WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 103
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"All of them?"
The red-furred merchant swallowed.
'This is the one who drove Lord Heukgak knee-deep into the ground earlier... How much should I even ask...?'
The greater demon before them was terrifying. Unlike when bargaining with the other demons in the market, the merchant found themself bowing deeply without thinking.
"Most have reached the second tier, and all the others are past the middle of the first tier... Some of them know how to handle medicinal ingredients or repair artifacts..."
"So how much?"
"If you take them all, I'll let you have them for three thousand mid-grade spirit stones."
Yi Hyeon examined the people again.
The collars around their necks suppressed their energy, but the merchant did not seem to have lied about their cultivation levels. One man, however, could not straighten his right leg properly.
When Yi Hyeon's gaze lingered on them, the merchant hurried to add, "With timely treatment, they shouldn't have any trouble working."
Rather than answer, Yi Hyeon opened his storage pouch.
Thud. Clatter.
Swords, sabers, small shields, and rings piled up on the stone slab. A box of alchemical pill bottles and bundles of talismans landed beside them.
These were the items he had decided to sell from among the spoils taken from the Nammyeong cultivators. He had already set aside anything he intended to use, so he only needed to take out the remaining goods in their bundles.
"Do you take things like these too?"
The merchant's eyes widened.
After a quick glance at Yi Hyeon, they carefully picked up the nearest flying sword. Running a nail along its blade, the merchant nodded.
"I do. But... I'll need to check what kinds of alchemical pills these are."
"I see. Everything else was used by the human race too. Will that be a problem?"
"An artifact only needs the right owner. Quite a few customers look for talismans like these as well."
The merchant pushed two alchemical pill bottles aside.
"These medicines are made specifically for the human race, so we can't take them carelessly. I'll have to pass them on to a merchant who trades with the human race. I can't offer you what they'd sell for in a human cultivator market."
"You can value them a little lower. Just take the whole lot."
Only then did the merchant's hands begin moving a little faster.
While examining the items one by one, they seemed to forget their fear for a moment.
They studied the patterns on the talismans, opened alchemical pill bottles to smell the medicine, and sent a little demonic power into several magical implements to check that their restrictions were intact.
Yi Hyeon did not pressure the merchant, allowing plenty of time for the appraisal.
Glancing between the iron post nearby and Yi Hyeon standing before it, the merchant took even greater care than usual.
After a while, they set down a small bronze mirror.
"If you include this, that will cover the price."
"Very well."
He might have earned a few more spirit stones by selling the items separately at cultivator markets. But carrying all this clutter from shop to shop and bargaining over it would have been a bother.
It felt refreshing to clear out the miscellaneous goods that had been taking up space in his storage pouch.
While Yi Hyeon closed the pouch, the merchant unfastened the chains from the iron post and brought out twelve jade tokens. There was also a small jade slip explaining how to control and release the restrictions.
"Please take these."
Finally, the merchant produced an old bundle.
"These are their belongings. There's nothing worth paying for, but there are records belonging to the ones who claim to know various crafts. You might find them useful."
Yi Hyeon put away the jade tokens and the bundle.
Only then did some of the twelve people seem to realize they had been sold. They tensed.
"You bought quite a few humans."
Dam Ak approached and looked down at the twelve.
As his enormous, nine-chi frame cast a shadow over them, one nearby cultivator drew a sharp breath.
"What are you going to use them for?"
"I'm thinking of having them work on the mountain grounds."
"Hmm. Even when I bring humans home, I don't have much work for them."
A potbellied greater demon drinking nearby laughed.
"Raising them on spirit herbs isn't a bad idea either. It gets rid of the off smell."
The blood drained from the people's faces.
Master Ho adjusted their jade spectacles and moved a little closer to Yi Hyeon.
"Are you planning to eat them?"
"No."
Yi Hyeon was bewildered. Why did they think he was such a vicious creature?
"Quite right. Eating just anything will upset your stomach."
Dam Ak nodded too.
Once again, Yi Hyeon was reminded that these were demons.
'You beasts! Taking human form doesn't get rid of your savagery...'
