WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 46
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Mun So-ha’s hand stopped.
“Junior Brother Yi, are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Yi Hyeon took a small bag from his storage pouch.
Clatter.
Twenty low-grade spirit stones spilled onto the table.
Yeo Mun-deok looked back and forth between the spirit stones and Yi Hyeon.
“...Reaching the ninth layer of Qi Refining has certainly made you bold.”
Dang Yeon-bi spoke.
“Do you belong to a cultivation family, Fellow Cultivator Yi?”
“No.”
“Then which of your descendants are you leaving it for?”
“I know someone who collects unusual spirit plants.”
Even after counting the spirit stones, Mun So-ha didn’t take them right away.
“Think it over. I believe it’s genuine, but I can’t promise it’ll actually sprout. I won’t be able to return the spirit stones if you change your mind later.”
“That’s perfectly fine.”
Twenty low-grade spirit stones were nothing to Yi Hyeon.
Mun So-ha finally put the spirit stones into a storage pouch.
After taking the wooden box, Yi Hyeon asked Mun So-ha a question.
“If you come across any more seeds that are cheap because they take so long to grow, or that won’t sell because they’re hard to identify, could you let me know?”
“You want to buy more?”
“I’ll decide after seeing the price.”
A small smile appeared on Mun So-ha’s face.
“I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”
...
Yi Hyeon’s residence in the Outer Alchemy Court.
He placed the wooden box on the table.
When he opened the lid, the Ringless Divine Tree seed came into view.
Yi Hyeon touched the seed with a fingertip, then used the Qi-Observing Spell and his spiritual sense in turn.
Only after examining it for a long time did he sense a faint trace of vitality inside.
‘It isn’t dead. Mun So-ha said it would produce Dark Nether Frost Thunder after five thousand years.’
He recalled Mun So-ha’s words.
“They say that when Dark Nether Frost Thunder touches a target, their magical power freezes, and even their primordial spirit’s thoughts slow down.”
‘The primordial spirit...’
His thoughts naturally turned to the news Dang Yeon-bi had shared earlier.
The overseas cultivators who had taken over the Ram Kingdom.
Yi Hyeon remembered the red clouds, ash-gray snow, and upside-down sea that had covered the sky above the Jangchun Sect long ago.
Venerable Scarlet Furnace’s spell-empowered voice had carried a Golden Core cultivator’s spiritual sense and mental image of fire. When Lady White Ash’s voice spread, even those who had been furious were swept up in the grief of the dead. When Vast Sea Guest spoke of the principles of the sea, the Qi Refining cultivators felt as though they stood alone before a boundless ocean.
When the gazes of some Jangchun Sect disciples began to waver, a Foundation Establishment elder rang a bronze bell, while Go Won-hak spread a medicinal fragrance that cleared the mind.
‘I wasn’t particularly affected back then, but...’
Perhaps that was because his whole body, including his brain and spinal cord, had been bathed in spiritual power while he formed the Primordial Unity Body. But those spell-empowered voices had been wide-area techniques directed at the entire Oesa Market. No one had focused a spiritual sense attack on Yi Hyeon alone.
‘The Jangchun Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators weren’t particularly affected. But the Golden Core cultivators influenced the thoughts of Qi Refining cultivators simply by putting magical power and spiritual sense into their words.’
Yi Hyeon realized what his weakness was.
He had far more spiritual power than other cultivators at the same realm.
But he had never specifically cultivated his primordial spirit.
‘I can counter spells with spiritual power. But if my mind is deceived, I might not even realize I’m under attack.’
‘What I need now is a defense against spiritual sense attacks.’
...
The next day.
The outer section of the Scripture Repository.
Yi Hyeon stood in an area containing teachings on protecting the primordial spirit.
A name and a short description floated over each jade slip on the wall.
《Clear Mind and Spirit-Nourishing Art》, 《Illusion-Breaking and Mind-Clearing Spell》, 《Three Soul-Calming Tones》...
None of them were bad teachings. But each differed a little from what Yi Hyeon wanted.
The Clear Mind and Spirit-Nourishing Art used little spiritual power, but its effects were correspondingly weak. The Illusion-Breaking and Mind-Clearing Spell required him to first realize that he had been deceived. The Three Soul-Calming Tones were suitable for freeing several people from mental confusion, but couldn’t directly block a powerful spiritual sense attack.
Yi Hyeon slowly made his way through the area before stopping in front of a jade slip.
