The Cloud Sea's Hidden Trash Heap

The inside of the secret realm was so thick with clouds that you couldn't see an inch in front of your face. Everything was blocked off by pure white mist, so opening your eyes felt no different from keeping them shut. Even sound was muffled, as if buried deep in cotton. Her body felt strangely heavy, and a cold, clammy sensation clung stubbornly to her skin. The only thing her nose could detect was that same chilly dampness. The sensations on her tongue twisted together chaotically, leaving her head spinning. All five senses had been completely thrown into disarray.

'Just like the rumors said.'

Even so, Baek Cheong didn't panic. She'd already heard plenty about how the only thing you could trust in here was your divine sense. Her twenty-seven-jang divine sense, which she'd spread out at full power in advance, meticulously scanned through the clouds. The vast reach of her divine sense perfectly compensated for her deadened senses. The surroundings appeared in her mind far more clearly than if she were seeing them with her own eyes.

'My head hurts a bit, but it's bearable.'

The further her five senses faded, the more her divine sense stood out. And the moment she stepped into the Cloud Sea, something strange had already caught on the edge of it. Not far away, something was scattered about in a messy pile.

'A fortuitous encounter this close?'

Baek Cheong suppressed the surge of excitement and headed in that direction. As she got closer, she examined it carefully with her divine sense. The strange object turned out to be some kind of Dharma treasure. But it was in tatters, no better than a rag, rolling around on the ground. Its spiritual energy had long since dissipated, leaving only an empty shell. The surface was so cracked and crumbled that pieces ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kept flaking off. Even if she picked it up, it was nothing but trash.

'What the hell is this?'

The excitement that had puffed up her small chest deflated instantly. She frowned. This was nowhere near worthy of being called a fortuitous encounter. For a so-called holy land of opportunity, her first catch was pretty pathetic. Still, just in case, she stretched her divine sense elsewhere. Something similar was rolling around not too far away. This time it looked like a jade slip containing some kind of spell. But it was covered in cracks, leaking spiritual energy everywhere. It was trash—you couldn't even read a single line of text.

'This one's broken too?'

Baek Cheong tilted her head and spread her divine sense out like a net. That's when she caught a whole pile of similar junk heaped up in one spot. Shattered Dharma treasures, cracked jade slips, broken artifacts—all tangled together in a chaotic mess. Only after probing that far did she finally realize what it was.

The words slipped out before she could stop herself. They'd called it a sea made of clouds, and apparently it really was a sea. Just like how ocean trash washed up by the tides gathered in one corner, all the junk drifting through the Cloud Sea had been swept into a single pile.

'Don't tell me the Cloud Sea Secret Realm is actually the Biun Sect's garbage dump?'

The suspicion suddenly popped into her head. If the Biun Sect had dumped all their unusable artifacts into the secret realm, it would make sense. But the more she thought about it, the less it added up. None of the items mixed in with the trash pile looked like something the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Biun Sect would use. The sect specialized in water-attribute treasures and items related to clouds. Yet the broken Dharma treasures had all sorts of different attributes and energies, making it impossible to pin down a pattern.

'If it's not from the Biun Sect, where did all this stuff even come from?'

No matter how much she racked her brain, no answer came to mind. Baek Cheong decided to set the question aside for now. Since she'd confirmed there was trash, the next step was simple. There might be perfectly good items mixed in among the broken ones. She moved her divine sense carefully, sifting through the debris for anything intact.

Her divine sense, which had been filtering through the broken junk one piece at a time, soon latched onto a single stalk of grass. It was a spiritual herb with roots that resembled clouds, giving off a pale, misty glow.

'Oh, isn't this Cloudroot Grass?'

Cloudroot Grass was an ingredient used in refining top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills. Those pills were precious items used when trying to break through the Foundation Establishment barrier. They were so difficult to make that even famous second-rank alchemists hesitated to attempt them. A top-grade version would be even rarer. Only those with serious wealth could even consider taking one. They were so exclusive that you could name your price and still not find any for sale. Just the Cloudroot Grass alone would easily fetch two or three top-grade spirit stones.

'It's pretty lame for a fortuitous encounter.'

Baek Cheong pouted, clearly dissatisfied. Two or three top-grade spirit stones wasn't even as good as selling a few Danmun Chwiryungdan pills. Still, it was better than coming away empty-handed.

'It's free. Not taking it would be the real loss.'

She carefully dug up the Cloudroot Grass and stored it in an empty jade bottle. After finding that first one, more intact items began appearing at the edge of her divine sense. She swept through the Cloud Sea, snatching up anything that looked whole. Before long, something that actually seemed decent caught her attention.

One was a formation plate engraved with a second-rank formation. Although it wasn't activated so she couldn't see the exact pattern, she could tell it was a rare formation.

'Oh, this might actually be useful?'

She was briefly tempted, but Baek Cheong quickly lost interest. A second-rank formation plate was something only Foundation Establishment cultivators could use. To someone still in Qi Condensation like her, it was completely useless. Even if she sold it, she'd only get two or three spirit stones at most.

