Chapter 75
Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Sect Exchange (1)
When they announced their intention to reveal the existence of Yun Seong-guk—a figure they had kept tightly under wraps—to the High Heaven Sect, the elders of the Ha-seong Sect deliberated deeply, holding lengthy meetings on the matter.
However, since Yun Seong-guk himself earnestly desired it, and above all, his master Yi Sim-gyeol—who had brilliantly raised a mere 19-year-old to the Nascent Soul Realm—insisted it was necessary, the Ha-seong Sect gladly agreed to send him to the High Heaven Sect.
The Ha-seong Sect had no idea that Yun Seong-guk had grown strong entirely on his own. They couldn't fathom the existence of someone so absurd.
In the world, a being who awakened cultivation methods, spells, and divine abilities at will? Moreover, Yun Seong-guk possessed the true fate scripture handed down by the true soul of an immortal's soul fragment.
Even if Yun Seong-guk wanted to boast about his own talents, he wasn't so shameless as to insult or belittle his master in the process. Yi Sim-gyeol was one of the precious few people in the lonely life of Yun Seong-guk.
Yun Seong-guk knew full well that he came across as arrogant. He viewed it merely as a demeanor befitting his talents, but objectively speaking as a human being, he was clearly someone people didn't want around.
In fact, many who had clung to him hoping to leech off his talents had abandoned him upon witnessing them firsthand.
Only Yi Sim-gyeol remained by Yun Seong-guk's side, protecting him, guiding him, soothing him, and serving as a compass on the righteous path—a master, parent, and sibling all in one.
Of course, that was the extent of it.
Between what Yun Seong-guk himself wanted and what his master Yi Sim-gyeol wanted, he would unhesitatingly choose his own desires.
Even if it meant weighing his own benefit against his master's life on the scales, he would make the same choice.
Yun Seong-guk wondered if he was a cruel person, unaware that this temperament stemmed from being an immortal's soul fragment.
To an immortal, all beings in the mortal world were like grains of sand on a beach. The lives of mortals were akin to microorganisms crawling across that sand.
As an immortal's soul fragment, Yun Seong-guk vaguely shared this mindset.
That was why, despite knowing it would trouble his master and the Ha-seong Sect, he slipped out of the guest quarters late at night to seek out Yong Yoo.
A Heavenly Prodigy who transcended great realms? A Heavenly Prodigy with far superior Dao combat aptitude than his own.
Yun Seong-guk, who had always lived as a genius and triumphed over superior cultivators, still couldn't transcend great realms himself.
Yet this 'fool' who had only just reached the Core Formation Realm could do it? Unbelievable. And because it was unbelievable, he wanted to see for himself.
With such thoughts, Yun Seong-guk moved stealthily under the cover of night—but this wasn't the Ha-seong Sect; it was the High Heaven Sect.
"Disciple Yun Seong-guk. Where might you be headed at this hour?"
The intricately woven formation arrays captured every bit of his covert movement, and a patrolling disciple from the Law Protection Hall stepped forward to block him.
The disciple who halted Yun Seong-guk was none other than Yeom Suk, who until recently had been a direct disciple of Sea Severing Peak but had overcome his heart demon and successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Though he had conquered his heart demon, the prolonged collapse of his Dao heart had severely damaged his vitality. Gone was Yeom Suk's former sturdy, broad-shouldered build; now he was tall, slender, and lithe.
"......I was just taking a stroll around the High Heaven Sect."
When Yun Seong-guk replied as such, Yeom Suk gripped his talisman and spoke.
"My apologies, but as a guest of the High Heaven Sect, you must abide by our rules. Guests are prohibited from entering areas beyond the open public spaces. The Twelve Peaks are especially designated as off-limits without a pass from the peak's elder."
Yun Seong-guk considered forcing his way past Yeom Suk but judged it impossible to do so quietly, given the man's stable spiritual energy and emanating presence.
'And he's not alone, either.'
