WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
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◈ Carefree Tale of Cultivation ◈
Chapter 7: Azure Forge Pavilion (2)
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“Ha ha, what a sight to show you when we first meet.”
With a cheerful laugh, the young man who had crawled out of the ground dusted off his clothes.
With his short, shaggy hair and smiling face, he looked exactly like a country farmer after being covered head to toe in dirt.
Yet unlike someone who looked ready to take an ox out to the fields, the spiritual power he gave off was immense.
‘Qi Refining Level 12? The very peak of late Qi Refining, just before Foundation Establishment?’
Jin Hyeon was greatly shocked as he sensed Myeong Seokho’s cultivation.
He immediately lowered his head.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Myeong!”
Myeong Seokho looked blank for a moment at Jin Hyeon’s greeting.
“Ah, forget it. You don’t need to be so formal.”
He waved his hands as though he could not bear it.
“I grew up on the streets, so I can’t get used to pointless formalities like that. My junior sister is more than enough of that around me, so just speak comfortably.”
Jin Hyeon was quietly surprised by his easygoing attitude, which suited his appearance.
“Understood... Senior Brother Myeong.”
Myeong Seokho smiled as though he were happier with Jin Hyeon’s more relaxed tone.
“Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, I’ll explain what you’ll be doing.”
Myeong Seokho led Jin Hyeon away from the tiled house and toward the forest at the foot of the peak.
The small forest seemed artificially made, as it was surrounded by a fence.
The trees filling it also differed from those growing in the surrounding mountains.
The trees had red bark and gray leaves, and they were very short.
Even a jump in place would be enough to reach the leaves at their tops.
From the spiritual power he sensed in the trees, Jin Hyeon knew they were a kind of spirit wood that had grown while absorbing spiritual qi.
“This is called red-barked grayleaf wood. It’s mainly used as firewood to strengthen the flames during refining.”
After the brief introduction, Myeong Seokho crossed the fence and entered the trees.
Jin Hyeon followed while studying the red-barked grayleaf wood with interest. Its leaves swayed in the wind, carrying a faint burnt smell.
Soon, the two reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. The red-barked grayleaf wood surrounding it was taller than the trees near the entrance.
Several stumps also remained around the clearing, suggesting that mature red-barked grayleaf wood was harvested here.
“You’ll be helping with many things here, but you can’t learn everything in one day. So today, you’ll first learn how to harvest, process, and prepare red-barked grayleaf wood.”
Myeong Seokho lightly clapped his hands and took a silver sword from his storage pouch.
“Ah, you have a magical artifact, right?”
“Yes. Though it’s only a low-grade Scorching Sun Sword.”
Jin Hyeon took a short sword with red wave patterns from his storage pouch.
The sect had issued its disciples five items in total: Essentials of Cultivation, a storage pouch, five spirit stones, a dharma robe, and this Scorching Sun Sword.
Jin Hyeon had never felt the need to buy another magical artifact because he already had the Scorching Sun Sword.
“That’s more than enough. Now watch carefully. If you look near the lower part of the red-barked grayleaf wood...”
Myeong Seokho approached a nearby tree, placed his sword against it, and began explaining.
Jin Hyeon listened carefully. For quite some time, he cut, processed, and prepared the red-barked grayleaf wood according to Myeong Seokho’s instructions.
* * *
“Yes, that’s it. Just smoke them without letting them burn.”
Myeong Seokho nodded beside Jin Hyeon, who was smoking red-barked grayleaf wood leaves over a fire using a grill-like tool.
Jin Hyeon turned the grill for a while, then immediately removed it from the fire when black spots began to appear on the gray leaves.
“Oh, you’re good for your first time.”
“That’s because Senior Brother taught me so well.”
Jin Hyeon modestly replied, scratching the back of his neck.
The more he spoke with Myeong Seokho, the harder it was to believe that he was a Qi Refining Level 12 cultivator.
