Chapter 34: Takga
A swell of positive feelings toward Yeop Inyeong bubbled up in his chest, filling Yuseong with pride.
"Hehe, aren't you jealous?"
He lifted his chin, thrust out his chest, and shot Hwang Danha an arrogant look.
Her response was a soul attack. Just like last time, she pointed at his forehead with her finger, and a gray thread burrowed into his soul space.
"Gahhh!"
How the hell was he supposed to block this? He tried erecting a wall in his soul space, but the gray thread pierced right through it, stabbing at his consciousness.
"I... I'm sorry!"
The pain felt like thousands of needles piercing his skull, twisting his body involuntarily as he writhed on the floor.
"You should be. Consider this punishment for groping my hand without permission."
Hwang Danha inflicted a brief burst of agony before withdrawing the gray thread. As it pulled free from his soul space, the pain gradually faded.
A new goal had been added to his list: figure out how to block Hwang Danha's ridiculous soul attacks and maybe even counter them. To do that, he'd need to ramp up his soul training from now on.
"Thank you for forgiving me with just this."
He bowed his head deeply.
"If you have nothing else to say, get out. I've got work to do."
Yuseong cupped his fists toward Hwang Danha and left the Mibong Shop. As he was about to head back to his cave, he spotted Moyong Wol wandering the market street.
Perfect timing—he had something to ask her.
"Wol, got a question for you..."
Moyong Wol turned. "What's up?"
"Do you happen to know the pill recipe for the Spirit Command Pill?"
With the Spirit Command Grass already in hand, he had the main ingredient secured. If he could get the recipe, he could gather the auxiliary ingredients and refine the pill himself.
"No clue, but I can just ask my master."
As expected from the Medical Hall Lord's disciple.
"Could you do that and let me know?"
She smirked, lifting one corner of her mouth. "Oh? Trying to snag the Spirit Command Pill recipe just 'cause I'm your partner?"
...Partner, huh? Shouldn't that mean you'd just tell me for free?
"How about fifty low-grade spirit stones?"
"Hmm, I'd normally charge more, but since it's you, Yuseong, I'll cut you a deal."
He pulled fifty low-grade spirit stones from his spatial pouch and handed them over.
"You can tell me today, right?"
"Of course. I'm her favorite disciple, after all."
Moyong Wol shrugged. He'd been tempted to show off the turtle puppet, but held back in case it jeopardized getting the recipe.
"Yeah, yeah, lucky you, basking in your master's favor."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you mocking me right now?"
Without answering, he hopped on his flying artifact and fled. He heard her yelling something from behind, but brushed it off lightly and flew straight to his cave.
Surely she won't hold this against me and withhold the recipe? My partner's not that petty.
He checked his spirit herb field once, then entered the cave and began soul training. He alternated between qi circulation and soul exercises until nightfall, when Moyong Wol arrived outside with a transmission slip containing the Spirit Command Pill recipe.
The main ingredient was Spirit Command Grass over a hundred years old, with auxiliaries being Crimson Vine Ginseng (over a hundred years), Azure Spirit Mushroom (over a hundred years), and White Frost Fruit (over a hundred years).
Inspecting the color of his Spirit Command Grass, it met the recipe's century-old standard. The auxiliaries were the problem—even with the priciest main ingredient sorted, sourcing century-old versions of those wasn't easy.
The Mibong Shop might have one or two, if he was lucky. Tomorrow, he'd check there first, then hit the other shops. If no luck, he'd register requests and wait for sect members to sell them.
The next morning, he scoured the market streets for the Spirit Command Pill's auxiliaries. By good fortune, he snagged a 120-year-old Crimson Vine Ginseng from the Mibong Shop, paying with spirit stones.
The other shops yielded nothing for Azure Spirit Mushroom or White Frost Fruit. He left word at each: if they got century-old stock, send a servant to his cave to notify him.
While waiting for news, he continued cultivating in the cave. Thankfully, no heart demons appeared during his sessions—probably saving themselves for a realm breakthrough or a moment of crisis, like last time.
Over the next year in the cave, he trained diligently, practiced basic puppet techniques, and repaired his White Tiger Armor using the leftover demon beast hides. His soul grew larger than that of his peers at the same level through consistent practice.
With external missions drying up, most Unkak Sect disciples focused solely on cultivation in their dwellings. Even Qi Refining disciples' tasks shifted from mandatory to optional, letting everyone immerse themselves in training.