While the conversation continued, the white-robed mountain lord watched Yi Hyeon and the human cultivators from a short distance away, vertical pupils fixed on them.
* * *
After returning to Cheongseok Mountain, Yi Hyeon brought the twelve people into a guest room in the cave abode he had prepared aboveground.
As his escape light carried them over the forest, they had been too afraid to speak. All they could do was look down at the endless sea of trees and at Yi Hyeon's back ahead of them.
Things were much the same after they reached the guest room.
A young cultivator sitting near the door glanced at the lake outside, then quickly looked away.
This was the home of a fourth-tier greater demon.
Even without their collars, they would not have dared try to escape the notice of a being equal to a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Yi Hyeon checked the jade slip from the merchant again, then raised the first jade token.
"Stay still."
As he sent his spiritual sense into it according to the spoken incantation, a pattern of tangled threads appeared inside the token.
The middle-aged cultivator's shoulders twitched.
Yi Hyeon examined the energy connecting the token to the collar and released the restrictions one by one. Only after the bonds around the cultivator's primordial spirit loosened did a small sound come from the collar.
Click.
The heavy collar fell to the floor.
The middle-aged cultivator felt around their neck.
"...?"
"Next."
Yi Hyeon released the others' restrictions in the same way.
When the pattern inside the last jade token scattered, only restrained breathing remained in the guest room.
Yi Hyeon gathered the tokens and collars in one place, then gave the cultivators water and Fasting Pills. He also gave recovery medicine to the man with the injured leg and the female cultivator with a severe wound on her arm.
They were all too tense to reach for the medicine.
"These medicines are safe for you to take. You can examine them first."
The middle-aged cultivator carefully accepted an alchemical pill bottle.
After smelling the medicine and examining the pill's surface, their expression changed slightly. They passed the bottle to the female cultivator beside them and picked up a bowl of water with both hands.
Only then did the others begin to move.
For a while, the sound of drinking filled the room.
...
Once they had calmed down a little, Yi Hyeon asked their names, where they came from, and how they had been captured.
Five had been active in the Seo Kingdom, while seven said they came from the Hwa Kingdom to its north.
Most had been captured while trying to gather rare spirit plants along the border between the Seo Kingdom and the Vast Verdant Forest Sea.
As Yi Hyeon listened, he opened the bundle the merchant had handed over with the slaves.
Anything valuable had already been removed.
All that remained were worn robes, small tools, a few books, and jade slips.
"Take your belongings."
The people glanced at one another.
Only when Yi Hyeon pushed the bundle a little closer did someone reach out. It was the middle-aged cultivator whose collar he had removed first.
As they picked up a well-worn jade slip, Yi Hyeon asked, "What's recorded in that?"
"Records about medicinal ingredients."
"May I have a quick look?"
The middle-aged cultivator hurriedly offered the jade slip, and Yi Hyeon sent his spiritual sense inside.
Images of several medicinal herbs and instructions for processing them passed before him. The records were ordinary, but he paused at a section on handling poisonous herbs.
'Huh?'
"Where did you learn this?"
"At the Yeonha Sect, in the western Seo Kingdom..."
The human cultivators did not dare lie before a fourth-tier greater demon. If they upset him and he used the Soul-Searching Art, they might be left mindless. Their best choice was to answer every question obediently.
'The Yeonha Sect?'
A small valley with a Tier 2 spirit vein, a courtyard where medicinal ingredients were dried, and disciples' homes built in rows along the slopes came to Yi Hyeon's mind.
It was the sect base founded by Song Gye-myeong, Bang Je-un, Ak Mu-gu, and Mae So-gun, who had left with him when the Danso Sect fell long ago.
By his last visit, only their names and memorial tablets remained in the ancestral hall. He himself had taught the sect master there this method of processing medicinal ingredients.
"Is the sect base still in that valley?"
Confusion spread across the middle-aged cultivator's face.
Yi Hyeon returned the jade slip.
"I don't mean any harm. A human cultivator who helped me when I was young said they came from the Yeonha Sect."
A little startled, the middle-aged cultivator suddenly showed a glimmer of hope.
