WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

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◈ Cultivating Underground ◈

Chapter 3

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Beyond the curtain lay a wide clearing.

The applicants who had passed the spiritual root test stood in small groups.

Hundreds had gathered below the mountain gate at first, but fewer than fifty seemed to have made it this far.

“Quiet, all of you.”

The voice came from the front of the clearing.

A middle-aged figure in gray robes stood on a platform. A blue wave and a medicinal herb were embroidered together on the chest.

The noisy applicants fell silent.

The figure slowly looked over the new recruits.

“I am Wang Jin, an outer sect steward. Step forward when I call your name.”

Four applicants with outstanding spiritual roots were soon called forward. One was a boy in silk clothes, two were young-looking girls, and the last was a skinny, barefoot child.

“You four are candidates for the inner sect. Follow that disciple.”

While the four children celebrated, quiet sighs of disappointment rose from those left in the clearing.

Yi Hyeon, on the other hand, let out a breath of relief.

Since the sect poured resources into its inner sect disciples, it would also keep a strict watch on their cultivation progress. There was a good chance their bodies would be examined closely in the process.

For Yi Hyeon, who had to hide his unaging body, there could hardly be a worse position.

Once the inner sect candidates had followed a disciple of Cheongha Valley away, Steward Wang Jin spoke again.

“Let me make this clear before any of you get the wrong idea. You are not yet official disciples of Cheongha Valley.”

A boy cautiously raised his hand.

“But didn’t we pass the spiritual root test?”

“Having spiritual roots and being able to become a cultivator are two different things.”

Wang Jin answered without much interest.

“From now on, your status will be that of outer sect disciple candidates. Within the next hundred days, you must draw qi into your bodies and reach the first level of Qi Refining. During that time, you must also learn the sect’s rules and how to carry out your assigned work.”

“What happens if we don’t succeed within a hundred days?”

“You must either become menial workers and earn another chance, or leave the mountain gate.”

The mood in the clearing grew heavy.

“Reaching the first level of Qi Refining does not automatically make you an outer sect disciple, either.”

Wang Jin continued.

“We will consider both your conduct and your results over those hundred days. We will not accept anyone who bullies fellow disciples or steals from the sect just because their cultivation is a little faster.”

Wang Jin pointed to a pile of wooden tokens nearby.

“Come forward and collect your identity tokens.”

The applicants stepped forward one at a time.

When Yi Hyeon’s turn came, Wang Jin looked down at the register.

“Yi Hyeon. Triple spiritual roots of wood, fire, and earth. Bone age, nineteen.”

“Yes.”

Wang Jin handed him a palm-sized wooden token.

The words “Cheongha Valley” were carved on the front, and Yi Hyeon’s name was carved on the back.

“Don’t lose it. You’ll need it to enter and leave, eat meals, and collect supplies.”

“Understood.”

Yi Hyeon studied the identity token.

He had no sense for qi yet, but after decades as a woodcutter handling all kinds of timber, he could tell that this was no ordinary piece of wood.

Its grain was clearly visible, yet it was as heavy as stone. Even pressing a fingernail against its surface left no mark.

Even the identity tokens handed out to outer sect candidates were unlike anything made by ordinary people. This truly was a cultivation sect.

···

As its name suggested, Cheongha Valley was a sect nestled in a valley.

A series of peaks stretched along the valley, which was wrapped in blue mist.

There was Cheongha Peak, the main peak where the elders and inner sect disciples lived; Herbfield Peak, with its tiers of spirit fields; and Pill Furnace Peak, where smoke rose day and night. Off to one side stood the Scripture Repository, which was said to hold the sect’s books.

The outer sect candidates’ quarters were at the foot of Herbfield Peak.

Simple houses with earthen walls and tiled roofs lined the slope. They were told that two people would share each room.

Yi Hyeon put down his belongings outside his assigned room. His roommate was a sixteen-year-old boy named Wang So.

“How old are you, Brother?”

