WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 42
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Black Crow was the first to take out a thick ledger.
“This is the annual account of the spirit stones and spirit materials that passed through Hundred Wares Hall. All membership dues and vein seat fees are recorded here. After deducting the upkeep of each outpost, I exchanged the remainder for mid-grade spirit stones and stored them.”
Black Crow placed a small storage pouch on the table beside the ledger.
“Would you like to check them yourself?”
“Leave the ledger. You can keep the storage pouch.”
“Understood.”
After sliding the ledger forward, Black Crow took another storage pouch from inside their robe.
“And this is a gift for you, Society Leader.”
When the storage pouch opened, books began piling up neatly on the stone chamber’s floor.
Almost none looked worn. Their covers bore the same title, but different volume numbers.
《The Poor Tenant Farmer’s Chronicle of an Immortal Homecoming》
Volumes 1 through 72. Complete.
Yi Hyeon’s gaze lingered on the books.
“I’m told this is currently the most popular work in the mortal world of the Gon Kingdom. It begins with the son of a poor tenant farmer in a border commandery caught up in war. He’s conscripted, then saves an injured independent cultivator on the battlefield and receives an Immortal Ascension Token.”
Black Crow held up one of the books.
“He starts as a lowly menial disciple, gains cultivation resources and cultivation arts, then returns home a hundred years later, still looking young. He punishes corrupt officials and restores his declining family’s fortunes. Apparently, near the end, the emperor personally begs him to become the State Preceptor.”
Black Crow added,
“It was published regularly for ten years and concluded last spring with Volume 72. The members who’ve read it spoke highly of it.”
“I’ll enjoy reading it.”
“I’m glad it interests you.”
Yi Hyeon put the books into his storage pouch.
The other members had no idea why Society Leader Badger collected popular novels from the mortal world.
...
Gray Mountain Goat was next.
They spread out three maps showing the Gon Kingdom’s spirit veins near Hundred Wares Hall.
“The eleven vein seats on the Gon Kingdom side are mostly fine. However, I closed Stone Lake Sect’s second vein seat, nine thousand li east of Gray Rock Market.”
“Why?”
“Stone Lake Sect changed the way its formations detect intruders. Continuing to use it would have carried a high risk of discovery.”
“And the members?”
“I divided them among other nearby vein seats. It hasn’t seriously affected their cultivation.”
“Well done.”
Gray Mountain Goat marked the closed vein seat on the map.
Then they took out a jade case slightly larger than a palm.
Clack.
Inside lay a blue-green bell about the size of a human fist.
Wavy patterns ran down its surface, but there was no visible clapper.
“This is a Body-Guarding Bell.”
Gray Mountain Goat fed spiritual power into it.
Hummm.
The fist-sized bell rose into the air.
Dong.
With a low chime, the Body-Guarding Bell rapidly expanded.
Soon, the bell stood six chi tall. It slowly descended and stopped about one cun above the floor.
“Mole, give it a light test.”
Mole nodded and extended a hand.
Whoosh!
A stone spike one chi long spun through the air toward the Body-Guarding Bell.
Bang!
Dong.
The stone spike shattered.
Dark blue ripples spread from the point of impact across the bell’s rounded surface. The force carried by the stone spike dispersed as a low chime.
Hummm.
The Body-Guarding Bell shrank to the size of a fist again and settled on Gray Mountain Goat’s palm.
“I’m told it can withstand several attacks from a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. It can also take one blow from an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, though that may damage the bell.”
“A high-grade magical implement, then.”
“Yes. It was reportedly cast with an admixture of Mystic Resonance Copper, a second-tier mid-grade spirit material.”
Yi Hyeon turned the Body-Guarding Bell over several times in his hand, examined it, then put it into his storage pouch.
“Well done.”
Gray Mountain Goat continued.
“I’ve also learned some of the uses of the Purple Poison Orchid, Bone-Rotting Flower, and Yin Soul Grass you asked about.”
“Go on.”
