WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Cultivating Underground ◈

Chapter 16

──────

Jang Pyeong was briefly lost for words at Yi Hyeon's question.

"You really must have come from far away, fellow cultivator."

"I only arrived in the Untaek Kingdom recently."

"Then it's no wonder you haven't heard of it."

Jang Pyeong neatly gathered the Water-Root Grass on his mat to one side as he explained.

"The Heaven-Serving Directorate is an institution the Untaek royal family established to recruit independent cultivators as court retainers."

Yi Hyeon looked puzzled at the idea of a mortal royal family taking cultivators into its service. Jang Pyeong continued.

"The Untaek Kingdom has hardly any useful spirit veins, doesn't it? There isn't a single proper cultivation sect here. Most families that produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator have already left in search of better spirit veins. I've heard that you could count the Foundation Establishment cultivators still living here on one hand, even including the directorate's senior court retainers."

Jang Pyeong glanced toward the capital.

"But poor spirit veins don't mean there won't be problems involving cultivators. Demonic beasts sometimes come down from the mountains, and spirit insects breed in the rivers. Bandit cultivators target royalty or wealthy merchant companies, and independent cultivators from other countries cross the border. The directorate's court retainers handle most of those matters."

According to Jang Pyeong, independent cultivators affiliated with the Heaven-Serving Directorate fell into two main groups: court retainers and guest retainers.

Court retainers stayed in Ungyeong or at the directorate's regional offices and received monthly stipends. The royal family guaranteed their housing and official standing. They also received spirit stones and pills, or sometimes the right to gather spirit herbs on mountains owned by the royal family.

In return, they had to carry out assigned duties, such as guarding the royal family, hunting demonic beasts that appeared near Ungyeong, or escorting valuable goods.

Guest retainers, on the other hand, were independent cultivators who registered their names with the directorate but otherwise lived as they pleased.

They received no monthly stipend, but completing missions earned them rewards such as spirit stones, spirit herbs, pills, talismans, cultivation methods, and spells. They did not have to swear loyalty to the royal family or remain in Ungyeong.

Of course, the reward for a single mission was small compared with the benefits court retainers enjoyed. The rewards the directorate offered also fell short of those provided by a proper cultivation sect.

'So guest retainers are a kind of mercenary.'

In that case, if Yi Hyeon was going to join the directorate anyway, becoming a court retainer seemed better. It did not seem likely that a cultivator would face much danger in the mortal world.

As though reading his thoughts, Jang Pyeong smiled and shook his head.

"Being a court retainer isn't always an easy life. Since you draw a royal stipend, you can be called upon for dangerous work. Hunting demonic beasts is part of it, but there's another, more important reason the directorate recruits so many court and guest retainers."

Jang Pyeong lowered his voice slightly.

"The Geonyang Kingdom. It borders the Untaek Kingdom to the south. Its territory is at least four times as large as ours, and its population and military strength are far greater."

According to Jang Pyeong, the Geonyang Kingdom also had poor spirit veins, so no cultivation powers had established themselves there.

However, martial arts had flourished to an unusual degree.

Martial sects and clans with traditions stretching back hundreds or thousands of years could be found throughout the country. Even the royal court taught soldiers internal cultivation methods and coordinated battle formations.

It had far more masters in both the Transformation Realm and the Profound Realm than the Untaek Kingdom. There were even rumors that someone in the military directly under the royal family had surpassed the limits of the Profound Realm.

"That certainly sounds dangerous. I've heard that Profound Realm masters can fight Qi Refining cultivators."

"They can do more than fight them. If a Profound Realm master ambushes a Qi Refining cultivator with little combat experience, the cultivator might die on the spot. Geonyang has also spent many years developing group tactics designed specifically to fight Qi Refining cultivators, such as the Linked Sword Formation. They're no easy opponents."

Jang Pyeong smiled bitterly.

"Martial arts have always flourished in Geonyang. Until a few hundred years ago, though, they also employed cultivators as court retainers, just as Untaek does. Then a few cultivators abused their power and badly humiliated the royal family. After that, the court began relying less on cultivators and training martial artists on a large scale. Their efforts have achieved remarkable results. These days, they use martial artists to push the border farther north, little by little."

The Geonyang Kingdom had also raised large armies and invaded Untaek several times. However, Untaek's many rivers and wetlands had held up their armies. With even their martial arts masters kept in check by the directorate's court retainers, they had suffered heavy losses every time.

