Chapter 16
Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Foundation Establishment Realm (5)
After Hyang Mae and Geum So-ryeo left to seek a fortuitous encounter, the first thing I did was register ownership of the Refined Flying Sword that Do Mun-hyang had given me.
Fortunately, unlike the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle, registering the Refined Flying Sword was incredibly straightforward. I slipped the newly registered sword into its rope-bound scabbard and tied it to my wrist.
I stepped outside briefly and infused the sword with various spirit powers to test it out.
I checked if proper spirit blades formed by channeling water spirit power, wood spirit power, and fire spirit power in sequence one after another. Finally, after experimenting with auspicious spirit power as well, I watched the Refined Flying Sword dart around here and there before smiling in satisfaction, recalling it and heading back to my cave.
Once back in my cave, I moved on to studying the next spell manual.
This spell, the Water Essence Bullet Art, extracted the purest and most precious essence known as "refined water" from nearby water sources, compressed it, and launched it. Unlike the Blazing Palm Seal, its attack range wasn't wide, but the power condensed into a single point could pierce through tough defenses, silently felling enemies without flashy destruction.
Water Essence Bullet Art
Piercing shot from pure water essence. Silent and penetrative.
Its drawbacks were that it required nearby water to use and extracting the essence took a long time.
But for me? I had the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle.
After poring over the Water Essence Bullet Art manual all day and mastering the spell, I headed out of my cave the next morning to test it using the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle.
A thin stream of nectar spirit liquor rose from the mouth of the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle and gathered in front of me, just as expected. Without needing to extract essence from regular water, it went straight into the compression process.
'Honestly, this nectar spirit liquor has to be purer than essence extracted from ordinary water.'
Considering the mess the Blazing Palm Seal had made, I should probably use it in the spell training grounds, but according to the manual, the Water Essence Bullet Art was noted as a stealthy spell with excellent penetration, suitable even for assassinations.
So it should be fine.
With that thought, I unleashed the Water Essence Bullet Art toward the riverbed where I had previously fired the Blazing Palm Seal—the spot where the water flow had dried up.
KABOOM!!!
Massive explosion rocks the riverbed.
"...?"
The moment the Water Essence Bullet hit, a massive explosion erupted from the riverbed, shaking the surroundings.
"No way. It said it could be used for assassinations!"
You've got to be kidding me!
Was it the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle? Was the problem the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle?! What the hell is nectar spirit liquor made of that a Foundation Establishment spell packs this kind of punch?!
Panicking, I retreated back into my cave and this time used the water flowing through it for the Water Essence Bullet Art.
This water was what I'd originally used to brew spirit liquor, filtered through the cave walls, so it was quite pure.
Even so, extracting just a half-knuckle's worth of essence from the cave water took forever. Cautiously heading back outside, I fired it off.
Pew.
This time, it flew far away and embedded silently. Staring at the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle in astonishment, I muttered to myself.
What the hell is this thing...
...No, let's think positively. I've gained a powerful new tool. Nothing could be better.
Good is good, I thought, gently stroking the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle at my waist. It seemed the real fortuitous encounter from Geum Yang-pyeong's eastern district wasn't the Refined Flying Sword, but this gourd bottle.
Over the next month, I honed the Water Essence Bullet Art, figuring out exactly how much nectar spirit liquor from the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle yielded the right power level during practice.
Once I'd sufficiently mastered the Water Essence Bullet Art, I pulled out another spell manual.
This one was on Combined Arts.
The reason my spells wielded far greater power than a normal person's... I didn't understand at first, but starting from Geum So-ryeo's offhand comment, I grasped the knack and finally pinpointed the cause.
Geum So-ryeo had wondered why I bothered splitting my spirit power into two to cast spells, but it wasn't splitting—it was using the spirit powers from my two spirit roots simultaneously.
In other words, the spells I cast were like two cultivators perfectly syncing to draw up spirit power at the exact same instant, circulate it along identical paths, and complete the spell in unison.
If even two different people using Combined Arts boosted spell power, what would happen if two minds in perfect harmony executed it flawlessly?
The Blazing Palm Seal that turned a river into mist and the Water Essence Bullet Art that blasted the riverbed to oblivion were the answers.