“Nineteen.”

“You’re older than I expected.”

‘Nineteen is old?’

For a moment, Yi Hyeon had no answer. Including his previous life, he had lived for nearly eighty years.

“What spiritual roots do you have, Brother? Mine are earth, metal, and water. The steward said I could’ve aimed for the inner sect if they’d been just a little better...”

“Mine are wood, fire, and earth.”

Wang So had started chattering before he had even unpacked.

“I’m definitely going to make it into the inner sect. I heard they promote outer sect disciples if their achievements are good enough. What’s your goal, Brother?”

“Well... I thought I might learn how to grow spirit herbs and make alchemical pills.”

“Oh, come on. A real man should dream bigger than that.”

As they talked, Yi Hyeon sorted through the supplies he had received. There were two sets of gray robes, shoes, a thin quilt, wooden tableware, a brush and inkstick, and a blank booklet.

···

That evening, the outer sect candidates were given three thin books.

《Cheongha Valley Outer Sect Rules》, 《A Beginner’s Guide to Cultivation》, and 《Cheongha Qi-Drawing Art》.

The most important of the three was the Cheongha Qi-Drawing Art.

It was the most basic qi-drawing cultivation art passed down in Cheongha Valley. Since it had no particular elemental nature, anyone could learn it, regardless of their spiritual roots.

After reaching the first level of Qi Refining, they could choose a proper cultivation art suited to their spiritual roots and duties.

Yi Hyeon carefully turned the pages.

Diagrams showed the locations of the meridians. The text explained how to breathe and guide spiritual qi into the dantian.

···

Basic instruction began the next day.

Before sunrise, the new recruits gathered in a large hall and sat in the lotus position.

Wang Jin and two other outer sect disciples sat at the front.

“The first step in cultivation is to sense the spiritual qi scattered throughout heaven and earth,” Wang Jin said.

“Do not try to see it with your eyes, and do not try to seize it by force. Steady your breathing and clear your mind. Then wait for the moment when your spiritual roots touch the energy outside your body.”

The candidates closed their eyes.

Yi Hyeon followed the breathing method written in the Cheongha Qi-Drawing Art.

He took a long breath, held it briefly, then slowly breathed out.

At first, he felt nothing.

All he could focus on was the hard floor beneath him and the breathing of the person beside him.

Before long, his legs went numb.

His back hurt, too.

‘I have to do this for several two-hour periods every day?’

Cultivation was harder than he had expected.

In the novels he had read in his previous life, the protagonist would sit in the lotus position, close his eyes, and find that days had passed. Now that he was trying it himself, even lasting an hour was difficult.

Still, thanks to the strength and stamina he had built up through logging, Yi Hyeon straightened his back whenever his posture began to slip.

He felt nothing on the first day.

The second day was no different.

On the third day, a child sitting in the front row suddenly opened their eyes, face bright with joy.

“I felt it!”

An outer sect disciple checked the child and nodded.

“You haven’t succeeded in drawing qi into your body yet. Don’t get carried away. Focus again.”

By the fifth day, three people had sensed spiritual qi.

After ten days, that number had passed twenty.

His roommate, Wang So, was delighted to have sensed it as well.

“It was like tiny lights floating around. I couldn’t catch them with my hands, but they were definitely there.”

“I see.”

“Have you felt it yet, Brother?”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t worry. You still have ninety whole days.”

“Right.”

Yi Hyeon was not especially worried.

Still, failing to succeed within those ninety days would be a little troublesome.

He had no idea what work he might be given as a menial worker. If he were sent to a mine or a spirit beast rearing facility, it would probably be difficult to learn the herb-growing skills he wanted.

Even after lessons ended, Yi Hyeon sat on his bed and practiced the Cheongha Qi-Drawing Art over and over.

While the other candidates asked about one another’s backgrounds or went out to explore the sect, he stayed in the room.

···

It was the night of his twentieth day at the sect.

