WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 58
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The disciples seated in the lecture hall turned their eyes toward Yi Hyeon.
Yi Hyeon clasped his hands.
“It was thanks to my senior brothers and sisters’ guidance.”
Dam Un-saeng spoke again.
“You helped capture a prisoner at Jeoksu Garden, and the formation you set up in advance bought everyone time to retreat?”
“Yes.”
“Well done.”
Ak Mu-gu added from beside him, “Without that formation, Junior Sister Mae and I might have been hit by those bone nails.”
Mae So-gun agreed.
“That’s right.”
Dam Un-saeng nodded.
“You should all learn from our youngest disciple’s preparedness. In any case, the four of you who went to the Hwacheon Secret Realm will be excused from regular alchemy duties for the next month. Rest, and make sure you treat any injuries.”
“Thank you, Master.”
The four bowed together.
“Since the four of you have just returned from the secret realm, we’ll begin today’s lecture with spirit plants that require Lesser Yang qi. So-gun, among the plants you gathered at Jeoksu Garden...”
The lecture hall was once again filled with discussions of medicinal ingredients and heat control.
...
After the lecture.
As they descended Yeonha Peak, Ak Mu-gu stretched both arms out.
“Let’s enjoy a full month’s rest.”
Do Mun-gyeom said, “The External Affairs Office has been calculating our contribution points. They said we can collect them starting today, so stop by when you have time.”
Do Mun-gyeom rose into the air first, and Ak Mu-gu and Mae So-gun also flew toward their respective cave abodes.
...
The Mission Hall of the External Affairs Office.
Several cultivators who had returned from the secret realm were gathered inside.
Yi Hyeon held out his identity token, and the steward in charge placed it on a formation disk.
Hummm.
“Fellow Cultivator Yi Dong-sam of Yeonha Peak...”
The steward opened a ledger.
“The basic reward for your assignment and extended rotation is 80 points. You’ve earned 50 points for helping secure a prisoner, and your share of the joint credit for preserving the harvest and supporting the retreat is 30 points.”
The steward moved a finger down to the next line.
“Your confirmed achievements in the final battle earned another 40 points. That makes 200 points in total.”
Yi Hyeon examined the ledger.
It contained a record of the Skull Island cultivator he had initially captured, Do Mun-gyeom’s report, and the details of the harvest they had handed over. Naturally, there was nothing about Gwak Jin-myeong or the other two cultivators he had killed alone in the valley.
“Everything looks correct.”
The steward placed a hand on the formation disk.
The flame pattern on the identity token brightened, and his available contribution points rose to 712.
‘I’ve saved up quite a few.’
As Yi Hyeon reached for his identity token, the steward pointed outside the hall.
“If you have anything from the secret realm that you’d like to sell, visit the Equipment Hall. They’re accepting battle spoils separately this time.”
“Don’t they normally buy magical implements?”
“This time, they also want to study items from the cultivation world on the other side. Apparently, they’ll pay even for unfamiliar restrictions or spirit materials. Of course, if it’s a useful magical implement, they’ll pay a fair price as usual, even if it isn’t foreign.”
“I see. Will they also identify unknown alchemical pills obtained as battle spoils?”
“The Pill Inspection Office at the Inner Alchemy Court is handling those.”
“Thank you.”
Yi Hyeon left the hall.
...
Inside the Equipment Hall.
Yi Hyeon laid two blood-red flying hooks, a flying sword, a round shield, a gourd split in two, fragments of throwing knives, some suspicious jade tokens and talismans, and several pieces of metal on the table.
The middle-aged cultivator behind the table sorted the items by type.
“These four are in good condition.”
The appraiser placed the two flying hooks side by side and poured spiritual power into them.
Hummm.
The restrictions engraved on the inner curves of the hooks responded to each other, glowing a faint blood-red.
“A set of high-grade magical implements. You don’t intend to use them yourself?”
“I already have magical implements I’m comfortable using.”
The appraiser did not press him and examined the flying sword and shield in turn.
“I can offer 82 mid-grade spirit stones for all four.”
That was close to what Yi Hyeon had expected.
“I’ll take it.”
The appraiser next examined the split gourd and the fragments of the broken throwing knives. After running a fingertip along the cut surfaces, he shook his head.
“These... It would be better to make new ones. All the connections between the internal restrictions have been severed. Still, they were refined differently from our sect’s implements, so I can offer a few spirit stones.”
The appraiser pushed the gourd and knife fragments to one side.
Finally, Yi Hyeon took out a jade box.
“There’s this as well.”
After examining the jade box, the appraiser placed a small formation disk on the table.
Faint curtains of light rose on all four sides.
Click.
