Reaping the Karmic Retribution
Normally, this would have been the time for her to log into Moomyeongbang and indulge in some good old-fashioned trolling. But with Dou(237.309) still leaving a bad taste in her mouth, she couldn't bring herself to even peek in.
"Haa, I'm so bored I'm gonna die."
Baek Cheong rolled back and forth on her bed, letting out a deep sigh. Without Moomyeongbang, even lounging in her cozy room felt like torture. Unable to endure the boredom any longer, she finally slipped out of her residence and wandered the grounds.
"Hurry up, move it! There are dozens of damaged spots! The family head ordered everything cleaned up before sunrise tomorrow—no breaks!"
The aftermath of the recent Heavenly Tribulation had left the household in a bustling chaos. The half-destroyed pill refining hall had been rebuilt under the clan's full support, now grander and more magnificent than before. Naturally, Gok Elder was holed up in the new hall day and night, refining nonstop. With no time to teach her, Baek Cheong had effectively been in seclusion one after another.
Baek Mujin was deep in secluded training in the eastern wing of the family head's quarters, pushing for a breakthrough to the Gold Core stage. That left Baek Muyeong handling all the clan's affairs and merchant operations, darting east and west while growing more haggard by the day. Even Baek Mu-ae, who had briefly emerged from seclusion amid the Tribulation chaos, was buried in backlog state matters due to the head's absence, making him a rare sight.
"Everyone's so busy..."
Baek Cheong felt a twinge of loneliness watching the frantic activity. It was perfect freedom—no one bothering her—but with the forum off-limits, she had no idea how to kill time.
To shake off the boredom, she headed to Baekgyeonggak. The first-floor archive was stuffed with the same dusty, mundane books as always. She grabbed a few at random and flipped through them.
Yeonha Baek Clan: A Thousand-Year History, Compendium of Southern Continent Spiritual Herbs, Low-Grade Beast Dismantling Methods.
Mostly dull history tomes or miscellaneous trivia compilations.
"This is kinda..."
She couldn't last even half a shichen before bailing from Baekgyeonggak. She considered checking the outer halls beyond Naedang, but shook her head. The Yeonha Baek Clan was vast enough to rival mid-sized sects; wandering alone was a waste of time, and the outer areas likely held nothing fun anyway.
"In the end, it all comes back to training."
Resigned, Baek Cheong returned to her private training ground at her residence. She'd gotten scolded last time for showing off too recklessly at the clan grounds. She pulled out her Hyeon-eun-pajwi from her storage pouch.
Warming up with basic spells in sequence, she loosened her meridians just right. Then, pushing Ice Dragon Chains to its limit, twelve ice serpents burst skyward through the bracelet. Since consuming the low-grade Five Elements Pill, her natural qi intake had increased, her meridians strengthened, and her limits expanded. Her mental split, honed in the mental world, flowed smoothly without strain.
She toyed with the ice dragons, pulling off tricks—and even tried riding one by stepping on its head, only to fail hilariously. When spells drained her stamina and qi, she sat cross-legged in meditation, absorbing heaven-and-earth spiritual energy. Her freakish Five Elements Heavenly Spiritual Roots sucked it in at an insane rate, yet filling her absurdly bottomless dantian was still glacial progress.
At night, she expelled impurities from her meridians and consolidated her cultivation base diligently. Thus began two days of pure, forum-free life as a model cultivator—boring as hell.
Finally, on the morning of the third day...
"Ah! I can't take it anymore!"
Baek Cheong bolted upright from bed, her patience snapping. She'd used training as a side gig to fuel her trolling addiction; pure cultivation without the forum was straight-up torture.
"If you're pissed, bust through the barrier and come find me!"
Not that it'd reach him anyway, she shouted defiantly. Trembling like she had forum withdrawal(?), she logged into Moomyeongbang.
Dozens of backed-up notifications flooded in. Plenty were reply-to-reply chains, but she ignored them, wary of Dou(237.309).
"Phew, I can live again."
Regaining her composure, Baek Cheong skimmed the chat boards, catching up on missed trolling. She didn't post herself—too conscious of that user—but lurked, dropping replies for low-key fun.
Even training regained its spark. Mornings: absorbing qi to fill her dantian and temper meridians. Afternoons: spell practice with the bracelet at her training ground. Nights: sprawled on bed, genuinely enjoying Moomyeongbang while restraining dumbpost urges. Quick peeks during breaks, but overall, a balanced life of cultivation and trolling brought peaceful days.
