The World Outside the Room is Dangerous
Baek Cheong barely lifted her heavy eyelids. The first sensation she felt was the soft touch of luxurious silk bedding. Realizing she was on the bed in her own Cheo-so, she groggily scanned her surroundings.
Rustle.
A faint sound came from outside the door, and the waiting maid rushed in like an arrow.
"Miss, are you awake?"
"Yeah... how did I get here?"
"The Eastern Guardian Elder noticed the spiritual energy flow in the training room had suddenly stopped and went to check. He found you collapsed and brought you straight back to your residence."
Baek Cheong sighed inwardly in relief upon hearing the story. She vaguely recalled passing out right after successfully crafting the talisman script, her tension finally snapping. If she'd been left on the training room floor, the cold would have seeped into her damaged meridians, causing serious trouble.
The maid approached and respectfully offered a jade slip from the table.
"This is a message left by the family head."
Baek Cheong infused spiritual energy into the jade slip, and her father's stern voice boomed in her mind.
[Overdoing your training has severely damaged your meridians. Stay put in your residence and rest—no moving around for the time being. Don't even think of stepping one foot outside until you're fully recovered.]
On the surface, it was a confinement order and a scolding, but an irrepressible smile spread across Baek Cheong's lips. She'd been freed from pill-refining hell, gaining the perfect excuse to legally hole up in her room and roll around.
"Guess I have no choice but to rest as Father says..."
Baek Cheong set down the jade slip and casually asked the maid,
"By the way, where's Father right now?"
"The family head is currently in an important meeting with the head of the Baek Merchant Group and the pill-refining elder. He was greatly shocked by the news of your collapse, but since it was such a critical matter, he only left this message."
Having delivered everything, the maid quietly backed out of the room.
Left alone, Baek Cheong propped her chin on her hand and pondered deeply. The merchant group head handling the family's finances, the pill-refining elder from the pill hall, and the family head—all three gathered for a crucial meeting.
"It's about the Ohang Dan."
Baek Cheong instantly deduced why they were meeting. The Ohang Dan, a pill that artificially elevated the talent of inferior O-yeong-geun. In the cultivation world, there were plenty of spoiled prodigies like her—born with trash spiritual roots but scraping by as cultivators thanks to their clan's overflowing resources. For them, the Ohang Dan was nothing short of salvation.
If word got out, people would line up with sacks of spirit stones to buy it.
"Eh, that's just the adults' business—nothing to do with me."
Complicated merchant group power struggles and family finances had no bearing on Baek Cheong. She was still too young to be involved in the family business, and even if she wanted to help, the scale was far beyond her grasp.
"Future me can deal with future problems!"
What mattered now was legally enjoying her gallery life. Without delay, she channeled her spiritual energy to access Moomyeongbang.
It was time to check the impact of that short-script Chwi-ryeong-dan talisman post she'd poured her soul into just before blacking out.
Opening the notification-led post, Baek Cheong couldn't hold back her laughter and rolled around on the bed.
"Pfft haha. They fall for it every time."
Cultivators, furious at the absurd title "Pill Mold," still poured out praise, overwhelmed by the perfect talisman script etched onto a 1st realm low-grade pill. Thousands of replies tangled with anger, awe, envy, and jealousy spiked her dopamine to the max.
"Clickbait talisman posts are top-tier agro."
Satisfied with the results, Baek Cheong browsed Moomyeongbang further.
From that day on, Baek Cheong's life was pure idleness. She stuffed herself with the delicacies the maids brought on schedule and spent all day lounging on her bed, diving into Moomyeongbang. Training was shoved aside under the excuse of meridian recovery, and days slipped by like a dream.
Endless dark-room gallery sessions had painted dark circles under her eyes, and her once-fresh face looked quite haggard.
"Cheong-ah, you asleep?"
"Big brother?"
"Mind if I come in?"
A familiar voice echoed in the quiet Cheo-so. The door opened, and Baek Woo cautiously entered. Before heading north to reunite with his master after a long rest, he'd stopped by to check on his little sister.