A similar disappointment followed right after. The next thing she found was a piece of blue cloud jade. It was a rare material used in crafting third-rank Dharma artifacts. But to a Qi Condensation cultivator, third-rank artifacts were a distant dream. Once again, it was just pocket change—maybe two or three spirit stones if she sold it.

'Ugh, everything's so lame.'

The more treasures she found, the more her excitement faded. She'd come in with sky-high expectations because it was supposed to be a holy land of opportunity. Yet everything she picked up was either useless or just low-value crafting materials.

'There's no way this stuff counts as a real fortuitous encounter.'

Even so, she had no intention of leaving empty-handed after coming all this way. Baek Cheong made up her mind to push deeper inside. The deeper she went, the more the pressure weighing down on her body increased. The clouds grew thicker, squeezing her more heavily. Her steps finally began to slow, as if she were wading through water. But it wasn't enough to burden or exhaust her, so she brushed it off and continued deeper.

In exchange, the condition of the trash her divine sense picked up improved noticeably the further in she went. The rags that had been Dharma treasures started to retain more of their original shape. Occasionally, intact first- or second-rank Dharma artifacts even floated by whole.

'As expected, the deeper you go, the better the stuff gets.'

Thinking a real fortuitous encounter was close, her steps naturally quickened. But the further she pushed inward, the more an inexplicable sense of unease crept over her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was just a vague, itchy discomfort at the edge of her divine sense. It felt like something beyond the clouds was watching her.

'Is it just my imagination? No, better safe than sorry.'

Baek Cheong immediately pulled out the Ilseong Sword from her storage pouch and gripped it. This was the sword she hadn't been able to draw during the Magic Tournament for fear of injuring someone. But here, there was nothing holding her back. Since it was a secret realm said to be infested with yao beasts, she could swing it without hesitation.

A strange sensation flowed from the scabbard and wrapped around her fingertips. She then surrounded her entire body with the Five Elements Veil, cloaking herself in all five attributes. A translucent barrier enveloped her, making her feel much more secure. Preparing for every possibility put her mind at ease.

'Now I should be fine no matter what jumps out.'

Armed with both sword and shield, she spread her divine sense out in all directions once more. As she scanned the surroundings, her divine sense caught onto a single round ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fruit. It floated gently through the Cloud Sea, carrying a faint cloud-like glow.

'Oh, isn't that a Cloud Spirit Fruit?'

It was definitely the spiritual fruit the inner sect elder had mentioned. Even if you missed out on a real opportunity, you could turn these in for contribution points. They'd said they grew in various places, but this was the first one she'd seen since reaching the deeper areas.

'If Cloud Spirit Fruits are showing up...'

That meant this was where the real fortuitous encounters were hidden. With rising anticipation, Baek Cheong carefully collected the Cloud Spirit Fruit. Holding it in her hand and examining it closely with her divine sense sparked a strange curiosity. It was clearly an ingredient used in alchemy, yet she couldn't place it at all. None of the pill recipes she'd learned so far used Cloud Spirit Fruit.

'A material I don't know?'

If it was something she didn't recognize, it had to be an ingredient used in at least third-rank pills. After all, the alchemy knowledge she'd learned from Yakseon covered everything up to second rank without gaps.

'At least third-rank material.'

Only then did Baek Cheong's eyes sparkle with real interest. She'd thought it was just a common fruit you traded for contribution points. But it turned out to be a precious herb used in at least third-rank pills. She decided to collect every Cloud Spirit Fruit she saw from now on.

Of course, there was one thing that still bothered her. In the Cloud Sea Secret Realm, you could only take two items out with you. One for making it to the main tournament, and one for taking first place. No matter how much she hoarded, only two things would remain in her hands in the end.

'Well, I can choose which two later.'

She shrugged, not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too concerned. Deciding between them could wait. For now, the smart move was to sweep up everything that caught her eye and stuff it into her storage pouch. She could sort through the good stuff later at her leisure.

'And while I'm at it, I might as well ruin the fortuitous encounters of those water-element cultivators who have the Cloud Sea Map.'

With that expectation in mind, Baek Cheong delved deeper into the Cloud Sea. She spread her divine sense as wide as possible and swept up every intact item she could find. More Cloudroot Grass appeared, more Cloud Spirit Fruits, and intact Dharma artifacts. A variety of treasures piled up neatly inside her storage pouch.

It happened while she was happily plundering the secret realm. Something strange caught on the edge of her divine sense as it probed beyond the deep clouds. It was on a completely different level from everything she'd picked up so far. It was far from trash, spiritual herbs, or floating Dharma artifacts. Something massive was sitting motionless right in the middle of the clouds. Just brushing against it with her divine sense sent a tingling chill down her spine from the dense energy it radiated.

'What the heck is that?'

The uneasy feeling that had been tickling the back of her neck was definitely coming from that direction. She couldn't tell if it was a real fortuitous encounter or a yao beast that hadn't been eliminated yet. At least it wasn't moving, so the danger seemed low.

'Let's send a puppet first.'

Being cautious, Baek Cheong took out the White Lightning Puppet from among her Five Elements Puppets. It was the sturdiest one she had. Just in case it really was a yao beast, she poured spiritual energy into her Ilseong Sword. In her other hand, she held an escape jade talisman. She was fully prepared.