The Pill of Taeeul Five Elements Embodiment
Before consuming the Taeeul Five Elements Embodiment Pill.
Han Yujin had taken care of quite a few tasks to properly run his sect. Even with Park Seryong acting as his right hand, there were still many matters that required his personal attention.
Examples included the refinement of the Foundation Establishment Pills and the production of talismans. He also had to deal with the endless stream of incidents and accidents that arose as various nations began seriously exploring the Great Rifts.
Fortunately, every one of them was worth the effort.
Although raising the level of mysticism among Earth’s humanity allowed him to steadily gather large amounts of Karma, the sect was an essential tool for controlling the various side effects and dangers that occurred during that process. In many ways, it also amplified his overall Karma acquisition.
When a month and a half had passed like that.
Judging that his preparations were roughly complete, he informed those around him and entered a closed-door training session that would last about a year.
Obtaining the Taeeul Five Elements Dao Body and achieving the Dream-Reality Harmony of the physical form would normally take only half a year. Since he had already experienced it once in the Primordial Forest, it might even take a little less time.
The reason he had set aside a full year was to organize the insights he had gained from properly using the Dragon Heart Reinforcement Body. Insights, once they appear, tend to scatter and vanish or become distorted if they are not quickly reflected upon and digested.
And the very first thing he needed to do to digest those insights was, of course, pill refinement.
Inside the alchemy room of the Mountain Sea Pearl, he produced twelve Taeeul Five Elements Embodiment Pills in just seven days, moving with far greater skill than during his first attempt.
Not only had the time shortened slightly, but the Dao patterns on the surface of the spiritual pills were also longer and clearer, clearly indicating an improvement in their efficacy. It felt as though he had drawn out nearly the maximum possible value from the ingredients.
The next step was naturally to consume those pills to obtain the Taeeul Five Elements Dao Body. At the same time, he would achieve Dream-Reality Harmony through the principles of the Yin-Yang Dao Body Union.
He moved to the training chamber and began taking the pills.
Thanks to his prior experience, he was able to shorten the time needed to fully digest each pill by a day or two. It wasn’t just faster—the process itself had become smoother, raising the overall completion by a small but noticeable margin.
As a result, he achieved an even better level of Dream-Reality Harmony in five months rather than six.
Afterward, he spent two days resting while examining his condition.
In truth, when he had first returned to reality without selecting any rewards, the sudden disappearance of his strengthened body had left him feeling strangely drained, as if he had become weaker than before.
Now that he had regained that achievement, the hollow feeling was completely gone. He also had a solid foundation on which to organize and verify the insights from the Dragon Heart Reinforcement Body.
The most important core of the insights that had come to him this time was the strengthened body and the improved Dharma Power. More precisely, it concerned how to properly reflect those two crucial elements in all of his techniques.
For example, the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art was undoubtedly an excellent movement technique. It also had good synergy with the Taeeul Five Elements Dao Body he had just attained.
However, because the technique’s principles were heavily biased in that single direction, even though his body had become immensely stronger, he could not fully benefit from it. Nor did it create any meaningful synergy with the qualitatively superior Dream Dragon Dharma Power that flowed from the Dragon Heart formed at the core of his Nascent Soul.
Just a slight increase in efficiency feels quite disappointing.
Perhaps this wasn’t merely a matter of disappointment. Depending on how one looked at it, it could even be seen as failing to properly utilize the abilities he possessed.
Truly, the path of cultivation has no end.
Simply raising one’s realm through cultivation methods was not enough. Every time something new was obtained, one had to continuously reorganize many elements—including techniques—and keep elevating oneself to the highest possible state.
Only when those small improvements piled up would they create a snowball effect. And at some critical moment, that could very well determine life or death.
That was why he needed to slightly revise his techniques, and the clue that had come to mind for how to do so was Monghwan Yusim.
It was the first divine ability he had obtained, and it had grown even more powerful with the formation of the Dragon Heart. Moreover, it was a divine ability that would continue to prove extremely useful without ever losing its value.
If he examined it with proper attention and incorporated parts of its principles into his techniques, he was certain he would achieve something special.
What form that achievement would take or exactly what it would feel like, he still did not know. That was precisely why he had set aside time to carefully reflect on and digest these insights.
In reality, it was not something that could be accomplished in less than a year, but simply preserving the insights so they would not be lost was enough for now.
