WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 61
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Bang Je-un was the first to land in front of the medicinal storehouse. After a glance at the Cheongun Sect cultivator on the ground and the flying sword at Yi Hyeon’s feet, Bang went straight to the junior brother’s side.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Yi Hyeon sheathed the Dark Palace-Gate Sword, and Bang Je-un stepped forward. Almost at the same time, Heo Jin-ak and Seok Jin-hyeong landed on opposite sides. The cultivators following them filled the space in front of the storehouse.
Seok Jin-hyeong of the Cheongun Sect crouched beside the fallen disciple. After checking the disciple’s arm and the area around his solar plexus, Seok’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Who did this?”
The fallen man looked toward Yi Hyeon. Following his gaze, Seok Jin-hyeong slowly stood.
“That disciple of the Danso Sect has quite a heavy hand.”
“We should establish what happened first.”
Heo Jin-ak of the Danso Sect pointed to the wooden box on the ground. No Gyeong-su stepped forward and explained that the Cheongun Sect cultivators had tried to move the goods onto their flying boat without permission. Steward Mun brushed off a sleeve, looking entirely unrepentant.
“I said we’d return them after examining them on our flying boat.”
“Did our valley give you permission to do that?”
“All that changes is where we appraise them. What’s the problem?”
The shield-bearing Danso Sect cultivator gave an incredulous laugh.
“If we’d believed that and stepped aside, would the goods ever have come back? Besides, as soon as Junior Brother Yi put the box down, someone on your side sent a flying sword at him. If he hadn’t dodged, he would’ve lost a wrist. Who was being heavy-handed?”
Heo Jin-ak looked at Seok Jin-hyeong.
“You took sealed goods without permission and even sent a flying sword at a disciple of our sect who tried to stop you. Were those the Cheongun Sect’s orders?”
Seok Jin-hyeong’s expression hardened, but a moment later, a faint smile appeared instead.
“Must you drag our sects into a contest between disciples? It’s not as though we’re children calling in our elders over a fight. Don’t embarrass yourselves.”
“If your disciple had put down the goods and withdrawn, there would have been no contest.”
“I’ll look into that separately. Still, one of our disciples has been injured. Surely we should take a closer look at that fellow cultivator’s skills.”
With that, Seok Jin-hyeong looked at Yi Hyeon.
The third layer of Foundation Establishment. The same realm as the fallen disciple. From what the nearby cultivators were saying, Yi Hyeon had fought with a sword in hand and defeated the opponent in an instant.
Someone skilled at close combat could do that. But if a disciple had dared attack the Cheongun Sect’s party on the strength of that talent alone, Seok Jin-hyeong could hardly let it pass while leading the delegation.
‘They’re busy dealing with those overseas cultivators in the south. Would they really want to stir up trouble in the north as well?’
Seok Jin-hyeong knew the Danso Sect was not weak. But an appraisal delegation sent to buy Cheongha Valley’s medicinal materials could not simply do as it pleased against the Cheongun Sect here. With a little pressure, Heo Jin-ak would back down at a reasonable point. Then they could discuss the goods and the spirit plant growers’ future again.
Seok Jin-hyeong gestured to Steward Mun with a tilt of the chin.
“Steward Mun. Ask that fellow cultivator for a few exchanges.”
Steward Mun’s lips twisted. With a shake of a sleeve, two round bronze weights floated above the steward’s hand. One was the size of a small watermelon, the other the size of a plum. Both bore raised carvings of beasts baring their teeth.
Heo Jin-ak’s gaze turned cold.
“Fellow Cultivator Seok. What are you doing?”
As Heo stepped forward, a blue flying sword slipped from Seok Jin-hyeong’s sleeve. Its tip still pointed down, but the aura surrounding it was clearly aimed at Heo Jin-ak.
At that moment, the larger bronze weight shot into the air.
Hummm.
In the blink of an eye, the weight grew from the size of a small watermelon to larger than a person. Steward Mun rose into the air after it and lowered a hand. The enormous bronze weight plunged toward Yi Hyeon’s head.
