Chapter 28
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28
"This won't bring you any harm, Senior. In fact, I believe this is a fated opportunity that will work to your benefit."
Ise delivered the decisive phrase.
A fated opportunity. Since that single phrase was the very pillar sustaining Kim Si-won’s entire life, he was bound to accept it.
"Did you come empty-handed?"
At his question, Ise gestured to Seol Ryeong.
She quickly stepped forward.
"It's not a spirit herb, but it is a tea well-known for clearing the mind and body. It will aid you in your cultivation."
"How paltry."
Kim Si-won let out a sneering chuckle.
Though they belonged to the Great Martial Dao, they were nothing more than green chicks who had barely reached 2-Star Qi Refining.
It was obvious they didn't possess much wealth.
"Keep both hands visible in front of your chest and enter."
The two stepped slowly into the cave abode.
It was a simple place, furnished with nothing more than a single bed and a table.
Yet the moment they stepped inside, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy of the Grotto-Heaven gently enveloped their bodies—a vivid testament to the monumental fortune that had favored this talentless rogue cultivator.
Merely standing there drew spiritual energy into them. It felt as though staying even a little longer might allow them to shatter a long-standing cultivation bottleneck.
Kim Si-won sat alone at the table, crossing his arms and legs.
"So, what wind blew junior disciples of the Great Martial Dao all the way to this remote mountain?"
"Senior, roughly fifty years ago, did you not come across a fated opportunity at Namhae Adept Mountain where you met the Bamboo Tube Beauty?"
Kim Si-won shuddered visibly.
His reaction was entirely unfiltered, completely failing to hide his sheer surprise.
"…How do you know about that?"
"That is the very reason we sought you out, Senior. The Bamboo Tube Beauty commissioned us to find you."
"She is alive? That spirit creature?"
"Yes. Though she has fallen into corruption and is on the verge of turning into a demon ghost..."
"Corrupted? You say she's turning into a demon ghost?"
Kim Si-won’s expressions shifted rapidly.
Without showing a hint of suspicion, Ise dissected and analyzed every subtle shift on the man's face.
"Yes. Thus, we hope you will accompany us to her, Senior, so that you may halt her corruption and grant her peace."
"The Great Martial Dao... Right. Your faction follows Spirit Worship Ideology, after all."
As though he had finished organizing his thoughts, Kim Si-won spoke slowly.
"…I did not abandon her on purpose."
Just as Ise was about to ask him to tell a comforting lie if necessary, Kim Si-won voluntarily denied having abandoned her.
"The life of a rogue cultivator is pure hardship. We do not enjoy a sturdy roof or a warm greenhouse like you young ones."
"We heard you suffered great tribulations."
"Back then, I fought another rogue cultivator of similar standing nearby. Since I had discovered the place first, I stashed the spirit creature in a secluded spot, fearing my cave abode might be exposed. However... during the battle, the map marking her location was lost in a fire. I was severely injured, and while I nursed my wounds, my memory of it faded entirely."
"So that is what happened."
"Indeed. That is why I could never find her again."
"In that case, will you accompany us?"
"Of course. Lead the way."
Kim Si-won, the rogue cultivator, stood up with hearty enthusiasm.
* * *
Ise and Seol Ryeong brought Kim Si-won back to the Namsan Valley pass.
The fog hanging over the bamboo forest was even thicker than before.
Dense as the mist was, the demonic energy within it had grown far more potent than it had been seven days ago.
Though she had boldly claimed she could hold out for a month, it seemed her remaining time was far shorter.
Just as the gathering mist began to veil their vision, Ise, keenly mindful of Kim Si-won trailing slightly behind them, pulled something from his robe and popped it into his mouth.
"Did you really have to bring snacks to eat even in a situation like this? Ugh, what a stench! What on earth did you just eat?"
"It’s rude to tell someone to their face that they stink."
At his sharp retort, Seol Ryeong instantly clamped her mouth shut and pouted.
"Try one. It’s nicely salted. Good for your health, too."
Ise tossed a pill toward her.
"No way. It smells like cow dung."
"Suit yourself."
With that, the suspicious gaze that had briefly settled on Ise vanished.
As they moved, Ise strove to hone his five senses to a razor’s edge.
Instinct told him a fight was imminent.
"Juktong, come out. I brought your master."
At his call, the Bamboo Tube Beauty, who had been buried deep within the demonic energy, poked her head out.
The instant her eyes met Kim Si-won's, they widened to the size of oil lamps.
"Scholar!"
Her screeching, high-pitched voice echoed piercingly.
Though her face showed she wanted to hurl herself into his arms right then and there, she hesitated, casting uneasy glances at Ise and Seol Ryeong.
Kim Si-won took the first step forward.
But a cold blade suddenly pressed against the tip of his chin.
It was Ise’s axe.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Do not get too close; verify her from a distance. She is a spirit creature undergoing corruption. One misstep, and you will be caught up in it as well, Senior."
"Do you take corruption for some contagious cold? Get that out of my face, insolent brat. Point a weapon at me again, and I will kill you on the spot."
Kim Si-won began walking toward the Bamboo Tube Beauty. Step by step.
Reaching her, Kim Si-won looked at the spirit creature turned monster, his eyes glistening with a sinister glint as a smile crossed his lips.
"You... You... Yes, it really is you."
"Yes, Scholar. It is me."
"Yes. Yes... You truly have fallen. You are becoming a demon ghost."
"Sob... Scholar, I am so sorry..."
"It is alright."