《Spirit-Guarding and Origin-Protecting Art》
「A secret art that forms an Origin-Protecting Seal in the sea of consciousness to protect the primordial spirit from the spiritual sense of others. Spiritual power is continuously consumed while the Origin-Protecting Seal is maintained. Consumption increases with the strength of the impact on the primordial spirit. Ninety contribution points.」
‘Hmm?’
Yi Hyeon read the description again.
The constant consumption of spiritual power while using the secret art was a major drawback for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator. But his circumstances were different.
‘If spiritual power consumption is its only drawback, isn’t that practically no drawback at all for me?’
The Spirit-Guarding and Origin-Protecting Art was a secret art that formed an Origin-Protecting Seal in advance. Once formed, the seal would automatically respond and protect his primordial spirit for as long as he maintained it, even if he failed to notice an illusion or spiritual sense attack.
It was exactly the teaching he had been looking for.
Yi Hyeon immediately approached the disciple in charge.
“I’d like to study the Spirit-Guarding and Origin-Protecting Art.”
The disciple placed Yi Hyeon’s identity token on a formation disk.
Hummm.
The 368 contribution points remaining on his identity token appeared, and ninety of them vanished.
“Go to Teaching Chamber Eleven. You have two shichen to study it.”
“Understood.”
...
Even after memorizing every detail of the jade slip in Teaching Chamber Eleven, Yi Hyeon didn’t leave the Scripture Repository right away. He browsed a little longer.
This time, he headed to the artifact refining section.
‘I have too many magical implements now...’
His high-grade magical implements currently consisted of six bronze flying swords, a black iron spear, and the Protective Bell. His mid-grade magical implements were the Mountain-Subduing Sword and the Force-Dispersing Underarmor.
Before he knew it, he had acquired five kinds of magical implements.
It was inconvenient to take them to an artifact refiner every time they suffered minor damage or developed a problem with their restrictions. At the very least, he needed to be able to inspect them and perform simple repairs himself.
After checking several jade slips, Yi Hyeon chose the 《Essential Guide to Nurturing and Refining Magical Implements》.
「Contains methods for inspecting the restrictions of magical implements, nurturing them with spiritual power, and repairing minor damage. Forty-two contribution points.」
He paid the contribution points and studied the Essential Guide to Nurturing and Refining Magical Implements as well.
...
After studying the two teachings, Yi Hyeon made one final search for records about the Ringless Divine Tree.
An ancient spirit tree guide that cost ten contribution points to read contained a short entry.
「The Ringless Divine Tree is a spirit tree inclined toward water among the five elements, and yin within yin and yang. It grows over long years in damp places without sunlight.
Forcing its growth with powerful spiritual qi will only cause it to shrink back. Time alone nurtures the ringless tree.」
‘Does the concentration of spiritual qi not matter? And judging by its nature, a tunnel should be a decent place to grow it...’
Yi Hyeon’s mood improved.
If, like other spirit plants, it took nearly three times as long to grow somewhere without a spirit vein, he would have to wait fifteen thousand years to see Dark Nether Frost Thunder, rather than five thousand.
‘Even for me, waiting fifteen thousand years is a bit much...’
He memorized everything he had read, then left the Scripture Repository.
After studying the Spirit-Guarding and Origin-Protecting Art, the Essential Guide to Nurturing and Refining Magical Implements, and the ancient spirit tree guide, he had 226 contribution points left on his identity token.
Other outer sect disciples rarely spent as many contribution points in the Scripture Repository as Yi Hyeon did. Contribution points could also buy alchemical pills, spirit stones, magical implements, and cultivation resources.
But Yi Hyeon wasn’t short of spirit stones.
Most things could be bought with spirit stones, but that wasn’t true of teachings verified by the Danso Sect. Having lived as an independent cultivator for so long, Yi Hyeon knew their value better than anyone.
‘My lower dantian still has quite a way to go before reaching Great Perfection in Qi Refining. I’ll earn more contribution points in the meantime...’
...
A few days later.
After completing all his assigned alchemy work, Yi Hyeon applied for permission to leave the sect.
...
Nine days later.
Underground Hideout No. 3.
After inspecting the water supply facilities and spirit fields, Yi Hyeon headed to an empty cavern far from the existing caverns.
It was cold and damp inside.
Small amounts of groundwater seeped through gaps in the bedrock.
