Qi Refining Stage, First Layer
Qi Refining Stage, First Layer
"What are you looking at, you crazy bitch."
It was important, so I said it twice. No, counting the inner voice, was it three times?
Since I was probably going to die anyway, I tried speaking up with confidence.
How could a woman who slices open a person's stomach to pull out a bead be normal?
Look at that. Even after getting cursed at, she isn't getting angry; she's just smiling.
"What a strange mortal. Do you live here in Withered Death Valley all by yourself?"
"Uh, I'm still single... I mean, unmarried."
"Puhu."
The woman floated toward me like a virgin ghost.
The fingers that had just lusted for human blood swept down my chest and collarbone.
"Don't do it. No. Please stop."
"Puhuhu. You don't seem to fear death at all, do you?"
Her words sound like a warning, but for some reason, she seems to be enjoying this more and more.
Did I pique her interest so I won't die? No, usually people like her enjoy giving hope before snatching it away.
"It's already fascinating to find a mortal in Withered Death Valley, but to see me and be completely unfazed... Could you be a senior hiding your true identity, or just an extraordinary mortal?"
She giggled and grabbed my head roughly.
"Shh, stay still. I'm giving you an opportunity. If you're lucky, perhaps you might even walk the Great Dao of Immortal Cultivation with me."
An unknown vibration flowed from her palm, sweeping through my entire body.
A thrilling sensation, like an electric shock on the tip of my tongue, wrapped around my whole body.
"Congratulations, kiddo. You have a Spiritual Root."
"Ah, really?"
Of course I'd have a Spiritual Root. The problem is I don't know what kind of Spiritual Root it is.
"A Quad Spiritual Root, a Miscellaneous Spiritual Root. A Quad Spiritual Root of Fire, Water, Wood, and Earth."
"Oh, is that a good thing?"
"Ah, a mortal wouldn't know about Spiritual Roots, would they?"
The woman explained while waving her finger like a private tutor giving a crash course.
Single Spiritual Root: Specialized in one attribute among the Five Elements.
Fast cultivation speed, high aptitude.
Extremely rare, referred to as the Heavenly Spiritual Root.
Dual Spiritual Root: Specialized in two attributes among the Five Elements.
Inferior to the Single Spiritual Root, but still a gifted genius.
Triple Spiritual Root: Specialized in three attributes among the Five Elements.
A prodigy, not a genius. Grouped together with the Dual Spiritual Root as a True Spiritual Root.
Quad Spiritual Root, Quintuple Spiritual Root.
Trash Miscellaneous Spiritual Roots. Fated to die while staring at the backs of others.
Mutated Spiritual Root, Special Spiritual Root.
Extremely rare, almost never witnessed in a lifetime.
"Your talent is just about enough to be my snack."
"Oh."
A Quad Spiritual Root user, to think I'm a Quad Spiritual Root user!
Well, even if she puts it like that, it doesn't really matter.
It would be nice if it were higher, though.
Even strategy guides say that if you get a Miscellaneous Spiritual Root, it's easier to just restart.
The unfortunate part is dying way too fast.
Still, since it's my first world, I tried to enjoy it passionately with love, but...
"Puhuhuhu! Don't worry. Why would I kill my servant?"
"Huh?"
When did I become a servant? What about my consent?
However, I didn't question it further. Since she said she'd spare me, I had to stay quiet.
"Right, now you've finally quieted down. Come with me. I'll show you a whole new world."
The woman pulled out a sword and mounted it.
Tied up in ropes, I hung from the hilt of the sword like a piece of luggage.
"Don't die on the way."
"Wait, no..."
"Huoong!"
I didn't even have time to voice my complaints.
Because in an instant, we soared high into the sky.
A sense of speed that felt like it was tearing my skin, the pressure of the sword hilt piercing through my abdomen, and an indescribably unpleasant ride quality mingled together to send me far beyond into infinite space.
"Heo-eok. Heo-eok."
