The Middle Layer (4)
Even after watching Cheon Woo-jin draw the Black Silk Net Sword, the three Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators remained relaxed.
Cultivators active in the middle layer of Ghost Head City tended to look down on those working in the lower layer.
Their reasoning was that the lower ones must have been too afraid to operate in the middle layer, and so wallowed down below among the riffraff of the Qi Condensation stage.
Cheon Woo-jin carried that lower-layer stench on him as well, so it was only natural that they underestimated him.
But when the Black Silk Net Sword vanished from his hand, their expressions changed.
"What the—?"
A black blade forged from dark iron.
It was gone. All that remained was the hilt in Cheon Woo-jin's grip.
Still, they were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and it didn't take them long to grasp what had happened.
"Hold on, don't tell me—"
"He broke the blade down into fine fragments and deployed them all around us?"
Sensing the metal shards dispersed through the air, all three hastily shrouded their bodies with spiritual power.
They assumed it was a technique-artifact that attacked by spraying out a massive cloud of dark iron shavings.
In the martial world, dark iron was considered the finest material for forging blades.
Its killing power was that formidable—but if a Foundation Establishment cultivator shielded their body with spiritual power, it posed no real threat.
The only injury was a few shallow scratches on their skin, from being a beat too slow to raise their defenses.
"What an absurd technique-artifact this is...!"
They began to unfold their techniques to subdue Cheon Woo-jin.
Not one of the three managed to complete the activation.
All three vomited blood at almost the same moment.
"Th-this is—"
"Poison...!"
As the three stared at each other in shock, Cheon Woo-jin confirmed that the Black Silk Net Sword was working exactly as intended.
The moment he had sensed them tailing him earlier, he had already injected the poison of the Dark Silk Great King Five Emptiness into the sword.
This was a technique-artifact designed to be used in combination with poison in the first place.
The Black Silk Net Sword was a technique-artifact that deployed dark iron in microscopic fragments, creating a space like a spread-out black net—a hei luo, a black web.
These dark iron fragments could be remotely controlled with spiritual power. They could be spread wide, or concentrated on a single point.
On its own, though, simply deploying the fragments wasn't particularly threatening.
Each fragment was so tiny that at best it could only scratch the skin.
The true power of the Black Silk Net Sword only revealed itself when combined with poison.
Each minute fragment was imbued with toxin, so that the instant a body was caught in the net, the poison would seep in.
That was why the poison master of the Myriad Poison Six Master Sect had tried to win the sword at auction—to use it exactly this way.
When wielding poison arts, the crucial question was how to get the toxin into the opponent's body. With the Black Silk Net Sword, infiltration could be achieved in countless ways with remarkable ease.
"Gah... aargh..."
"Get... get out of here...!"
The rogue cultivators thrashed, desperately trying to escape.
But the poison had already progressed so far that they could no longer protect their bodies with spiritual power.
And so every movement tore new wounds into their skin from the sword's fragments.
Through those wounds, the vicious poison of the Dark Silk Great King Five Emptiness penetrated even deeper into their systems.
It was like struggling to escape a spider's web—the more violently you fought, the more hopelessly entangled you became.
The harder they thrashed to flee the poison-filled space, the closer they drew to death.
"Save... me..."
"Nnngh..."
"Ah..."
In the end, all three breathed their last right there.
Without managing to activate a single technique. Withering away, empty and pointless.
Good. It works exactly as it should.
As a test, Cheon Woo-jin deployed the sword's dark iron fragments in a variety of formations.
Each time he stretched out fine threads of spiritual power to control them, the metallic net shaped itself into a different form.
Cheonryong Pavilion had no idea how to use it properly—they'd just assumed it was an ordinary sword-shaped technique-artifact. Once you know the method, it's far easier to wield than expected.
Moreover, Cheon Woo-jin had spent a great deal of time extending his spiritual power like spider silk to scout his surroundings.
That experience let him command the sword's dark iron fragments with even greater freedom.
Against a properly defended opponent it won't work well, but for a surprise takedown like this, it's remarkably effective.
If an opponent used a defensive technique-artifact like the Silver Spirit Barrier Circle to block the fragments, they would be useless.
Each fragment was nothing more than a sliver of metal—incapable of piercing a defensive barrier.
But for a preemptive strike against a careless enemy, the way he had just done, it was devastatingly effective.
And unlike something loud and flashy like the Thunder Tool or the Triple Manifested Flame, it could strike in perfect silence.
Combined with the poison of the Dark Silk Great King Five Emptiness, it would deliver near-instant death against Foundation Establishment opponents.
From now on, I'll hold a decisive advantage against Foundation Establishment cultivators.
In the lower layer of Ghost Head City, he had mostly faced Qi Condensation cultivators.