Thus, a month flew by in calm routine. Her endless dantian slowly filled with steady absorption, and bracelet spell training progressed smoothly.
Then one morning, a message arrived from the long-silent Gok Elder.
"Miss, Elder Pill Refiner wishes to see you."
Baek Cheong sighed deeply. It had to come eventually. The elder, who'd forced a cauldron manifestation mid-Tribulation, had ended his long seclusion to summon her—meaning pill refining hell was open for business.
"Got it. Be right there."
Dragging her feet like a lamb to slaughter, she headed to the pill hall. Pushing open the doors—twice as grand now—she was hit by sweltering heat and thick pill fragrance.
Gok Elder sat leisurely on a jade platform, sipping tea. His face was soot-streaked from endless refining, but his eyes sparkled with vigor.
"You've come, Cheong-ah."
He beckoned warmly, his face soft and kindly—not the stern scolding from her prior mischief.
"Yes, Elder Grandfather. You called for me? How's the refining been?"
"Hoho, all thanks to you."
Gok Elder set down his cup, laughing heartily.
"That idea you shared shook pill refining to its core. After countless failures and refinements, I've established a new method."
His voice brimmed with pride.
"Thus, I name it the Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method."
Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method. Her offhand nonsense, repackaged on Moomyeongbang and parroted by Dou(553.24), reborn through Gok Elder's hands into a heaven-defying art.
"Even for a Gold Core cultivator like me, it's fiendishly hard to control the qi. But master this principle, and you can refine pills of any grade freely—even manifest a cauldron."
His eyes gleamed at her.
"That's why I called you. To pass on the beginner's chapter of this great method."
"Me? To me?"
Baek Cheong stepped back in panic. Learning a method taxing even Gold Cores as a Qi Refining kid? Might as well say drop dead.
"No need to fear. I've specially simplified the qi flow for the beginner's chapter—even Qi Refining can handle it."
Dismissing her worry, Gok Elder rose.
"Master this and the basic chapter, and even at Qi Refining, you'll work miracles like crafting second-grade pills. You could even make your own Five Elements Pills!"
Grinning like a kindly uncle, he buzzed with excitement. But to Baek Cheong, it looked like a devil's smile heralding hellish training.
"No time to waste. Sit before the cauldron!"
Trapped, she sat. Gok Elder chanted the beginner's incantation and meridian guide, launching brutal instruction.
Draw five elements qi from the dantian, trace a tiny taiji orbit inside the cauldron, roast herb essences along it—demanding insane focus.
'Ah, I'm home but I wanna go home.'
Baek Cheong screamed internally, forcing her qi.
Then something weird happened.
'Huh? Why's this so easy?'
The complex orbits and flows felt innate, flowing naturally. Her divine sense captured every qi nuance; evolved Five Elements Heavenly Spiritual Roots fused clashing energies effortlessly.
In just two shichen, pleasant pill fragrance wafted from the cauldron. Lifting the lid revealed three flawless Supreme-Grade Qi Blood Pills—first-grade superior quality.
"......"
Gok Elder froze, jaw dropped. She'd nailed his hard-won beginner's chapter perfectly, zero fails.
"What... how?"
Trembling, he examined a pill. Impurity-free supreme quality, super-concentrated from the taiji orbit.
'Do I really have pill refining talent?'
Baek Cheong stared at her hands, dazed. Unbeknownst to her, it was the heaven-defying roots, 19-fold divine sense, and master instructor's tailoring colliding in miracle.
"Elder Grandfather, did I do good?"
At her timid question, a creepy smile spread on his frozen face. His eyes glittered with something like madness, fiercer than facing the Tribulation.
"Good? Cheong-ah, you're a heaven-sent pill refining prodigy!"
Unable to contain himself, he roared with laughter.
"A prodigy like you can skip the beginner's chapter! Start basic training today!"
"What?! Already?!"
"No breaks! Until you craft second-grade pills, this old man will carve it into your bones and flesh! Prep the next herbs!"
Baek Cheong stared despairingly at the herb pile. Her talent backfired, ramping training intensity sky-high.
'Shoulda played dumb.'
Too late for regrets. Gok Elder sensed distractions like a ghost, barking:
"Hands idle! Keep going like that—simmer for ten shichen straight!"