The Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush
The news that the Ghost King had been dealt with spread to every informed person in the Zhou Kingdom in less than a few days.
This was because the Zhou Kingdom had always kept that location under distant surveillance, and the moment Han Yujin announced the Ghost King’s subjugation, they had immediately dispatched people to verify whether the claim was true.
Once confirmation was complete, he naturally received the Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush without delay.
“Esteemed Immortal, if you have no further plans, would you consider remaining here? We will serve you with everything we have.”
The Zhou King had come to the detached palace in person to deliver the item, speaking with extreme caution and earnest sincerity. It was somewhat expected, yet still mildly surprising.
If a cultivator capable of defeating the Ghost King stayed, their safety would be assured. Yet once the situation had already grown roughly secure after dealing with a single Ghost King, such an offer could also become a burden.
The one who would feel that burden most keenly was naturally the Zhou King, the realm’s supreme authority. The fact that he still extended the invitation proved he possessed considerable magnanimity.
Of course, separate from that favorable assessment, Han Yujin had no intention of lingering long. He had already obtained everything he needed, and this was not a world particularly suited for cultivation.
He smiled and politely declined the Zhou King’s suggestion and request.
Even so, he did not depart at once. He remained with some leisure, devoting himself to producing Clear Spirit Peaceful Mind Incense and refining the Ghost Soul Banner through the Spirit Guiding Ghost Command Art.
At the same time, he refined the Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush using the Three Realms Harmony Art, making it completely his own.
The Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush appeared to have been crafted in a manner slightly different from orthodox cultivation methods, yet it was unmistakably a Heavenly Treasure. It was rather astonishing that such an artifact existed in a kingdom whose greatest expert stood only at the Core Formation level.
Still, it made sense upon reflection. The brush was a tool for creation rather than combat. Its utility depended on the user’s skill, and below the Nascent Soul stage there were many substitutes even without it.
From the Soul Formation stage onward, the advantages this brush offers will become nearly impossible to replace…
For the Zhou Kingdom, that remained a dreamlike prospect. In a land without even a single Nascent Soul cultivator, speaking of Soul Formation was pure fantasy. Had their environment been capable of producing such a figure, they would never have needed to strike a contract to hand over the brush in the first place.
In any case, the Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush’s function was simple to explain.
It allowed the user to draw formations anywhere, at any time, as naturally as if they always carried spiritual ink suited to their own level.
If only an instantaneous effect was required, one could even treat empty air as paper and inscribe the formation directly upon it.
When one considers how difficult it becomes to obtain usable spiritual ink materials as one’s realm rises, this is truly an excellent treasure.
With this single item, there was no longer any need to cultivate spiritual-ink-related plants inside the Mountain Sea Pearl or store raw materials. He had never shown much interest in talisman arts precisely because of those cumbersome requirements; now he thought he might spare the subject some attention after all.
In this manner, roughly three months passed.
When he finally felt that his tasks in this world were complete, he glanced once toward the Zhou King’s residence.
Deciding there was no need for a formal farewell, he left only a short note on the paper provided in the detached palace stating that he was departing, then slipped away using the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art.
Where would be best to exit?
Since it was a world teeming with ghosts, he was reluctant to perish just anywhere. The thought of leaving a corpse behind bothered him especially.
If I establish a temporary formation with the Crimson Lotus Evolution Flame before leaving, it should burn everything cleanly without leaving so much as ash.
With that thought, he continued flying until he discovered a suitable rocky mountain. He descended at once, carved out a cave, and tunneled inside.
He still did not know whether this world would continue existing after his departure, but precisely because of that uncertainty he wished to tidy up after himself without leaving any traces.
The waiting area was, as always, filled with cozy darkness.
He inwardly evaluated the results of this adventure and selected his harvests.
Excluding the knowledge that required no Karma expenditure, the first item was the Soul Wood.
He had not brought the Yellow Branch Tree—there were many superior spiritual plants that could replace it—but the Soul Wood was something he absolutely had to obtain. Even if not immediately, he needed to supply Earth with it and complete commercialization before the Kamayus Gul Empire’s invasion arrived.
There are management precautions to observe, but… it shouldn’t become a serious problem.
Even if someone accidentally or deliberately fed human corpses to the Soul Wood and birthed ghosts, the matter would not spiral into something irreversible.
Rather, one or two such incidents might serve like a vaccination, awakening caution in countless people. Humanity only truly learns wariness after getting badly burned once.
Next came various spiritual materials he had secured without any particular purpose, the Clear Spirit Peaceful Mind Incense he had produced himself, the contents of the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle, and the Heavenly Treasure known as the Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush.
It was quite satisfying that selecting the Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush had required relatively little Karma. Most likely because it had not been obtained for free and possessed limited utility.
After that, the results of his cultivation could not be omitted.
His already peak Core Formation attainment had not advanced further, but two divine powers had been strengthened and the oral teachings of Core Formation had transformed. That was clearly a cultivation achievement.
Finally, there were the tea leaves of the Enlightenment Dao Mysterious Mind Tea that had been brewed once.
Unfortunately, continuous restoration is impossible.
The reason was that the cultivation results gained by consuming the Enlightenment Dao Mysterious Mind Tea could themselves be selected as a harvest. Put differently, a clear causality existed because its direct consumption had influenced other harvests.
To explain simply: he had used the Dragon Heart obtained from Casarnox as the vessel for his External Core Method and selected that cultivation result as a harvest. Naturally, the Dragon Heart should no longer remain.
The tea leaves were the same. He had gained cultivation results through the brewed tea’s effect and selected those results as a harvest; therefore the leaves should remain in their once-brewed state.
This differed from items being used in transactions. Such cases represented only indirect causality that could be replaced by other means or even seized by force.