And that was me doing it without even knowing the basics of Combined Arts. Studying it properly would undoubtedly make my spells even more devastating.
'Plus, there's the advantage of performing Combined Arts or divine abilities that normally require at least two people by myself.'
As a five-element spirit root cultivator with inferior talent, my greatest edge was possessing two spirit roots.
To survive as a cultivator, even if cultivation difficulty was double or more than others', I had to maximize this advantage.
'I need a proper cultivation method too... but whatever, let's master this first.'
After devouring every book on Combined Arts basics and committing them to memory, I moved on to spell manuals detailing good Combined Arts.
'I've got Blazing Palm Seal and Water Essence Bullet Art for offense. The Refined Flying Sword too. So defense it is.'
Right now, my strongest spirit power from the dual spirit roots was water spirit power. Thanks to Hyang Mae's dual cultivation, it had surged enough to break through to the 2nd layer of Foundation Establishment.
Normally, you'd need to raise all three other spirit powers to the 2nd layer first, but the excess water spirit power had forced the breakthrough.
I couldn't waste this overflowing water spirit power, so I immediately began studying Combined Arts.
Since Combined Arts weren't meant for solo use, the hand seals were far more complex than regular spells, requiring multiple people to combine hands into one seal—not easy at all.
"Like this...?"
I brought my hands together to form the seal from the manual. My fingers felt a bit tangled, but this should be...
Rumble!!
A deafening thunderclap echoed from outside my cave, making me grimace and disrupting the seal I'd just formed.
"Ah... what the hell."
"Disciple of the eastern cave! Come out!"
"...."
Feeling the blatant probe of divine sense directed my way, I wondered what was going on and stepped outside.
My cave's formation was just a token array provided by the High Heaven Sect—anyone at Foundation Establishment could pierce it. But brazenly blasting divine sense into someone else's cave was a new level of rudeness.
Outside stood a man in a brown robe atop a flying magic tool, with the guy I'd seen at the fabric shop recently standing beside him in a white robe.
The man before me wasn't in Yong Yoo's memories, so this was our first meeting.
"You don't seem like someone I know, Senior. What brings you calling for me?"
The brown-robed man spat thunder spirit power crackling from his grip as he spoke.
"My brother got burned in this river a few months ago. Couldn't find the culprit, but just days ago, while patrolling the riverbank searching for him, I saw a powerful spell obliterate the riverbed."
"...."
"A thorough search revealed this eastern cave is the only one here, yours alone, with no one else coming to practice spells."
I noticed him quickly scanning my spirit rope, cotton cloth, and Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle. He missed the Refined Flying Sword hidden in my sleeve, but the three exposed treasures had caught his eye.
I sized him up in return, realizing he was an 8th layer Foundation Establishment powerhouse.
"Your cultivation is merely 2nd layer Foundation Establishment, but with no one else in that cave, you must be the culprit. As fellow Sea Severing Peak disciples, I'd like to go easy, but because of you, my brother needed months of recovery, even dropping a layer. You deserve punishment!"
Finishing with naked greed for my treasures, he unleashed spells without mercy.
Thunder spirit power, exclusive to mutated thunder spirit root bearers outside the five elements, was the most violent and potent among all spirit powers—rivaling Mun Yoo's karmic force in strength and the fastest for escape arts.
I swiftly formed the Water Shield Box seal, a deep blue hexahedral box manifesting around me to shield me.
Boom!!!
His spell slammed into the Water Shield Box, but as I'd predicted, my dual-spirit-root Combined Art was incredibly sturdy, easily blocking the 8th layer spell fueled by thunder spirit power.
'Fellow Sea Severing Peak disciple or not... Geum So-ryeo neglects everyone but her direct disciples, so it should be fine. Just don't kill him.'
While blocking with the Water Shield Box, I infused wood spirit power into the Refined Flying Sword. It shot from my sleeve, forming a wooden blade as it lunged at the enemy.
"Eek!"
Not expecting a counterattack, the two left themselves wide open. The Refined Flying Sword swiftly targeted them.
Rumble!
The panicking brown-robed man used an escape art to vanish, leaving the white-robed man defenseless as the sword struck.
