The Secret Realm (3)
Kukukukung!
With a thunderous roar, a raging torrent of black lightning erupted outward.
It was a power far denser and more intense than any technique Cheon Woo-jin had unleashed until now.
In the Five Elements, Water symbolizes death.
It corresponds to winter, the last of the four seasons — a bleak, somber death in which all living activity ceases and everything sinks into cold darkness.
Cheon Woo-jin had embodied that frigid principle of death through his own Body of the Dark True Abyss.
Then, fusing it as one with the thunder arts of the Five Thunder Heaven Subduing Sword, he had created black lightning-force that drove all things into death.
“Shaaaaa!”
An overwhelming surge of yin energy was pouring from the White Spirit Serpent's massive body.
An ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator would have collapsed vomiting blood from mere contact with that aura.
The black lightning pierced straight through it and burrowed into the serpent's flesh.
It gouged through the glossy white scales and infiltrated deep into its body.
Yet the White Spirit Serpent did not convulse as though electrocuted.
Electric current should have sent its muscles into violent spasms, but before any such reaction could occur, the black lightning-force had already reduced the serpent's bodily tissues to pitch-black powder.
At a glance it resembled the ashes of something burned, but in truth it was the residue left behind by the annihilating power the black lightning carried.
“Shaaah……!”
Its tissues collapsing as if necrotic, the White Spirit Serpent shrieked a grotesque cry and unleashed its spirit power.
An enormous mass of it hurtled toward Cheon Woo-jin like an artillery shell.
But without so much as a flicker of his brow, Cheon Woo-jin extended his palm forward.
The Silver Light Riverguard Orb — a defensive artifact that Gu Yang-hu had been hoarding for his showdown against a powerful enemy.
A protective barrier unfolded alongside the silver shield, deflecting every one of the serpent's spirit-power shells.
With my current strength, erasing the White Spirit Serpent's entire body won't be possible.
Cheon Woo-jin analyzed the situation with cold precision.
He had dealt it a grievous wound, but it fell far short of a fatal one.
Had he been in the Core Formation Realm, he could have released lightning-force vast enough to swallow the serpent's enormous body whole — but with the power he had now, that was out of reach.
So what should he do?
Crush its head.
A new insight bloomed in his mind.
Acting on that realization, he gathered the writhing, serpentine lightning-force into a single point.
Yang is, by nature, a dispersing force; Yin is a gathering one.
And among the Five Elements, Water is the yin within yin — the most potent yin of all.
Which meant that when condensed and compressed into a single point, it unleashed far greater power.
In Cheon Woo-jin's mind, a new ultimate technique was born.
A sphere of utter black.
Lightning-force condensed to its absolute limit, dropped upon the enemy's head like a falling stone — an annihilation from which nothing escapes.
The black sphere devoured everything in its path as it descended upon the White Spirit Serpent's skull.
The serpent released its spirit energy in a desperate attempt to defend itself, but it was useless.
Kwajijik!
With a savage roar, the black sphere ground the White Spirit Serpent's head to nothing.
Black residue scattered like ash, and the serpent — half its head gone — listlessly flicked its tongue at nothing.
Then it toppled limply to the side and plummeted down the mountainside.
“……”
Watching the White Spirit Serpent fall, Cheon Woo-jin felt a wave of dizziness.
The technique had been so powerful that it had drained far too much of his spirit power.
One careless slip and he might have blacked out and fallen himself, so he descended straight to the ground.
Steadying his breath, Cheon Woo-jin took out a pill and placed it in his mouth.
As he chewed, a rich bitterness spread across his tongue, and the moment he forced it down, a heavy warmth settled in his stomach — his spirit power recovering at once.
It was a high-grade pill from Gu Yang-hu's storage pouch, and its effects were superb.
I'll need to pop a pill right after every big technique from now on.
After muttering this to himself, Cheon Woo-jin suddenly felt a strange sense of dissonance.
The technique he had just used had never existed in Yeongro Suseonjeon.
There had been similar techniques, certainly — but the Black Lightning Severing Sphere itself was something Cheon Woo-jin had conceived and constructed on the spot.
A level that went beyond merely applying and adapting what he knew, into the realm of pioneering the unknown on his own.
At some point, Cheon Woo-jin had already crossed into that territory.
“Interesting.”