"Even so, I am happy that I could see you before I pass, Scholar. Please... call my name one last time."
"……"
"Scholar?"
"Your name, you say."
"Yes. Please, hurry."
"Isn't it Juktong-i?"
In an instant, the Bamboo Tube Beauty’s face turned deathly pale. The demonic energy within her churned violently.
"Scholar... what are you saying? Have you forgotten my name? The name you gave me yourself... No, wait, what is that condition of yours...?"
Ise gripped his axe and shield tight as he spoke.
"Prepare for battle."
"Now?"
"He is no cultivator. That thing is a demonic cultivator."
"…What?"
"It means corruption is taking root in him, too."
Seol Ryeong could likely only perceive the lingering spiritual energy, but Ise had seen it from the very beginning.
An insidious, sinister energy steadily swelling inside him.
Within his body, spiritual energy and demonic energy coexisted—much like within Ise himself.
To be exact, his spiritual energy had stagnated, losing its flow, while the demonic energy writhed with vibrant vigor.
Having hit a wall in his cultivation, he resorted to a demonic art.
What a laughable twist of fate.
Two beings who had attained spiritual nature had crossed paths.
One was a cultivator dreaming of eternal youth and longevity.
The other was a spirit creature seeking to protect her kind and her territory.
Abandoned by the cultivator, the spirit creature harbored resentment until she lost her Dao and succumbed to corruption.
The cultivator took her power, yet owing to his paltry talent, he ultimately lost his Dao as well, dabbling in corrupted power.
A fated opportunity that would have been better off never happening for either of them.
"You really... did abandon me, Scholar."
"Ha! Do not dare squabble with me, insolent creature. Hand over your demonic power peacefully. I am taking it."
"How... how could you... to me...?"
Reaching out toward the Bamboo Tube Beauty, Kim Si-won suddenly froze and slowly turned around to face Ise and Seol Ryeong.
He had sensed the thick battle intent radiating behind him.
The demonic energy he had kept so neatly suppressed now erupted into a violent aura, palpable even to Seol Ryeong.
"Now that I have turned into a demonic cultivator, the Great Martial Dao will hardly leave me be."
An intense, brutal killing intent flared outward.
"Which means you two must die right here. Isn't it your faction’s way to hunt down prey before becoming the hunted?"
Without a word, Ise simply took a step forward.
In one hand, he wielded his small axe; in the other, his Black Iron Shield.
Seeing Ise brimming with murderous resolve, Kim Si-won let out a sneering laugh.
"Insolent pests! You are mere 2-Star Qi Refining nobodies. You've barely learned to toddle, yet you dare challenge me? Do you think the Cultivation World is a playground? Even if I dabbled in demonic arts, I am someone who has breached a minor realm!"
Kim Si-won bellowed a furious roar and began forming hand seals.
Wild gusts whipped around him, making his Daoist robe flap violently.
"Tsk, tsk. Such a pity for you young fools. If only you had stayed safely in your warm greenhouse instead of poking your noses where they don't belong—"
Right at that moment.
A surge of pitch-black blood vomited violently from Kim Si-won’s mouth.
Knowing this was the window, Ise spoke to Seol Ryeong.
"The antidote pill I gave you earlier. Eat it now."
"What do you... ghurk! "
Beside him, Seol Ryeong—who had been preparing her defensive Dharma Artifact—let out a choked gasp and vomited black blood as well.
"Sorry I didn't tell you beforehand."
Apologizing flatly, Ise urged Seol Ryeong to swallow the cow dung pill in her hand.
It was the very pill Ise had been chewing on like a snack while hiking up the mountain—the makeshift antidote he had rolled together back in Cheongrim Village.
Focusing her senses after hearing his words, she finally picked up on the musty smell masked beneath the mist of the bamboo forest. Acrid and stinging—the unmistakable stench of poison.
"Y-You..."
"If I told you beforehand, your terrible acting would’ve given us away."
Ise set down a small gourd he had hidden beneath his robes. A fog-colored smoke was currently seeping out of its spout.
This was a single-use Dharma Artifact he had bought at the Cheongsangyeong Dharma Artifact Shop for five spirit stones.
Once activated, it released a poisonous mist that corrupted and twisted the blood and qi channels of any cultivator who inhaled it over time.
"Even poisoned, it won't be an easy fight. Stay on your guard."
"Since when?!"
"The moment the fog started."
"No, I mean when did you start suspecting him?!"
"The moment we met. I could feel demonic energy inside his body."
Poisoning a cultivator while slipping past their sharpened senses was no easy feat.
Yet, just as Ise implied, it was precisely because Seol Ryeong had been completely oblivious—acting entirely natural—that they were able to trick Kim Si-won so thoroughly.
Without another word, Seol Ryeong shoved the antidote pill into her mouth.
Sure enough, it tasted like cow dung.
"You better apologize properly when this is over!"
"Understood. Join the fight once the poison clears."
Ise charged at Kim Si-won, who was gagging violently.
It was common knowledge that once a cultivator reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, they achieved Invulnerability to All Poisons.
But conversely, it also meant that any Qi Refining cultivator short of Foundation Establishment remained susceptible to poison.
Certain cultivation manuals even listed poison as one of the five deadliest hazards a Qi Refining cultivator had to watch out for.
Of course, being poisoned wouldn't instantly erase the gap between their realms.
The disparity in the quality and quantity of protective gear alone would be overwhelming.
After all, the bastard had been hoarding artifact treasures for over seventy years.