"Yes. As far as I know, our sect base has never moved."
"It sounds like they're doing well."
"Yes. We've been getting by without any major trouble."
Yi Hyeon nodded.
"You're fortunate. This is a karmic bond too, so I'll find a way to get you out of the Forest Sea when circumstances allow. Don't worry. Rest and recover."
"Out of the Forest Sea...?"
"I mean I'll set you free and send you back to human lands."
Silence fell inside the cave abode.
The youngest-looking cultivator blinked several times, then suddenly lowered their head. Teardrops fell onto their knees.
"Thank you."
Words of thanks soon burst out from all around. Life suddenly returned to the twelve faces that had been so dark and hopeless. Seeing their joy lifted Yi Hyeon's spirits too.
...
The next day, Yi Hyeon called over the three people who said they knew implement refining.
Two had made a living repairing magical implements at cultivator markets in the Seo Kingdom. The third said he had worked on supplementary formation inscriptions at a workshop that built flying boats.
All three had experience working with Tier 2 artifacts.
Yi Hyeon took them to a broad rock beside the lake.
"This is the boat you'll ride home."
He took a small flying boat out of his storage pouch.
As the shrinking restriction was released, the hull resting on his palm slowly expanded. A long deck, cabins, and metal bands wrapped around the bottom of the hull emerged, casting a large shadow over the rock.
It was the medium-sized flying boat he had seized from Eom Mu-jin's group.
He had erased the sect markings and tracking restrictions long ago. But the hull's construction and internal formations still bore strong traces of the Yin Bird Sect, so he had not been able to sell it or use it freely.
The craftspeople's expressions stiffened.
"Senior, this is..."
The man from the workshop walked around the hull, then bowed his head to Yi Hyeon.
"With our skills, we can't alter the restrictions inside."
"I don't expect that much. Change its appearance and conceal whatever exposed formation inscriptions you can."
Yi Hyeon placed a hand against the side of the hull.
"It'll be enough if people can't easily recognize it as a Nammyeong boat from a distance. Can you do that? Of course, I won't punish you if you can't, so don't worry."
The man examined the boat again.
"We can change the exterior. But it'll take some time."
"We have plenty of time. Just make it hard to recognize from the outside. I'll use this flying boat to get you out, so you'll be helping yourselves."
"I understand what you mean. We'll give it a try."
...
From that day onward, the human cultivators began repairing the flying boat beside the lake.
Those who had recovered their strength came out of the guest room to carry materials and sort the exterior panels that had been removed. Those who knew alchemy followed the Tier 2 artifact refiners' instructions, helping to heat the joining materials evenly.
Yi Hyeon also brought out spirit materials they could use. From all the spoils he had collected, he had kept small amounts of materials useful for various purposes, so he had quite a wide selection.
He watched from nearby as the Tier 2 artifact refiners worked on the formation inscriptions connected to the exterior restrictions.
"Couldn't you cut it here and reroute it through the new panel?"
"An excellent suggestion. However, in boats like these, the internal formation inscriptions and exterior restrictions are sometimes layered over the same spot."
The man pointed to the edge of a panel.
"We need to check here first. This flying boat seems to have been built by a highly skilled artifact refiner from Nammyeong. Its structure is quite complex."
Hearing that, Yi Hyeon extended his spiritual sense. Sure enough, another formation inscription had been cleverly layered beneath the thin exterior.
'This really is a fine piece of work!'
Yi Hyeon was growing increasingly fond of the flying boat.
Sometimes, his questions surprised the juniors too.
"You even know about this? Very few of us humans do..."
"I've learned a little implement refining. I've simply never built a boat."
...
Contrary to their initial fears, the human cultivators lived comfortably on Cheongseok Mountain.
Mountain Lord Yi Dong-o's only warning was not to wander outside carelessly. They had been told that entering the forest could get them captured by other demons.
* * *
Several nights later, Yi Hyeon sat in his cave abode and reviewed recent events.
Taking the lives of Hahu Hyeong and Hahu Jin, exchanging blows with Lord Heukgak, and the words he had traded with the white-robed mountain lord at the gathering came to mind in turn.
