Chapter 62
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62
The night patrol guard led him directly to the spirit stone warehouse.
It was an annex built right next to the residence of the Master Stonemason, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
A space that should have been tightly locked and strictly off-limits to everyone now stood wide open.
Ise stared at the shattered barrier for a long moment, a strange expression on his face.
Cultivators were already gathering around the area. Even those who had been resting were showing up one after another.
“…The spirit stones have been stolen.”
Unable to make sense of the situation, Ise asked the guard to repeat himself. “The spirit stones?”
“Yes. Over fifty thousand spirit stones produced during the spring and summer seasons have completely vanished.”
“Is that even possible?”
“……”
“Who is the culprit?”
“It seems to be… Elder Shin. He was on guard duty right before me. When I tried to find him to assess the situation, he was nowhere to be found.”
Elder Shin. He was a 4-Star Qi Refining cultivator and the oldest among the disciples assigned to this mission.
The old man—who had been expected to pass away soon since breaking through to Foundation Establishment was far out of reach for him—had stolen fifty thousand spirit stones and fled.
Ise checked the warehouse barrier once more. A strange sense of incongruity gnawed at him.
Goe Tong, arriving late to the scene, stiffened.
“What on earth is…”
“Goe Tong. Fix your clothes first. You look unsightly.”
Only then did Goe Tong cover his half-naked torso and dress properly.
“They say Elder Shin stole the spirit stones and fled, but how could he do such a thing?”
Goe Tong pressed his palm to his forehead. He realized that if it was Elder Shin, it was entirely possible.
“…Because he’s someone who could pull it off.”
“How so?”
“Elder Shin has carried out missions at this Silver Dragon Mine three times already. The geography, the patrol routes, the layout of the barrier, and even the Master Stonemason’s daily routine—that old man knows it all better than anyone else.”
Ise immediately began assessing the situation. He turned back to the guard.
“Where is the Master Stonemason?”
“Two days ago, he finished processing the yield for the first half of the year and entered closed-door cultivation. Cultivator Chu has gone to fetch him now.”
Ise paused briefly.
He had heard that the Master Stonemason entered closed-door cultivation twice a year after completing his official duties. Elder Shin had targeted that exact window.
This was no impulsive theft; it was a thoroughly calculated and premeditated crime.
Perhaps even his detached demeanor and aimless wandering had been nothing more than an act.
Ise and Goe Tong locked eyes.
Two conflicting emotions warred on Goe Tong’s face: relief that he wasn't the supervisor, and sheer annoyance that such a disaster had erupted right after he handed over his shift.
“What about location tracking? I understand there’s a spell engraved on our wrists that allows the Great Martial Dao to track disciples using messenger talismans.”
“We dispatched a messenger talisman as well. But there’s no response.”
“Don't tell me... his wrist?”
“Yes. It seems he severed it before fleeing.”
Ise’s gaze sank into a calm silence.
The hand of every formal disciple in the Great Martial Dao bore an engraved spell that proved their affiliation and transmitted their location to messenger talismans.
Elder Shin had severed even that.
“Have you contacted the main mountain?”
“That… not yet. When an incident occurs at the mine, protocol dictates that we report to the Master Stonemason and the supervisor first to receive instructions for further action.”
Ise nodded in understanding, then scanned the surroundings of the warehouse—the security devices, the barrier, and even the interior.
“Hold on a second.”
Instructing Goe Tong to guard the area, Ise immediately headed up to the summit.
With narrowed eyes, he thoroughly surveyed the interior of the Silver Dragon Mine.
Soon, he identified the true source of that strange incongruity.
Ise stared intently at a single spot.
Could it be…?
An ominous, almost blasphemous thought reared its head.
Just then, sensing an approaching presence, Ise turned around.
The Master Stonemason had finally arrived, roughly a quarter of an hour after the incident broke out.
The Qi Refining cultivators bowed their heads, their expressions troubled.
As the Master Stonemason swept his gaze across them, everyone instinctively flinched.
The fury of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
A suffocating pressure, unlike anything normally felt, bore down on the entire space.