As usual, Yi Hyeon sat on his bed, steadying his breathing.

A cool breeze came through the open window.

At that moment, he sensed a faint trace of something else mixed into the wind.

At first, he thought he was imagining it.

His eyes were closed, but he could faintly picture tiny, dustlike specks drifting around him.

Some energy was warm like an ember, while some felt heavy like earth. He also sensed a gentle vitality that reminded him of a newly sprouted shoot.

Recalling the instructions of the Cheongha Qi-Drawing Art, Yi Hyeon focused on the nearest trace of energy he could sense.

It was the gentle energy that reminded him of a sprout.

The faint energy entered his body and reached his chest.

At that moment, his concentration slipped, and the energy scattered without a trace.

Yi Hyeon tried again.

The second trace of energy vanished near his shoulder.

The third made it below his navel, but scattered before reaching his dantian.

He lost count of his failures as the sky outside the window gradually brightened.

At last, a thread-thin wisp of energy reached his dantian.

A very faint warmth spread through his lower abdomen.

Rather than trying to hold on to the energy, Yi Hyeon followed the instructions and let it slowly circle inside his dantian.

After three circuits, the energy became a little more distinct.

He had not reached the first level of Qi Refining. He had merely succeeded in sensing spiritual qi and drawing it into his body for the first time.

‘It really works!’

Yi Hyeon felt a surge of joy and satisfaction. Cultivation might suit him better than he had expected.

···

From that day on, Yi Hyeon gathered spiritual qi in his dantian little by little.

It had taken him a long time to sense spiritual qi, but once he grew familiar with the feeling, finding it again was not difficult.

His progress was slow, though.

Drawing in a single wisp of spiritual qi left him mentally exhausted. If he forced himself to continue, his head hurt and his stomach turned.

Wang Jin warned the new recruits not to push themselves.

“If you get greedy before your meridians have opened, you’ll only damage your body. Those who start early do not always reach Qi Refining first.”

In fact, the child who had sensed spiritual qi after just three days pushed too hard, coughed up blood, and had to be carried to the Infirmary.

After seeing that, Yi Hyeon decided to be careful.

···

At dawn, one month after he had joined the sect, the spiritual qi stored in his dantian passed a critical point.

The once-gentle flow suddenly began to spin, forming a whirlpool.

A thin stream rose from his lower abdomen and traveled upward through the meridians in his body.

It felt as if hot water were flowing through his veins.

Everywhere the energy passed, blocked meridians were forced open. Pain swept through his entire body, like needles scraping beneath his skin.

“Ngh...!”

Yi Hyeon gritted his teeth.

The energy passed through his chest and shoulders, spread to the ends of his arms, then returned to his dantian.

His fingertips felt as though they were swelling. Then, all at once, every sense grew sharper.

He could even hear Wang So grinding his teeth in his sleep. He felt as though he could make out every speck of dust floating in the faint dawn light.

His body trembled slightly as something blocked inside him seemed to open.

Following the final passage of the Cheongha Qi-Drawing Art, Yi Hyeon circulated the energy once more.

During the second circuit, fierce heat surged through the pain.

The moment he completed the third circuit, an invisible shell shattered.

Boom!

A tremendous roar echoed inside Yi Hyeon’s head, like a huge dam collapsing. The spiritual qi gathered in his dantian spread throughout his body, then rushed back like a powerful wave. The energy that had been as thin as a loose thread now formed a distinct flow.

Yi Hyeon’s eyes flew open.

Even in the faint dawn light, he could clearly see everything in the room. The grain of the wooden chest, the tiny cracks in the wall, even a hair that had fallen onto Wang So’s quilt came into view.

Energy far stronger than anything he had felt before surged within him.

Yi Hyeon clenched his fist.

It was only the simple act of curling his fingers, yet the muscles in his arm and shoulder seemed to work as one. Every part of his body responded instantly to his will.

‘So this is... what it feels like to be a cultivator!’

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