WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 76
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“What kind of magical implement is it?”
Goose pushed one of the jade slips forward.
“The Three-Molt Silkworm Robe. It’s a supreme-grade enchanted robe worn under your outer clothes.”
“A silkworm robe...”
Yi Hyeon sent his spiritual sense into the jade slip.
An image of a thin silk garment that covered the whole body appeared, along with a brief description. Three small shapes resembling silkworm cocoons were embroidered in gold thread on the inside of the chest.
「Ranked fifty-sixth in the Unju Implement Appraisal: Three-Molt Silkworm Robe.」
The description said it was an enchanted robe made by ritually refining the shed skin of a Tier 3 spirit insect. It protected its owner by shedding three times.
“Does it stop working after three uses?”
“No. The robe absorbs spiritual power to grow spirit molts, which tear away in its place to block attacks. After use, gentle warming will allow the robe to grow new spirit molts over time. The robe also has defensive abilities of its own, so a spirit molt only peels away when it takes an attack that’s difficult to withstand.”
“I see.”
‘I can sell the Dark-Scale Underarmor and wear this instead.’
He would feel much safer if he blocked attacks from the front with the Six-Leaf Shield and let the Three-Molt Silkworm Robe handle anything that slipped past.
“Where will it be sold?”
“At Eunwol Valley Market in western Hyeong Kingdom. It’s going to be offered at a private exchange in fifteen days.”
Hyeong Kingdom was a fourth-tier cultivation kingdom east of Hyeon Kingdom.
“What’s a private exchange?”
“A gathering where cultivators who’ve been introduced to one another bring items to trade. It’s similar to a small auction, held to save on the fees charged by large auctions.”
“Were you the one who contacted the seller?”
“Yes. I’ve traded several times with the cultivator brokering the goods there.”
“Then let’s go together. I’ll leave the directions to you.”
* * *
Fifteen days later.
A gently sloping valley lay among the low mountains of western Hyeong Kingdom.
Halls and shops stood within a misty Tier 2 grand formation. Water diverted from a river flowed through channels between the streets.
The valley glowed softly in the moonlight.
Eunwol Valley Market was jointly run by three nearby Foundation Establishment clans. Built around a Tier 2 spirit vein, it mainly served cultivators at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages.
It was a relatively small market for trading a supreme-grade magical implement. Still, some Foundation Establishment cultivators preferred smaller markets like this, so there was nothing particularly strange about it.
Goose led the way into a shop farther down an alley.
After checking the jade token Goose presented, the shopkeeper immediately opened a door at the back.
“Two of you?”
“That’s right.”
“They’re waiting inside.”
Beyond a long corridor was a small garden.
Just over twenty cultivators sat inside the hall across from it. Most had covered their faces or concealed their auras.
Tea had been set on every table, but no one was drinking it.
Their gazes quietly moved over one another’s clothes, storage pouches, and exposed spiritual power fluctuations.
‘There don’t seem to be any Golden Core cultivators.’
Yi Hyeon first examined the hall’s structure and restrictions.
It had an ordinary formation that blocked spiritual sense from outside and prevented sound from escaping. There was also a defensive formation in the garden, but it did not look strong enough to last long if several Foundation Establishment cultivators fought.
A veiled female cultivator rose from her seat farther inside.
“So you’re from the much-talked-about Two Heavens Society.”
When Goose nodded, a few cultivators briefly looked their way.
Without asking for further introductions, the woman gestured toward a table.
“Please sit.”
...
Once the other guests had taken their seats, the woman spread a faded silkworm robe on the table.
Apart from the gold embroidery on its chest, it had no particular decoration.
“This is the Three-Molt Silkworm Robe. Yes, it’s the very one listed in the Unju Implement Appraisal. See for yourselves.”
She took out a wooden doll the size of her palm and sent spiritual power into the robe. It shrank and wrapped around the doll.
Then a blue flying sword rose from her sleeve.
Whoosh!
The flying sword struck the doll’s chest.
At that moment, a layer of skin swelled from the doll’s body.
Rrrip!
Pierced by the blade, the skin tore and peeled away. The flying sword stopped with a clunk, caught inside it.
The shed skin scattered like fine threads, revealing the unharmed doll.
One of the cocoons embroidered on the chest lost its glow.
“When it receives a powerful attack, it sheds a layer like this to block it. It can even withstand a blow from a low-grade magical treasure.”
“What happens after all three layers are used?” one cultivator asked.
“You’ll need to gently warm it again. That takes about ten days. However, if it takes an attack after all three layers have been shed, the robe itself may be damaged.”
After the woman withdrew her flying sword, Yi Hyeon also approached to examine the robe.
It was thin and light. When he sent spiritual power through his fingertips, he sensed the overlapping restrictions inside.
They were so advanced that even Yi Hyeon, who considered himself a novice Tier 2 artifact refiner, could not begin to imagine copying them.
The Three-Molt Silkworm Robe was closer to the work of a Tier 3 artifact refiner capable of making magical treasures.
