The Crimson Hallucination
Right next to his dwelling, in a cool and shaded spot, mid-grade spiritual fruits lay neatly arranged at even intervals atop a crudely assembled rack of branches. Several piles of strongly scented crushed herbs were also visible, placed there to ward off any potential insects.
Somewhat comically, Mu-yong was loitering near the area where the fruits were clearly visible. There was no way the gluttonous little creature could simply pass by such treasures.
If he had not given her strict instructions through the Tongmyeong Eosu-gyeol, she would have definitely made more than one of them disappear.
No chance.
Cute was cute, but spiritual medicine was spiritual medicine. Han Yujin needed to grow stronger himself if Mu-yong was to fully benefit from their shared lifespan through the Tongmyeong Eosu-gyeol, so there was no objective reason to share any with her.
Still, simply chasing her away felt a little pitiful. After appeasing her with a couple drops of spiritual wine, he finally examined the fruits’ condition in detail.
Thank you so much, Miss Won Baekryeong.
As he began proper pill refinement—steeping the spiritual fruits in wine and drying them—he realized many things. He felt especially grateful toward Won Baekryeong, who could practically be considered his teacher in this field.
The more he thought about it, the more he saw that the alchemy lecture had truly been practical. The only real difficulty had been mastering the foundational knowledge required to use those practical techniques.
He suspected that Won Baekryeong had deliberately organized her real combat know-how in a systematic way specifically for that practical lecture. The way she had spoken—as if she needed to earn recognition from as many people as possible once she began teaching—made the guess seem quite plausible.
One such piece of know-how was the fact that drying the fruits used in refinement slightly reduced their medicinal potency but dramatically increased the success rate.
The method of creating a temporary stone cauldron for refinement using earth-manipulation techniques when a proper pill furnace was unavailable had also proven extremely useful to Han Yujin in his current situation.
This should be enough drying. No need for more?
After inspecting the fruits, that was the judgment he reached. At the same time, he unconsciously found himself pulling additional related spiritual ingredients from his storage.
Most were herbs, though a few flowers and mushrooms were mixed in. These were materials he had determined through several tests would create synergistic effects with the fruits. Even if their properties did not perfectly align, they were ingredients he judged would at least not cause failure.
Let’s attempt it today.
Excluding the wine-steeping of the spiritual fruits, this would be his long-awaited first true refinement. He sat in a suitable spot to restore his condition and began circulating the Hoe-won Gong.
As soon as he settled into position, Mu-yong—who had been sunbathing on one side—came scampering over. Then, as if it were obviously her rightful place, she climbed onto his lap.
It was not merely an expression of affection for her master. Thanks to their connection through the Tongmyeong Eosu-gyeol, staying close while he cultivated allowed her to receive some of the benefits as well.
The evidence was clear: her once ordinary golden-brown fur was now turning into a subtle golden hue far faster than before. The white sections grew even whiter, giving her an increasingly mystical appearance.
Someday, she might truly earn the title of a spiritual beast worthy of an immortal cultivator.
Anyway.
After circulating the Hoe-won Gong for several hours and fully restoring his condition, Han Yujin brought out the temporary refinement stone cauldron he had prepared beforehand and arranged all the spiritual ingredients in order nearby. Naturally, the main ingredient—the fruit—was not omitted.
He used fire manipulation to create flames beneath the cauldron and heated it to the proper temperature.
By unfolding his spiritual eye technique in a specific manner, he could roughly gauge temperature without any tools. This too was a skill he had learned from the alchemy primer, so it was another debt of gratitude he owed Won Baekryeong.
When the temperature was right, he opened the bottle of spiritual wine and poured some of its contents in.
As the fragrant scent of boiling alcohol spread outward, Mu-yong, who had been nearby, immediately went into a frenzy.
“Hey!”
After sternly driving away the distracting creature, Han Yujin continued with the next step. He used the blending technique to thoroughly mash and add a small amount of an unremarkable, elongated spiritual ingredient.
After repeating similar actions a couple more times, the gently boiling contents in the cauldron took on a vivid green hue and began to feel slightly viscous.
Now!