The jade box opened, revealing a black banner with a Spirit-Sealing Talisman attached.
It was the White Bone Banner.
Faint black energy rose from the banner’s edges, and a sound like someone sobbing brushed past his ears.
The appraiser immediately closed the jade box.
“An item that gathers vengeful spirits.”
“That’s right.”
“We wouldn’t normally handle something like this, but we’ll make an exception for now. The appraisal will take some time, though... Will you leave this with us too?”
“Yes. I have no use for it.”
The appraiser attached a separate wooden tag to the jade box.
“We’ll let you know the price once the examination is complete. It may be worth less than you expect.”
“That’s fine.”
...
After leaving the spoils he felt uneasy about keeping, Yi Hyeon also took out his Body-Guarding Bell.
Thin cracks remained on the blue-green bell’s surface.
The middle-aged appraiser lifted it and examined it inside and out.
“It took a powerful attack.”
“Can it be repaired?”
“Three mid-grade spirit stones should cover it. Come back in ten days.”
Yi Hyeon paid, then took out his Dark-Scale Underarmor for inspection as well.
Fortunately, the marks on its scales were shallow, and nothing was wrong with the internal restrictions. He was told that he only needed to nurture the damaged areas with spiritual power and realign the overlapping scales.
He decided to repair it himself, using the basic implement-refining inheritance he had obtained earlier, 《Essential Guide to Nurturing and Refining Magical Implements》.
...
Next, he visited the Pill Inspection Office at the Inner Alchemy Court.
Yi Hyeon brought out two bottles of Spirit-Nurturing Pills and the medicine bottles whose contents he could not identify.
The alchemist in charge first examined each bottle’s seal. Then the alchemist broke off small portions of the pills to check their inner color, medicinal scent, and the flow of spiritual power.
“They appear to be Spirit-Nurturing Pills, but I’m not skilled enough to be certain. I’ll ask an elder. Come back in a few days.”
“I only need to know whether they’re safe to take.”
“Understood. We’ll check for any unwanted effects as well.”
Yi Hyeon received a claim token and left.
Deep in his storage pouch, he still had the 《Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture》, a book containing Gwak Jin-myeong’s cultivation notes, the Six-Armed Bone Puppet, and bone materials and medicinal liquids for his research. He had no intention of handing those over to the sect.
If anyone asked where he had obtained the other items he had brought out today, he had room to make excuses. Plenty of cultivators had taken storage pouches from fallen enemies in the secret realm. There would be nothing strange about claiming that he had obtained the Skull Island cultivators’ magical implements and the White Bone Banner amid the chaotic fighting.
But if he handed over even Skull Island’s foundational cultivation art, the 《Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture》, he might have to start by explaining how he had killed a prodigy at Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment all by himself. The mere thought gave him a headache.
...
Three days later.
Cheongu Gorge.
Yi Hyeon began pouring spirit stones onto the stone table.
Clatter.
When he counted them, he found that he now had a full 370 mid-grade spirit stones!
That was the total after adding the proceeds from selling his items and the spirit stones he had obtained in the secret realm to what he had owned before setting out.
He had this much left even after deducting the spirit stones consumed by the Nine-Bend Dust-Sand Formation, the various appraisal fees, the pill inspection fee, and the cost of repairing the Body-Guarding Bell.
“I made quite a lot.”
He put the spirit stones back into their pouch.
...
Yi Hyeon took out the Spirit-Nurturing Pills that had passed inspection.
Fortunately, they had been judged safe to take.
He had been told that their medicinal potency focused on nourishing spiritual sense. No ingredients had been found that would harm spiritual power refined through other cultivation arts or leave any separate restrictions behind.
Apart from the one pill used for inspection, the rest were divided between the two bottles.
Yi Hyeon took out just one to begin with.
It was a small pill with a gray surface. He brought it to his nose and caught its medicinal scent.
Gulp.
After swallowing the pill, Yi Hyeon lay comfortably on the cultivation room floor and circulated the Primordial Unity Single-Qi Art.
A little while later, gentle medicinal strength rose through his meridians and slowly spread toward the back of his neck and his head.
Yi Hyeon observed its flow without rushing.
...
Two shichen passed.
Yi Hyeon opened his eyes.
When he extended his spiritual sense, several fine currents of spiritual power that had previously seemed to overlap became a little easier to distinguish.
He reached out, and six bronze flying swords emerged from his storage pouch and floated into the air.
Swishhh.
The flying swords slowly circled the cultivation room. A good while later, he put them away.
“It definitely works. Controlling my spiritual sense is easier than before.”
The increase in his spiritual sense itself was not large. Fortunately, he felt no particular discomfort even after fully absorbing the medicinal strength.