“Purple Poison Orchid is indeed one of the main ingredients in Poison-Warding Pills. The nearest place that refines them is Cheongha Valley in the Daeyeon Kingdom. However, I found no information about Cheongha Valley using Bone-Rotting Flowers or Yin Soul Grass.”
Cheongha Valley was the sect where Yi Hyeon had been an outer sect disciple some 1,330 years earlier.
‘It makes sense that they use Purple Poison Orchids in alchemy. They were growing them in the Withered Yin Field to begin with. But they don’t make anything using Bone-Rotting Flowers or Yin Soul Grass? Is the information inaccurate, or has Cheongha Valley lost those pill formulas over the years?’
Cheongha Valley no longer had the presence it once did. By now, it was doubtful whether the sect even had a Golden Core cultivator.
Yellow Field Mouse reported on the situation in the Daeyeon Kingdom.
“We found four new residual-vein pockets in the southern Daeyeon Kingdom. However, we haven’t established vein seats there yet.”
“Why?”
“Perhaps because their conditions are so poor, the Daeyeon Kingdom’s sects are more sensitive about their territories than those in the Gon Kingdom. The cultivation families occupying spirit veins also patrol frequently. I judged that hastily opening passages might expose our other vein seats.”
“Well done.”
Yellow Field Mouse bowed their head, seemingly relieved.
“For now, we’re just continuing to record the spiritual pressure and patrol intervals. I’ll report again after observing them for another three years or so.”
“Do that.”
Mole briefly reported that there were no particular problems with the vein seats under their care.
White Owl carefully took a jade case from inside his robe.
Four jade bottles lay neatly inside.
“The Purple Origin Pills you ordered. Twelve in total.”
Each jade bottle contained three pills.
A first-tier Spirit-Sealing Talisman covered each bottle’s mouth, and the sealing wax bore the Danso Sect’s pill inspection seal.
Yi Hyeon took out one bottle and examined its Spirit-Sealing Talisman and sealing wax.
“High-grade again?”
“Yes. They left storage less than six months ago.”
Yi Hyeon broke the seal and placed a Purple Origin Pill on his palm.
Fine flame patterns, like tongues of fire rising upward, marked the violet-tinged alchemical pill’s surface.
When he examined its interior with the Qi-Observing Spell and his spiritual sense, he found the refined medicinal strength evenly gathered at its center.
Purple Origin Pills were first-tier high-grade alchemical pills taken by late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to build up magical power.
Unlike Origin-Raising Pills or Barrier-Breaking Pills, they were not used to break through the barriers between minor realms. However, their gentle, pure medicinal potency could shorten a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator’s cultivation time.
White Owl had supplied Yi Hyeon with Purple Origin Pills for over thirty years. Rather than trusting the Danso Sect’s pill inspection seal alone, Yi Hyeon examined every batch of alchemical pills himself. He had never found a problem.
‘Good as always.’
Yi Hyeon returned the alchemical pill to its jade bottle.
Tap.
A pouch of mid-grade spirit stones appeared on the table.
White Owl checked the number of spirit stones, then tucked the pouch inside his robe.
“Can you get more next time?”
“More Danso Sect disciples have been looking for Purple Origin Pills lately. It’ll probably be difficult for a while.”
“Understood.”
Yi Hyeon put the jade case containing the Purple Origin Pills into his storage pouch.
White Owl did not know why Society Leader Badger kept buying Purple Origin Pills.
‘Are there separate gatherings? I’ve never seen the society leader trade with Purple Origin Pills at any gathering I’ve attended...’
White Owl was an outer sect disciple of the Danso Sect and a resident cultivator dispatched to the royal family of the Anneung Kingdom, far northwest of the sect’s main grounds.
The Anneung Kingdom itself had no powerful cultivation faction. However, by the cultivation world’s standards, it belonged to the Gon Kingdom’s territory.
The Danso Sect and Byeokra Sect had established an Immortal-Serving Court at the Anneung Kingdom’s royal court. They sent outer sect disciples there to supervise the independent cultivators employed by the royal family and select children with outstanding spiritual roots, as well as tribute to send to their sects. Resident cultivators also mediated disputes between independent cultivators and small cultivation families.