He had the air of an older neighborhood brother Jin Hyeon had spent time with as a child, so Jin Hyeon quickly relaxed around him.
“Eh, I barely have any experience teaching anyone. Besides, people hardly ever come here.”
Jin Hyeon brought up something he had long wondered about.
“By the way, Senior Brother, this is a branch of the Azure Forge Pavilion. Why are there so few people here?”
“Hm?”
Myeong Seokho tilted his head, then nodded in understanding.
“Ah, you’ve only recently joined the sect, so it makes sense you wouldn’t know. The Azure Forge Pavilion is indeed responsible for artifact refinement within the sect, but large-scale production and mobilizing many disciples are handled only by the main pavilion and the other two branches.”
He spun the sword in his hand as he gathered his thoughts.
“Our master has been at late Foundation Establishment for quite a long time and is considered one of the sect’s foremost candidates for Core Formation. But Master is more absorbed in artifact refinement than cultivation, so the elders accommodated them by setting up this place where they can focus on artifact refinement and forging.”
Core Formation.
A realm that received the treatment of one of the sect’s few elders, a realm that could truly be considered high-level in the cultivation world.
It was an impossibly distant matter for Jin Hyeon, who was still at Qi Refining Level 5. That only made it more interesting.
“Master usually dislikes noise, so they rarely take on service disciples. But Master has been very busy lately, which is why you were able to come here.”
“Then I was lucky.”
“That’s right, ha ha!”
Perhaps because he had opened up, Myeong Seokho kept rambling about all sorts of things whenever there was a chance while teaching Jin Hyeon the chores he would handle at the Azure Forge Pavilion.
He spoke of cultivation at late Qi Refining and his experiences in the cultivation world beyond the sect. Jin Hyeon listened intently, but Myeong Seokho also frequently badmouthed Martial Uncle Ha and complained about his junior sister, whom Jin Hyeon had not even met yet. It left Jin Hyeon rather uncomfortable.
Still, whether Jin Hyeon felt awkward or not, Myeong Seokho himself felt refreshed.
It was partly because he finally had someone to talk to after so long. More importantly, unlike the other disciples, Jin Hyeon treated him comfortably.
Myeong Seokho had been an orphan wandering the streets before his master took him in and led him onto the path of cultivation. Even now, he disliked the rigid atmosphere of the sect and the cultivation world.
Yet this junior brother who had come today carried the easy air of someone who had lived in a world where people were equal, so they got along well.
And because he was impulsive by nature, he forgot his master’s warning and took a sword from his storage pouch.
“You learn faster than I expected, and I was getting bored anyway, so I’ll show you something fun.”
Jin Hyeon, who had been sorting the ores on the ground, felt an inexplicable unease at those words.
The sword had an exceptionally long blade and a red, crystal-like gleam.
It had no particularly distinctive patterns or features, but the spiritual power it gave off differed from that of other magical artifacts.
“Is that perhaps a spirit artifact?”
A spirit artifact was a grade above a magical artifact. Unlike magical artifacts used by Qi Refining-stage cultivators, spirit artifacts were used by Foundation Establishment-stage cultivators.
Naturally, the spiritual power required to operate one was based on a Foundation Establishment-stage cultivator’s capacity, so ordinary Qi Refining-stage cultivators could rarely use one even if they obtained it.
Furthermore, in this world where mass production had not flourished, spirit artifacts were naturally scarce. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators could only obtain a few useful spirit artifacts.
The flying vessel Jin Hyeon had ridden here was also, strictly speaking, a spirit artifact. However, this was his first time seeing a spirit artifact held in someone’s hand from up close.
“That’s right. This one is called the Divided Flame Sword. It’s my masterpiece.”
He had made a spirit artifact himself?
Jin Hyeon, who had been staring at the sword, asked in surprise.
“Senior Brother is still in Qi Refining. How did you make a spirit artifact...”