Yi Hyeon stored the remaining Spirit-Nurturing Pills separately. To be safe, he intended to leave plenty of time between doses.
...
The next day.
The Inner Pavilion of the Scripture Repository.
Yi Hyeon examined the shelves containing teachings on puppets.
There were not many. The Danso Sect’s main craft was alchemy.
Each of the hundred cultivation arts was deep and complex. Even a sect large enough to have Nascent Soul cultivators would usually excel in only certain fields.
Still, countless disciples and elders had gathered materials over many years, so there were some basic teachings on the puppet arts.
These included methods for making wooden puppets, the structure of puppets that carried loads in mines, and instructions for making small puppets that could move underwater.
Yi Hyeon paid 80 contribution points to study 《An Introduction to Soul Stone Inscription (魂石刻印初解)》.
It covered how to process soul stones, inscribe commands on them, and connect them to the restrictions in a puppet’s body.
Its teachings could be used whether the puppet was made of wood, metal, or bone.
...
After leaving the inheritance chamber, he mainly searched for materials on earthfire and cave abode construction.
《Essential Guide to Channeling Earthfire (地火引流要訣)》
《Records on Building Underground Cave Abodes (地下洞府營造錄)》
They cost 40 and 30 contribution points, respectively.
The first covered methods of drawing earthfire upward directly or separating its heat and fire qi for use. The second discussed terrain to avoid when building an underground cave abode and ways to reinforce caverns.
Yi Hyeon spent a particularly long time reading the second text. It explained things he had avoided attempting because of a vague sense of unease.
‘I should’ve read this long ago. Going by this, expanding the caverns to add more spirit fields shouldn’t be difficult.’
After studying the three inheritances, he had 562 contribution points left.
...
Danso Immortal City.
Yi Hyeon returned to the Spirit Materials Hall that sold Jade-Condensing Grass seeds.
“I’d like to buy some Jade-Condensing Grass seeds.”
“How many would you like?”
“270.”
The Qi Refining clerk paused while opening a wooden box.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
When Yi Hyeon had first planted Jade-Condensing Grass, he had not even known whether he would be able to grow Fireheart Orchids. He had bought 30 seeds, thinking that if he planted them, they would come in useful someday.
But now that he had obtained Lesser Yang Stones, things were different. If he grew Fireheart Orchids himself in addition to Spirit-Storing Ginseng and Jade-Condensing Grass, he would be cultivating all three principal ingredients in the Danso Sect’s Foundation Establishment Pill formula.
That brought him up against a practical problem.
‘With my skills, how many plants would I need to grow to refine 50 Foundation Establishment Pills?’
Dam Un-saeng had made five Foundation Establishment Pills from one set of principal ingredients.
But there was no guarantee Yi Hyeon could do the same. At first, he might succeed only once in five attempts. Even a successful batch might yield just one or two usable pills.
‘I just need to plant plenty. Anything left over can be turned into spirit stones.’
Buying more seeds now would not cost many spirit stones. But if he only realized several hundred years later that he did not have enough ingredients, a few spirit stones would not solve the problem then.
The clerk brought over the wooden boxes.
Yi Hyeon checked the seeds’ vitality one by one, then paid eight mid-grade spirit stones and ten low-grade spirit stones.
...
He still had many other places to visit.
Formation implements for channeling earthfire, pipes that could withstand fire qi, heat-insulating stone slabs, spirit tree timber for reinforcing narrow passages, and materials for supplying water to the spirit fields.
He spent 26 mid-grade spirit stones on the building materials and formation implements.
Two soul stones for puppet research, inscription tools, and practice materials cost another ten mid-grade spirit stones.
...
Ten days later.
Underground Hideout No. 3.
Buzzz.
Golden balls of fluff swarmed toward him with a familiar humming of wings.
“Yes, have you all been well?”
Squeak! Squeak, squeak!
The Fuzzbees clung to Yi Hyeon’s shoulders, head, and the hem of his robe.
The three Tier 2 Fuzzbees and dozens of Tier 1 Fuzzbees that emerged from his spirit insect pouch also flew straight into the swarm.
Yi Hyeon first checked the water tanks and spirit fields, confirming that everything was safe.
...
Spirit Field No. 3-2, where he had planted the Jade-Condensing Grass.
Using 《Records on Building Underground Cave Abodes》 as a guide, Yi Hyeon expanded the cavern enough to grow another 70 plants without disturbing the 30 already planted.
He sowed 70 Jade-Condensing Grass seeds in the additional space.
Next, he used adjacent caverns to create two more spirit fields in the same way, planting 100 Jade-Condensing Grass seeds in each.