Extending his divine sense, he sensed that Yeom Suk was merely the representative; several Law Enforcement Hall disciples were hiding nearby.
Each one was forming hand seals or preparing their dharma treasures, ready to respond the moment Yun Seong-guk showed any sign of action.
In the end, Yun Seong-guk gave up on secretly meeting Yong Yoo and returned to the guest quarters.
"Master, I'm back."
"You fool! Wandering around recklessly like that! Do you think this is the Ha-seong Sect?!"
On his way back, Yun Seong-guk ran into Yi Sim-gyeol and was dragged to the guest quarters for a thorough scolding.
"To the Ha-seong Sect, you are the hope of our righteous path. That's why we tolerate your deviations and indulgences! But the High Heaven Sect is different! Your talents are remarkable, but they pale before the old monsters of the High Heaven Sect! If you show disrespect and act recklessly, they'll deem you a future threat and wipe out the entire Ha-seong Sect!"
"Didn't you say the High Heaven Sect leads the righteous sects? Is it right for them to act so barbarically?"
"Then, should a righteous cultivator ignore the High Heaven Sect's rules? Blind to their own faults while nitpicking others'!"
Yi Sim-gyeol's lecture continued until the sun rose.
Perhaps due to that scolding, Yun Seong-guk thereafter confined himself to the guest-open areas, enjoying the High Heaven Sect. Yi Sim-gyeol overlooked his unusually frequent outings, figuring no harm came of it as long as he didn't cause trouble.
After that day, over the course of five days, I visited Yi Sim-gyeol once each time to receive his teachings.
After each session of instruction every five days, I'd spend three days digesting it, then use the remaining two for cultivation.
Compared to the lightning-fast pace I'd trained at in the ancient secret realm, it felt like crawling along at a sloth's speed, but the power of the 'perfect golden core' forged from the rigid golden core was extraordinary.
Both the slow-cultivating silent gate method and the Three Lives One Fate Scripture benefited from the rigid golden core, allowing me to cultivate at a pace slightly slower than ordinary methods.
It was still slower than standard methods, but this alone represented a monumental change for me.
As I cultivated my golden core, I observed the spirituality nestled within it.
My two nascent souls, now gradually taking on human fetal forms, had taken positions at the centers of each golden core. They grew by feeding on the spiritual energy I absorbed and my own cultivation.
The rigid golden core influenced my intrinsic dharma treasure, while the dragon golden core was shaped by the spirituality after my absorption.
The nascent soul within the rigid golden core sat in meditation at the deepest part of the Eighty-Four Thousand Scripture Treasure Pagoda, its short limbs making it look less like seated meditation and more like a torso with limbs tucked tightly against it.
The one in the dragon golden core had a tiny horn on its forehead and a small tail at its rear—so minuscule they resembled pimples rather than horns or tails. Unlike the rigid golden core's nascent soul, already meditating properly, this one curled up quietly like a fetus.
There were other differences as well.
Perhaps influenced by the golden core's size, the dragon golden core's nascent soul was about twice as large as the rigid one's.
In contrast, the rigid golden core's nascent soul, affected by the core's perfection, had formed a clearer, more solid shape.
'Is this... the nascent soul reading the scriptures?'
Most astonishingly, the nascent soul in the rigid golden core could read teachings from the Eighty-Four Thousand Scripture Treasure Pagoda that even I couldn't access yet.
'Then... once I reach the Nascent Soul Realm, I might be able to use a bit of the pagoda's power.'
I spent each day joyfully anticipating that moment.
Since Yi Sim-gyeol said it was fine to bring close friends, sometimes Hyang Mae joined me for the lessons.
Yi Sim-gyeol even shared knowledge on formations that benefited Hyang Mae, and afterward, she attended several sessions with me.
Or Pyong Yu-ran would come along.
She happened to be eager to learn ways to interact with people beyond Dao debates, so upon hearing this, Yi Sim-gyeol taught her various etiquettes that cultivators enjoyed, like Go or tea ceremonies.