The words slipped out of him unbidden.
Creating a technique that had never existed, and using it to conquer the game world — as a former gamer, his heart couldn't help but race.
“Now, then……”
Cheon Woo-jin looked around.
Spirit grass grew here in wild abundance.
Trouble was, so many of them looked nearly identical that telling them apart was nearly impossible.
In the game, a single click would instantly display Such-and-such Spirit Grass harvested — but no such convenience system existed here.
Only by crouching down and inspecting each one against his memory of the in-game graphics could he finally sort out the useful specimens.
But……
“Hmm……”
Cheon Woo-jin fell into brief thought.
Because it seemed he didn't actually need to go to all that trouble.
When Gu Yang-hu had first entered the secret realm, he had spread his cold qi in every direction, using it like radar waves to survey his surroundings.
Which meant Cheon Woo-jin could do something similar.
He carefully drew up his own spirit energy.
Gathering a small amount into his hand, he drew it out into thin threads and stretched them in every direction.
It felt like a spider spinning its web.
With the threads of spirit energy spread all around, he focused his mind.
Like a spider sensing the vibrations of its web, he tried to read the sensations transmitted through the threads of qi.
At first he felt nothing, but as he kept concentrating, he began to sense the energy emanating from each individual blade of spirit grass.
And then…… among the countless grasses, he found one radiating a reaction distinctly more intense than the rest.
Cheon Woo-jin walked toward where the reaction was coming from.
Bending down to peer into the undergrowth, he discovered a plant bearing mystically white leaves.
This is White Leaf Autumn Spirit Grass.
Cheon Woo-jin clenched his fist without realizing it.
White is the color of Metal among the Five Elements.
White Leaf Autumn Spirit Grass was a spirit grass that sprouted naturally from ground where Metal-attribute spirit qi had accumulated over long ages.
Because the metal qi within it was stored in a transformed state, eating it wouldn't grant a massive influx of raw Metal spirit energy.
But it had the effect of influencing the spirit meridians, carving out new channels through which Metal qi could circulate.
Taken alone, White Leaf Autumn Spirit Grass would throw the meridians out of balance and kill the one who consumed it — but if balanced against medicines of other attributes taken at the same time, it could evolve a cultivator's body into a new realm entirely.
Which was why…… White Leaf Autumn Spirit Grass could serve as one of the Foundation materials needed to create a Foundation Establishment Pill.
To make a Foundation Establishment Pill, I need six Foundation materials.
Five elemental materials corresponding to Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
And one base material, unaligned with any single attribute.
Only after securing all six and refining them in a pill furnace of sufficient grade could a Foundation Establishment Pill be produced.
And Cheon Woo-jin had already obtained one of them.
In that case…… might as well gather the rest.
He spread his threads of spirit energy in meticulous detail all around him.
Reactions began surfacing from all over.
Cheon Woo-jin picked out every spirit grass that looked even remotely useful and harvested them all.
Even if they didn't help with the Foundation Establishment Pill, they could be put to use elsewhere.
Merely selling them off would earn him a considerable sum of spirit stones.
This should do it.
There was no telling which faction would claim this secret realm in the future.
Dan Mok-ryeong of the Poison Sword Sect was dead, so for a while, multiple factions would likely war over it.
But even if they bled for it, there would be little left worth taking.
This was a small secret realm, poor in cultivation resources.
A new White Leaf Autumn Spirit Grass would take decades to sprout, and he had already swept up every other useful spirit grass — the place would be barren for the foreseeable future.
I suppose it'll end up as nothing more than a training ground.
With his newly fattened storage pouch tucked against his chest, Cheon Woo-jin left the secret realm.
There would never again be a reason to visit this place.
Having emerged from the secret realm, Cheon Woo-jin headed for the market on the second layer.
When he stepped into the tent tucked away in the corner, Seo Seol-ryeong flinched in surprise.
“You……”
“Why so startled?”
A cloth covered her eyes, but the shock on her face was unmistakable.
“You look as though you've seen a ghost.”
He said it lightly and took a seat.
“A man you believed dead just walked back in alive. What else would you have me wear but that expression……”
Seo Seol-ryeong had already pieced the situation together.
“You were pursued by a Core Formation expert. How did you survive?”
“Ran off into the underground like a rat.”