‘This should be a good place to plant the Ringless Divine Tree.’
Yi Hyeon used spells to move earth and stone, reshaping the cavern.
Allowing for the possibility that the Ringless Divine Tree might become enormous in the distant future, he raised the ceiling. He spread black soil and fine sand brought from elsewhere across a wide area of the floor. He also dug shallow channels to keep groundwater from pooling on one side.
...
One shichen later.
Spirit Field No. 3-1 was complete.
At the center of the broad spirit field was a small hole less than a handspan deep.
Yi Hyeon took the Ringless Divine Tree seed out of its wooden box.
He placed the seed in the hole and covered it with a shallow layer of soil. After pressing the surface lightly with his palm, he dampened the soil with groundwater that had seeped from the bedrock.
“Now I just wait?”
He smoothed the soil once more. If there was one thing he was confident in, it was waiting.
After filling the water tank to the brim one last time, Yi Hyeon left Underground Hideout No. 3 and returned to the Danso Sect.
* * *
Nine years later.
The cultivation room in Yi Hyeon’s residence at the Outer Alchemy Court.
Yi Hyeon sat cross-legged, circulating the version of the Primordial Unity Single-Qi Art improved by later generations.
The surrounding spiritual qi gathered inside the cultivation room through the Spirit-Gathering Formation.
Whooo.
The spiritual qi entered his body through his skin and breathing, then was refined into primordial unity true qi.
When he had stopped training his entire body evenly and begun focusing on his lower dantian, Yi Hyeon had worried that the two methods might conflict.
But the incantations improved by later generations and those for the Primordial Unity Body belonged to the same cultivation art. Only the area they treated as the dantian differed. No problems had arisen since.
‘Now I understand it even more clearly. A cultivator’s realm isn’t determined by the amount of spiritual power stored in their body.’
A cultivator’s realm didn’t fall even if they used up all their spiritual power, and it took only a few shichen to recover it. What determined their realm was the cultivated state of the body and dantian that absorbed spiritual qi, refined it into spiritual power, and stored it.
Each time continued cultivation raised the upper limit of their spiritual power, tiny parts of their flesh and meridians underwent a gradual transformation. To borrow an expression from his past life, it was closer to every cell that handled spiritual qi changing into something mysterious of a higher order.
‘It’s possible for just my lower dantian to break through to Foundation Establishment. But it seems that circulating liquefied spiritual power from my lower dantian through my whole body won’t automatically bring the rest of my body to Foundation Establishment.’
‘I’ll have to train the rest of my body separately until it can refine the spiritual qi of heaven and earth into liquid spiritual power on its own, then break through to Foundation Establishment. Only then will I truly have a Foundation Establishment-level Primordial Unity Body.’
Hummmm.
Spiritual power rippled around Yi Hyeon’s Sea of Qi acupoint.
The amount and purity of the spiritual power he could hold within the same volume had reached the highest possible level in the Qi Refining stage.
His lower dantian had reached Great Perfection in Qi Refining!
The spiritual qi gathering inside the cultivation room subsided.
After examining the changes in his Sea of Qi acupoint, Yi Hyeon took the wooden board he used as a handmade status panel from his storage pouch.
【Spiritual Power: 1,333 → 1,340】
The increase in his spiritual power limit was confined to what he had gained from his lower dantian’s breakthrough.
‘If my whole body had advanced from the beginning of the ninth layer to Great Perfection in Qi Refining, it would’ve risen by 350 instead of seven... Anyway, now I can attempt Foundation Establishment as soon as I have a Foundation Establishment Pill.’
Yi Hyeon stood.
“I should find out where I stand in the queue for a Foundation Establishment Pill.”
...
A few days later.
The Mission Hall under the Outer Alchemy Court.
Yi Hyeon stopped as soon as he entered the hall.
One section of the wall where mission tokens usually hung was filled with red.
Dozens of red wooden tokens had displaced the usual mission tokens.
Disciples of the Outer Alchemy Court stood before them, talking in low voices.
“There are even more than last month.”
“Just how many bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills are there?”
“Don’t count them by the bottle. Count them by the hundred.”
Yi Hyeon examined the nearest red mission token.
「Three hundred bottles of middle-grade Tier 1 Blood-Staunching Pills.
Deadline: two months.」
Similar missions hung beside it.