Resident cultivator sounded like an impressive title, but from the main sect’s perspective, it was little more than sending outer sect disciples who had lost out in internal competition to handle miscellaneous duties far away. They received few cultivation resources, and the royal family’s spirit vein made rapid advancement difficult.
White Owl had joined the Two Heavens Society after using one of its vein seats while traveling between the Danso Sect’s main grounds and the Anneung Kingdom. Since White Owl worked far from the main sect, interacting with nearby independent cultivators and Two Heavens Society members was relatively natural.
Once every three or four years, White Owl returned to the Danso Sect, either escorting a tribute convoy or reporting on assigned duties. While there, White Owl used purchasing privileges awarded for outside missions to buy various goods. Among them were the Purple Origin Pills Yi Hyeon had requested.
The supply was irregular, but the quality was reliable.
White Owl freely presented alchemical pills bearing the Danso Sect’s pill inspection seal and made little effort to hide being a disciple of a great sect. That status alone gave White Owl a firm position within the Two Heavens Society.
...
Finally, Blue Snake spread out a map of the Geonyang Kingdom.
It showed Gu-Rearing Institutes in the kingdom’s north, second-tier spirit veins, and fortresses where gu adepts were stationed.
“Patrols around the spirit veins in the northern Geonyang Kingdom have increased recently. Fortunately, none of the Two Heavens Society’s vein seats have been discovered yet.”
“Keep watching, but don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“Understood.”
Blue Snake hesitated briefly, then continued.
“Also, a member on the Geonyang Kingdom side would like to pay their respects to you in person.”
“Who?”
“Black Sable. They joined three years ago and have provided information about the Gu-Rearing Institutes’ movements several times.”
Blue Snake added,
“They recently obtained a rare item and wanted to offer it to you, so I brought them along. They’re waiting outside.”
“Tell them to come in.”
A short while later, a cultivator wearing a black sable mask descended the stairs and knelt on both knees in the middle of the stone chamber.
“Greetings, Society Leader.”
“Rise.”
“Thank you.”
Black Sable took a long wooden case from inside their robe.
“A Vein-Detecting Ruler.”
Black Sable held up the wooden case.
“I’m told that if you place it against the ground and channel spiritual power into it, it points in the direction of nearby spirit veins and their branches. I thought it might help us find new vein seats, so I’d like to offer it to you.”
“Bring it here.”
“Yes.”
Black Sable approached, supporting the wooden case with both hands. At that moment, the spirit insect pouch at Yi Hyeon’s waist trembled very slightly.
“Here it is.”
Black Sable opened the wooden case.
Clack.
Inside lay a metal ruler one chi long, with a transparent bead set into one end.
The instant Yi Hyeon lowered his gaze, transparent threads shot from Black Sable’s fingertips, tearing through the air.
Half targeted Society Leader Badger’s dantian and chest. The rest flew toward the major acupoints in the neck and limbs.
At the same time, thick black smoke burst from the wooden case.
“Society Leader!”
Before Blue Snake could finish shouting, a brief sword note swept through the stone chamber, as though time had stopped.
Shing.
The members had not even seen the society leader reach out.
All they saw were transparent threads falling in severed pieces and scattering across the floor before their eyes.
Rustle.
The black smoke rushing in to fill their vision also split to either side, like a huge curtain being torn apart.
A perfectly clear passage stretched from Society Leader Badger’s seat to Black Sable’s chest.
But Black Sable did not retreat.
Spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from the attacker’s body.
Thoom!
Blue Snake, who had been about to step forward, froze.
Under the savage aura pressing down on the stone chamber, the ledger and maps on the table fluttered violently.
This was not the aura of the Qi Refining stage.
Early-stage Foundation Establishment.
And it was the aura of a gu adept, not a cultivator!
Crack! Crunch!
Black Sable’s long robe swelled as though it would burst. A carapace tore through the skin and rose up, grotesquely covering the right arm in an instant.
Black Sable threw aside the wooden case and lunged forward.
Crunch!
The attacker’s right foot crushed a stone floor slab. Force rose from the toes through the twisting waist and spine, gathering all at once in the right fist.