“Because I’m a genius.”
“...”
Jin Hyeon was left speechless by that utterly confident answer.
Of course, anyone who reached Qi Refining Level 12 at his age and made a spirit artifact while still in Qi Refining deserved to be called a genius.
‘Still, wouldn’t most people at least say something modest?’
“Well, Master did teach me diligently, too. So, what do you think? Isn’t it impressive?”
Jin Hyeon could only nod at the sight of the sword giving off a faint red aura.
He had been interested in magical artifacts from the moment he first saw the flying vessel, and the Divided Flame Sword, a spirit artifact superior even to those, seemed beautiful to him.
“Then I should show you how it’s used. Move away from there.”
Jin Hyeon obediently rose from the pile of ores and stepped behind Myeong Seokho.
“I’m not as skilled a sword cultivator as Martial Uncle Gwang, but I’m not bad.”
“Martial Uncle Gwang...?”
Jin Hyeon recalled the scholar-dressed cultivator who had first selected him to test his spirit root.
“Ah, so you’ve met him, too? Well, Martial Uncle Gwang often handles bringing in disciples. Anyway, I never properly learned swordsmanship like Martial Uncle Gwang did, but I picked up basic sword arts while making the Divided Flame Sword. Watch closely.”
Myeong Seokho swung the sword a few times as if getting a feel for it, then slowly lowered his stance and took an opening posture.
‘He doesn’t look all that different from Uncle Baek Woo.’
As someone from a martial arts clan, Jin Hyeon could roughly judge a person’s martial skill just by their stance.
If Senior Brother Myeong faced his uncle Baek Woo, a Peak Realm martial artist, with nothing but swords, his uncle would probably hold a slight advantage.
Still, because cultivators’ spiritual qi strengthened not only their bodies but even their thoughts, Senior Brother Myeong, who had never properly studied swordsmanship, was already at the peak of first-rate martial artists by martial world standards.
“Fuuuu...”
As Myeong Seokho held the Divided Flame Sword, gathered spiritual qi, and settled into his stance, Jin Hyeon suddenly recalled something from a few hours earlier.
‘Come to think of it, Martial Uncle Ha was definitely scolding Senior Brother Myeong earlier for using spirit artifacts carelessly...’
“Take this! Myriad Blossoms in Rain!”
A technique with a strangely familiar name unfolded, except it used fire instead of flowers.
The moment the Divided Flame Sword was swung, it split into dozens of small swords, true to its name, and covered the sky.
Like tiny firebirds taking flight all at once, the sight made Jin Hyeon forget his concerns and marvel.
At Myeong Seokho’s gesture, the small swords wreathed in flames poured down upon their target.
KABOOM!
A huge boulder was reduced to powder with an explosive blast.
Not only the boulder, but even the surrounding ground was torn up and scorched. It resembled a missile bombardment from Jin Hyeon’s previous life.
If a Qi Refining-stage cultivator wielding a spirit artifact could produce this much power, what would it be like if a Foundation Establishment-stage cultivator used one?
And if spirit artifacts were this powerful, just how strong were the dharma treasures used by Core Formation-stage cultivators?
Jin Hyeon was glad that he had come to the Azure Forge Pavilion.
Someday, he too would make magical artifacts and spirit artifacts with such incredible power. If he made a good impression on this good-natured senior brother, he might even receive guidance from him.
“Aaaagh!”
At that moment, a scream shattered Jin Hyeon’s happy thoughts.
“Master’s tea tree! Water, water!”
Myeong Seokho had already recalled the Divided Flame Sword and was running somewhere.
Seeing the direction he was running, Jin Hyeon began running as well.
A tree planted near the tiled house where Martial Uncle Ha lived had been cut by one of the small swords that had escaped Myeong Seokho’s control, and it was burning.
As he helped Myeong Seokho draw water from the well, Jin Hyeon decided to reconsider whether he should receive guidance from this senior brother.
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