「Two hundred bottles of Qi-Restoring Pills.」
「One hundred and fifty bottles of Clear Mind Pills.」
「Two hundred bottles of Detoxification Pills.」
These were pills the Outer Alchemy Court normally produced, but the quantities and deadlines were completely different.
“They want us to make all of this within two months?”
One of the disciples gathered in front of the red mission tokens sounded appalled.
A nearby disciple shook their head.
“There are smaller batches too. Look below.”
Small blue wooden tokens hung in rows beneath the red mission tokens.
「Ten bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills.」
「Twenty bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills.」
「Thirty bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills.」
“Didn’t we make this much last month too?”
“That’s what’s strange. Just how much are they planning to stockpile...?”
Yi Hyeon examined the red mission tokens again.
Pills to stop bleeding, restore spiritual power, remove poison, and calm the primordial spirit. The selection was meant to prepare for a situation in which hundreds of cultivators were injured or exhausted their spiritual power at once.
‘Is the Danso Sect preparing for war?’
...
Yi Hyeon entered the Outer Alchemy Court’s hall in the center of the valley.
Upon noticing him, Steward Gwon briefly swept over him with spiritual sense.
“You’ve reached Great Perfection in Qi Refining.”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Yi Hyeon asked a question.
“Steward Gwon, may I ask you something?”
“You must be here to ask about Foundation Establishment Pills.”
“That’s right. What must I do to receive one?”
Steward Gwon examined a ledger for a moment.
“Based on your current length of service and total contribution points earned, it’ll take seventy or eighty years for your turn to come. If more candidates join the queue in the meantime, it could be pushed back to ninety.”
‘Ninety years!?’
That was longer than he had expected.
His current identity, Yi Dong-sam, was a forty-seven-year-old first-tier alchemist at Great Perfection in Qi Refining. Qi Refining cultivators lived about 150 years at most, and usually around 120.
“So if I’m lucky, I might get one before I die.”
Steward Gwon shook their head.
“That’s just what you get by applying the current criteria mechanically. Long before your turn comes, your age and chances of breaking through will push you out of consideration. Would the sect give a precious Foundation Establishment Pill to a Qi Refining cultivator at Great Perfection who’s over ninety? Your chances of breaking through fall with age.”
“Then...”
“You’ll have difficulty receiving a Foundation Establishment Pill if you continue as you are. It isn’t just you. Most outer sect disciples face the same problem.”
Steward Gwon closed the ledger.
“That’s why, apart from their regular duties, they take on dangerous or unpopular outside missions to move up the queue.”
After a moment’s thought, the steward continued.
“As it happens, there’s one option available right now. If you’re willing to serve as a resident cultivator in the Anneung Kingdom, you could shorten your wait for a Foundation Establishment Pill by about fifty years.”
“A resident cultivator?”
“The External Affairs Office is holding a briefing tomorrow. You can attend without applying, so go and find out for yourself.”
Steward Gwon handed Yi Hyeon a notice.
“I don’t quite understand. Why would simply serving as a resident cultivator in a mortal kingdom let me receive a Foundation Establishment Pill sooner?”
“I don’t know the details either. They’ll explain at the briefing.”
...
The next day.
A small meeting hall under the External Affairs Office.
About twenty late-stage Qi Refining outer sect disciples interested in the posting sat at a long table.
A map of the northwestern Gon Kingdom was spread out at the front.
South of the Anneung Kingdom, the Geonyang Kingdom’s border stretched along a thick black line. All the land that had once been the Untaek Kingdom lay within that line as well.
A Foundation Establishment steward from the External Affairs Office was conducting the meeting.
The steward began.
“Let me make one thing clear first. The Danso Sect is not at war with the Geonyang Kingdom.”
The steward’s finger traced the border on the map.
“Over the past several hundred years, the Geonyang Kingdom has annexed the Untaek Kingdom and several smaller kingdoms to its north. As a result, it now shares a long border with the Anneung Kingdom.”
The steward first placed three red markers on the second-tier spirit veins in the north.
“Over the past five years, the Geonyang Kingdom has steadily increased the number of gu adepts stationed at three northern spirit veins.”
The next marker went on the main road leading to the Anneung Kingdom.
“They’ve renovated their border checkpoints and begun strictly controlling the movement of cultivators and gu adepts without royal permission.”
The final marker went on a small cultivator market near the border.
“Two months ago, three independent cultivators from the Anneung Kingdom disappeared near the border. One of them had been helping with work at the Immortal-Serving Court.”
