WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 65
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Planks torn from the bottom of the ship rained onto the water. With the broken hull behind it, the Iron-Ridged Sea Crocodile opened its jaws wide and spewed thick green poisonous mist mixed with seawater.
“Scatter!”
At Gal Cheon-ung’s shout, two more columns of water rose behind the merchant ship. Two armored backs appeared through the spray, slightly smaller than the first.
As Yi Hyeon checked their positions, he felt a small movement inside his spirit insect pouch. The Fuzzbees, which had been quiet until a moment ago, had suddenly grown restless.
‘Hm?’
Before he could wonder why, the wind carried the green mist toward them.
When it touched the Protective Spiritlight of the local cultivator who had gone ahead, the surface of the light began to corrode rapidly with a hiss. As the cultivator hurried back, several streams of flame rose from Yi Hyeon’s fingertips.
Whoosh.
Long snakes of flame crossed in the air, forming a loose net. The poisonous mist thinned briefly as it met the fire, but more green fog, heavy with seawater, kept pushing forward.
Rather than force the net of fire to spread wider, Yi Hyeon thrust his left hand forward.
Boom!
A broad Spherical Qi Barrier swept away the poisonous mist and water droplets. For a moment, the space between the group and the demonic beasts cleared.
“Now!”
A Byeokra Sect cultivator gave a short cry and threw a jade-green ring. It expanded in midair and wrapped around the largest Iron-Ridged Sea Crocodile’s neck and forelegs at once. As the creature twisted in resistance, fierce sparks flew from the ring’s surface.
The other Byeokra Sect cultivator sent flying swords toward the eyes of one of the smaller crocodiles.
Clang!
The sword tips bounced off its tough eyelids, but while its eyes were closed, the local cultivator circled to the side and slashed a foreleg.
Gal Cheon-ung descended straight toward the large Iron-Ridged Sea Crocodile. Saber light stretched ten jang from the thick blade, then struck its armored back with a deafening crash.
Crack!
Fragments of broken armor flew in every direction. The crocodile shook its head violently to throw off the jade-green ring, then struck the water with its tail and turned to dive.
But Yi Hyeon’s sword light pierced the curtain of water it had raised.
Whoosh!
The first streak of sword light blocked its retreat, and the second followed, mercilessly piercing a soft joint between the plates of its armor.
As the Iron-Ridged Sea Crocodile tilted to one side, Gal Cheon-ung’s saber fell on its shattered back again.
Crunch!
Blood and green slime shot into the air with the sound of crushing bones.
Once the largest fell, the other two did not last long.
One tried to flee underwater, only to be caught in the Byeokra Sect cultivators’ joint attack and flipped belly-up. The other burrowed beneath the wrecked merchant ship, but Yi Hyeon’s sword light cut off both its forelegs.
Gal Cheon-ung’s final downward strike split its head.
The surroundings grew quiet.
...
Three demonic beast corpses floated on the water. As broken planks and dark blue-green pieces of armor drifted among the waves, the group began moving the bodies onto a broad shelf of rock nearby.
While Yi Hyeon was hauling one up, another small vibration came from his spirit insect pouch.
Bzz. Bzz, bzz.
‘What’s been bothering them? Could there be spirit insects inside these beasts?’
Yi Hyeon stepped back and released a streak of sword light at the Iron-Ridged Sea Crocodile’s belly. It split open, spilling hot blood and entrails.
He used a Spherical Qi Barrier to push away the splashing filth and fishy stench, then spread the incision with the Essence-Condensing Grasping Hand.
Gal Cheon-ung approached and looked inside.
“Any useful materials? The one over there had no inner core...”
“Let’s check the venom sac first.”
Yi Hyeon alternated between the Qi-Observing Spell and the Poison Identification Spell. It was not hard to distinguish the organs where poisonous miasma had gathered thickly, and their shapes mostly matched what he had read in the 《Record of Marine Demonic Beast Materials》.
However, something he had not seen in the jade slip was attached beneath the venom sac.
It was a small pouch. Within its thin membrane, he sensed faint fluctuations of spiritual power, distinct from the beast’s remaining demonic power.
He carefully cut through the surrounding flesh, revealing a long, white insect.
Threadlike tissues stretched from its head and tail into the beast’s body. Whenever the insect twisted, those tissues wriggled with it.
“A parasitic spirit insect?”