Amidst it all, only Ise stared back at him with a calm expression.
The Master Stonemason’s gaze locked onto him.
“I will not blame you for this,” he said, his voice indifferent. “However, with the spirit stones stolen, you and I bear the greatest responsibility. The other cultivators here will also share the burden of a debt worth fifty thousand spirit stones. Therefore…”
The Master Stonemason paused for a moment, his next words heavy with emphasis. Unbridled spiritual energy spilled forth, making it hard to breathe.
“Resolve this matter before the main mountain finds out.”
Maintaining a respectful attitude, Ise questioned the Master Stonemason.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to contact the main mountain and have them track his location?”
“If he severed his wrist before fleeing, even the main mountain won't be able to find him. It would only make a bigger mess. Even if we catch the culprit afterward, our punishment would be unavoidable.”
“What about the Soul Binding Contract? Since he committed an act that harms the Great Martial Dao, shouldn’t some action be possible through it?”
“That pledge is merely to determine whether a disciple is dead or alive. There is no spell capable of tracking the exact locations of over ten thousand disciples through a simple pledge.”
Memories of his initiation day flashed through Ise’s mind.
Do not commit acts that betray the Great Martial Dao.
That was the declaration he had made while signing the Soul Binding Contract on the day he became an initiate disciple.
When he had asked what would happen if the contract were broken, Kang I-tae had replied, ‘Nothing happens right away.’
At the time, Ise hadn’t felt any particular doubt.
He had simply considered it warning enough, assuming that someone would eventually be sent to punish the violator.
…So it was merely an empty pledge?
If there had been a restriction that instantly punished anyone for breaking the vow, Elder Shin wouldn't have even attempted the theft in the first place.
But no such thing happened.
Without letting his realization show, Ise pushed the thought aside. That wasn't what was important right now.
“He has likely headed toward the Jeong Empire,” the Master Stonemason ordered. “Scour every route leading from here to the border. With a cultivation realm of 4-Star Qi Refining, he couldn't have gone far. Cultivator I, you will command this.”
Ise bowed briefly in respect.
While it would be far faster for the Master Stonemason, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to step out himself, he was the final bulwark who could not leave the mine.
The moment the Master Stonemason vacated his post, a gap would form in the barrier, opening up the possibility of external attacks.
After all, even more important than the spirit stones was the mine itself.
In the end, the search fell upon Ise.
He took the map handed to him by the Master Stonemason and spread it out on the ground. The other cultivators gathered around in a circle.
After drawing numerous straight lines from the Silver Dragon Mine toward the border of the Jeong Empire, he assigned specific tracking routes to each person.
With such a dense, methodical pursuit, an ordinary thief wouldn't be able to escape.
The problem, however… for a crime so thoroughly planned, wouldn't Elder Shin have prepared a foolproof means of escape?
Of all the Great Martial Dao's territories, the Silver Dragon Mine happened to be the one located closest to the Jeong Empire.
Even if they scattered and gave chase right now, it was highly likely they were already too late.
“Let’s hurry.”
At Ise’s urging, the cultivators dispersed at once. Yet Ise himself did not move.
As he stood there holding the map, the Master Stonemason stared intently at him.
“Do you not intend to move?”
“Before I leave, there are a few things I would like to ask.”
“Time is of the essence.”
“It pertains directly to this matter. Please grant me permission.”
The Master Stonemason stared at Ise for a moment before answering briefly.
“Permission granted.”
Ise fired off his first question.
“May I know Elder Shin's exact age? I heard he has been stationed here multiple times.”
“Around one hundred and forty.”
“Fifty thousand spirit stones must weigh a considerable amount. Is that a volume one person can carry alone? No matter how long he has lived, it would be far-fetched for an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator to possess a storage pouch with that kind of capacity.”
Unable to discern the intent behind the question, the Master Stonemason furrowed his brows, but answered honestly nonetheless.
“The processed spirit stones are all medium-grade spirit stones. Since a single medium-grade spirit stone contains the spiritual nature of one hundred regular spirit stones, the actual number is only five hundred medium-grade spirit stones. They fit easily within one's robes.”