When the white-robed mountain lord had questioned his bloodline, his first thought had been to kill them. Something about that felt wrong.
'There were plenty of other greater demons there...'
Trying to kill someone whenever a nuisance arose was not a particularly good habit. It was not a method that would work against everyone in the world, either.
'Has my way of thinking changed? Is it because of the Gold-Condensing Pill?'
Yi Hyeon closed his eyes.
The Origin-Protecting Seal in his sea of consciousness still maintained a stable form. There was nothing wrong with the flow that guarded the outside of his primordial spirit while steadily consuming a little magical power.
After forming Vaisravana's image in his mind to calm his consciousness, Yi Hyeon examined his primordial spirit and body in turn.
The demonic markings remained unchanged.
The condensed structures left throughout his flesh, blood, and layers of skin each made their presence known. There were no lingering thoughts from the demonic beasts inside them. Nor could he find any sign that the impure qi removed while refining the Gold-Condensing Pill had returned.
Instead, a blade-sharp force accompanied the movement of his intent.
It grew a little clearer when he pictured an opponent's throat and vital points. At that moment, a sharp quality also entered the energy flowing throughout his body.
'This is... baleful qi, isn't it?'
He withdrew his intent, then repeated the process.
There was no sign that another mind had invaded from outside.
He had produced it himself.
'I see! Baleful qi built up in my body while I kept hunting Tier 3 demonic beasts. And I've fought human cultivators quite often too.'
Yi Hyeon realized that, without noticing, he had grown used to slaughter.
Neither the Origin-Protecting Seal nor the sacred image of the Mount Sumeru Visualization Scripture could prevent all such changes. These things had not invaded from outside, but had arisen naturally from within him.
After examining his primordial spirit for a while, Yi Hyeon suddenly remembered something and opened his storage pouch.
He took out the jade slips he had obtained during his long stay at Jewel Light Temple and checked them one by one. His hand stopped before one of them.
《Demon-Subduing Baleful Qi Refining Scripture (伏魔煉煞經)》
It was one of the cultivation methods he had copied while living with Wang Seo-rin.
He remembered reading that practitioners of the Demon-Subduing Court often learned it. He had not examined it closely at the time.
Yi Hyeon sent his spiritual sense into the jade slip.
...
Killing intent was a state of mind.
However, when cultivators repeatedly stirred up killing intent and carried it in their energy, that quality sometimes failed to disperse easily. It could remain in bodies, weapons, and battlefields.
The Demon-Subduing Baleful Qi Refining Scripture was a cultivation art that gathered and refined the baleful qi left behind in this way.
Practitioners who had fought monsters for many years were likely to accumulate not only the baleful qi they produced themselves, but also sinister energy picked up on battlefields. If left alone, baleful qi could leak out even in ordinary situations, and their minds could grow harsh when they circulated their energy.
This inheritance taught a method of holding baleful qi with vow power, removing its impure influences, and gathering it separately for use.
「Blood baleful qi damages flesh and blood, while yin baleful qi is suited to seeping into other energies. There is also earth baleful qi, which arises naturally in old sinister sites or earth veins.
What the Demon-Subduing Baleful Qi Refining Scripture tempers is called Vajra Baleful Qi (金剛煞氣). Vow power strengthens the cohesion of the baleful qi, keeping it from dispersing easily even when it clashes with other energies.
Baleful qi is divided into grades from Grade 9 to Grade 1. Foundation Establishment cultivators generally handle Grade 8, and Golden Core cultivators handle Grade 7. However, those who lack refining skill may find it difficult to obtain baleful qi suited to their cultivation level...」
The inheritance went on to explain how to imbue weapons with refined baleful qi and how to nurture and refine artifacts so that it would not disperse. According to the explanation, those at an advanced level could even condense baleful qi into a definite form.
Both the amount of baleful qi one could control at once and the level one could refine depended on one's own cultivation. Trying to use baleful qi beyond one's capacity could damage one's primordial spirit.
'Controlling baleful qi with vow power...'
He had vow power strengthened through the Scripture of Refining Intent into Vows, along with accumulated baleful qi. It seemed he could begin learning this inheritance.