Gal Cheon-ung’s expression changed. Hearing the remark, the other cultivators also gathered around the corpse.
Yi Hyeon examined the insect’s energy closely. Perhaps because its host had died, its spiritual power was weakening rapidly, but it was clearly a second-tier spirit insect.
‘It’s somewhat similar to the Geonyang Kingdom’s Life-Sharing Gu...’
He thought of the Meridian-Linking Jade Silkworm and the spirit insects he had taken from beneath the Anneung Kingdom’s royal palace, but it did not look exactly like any of them.
A Byeokra Sect cultivator pointed at the flesh beside the insect.
“It doesn’t seem to have entered naturally.”
Two tiny silver needles were embedded there. Faint patterns ran along a fine thread connecting them.
Without touching the needles, Yi Hyeon cut out the surrounding tissue along with them. He placed it in a jade casket, attached a Sealing Talisman, then looked toward the remaining corpses.
“We should examine the others too.”
...
They found similar traces in the other two.
The insect inside one had been cut by sword qi along with its host. The one inside the other had already stopped moving.
Still, the tissues connecting them to the beasts’ bodies and the tiny silver needles remained intact.
Gal Cheon-ung placed the three jade caskets side by side and stared at them for a while.
“I’ve heard that the Geonyang Kingdom’s gu adepts keep spirit insects inside their bodies.”
A Byeokra Sect cultivator nodded.
“That occurred to me too. But I don’t know whether they use the same method on demonic beasts.”
Yi Hyeon looked away from the sealed jade caskets.
“We should send these to the main sect grounds first. We can’t jump to the conclusion that the Geonyang Kingdom is behind this.”
“Let’s do that.”
The group recorded where they had caught the beasts, their appearance, and the properties of the poisonous mist.
After returning to Sea-Pacifying Fort, they handed the jade caskets and records to the cultivator in charge from the External Affairs Office.
They decided to sell the remaining corpses to a local merchant company.
Once all three had been sold, Yi Hyeon’s share came to thirty mid-grade spirit stones.
He had briefly considered asking for some of the bones to make bone puppets. However, the cultivators were already discussing the price of the complete corpses, so he did not bother.
Now that he had faced second-tier demonic beasts himself, he felt it would not be hard to hunt them alone whenever he needed bones.
...
A little over a month later, word arrived that the main sect grounds had received the samples and records.
However, no further instructions concerning the matter came to the cultivators at Haemun Port. They did not learn what the main sect grounds had discovered either.
...
A few days later.
Clouds hung low over the sea. A long line of black reefs stretched through the waves, and not a single ship could be seen beyond them.
Yi Hyeon landed on the highest reef.
As he searched the submerged gaps between the rocks, his spiritual sense caught the presence of something long and thick.
‘Down there?’
He flicked a finger, sending a small ball of fire between the rocks. An explosion followed, raising a column of water. Beneath it, a body covered in blue scales writhed.
A thick sea snake raised its head. It was a Blue-Scaled Sea Snake.
According to the 《Record of Marine Demonic Beast Materials》, its spine was sturdy, and its scales could also be used to make magical implements. The spiritual pressure coming from the creature before him had reached late Tier 2.
“Quite a big one.”
The Blue-Scaled Sea Snake opened its mouth and fired a compressed jet of water at tremendous speed.
Whoosh!
Just after Yi Hyeon stepped aside, the top of the reef where he had been standing was sliced clean off.
The water pressure was fearsome, but Yi Hyeon gave it no chance to catch its breath.
He kicked off the reef and closed in swiftly. As the Dark Palace-Gate Sword traced an arc in his hand, its sword light split into flowing streaks that confused the snake’s senses.
Crack, crack, crack!
The flashing sword light split its tough scales. The instant it thrashed in pain and struck the water, Yi Hyeon was already beside the back of its neck.
Slice.
Finely honed sword qi slipped through the gap between its vertebrae.
Thud!
Its enormous head plunged into the sea first. Its body followed, spraying blood as it struck the water with a tremendous splash.
‘The sword art I’ve been using really is more comfortable.’
Yi Hyeon put away the Dark Palace-Gate Sword and reviewed the brief exchange. For now, he was far more familiar with Single-Pole Six Swords, which he had refined over many years, than with the Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Art.