Ise wore an unreadable expression as he asked his next question.
“Was there a security spell cast on the place where the spirit stones were stored?”
The Master Stonemason slowly met his eyes.
“There was.”
“Was it of a level that could be breached by a 4-Star Qi Refining cultivator?”
“That I do not know. However, the security spell itself is not particularly extraordinary. If he planned and prepared for it, there is no reason he couldn't break it.”
“Why is that?”
As the Master Stonemason tilted his head, silently questioning what he meant, Ise continued.
“Is there a reason you stored such a vast quantity—fifty thousand spirit stones—so carelessly?”
Silence fell over the summit.
A 7-Star Qi Refining cultivator was interrogating a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Normally, such audacity would have seen his tongue ripped out for arrogance.
Yet the Master Stonemason remained unshaken.
“Are you blaming me right now? Or perhaps... suspecting me?”
“It is merely a question.”
“Because there was no need.” There was no hesitation in his answer. “The barrier enveloping the Silver Dragon Mine itself is secure enough, and no one anticipated that an insider of the Great Martial Dao would turn traitor. While there have been countless instances of spirit stone mines suffering external attacks, this is the first time in history a formal disciple has stolen from one.”
Accepting the response, Ise changed his line of questioning.
“What should I do if I find the culprit?”
“Recover all the spirit stones, and summarily execute the traitor.”
“Understood.”
Ise bowed his head and turned around.
Though suspicious elements clearly remained, instead of investigating the interior of the mine, he immediately made his way south and dispatched a messenger talisman toward the Great Martial Dao’s Name Registry Pavilion.
*
An hour had passed since the Silver Dragon Mine was thrown into turmoil and all the Qi Refining cultivators set out to pursue the thief.
Flicker.
The barrier firmly protecting the Silver Dragon Mine vanished for a single moment.
Elder Shin finally walked out from the Silver Dragon Mine. His right sleeve fluttered emptily in the wind.
Moments later, the barrier restored itself as if it had never vanished, exuding a mystical aura.
Elder Shin walked with calm, unhurried steps.
He wore a leisurely expression, completely unbecoming of someone fleeing after stealing spirit stones from the Great Martial Dao.
In fact, the direction he was heading was south—the exact opposite of the north, where the disciples of the Great Martial Dao had launched their pursuit.
His destination was the Horyeong Market.
It was a marketplace under the management of the Horyeong Sect, a secular sect affiliated with the Great Martial Dao.
Secular sects were relatively free from the surveillance of the Great Martial Dao. Trading gathered spirit herbs—which was strictly forbidden in principle—was tacitly allowed behind closed doors, and even if someone was caught, the punishment was merely a light fine.
Because of this, the medicinal pill trade was far more active in a secular sect's marketplace than within the Great Martial Dao itself. In particular, pills like the Longevity Pill that he so desperately needed could easily be procured in any quantity.
Crossing into the Jeong Empire would come after that. Once he disguised himself and took a slow, distant detour, his pursuers would be left staring helplessly at the dust.
Checking his surroundings, he drew something from his robes and stroked it gently.
A spirit stone pouch. Over fifty thousand spirit stones rested inside.
With this... he could continue his cultivation.
First, he would take a Longevity Pill in Horyeong Market to extend his lifespan. Then, after crossing over into the Jeong Empire, he would use the remaining spirit stones to buy medicinal pills and gulp them down like water. If he did that, then it would surely be possible.
He could extend his life.
On his wrinkled face, a desire suppressed for so many long years freely bloomed for the first time.
Elder Shin was taking light, leisurely steps toward his destination, looking as though he were out for a simple morning stroll.
“Where are you going in such high spirits?”
At the sudden voice, Elder Shin snapped his head up toward the source of the sound.
A shadow descended from atop a nearby tree.
“Elder Shin.”
It was Ise.
He landed lightly, right in front of the old man.
All color instantly drained from the old man’s face.
“…H-How?”