But in the middle layer, even the lowliest grunts were all Foundation Establishment.
Unlike before, he could no longer simply sweep aside the small fry.
He could not rest satisfied with the power he currently held. He had to keep pursuing new strength, without pause.
After resting in the eastern region of the Great Emptiness Cave Heaven Mirror, Cheon Woo-jin descended to the second layer.
He entered Seo Seol-ryeong's shop and held out a large bag.
It was the bag of snacks he had purchased earlier in the fourth-layer market district.
"The thanks I mentioned last time."
"..."
Seo Seol-ryeong was silent for a moment.
"What is it?"
"Snacks."
"I can see that. What kind?"
"Assorted."
Cheon Woo-jin answered in an even voice.
"A comprehensive snack gift bundle."
"..."
"I had no idea what you'd like, so I bought one with a bit of everything in it."
At that explanation, a sigh slipped out of Seo Seol-ryeong.
"It doesn't exactly feel very thoughtful."
"Doesn't it?"
"Half of gift-giving is the deliberation—thinking about what the other person would actually want."
"Hmm..."
Cheon Woo-jin felt a complicated stir of emotions.
"My late mother used to buy things like this for the holidays. I remember being overjoyed back then, so I thought it would work this time too... apparently it wasn't the right choice."
"I'm sorry, what?"
Strictly speaking, it had been a Christmas present.
He'd been given an assorted snack gift set, and he'd stayed happy about it for days.
"No, no—I'm not saying it's a bad gift."
"You just said gifts like this lack thought?"
"I just... meant it as a figure of speech."
Seo Seol-ryeong looked unusually flustered.
"Now that I look again, it seems wonderful. I'll enjoy it. Thank you."
"Your excuses aren't very convincing either."
When Cheon Woo-jin said that with a faint smirk, the air around Seo Seol-ryeong turned frosty.
"Were you mocking me just now?"
"Hardly."
"If you keep this up, the trust between us might start to waver. I'd advise restraint."
Seo Seol-ryeong warned him coldly, but Cheon Woo-jin brushed it off with a laugh.
"Come to think of it, did you meet with Hoyeon Dohwi without trouble?"
"I did. She sends her regards."
Cheon Woo-jin asked, suddenly curious.
"Was Hoyeon Rin also someone who took commissions through you, like me?"
"Something like that."
"Honestly, she seems better suited to a respectable orthodox sect than Ghost Head City... I can't imagine how she ended up here."
This was something the game had never covered either.
Not every NPC's backstory got spelled out in detail.
"Everyone has their circumstances."
Perhaps because it concerned Hoyeon Rin's private life, Seo Seol-ryeong deflected the question.
Cheon Woo-jin didn't press further.
Instead, he found himself wanting to ask what circumstances Seo Seol-ryeong herself might have.
She was of the True Human Race, blessed with spiritual aptitude far beyond ordinary humans, and a Core Formation Peak expert besides.
Why someone like that was running a brokerage in the lower layer of Ghost Head City was never explained in the game, not even a little.
What circumstances could Seo Seol-ryeong possibly have?
He had wondered even while playing the game. Now, facing her in person, he wondered all the more.
Not that he had any intention of interrogating her about it.
"By any chance, could I get some information on the Myriad Poison Six Master Sect?"
Instead, Cheon Woo-jin raised a different topic.
"The Myriad Poison Six Master Sect?"
"There was a bit of a clash."
"You've barely set foot in the fourth layer and you're already tangling with troublesome people."
Seo Seol-ryeong spoke in a composed voice.
"Then this happens to be good timing."
"Good timing how?"
"There's a commission related to that very sect."
The other day, Seo Seol-ryeong had promised to look into new work befitting a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Apparently that work had come in already.
"A sect called the Golden Wing Sect has been waging a bloody war against the Myriad Poison Six Master Sect in the fourth layer as of late."
"The Golden Wing Sect..."
He had never heard of it.
At least, he had never encountered it in the Yeongro Suseonjeon game.
Perhaps by the time he would have reached the fourth layer of Ghost Head City in the game, it had already been destroyed.
Defeated in its bloody war with the Myriad Poison Six Master Sect.
"The Golden Wing Sect is a very well-endowed sect. They run multiple shops in the fourth-layer market district, and their cultivation resources are plentiful."
"Hmm."
"But recently, they say a great many of their capable disciples were killed, caught up in the Myriad Poison Six Master Sect's operations."
No matter how rich a sect's material resources, a shortage of manpower made waging war difficult.
"So they're in need of reinforcements."
"They've already hired several rogue cultivators from the middle layer and deployed them, but apparently the results have been underwhelming."
Seo Seol-ryeong laid out the situation in a calm voice.
"So they've asked me to recommend someone dependable as well."