Just then, the Fuzzbees stirred restlessly inside his spirit insect pouch. He pulled the Blue-Scaled Sea Snake’s corpse onto the reef and examined it, sensing a spirit insect below its neck.
Once again, there was an insect connected to the flesh by fine tissues. Two tiny silver needles were embedded beside it as well.
He removed the tissue holding the insect, together with the surrounding flesh, and sealed it in a jade casket. Then he took out six flying swords and began dismantling the snake’s corpse.
He collected the bile and usable scales first, then separately sealed the parts whose poisonous and medicinal properties needed further examination.
Once he stripped away the remaining flesh, a long, thick spine appeared.
Powerful demonic energy permeated the hard white bones. Even scraping them with a blade left only light scratches.
‘This one has good bones.’
They also met the conditions for good bones described in the 《Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture》. Properly prepared, they would be more than enough to make one puppet. Yi Hyeon sorted and collected the bones according to their uses, washed the traces left on the reef away with seawater, and departed.
After that, he continued to go out to sea occasionally, avoiding other people’s eyes. After several hunts, a fair pile of second-tier demonic beast bones had accumulated in his storage pouch.
Not every second-tier beast carried a spirit insect. Still, among several kills, he would find one or two, and he collected the insects each time.
...
Underground Hideout No. 3.
When Yi Hyeon brought out the jade caskets, golden balls of fur crowded around his arms and shoulders. Before he had even finished removing the seals, the buzzing of their wings grew louder.
Bzz, bzz.
“Wait.”
Yi Hyeon washed a stone bowl with the Spirit Rain Spell and placed the spirit insects inside.
Those still alive twisted and tried to crawl toward the edge, but there was no escaping the Fuzzbees circling the bowl.
When the original three second-tier Fuzzbees approached first, Yi Hyeon stopped them.
“Don’t eat them all yourselves. Share.”
Squeak, squeak!
As soon as he withdrew his hand, the small golden swarm descended on the bowl.
A short while later, the bowl was completely empty. The Fuzzbees, their bellies swollen round, landed one by one on the surrounding dirt floor. A few even sprawled out and fell asleep.
Yi Hyeon examined their energy in turn. There was no noticeable change yet.
‘I’ll have to keep bringing more.’
He then checked the spirit fields, water tanks, bamboo water pipes, and other facilities before taking out Bonefuzz No. 1.
Yi Hyeon examined the bone puppet’s shoulders and chest. Something had bothered him ever since he first put a Fuzzbee inside.
Was letting a Fuzzbee use a Six-Armed Bone Puppet, with its six arms and two legs, really a good idea?
‘Maybe it’s time to change the shape.’
...
A few days later, a Foundation Establishment artifact refiner stationed at Sea-Pacifying Fort visited the Pill Refining Pavilion.
The refiner opened the jade bottle Yi Hyeon handed over, examined its contents, and nodded.
“This is good enough. It’s much clearer than the last batch.”
“Warm it up, then use a little at a time. If you pour it all on at once, it could damage the spirit material’s surface.”
“Understood. You’ve saved me some work.”
The liquid in the jade bottle had been refined from demonic beast venom. The artifact refiner intended to use it to prepare materials for magical implements.
As the refiner put the bottle away, Yi Hyeon asked about joining spirit materials and linking restrictions, matters he had been wondering about.
One question led to an answer that raised another. Their discussion ran a little long, but the artifact refiner did not seem displeased, since it also offered a chance to confirm the properties of the material they would be using.
After that, whenever Yi Hyeon spent time with formation masters or talisman crafters, he also took opportunities to ask questions and discuss formation inscriptions, talisman inscriptions, and restrictions.
“You’ve had plenty of questions lately, Fellow Cultivator Yi.”
“There are things I couldn’t understand when I read about them alone.”
“We ask you about alchemy too. It benefits us both.”
...
Back in his quarters, Yi Hyeon took out the jade slips containing the 《Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture》, the 《An Introduction to Soul Stone Inscription》, and the 《Spirit-Concealing Formation》. Beside them, he opened the book containing Gwak Jin-myeong’s annotations.
As he reread them while recalling the explanations from the artifact refiners, formation masters, and talisman crafters, he gradually began to understand passages he had previously memorized without grasping their meaning.
‘Now I might be able to modify Bonefuzz No. 1, or make new Bonefuzz puppets based on its structure...’