...
Yi Hyeon inspected the flying boat during the day and studied the Demon-Subduing Baleful Qi Refining Scripture in his cultivation room at night.
After about half a month, a small change occurred.
He raised his vow power evenly around the mind seal in his primordial spirit. Using that power to slowly draw out the sharp energy remaining in his body, he formed a faint thread at his fingertip.
'It really works?'
The thread twisted restlessly above his finger, trying to unravel.
Keeping the flow of vow power steady, he recited the inheritance's spoken incantation.
Only after a long while did the thread stop trembling. It was much thinner than when he had first gathered it, but the energy it gave off was no weaker.
'A success. So this is Vajra Baleful Qi...'
Following the identification method, Yi Hyeon gradually applied magical power to the thin strand of baleful qi. It held out briefly, but when its tip began to scatter, he immediately withdrew his power.
'Barely Grade 8. I'll need more practice to refine it to Grade 7.'
Yi Hyeon picked up a small jade bottle he had prepared.
He had engraved restrictions inside it according to the inheritance's instructions. As he slowly pushed in the thread from his fingertip, the Vajra Baleful Qi entered the bottle.
Yi Hyeon put in the stopper, sealed the bottle, and held it up.
'I'm sure I'll find a use for this if I keep collecting it.'
...
After that, Yi Hyeon gathered his baleful qi little by little.
Most of the pressure coming from his body was demonic aura produced by his demonic markings, so refining his baleful qi did not make his intimidating presence disappear. Even so, the sharp force he gave off gradually diminished.
* * *
About a month after he had brought the people back, the flying boat's new exterior was roughly complete.
The high ornament on its prow had been removed, and its curved railings had been replaced with straight wooden ones. With new exterior panels added, the once-sleek flying boat now looked like a plain cargo vessel.
Some of the formation inscriptions exposed along the outside of the hull had also been altered.
However, after all the modifications, the hull developed a slight vibration at higher speeds. The artifact refiners carried out test flights with people and cargo aboard, adjusting the altered sections one by one.
...
Meanwhile, watching the human juniors work spirit materials with fire made Yi Hyeon wonder how far he could refine such materials himself. Now that he was a Golden Core cultivator, he could use a Tier 3 alchemical flame.
While examining related records, he found a passage in one jade slip suggesting that the Fire-Dividing Thread Spell could be applied to controlling the White Bone Yin Flame. It was something he had written down while going through Eom Mu-jin's spoils.
'Come to think of it...'
Yi Hyeon converted some primordial unity true qi into profound yin white bone true qi and kindled a small White Bone Yin Flame. In his other hand, he raised the Clear Yang Purifying Flame using Buddha-Light True Qi made with the addition of vow power.
Both flames could now be called Tier 3 spirit flames (靈火).
'They seem to lack spiritual quality compared to the Azure Void Glass Flame Dam Un-saeng used long ago... How do you add spiritual quality to a flame?'
He was dividing the flames into tiny pieces and moving them around when his hands suddenly stopped.
'One is yin, and the other is yang... What happens if I use them together?'
He brought two flames, each as thin as a thread, close together.
Crackle!
The point where they touched flared violently, and both flames scattered. Even when he varied their amounts, the weaker one simply died out first.
After several more attempts, Yi Hyeon slowly rotated the two flames around each other, tracing a Supreme Ultimate pattern.
This time, they did not go out immediately. But after a short while, the balance collapsed, sending small sparks flying in every direction.
Yi Hyeon withdrew the flames and recorded the changes in a jade slip.
'This might produce something interesting... I'll have to study it a little at a time too.'
* * *
Another month passed as they continued testing and adjusting the flying boat.
By then, the injured had almost recovered as well.
'Is it about time to send them home...?'
Yi Hyeon spread out a map and examined the route east.
Since the gathering had decided to strengthen security, getting caught while trying to slip out secretly might only make matters worse.
Flying the boat at a very high altitude was not a good idea either. Bird demons with keen eyesight would be likely to spot them, and being discovered that way would make their behavior look even more suspicious.