Whenever he saw me, Hyang Mae, and Pyong Yu-ran listening earnestly, Yi Sim-gyeol's complexion and expression improved day by day.
It seemed Yun Seong-guk hadn't been a very attentive student. A man who taught so well and clearly enjoyed teaching.
In fact, whenever we received instruction, Yun Seong-guk busied himself eyeing the women I'd brought along, showing no interest whatsoever in Yi Sim-gyeol's teachings.
Time flows on.
A new year dawns.
I turned 63. Having lived 27 years here, the time I'd spent as Yong Yoo now surpassed that as Kang Young-jun.
Han Chun-oh was expelled as a direct disciple. Though he could have remained an inner disciple, he chose to renounce everything and return to the mundane world.
Whether he'd become a hermit or truly end his days in the secular world, I had no idea—but he'd manage fine on his own.
After word spread that Yi Sim-gyeol was offering teachings to others as well, several people requested lessons from him.
Curiously, some attended at the exact same times as me, and they all turned out to be members of the Yong Gong-ja Fan Club.
When over a dozen women crowded in for class together, not only Yun Seong-guk but Yi Sim-gyeol was taken aback.
During this time, I made significant progress in the arts.
I couldn't yet produce nectar dew, but by refining the Five Rivers Convergence Formation's water, I created high-quality water. My spirit liquor brewing advanced, and stronger spirit herbs and spirit crops from spirit farming resulted in more potent spirit liquor overall.
On top of that, I began studying pill cauldron techniques separately.
To replicate pill efficacies in spirit liquor, knowledge of pill cauldron arts was essential.
I couldn't perform pill cauldron arts myself, but I could incorporate their techniques into spirit liquor brewing.
Unlike spirit liquor brewing, which was simply fermentation, pill cauldron arts adeptly handled ingredients in myriad ways to extract diverse effects. Using that, I crafted spirit liquors with even more varied flavors and aromas.
"......Ah. Delicious."
Thus, I succeeded in brewing spirit liquor so tasty that "delicious" slipped from my lips without nectar dew.
In the tediously long life of a cultivator, such small joys are vital.
Having lived somewhat bored without nectar liquor for a while, I finally rediscovered everyday happiness.
But as I advanced this far, the time naturally came for Yi Sim-gyeol to depart.
On the day of the final lesson, I presented him with spirit liquor I'd brewed.
And so, the three of us—Yong Yoo, Yi Sim-gyeol, and Yun Seong-guk—shared the spirit liquor.
"Heh heh. You've got talent. Liquor this delicious."
"Oh......"
Yi Sim-gyeol happily accepted and sipped it, while Yun Seong-guk let out a small exclamation.
Liquor has a way of loosening tongues.
Usually, it was just Yi Sim-gyeol and me conversing, but that day Yun Seong-guk joined in, and the three of us talked.
We discussed the paths of cultivation we each walked.
Yi Sim-gyeol's tale of having forsaken further growth to enjoy his remaining years.
My story of aiming for ascension within 10,000 years, though I hid that goal.
Yun Seong-guk's arrogant, unrestrained conviction that the path of cultivation existed solely for him.
We conversed at great length, until the moon hung high, and then I prepared to return east.
"Junior Yoo. Wait a moment."
As I turned to leave, Yun Seong-guk called out to stop me.
"What is it?"
I grew anxious, unsure what this man approaching with a serious, stern face might say. This guy wasn't about to attack out of the blue, was he?
As I inwardly prepared my defenses, Yun Seong-guk pierced my divine sense in the blink of an eye, closing in close before speaking.
"H-How does one... win a woman's heart? Could you teach me?"
Eh? What?
"Pardon?"
"Well... there's a woman here I've taken a liking to. But I've never interacted with women before, so... I don't know what to do."
To me, Yun Seong-guk in that moment wasn't some haughty cultivator—he was just a 20-year-old youth experiencing his first love.