Cheon Woo-jin answered in an indifferent voice.
“He apparently had no taste for crawling into filthy places, because he gave up the chase and vanished somewhere.”
“Is that truly what happened?”
Seo Seol-ryeong did not believe him.
“That Core Formation cultivator belonged to the Moonlit Thirteen League.”
“The Moonlit Thirteen League?”
“Presumably he'd come to discuss whether or not to grant you exclusive rights to the secret realm.”
By principle, the three great sects did not meddle in the internal affairs of Ghost Head City.
Which meant that anyone entering the city had to act in secrecy, unnoticed by others.
“Making a scene just to catch one stray Qi Condensation whelp would create consequences no one wants to answer for.”
“……”
“It became a bother, so he simply left. By now he's probably slipped out of Ghost Head City altogether.”
Having finished his explanation, Cheon Woo-jin turned around and spoke again.
“Does that make sense to you?”
“……!”
Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so, who had just ducked into the tent, were wearing utterly dumbfounded expressions.
“W-we thought you were dead.”
Jang Ryang said, his voice shaking.
“The fact that the two of us are alive means that thing went after you……”
When Gu Yang-hu had appeared, the three of them had fled in separate directions.
They had reasoned that at least two of the three would survive that way.
So Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so had assumed Cheon Woo-jin was dead.
They themselves had lived — which meant Cheon Woo-jin alone must have been caught by Gu Yang-hu and killed.
“Ah — agh, seriously! If you were alive, you should've said something! Here I was, thinking……!”
Won Pil-so kept sniffling, the bridge of his nose reddening.
For someone who made his living as a fixer in the merciless world of cultivation, he seemed surprisingly warm-hearted and loyal.
“Forgive me for interrupting such a touching reunion.”
It was then that Seo Seol-ryeong spoke, her voice cool and level.
“Of the nine who took part in this mission, only the three here survived. The remaining six have already been confirmed dead at the Poison Sword Sect's temporary prison.”
“……!”
The atmosphere grew heavy at once.
When Dan Mok-ryeong had unleashed that devastating burst of lightning-force with the Five Thunder Heaven Subduing Sword, the temporary prison had been obliterated along with everything around it.
Only the weaker Qi Condensation cultivators had remained inside — there was no doubt all of them had perished.
But there was nothing to be done.
This was the world of cultivation.
“This was a contract in which the client set the total compensation for our side. Upon success, all participants were to divide the pay among themselves. Which means the three of you survivors will collect the shares of the six who died as well.”
“……”
Having laid out the terms of the contract with clinical detachment, Seo Seol-ryeong moved her hand across the table three times.
With each motion, a pile of spirit stones materialized on the tabletop.
“Please receive your payment.”
“The smallest pile is mine, I take it?”
“Correct.”
Cheon Woo-jin was a Qi Condensation cultivator with little experience to his name.
Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so were Foundation Establishment veterans who had worked Ghost Head City for years.
Equal pay was never on the table.
“I'll take it.”
Cheon Woo-jin's share came to twelve thousand spirit stones.
The original agreement had been four thousand — it had tripled.
“We nearly died to a Core Formation cultivator.”
Won Pil-so, gathering his stones, wore a disgruntled look.
“Shouldn't there be hazard pay on top?”
“Then next time, I suggest you take your business to people who offer it.”
“Tch. Just talking out of my ass.”
Won Pil-so clicked his tongue and turned his head away.
“However.”
“……?”
“I will acknowledge the capabilities of the three who returned alive after facing a Core Formation cultivator of the Moonlit Thirteen League.”
Seo Seol-ryeong spoke calmly, folding her hands atop the table.
“Going forward, I will see to it that you are introduced to work befitting your abilities.”
“……”
Hearing this, Jang Ryang furrowed his brow.
“Meaning you intend to hand us more dangerous jobs.”
“Which would come with that much greater a reward, wouldn't it?”
“Hmph……”
Jang Ryang snorted, and Won Pil-so grimaced as well.
But the two of them had a goal: rebuilding the Changhwa Sect.
As long as the compensation was sufficient, they would take on dangerous work without hesitation.
“We've received what we came for, so we'll take our leave.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
After exchanging farewells with Seo Seol-ryeong, Jang Ryang addressed Cheon Woo-jin.
“Look here — call it fate or what you will. Share a drink with us. My treat.”