Sitting quietly at the center of the training chamber with his eyes closed, he sank deep into meditation.
After completing his closed-door training, he spent some time reviewing the accumulated reports and tidying up the parts that had become disorganized.
Then, after taking a short break, he called for Park Heewon for the first time in a while.
“Yo, long time no see.”
“...When the hell are you going to grow up?”
“Only when it’s necessary, just for a bit.”
Spouting nonsense as he sat down across from him, Park Heewon looked around the room with fresh eyes.
He had only visited Brenar’s house a few times. As a result, while asking a few trivial questions about the house, the conversation naturally turned to the virtual reality simulation training device located in one corner of the first floor.
“Can’t I try that thing out?”
His butt was practically bouncing in his seat. Given that he was already using Galactic Empire equipment that reached the level of top-grade Dharma artifacts, it was impossible for him not to be interested.
“Later. I’m a bit bothered right now.”
There were parts that needed to be tuned to the user, so Han Yujin casually put it off.
Surprisingly, Park Heewon reacted with understanding, as if to say that Yujin would indeed be bothered right now.
“The older I get, the harder it feels to understand the world. I don’t know why there are so many stupid and stubborn people.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Not to me—to you. Haven’t you heard about the noisy conspiracy theories lately?”
“What conspiracy theories? About my identity? The Great Rifts? Or maybe the cultivation methods? The Awakening Incense?”
“......Now that you mention it, there really are a shit-ton of conspiracy theories. This one’s about the Soul-Nourishing Tree.”
“Ah, that.”
To properly use the Soul-Nourishing Tree, the carcasses of butchered beasts had to be used as fertilizer. Naturally, it was not a pleasant thought, and it was even somewhat eerie.
Moreover, despite repeated warnings over the past few years, there had been five or six “accidents” where people were used as fertilizer. To resolve the issue, more than a dozen inner sect disciples carrying mid-grade Five Elements talismans had been continuously dispatched.
With help from the governments of various countries, they had managed to suppress most of the uproar, but they couldn’t completely block it. Naturally, this reignited controversy over the already unsettling Soul-Nourishing Tree.
Lately, it had even become material for some very creative conspiracy theories.
Specifically, the claim that the Soul-Nourishing Tree was a tool for offering sacrifices to an evil god, and that the sect was that evil god’s subordinate force.
Of course, it was not true. While the origins and purpose behind the Soul-Nourishing Tree’s creation were indeed quite terrifying and eerie, the tree itself posed no particular danger aside from the side effect of requiring human fertilizer.
Once the topic of conspiracy theories came up, the conversation continued along those lines.
“That’s just how it is. No matter how much authority I display or how hard I preach the truth, it’s fundamentally a matter of belief.”
The saying that people only see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear exists for a reason. Only time itself could fundamentally calm the public and quell such disturbances.
It was then.
Mu-yong, who had gone out to play, suddenly appeared. The moment Park Heewon saw her, he shot to his feet and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
“Senior! You’ve arrived!”
Jjik...?!
“Please, sit over here!”
Park Heewon offered up the seat he had been using, gesturing toward it with both hands. Mu-yong scurried over and hopped up, claiming the spot.
“Senior, could you show me that main body Dharma treasure again?”
Jjik jjik...!
With a proud squeak, a black-gold energy resembling wings of light bloomed from behind her, and a halo reminiscent of an angel’s ring formed above her head.
It was an artifact made primarily from the nano-chronium that Brenar had gifted to Mu-yong. It incorporated quantum phase nano chips, threads of fate, Honwon Stones, and even a few byproducts obtained from Nascent Soul-level monsters of the Primordial Forest.
It resembled Brenar’s appearance when she exerted her power, but the color was different due to its distinct attribute. And in accordance with Mu-yong’s personality, it had been crafted with defense and evasion as its primary purposes.
Since it contained quantum phase nano chips, it naturally included a fusion intelligence spirit—a proud invention of the Galactic Empire. Through the Tongmyeong Eosu-gyeol, Yujin already knew what name Mu-yong had given it.
It was ‘Yuyong-i.’
A fusion intelligence spirit that’s useful... yeah, that makes sense.
The owner was Mu-yong, yet the spirit was named Yuyong. It made him chuckle, but at the same time, he thought it was exactly the kind of naming she would come up with.
Watching the two of them noisily playing together, Han Yujin fell into other thoughts for a moment.
During the past period.