The atmosphere in the meeting hall grew a little heavier.
A disciple asked a question.
“Were they killed by the Geonyang Kingdom’s gu adepts?”
“That hasn’t been confirmed. Bandit cultivators may have been responsible, or they may have gone into hiding of their own accord.”
The steward pointed south on the map, toward the Chang Kingdom.
“Some of you will have heard rumors that cultivators from the overseas force that took over the Ram Kingdom have appeared in the southern Chang Kingdom.”
Several disciples nodded.
“It isn’t known how the Myriad Gu Sect will respond to them. Nor has it been confirmed why the Geonyang Kingdom is strengthening its northern defenses at the same time.”
The steward paused briefly.
“The two matters may be unrelated. But our sect doesn’t wait until a threat becomes real before acting. In consultation with the Byeokra Sect, we’ve decided to reinforce the garrisons at Immortal-Serving Courts throughout the Gon Kingdom in advance. The Anneung Kingdom’s Immortal-Serving Court is one of them.”
Another disciple asked a question.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to send Foundation Establishment cultivators?”
“Foundation Establishment cultivators are scarce. Besides, if we station large numbers of them at the border, the Geonyang Kingdom may see it as preparation for war.”
The steward pointed to the Geonyang Kingdom, then the Chang Kingdom.
“Our sect hopes those two kingdoms will hold back the overseas force’s advance north. We don’t want to provoke either the Geonyang Kingdom or the Chang Kingdom too much, or damage our relations with them. That’s why we intend to first send more Qi Refining disciples to support the existing resident cultivators and the mortal kingdom’s forces.”
Yi Hyeon roughly understood the situation.
“There’s no need to worry too much, as no war has broken out at present. However, since this mission requires you to accept risks that haven’t yet become clear, the rewards will reflect that. The posting lasts twenty years. If you complete your term, your place in the queue for a Foundation Establishment Pill will advance by fifty years. Even if nothing happens during that time, the reward will remain the same.”
Quiet murmurs rose throughout the meeting hall.
One disciple raised a hand.
“What exactly will the posted disciples be doing?”
“You’ll share the existing duties of the resident cultivators. Your basic tasks will be supervising independent cultivators employed by the royal family, collecting tribute, selecting children with outstanding spiritual roots, and mediating disputes between cultivation families. Artisan disciples will also take responsibility for their own fields. For example, an alchemist will manage the Immortal-Serving Court’s pill reserves and handle the refining and inspection of pills needed locally.”
“How strong are the Immortal-Serving Court’s defenses?”
“There’s a large second-tier defensive formation that can be activated in an emergency. Besides the resident cultivators from the Danso Sect and Byeokra Sect, the garrison includes independent Qi Refining cultivators employed by the Anneung Kingdom’s royal family, as well as martial arts experts of comparable strength.”
The steward’s gaze swept through the meeting hall.
“But having a formation doesn’t make it completely safe. If the Immortal-Serving Court is attacked, you’ll have to fight too.”
The steward added one final point.
“If you succeed in Foundation Establishment, you’ll qualify to enter the inner sect and have a chance to become a disciple of a Golden Core elder. Decide for yourselves whether that opportunity is worth this level of risk.”
...
The briefing continued for one shichen.
Judging only by the terms offered, it wasn’t a bad arrangement. But once the briefing ended, more than half the disciples immediately left the meeting hall. They all seemed to feel that something was wrong.
Yi Hyeon, however, remained seated and looked at the map in front of him.
The Anneung Kingdom.
That was where Underground Hideout No. 3 was located.
He was also familiar with the surrounding terrain and powers.
Above all, he was the leader of the Two Heavens Society. It would be a shame to keep neglecting an organization he had spent nearly three hundred years building. If he stayed in the Anneung Kingdom, he could check on the Two Heavens Society and gradually resume its activities.
‘Besides, even if I don’t apply now, the Danso Sect will probably conscript outer sect disciples if the situation gets worse.’
Then there would be no guarantee that he could move up the queue for a Foundation Establishment Pill despite taking the same risks. If he was sent to a kingdom other than Anneung, he would also be far from his tunnel and the Two Heavens Society.
If he applied now, the mission’s duration, location, and duties were clear.
‘I might as well choose the posting I want while I still have a choice.’
Yi Hyeon looked at the Anneung Kingdom on the map.
‘From my past-life experience, a shorter commute makes a huge difference to your quality of life.’
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