Thwack!
Having received my no-kill order, the Refined Flying Sword battered the white-robed man flat with its blade side. He screamed shrilly with each hit.
"Agh! Aaagh! B-Brother! Aaaagh!"
"Little brother!"
Hearing the brown-robed man's voice, I placed a hand on the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle and formed the Water Essence Bullet Art seal with the other. Compressed nectar spirit liquor shot from the gourd's mouth toward the distant brown-robed man.
"...!"
Noticing the incoming Water Essence Bullet, he pulled out a plate-shaped magic tool for defense, but my bullet shattered it effortlessly and burrowed deep into his solar plexus.
"Gaaack!!"
His innards churning, he collapsed screaming. I recalled the Refined Flying Sword still pummeling the now-unconscious white-robed man, then reached out with divine sense toward the floating flying magic tool.
The tool flew into my grasp. With a surge of powerful divine sense, I broke its ownership registration and tossed it toward my cave.
"Senior, now let me speak again. As a fellow Sea Severing Peak disciple, I'll overlook disturbing my peace and interrupting my cultivation if you pay the price."
"H-How...! How can a 2nd layer Foundation Establishment wield spells of this power...! Cough! This kind of might!!"
"Didn't you already hear my spell evaporated the river?"
Spitting blood from the ground, he saw me approaching and frantically pulled a storage pouch from his bosom.
Shaking it out spilled a single fruit—an orange, apple-like thing—which he offered me.
"This is my most precious possession! I heard you evaporated the river with a spell! You must have a fire spirit root too, so it'll aid your cultivation!"
"...."
Sensing the pure fire spirit energy from the orange apple, I nodded.
"Very well. For the flying magic tool and this fruit, I'll let it slide."
Taking only those two items exactly as stated, I returned to my cave. The two men stared at the entrance before scrambling away in panic.
Sighing at the sight, I thought,
'Hope this doesn't stir up trouble.'
These small-fry types always pick fights, and after you beat them down, some stronger backer pops out of nowhere.
"Senior Brother Han! Senior Brother Han!"
The two cultivators brutally thrashed by Yong Yoo rushed to a senior they were close with.
"What happened?"
"Senior Brother Han! Please avenge us! It's so unfair, I'm going mad!"
"Calm down. Calm and explain."
The man called Senior Brother Han was Han Chun-oh.
A cultivator at Foundation Establishment perfection, possessor of the same mutated thunder spirit root as the brown-robed man, and Geum So-ryeo's direct disciple despite being single-element spirit root.
He competed with Do Hye, who became Geum So-ryeo's direct disciple around the same time, over cultivation levels. To break through to Core Formation faster than her, he'd secluded himself from external activities to focus on training.
Moreover, feeling anxious as Do Mun-hyang rapidly closed the gap with terrifying speed in recent years, his Dao heart wavering, he was one of the senior brothers harboring resentment toward her.
None of Geum So-ryeo's direct disciples liked Do Mun-hyang, who received personal cultivation method transmissions from Geum So-ryeo herself or was escorted by her to fortuitous sites—clear favoritism.
"What happened was..."
Of course, the two didn't tell the honest truth. They spun lies about Yong Yoo unilaterally bullying them with brute force and robbing their magic tools and spirit fruits.
'These idiots.'
Han Chun-oh saw through their lies but couldn't be bothered to call them out on such trivialities.
"Got it. I'll punish him personally, so you two go rest."
Dismissing them, Han Chun-oh refocused entirely on his cultivation.
'Blocking thunder spirit power spells with water spirit power? A 2nd layer blocking an 8th layer spell? I could verify it myself, but my juniors wouldn't lie to me... Could he be the direct disciple candidate Master mentioned nine years ago?'
But Yong Yoo's story was too intriguing to concentrate easily.
Then.
"Ah!"
A faint sense of breakthrough slipped away amid distracting thoughts like water through his fingers. Han Chun-oh cried out.
"Aaaah! My breakthrough!! Argh...! Whoever you are, I won't forgive you...!!"
Lacking a proper target for his rage, Han Chun-oh vented his fury not at himself for idle thoughts during the attempt, but at Yong Yoo for causing them.