That single movement was enough to take Yellow Field Mouse’s breath away. The air before the fist twisted black under a force that seemed capable of collapsing the stone chamber.
Whoom.
The distance was far too short.
Black Sable’s fist hurtled toward Society Leader Badger’s chest.
At that moment, the world seemed to slow before White Owl’s eyes.
Amid the storm of wind from the punch, Society Leader Badger’s sleeve stirred lightly.
A streak of pure white sword light spread like a fan into dozens of branches.
The light divided as gracefully as plum blossoms blooming across the night sky, then condensed back into a single point before anyone could blink.
Flash!
The savage force of the punch met Society Leader Badger’s sword light head-on.
A chilling white line appeared through the middle of the gu-origin true qi surrounding Black Sable’s fist.
Along that line, the gu-origin true qi split to either side. The divided force swept past Society Leader Badger and slammed into the stone wall behind.
Kaboom!
The entire stone chamber shook.
Yellow Field Mouse instinctively closed their eyes, then opened them again.
Society Leader Badger was still sitting calmly in place.
Only Black Sable had frozen in the posture of throwing a punch.
The white line that had appeared on the fist extended along the forearm and shoulder, across the chest, and down to the lower abdomen.
Crack.
The black carapace and Protective Spiritlight split at the same time.
Spurt!
Dark red blood finally burst out.
Black Sable looked down at the white line crossing the body, seemingly unable to believe it.
‘How...?’
Before that final thought could end, the sharp sound of the air being cut caught up with the sword light and rang through the chamber.
Keeeeen.
Thud.
Black Sable’s body collapsed to the floor in two halves.
Something wriggled inside the lower abdomen.
Bubble. Bubble.
Soon, the skin near the dantian turned black. Slender projections like insect legs thrust out from within.
But the movement did not last long. The Life-Sharing Gu, which had been split by the sword light as well, twitched a few times before rapidly shriveling into ash.
Mole stared at the corpse, face pale.
“A gu adept...”
Blue Snake broke out in a cold sweat. Blue Snake had personally brought Black Sable here.
The society leader might think the two of them had planned the ambush together. If so, no one would intervene even if the next stroke of sword light cut through Blue Snake’s neck.
Blue Snake hurriedly dropped to their knees.
“Society Leader! I swear I wasn’t working with that person. I had no idea they were a gu adept or that they were targeting you.”
The other members turned their eyes toward Blue Snake.
Yi Hyeon flicked the blood from the Mountain-Subduing Sword.
“I’ll hear your excuses later.”
Blue Snake’s shoulders flinched.
“Examine the corpse first.”
“Yes!”
Only then did the six members come to their senses.
...
With trembling hands, Blue Snake removed Black Sable’s mask and long robe.
Beneath the mask was the face of a man who appeared to be around forty. He had no noticeable scars or other distinguishing features.
They found no token among his belongings that could identify him.
But when they tore open the robe’s lining, they discovered a black iron token about two finger joints long.
A black sun was engraved on its front, and an insect with closed eyes on its back.
Blue Snake’s face grew even paler.
“The Black Sun Bureau.”
“What is that?”
“The Geonyang Kingdom’s royal intelligence organization. They investigate the unauthorized distribution of Life-Sharing Gu and plant spies in various factions outside the royal family.”
Blue Snake examined Black Sable’s face again.
“This is my first time seeing someone from the Black Sun Bureau in person. I only knew their emblem.”
Mole found a black jade bead.
Fine red lines were tangled inside it.
While examining the bead with the Qi-Observing Spell, Mole stopped.
“This seems to be connected to something outside.”
“A voice-transmission magical implement?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Set it aside.”
The members laid the items from Black Sable’s robe and storage pouch on the table. They classified the black iron token, jade bead, Vein-Detecting Ruler in its wooden case, unidentified talismans, and silver needles as items that might allow someone to track them.
“I’ll deal with these.”
What remained were thirty-odd mid-grade spirit stones, healing alchemical pills, general-purpose talismans, and ordinary spirit materials. After confirming that they had no special marks or suspicious formation inscriptions, Yi Hyeon transferred them to his storage pouch.