I almost died.
If the woman hadn't pulled out a bottle and sprinkled a bizarre liquid on me, I might have started a new game right then and there.
"Look at you wriggling. You look like a bug, how cute."
"..."
Finding something hilarious, she poked me repeatedly with the sole of her foot.
What on earth is she thinking doing this?
Frowning, I looked up at her face.
Mmm, the most beautiful face I've ever seen in my life was right there.
'Well, that makes sense.'
Since she plucked me out of a mountain valley crawling with monsters, forgiving her unconditionally and worshipping her is only human nature.
"Thank you."
"My, I thought you'd start by swearing again."
You want me to? Got it.
"Thanks, master bitch. I thought I was gonna fucking die on the way here. Next time, please treat me like a human being, not luggage."
"Puhuhuhu!!!"
My master burst into side-splitting laughter.
As long as you enjoyed it, that's fine.
"Haa, despite your neat appearance, you have quite a witty streak."
"I don't know when I became a servant, but as long as you accept me, I will do my best to work for you."
"That's a good attitude. I needed at least one servant I could do whatever I wanted with anyway."
She turned around and lightly flicked her finger, causing a hole to form in the cliff.
"Come in, this is my cave abode. A place where immortal cultivators practice. Aside from Master, this is the first time anyone else has entered."
"I will take it as a family honor. Loyalty! Loyalty!"
Before entering, I glanced back.
Underneath the desolate sky, grand pavilions sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, standing in long rows.
'Sect.'
The organization of immortal cultivators my master belongs to.
Seeing how they have grown their power and maintained their scale in such barren land, it is definitely not a place for anyone in their right mind.
"Aren't you coming in~?"
"I'm sorry!"
I scrambled into the cave abode on all fours like a dog.
I was slightly surprised when a space much tidier than expected unfolded before me.
"What are you looking around like that for?"
"It's because it's so clean."
"Did you think I would live filthily?"
The tone of her voice chilled icy cold.
Instead of prostrating myself to beg for forgiveness, I acted brazenly.
"What else is there for a servant to do besides cleaning? Since there's no work for me, I was merely pondering what I should do to please Master."
"Hmm..."
Her gaze appraised me while pressing her finger gently against her lips.
After a moment, as if I had passed, she clapped her hands lightly.
"Good. Next time, our servant can do the cleaning. As long as it's clean like it is now, alright?"
"Just leave it to me. I won't leave a single ant behind."
"Do well. And..."
Her blood-cold eyes tilted with a smirk.
"Work hard. I hope I grow fond of you."
Does that mean she'll kill me if she doesn't feel fond of me?
Well, of course. There's no need to go out of her way to nurture someone who can't even do their job.
— Jeokryeon, I know you've returned! Where did Yun Changak go!
In an instant, the cave abode vibrated as if an earthquake had struck.
Master's expression slowly hardened.
I staggered and grabbed the ground.
Touching my ears, warm blood flowed out.
"Koollok!"
Vomiting blood from my mouth, I collapsed over it.
My limbs wouldn't move. My field of vision gradually grew blurry.
"...Trivial old geezer."
Spitting out a short curse, Master glanced at me and walked straight outside.
Hey, you should at least heal me before leaving.
'If you feel wronged, you should cultivate.'
To hover between life and death just from hearing a mere voice, a mortal's body is truly pitiful and trivial.
'I'll get my revenge later.'
Never forget even the smallest grudge.
They said that was the absolute basics of cultivation.
'But is no one saving me?'
If I die, will this world remain?
Right, didn't they say the generated world remains and only the character gets deleted?
"Fucking garbage game."
Forced character deletion upon death...
I let out a sigh and closed my eyes.
..........
.......
....
Bandeuk!
"I didn't die?"
I actually survived this. I rolled my eyes around.
My master was looking down at me with pathetic eyes.
"Are you awake? Sigh, a mortal really dies from such simple stimulation, doesn't he?"