“Mother-and-Child Weights! Watch out for the small one!”
As the warning rang out from a fellow disciple, the plum-sized child weight darted silently toward Yi Hyeon’s solar plexus, hidden behind the heavy roar of the mother weight cutting through the air.
The Dark Iron Buckler tilted at an angle in front of him.
Clang!
The child weight glanced off the shield’s rounded edge and bounced away into empty air. Riding the recoil and the flow of the wind, Yi Hyeon shot through the gap just before the mother weight crashed down.
Boom!
By the time the mother weight struck the stone paving, Yi Hyeon was already right in front of Steward Mun.
The steward’s face twisted fiercely.
‘How is he so fast?!’
Steward Mun hurriedly raised Protective Spiritlight and tried to slide backward, but Yi Hyeon was already following like a shadow.
The Dark Palace-Gate Sword was still in its sheath.
Swish.
Yi Hyeon lifted the sheathed sword, its rounded end lightly catching Steward Mun beneath the chin.
Crack!
With a dull breaking sound, the steward’s Protective Spiritlight burst like a bubble.
“Ghk!”
Steward Mun’s head snapped back, scattering blood and several broken teeth through the air. The steward flew ten-odd jang before hitting the ground and rolling. The mother weight embedded in the stone paving shrank to its original size, while the small child weight lost its spiritual glow and fell limply.
Thud. Clatter...
The sound of the bronze weights rolling across the stone filled the silence.
...
Seok Jin-hyeong, still facing off against Heo Jin-ak, saw it all.
The earlier defeat of the Cheongun Sect disciple had seemed like a fluke. But the moment the Mother-and-Child Weights dropped helplessly and Steward Mun went flying from a single blow, Seok realized how badly mistaken that judgment had been.
There was experience in the way Yi Hyeon had deflected the surprise attack with its staggered timing, slipped through the opening, and stopped the opponent cold with one strike.
‘They tricked us! They brought a sword cultivator along among the spirit plant growers and alchemists? And he’s even disguised his cultivation as the third layer of Foundation Establishment to make us lower our guard... Those cunning Danso Sect bastards!’
Seok Jin-hyeong withdrew the flying sword and raised a hand.
“Enough. Everyone, stand back.”
The Cheongun Sect cultivators turned toward their leader.
Seok Jin-hyeong took a long umbrella from a storage pouch. Its handle was jointed like bamboo, and feathers showed between the blue silk of the folded canopy. A strange sheen flowed over it, like the gloss of a bird’s wings.
Heo Jin-ak’s gaze changed.
“The Wind-Thunder Umbrella...”
Seok Jin-hyeong kept looking at Yi Hyeon.
“Our disciples can’t withstand your techniques. This time, I’ll ask you for a few exchanges myself.”
“Fellow Cultivator Seok.”
As Heo Jin-ak moved forward, Yi Hyeon spoke first.
“Senior Brother Heo. Please watch for a moment.”
Heo Jin-ak looked at the junior disciple.
Apart from a little dust on his robe, Yi Dong-sam looked much as usual. Even after sending Steward Mun flying in an instant, his breathing had barely changed.
But Seok Jin-hyeong had reached Great Perfection in Foundation Establishment. Even within the same realm, the gap between the early stage and Great Perfection was far greater than one might imagine.
What was more, the Wind-Thunder Umbrella was renowned as one of the deadliest treasures owned by Foundation Establishment cultivators in the area. Heo Jin-ak hesitated, but on seeing Yi Hyeon’s steady gaze, slowly withdrew the flying sword.
‘Out of regard for the Danso Sect, even Seok Jin-hyeong won’t dare kill him. Perhaps Junior Brother Yi Dong-sam should take this chance to learn something about the world. This defeat might help him grow.’
Heo Jin-ak remained alert, ready to intervene the moment Yi Dong-sam was in danger.
Seok Jin-hyeong opened the umbrella.
Fwap!