The members watched as though this were only natural.
The society leader had killed the enemy, so the spoils belonged to the society leader.
Lastly, they found a small spirit insect pouch at Black Sable’s waist.
Mole and Blue Snake inspected its exterior, but found no obvious tracking inscriptions.
“Let’s open it.”
Yi Hyeon removed the Spirit-Sealing Talisman and opened the pouch.
A faint jade glow seeped out.
Inside, a white spirit insect resembling a silkworm lay curled up. It was about two finger joints long.
Its skin was translucent like jade, and fine blue veins ran through its body.
White Owl’s eyes widened in surprise.
“A Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm!”
“You know this spirit insect?”
“It’s a second-tier Life-Sharing Gu. I’ve heard it excels at linking with its host’s meridians and vitality, and that accepting it is safer than accepting other Life-Sharing Gu.”
“A second-tier Life-Sharing Gu... Does that mean it’s comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”
“It’s still a larva. But once grown, it can live in symbiosis with a Foundation Establishment gu adept, which is why it’s classified as second-tier.”
The Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm did not seem to have linked its life with anyone yet.
It was a separate spirit insect from the Life-Sharing Gu that had died inside the man’s body.
“Why would a Black Sun Bureau spy be carrying something like this?”
“He might have intended to recruit a local martial artist or implant it in a new informant. I don’t know for certain.”
Yi Hyeon nodded.
He returned the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm to the spirit insect pouch, then kept the pouch as well.
Once they had sorted and put away the potentially traceable items, the ordinary spoils, and the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm, the table was clear again.
...
After everything had been put away, Yi Hyeon looked at Blue Snake.
“Where did you meet him?”
“I first met him three years ago, at the vein seat in Black Stone Ridge in the Geonyang Kingdom.”
Blue Snake bowed again until their forehead touched the floor.
“He was an independent cultivator using the residual-vein pocket there alone. I approached him first, and after testing him several times, I admitted him to the Two Heavens Society.”
“How did you test him?”
“I gave him false information in different places and watched his responses. I also checked his storage pouch and the spells he used. I sensed no traces of gu-origin true qi or a Life-Sharing Gu.”
“And you brought him here today?”
“Yes.”
Blue Snake did not dare lift their head.
“This was my failure. I’ll accept any punishment.”
“Raise your head.”
Blue Snake cautiously straightened up.
“It wouldn’t have been easy to discover that he was a gu adept. If a Foundation Establishment gu adept was determined to hide it, how could you, at Qi Refining, have known? Besides, if he belonged to the Black Sun Bureau, he must have been skilled at concealing his identity.”
“But I brought him all the way to our meeting place.”
“Yes. We won’t be using this place for a while.”
Yi Hyeon spoke to Black Crow.
“Keep Hundred Wares Hall running, but remove the formation inscriptions leading to the underground stone chamber. I’ll inform you of the next meeting place separately.”
“Understood.”
“Blue Snake, close the vein seat at Black Stone Ridge and every contact outpost he visited. Send the members involved to different regions and suspend contact with them for a while.”
“Yes.”
“We won’t accept any new members from now on.”
All six masked figures bowed their heads.
“Recheck the identities of our existing members and how they joined. Even when we begin accepting members again, each must have two recommendations and undergo at least ten years of observation. Don’t invite anyone who’s been a member for less than thirty years to a central gathering.”
“We’ll remember.”
When Blue Snake tried to speak again, Yi Hyeon raised a hand.
“If you’d been working with him, you would have acted with him the moment the ambush failed. There’s no need for further excuses.”
“Thank you, Society Leader.”
Yi Hyeon gathered the items from the meeting, then burned Black Sable’s corpse with the Fireball Spell, removing every trace.
“That concludes today’s meeting.”
The six members clasped their hands in unison.
“Farewell, Society Leader.”
Yi Hyeon’s body slowly sank into the ground.
Ssssss.
The members stood motionless for some time, staring at the spot where he had disappeared.
Yellow Field Mouse spoke first.