Afterward, rather than wage all-out war, they had chosen to seize border fortresses, mines, and key points along the waterways one at a time. Even recently, clashes large and small had continued along the border.

Just then, an elderly customer wearing a conical hat stopped in front of Jang Pyeong's stall.

"How much is the Water-Root Grass?"

"Three copper coins a bundle."

The customer carefully examined the roots, then picked up two bundles. Six copper coins dropped into Jang Pyeong's palm.

"Shake off a little more of the dirt next time."

"Hmph. The dirt keeps the roots from drying out."

After the customer left, Jang Pyeong put the coins into an old pouch at his waist. Watching him, Yi Hyeon suddenly wondered about something.

"But if Geonyang is that powerful, wouldn't it call itself an empire rather than a kingdom?"

Jang Pyeong laughed loudly.

"Hahaha! How would a mortal dynasty dare call itself an empire? All this land belongs to the Gon Kingdom."

"The Gon Kingdom?"

According to Jang Pyeong, mortals and cultivators divided countries differently.

Mortals marked their borders with mountains, rivers, fortresses, and official roads. When a kingdom flourished, it expanded its territory. When it declined, neighboring countries took its land.

The countries cultivators spoke of, however, were divided according to spirit veins and the areas controlled by cultivation sects. They covered far more land than mortal countries. These were called cultivation kingdoms.

The Gon Kingdom was a fourth-rank cultivation kingdom. It contained more than ten mortal kingdoms, including Untaek, the Anneung Kingdom to the north, and Geonyang to the south.

Two great sects ruled the Gon Kingdom: the Byeokra Sect and the Danso Sect.

About thirty thousand li east of Ungyeong lay the Byeokra Mountains, where a fourth-rank spirit vein ran. Another ten thousand li farther east stood the Danso Mountains, which held another fourth-rank spirit vein. Each sect occupied one of these spirit veins, and they were the only sects in the Gon Kingdom with Nascent Soul cultivators.

Below them were several sects and cultivation families led by Golden Core cultivators. However, most major matters involving the Gon Kingdom as a whole were decided according to the wishes of the two great sects.

The two sects set the prohibitions cultivators had to observe. They also sent enforcement cultivators after demonic cultivators who massacred mortals or performed blood sacrifices, and responded when powers from other cultivation kingdoms invaded Gon.

Jang Pyeong stroked his beard.

"So even if Geonyang swallowed every other kingdom within Gon, it would be difficult for its ruler to claim the title of emperor without at least the silent approval of the Byeokra Sect and the Danso Sect. No matter how large a mortal army is, it can never stand against a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"Then, in their eyes, the war between Untaek and Geonyang is no more than mortals fighting inside their fence."

"Exactly. That's why cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above don't interfere carelessly in mortal wars. If they kill thousands or tens of thousands of mortals, enforcement cultivators might come looking for them."

"Is it all right for Qi Refining cultivators?"

"Not in every case. Naturally, even a Qi Refining cultivator will anger the two sects by slaughtering mortals at will. Anyone who kills countless mortals for blood sacrifices, or uses human blood essence and souls to practice demonic cultivation methods, will be hunted to the end. But as long as they don't do such things, the great sects don't care whether Qi Refining cultivators serve as court retainers in mortal countries or take part in wars. To them, independent Qi Refining cultivators and mortal martial arts masters probably all seem like ordinary beings."

'Ordinary beings...'

Yi Hyeon felt rather strange.

To him, late-stage Qi Refining cultivators seemed incredibly powerful. Yet to the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Byeokra Sect and the Danso Sect, the entire Qi Refining realm apparently seemed little different from mortal martial artists.

"Does the Daeyeon Kingdom belong to the Gon Kingdom too?"

"Daeyeon? You mean that backwater north of the Anneung Kingdom?"

"Yes."

"I don't think it belongs to Gon... I've heard it's part of another cultivation kingdom to the north. I don't know much about that region, though."

"I see."

'Is that why I never heard about the Byeokra Sect or the Danso Sect while I was at Cheongha Valley...?'

Looking at the old pouch hanging from Jang Pyeong's waist, Yi Hyeon suddenly grew curious.

"You're a cultivator, Fellow Cultivator Jang, but you sell ordinary medicinal herbs."

Jang Pyeong gave a bitter smile.

"I've been stuck at the third level of Qi Refining for over fifty years."

"Fifty years?"

"I'm eighty-four this year, so there's hardly any chance I'll break through now. I've grown tired of shutting myself in a cave dwelling and cultivating all day."

Jang Pyeong looked at the people in the street.