Black ribs spread out, opening the canopy into a circle.
At that moment, the sky above the medicinal storehouse grew impossibly dark.
Whoooosh.
Black clouds swirled in, hiding the midday sun in an instant. The feathers on the canopy all stood on end. Thick blue lightning began to crawl between them like snakes.
Rrrumble!
Under the pressure released by a cultivator at Great Perfection in Foundation Establishment, the thick trees in front of the storehouse shook down to their roots. Even the curtain of light cast by the restrictions over the roof rippled dangerously.
Wi Cheong-san, the watching valley master of Cheongha Valley, raised a hand and fed spiritual power into the restrictions. The nearby elders ushered the disciples farther inside the halls.
With a cold, calm gaze, Seok Jin-hyeong twisted the umbrella’s handle.
Flash!
Lightning tore through the air.
A dozen or so streaks of blue lightning spread across the sky like a web and poured down toward Yi Hyeon’s head. At the same time, fierce gusts spun in opposite directions, closing off his front, back, and both sides.
In that instant, Yi Hyeon’s hand went to his waist.
Shing.
The Dark Palace-Gate Sword left its sheath, mysterious light spilling along its blade like silk.
Whoosh!
Yi Hyeon let the wind carry his body and twisted smoothly. As the first bolt passed close to his shoulder, he angled the Dark Palace-Gate Sword and struck across the lightning at a slant.
Boom!
The moment the fierce bolt touched the flat of the blade, its force was redirected. It slid away into the air and scattered.
Then a huge, swirling gust blocked his path. Yi Hyeon’s sword traced a simple arc.
Swish.
It was a basic Horizontal Sweep.
Yet when the sword’s tip lightly severed the whirlwind’s central axis, the gust that had roared as if to swallow a person split helplessly to either side, like cloth coming apart at the seams.
Looking up, No Gyeong-su forgot even to breathe.
‘The Azure Steel Sword Art...?’
It was unmistakably the ordinary sword art learned by Cheongha Valley’s Qi Refining disciples, one No Gyeong-su had seen countless times.
Then why were those sword strokes cutting through lightning and storms as though through water?
No Gyeong-su could not understand why someone from the Danso Sect called Yi Dong-sam was using this sword art, either. There were countless sword arts in the world. Perhaps it was merely similar.
Amid the bursting lightning and splitting clouds, a quiet path opened wherever Yi Hyeon advanced, revealing the blue sky.
Seok Jin-hyeong’s eyes widened.
‘What kind of sorcery is this?’
A chill ran through Seok at the sight of Yi Hyeon approaching through the thunderclouds as though it were a game. Seok hurriedly brought the umbrella forward.
Fwap!
The canopy drew inward, enclosing Seok Jin-hyeong’s entire body. Overlapping feathers locked together like steel, and blue lightning wrapped around them, forming an impregnable fortress.
Yi Hyeon’s sword thrust straight toward that fortress of lightning.
This, too, was the most basic thrust of the Azure Steel Sword Art.
Tick.
The sound was surprisingly soft.
But the sword’s tip pierced the Wind-Thunder Umbrella’s central joint, where its thirty-six black ribs came together to support its power. As the restrictions broke, the enormous force of wind and thunder condensed inside the umbrella surged backward.
Crack!
Kaboom!
The Wind-Thunder Umbrella exploded from within.
The silk and feathers of its canopy tore apart and flew away. Seok Jin-hyeong blocked the shower of fragments with Protective Spiritlight, but the surging energy made Seok’s chest heave.
“Ghk...!”
Seok Jin-hyeong spat blood and was thrown backward. As Seok reached for a storage pouch, Yi Hyeon lightly curled his left hand.
A hand formed from spiritual power closed around Seok Jin-hyeong’s right hand. It was the Essence-Condensing Grasping Hand. As it bent the wrist outward, Seok’s shoulder was dragged around to one side.
The moment Seok twisted to pull free, Yi Hyeon cut through the wind in pursuit. His blade came to a quiet stop against Seok Jin-hyeong’s throat.