“Did anyone see the society leader draw a sword?”
No one could answer.
Looking at the cracked stone wall, Gray Mountain Goat spoke in a low voice.
“Black Sable’s strength was far from ordinary. If that blow had been aimed at us, no one here would have survived.”
White Owl recalled the wound that had stretched from Black Sable’s fist to his lower abdomen.
“But how did the society leader...?”
Mole looked at the solid granite floor into which Society Leader Badger had vanished.
“The society leader’s cultivation seems beyond anything we can fathom.”
...
Two shichen later.
After traveling roughly a thousand li from Gray Rock Market, Yi Hyeon burrowed twenty-five li underground, to where the earth-vein layer began.
There, he took out the black iron token, jade bead, Vein-Detecting Ruler, unidentified talismans, and silver needles.
One by one, he threw them into a fissure through which earthfire flowed.
Fwoooosh.
The black iron token glowed red-hot. The red lines inside the jade bead snapped and burst one after another.
Crackle! Crackle!
After watching until every item had lost its shape, Yi Hyeon left.
...
The next day.
The cultivation chamber of Underground Hideout No. 3.
Yi Hyeon lined up four jade bottles on the floor. Each contained three Purple Origin Pills.
Twelve in total.
For the past 280 years, he had chosen only the best vein seats for his cultivation, ranging from first-tier high-grade to supreme-grade. Even so, the amount of cultivation the Primordial Unity Body required was absurd.
According to his calculations when he reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining, reaching the ninth layer would take six hundred years. Reaching Great Perfection would require another four hundred years after that.
For that reason, Yi Hyeon had begun regularly purchasing alchemical pills for cultivation about a hundred years ago.
His time was limitless, but cultivation was boring, and he had already read almost every popular novel available in the surrounding area.
Besides, spirit plants hundreds of years old had accumulated in his spirit fields. At this point, spending several hundred more years just to save spirit stones would actually be a loss.
Of the alchemical pills for cultivation available nearby, Purple Origin Pills were the most efficient. He had bought more than seventy from White Owl alone. Thanks to them, Yi Hyeon had reached the peak of the eighth layer of Qi Refining.
...
Yi Hyeon placed a Purple Origin Pill in his mouth.
Gulp.
As it passed down his throat, gentle yet dense medicinal strength spread throughout his body.
Yi Hyeon lay comfortably on the floor and practiced the Primordial Unity Single-Qi Art.
Whoooosh.
Primordial unity true qi flowed through his meridians, rapidly absorbing the Purple Origin Pill’s medicinal strength.
One shichen later.
He had fully absorbed his second Purple Origin Pill as well.
The newly absorbed medicinal strength pushed against the upper limit of his spiritual power.
Thump.
A faint shock spread through his meridians and his entire body.
...
The eighth Purple Origin Pill dissolved.
Primordial unity true qi surged through his meridians like a storm.
Then, in an instant, the primordial unity true qi circulating throughout his body expanded.
Whooooosh!
His brimming spiritual power forced open the final boundary.
Faint ripples spread beneath Yi Hyeon’s body.
Stone dust and small pebbles rose from the floor together, then fell.
Rattle.
The ninth layer of Qi Refining!
Yi Hyeon closed his eyes as he stabilized the flow of primordial unity true qi.
...
The next day.
Yi Hyeon finally got up.
His entire body felt refreshed.
“Good.”
For the first time in a long while, Yi Hyeon took the wooden board he used as a homemade status panel from the storeroom.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t updated this in nearly three hundred years.”
After briefly examining his essence, qi, and spirit, he used the Seventh-Stem Metal Art to erase some of the old writing and engrave new information.
【Age: 1,393】
【Realm: Qi Refining stage, Layer 9】
【Spirit Power: 733 → 1,333】
【Physique: Primordial Unity Body, Level 9】
Yi Hyeon stared at the wooden board for a while.
The ninth layer of Qi Refining.
“Are Foundation Establishment Pills my next goal...?”
Foundation Establishment Pills were incomparably more precious than Origin-Raising Pills.
