The Refining of the Dragon Heart
The primordial forest stretched upward with trees so enormous they seemed to pierce the heavens.
Because the sunlight was blocked by the dense canopy, the area carried a faintly dim atmosphere. Yet for Han Yujin, the refiner, the most vivid environmental factor was the overwhelmingly rich concentration of spiritual energy.
More than ten times that of Earth, and over three times that of the Great Rift.
This is it. This is exactly it.
Marveling once again, he released Mu-yong to roam freely. The moment her paws touched the ground, she darted around in wild excitement, clearly thrilled to be back in a place that felt like home after so long.
Having reached the Initiation Stage, her speed was impressively fast. The golden-brown bundle of fur zipped through the area like a flashing comet.
“Is this your version of a triumphant return? Are you gonna get mobbed by fans the second you meet your kin?”
Jjik!Jjijik—!
“With endless handshakes and pretty females swarming all over you… Oh, right. You’re female, aren’t you?”
Jjijik! Jjik! Jjik—!
“Don’t even think about meeting any of those sleazy males. Absolutely not until you reach the Nascent Soul Stage and can undergo humanoid transformation!”
In truth, if she ever did achieve that transformation, he doubted he would allow anyone near her regardless of who they were. Still, he delivered the warning with absolute authority.
After letting Mu-yong run around to her heart’s content for a considerable time, he finally scooped her up and headed toward the den where those wolf-like beasts resided.
Maybe I should build a separate eastern wing near the lake?
The thought crossed his mind, but he decided it could wait. Staying in a familiar location for now seemed perfectly fine.
As he moved, his thoughts turned to the Dragon Heart and why he had stubbornly insisted on using the External Core Method with it.
In the cultivation world, True Dragons comparable to the fantasy dragons certainly existed. They were among the highest-ranking species even among the Yao race.
The reason he hadn’t considered them was simple: they were, without exception, part of the Yao race.
That’s right.
The True Dragons of the cultivation world were undeniably Yao.
And every Yao race descended from the blood of a mythical, abstract being known as the Heavenly Yao.
Like the progenitor of all youkai, I suppose.
The youkai naturally claimed their ancestor, the Heavenly Yao, stood on equal footing with the Dao Ancestor. Cultivators, of course, firmly asserted that while the Heavenly Yao was indeed powerful, it was clearly beneath the Dao Ancestor.
Yet even the proud cultivators—who were inherently hostile toward the Yao race—spoke of the Heavenly Yao in the same breath as the Dao Ancestor. That alone proved just how supremely exalted the being was.
The crucial point here was this:
A high racial value among the Yao meant they had inherited a thicker portion of the Heavenly Yao’s blood. And that blood was inherently incompatible with cultivators.
Many of the side effects of the External Core Method ultimately stem from the fact that the core comes from a Yao beast whose inner core is tainted with the Heavenly Yao’s blood.
Those side effects must have been incredibly troublesome and difficult to resolve, or the Internal Core Method would never have been created.
In other words, even if a dragon and a True Dragon were on the same level, the dragon is by far the better choice for me.
And if the opponent had been a Yao True Dragon, he could not have expected anything like the contract he’d made with Casarnox. The relationship between youkai and cultivators was simply too irredeemably hostile.
By the time his thoughts reached that point, he had already arrived at the wolf-like beasts’ den.
He lured them out using the same feigned-weakness tactic as before. Meanwhile, his mind was already calculating exactly where to build what within the den.
Dealing with the wolf-like beasts was as easy as hunting monsters inside a Great Rift. In short, it was no different from pulling weeds.
The fact that even Mu-yong had spat out a few strands of Golden Light Sword Qi to take down a couple of them said everything.
Creating a living space along with the necessary daily facilities and tools was finished in no time. Since he had lived here for a year or two before, he even improved the layout to be more refined than last time.
In less than half a day, every preparation for training was complete, ending with the careful placement of the Illusory Maze Formation.
Jjik! Jjik—!
Mu-yong looked utterly delighted, as if this place truly was her real home. She slipped out of her master’s arms and headed straight for the lake, clearly intending to hunt the spiritually rich fish with her own power.
If I leave her alone, she’ll wipe out the entire fish population.
The spiritual energy contained in the fish here no longer offered much help for his training. Still, occasionally catching and eating fish right beside his residence had a certain elegant charm and was quite the delicacy. He made a mental note to moderate her behavior later.
The Bloodwood Essence and Spirit Wine would be perfect if I soak them with those lake monsters… Ah, and I should stop by those Planet Escape guys to collect some fruit.
Having already reached the Dharma Soul Stage, the fruit probably wouldn’t have a dramatic effect anymore. Even so, it would still provide some benefit. It would be a waste to pass it up.
I’ll go tomorrow.
There was still time. Right now, there was something far more important he wanted to try immediately.
He took out the Dragon Heart that had been quietly sleeping inside his storage belt. For quite a long time, he simply stared at it in silent admiration.
Honestly, just looking at it made him happy. It was that kind of treasure.
But he couldn’t keep staring at it forever.
Closing his eyes, he attempted to connect with the Dragon Heart and released its concealment.
In the next instant.
The Dragon Heart, having recovered its original overwhelming presence, swelled until it was large enough to require both arms to embrace. The spiritual energy waves it emitted were so powerful they felt almost excessive even within this spiritually dense primordial forest.
“Mmm…”
He remained still for a moment before a sudden concern occurred to him.
Although he had explored quite a lot of the area during his previous long stay here, he had no way of knowing exactly how far the Dragon Heart’s aura would spread.
It had already been proven in reality that even the Illusory Maze Formation could not conceal this aura. Even if he embedded spirit stones to activate it, that would only increase the formation’s defensive and offensive power. It would barely affect its concealment ability.