Making the formation flags and formation disk for the Spirit-Concealing Formation was still beyond him. To do that, he would have to become both a Tier 2 formation master and a Tier 2 artifact refiner. That remained a distant goal.
...
Underground Hideout No. 3.
Yi Hyeon laid out the demonic beast bones.
The clear, gentle primordial unity true qi gathered above his hand gradually took on a gloomy quality, transforming into Profound Yin White Bone True Qi.
As he wrapped the bones in that true qi and refined them, faint smoke rose. The remaining impurities fell away, and the rough surfaces slowly grew smooth.
Following the method recorded in the inheritance, Yi Hyeon cut the bone materials and shaped the surfaces that would fit together.
...
Three months later, back in Underground Hideout No. 3.
Before Yi Hyeon lay Bonefuzz No. 1, looking completely different from the original Six-Armed Bone Puppet.
The body, which had once stood upright like a person, had become a rounded torso about two chi long. A low head was attached to the front, and three pairs of legs extended from its sides.
The puppet looked just like a Fuzzbee without wings!
Copying the wing movements as well had proved difficult, however. For flight, he intended to adapt the existing restrictions to draw on the power of spirit stones.
The Fuzzbee inside pressed its body against a piece of bone beside the soul stone. A moment later, the joints began clicking, and the legs moved one after another.
At first, Bonefuzz took cautious steps. Soon, it began walking across the cavern.
Its movements were far nimbler than when the Fuzzbee had controlled the Six-Armed Bone Puppet!
“Oh...”
Bonefuzz stopped in front of Yi Hyeon and raised one foreleg. A cry came from inside its body, as though it were showing off.
Squeak, squeak!
Yi Hyeon smiled and nodded.
“Does it fit your body a little better now?”
Squeak!
...
Once the first modification succeeded, the work that followed became much easier. Over the next few months, Yi Hyeon made Bonefuzz No. 2 and No. 3 in succession.
Meanwhile, the Fuzzbees also began to change. As he steadily fed them the spirit insects he brought back from each hunt, some began showing signs of breaking through to the second tier!
Like the three that had broken through before them, they dug small holes in the cavern walls and crawled inside. When they reappeared after some time out of sight, the glow of their fur and the energy they gave off had changed.
The Fuzzbees that became second-tier spirit insects grew quite strong.
However, there was a limit to the spiritual power their tiny bodies could hold. They were not strong enough to play much of a role against Foundation Establishment cultivators, second-tier gu adepts, or demonic beasts.
Even so, there were plenty of uses for them. For a start, he now had more Fuzzbees to control the bone puppets.
They would also be a great help if second-tier spirit insects invaded the spirit fields.
...
By the time his assignment was nearing its end, the number of second-tier Fuzzbees had passed fifty. Ten bone puppets, Bonefuzz No. 1 through No. 10, stood side by side at one end of the cavern.
He could obtain bones by hunting, but soul stones and the spirit materials used for inscription did not appear on their own.
Buying the materials he lacked and remaking failed components had consumed a considerable share of the spirit stones he earned from hunting.
When Yi Hyeon opened the covers on the bodies, the Fuzzbees swarmed over. Those that entered settled into place, while the late arrivals circled the open covers.
Click. Click, click.
The ten bone puppets rose one after another. Seeing puppets of the same shape move in a line was rather impressive, like watching a small army!
Yi Hyeon watched with satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the Fuzzbees still waiting for their turn.
“They look impressive, but... they cost too many spirit stones.”
When he held out his hand, the ones that had not secured a Bonefuzz landed on his arm.
“I’ve thought about it, and making one for every single one of you isn’t really practical. All the spirit stones I earn from hunting beasts would go straight back out...”
Squeak, squeak!
The Fuzzbees cried out together. Yi Hyeon also instructed those inside to give up their places after a set amount of time. For now, they would have to compromise and take turns riding.
Once he had a reasonable number, his attention turned to Bonefuzz’s performance. Their walking and running had become quite natural, but aside from ramming opponents with their bodies or legs, they had no proper means of attack.
‘Should I equip them with magical implements?’
He soon shook his head.
‘Giving every Bonefuzz a magical implement seems excessive. It would be better to build in a spell that can strike an opponent from a distance. If I can apply the same spell formula to several Bonefuzz puppets, it’ll save work later.’