As far as Yi Hyeon knew, the Danso Sect in the Gon Kingdom was the only nearby faction that refined and sold them.
But even the Danso Sect did not readily release Foundation Establishment Pills to outsiders.
It sold very few outside the sect. Most went to true inheritance disciples and inner sect disciples, with the occasional pill going to an outer sect disciple who had accumulated contributions over many years.
‘I need at least fifty. But if I buy them a few at a time, the spiritual qi in the ones I bought first will leak away...’
‘If I can’t secure a large number of Foundation Establishment Pills in a short time, I’d be better off obtaining the pill formula and mother plants for the ingredients, growing them myself, and refining the pills.’
‘The problem is that the Foundation Establishment Pill formula is advanced knowledge that even great sects guard closely...’
Yi Hyeon flopped onto his back.
‘There’s no rush. I’ve only just reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining... For now, I’ll think it over while steadily cultivating toward Great Perfection.’
Yi Hyeon returned the wooden board to the storeroom.
Only then did he remember the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm he had obtained from Black Sable.
“I should examine that too.”
...
Yi Hyeon entered a separate underground space where the other Fuzzbees did not come.
He had no intention of implanting the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm in himself. Selling a Life-Sharing Gu obtained from the Black Sun Bureau would also be dangerous.
Above all, the Fuzzbees had become unusually excited by its presence. He decided to feed it to them and see what changes occurred.
First, he opened his own spirit insect pouch and took out three Fuzzbees. Their reaction when Black Sable approached had allowed him to prepare for the ambush.
Bzzz. Bzz-bzzz.
As soon as they came out, the three flew a circle around Yi Hyeon.
Squeak. Squeak-squeak.
“You want to eat it that badly?”
When Yi Hyeon opened Black Sable’s spirit insect pouch, a faint jade glow spilled out.
Ssssss.
The Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm emerged and slowly raised its head, as though surveying its surroundings.
It tried to draw in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, but the fluctuations were weak because it was still a larva.
Then all three Fuzzbees moved at once.
Bzzz!
The Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm belatedly curled up.
Squeak! Squeak-squeak!
Pshut! Pshut! Pshut!
Transparent liquid shot like bullets from the Fuzzbees’ mouths.
The sticky liquid struck the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm precisely on the head, body, and tail.
It twisted, but the mucus only bound its body more firmly to the floor.
Its jade-colored body was trapped tight inside the translucent mucus.
The Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm released faint pulses of spiritual power, seemingly terrified.
It was as though it were searching for a host with whom to link its life.
But the only creatures around it were Fuzzbees that specialized in eating spirit insects.
The three surrounded the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch...
The Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm rapidly disappeared.
The Fuzzbees shoved their heads against one another, each trying to get an extra bite.
Bzz-bzzz! Squeak-squeak!
“Don’t fight. Share it.”
Before long, the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm was completely gone.
All three Fuzzbees had round, swollen bellies.
They staggered, beat their wings a couple of times, then dropped onto the dirt floor one after another.
Plop. Plop-plop.
All three lay flat on their backs, legs spread.
Squeak...
“A food coma?”
Yi Hyeon had never seen Fuzzbees too full to move before.
But when he examined them closely, he found regular pulses of spiritual power rising from their bodies.
“Hm?”
Yi Hyeon placed one Fuzzbee on his palm.
It was hotter than usual.
‘Are they about to break through?’
Yi Hyeon immediately used the Soil Softening Art to mold granite into three small jars.
He placed one Fuzzbee in each jar, then sealed them with lids made using the Soil Softening Art. With the Seventh-Stem Metal Art, he pierced several fine holes to let air through.
“I’d better keep them apart, just in case.”
Yi Hyeon moved the three jars to a small stone chamber adjoining the storeroom.
He considered the matter for a moment.
The Fuzzbees followed Yi Hyeon, but he had not formed a formal master-servant contract with them through a secret technique from an insect-control inheritance.
Their relationship was closer to familiarity built through years of feeding and care.
If they became second-tier spirit insects, there was no guarantee they would remain as obedient as they were now.
‘I may need a secret technique to imprint myself as their master.’
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