Chapter 98
Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Rogue Cultivator Life (4)
Life as a rogue cultivator was indeed hectic.
Back in the sect, aside from the mandatory missions handed down periodically, you could devote yourself entirely to cultivation without a care in the world.
In my case, brewing spirit liquor to offer the sect fulfilled that duty, and after transferring to Sea Severing Peak, my abilities earned me such recognition that I didn't have to lift a finger for missions—I could focus solely on training, and the sect would accommodate me.
It was the perfect place to pour every aspect of your life into cultivation. But now that I was living as a rogue cultivator, that luxury was out of reach.
Finding a stable, satisfying cultivation environment was tough enough, and even if you did, you'd have to fight tooth and nail against others, competing fiercely to hold onto it.
Of course, none of that mattered to me right now—I had no time for cultivation anyway.
I needed to reach Haeseong Sect as quickly as possible to make contact with the girls. The biggest issue was Ahan and Sohu, trapped inside the Mustard Seed Sumeru Law Wheel.
As my dharma treasure, no one else could open the Sumeru space, and I sensed no severance in the bond between treasure and master.
That meant during those months we'd spent fleeing with the Diversion Escape Art, Ahan and Sohu had been stuck inside the whole time.
Locked away without any news from the outside world... I worried about their mental state.
Harboring such thoughts, I hid in the shadows, cloaked myself with a concealment talisman to mask my presence from divine sense, and observed the cultivators conducting their trades.
My current mission was an escort request. A cultivator who'd seen me hunt powerful local demon beasts for spirit stones had asked me to guard him during a private deal, just in case.
The client was an early Core Formation Realm cultivator. His trading partner was mid Core Formation Realm.
I watched vigilantly to ensure the partner didn't bully the client or pass off fake goods.
At first, the trade seemed to go smoothly.
But midway through, the atmosphere shifted.
"Hold on—what's this? Why is the state of this Pleiades Moonstone so poor? You didn't apply any preservation seals, so half its spirit energy has leaked out! And this Chongra Pepper—it's not the five-hundred-year-old one you showed me last time. This is barely a century old!"
Chongra Pepper was a chili that mimicked the form of insects. Laden with potent vitality, it served as prime material for body-nourishing pills.
The fact that he sought Chongra Pepper made it clear my client was a pill refiner.
After months of fleeing and scraping by as a rogue cultivator, I'd run out of talismans and pills, so I'd been wandering markets to restock when I met him.
For this escort, he'd promised three Blood Replenishing Pills, two Vessel Completion Pills, and five hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
Pills plus spirit stones—a hefty sum. Pill refiners really did rake it in.
"So what? Does it matter? I said I'd provide Pleiades Moonstone and Chongra Pepper, but never specified the quality. You should be grateful I handed over anything at all."
As the partner brazened it out, my client ground his teeth and glared murderously. The partner scowled, offended, and drew his dharma treasure.
"You fool. If you'd just taken the goods and left, you'd have kept your life and ended the deal smoothly! Now you're throwing it away!"
Watching the scene unfold, I immediately unleashed my Hidden Movement Art, slipping behind him before launching a Flying Sword Strike at his head.
Boom!
My Flying Sword Strike collided with the defensive dharma treasure shielding his head, exploding on impact.
I didn't let up, firing two more in rapid succession. Once his defenses shattered, his upper body cleanly vaporized under my strikes, leaving him dead.
Gazing at the bisected corpse—lower half alone—I glanced at my fingers, which had unleashed the strikes, and sighed.
'Still sorely lacking...'
Ever since I could no longer use the Assimilation Art, I'd racked my brains to boost my depleted combat prowess.
I'd refined, researched, innovated, and drilled my spells relentlessly.
But with my spirit energy—thanks to the Pagoda and Anti-Dragon Five Passes—rivaling Nascent Soul level, I'd already maxed out my training potential.
To grow stronger, I'd need mightier dharma treasures or a breakthrough to the next major realm. Meaningful gains had eluded me thus far.
Having to unleash three spells on a mid Core Formation opponent like myself was disheartening.
"......"
At that moment, the client—who'd been staring at me—widened his eyes in shock before prostrating himself in panic.
"F-Forgive me, Senior! This lowly Fang Mo didn't realize you were a Nascent Soul Senior and treated you like mere Core Formation, making such an insolent request...!!"
Hm. He was seriously misunderstanding something.
Seeing me dispatch a mid Core Formation foe with spells alone, he'd mistaken me for Nascent Soul. A true Nascent Soul expert would've one-shot him.
I couldn't use the Assimilation Art anymore, but fortunately, my pure water spirit power and innate combat talent made me far superior to peers.