Peddlers carrying loads called loudly for customers. In one corner of the market, children ran about, spinning wooden tops.

"So these days, I gather herbs by the river and sell them here. It's more about watching people than making money. A day feels far too long when I'm sitting alone in my cave dwelling, but time passes quickly out here."

"I see."

Yi Hyeon felt a sense of warmth toward Jang Pyeong.

It was sad that Jang Pyeong had all but given up on cultivation. Still, anyone willing to explain so much to an independent cultivator he had just met seemed like a good person.

"Thank you for explaining everything so kindly."

"If you're grateful, buy a bundle of Water-Root Grass."

Yi Hyeon thought of the low-grade spirit stones in his storage pouch.

Giving Jang Pyeong one in return for the explanation did not seem wasteful. Considering the spirit plants that had been growing for decades in Underground Hideout No. 1, a single low-grade spirit stone might not be much money to him in the future.

However, Yi Hyeon soon changed his mind.

'If an independent cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining hands over a low-grade spirit stone for a simple explanation, Jang Pyeong might wonder how many spirit stones I have rather than feel grateful.'

Even if Jang Pyeong seemed kind, there was no telling who else might be listening.

Yi Hyeon bought several bundles of Water-Root Grass with ordinary copper coins.

The Water-Root Grass was only an ordinary herb. Still, if he planted it near the aquifer in Underground Hideout No. 1 and left it for many years, who knew what changes might occur?

"Do you know when the Heaven-Serving Directorate recruits court retainers?"

"The directorate always welcomes cultivators. There's no particular recruitment period."

"I see."

"And if you're looking for Chwiun Market, follow the official road outside the south gate for about five hundred li, then look for Chwiun Mountain. Feed spirit power into the green stone tablet at the foot of the mountain, and you'll see the entrance."

"Thank you."

Yi Hyeon said goodbye to Jang Pyeong and left the stall.

'What a kind person. If we meet again, I should bring him some of my remaining Cheongha Rice.'

...

Yi Hyeon reached a quiet spot on the outskirts of Ungyeong.

After checking that no one was nearby, he was about to leave for Chwiun Market when the spirit fields in Underground Hideout No. 1 suddenly came to mind.

'Oh, right... I have to use Spirit Rain every ten days. Should I head straight back?'

Yi Hyeon counted the days since he had last cast Spirit Rain. About five days remained until the next casting was due.

'No, Chwiun Market is practically right here. Since I've come this far, I'll stop by the market before heading back.'

Underground Hideout No. 1 was more than eight thousand li northwest of here. Chwiun Market, on the other hand, was only about five hundred li south of Ungyeong. If Yi Hyeon ran hard, he could reach it in under two shichen.

...

Chwiun Mountain was no taller than the surrounding mountains, but a long stretch of blue-green cloud lingered below its peak.

When Yi Hyeon fed spirit power into the green stone tablet at its foot, a narrow path appeared where there had seemed to be a cliff.

A small valley lay at the end of the path. It appeared similar in size to Songun Market.

Wooden shops lined both sides of the valley, with a few tents and stalls in the central clearing. A dozen or so independent cultivators browsed the goods or bargained over prices.

The cultivator guarding the entrance looked Yi Hyeon over and spoke.

"Private fighting is forbidden inside the market. If you sell anything, you must pay one-tenth of its price to the Chwiun Society."

"I only intend to buy."

"Go in."

Yi Hyeon entered the market. The first thing he noticed was a shop selling magical implements, but he forced himself to look away.

'I'm here to buy spirit plant seeds today.'

Yi Hyeon slowly explored the area selling spirit plant seeds. His first purchase was seeds for a spirit herb called the Yinwater Lotus.

Yinwater Lotuses grew in cold water without sunlight. The lotus seeds produced by older plants were said to be popular with alchemists. The drawback was that they took at least fifty years to flower for the first time. As a result, few Qi Refining cultivators wanted to grow them.

After browsing elsewhere, Yi Hyeon finally stopped in front of another stall. Dried roots, seeds, and small pots were packed closely together. The owner was an elderly Qi Refining cultivator who was almost completely bald.

"Do you have any spirit plants that can grow without sunlight?"

The elderly vendor rummaged through the goods for a moment, then took out a small wooden box.

"These are Stone-Honey Peach seeds. As the name suggests, the fruit looks like a peach, but unlike ordinary peach trees, this tree dislikes sunlight. It grows by absorbing water qi and earth qi from the ground, so you can even grow it inside a cave."