He had been regularly visiting the future Earth at intervals of two to three months. The purpose was, of course, to check whether any changes had occurred in the timeline where Earth’s civilization was destroyed.
To summarize the result, there had been slight changes. It was understandable, since he had caused major shifts on Earth.
Fortunately, they were not major changes—merely small fluctuations where events were pulled forward by a year or two, or pushed back. This proved that while the invasion of the Kamayusgul Empire was connected to certain internal factors on Earth, that connection was not particularly strong.
That could not necessarily be considered good. Depending on how one looked at it, it was also somewhat disappointing.
If the connection was weak, it would be that much harder to identify. Even if he luckily found and removed it, there was no guarantee that it would prevent the Kamayusgul Empire’s invasion.
I can only prepare for the worst.
He inwardly made a decision on something he had been contemplating for a while.
Since the sect had established itself to a certain degree, it was time to release the complete versions of the Hoe-won Gong and the Wonryeok Mudo. It would also be good to release the ingredients and refinement method for the Clear Heart Pills, along with very basic Nectar production techniques.
At the same time, releasing more advanced scientific technology to maintain balance would allow him to stably and significantly increase his Karma supply.
Even if he released such knowledge, there was no fear that the sect’s appeal would diminish. Just the Foundation Establishment Pills alone provided an overwhelming advantage that no one could match, and when future prospects were considered, there was truly no comparison.
Most importantly, as long as he himself remained at the center of the sect, its prestige would never decline.
It was clearly time to take the next step.
Two years later.
While handling various necessary tasks, Han Yujin had frequently gone in and out of the Great Rifts during that time.
He had slain numerous monsters to accumulate Karma, and whenever he discovered mana stone veins that were not cost-effective to mine, he converted them all into Karma.
Although he had not personally verified it, his intuition told him that directly converting spirit stones into Karma might bring short-term gains but would result in long-term losses.
However, with the Kamayusgul Empire’s invasion not far off, he could not afford to focus solely on long-term benefits.
He had already converted more than half of the massive pile of spirit stones that had accumulated in the sect’s warehouse through royalty income and other means into Karma.
The amount of Karma he had obtained was far greater than expected, so he began to feel like advancing his plans a little earlier.
With this much, I should be able to bring back the ingredients, right?
Continuing to spend time in Earth’s reality and steadily accumulating enough Karma to feel confident was not a bad idea, but since he would need to refine the Seonwon Dojong Pill’s ingredients in reality and then consume it, he had no idea how much time that process would take. It felt awkward to simply take things easy.
To reliably stop the Kamayusgul Empire’s invasion, he needed to reach the Body Integration stage. If that was impossible, he had to at least reach the Void Refinement stage.
And if even that is impossible, I’ll have to find another world for Earth’s civilization to flee to before they invade.
Even for that, his current Soul Formation level strength seemed insufficient, so he could not exactly say he had plenty of time.
As he had thought before, it would be good to proceed with advancing into other dimensions while simultaneously preparing an evacuation plan for emergencies.
And so.
He activated the Honwon Treasure.
In the dark waiting area, Wonhui—as always—revealed her form and followed closely behind him. With that tail that wasn’t quite a tail attached to him, he finished all his preparations.
Recalling the wish he had preset for the ever-changing door, he raised his hand.
“......”
The fixed form of the door was the largest he had seen so far.
It was made of white jade and emitted a soft glow without any special decorations. From time to time, the light formed mysterious patterns, preventing it from feeling simplistic at all.
The pillars on both sides appeared to be made of wood. They too held light within them, as if their interiors were translucent. Inside, landscapes of mountains and rivers resembling ink wash paintings constantly formed and then scattered.
- Baekgok Star Frontier Realm of the Okcheong Sanctuary.
So it really is the Okcheong Sanctuary.
Moreover, the term “Frontier Realm” felt familiar. The Cheonwon Star he had frequently visited before had also been a Frontier Realm.
With a mixture of anticipation and slight nervousness, he boldly opened the door and stepped inside. The moment he took a few steps forward and properly set foot in this new world of adventure.
- Who dares...?!
Along with a sinister, killing-intent-laden mental voice, an attack flew straight at him without warning.
It was a sword-shaped Dharma treasure. The instant he recognized it, the fiercely powerful weapon—already wrapped in a ferocious aura—had flown right up to his nose. It was quite a threatening surprise attack.