element cultivation, or supplementing speed with dharma treasures, pills, or special means.
This was why I planned to cultivate Kang Young-jun's root solely with the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art. Buddhist methods inherently encompassed the five elements, allowing all attributes to be trained with one method.
The tradeoff: refining the five elements into auspicious qi, then further into spiritual power, added extra steps, making it less efficient and slower than standard methods.
But Buddhist methods were late-blooming types that grew stronger with greater attainment. Low starting point, sky-high peak, plus exclusive divine abilities.
"…Haaah."
And… after rummaging through the Scripture Pavilion for so long that random thoughts intruded, I still hadn't found a method I liked.
"All I got was this one spell manual, huh."
I examined the Water Essence Bullet Art manual in my hand, then tucked it away.
After that, I spent my time cultivating Kang Young-jun's root with the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art, occasionally visiting the market to browse for decent method or spell manuals.
Then a thought struck me.
How do rogue cultivators even train?
Rogue cultivators were those who wandered without affiliation, training alone.
I had the High Heaven Sect's resources: pills from the market, and methods or spells from the Scripture Pavilion practically free, or affordably abundant in the market.
Rogues were different.
With every pill or manual precious, even junk ones were overpriced. Sects gave monthly stipends, but rogues struggled even to gather spirit stones.
Hunting for stones and pills wasted lifespan, and many succumbed to the "short life of Foundation Establishment," dying prematurely.
As I pondered rogue cultivators' hardships while possessing Yong Yoo, thinking how fortunate I was…
"Ah, Yoo Senior!"
I ran into Do Mun-hyang at the market by chance.
"Ah, Hyang-ah…"
"…"
As I greeted her, Do Mun-hyang barreled toward me at frightening speed, overwhelming me into stepping back. She grabbed my wrist, dragged me into a narrow alley, and hissed in a lowered voice.
"You've reached Foundation Establishment! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Ah… It slipped my mind."
"Slipped your mind? There's slipping your mind and then there's this! Really! I've been on pins and needles waiting for you to break through—what am I supposed to do with that?!"
"S-sorry. Really sorry. I was so excited after breaking through that I forgot to tell you."
In truth, I hadn't forgotten; I'd just prioritized other things and not mentioned it…
"I see! I understand! But anyway, congratulations!"
Do Mun-hyang puffed her cheeks like she was still mad but congratulated me regardless, then offered the Refined Flying Sword.
"Here, your dharma treasure, Senior."
"Ah, thanks. I'll register it later. Hold onto it for now. What happened after your enlightenment last time?"
As I asked while she stored the Refined Flying Sword in her storage pouch, she thrust her chest out proudly with a confident smile.
"Hee hee. It's been five years since my enlightenment? Aren't you a bit late asking? I'm already at Foundation Establishment 6th Layer!"
"Whoa! Impressive! Amazing!"
It really was. Breaking through two minor stages in five years!
"I worked really hard!"
"I succeeded in registering the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle too."
"Wow! Congratulations! Your first dharma treasure, Senior!"
We kept sharing our achievements, congratulating each other nonstop—until a loud bellow erupted from outside.
"Hey! Get out here, shopkeep! How dare you scam me?!"
"Who scammed you? You wanna die?! Which peak's punk are you?!"
"Bear Embrace Peak! What're you gonna do?!"
"Wh-what?! They're using spells!"
"Stop them! Everyone, stop them!"
Rough shouts came with stirring spiritual power, followed by panicked screams and crashing chaos.
Snapped alert by the noise, we realized we were pressed close together in the narrow alley.
Especially since Do Mun-hyang had thrust her chest out to boast about her 6th Layer—now her breasts were rubbing and pressing against my chest.
"…"
"…"
The commotion raged outside, but silence fell between us. We hesitated, then tentatively pressed our lips together.
People were everywhere nearby. One sweep of Divine Sense would catch us. Yet we risked it, lips locked, tongues entwining passionately.
Smack, haa…
When the kiss broke, Do Mun-hyang's flushed face filled my view.
"…It's been five years since we kissed like this."
"We've both been busy…"
"Still… I got a little lonely."
Her words brought back the solitude and pain of five years secluded for Foundation Establishment.
"Me too… Closed-door training alone was so tough. You kept coming to mind."
At my words, she smiled shyly like a blooming flower, lifted the veil covering my face, examined it, and smiled deeper.
"Hee hee, sounds real."
Then she touched my long beard.
"Not taking care of yourself again… Yoo Senior, what would you do without me?"
"Well… You're the only one I show my face to, Hyang-ah."
Pleased by that, she threw herself into my arms, hugged tight, and kissed me again.
Smack, smooch…
"Haa, Hyang-ah. Hyang-ah…"
"Yoo Senior… more…"
"You sure? If someone sees…"
"It's fine, Senior… We can block Divine Sense with our own. Unless it's a Core Formation senior, they won't notice."
She grabbed my face firmly, urging me to focus only on her. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and waist, pouring all into the kiss as she wished.
The thrill of such an intense kiss outside excited us both. Naturally, my hand slid from her waist to grasp her ample buttocks…
"Hyang-ah?"
At that moment, a voice came from the alley entrance.
Startled, Do Mun-hyang and I froze mid-kiss, eyes darting sideways to check.
Mun Yoo.
"Hyang-ah, what are you doing there?"
Far more disheveled and unkempt than before, he stood at the entrance, staring at us.