"Someone dependable, hmm. I wonder who that could be."
"I wonder who."
Brushing past his quip, Seo Seol-ryeong handed him a slip of paper.
"There's a major operation in five days. Come to the location written here and take part in the assault."
The slip also listed details such as the compensation.
Cheon Woo-jin nodded and tucked the paper into his robe.
"Show me that dependable side of you."
"I'll do my best."
With that, Cheon Woo-jin rose from his seat.
But one thing was still nagging at him, so he spoke up.
"Seo Seol-ryeong."
"What is it?"
Cheon Woo-jin watched her gather up the assorted snack bundle she'd been handed and asked:
"Isn't that an awful lot for one person?"
Seo Seol-ryeong pulled the bundle behind her and replied coolly.
"It is already mine."
With a major operation five days out, Cheon Woo-jin entered the Great Emptiness Cave Heaven Mirror.
Then, just as he had when challenging Foundation Establishment, he climbed to the summit of the eastern region and took the Azure Spirit Pill.
Five days spent circulating breath and refining his art, dissolving the pill's energy, had accumulated a considerable volume of spiritual power.
It was still short of what he needed to reach the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, but it was a substantial increase compared to when he had first broken through.
Feeling himself growing more confident, Cheon Woo-jin set out for the western fourth layer.
"So that's the vile stench of dried organ meat from Ghost Head City's lower layer."
The moment he arrived at the assembly point, a man with long, sharply slanted eyes fixed his gaze on Cheon Woo-jin.
Since his affiliation was displayed as Ghost Head City rather than any sect, he was a rogue cultivator.
One of the middle-layer independents the Golden Wing Sect had hired directly, it seemed.
"I don't know whether you're some coward who's been wallowing in the lower layer all this time, or a brat who's only just reached Foundation Establishment... but I'd rather you didn't trip us up."
"..."
Other rogue cultivators stood around them, but Lee Geuk-gyeol was the only one at Foundation Establishment Peak.
Perhaps that was why he appeared to be commanding the entire group.
"Today, we are to raze that spirit mountain where the Myriad Poison Six Master Sect grows their poisonous herbs."
"..."
On the mountain Lee Geuk-gyeol pointed to, spirit fields had been established at various points.
The fourth layer's climate was extremely arid—a place where plants struggled to grow—but among spirit herbs that fed on spiritual energy, some varieties thrived only in dry conditions like these.
The Myriad Poison Six Master Sect, it seemed, was cultivating poison herbs that fed on dry qi here.
"We attack from the south and north simultaneously. The north is the Golden Wing Sect disciples' responsibility. We ascend from the south."
"..."
"For now, all you need to do is follow along and do as you're told. You will obey my orders absolutely. Understood?"
The operation seemed to have changed somewhat from what Seo Seol-ryeong's original slip had described.
And apparently word of how Cheon Woo-jin had come to join this operation hadn't been properly conveyed either.
"..."
Cheon Woo-jin ignored Lee Geuk-gyeol and turned his eyes toward the spirit mountain.
After observing the mountain's shape for a while, he spoke again.
"Let's just split up."
"What?"
"Go up the south side as your plan says. I'll move separately, on my own."
At Cheon Woo-jin's words, the other rogue cultivators' eyes went wide.
Lee Geuk-gyeol, meanwhile, glared at him with an expression frozen stiff.
"What nonsense are you spouting right now?"
"I doubt we'd coordinate well anyway."
Unlike Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so, whom he'd fought alongside before, this Lee Geuk-gyeol seemed unlikely to be of any real help.
He clearly had skill—he'd reached Foundation Establishment Peak—but with that temperament, he would inevitably only drag Cheon Woo-jin down.
"Better to move separately than to trip over each other."
"You're out of your mind. If we do it your way, there's no splitting the pay."
It seemed information about Cheon Woo-jin truly hadn't been passed along.
Cheon Woo-jin received his compensation through Seo Seol-ryeong.
She would handle all the negotiations as well—there was no need to haggle with Lee Geuk-gyeol over shares.
But since the other side was already laboring under this misunderstanding and picking a fight of their own accord...
There was no harm in humoring the provocation.
He'd been getting more and more annoyed with these middle-layer Foundation Establishment cultivators and their turf-guarding disdain for anyone who smelled of the lower layer anyway.
"Shall we make a wager?"
"What?"
"Whoever contributes more to razing the spirit mountain between the two of us takes the other's entire pay."
You win, and I'll hand over every coin of my share.
I win, and you hand over every coin of yours.
Understanding what Cheon Woo-jin meant, Lee Geuk-gyeol showed raw disgust.
"You lunatic. What the hell are you saying right now?"
"I wonder."
Cheon Woo-jin looked at Lee Geuk-gyeol with cold eyes, and asked:
"Scared?"