Plus, my dharma treasures and spells all exceeded Core Formation standards, so I was confident against even Core Formation perfection.
I just couldn't bridge major realms without the Assimilation Art—but I'd never lose to an equal.
"Forget it. I hid my identity first."
Too tedious to explain, I brushed it off. Then I opened the dead man's storage pouch and checked inside.
I handed over a well-preserved Pleiades Moonstone still brimming with power and a five-hundred-year-old Chongra Pepper. The rest naturally went to my waist pouch.
The client said nothing about it.
"Just pay the fee and go."
At my words, he bowed deeply in thanks and doubled the payment.
"This is this junior's token of gratitude! Haha! Farewell, Senior!"
He fled as if eager to avoid entangling with a suspicious Nascent Soul hiding his identity. I pocketed the fee and returned to my rented lodging in the market, inspecting the pouch.
Frequently killing and looting storage pouches had made it routine.
Storage pouches were, of course, dharma treasures.
Registered to their master's soul imprint, they couldn't be used by others without dismantling that bond.
Ironically, they were the most common dharma treasure in the cultivation world—every cultivator had killed for one at some point.
Naturally, techniques to sever the soul imprint were well-researched and no secret art; any cultivator knew them.
It involved interfering with the pouch's structure to forcibly release the bond... So refined that even I, unable to dispel the formation grandmaster's divine sense seals on dharma treasures, could unbind his storage pouch.
For a Core Formation cultivator's pouch, it was child's play—eyes closed.
"Odd, though. Why'd he have so many Pleiades Moonstones?"
Pleiades Moonstone came from a star embodying the Western White Tiger's power. Infused with stellar energy and metal spirit qi, it was ideal for forging sturdy, potent dharma treasures.
A material primarily sought by artifact forgers—yet my pill-refining client seemed more fixated on it than Chongra Pepper.
'The seller sought it too. No way he'd carry multiples otherwise.'
I pulled three more from the pouch; two held even stronger power than what I'd given the client.
'With demand like this, yet scarce in markets...'
Some cultivators were quietly hoarding them. And valuable enough that the seller's offered goods seemed worth less than the client's.
'Time to investigate.'
To uncover unknown info in the cultivation world, ask the oldest nearby cultivator first—assuming they wouldn't deceive or exploit you.
Thus, I drew forth Yi Seon-aeng from my soul for the first time in ages.
My mouth opened, expelling the tiny Yi Seon-aeng, who swiftly returned to full size.
"......Eek!"
Drawn from my soul, she looked far more haggard than when I'd stored her.
Her neat hair was disheveled, dark circles stark beneath her bluish skin, clothes disarrayed—exposing what shouldn't be seen.
Already revealing attire, now tousled, and she herself a striking beauty... it stirred me involuntarily.
'The Falling Star Sect master's tastes...'
Not bad. Good, even? The kind I'd want on my women. Would they wear it if I asked?
As I eyed her with such thoughts, Yi Seon-aeng scanned her surroundings in confusion, spotted me, and shrank back in terror.
"Y-You! What in the world are you?!"
I regarded the utterly cowed Yi Seon-aeng.
With the Eighty Thousand Realm Scripture Pagoda on hand, I'd expected soul storage would tame her... but the effect exceeded expectations.
"How... how can you house something like that in your soul?! A mere Core Formation cultivator! Impossible...!"
"It doesn't matter what I am."
I bluffed mysteriously, as if hiding some colossal secret. She flinched, huddling and hanging on my next words.
"What matters is whether you'll become my dharma treasure and serve me."
If she agreed, I'd gain a 'Soul Transformation-grade dharma treasure.'
Yi Seon-aeng—the Life-Death Fame Human Corpse—drew on fame energy to move. With the infinite fame qi from the Yellow Springs Glass Peak Mandate leaking endlessly, she could be wielded without depletion.
"......"
She agonized visibly over my words.
Most would bow upon sensing uncanny depths in a foe, but her hesitation showed true love for her husband.
Yet she had no options. Any sign of rebellion, and back into the soul she'd go.
"......"
After some thought, I changed tack. What if she lunged suddenly and I reacted even a beat too slow? I'd be dead.
'Right. Yeah.'
No need to press for an answer now. She'd only been in my soul two months—her will might not be broken yet.
I'd hoped for instant submission and Moonstone intel, but gathering info on whatever Moonstone scheme brewed in this market wasn't impossible.
No rush.
"I'll let you out again when you've decided. Answer then."
"W-Wait...!"
Ignoring her plea, I stored her back in my soul.
"Kyaaaaaaa!!!"
Her scream faded as she shrank and vanished into my mouth when I closed it.
"Time to look into Pleiades Moonstone."
And with that, I headed into the market to gather information.