Shing.
Seok Jin-hyeong froze.
The black clouds that had shaken the sky scattered as though they had never been there. Clear sunlight fell over Cheongha Valley once more.
“...”
For a while, none of the cultivators watching from below could speak.
Seok Jin-hyeong broke the silence first.
“Let’s stop here.”
Yi Hyeon did not withdraw his sword.
“Have you had a good enough look at my techniques?”
Seok Jin-hyeong’s lips trembled. A slight shift of the gaze revealed not only the Danso Sect and Cheongha Valley cultivators looking up, but the Cheongun Sect disciples as well.
Seok lowered what remained of the umbrella’s frame.
“...I’ve lost.”
Only then did the Dark Palace-Gate Sword return to its sheath.
Click.
The Essence-Condensing Grasping Hand holding Seok’s wrist also dispersed.
Yi Hyeon stepped back a pace. Without another word, Seok Jin-hyeong descended in front of the medicinal storehouse.
Heo Jin-ak landed after Seok and spoke.
“Since you said this was a contest of skills, Fellow Cultivator Seok, let’s end it here.”
Seok Jin-hyeong did not answer.
“We’ll continue our inspection. If you want to buy Cheongha Valley’s goods, offer their owners a price. I hope there will be no more loading them onto flying boats without permission.”
After a brief silence, Seok Jin-hyeong gave a short nod and turned to the other Cheongun Sect cultivators.
“Take the injured back.”
Supported by their fellow disciples, Steward Mun and the cultivator Yi Hyeon had first subdued headed toward the flying boat. The others collected the fallen magical implements and fragments.
Seok Jin-hyeong handed Wi Cheong-san a pouch of spirit stones.
“Use this to repair the damage.”
Wi Cheong-san accepted the pouch and cupped both hands.
“Travel safely.”
A short while later, the flying boat with white sails rose into the air. Once it passed beyond the sect gates, it picked up speed and disappeared among the clouds to the northeast.
The cultivators remaining in front of the storehouse all looked toward Yi Hyeon.
He was briefly inspecting the surface of the Dark Iron Buckler. Deflecting the child weight had left a few scratches on its edge, but its restrictions seemed unharmed.
As he put the shield away, Bang Je-un approached.
“Junior Brother Yi.”
“Yes?”
“Perhaps fighting suits you better than alchemy?”
Yi Hyeon thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Fighting isn’t something I can do only when I feel like it, is it?”
Bang Je-un looked at him, then burst out laughing.
Heo Jin-ak also gave a disbelieving chuckle nearby. The tension finally left the shoulders that had been stiff while facing a Great Perfection cultivator.
“In any case, thanks to you, this ended well. I’ll make sure to give a proper report when we return.”
“Thank you.”
Yi Hyeon bowed to them both, then approached No Gyeong-su. No was checking the transport crates’ seals with the other disciples, but at the sight of Yi Hyeon, bowed slightly without thinking.
“Are the goods all right?”
“Yes. Everything is safe.”
“That’s a relief. Then I’ll finish looking through the annotations I was reading earlier.”
No Gyeong-su blinked.
“Now?”
“I think I only have a little left.”
After looking at Yi Hyeon’s face for a moment, No Gyeong-su led the way. The book lay open on the stone chamber’s table, just as they had left it. Yi Hyeon sat down, turned a few pages, and found the passage he had last been reading.
Outside, the sound of broken stone being cleared away continued for some time.
By the time Yi Hyeon finished reading all the annotations and looked up, that sound had almost faded as well.
...
The inspection went smoothly after that.
Heo Jin-ak compiled a list of the goods already examined, an account of the Cheongha Valley cultivators’ skills, and the details of the clash with the Cheongun Sect, then sent it to the sect. Wi Cheong-san sent a formal letter requesting relocation along with it. While waiting for a reply, the valley master began sorting and packing the contents of the storehouses.