Yi Hyeon's eyes brightened.

"When does it bear fruit?"

"I'm afraid it'll take thirty years at the earliest."

"Then I imagine it isn't very popular."

"Well, no. It isn't something Qi Refining cultivators with limited lifespans like us would spend thirty years growing. Even after those thirty years, it'll only produce one or two fruits a year for several more decades. They say the older the tree gets, the more fruit it bears, and the better it tastes. The flesh of a hundred-year-old Stone-Honey Peach is supposedly sweeter than honey, yet cool and crisp."

"Have you tried one yourself?"

"Where would I ever get a hundred-year-old Stone-Honey Peach to eat? I read about it in an old book."

"What medicinal effects does it have?"

The vendor shrugged.

"It absorbs spiritual energy, so it's certainly a spirit fruit. But the section describing its effects was damaged in my old book, so I don't know."

Yi Hyeon looked at the Stone-Honey Peach seeds and imagined the scene a hundred years from now. He pictured himself sitting beneath the tree, picking and eating peaches said to be as sweet as honey.

"I'll take them."

...

Yi Hyeon spent two low-grade spirit stones on several seeds each of the Yinwater Lotus and the Stone-Honey Peach.

After leaving Chwiun Market, an idea suddenly came to him.

'If I could collect the rain from Spirit Rain in a tank ahead of time, then release it into the spirit fields at regular intervals while I'm away...'

Before heading to Underground Hideout No. 1, Yi Hyeon returned to Ungyeong.

...

After arriving in Ungyeong and asking around, Yi Hyeon found a district in the outer city where craftspeople lived. Workshops making water-lifting wheels, watermills, farming tools, and similar goods stood close together.

Outside the largest workshop, water clocks of various sizes and complicated wooden gears were on display.

When Yi Hyeon entered, an elderly craftsperson missing two fingers stopped sanding a wooden board and looked up.

"What brings you here?"

"Could you build a device that releases a set amount of water into a field once every ten days, using water stored in a large tank?"

The old craftsperson considered the question, then asked several questions in quick succession. Did it need to work without anyone tending it? How large was the field? Where would the water come from?

Yi Hyeon explained that it had to work without human help. The field was two jang wide and sixteen jang long, roughly half a mu in area. He could collect the water in a large tank beforehand. The device only needed to release a set amount from that tank at intervals of about ten days.

The old craftsperson rubbed their beard in thought.

"If the water is already there, we won't need anything too complicated."

Picking up a brush, they drew a large tank on the wooden board, with a bucket beneath it. An axle ran across the middle of the bucket.

"We let water drip slowly from the tank into this bucket. Once a certain amount collects after about ten days, the front becomes heavy enough to tip over on its own."

The craftsperson added a drawing of the tilted bucket and a channel leading away beneath it.

"Then all the collected water pours into the field at once. When the bucket is empty, a stone counterweight at the back returns it to its original position."

Yi Hyeon looked down at the drawing.

"That's simple."

"The simpler a device like this is, the more reliable it is. Does it have to work exactly every ten days?"

"A little variation is fine."

"Then this is the best approach."

The old craftsperson asked how many furrows the field had and how much water it needed each time. Yi Hyeon explained the layout of one of the spirit fields he tended.

"I'll make a small test device first. Come back in a month."

"How much will it cost?"

"Do I need to make the tank and channels too?"

"I can make those myself."

"Then fifteen taels of silver, including the test device, bronze pipe, and axle."

Yi Hyeon paid some silver as a deposit. It was quite expensive for an ordinary item, but obtaining silver was not difficult for him.

"I'll return in a month."

After leaving Ungyeong, Yi Hyeon headed back to Underground Hideout No. 1 at full speed.

...

Three days later.

He arrived safely at Underground Hideout No. 1.

"Whew... That was quite a run."

Nearly two days still remained before he needed to cast Spirit Rain.

Relieved to confirm that he had enough time, Yi Hyeon suddenly felt something was odd.

'I've never properly tested how often I need to use Spirit Rain.'

Yi Hyeon had spent more than a hundred and fifty years in Underground Hideout No. 1. Yet he did not actually know how many days the spirit plants could survive without Spirit Rain.

He had never wondered about it because he had not planned to travel far.

While living in Underground Hideout No. 1, casting Spirit Rain once every ten days had been no burden at all.

The rest of the time, he practiced the Primordial Unity Single-Qi Art or spells, or read novels and miscellaneous books bought in the mortal world. When there was nothing else to do, he lay down and slept.