In truth, it was not a difficult concept. It was the sort of matter one could judge intuitively according to the situation at hand.
Besides, even if the leaves restored like new every time, this is not something that can be consumed casually like a nutritional supplement.
No matter how excellent a pill, there is always pill poison. Used with sufficient intervals, it poses no problem, but consuming it daily like rice would instead cause great harm.
Developing resistance is only the beginning; it can dull one’s sensitivity to spiritual energy, create mental issues, and even affect the quality of one’s spiritual root.
The Enlightenment Dao Mysterious Mind Tea was no exception. One must keep in mind the life principle that excess is as bad as deficiency.
Moreover, it can only induce enlightenment; it cannot create it…
If one’s accumulated knowledge and inspiration were insufficient, the only effect would be falling properly into a single session of profound meditation.
Even so, there was no room for disagreement that it was an exceptionally remarkable item. Despite having already been brewed and used once, the Karma cost remained considerable.
Having finished selecting his harvests, he left the waiting area with a light heart.
After resting for several days, he guided Lee Won-hee, whose preparations for practicing the Hoe-won Gong were now complete.
He rented the center’s training room outright and watched over her from the side the entire time. No matter how safe the Hoe-won Gong was, he worried something might go wrong. She was still a child, after all.
Fortunately, no problems arose.
It was not merely that there were no problems—the achievement was so smooth that even Han Yujin, who understood Heavenly Spiritual Roots well, found himself newly impressed.
Foundation Establishment in a hundred days…
The saying that geniuses lay the foundation for Dharma Soul sublimation in a hundred days was clearly no empty rumor.
Lee Won-hee seemed to absorb spiritual energy with her entire body, tempering both physique and soul. Finding it too easy, she immediately began the Dharma Soul sublimation process and produced noticeable results.
Han Yujin naturally thought of Eun Miryeong and his disciple Dok Junseong from the martial world. Mu-yong appeared to share similar thoughts; she remained quieter than usual.
In any case, judging that no problems would arise so long as she avoided impatience, he provided her with a generous supply of Clear Mind Pills in a jade bottle and Ether Elixir while carefully explaining every precaution.
The good-natured Lee Won-hee nodded with serious focus, listening without missing a single word. Seeing her own passion for cultivation put his mind at ease and filled him with quiet pride.
“After the Aheti race subjugation ends, let’s visit the Great Rift.”
“Pardon?”
“The spiritual energy there is far richer.”
In his heart he wanted to bring her to the Primordial Forest, but that was impossible.
Though surprised, Lee Won-hee nodded, apparently deciding it would be fine if she went with him.
After once more cautioning her like a worried elder and offering plenty of encouragement, he took the child home and then sought out his friend Park Heewon.
The fellow had registered as an awakener on his own and visited the center training ground every day, throwing himself into cultivation with genuine fervor. When Han Yujin arrived in person after a smartphone message, the sweat-drenched face that greeted him with overflowing energy looked almost unfamiliar.
“Is it that enjoyable?”
“Wouldn’t it be for you too? Or are you flaunting your S-class status now? What’s a lowly bastard like you working so hard for anyway?”
“You crazy bastard… You’ve gone full Nocturne. Even your paranoia is maxed out.”
After trading a few more jokes, he took out a Level 2 Ether Elixir and handed it over. There was naturally no need to give Clear Mind Pills; the guy wasn’t learning the Hoe-won Gong.
“Once your hunter practicum is finished, I’ll give you this as well.”
To Park Heewon, who stared curiously at the faint golden liquid inside the glass bottle after hearing the explanation, he showed several more items.
The Lumina Sword, Lumina Spear, and Phase Armor, among others.
Seeing the pale-golden sword and spear brimming with sci-fi aesthetics, along with the metal-plated boots, gloves, shoulder guards, and chest plate, Park Heewon looked utterly dazed.
“What the hell is all this…?”
“Weapons and armor, obviously.”
“…No, I mean where did you get them from?”
“They’re items I brought from the Luminous Galactic Empire, ruled by an AI Emperor who is a twenty-second-level spiritualist.”
“Cut the bullshit. What are they really?”
Chuckling, Han Yujin stored the equipment back inside the Spacer Ring and said, “They’re rare items more than sufficient to keep you alive while you’re out there being useful. So train hard.”
“…How much did they cost? How much do I owe you?”
“I’ll tell you once you start earning real money.”
He probably wouldn’t be able to repay it in a lifetime, but Han Yujin had plenty of plans to make use of him in other ways. That would be more comfortable for the guy as well.
After chatting and fooling around a while longer, they parted.
He strolled leisurely through the streets, taking in the scenery of the modern city and its people. At the same time, he examined the details of the upcoming Aheti subjugation operation through his augmented-reality interface.
At present, he had two choices.
Either blend in as an ordinary S-class, or display overwhelming power.
Originally, after seeing how the Korean upper echelons feared him following the Beijing incident, he had considered the former.
But now he had changed his mind.
Thanks to the efficacy of the Enlightenment Dao Mysterious Mind Tea he had unexpectedly obtained in the Black Soil Continent, there was no longer any reason to postpone his ascension to the Nascent Soul stage.
Once he reached Nascent Soul, no one on Earth could interfere in any way that he could not easily resolve.
“Let’s go tonight.”
Jjik?
“To the Primordial Forest.”
He stroked Mu-yong in his arms as he spoke.
“While we’re there, shall we really check whether another you exists or not?”
Jjik! Jjijik—!
“Oh, you actually want to look? Are you certain there isn’t one, or are you saying it’s fine even if there is?”
He continued walking at a very leisurely pace, chatting with Mu-yong all the while.