Thinking this, he crushed one of the fruits and dropped it into the cauldron. Immediately afterward, a different, intensely tempting aroma rose thickly, and the color of the contents turned a deep red—the concentrated hue of the fruit.
After that, he added the remaining ingredients at regular intervals, in appropriate amounts and at the right timing. He also infused qi through his fingertips to create spell formulas as he added them.
Fwoosh…!
Each time a material and spell formula were added, bursts of light and qi waves erupted, creating strange reactions. At the same time, the blending technique evenly mixed the contents and kept them rotating.
The rotating mixture grew increasingly viscous and separated into exactly three masses, following the gentle curves inside the stone cauldron. Han Yujin was delighted that everything was proceeding exactly as he had calculated and focused even more intently.
He continued the refinement, occasionally adding more spell formulas.
At one point, he suddenly thought that the contents truly resembled human blood—red and brimming with vitality. He had not expected the color to become this vivid, but it could be proof that the medicinal power was being properly amplified.
It was right then.
Drip. Drop.
Bright red liquid could be seen falling in spots both inside the cauldron and all around it. Startled by the sudden foreign substance and the fishy smell that followed a moment later, Han Yujin jerked his head upward.
His eyes met it—hanging by the neck from a branch diagonally above.
Eyes that were entirely black, without the slightest trace of white. It was not only the eyes; the entire body was dyed in pitch-black darkness that flickered eerily. Yet the color of the blood dripping from it was painfully vivid.
It felt as if an eclipse had descended. The surroundings darkened rapidly as a thick, cloying scent of blood spread outward.
Its disheveled hair grew at a terrifying speed, merging with the surrounding darkness. Soon the area was filled with the rustling friction of hair moving like nightmare waves.
Wonhui…?
The shock was so great that no scream emerged. For an instant, he wondered if his heart had truly stopped.
Jjik—!
The cry from Mu-yong behind him snapped him awake as if from a dream.
The surrounding scene was perfectly normal.
The blood drops that had fallen, the thing that had been hanging from the branch diagonally ahead, the eclipse-like darkness, the thick bloody scent, and the wave of hair that had constricted the area with rustling friction—none of it existed.
On the branch diagonally above, there was only a single ordinary vine hanging naturally.
“F… fuck… what the hell was that?”
He spat out a curse—an instinctive reaction to resist the fear. At the same time, realization struck him.
A hallucination?
He looked down at the contents of the cauldron. The pause in rotation had left it on the verge of burning.
His heart, which he had thought had truly stopped, was now pounding wildly. Yet even in that state, Han Yujin’s first priority was to save the refinement. He immediately cast the necessary spells.
He formed several refinement spell formulas required for such emergencies and dropped them in, then rapidly rotated the mixture with the blending technique while quickly releasing excess heat. As he diligently salvaged the contents, he kept scanning his surroundings.
The hallucination had been so intense that he could not help it. At the same time, his mind raced.
Was there something among the spiritual ingredients I used that induces hallucinations?
The most suspicious culprit was the fruit serving as the main ingredient of this refinement. After all, the ability to enhance the five senses also meant it would affect them in some way.
And…
It had likely overlapped with the training side effects one must beware of before reaching the Dharma Soul stage. The very side effect that warned that as the soul’s Dharma Soul sublimation rate increased, one would experience all kinds of hallucinations and could even go mad.
Jjik—! Jjijik!
Having sensed her master’s unease through the Tongmyeong Eosu-gyeol, Mu-yong had already pressed herself tightly against his leg and was warily watching every direction.
Amusingly, that small warmth proved incredibly comforting. Without her, waking from the hallucination itself would have taken much longer. He might have completely ruined his first refinement.
I can’t take the Dharma Soul sublimation side effects lightly.
He had been so startled that he had not even thought to circulate the Clear Mind Technique. As his sublimation rate increased in the future, he would likely experience these hallucinations more frequently and more vividly.
Ironically, one of the ways to overcome such hallucinations was to further train the body and enhance the five senses—the very effect of the spiritual pill he was currently refining.
…Could this be considered a kind of vaccination?