He also connected new bamboo water pipes from the tank and added the necessary formation inscriptions.
Finally, he planted the wooden signs.
「Spirit Field No. 3-3」
「Spirit Field No. 3-4」
Yi Hyeon recorded the planting date and number of seeds in his ledger. He was now growing 300 Jade-Condensing Grass plants across three spirit fields.
...
Beneath Underground Hideout No. 3.
About 25 li underground.
Yi Hyeon moved along a fissure in the bedrock.
Before long, he reached a small cavern.
A narrow crack in the floor gave off a red glow.
‘This should do.’
Yi Hyeon took a Lesser Yang Stone from his storage pouch and supported it with spiritual power as he placed it near the crack.
Hot air brushed the underside of the stone, and fire-attribute spiritual qi seeped into it.
After a little while, the patterns on the ore’s surface began to glow faintly. A warm, clear energy rose above it. It was the same Lesser Yang qi he had felt in the Hwacheon Secret Realm’s spirit fields.
“Oh...”
...
Two days later.
Yi Hyeon was inspecting his new spirit fields.
「Spirit Field No. 3-5」
「Spirit Field No. 3-6」
「Spirit Field No. 3-7」
Of the young Fireheart Orchids he had brought from the secret realm, 300 healthy plants had been divided among the three fields.
He had placed heat-insulating stone slabs between the crack and the spirit fields, arranging the structure so that only the Lesser Yang qi rising from the Lesser Yang Stones would flow in.
Lesser Yang qi seeped evenly into the ground, where local soil had been mixed with red earth brought from the secret realm. Dedicated water tanks, supply pipes, and drainage channels had also been installed for the three fields.
‘All three principal ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills are now in Underground Hideout No. 3!’
“Haha.”
Yi Hyeon sat comfortably on the earthen floor.
Before him, the still-young Fireheart Orchids quietly swayed their leaves.
‘Now I just need to improve my pill refining and wait for these to grow.’
...
After returning to the sect and spending the rest of his break there, Yi Hyeon resumed his regular alchemy duties. During his free time at Cheongu Gorge, he studied the puppet arts, working with bones, soul stones, and inscription tools.
* * *
Three months later.
Hummm.
At Yi Hyeon’s fingertips, the clear, gentle primordial unity true qi gradually took on a gloomy nature.
“I did it!”
Yi Hyeon had succeeded in producing profound yin white bone true qi!
Although the conversion was too inefficient to be particularly useful in combat, it was more than enough for studying the puppet arts.
...
One year later.
Cheongu Gorge.
The Six-Armed Bone Puppet stood on the floor.
Hummm.
A faint light appeared inside the puppet’s eye sockets.
When Yi Hyeon sent it a mental command, the puppet moved its six arms one after another.
“It finally moves.”
...
Ten days later, at Underground Hideout No. 3.
While testing the puppet, Yi Hyeon ran into a serious problem.
It moved quite well when he controlled it directly. But things were different when he tried to inscribe commands and make it work on its own.
For example, when he told it to clear stones from a passage, the puppet did not stop even after moving every stone on the floor. In the end, it even tried to pull stones out of the walls.
‘This is too complicated...’
In his past life, Yi Hyeon had mainly used computers to play games. He had never designed a program. Creating commands that would let the puppet act on its own according to the situation was truly difficult!
‘So this is why they call it a craft...’
...
That night.
Yi Hyeon lay on the cultivation room floor, studying a sheet of paper showing the puppet’s structure.
‘It’s useful when I control it directly... but it doesn’t suit the way I fight.’
Controlling the puppet as well made it difficult to concentrate on moving his own body and magical implements.
‘I’d rather have it guard the hideout while I cultivate.’
But to use it as a sentry, it needed to judge situations without being told what to do every step of the way. That was precisely where Yi Hyeon had gotten stuck.
Just then, a small sound came from beside his head.
Squeak.
A Tier 2 Fuzzbee rolled over and rubbed its back against Yi Hyeon’s finger.
Feeling a sudden urge to amuse himself, Yi Hyeon used the Spirit-Nurturing Seal to order it to bring over the Six-Armed Bone Puppet.
‘Surely it can’t do that?’
Buzz.
The Fuzzbee flew straight over, grabbed the Six-Armed Bone Puppet by the shoulder, and flew back carrying it beneath its squat little body.
“Huh?! You’re incredibly strong!”
It set the Six-Armed Bone Puppet down beside him. Then, as though showing off, it pointed a foot at the puppet and chattered proudly.
Squeak, squeak!
Yi Hyeon looked back and forth between the Fuzzbee and the paper.
“Wait... could this little one go inside the puppet and control it?”
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