“……”
A kind of after-party, then.
But for Cheon Woo-jin, it was an invitation he wanted to decline if at all possible.
Over drinks, all manner of personal topics would inevitably come up — and he had precious little he could actually tell these people.
Where he was from, what he'd done before entering the world of cultivation…… If such questions arose, he would have no choice but to answer every one of them with lies.
“Forgive me.”
Just as Cheon Woo-jin was weighing how to refuse, Seo Seol-ryeong's voice cut in.
“This man has matters to discuss with me. The drinks will have to wait for another time.”
“……?”
At her uncharacteristic behavior, Jang Ryang's face filled with puzzlement.
“What exactly is the relationship between you two……?”
“Senior brother, why do you keep asking things like that? Let's be off.”
Won Pil-so tugged at Jang Ryang's arm.
But before leaving the tent, he paused and looked back at Cheon Woo-jin once more.
“Hold on — what should I even call you?”
“Cheon Woo-jin.”
When Cheon Woo-jin answered with nothing more than his name, Won Pil-so nodded.
“Then from now on, speak comfortably with us. Let's get along well — Daoist Cheon.”
Daoist.
Calling him by that companionable title, Won Pil-so grinned.
Right behind him, Jang Ryang smiled and offered his own parting words.
“Climb up to Foundation Establishment soon. A man like you has more than earned the right.”
It was the first time Cheon Woo-jin had encountered such a warm atmosphere in the world of cultivation.
After seeing the two off, Cheon Woo-jin turned his gaze back to Seo Seol-ryeong.
“What exactly did you need to discuss?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Seo Seol-ryeong said in her cool voice.
“You seemed burdened by the prospect of drinking with those men, so I merely lent you a hand.”
“……”
It was unexpected.
To think Seo Seol-ryeong was capable of such consideration.
It was something he had never seen in the game, and it struck him as refreshingly new.
“Much appreciated.”
“There's no need to thank me. I merely extended kindness for the sake of our future relationship.”
I'll be looking after you a great deal going forward — so let's work well together.
That was what her words conveyed.
“I take it I've pleased you, then.”
“Surviving a Core Formation cultivator's pursuit is a remarkable feat.”
“I was simply lucky.”
“Yes. Let's say that's what happened.”
“……”
Unlike Jang Ryang or Won Pil-so, Seo Seol-ryeong did not believe his explanation.
She suspected he had used some extraordinary method to survive Gu Yang-hu.
Though of course, she could not have imagined even in her wildest dreams that Cheon Woo-jin had killed Gu Yang-hu himself.
“Then you should be on your way. Thank you for your hard work.”
Seo Seol-ryeong moved to see him out, but Cheon Woo-jin did not rise from his seat.
“Actually, there is something I need to discuss with you.”
“With me?”
“I'd like you to extend a little more of that kindness — for the sake of our future relationship.”
“……”
For a moment, Seo Seol-ryeong held her tongue and regarded him in silence.
Not that she was actually facing him, of course — her eyes were covered by the blindfold.
“What is it you want?”
“Foundation materials.”
Before Cheon Woo-jin, who spoke without a moment's preamble, Seo Seol-ryeong parted her lips.
“You intend to challenge Foundation Establishment?”
“ Naturally. There's no other choice.”
Cheon Woo-jin said in a level voice.
“Daoist Jang told me as much just now.”
“But……”
“I know full well how difficult Foundation materials are to obtain.”
Securing all six Foundation materials through one's own power was, by nature, an undertaking close to impossible.
That was why the vast majority of cultivators bound themselves to one of the ruling sects and worked themselves to the bone.
Once their achievements were recognized and they were granted a Foundation Establishment Pill, they could challenge the realm without ever having to gather the materials themselves.
That path was by no means easy either — but it was far easier than collecting six Foundation materials alone.
And yet.
Cheon Woo-jin had to do it.
As a loose cultivator bound to no sect, he had to secure the six Foundation materials and forge his own Foundation Establishment Pill.
No matter how arduous the road.
“It's precisely because I know how difficult it is that I'm asking this of you, Seo Seol-ryeong.”
“……!”
Connect me to the places where Foundation materials can be obtained.
At Cheon Woo-jin's demand, Seo Seol-ryeong's pale lips trembled, thin and fine.