Yi Hyeon wrote down the idea and decided to take his time studying it further.
...
Then, one day.
Masked cultivators had gathered in the underground stone chamber beneath Dongsun General Store in Seokman Market. Wearing his badger mask, Yi Hyeon sat at the head and listened to their reports.
They covered a variety of matters, from relocating vein seats and accepting new members to rising prices in a certain cultivator market. Yi Hyeon asked a few further questions whenever necessary.
‘The south will only grow more troubled... With the day I eventually leave the Danso Sect in mind, it would be better to establish a foothold in the north ahead of time.’
Once the reports ended, Yi Hyeon spoke.
“From now on, our Two Heavens Society will expand northward. Establish contact points there and find ways to increase our membership and vein seats.”
Black Crow raised their head.
“Do you mean the Hyeon Kingdom?”
“You may start there, or examine other countries farther north. Our present scale is only the beginning compared with the power the Two Heavens Society will one day command. You must become the great branches that support it.”
Yi Hyeon slowly looked around at the members.
“Approach this as laying the foundations of an empire where your descendants will belong to the Two Heavens Society and many families will live for generations. Plan and carry out the details according to your own circumstances.”
At that moment, Red Crab spoke as though this was the order they had been waiting for.
“So the time has finally come. I knew you would give such an order one day. The Two Heavens Society must have grown so large that there’s nowhere left for it to expand in the south.”
‘Hm?’
“In that case, we must establish ourselves in the north as well, or we’ll fall behind the other existing members. Thank you for giving us this opportunity.”
“Of course. There is no need to advance farther south for now. But even as our influence grows, orders and reports must continue to flow without interruption. Manage the organizations under your care properly, and do not neglect the rules that protect our secrecy.”
Black Crow studied the map spread out before them.
“I know some members who travel to the Hyeon Kingdom for trade. I’ll work through them and begin expanding into a few cultivator markets.”
“Do so.”
“However, it will take time to establish ourselves.”
Yi Hyeon nodded.
“There is no need to hurry, whether it takes ten years or a hundred.”
The members all clasped their hands.
“We will obey your command.”
* * *
Two full years had passed since Yi Hyeon’s assignment to Haemun Port began.
When he first discovered spirit insects resembling Life-Sharing Gu inside the Iron-Ridged Sea Crocodiles, he had wondered whether it might lead to friction with the Geonyang Kingdom.
However, nothing requiring his involvement had happened afterward. The main sect grounds remained silent.
When his replacement alchemist arrived from the main sect grounds, Yi Hyeon went through the handover with them, checking the Pill Refining Pavilion’s medicinal storehouse, pill furnaces, and various ledgers and records.
The day before leaving, he held a small farewell gathering with the Foundation Establishment cultivators he had come to know, sharing spirit wine.
...
Ten days later, at the Danso Sect.
As soon as he arrived, he had to settle his accounts and submit his reports.
After finishing those tasks, he climbed halfway up Yeonha Peak. Halls and small pavilions appeared here and there among the old pine trees. Dam Un-saeng, seated on a broad stone platform, greeted him.
“You’ve worked hard, Dong-sam. Rest for about seven days first.”
“Thank you.”
After his rest, he returned to his familiar routine.
Once he finished his regular alchemy duties, he cultivated his art at Cheongu Gorge and studied various other disciplines whenever he had time. He also wrestled, one by one, with the problems in puppet arts that he had failed to solve at Haemun Port.
Occasionally, he was assigned to Haemun Port again. Each time, he hunted demonic beasts and performed alchemy duties, but no major incident occurred, at least while he was there.
Meanwhile, the Two Heavens Society gradually expanded north.
At first, although it operated in separate cells, Yi Hyeon, as society leader, knew most of its members. However, as each group accepted new members, who then formed smaller groups of their own, the situation changed.
Now, there were quite a few members whose names and areas of activity were all he received in reports. Rather than trying to keep track of every lower-level member himself, Yi Hyeon focused on maintaining contact with the leaders of each group.
As the number attending the central meetings increased, he began receiving their reports in several sessions instead of gathering everyone at once.
The rules and methods of operation, refined through trial and error since the days of the Heaven-Drawing Society, proved a great help in maintaining the Two Heavens Society.
The larger it grew, the more rules there were to follow. But those rules allowed members who did not even know one another’s faces to work in different regions while remaining part of a single organization.