But seeing Baek Cheong, Baek Woo flinched and frowned. His once-radiantly shining genius sibling looked pallid and sickly.
"Oh no... I heard your meridians were damaged, but you look awful."
Baek Woo approached the bed and gazed down at her with pitying eyes.
Baek Cheong quickly withdrew her spiritual energy from Moomyeongbang and forced a smile.
"I heard Father put you under house arrest. Stuck in your room when you should be deep in training—must be frustrating."
Baek Woo firmly misunderstood her haggard state as frustration from thwarted training ambition.
"Father may seem strict on the outside, but he worries about you more than anyone. Don't take it too hard—bear it patiently until your meridians heal."
At her big brother's sincere encouragement, Baek Cheong felt a pang of guilt. Far from frustrated, she was reveling in her legal gallery life, pricking her conscience a bit.
Forcing a sad expression, she nodded.
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind, big brother."
"Good. And Cheong, in case you're too bored cooped up, I brought a gift."
Baek Woo pulled a long silk box from his robes and placed it in her hands.
Opening it carefully revealed a luxurious brush bristling with shimmering silver hairs.
"It's made from the fur of a Silver Wolf spirit beast, the kind 2nd realm talisman masters mainly use. It holds and transmits energy far more efficiently than a regular jade rabbit brush. Doodle some talismans when you're lonely to pass the time."
Her eyes sparkled at the precious gift. She had no deep plans for talismans, but more tools were always better.
"Whoa, it's so soft! Thank you, big brother."
Baek Woo gave a bittersweet smile and stroked her head.
"I wish I could take you to my master right now and show off your talisman talent. If only he hadn't left for the North Sea ages ago... It's a shame I can't introduce a genius like you."
Baek Cheong waved it off modestly.
"Aw, what genius? It's just drawing lines, nothing special."
"I-is that so..."
Her curiosity piqued about the North Sea her brother was heading to.
"But big brother, why did your master go all the way to that remote, harsh North Sea?"
Baek Woo glanced around and lowered his voice.
"It's a rumor floating around, so it should be fine to tell you. Amid the tens of thousands of islands scattered in the North Sea, clues were found that a secret realm left by an ancient grandmaster has opened in some remote spot."
"A secret realm?"
"Yes. My master obtained info that ancient talisman diagrams are sealed there and set off first. I'm heading to join him now."
Secret realm exploration, ancient legacies, and life-or-death struggles for them. Baek Cheong's eyes lit up with excitement, but worry for her blood kin gnawed at her.
"Aren't secret realms super dangerous? With tons of cultivators swarming in..."
Baek Woo puffed out his chest with a confident grin.
"Haha, no worries. Though my master's realm is stuck at Gold Core, his talisman master rank is a whopping 4th realm. The full power of a 4th realm talisman master is something even Origin Infant lords can't ignore lightly."
She could feel the dignity of a high-ranking talisman master.
"Plus, Father pulled strings himself for us to ally with an Origin Infant lord from the Myeongcheon Sect, which dominates the North Sea region. No major dangers to worry about—relax."
With such solid backing, Baek Cheong finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even she, clueless about outside affairs, had heard of the massive Myeongcheon Sect.
"That's a relief. Still, don't get complacent—stay careful, big brother."
"You got it. Your big bro will snag some fateful encounter and return stronger. Take care, eat well, and focus on recovering till then. See you next time."
Baek Woo left with a hearty laugh. Baek Cheong waved until his reliable figure vanished from sight.
The door closed, silence returning to the Cheo-so.
"Secret realm..."
Baek Cheong fiddled with the Silver Wolf brush her brother left and lay back on the bed. Secret realms and ancient talismans were hot events for cultivators. But for a room-loving shut-in like her, perilous adventures were just someone else's spectacle.
"A safe, warm room corner is best."
She shook off thoughts of the secret realm without regret. Tucking the Silver Wolf brush into her Jeomuldae, she reconnected to Moomyeongbang.
Thanks to days of solid rest, her damaged meridians had recovered quite a bit. With the buzz from her talisman post still lingering, it was the perfect moment to toss a new spark into Moomyeongbang.