Traveling underground would also be troublesome. It would be one thing if he were alone, but this world was far too vast for him to lead the way and use the Earth Escape Spell to open a passage twelve people could walk through.
Nor could every Foundation Establishment cultivator use spells that solved breathing problems, such as the Breath-Sealing Art and Clear Air Art.
'I'll just go openly.'
He held the status of a fourth-tier greater demon. Who would object if he went out in a flying boat with the humans he had bought?
* * *
Two months after he had bought the people, the flying boat rose a little over one chi above the lakeside rock.
"It's ready!"
The man from the workshop spoke with relief in his voice.
Yi Hyeon walked around the boat to inspect it, then climbed aboard.
"Let's go."
Once the human juniors had boarded, the flying boat slowly gained altitude.
The people held the deck railings and looked out at the scenery.
They had not even left the Forest Sea, yet some were already growing teary-eyed.
Standing at the prow, Yi Hyeon turned the boat east.
...
At the eastern boundary of the Vast Verdant Forest Sea, two streaks of escape light shot up from the branches as the flying boat approached.
"Who goes there?"
Yi Hyeon slowed the boat and floated his identification token where it could be clearly seen.
The demon who approached hurriedly bowed.
"Greetings, Mountain Lord. Please, go right ahead!"
The flying boat passed beyond the prohibition markers.
...
Even after leaving the Forest Sea, the boat continued east for a while.
The enormous trees grew sparse, and paths made by people appeared on the mountainsides.
The flying boat landed at the foot of a mountain some distance from a cultivator market in the western Seo Kingdom. Human cargo carts traveled along the main road ahead, and the market's buildings could be seen beyond a distant hill.
The people disembarked one by one.
Once the last person had stepped off, Yi Hyeon shrank the boat and put it into his storage pouch.
Only after the boat vanished before their eyes did the twelve people begin touching their own bodies, checking whether this was a dream or reality.
They had truly made it safely out of the Vast Verdant Forest Sea!
Yi Hyeon took mid-grade spirit stones out of his storage pouch.
"Use these for your journey home."
The middle-aged cultivator waved both hands.
"You've already saved our lives. We couldn't possibly accept this too..."
"A senior is treating his juniors. Go buy yourselves something nourishing to eat and build your strength back up."
Everyone was delighted when he gave each of them ten mid-grade spirit stones.
After putting away their spirit stones, the people bowed to Yi Hyeon.
"We won't forget your kindness, Senior. We won't kill demons carelessly from now on."
"Hm? You can kill demons. The name 'demon race' simply groups countless races together. There's no one else in the Vast Verdant Forest Sea with the same bloodline as me."
The twelve bid Yi Hyeon farewell and went down to the main road. Soon, the hill hid them from view.
Yi Hyeon stood at the empty foot of the mountain for a moment, then turned away.
...
He had been heading back toward the Forest Sea for quite some time when, while passing through a deserted rocky valley, he suddenly looked up.
A white speck was falling from beneath the clouds.
At first, it looked like a bird. But the white speck stretched into a streak of escape light and landed on a rock across the valley.
Thud.
'A fourth-tier demon? This one is...'
It was the white-robed mountain lord he had seen at the recent gathering!
'What was the name again...?'
"Fellow Cultivator Yi. You buy human slaves, then even give them money for their journey home."
The white-robed mountain lord kept their distance rather than approaching.
'What a nuisance.'
Before replying, Yi Hyeon spread his spiritual sense.
He searched behind the rocks, between the trees, and along the ridges on both sides of the valley. He also examined the distant mountain ridges with the Qi-Observing Spell and Farsight Spell.
He detected no other presences.
Then he looked at the one before him again.
'At least that's a relief. Early fourth tier...?'
"What brings you here?"
"I came because something made me curious. Plenty of our fellow cultivators don't eat humans. I have no intention of interfering in that. But to pay spirit stones for them, care for them for two months, and then let them walk home freely?"
"Do I need permission to dispose of my own property?"
"No, but..."
Yi Hyeon watched in silence.
"Have you grown fond of humans after living in their lands for so long? Or, if that's not it... are you human?"
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