A cultivator's body did not develop an aching back from lying down for too long, nor did the pressure cause sores. Whether Yi Hyeon slept for one day or three while circulating the Primordial Unity Single-Qi Art, his body only grew healthier.

Occasionally, he would open his eyes, eat a few nuts, and pick up the next volume of whatever he was reading. Ten years would pass in no time. Yi Hyeon was truly good at passing the time.

With no lifespan pressing him to hurry, he did not bother worrying about anything unnecessary. As a result, improving how he managed the spirit fields had never occurred to him.

But now that he wanted to spend longer periods away, things had changed.

'I want to join the Heaven-Serving Directorate and meet other cultivators.'

The fact that the directorate had existed for so long and steadily rewarded independent cultivators meant it must have traditions and a foundation for research of its own.

Of course, joining the directorate would not be entirely without risk.

The Untaek royal family would not want to be pushed around by the cultivators it recruited from outside. There would surely be late-stage Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators within the directorate who had longstanding ties to the royal family. They would keep the other court and guest retainers in check.

But Yi Hyeon had no intention of opposing the royal family, so there was no reason to earn their hatred.

If he simply registered as a guest retainer and completed a few missions, opportunities might arise to exchange basic knowledge of alchemy, artifact refining, talisman crafting, formations, spirit plants, and insect control.

'And martial arts masters must visit the directorate too.'

Court retainers alone would not be enough to hunt demonic beasts or fight Geonyang's martial arts masters. There were bound to be military officers and martial artists who worked with the directorate. Although few in number, Untaek should also have masters who had reached the Profound Realm.

'Could I learn how to fight from them?'

The Azure Steel Sword Art he had practiced had reached minor mastery. However, the only opponent Yi Hyeon had ever swung a sword at was the empty air in the cave's training ground.

In Yi Hyeon's view, his greatest weakness was his lack of combat experience. But gaining that experience safely would not be easy.

He could join a cultivation sect and learn to fight there, but it was difficult to predict what might happen.

It could become a problem if his abnormally large reserves of spirit power were discovered. He could also suffer a serious injury while sparring. Above all, there was no guarantee he would find a master or senior fellow disciple willing to teach him combat.

By contrast, joining the directorate as a guest retainer would let him choose his missions. Gaining combat experience by sparring with martial artists did not seem particularly dangerous either.

"Hmm. Sparring might be quite fun. I could get some exercise instead of staying shut away and sleeping all the time..."

For a moment, Yi Hyeon imagined himself exchanging brilliant sword strikes with a Profound Realm master.

He pictured a dazzling clash, charging across the training ground to thrust the Earthspade Sword forward, then deflecting a deadly counterattack.

'Heh...'

His total spirit power of 101, according to his homemade status panel, was quietly boosting his confidence.

Indeed, when he poured enormous amounts of spirit power into Spherical Qi Barrier or Spiritlight Shield, the resulting defenses were far sturdier than the spells of an ordinary second-level Qi Refining cultivator.

His Protective Spiritlight was also extraordinary.

Protective Spiritlight was a barrier naturally produced by a body containing spirit power. While Spherical Qi Barrier was an applied spell modeled after it, Protective Spiritlight was closer to the cultivator's spirit power itself. It clung closely to the body and could not be resized, but its defensive strength increased along with the cultivator's realm and spirit power.

With defenses like these, Yi Hyeon did not think he would be easily defeated even while sparring with a Profound Realm master.

After briefly grinning to himself in his daydream, Yi Hyeon suddenly shook his head and came to his senses.

'Wait, though... Do I really need to go to the directorate right now? I may have more than fifty times the spirit power of a second-level Qi Refining cultivator, but its quality is still only at the second level. It would be much safer to get involved in the outside world after raising my cultivation further...'

Jang Pyeong had said that a Qi Refining cultivator with little combat experience could die instantly if ambushed by a Profound Realm master.

Even if Yi Hyeon became a guest retainer rather than a court retainer, how could everything in the world be safe?

Yi Hyeon realized that his plan to join the directorate right away had been somewhat hasty. It was not something he needed to do. After spending more than a hundred and fifty years shut away underground, he simply wanted to see the outside world.

'I've let my guard down! My lifespan is infinite, so there's no need to rush. I'll finish the watering device first and raise my cultivation a little more before going. It's not as if the directorate is going anywhere.'

Footnotes:

A shichen is about two hours. A jang is roughly three meters, and a mu is roughly 660 square meters.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried