Alchemy (1)
That was close.
Cheon Woo-jin drew a rough breath in the back alley as he surveyed the sight of Changhwa Pavilion, reduced to embers in the blink of an eye. The building was already burned to nothing, nothing left to salvage, yet crimson flames still roared on stubbornly at the site.
So that was the Talisman storing the power of the Crimson Sea True Flame Mirror... power on the level of Core Formation, all right.
He took out some pills and swallowed them to recover his stamina and spiritual power. Honestly, escaping the flames had cost him far more effort than cutting down the cultivators of the Dongryu Merchant Group. Without the Silver Bell River Guard Talisman, he would never have made a proper escape—he would have ended up a lump of charcoal.
"Hey...!"
Just then, a black cat leapt down from a nearby fence wall. It was Song Pyo of the Hwangju Neungnyeong Sect, the client for this job.
"Did you use the Talisman?"
"I don't recall anyone telling me not to."
At Cheon Woo-jin's cool reply, Song Pyo's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"Wait—then what happened to the Talisman? I can't sense any energy from it at all."
A Talisman holding the Crimson Sea True Flame Mirror radiated an intense wave of fire-qi into its surroundings. But right now, that wave couldn't be felt from anywhere.
"It's gone."
"Gone?"
"Burned up after a single use, it seems."
"..."
Song Pyo fell silent for a moment.
"That can't be right. A proper Talisman can be used at least ten times."
A Talisman was a talismanic script that stored the power of a Dharma treasure. Once its power was fully spent, it became a worthless scrap of paper. But a Talisman exhausting itself after just one use? That made no sense.
"Then I suppose it wasn't a proper Talisman."
"You mean it was defective?"
"Or perhaps it had already been used about nine times before I got it."
"..."
Song Pyo went silent again. Either way, it was true that no trace of the Talisman's energy could be sensed from anywhere.
Before the cat, which had finally shut its mouth, Cheon Woo-jin spoke slowly.
"In any case, this fulfills the commission."
"...!"
With the Talisman destroyed, the deal between the Dongryu Merchant Group and the Hwangju Neungnyeong Sect would collapse. And with so many of the Merchant Group's cultivators dead, they would have to rethink their expansion into Ghost Head City from square one.
"Is this what you wanted?"
"Y-yes, though I never imagined you'd go this far..."
The cat looked toward the ashes of Changhwa Pavilion and clicked its tongue. Cheon Woo-jin glanced at it once, then turned his back on the creature.
"I'll collect my payment through the broker, then."
"H-hey!"
Song Pyo called after him.
"Would it be all right to entrust you with another job sometime?"
"As long as the pay is sufficient."
With that answer, Cheon Woo-jin left the scene. There was nothing to be gained from lingering on the 3rd Layer.
Passing through the ruins, he descended to the 2nd Layer, and once he confirmed no one was around, he slipped a hand into his robes. Inside his Storage Pouch, a single talismanic script lay perfectly preserved.
So I wasn't caught.
That talisman was the Talisman of the Crimson Sea True Flame Mirror. Yet not a whisper of its energy could be felt outside the Storage Pouch.
Ordinarily, an object radiating power as intense as the Crimson Sea True Flame Mirror Talisman would keep announcing its presence even inside a Storage Pouch. A cultivator of Core Formation or higher could mask that presence with their own spiritual qi, but it was impossible for anyone in the Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment realms. Even back in the red storage chest, its energy had been steadily leaking outward.
But from Cheon Woo-jin's Storage Pouch now, nothing could be felt at all. The Talisman's existence was being concealed completely.
Well, this is a Storage Pouch once used by a Core Formation cultivator.
The Storage Pouch where Cheon Woo-jin kept the Talisman had belonged to Gu Yang-gyeol. Unlike the ordinary pouches used by Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was a top-grade Dharma artifact with performance approaching that of a true Dharma treasure. It was precisely because it was such a special pouch that it could completely hide the Talisman's presence.
Thanks to that, I was able to fool Song Pyo entirely.
Cheon Woo-jin had intended to deceive Song Pyo from the very start. If he revealed he was carrying the Talisman, Song Pyo's attitude might have changed. The cat might have tried to seize it on the spot, or hired someone to ambush Cheon Woo-jin later.
So Cheon Woo-jin had acted as though the Talisman had simply ceased to exist—and Song Pyo had swallowed the story whole.
In truth, Song Pyo had had no choice but to believe him. Being able to conceal a Talisman meant possessing capability on the level of Core Formation. But no one with such power would be running errands like this on the 3rd Layer of Ghost Head City. From Song Pyo's perspective, it was a perfectly logical deduction to trust him.
Who could possibly imagine that a mere Qi Condensation cultivator had murdered a Core Formation cultivator and stolen his Storage Pouch?
With this, I've gained one more trump card for emergencies.
It couldn't match the full power of the original Crimson Sea True Flame Mirror, but it could still deliver firepower on the level of Core Formation. He had used it inside Changhwa Pavilion earlier, so it had merely reduced one building to ashes, but deployed in open terrain it would be capable of turning a vast area into a sea of fire.
In orthodox Five Elements theory, Fire governs dispersal—the power to spread across a broad expanse. That was why fire-attribute spells specialized in wide-area attacks. And since it carried a nature opposite to water-attribute spells, it would compensate for the weakness of Cheon Woo-jin, a Water Spiritual Root cultivator.
And there's more...
The Crimson Sea True Flame Mirror possessed the effect of manifesting True Fire. And True Fire was precisely what one needed when heating a pill furnace for alchemy. Taishang Laojun, the supreme grandmaster of the alchemical arts, had likewise used Samadhi True Fire when he stuffed Sun Wukong into the Eight Trigrams Furnace in Journey to the West.
One could certainly run a furnace on ordinary kindling, but when refining pills as crucial as the Foundation Establishment Pill, True Fire was indispensable. A Qi Condensation cultivator, however, lacked the ability to produce True Fire—so they either needed another's aid or a special tool.
But Cheon Woo-jin had acquired the Talisman of the Crimson Sea True Flame Mirror, which meant he could now manifest True Fire himself. The conditions for challenging Foundation Establishment were falling into place, one by one.
The next day, Cheon Woo-jin visited Seo Seol-ryeong's shop. She told him the inspection was already complete and produced a box for him.
"Azure Tear Spring Leaf Grass."
The moment he opened the box, the fresh scent of herbs stung his nose. Though the herbs were fully dried, they still seemed to radiate a vitality like a spring day in full bloom.
The Wood element of the Five Elements signified the life force of spring, when new shoots pushed through the soil. Material like this would make a flawless Wood-attribute Foundation Establishment spirit item.
"I'll take it."
With this, the Wood-attribute and Metal-attribute spirit items for Foundation Establishment were secured. All that remained were the three spirit items of Fire, Earth, and Water, plus one foundation item.
"Shall I also look into ways of obtaining the remaining spirit items?"
"I'd appreciate that."
"Understood."
Seo Seol-ryeong nodded and went on.
"Thanks to your success with this job and the last, recommending you has become far easier. I should be able to connect you with new work very quickly."
"I'm curious what exactly you've been telling people about me."
"That, I'm afraid, I can't disclose."
Then again, that was Seo Seol-ryeong's trade secret. Cheon Woo-jin decided not to pry.
"After this incident, I'd expect the Dongryu Merchant Group's entry into Ghost Head City to be shelved for the time being."
"So it would seem."
"For the Taiyi Inverse Principle Sect standing behind the Merchant Group, it must be a rather bitter result."
"Will the Taiyi Inverse Principle Sect simply back down?"
"Hardly. They'll simply use another subordinate organization to make their push into the city."
Cheon Woo-jin had a somewhat bitter history with the Taiyi Inverse Principle Sect. He had personally slain Jin Cheong, one of their inner disciples. For that reason, their expansion into Ghost Head City was far from welcome to him. But for a direct confrontation with the sect, Cheon Woo-jin's preparations were still lacking.
"If any information comes in about the Taiyi Inverse Principle Sect's movements, I'd like you to pass it along."
"Information isn't free, you know."
"If it's information worth having, I'll compensate you accordingly."
"I'll keep it in mind."
Wrapping up the conversation, Cheon Woo-jin rose from his seat. When he visited again before long, Seo Seol-ryeong would introduce him to a new commission.
"Come to think of it, there was one more thing I wanted to ask."
The moment he brought it up on his way out of the tent, Seo Seol-ryeong's expression soured.
"Another request?"
"It's nothing much."
Cheon Woo-jin asked in an even voice.
"Could you also recommend a shop that sells good snacks?"
Cheon Woo-jin bought a bag of snacks and descended to the 1st Layer. Peering into Jo Hyu's shop, he found the old man there together with his granddaughter. When Cheon Woo-jin held out the bag of treats, Jo Hyu's eyes went round.
"What's this for...?"
"For the demon-snack you shared with me last time."
When he explained it was repayment for the snacks he'd been given, Jo Hyu scratched his head sheepishly. Meanwhile, the granddaughter was already examining the bag with shining eyes.
"Walnut candy!"
Walnut candy was a confection of walnuts hardened in malt syrup—in other words, walnut brittle. The appearance was quite fine, though having never tasted it himself, Cheon Woo-jin couldn't vouch for the flavor. Since it came from a shop Seo Seol-ryeong had recommended, any disappointment would be on her head.
"Sit down and have some with us. I'll bring the tea."
Jo Hyu urged Cheon Woo-jin onto a low wooden table. He had been curious about the taste anyway, so Cheon Woo-jin accepted without protest and took a seat.
"It's delicious!"
"It is, isn't it."
The snack carried a deep, rich flavor. The walnuts had likely been cultivated with spiritual power by cultivators. A short while later, Jo Hyu returned with a clear, fragrant tea—spirit tea this time, laced with a subtle aura of spiritual qi.
"Actually, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
Jo Hyu began carefully, watching Cheon Woo-jin sip his tea.
"About me clearing out the room for you... well, let's just forget I ever said it."
The old man scratched his head as he spoke.
"Seems those Dongryu Merchant Group fellows are pulling out of Ghost Head City completely. Even their plan to raze this whole district and redevelop it—they've apparently given that up too."
"..."
Cheon Woo-jin said nothing, only listening quietly, and Jo Hyu ventured a careful question.
"Do you... know something about all this?"
"Hard to say. I couldn't tell you."
"..."
Jo Hyu stared at him in silence for a long moment. He had suspected for some time now that Cheon Woo-jin was different from your average Qi Condensation cultivator. But Cheon Woo-jin kept his expression placid and smoothly changed the subject.
"About the room I'm renting... would it be safe to use a pill furnace in there?"
"A pill furnace?"
"I'll be starting alchemy before long."
To make the Foundation Establishment Pill, he would need a furnace. If he intended to refine pills himself, it was better to install one in a properly ventilated room where accidents could be contained.
"There's a vent hole in the room, but I can't tell whether it's fit for furnace work."
"What kind of furnace are you planning to use?"
"I don't have one yet. I intend to acquire one."
"..."
Hearing this, Jo Hyu sank into thought.
"Wait here a moment."
Before long, the old man returned carrying a box—a Storage Chest, functioning much like a Storage Pouch.
"I have no more use for this. It's yours."
Thud!
As Jo Hyu worked the Storage Chest, a massive furnace materialized before them. Cast from black iron, it gleamed a deep jet-black, with intricate patterns depicting the Eight Trigrams etched across its eight faces. The round lid bore carvings of clouds in the sky, while the square pedestal was adorned with motifs of mountains and fields—an expression of the ancient principle that Heaven is round and Earth is square.
"This is no cheap furnace, mind you. It's the genuine article—sturdy enough to withstand even True Fire."