Yi Hyeon examined the medicinal materials and inheritances assigned to him in turn.
Whenever they came across a medicinal material with an unclear description or an old name, No Gyeong-su found records and samples for him. No remembered not only what was in the medicinal storehouse, but also, in many cases, when it had arrived and which spirit field it had come from.
No Gyeong-su was used to comparing old ledgers against the actual goods and handled spirit plants with a steady touch. There would likely be plenty of work for No Gyeong-su after joining the Danso Sect.
* * *
A month later, several large flying boats appeared outside Cheongha Valley’s gates.
They were the escort sent by the Danso Sect.
Cheongha Valley’s request had been accepted. Its cultivators would be assigned positions suited to their cultivation realms and skills. By earning merit, they would gain opportunities to obtain inheritances and alchemical pills. Most of the Qi Refining disciples would work in an outer sect herb garden prepared for them.
In return, Cheongha Valley handed over the agreed medicinal materials, mother plants, seeds, inheritances, and equipment. The payment also included the cost of winding up the sect’s affairs and spirit stones to distribute among the few disciples who had chosen not to relocate.
The Tier 2 spirit vein left in Cheongha Valley was too insignificant to interest the Danso Sect. But if a small number of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators had it to themselves, it could offer them a reasonably good cultivation environment.
The transport crates of medicinal materials and jade slips went aboard first, followed by mother plants transplanted into enormous pots and blocks of soil containing roots. The goods listed as third-rank spirit plants were packed separately, their seals left untouched. Dam Un-saeng and the other elders would examine them personally after their return.
Almost everything they could take had been loaded.
On the final day, hundreds of disciples boarded the flying boats. Many carried bundles or wooden boxes in addition to their storage pouches. Watching from one side of the deck, Yi Hyeon spotted a middle-aged cultivator coming aboard with young disciples. It was the person who had demonstrated the Spirit Rain Spell in the lecture hall on the day he arrived.
After checking the seal on the last transport crate, No Gyeong-su came onto the deck.
“Is everything loaded?”
“Yes. Nothing’s missing.”
No glanced back at Cheongha Valley, then cupped both hands toward Yi Hyeon.
“I heard from Fellow Cultivator Bang that you put in a good word for me.”
“I only told them what I’d seen.”
“Thank you all the same. You protected the goods, and you’ve helped us in so many other ways.”
“Just keep taking good care of the medicinal materials at the Danso Sect.”
Only then did No Gyeong-su nod with a more relaxed expression.
“That, I can promise.”
Yi Hyeon studied that somehow familiar expression for a moment.
‘Senior Brother No. I hope this counts as a small repayment.’
The flying boat slowly rose.
The stone walls of the spirit fields on the mountainside, the old juniper tree, and the lecture hall with its blue roof tiles receded below. Yi Hyeon watched the view for a while, then turned toward the inner part of the deck. Bang Je-un was setting teacups on a table and beckoning him over.
Once, he had devised all sorts of plans to escape that place alone. Now he was leaving as a member of a great sect with a Nascent Soul cultivator, carrying Cheongha Valley’s people and goods with him.
‘Live long enough, and you really do see everything.’
...
After they returned to the Danso Sect, the goods were handed over and the cultivators assigned to their posts in turn. Cheongha Valley’s inheritances were inspected, then registered in the Scripture Repository and the Inner Alchemy Court’s Pill Formula Pavilion. The mother plants and seeds were moved to herb gardens suited to growing them.
Combining the reward for the mission with the separate recognition of his merits, Yi Hyeon received 160 contribution points. Having obtained the Spirit-Calming Pill’s formula and annotations, he was pleased to receive more contribution points than expected as well.
Once everything had been settled, he headed to Yeonha Peak with Bang Je-un.
...
A little over twenty disciples had gathered in the lecture hall.
When Yi Hyeon sat down, Ak Mu-gu, who had arrived earlier, leaned toward him.
“Junior Brother Yi. I heard you fought a Cheongun Sect cultivator at Great Perfection?”