Even with my knowledge of formations, there’s nothing better than the Illusory Maze Formation right now.
If he had the right materials in sufficient quantity, the story might be different. But in his current state, this was the best he could do.
It’s still better than nothing. Since this place is already rich in spiritual energy, the aura might be somewhat masked.
And even if something came to attack, he could simply deal with it properly.
If he failed to deal with it?
He could die first and then come up with countermeasures afterward.
Dismissing his worries, he closed his eyes and began operating the special technique known as the Three Realms Harmony Art.
The Three Realms Harmony Art was not a method for improving one’s cultivation. As its name suggested, it was a special technique that resolved disharmony between the practitioner and a specific target through three distinct stages, enabling spiritual assimilation.
This process was sometimes briefly referred to as “refining.”
It was mainly used to make the best possible use of treasures or higher-grade spiritual objects. Occasionally, it was also employed to partially restore the performance of spiritual treasures whose power had diminished after leaving their original owner’s hands.
It was likewise used in the process of creating what was called an External Incarnation. After all, there were few things that required spiritual assimilation as much as a clone.
And, like now, it can be quite useful for the External Core Method as well.
Simply completing the spiritual assimilation in advance would resolve a great number of side effects.
Moreover, because this Dragon Heart had not been stolen but legitimately obtained through a fair trade, it was already faintly connected to him even without refinement. That connection had allowed him to conceal its presence and perform other feats.
If I successfully complete the refinement, it might feel as if it had always been my heart from the very beginning.
In that case, even though it was an External Core Method, it might allow him to reach Core Formation with the same orthodox feeling as the Internal Core Method. It was truly a dream come true.
With rising anticipation, he began to operate the Three Realms Harmony Art in earnest.
Since this was the first time he was using the technique seriously, he was naturally quite inexperienced. However, with his transcendent comprehension and the intelligence of a Dharma Soul Stage cultivator, there was no chance he would make a fatal mistake.
And so, for a long time, he remained as still as if he were asleep, quietly operating the Three Realms Harmony Art as he attempted to refine the Dragon Heart.
Mu-yong, having finished playing in the lake, wandered around nearby for a while but did not disturb her master. She simply contentedly gnawed on a small fish she had caught entirely with her own strength and rolled around happily.
Then, at some point, as the sun was beginning to set.
Mu-yong, who had been lying languidly, suddenly perked up her ears and sprang to her feet. At the same time, Han Yujin frowned, stopped operating the Three Realms Harmony Art, and opened his eyes.
“…Mu-yong, come to me. Quickly.”
The words had barely left his mouth as he concealed the Dragon Heart and stored it away.
Whoosh—!
The Illusory Maze Formation he had set up was torn apart like mere scraps of paper.
Damn it…
The moment the uninvited guest he had been worried about actually appeared, his mood soured far more than he had expected.
What made it worse was that the aura emanating from the intruder was at least at the Core Formation level—no, mid-to-late Core Formation.
Well… with that level of power, it makes sense that it smelled this from far away.
He had spent quite a long time in this primordial forest before, yet he had never sensed the existence of such a creature. That meant it had to be something that lived far beyond the range he had explored.
The very fact that it had still managed to find him proved just how capable it was.
The creature that slowly stepped through the remnants of the torn formation resembled a blackish-brown bear overall.
However.
The silver metallic spikes protruding from various parts of its body, including its back, the long tail covered in equally metallic club-like spikes, and above all, the yellow aura that endlessly emerged and crumbled around its body—these things made its ferocity and extraordinariness impossible to miss.
It approached very slowly, as if dealing with a mouse trapped in a cage, yet clearly wary that the mouse might escape by some unknown method.
Using Earth Evasion against something that radiates earth-attribute energy would be dangerous… Should I use Wind Evasion instead?
While he pondered with Mu-yong held in his arms.
—Kiiiiaaaaaak…!!
A massive, piercing cry rang out from the sky.
When he looked up, he saw a pteranodon-like monster with two pairs of wings circling in the air. Though its colors were as brilliant as a parrot’s, it was clearly a dangerous beast.
Another flying dragon?
It reminded him of the battle at the Heavenly Origin Star. Of course, the creature that had appeared now seemed to be only at the Core Formation level, but the fact that it was clearly aiming for his Dragon Heart made it even more dangerous.
At that very moment.
Perhaps panicked by the appearance of an unexpected competitor, the bear-like creature suddenly accelerated and charged forward. The moment it began its charge, it was already upon him with terrifying speed.
He urgently activated Lightning Evasion. A flash of light and a thunderous crack erupted as his figure reappeared a good distance away.
But the moment he appeared, countless hard spikes—whether rock or metal, he couldn’t tell—shot up from the ground, forming a narrow prison-like structure that surrounded him.
—Krrroooaaar…!!
With an earth-shattering roar, the bear’s front paw came crashing down, smashing everything in its path. His attempt to use Earth Evasion was helplessly blocked by the opponent’s overwhelming power that formed the prison.
In that fleeting instant.
Mu-yong struggled fiercely in his arms, broke free, and threw herself in front of the incoming bear paw. She unleashed the Golden Light Radiance Art he had taught her through their Tongmyeong Eosu-gyeol to its fullest extent.
Naturally.
In the next moment, she was torn to pieces without even a scream, scattering a bit of blood. Han Yujin met a similar fate as all his defensive measures were crushed and the world was swallowed by darkness.
In that darkness where every sense had vanished.
All senses lost. Death confirmed.
The familiar mystical silver characters floated before him.
Han Yujin stared at those silver letters with an expression that had become utterly grim. He didn’t even know when he had returned to his normal state.