* * *
In the forty-eighth year after Yi Hyeon returned to the Danso Sect from his first assignment to Haemun Port.
Inside the cultivation chamber at Cheongu Gorge.
Thump.
The light of the Spirit-Gathering Formation wavered violently once, then settled. Only after the spiritual power in his lower dantian stopped surging did Yi Hyeon slowly open his eyes.
“Done!”
It had been almost thirty years since he reached the fifth layer.
Yi Hyeon was delighted.
After examining his body for a moment, he took a wooden board from his storage pouch for the first time in a long while. He erased several parts of the old inscription and added a new record.
【Realm: Foundation Establishment stage, Layer 4 → Layer 6 (lower dantian)】
【Spiritual Power: 1,452 → 1,548】
...
A few days later, in Yeonha Peak’s communal alchemy hall.
As Yi Hyeon entered, two Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been preparing medicinal ingredients stood up.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Yi.”
Yi Hyeon nodded and was about to pass them when one carefully held out a jade bottle.
“Senior Brother, could you take a look at this?”
“What is it?”
“The medicinal liquid keeps turning cloudy after I refine it.”
Yi Hyeon opened the bottle and examined the liquid’s condition and remaining medicinal potency.
“The herbs you used didn’t have enough moisture. You dried them too much.”
The young cultivator hurried to make a note. After explaining a few more things to them, Yi Hyeon headed farther inside.
Yu Jeong-won, who had been organizing a list of medicinal ingredients, looked up with wide eyes. White had begun to appear in his sideburns.
“You’ve reached the sixth layer. Congratulations, Senior Brother.”
“Thank you.”
...
The lecture hall.
Yi Hyeon entered and took his usual seat near the front.
‘I’ve been here a long time.’
He straightened the ends of his sleeves and looked down at the backs of his hands. He had used disguise techniques to make them appear a little thinner than before.
He had mixed white into his hair and deepened the wrinkles around his eyes.
Yi Dong-sam was now 167 years old. Even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, that was not young.
When Dam Un-saeng entered, all the disciples rose. Taking the seat at the head as usual, he rested his gaze on Yi Hyeon.
“Dong-sam. I hear you’ve reached the sixth layer?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Well done. Don’t push yourself while you stabilize your realm.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Although Dam Un-saeng and Yi Hyeon’s fellow disciples congratulated him on reaching the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment, they did not consider it particularly significant.
At his age, being at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment meant he had no hope of breaking through to Golden Core. For an ordinary cultivator with triple spiritual roots, this was an expected outcome.
Yi Dong-sam had now become one of Yeonha Peak’s key disciples, but no one expected him to become a pillar of the sect in the future.
His fate was little different from that of most Foundation Establishment cultivators.
As Dam Un-saeng began the lecture, Yi Hyeon put aside his stray thoughts.
About half a shichen had passed.
A disciple in the back row raised a hand to ask a question, but a streak of light flew in from outside the lecture hall.
It was a Voice Transmission Talisman.
Dam Un-saeng stopped speaking and received it. As the talisman burned away between his fingertips, his eyes briefly closed. When he opened them again, his expression had changed.
“That will be all for today.”
One disciple asked cautiously.
“Master, has something happened?”
“There has been a major clash in the southern Chang Kingdom.”
Dam Un-saeng’s voice grew low.
“A Nascent Soul elder of the Myriad Gu Sect returned with serious injuries after fighting cultivators from the Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance. I’m told an envoy sent by the Myriad Gu Sect over the matter has just arrived at the main sect grounds.”
Someone drew in a quiet breath.
A Nascent Soul cultivator had been seriously injured?
Everyone present was a Foundation Establishment inner sect disciple. Not one of them was a fool.
If the Myriad Gu Sect of the Chang Kingdom fell, the Gon Kingdom to its north would be next.
If war broke out among fourth-tier cultivation kingdoms, Foundation Establishment cultivators would be nothing more than moths flying into a flame!
The disciples felt the clouds of war gathering over the Gon Kingdom. A sense of dread crept into the pits of their stomachs.
The atmosphere in the lecture hall, peaceful only moments before, grew heavy.
Dam Un-saeng stood.
“For the time being, anyone who needs to leave the sect must inform me first.”
The disciples rose and bowed. Dam Un-saeng left the lecture hall at a faster pace than usual.
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