“Yes.”
“They said it was someone who used the Wind-Thunder Umbrella. Is that true?”
When Yi Hyeon nodded, Ak Mu-gu turned to Mae So-gun, who sat nearby.
“See? I told you I hadn’t misheard.”
Mae So-gun first checked Yi Hyeon’s face and aura.
“Were you hurt?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Even Jin So-yeong, seated farther forward, turned around. Yu Jeong-won could not find a chance to join in and merely looked back and forth between the two speakers.
Bang Je-un sat on a cushion and said, “You should’ve seen Seok Jin-hyeong’s face when they withdrew. Watching them run off with their tail between their legs was so satisfying!”
Just as Ak Mu-gu was about to ask another question, the inner door opened.
Dam Un-saeng entered, and all the disciples rose to offer their greetings. The master took the seat of honor as usual, looked around at the disciples, then turned to Yi Hyeon.
“Our Dong-sam has done splendidly again.”
As every gaze in the lecture hall gathered on Yi Hyeon, he cupped both hands.
“It was thanks to the help of my fellow disciples.”
“Yes. I read Heo Jin-ak’s report, and Je-un told me all the details. You all did well. Your contribution was especially great.”
Dam Un-saeng lightly tapped the letter on the table.
“From their name, you’d think those Cheongun Sect fellows cultivated the Dao above the clouds. But judging by how they behave, they’re little different from bandits in a mountain hideout.”
A few disciples stifled laughs.
Dam Un-saeng’s expression was as gentle as ever, but there was a rare note of satisfaction in the master’s voice.
“It’s been frustrating whenever our youngsters have come home after a beating from them. This time, Dong-sam gave them a proper lesson.”
Ak Mu-gu chimed in as though waiting for the chance.
“What a shame. If I’d gone along, I could’ve taught them an even harsher lesson.”
“If you’d gone, you would’ve been lucky to come back with your trousers still on.”
Laughter spread through the lecture hall. Dam Un-saeng took a sip of tea, then looked at Yi Hyeon again.
“Dong-sam. You didn’t kill anyone, I hear?”
“No, Master.”
“And no one was injured badly enough to end their path to immortality?”
“I didn’t go that far.”
“You showed good restraint.”
Yu Jeong-won, the youngest disciple, widened his eyes.
‘I heard he beat up three of them, and that counts as good restraint?!’
Dam Un-saeng continued calmly.
“In a fight, stopping can sometimes be harder than killing. You may have no room to hold back, and some people keep attacking even after they’ve won because they can’t control their anger. Dong-sam used as much force as he needed and then stopped. He did well.”
Jin So-yeong asked carefully, “Master, even so, won’t the Cheongun Sect make an issue of it? They must have lost a great deal of face, with even a Great Perfection cultivator defeated.”
“They must have.”
Dam Un-saeng pushed the letter aside.
“But does that mean one of their Golden Core elders will come out personally to beat Dong-sam? They were the first to step forward, calling it a contest between disciples. When a mid-stage cultivator wasn’t enough, they even sent in one at Great Perfection. If they sent an elder because they lost despite all that, whose dignity would that uphold?”
Dam Un-saeng paused and looked around at the disciples.
“With the Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance expanding in the south, our sect has no intention of creating more needless friction. But that doesn’t mean our disciples must accept beatings and have their belongings stolen whenever they go outside. If that keeps happening, our sect’s reputation will suffer, and that, too, will lead to losses.”
Dam Un-saeng looked at Yi Hyeon again.
“The External Affairs Office has already settled this matter with the Cheongun Sect. We’ve also received their assurance that they won’t interfere further with Cheongha Valley’s relocation, so you needn’t worry.”
“Understood, Master.”
“And for the next month, Dong-sam and Je-un are excused from alchemy duties. You’ve traveled a long way. Rest, and tend to yourselves and your magical implements.”
Footnotes:
“Cheongun” means “azure clouds,” which is why Dam Un-saeng jokes about the sect cultivating above the clouds.
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