The minimum requirement to reach the Dharma Soul stage was to sublimate at least forty percent of the soul. Only then could one generate Dharma Power.
Naturally, the higher the sublimation rate, the better. It not only granted outstanding ability at the Dharma Soul stage but also made the leap to Core Formation far more advantageous.
Reaching the Dharma Soul stage with only forty percent sublimated was essentially abandoning further growth.
That’s why I wanted to sublimate one hundred percent…
It seemed he would need far more thorough preparation than he had anticipated. At the same time, he felt the necessity of mastering the Clear Mind Technique so thoroughly that he could deploy it as naturally as breathing.
It was fortunate he had learned of this in advance. If he had only realized it after his condition worsened, he would have wasted a great deal of time.
Calming his startled heart, he continued the refinement.
Han Yujin successfully refined every single fruit without a single failure.
The first attempt, which came right after the hallucination, could be called somewhat lucky. The second and third attempts had been slightly dangerous, but he managed to salvage them using the practical tips he had learned from the Cheonwon Castle alchemy lecture. The remaining attempts went extremely smoothly, as if he had already grown accustomed to the process.
The completed spiritual pills were not consumed immediately. Instead, they underwent an aging process for about half a month. It would have been an unnecessary step with a proper pill furnace, but because he had used a temporary stone cauldron, the extra procedure was required to stabilize the medicinal power.
In the meantime, the spiritual wine had also aged well and was now ready to drink.
Normally, fruit wines—except for varieties like grape wine—only needed a few months of aging. Moreover, this Blood Tree Essence and Spiritual Wine could shorten the aging period further by occasionally adding spell formulas during the process.
While longer storage would deepen the aroma, it made little difference to the actual effects.
While devoting himself to both refinement and cultivation, he added one more routine to his schedule. He began patrolling a little farther out in search of spiritual materials that could help him resist hallucinations.
It would be ideal to find something like the fruits that could provide a fundamental counter by training the body and enhancing the five senses. However, such mid-grade spiritual fruits would not be easily discovered, so he searched for materials that could at least offer temporary relief.
Fortunately, his efforts bore fruit and he managed to find several. Among them, the easiest to gather was a certain nameless aquatic plant from the lake that carried rather unpleasant memories.
Thus, he began practicing water concealment techniques in earnest. Even if he did not need them immediately, he would require a large quantity of those plants in the near future.
I need to be able to engage those lizard bastards in underwater maneuver warfare.
Even without those specific plants, the lake itself was a treasure trove of resources for faster cultivation in the future. If he used the powerful aquatic creatures living there to steep the Blood Tree Essence and Spiritual Wine, the effects would be far superior.
With that thought in mind, Han Yujin was once again immersed in practice today. He was training in a pond on one side of his hideout, one large enough to swim in with some room to spare.
His form cut through the water at tremendous speed. The blue light gently sparkling around his body assisted his movements from every direction.
It did not merely aid movement—it also eliminated the need for breathing. As long as he had sufficient qi, he could endure for a long time without gills.
A moment later.
He shot out of the water like a flying fish and landed stably on the ground. Despite having been swimming underwater until just now, not a single drop clung to him.
The water concealment technique naturally included the water-repelling effect. Since the water-repelling technique itself was a basic spell so easy it could be considered foundational, water cultivators rarely ended up looking like drowned rats.
Mu-yong, who had been swimming and playing in the pond with him, emerged late and shook her entire body, spraying water droplets everywhere.
“You carefree little thing.”
Even though she had clearly enjoyed herself during practice, Han Yujin grumbled anyway and used the water-repelling technique to dry the useless creature.
After making a snack from the qi-rich fish he had caught on the way out and eating it, he recovered his condition with the Hoe-won Gong and sat comfortably inside his dwelling.
Before his eyes lay eighteen of the now fully aged fruit spiritual pills, glowing with a lustrous crimson light.
One per week should be perfect.
That would allow for a total of eighteen weeks—roughly four months—of cultivation.
In that much time, my skills should become more than enough to beat those lizard bastards underwater.
Thinking this, he picked up one of the spiritual pills. Without hesitation, he placed it in his mouth.