"Ooh, ddu-ddai."
"...Did you injure your head?"
"No. I'm perfectly fine."
At my silly joke, she wore a faint smile and threw three books onto my chest.
"These are..."
"I was planning to give them to you depending on how you behaved, but seeing you collapse helplessly made me think twice. You need to be sturdy first to be of use for a long time, right?"
Azure Wood Qi Absorption Technique, Returning Meridian Qi-Nourishing Technique, Essentials of Cultivating the Dao.
For demonic cultivation arts, all three books had surprisingly clean names.
"You can read, right? I'll support you reasonably, so enter the path of immortal cultivation."
"Understood."
"Take this too."
She pressed a token into my hand.
On one side, 'Blood' was written, and on the other, 'Jeokryeon' was written.
"Bind."
"Euk!"
Along with the short activation phrase, a blood-colored aura flowed from the token and squeezed my heart.
"With this, the master-servant relationship is complete. I look forward to working with you, my servant."
"Of course, Jeokryeon-nim."
"Fufu."
Thus, I took my first step into cultivation, and she gained me.
Now that the conditions for practice were in place, there was no time to hesitate.
Jeokryeon didn't give me any separate guidance, but only if I proved my worth would she feel it was worthwhile to raise someone, wouldn't she?
I read through the three books one by one.
Azure Wood Qi Absorption Technique.
A cultivation technique focused on sensing and absorbing spiritual energy.
It was perfect for beginners.
Returning Meridian Qi-Nourishing Technique.
A cultivation technique that refines the body's structure using the dantian and heavenly spiritual energy to suit an immortal cultivator.
Essentials of Cultivating the Dao.
A book recording the universal common sense of immortal cultivators.
All three books were introductory texts to cultivation, far removed from the demonic path.
"Let's see, first..."
According to Essentials of Cultivating the Dao.
There are a total of five realms for immortal cultivators in Beomingye.
The first among them is the Qi Refining Realm.
The realm of refining Qi.
In other words, the core of Qi Refining is to gather as much spiritual energy as possible and shed the mortal body.
Perhaps because of that, while other realms were divided into sub-realms of early, middle, and late stages, Qi Refining alone was subdivided into twelve layers.
I held the murky spirit stone that Jeokryeon had tossed to me for cultivation in my arms, and recited the chant for the first layer of Qi Refining.
"Close your eyes and focus your mind, keep your heart open like a valley, spiritual energy exists between heaven and earth, feel it but do not forcefully chase it."
Close your eyes and focus your mind.
Keep your heart open like a valley.
Spiritual energy exists between heaven and earth.
Feel it but do not forcefully chase it.
Listening to the thumping of my heart, I also recited the chant for the Azure Wood Qi Absorption Technique.
"The beginning of cultivating the Dao lies in nourishing Qi. The foundation of nourishing Qi lies in cultivating the heart. If the heart is upright, Qi will flow smoothly. If Qi flows smoothly, the Dao will be accomplished."
The beginning of cultivating the Dao lies in nourishing Qi.
The foundation of nourishing Qi lies in cultivating the heart.
If the heart is upright, Qi will flow smoothly.
If Qi flows smoothly, the Dao will be accomplished.
Muttering the chants inwardly, I tried to sense the spiritual energy.
It wouldn't work on the first try. I'd probably have to cling to it for over a month of in-game time just to catch even a clue, right?
"Huoong."
"...?"
Defying my concerns, spiritual energy flowing out from the spirit stone burrowed beneath my skin.
Even though the amount was faint, a mortal's body struggled to bear it.
Grit my teeth, I guided the spiritual energy flowing through my blood vessels to my dantian as written in the Azure Wood Qi Absorption Technique.
Fortunately, without panicking at the sudden development, I was able to complete the formation of my dantian.
"Wait, this actually worked?"
Game start, Day 1.
Achieved Qi Refining Realm, First Layer.