He steadily practiced controlling the turtle puppet—it now reacted swiftly to commands and could even make basic judgments in combat. But as a basic puppet, it seemed capped at a certain level of growth.
After a year with no word on the Azure Spirit Mushroom or White Frost Fruit, Yuseong considered venturing into the Gaun Mountains himself to hunt them down. A Rank 4 demon beast equivalent to early Core Formation no longer scared him, so delving into the northern depths for those herbs sounded feasible.
As he prepared to head out, a transmission talisman flew to the cave entrance.
"Yuseong, I need a small favor. Head to the Tak Clan in the southern Gaun Mountains and meet Tak Gyeong. Show her this token, and she'll give you the Purple Steel Crystal."
It was Yeop Inyeong's voice.
She'd helped him so much that he'd do any favor she asked, anytime. After a year cooped up cultivating, his body itched for action—perfect timing.
Exiting the cave, the monkey puppet handed him her token and a map. He stowed the token in his spatial pouch and unfurled the map.
Fifteen myriad li south from the Unkak Sect would bring him to the renowned Tak Clan in the Gaun Mountains. No time to waste—he mounted his flying artifact and shot southward.
The task was simple: meet Tak Gyeong, show the token, collect the Purple Steel Crystal. He had no idea what it was for exactly, but it felt like something for puppets.
The Tak Clan controlled massive spirit stone mines in the southern Gaun Mountains, amassing immense wealth as one of the great secular clans. They lured rogue cultivators with riches and offered Nascent Soul experts the position of Guest Elder to recruit them.
Originally, the Tak Clan was one of the three great secular clans of the Dayeon Kingdom, at the southern edge of the Gaun Mountains. They were the strongest, with the most skilled cultivators.
But as their power grew, they began looking down on other clans and sects. The two rival clans allied with the Dayeon Kingdom's sects to pressure them. Unable to withstand the mounting suppression, the Tak Clan withdrew from the kingdom and sought refuge in the Gaun Mountains' sects.
The sects accepted them in exchange for the Tak Clan guarding against invasions from the Bandae Kingdom and Dayeon Kingdom to the south, plus a cut of the mine profits.
Having never visited, Yuseong wondered what it looked like. Surrounded by grand walls like Dancheol Fortress's Black Iron Citadel? With their wealth, it was bound to boast ornate halls and massive protective formations.
Who was this Tak Gyeong that Yeop Inyeong wanted the Purple Steel Crystal from? A close friend? Her, so a woman. As he flew over cloud-shrouded peaks in his boat-like artifact, he imagined what she might look like.
A week into the southward flight, a massive roar echoed from beyond the mountains. Someone battling a demon beast, or cultivators fighting each other.
He could detour easily, but curiosity won out. Stowing his flying artifact in his spatial pouch, he crept toward the noise, cloaking his presence with the Silver Sleep Technique and weaving through the trees.
Scaling one ridge, he spotted two women clashing in the sky: one in a crimson robe, the other in ornate palace garb. Both at early Core Formation, evenly matched.
The crimson-robed woman deployed a protective barrier from a red pearl artifact while firing blood-red beams from her mouth. The bloody rays marked her as a Blood Shadow Sect cultivator.
Something familiar about her... had he seen her before?
The palace-garbed woman blocked the blood beams with a blue shield from a token-shaped artifact, then countered with a seal artifact. Forming hand seals, she enlarged the seal and hurled it at the crimson-robed foe.
The crimson woman layered multiple barriers, but the seal shattered them.
Clang!
The seal's power was immense—the crimson woman looked moments from being crushed.
In her desperation, she pulled a palm-sized blood-red crystal from her spatial pouch and swallowed it whole.
That's... a Blood Light Stone!
She was the Blood Shadow Sect woman from the auction who'd won the Blood Light Stone.
Her robe tore away, revealing her naked body in an instant. Yuseong swallowed hard, his loins stirring at her stunning figure.
Wings a zhang wide sprouted from her back, horns grew from her forehead, and she transformed like a flying demon beast.
Astonishingly, her cultivation surged from ordinary early Core Formation to its peak.
Now beast-transformed, she caught the descending seal with both hands.
The palace woman fired a golden beam at the sight.
Boom!
Taking the blast head-on, the transformed woman suffered no damage. The Blood Light Stone had beastified her, hardening her body immensely.