The other cultivators examined it in turn.
Once the inspection was over, the woman placed the robe in the middle of the table.
“I’ll only accept mid-grade spirit stones. Bidding starts at five hundred.”
“Six hundred.”
“Seven hundred.”
Two cultivators called out bids in succession.
A low voice came from the opposite side.
“Eight hundred.”
It belonged to a man in a yellowish robe.
He had unusually thick eyebrows and wore black metal rings on two fingers of his right hand. His aura was at late Foundation Establishment.
When he looked around, the cultivators who had bid before him fell silent.
Yi Hyeon spoke.
“One thousand.”
The man turned his gaze toward him.
“Eleven hundred.”
“Twelve hundred.”
Yi Hyeon answered at once.
Over the past decade or so, he had covered the cost of his cultivation pills through alchemy. Thanks to the separate sales of Tier 3 Yin Soul Grass and Purple Poison Orchids, he had about four thousand mid-grade spirit stones in his storage pouch.
The man in the yellowish robe paused.
“Twelve hundred and fifty.”
“Thirteen hundred.”
The man narrowed his eyes.
The woman’s voice brightened.
“Does anyone wish to bid higher? It’s certainly not expensive. At a large auction, it would have sold for more.”
Instead of raising his bid, the man in the yellowish robe looked Yi Hyeon up and down.
The cicada mask, the long robe, and the storage pouch at his waist.
At last, the corners of his mouth rose.
“The Two Heavens Society, was it? I’ve heard of you. Vein vermin who cling beneath other people’s spirit veins and suck away their spiritual qi.”
Goose spoke.
“That’s going too far.”
“Is that why you’re wearing a cicada mask?”
The man laughed, and a cultivator beside him let out a snicker.
“You bugs have gathered quite a few spirit stones. Is that the money you saved by stealing other people’s spiritual qi?”
Yi Hyeon looked at the woman.
“If no one else is bidding, I’d like to complete the purchase.”
The man in the yellowish robe stopped smiling.
Three cultivators seated near him slowly stood.
One walked to the door, while the other two took positions on either side of the table.
Goose’s shoulders stiffened.
“Withdraw your bid,” the man in the yellowish robe said. “I’ll be taking that robe.”
“Fellow cultivator.”
A middle-aged steward seated farther inside the hall rose.
“The item goes to whoever offers the highest price. In this market...”
“Steward, attend to the other guests. Can’t you see we’re having a conversation?”
The steward looked at the four people spread around the hall and could not immediately continue. None of them was easy to deal with. As someone serving a Foundation Establishment clan, the steward was reluctant to make enemies of them.
Goose stepped forward.
“If you want the item, make a bid. How can you interfere with a transaction like this?”
The man moved his fingers, and a thin beam of light shot from a black ring.
Whoosh!
The beam curved through the air like a snake, aiming for Goose’s neck.
“A bug dares to lecture...”
Clatter.
A blue-green shield plate slipped between them.
Clang!
The beam struck the shield plate and bounced away.
Just as Goose hurriedly began gathering spiritual power, Yi Hyeon’s voice rang out.
“Stay behind me.”
The other five shield plates appeared after the first.
At the same time, the cultivators on either side moved.
Flying swords and throwing knives came from every direction. The cultivator beside the door also raised both hands to form hand seals.
The man in the yellowish robe bared his teeth.
Clang! Claaang!
The Six-Leaf Shield blocked the flying swords and throwing knives.
One shield plate tilted toward two slender golden needles that slipped underneath.
Clink! Clink!
The golden needles struck the blue-green plate and bounced away.
It happened at that moment.
The sword the cicada-masked cultivator had drawn was already shining brightly.
Flash!
A cross-shaped bolt of lightning erupted inside the hall.
Boooom!
Four streams of sword light struck the four cultivators.
Bang! Crunch!
Sword cuts ran from the cicada-masked cultivator’s feet all the way out of the hall.
Once the room fell silent, the cultivators who had backed away approached to look around.
“...”
The man in the yellowish robe had been split in half along with his black shield.
The cultivator beside him had been cut in two while twisting at the waist to dodge.
The cultivator holding a throwing knife had a hole through their chest. The last cultivator’s body had burst apart from shoulder to waist before they could use the talisman in their hand.
Someone drew a sharp breath.
The steward overseeing the exchange stood frozen in shock. The woman had gathered up the Three-Molt Silkworm Robe and could not take her eyes off Yi Hyeon.
The Moon-Sinking Sword slid into its sheath.
Click.
A nearby cultivator flinched at the sound.
Behind Yi Hyeon, Goose stood with their mouth open.
‘...What just happened?’
There had been four of them.
One late Foundation Establishment cultivator and three others.
Yet they were dead.
In a single strike!
‘Is the inspector a Golden Core cultivator?!’
There was no other way this could be possible.
‘Someone like this is merely the society leader’s inspector...’
Then what realm was the society leader in?
‘Surely not... Nascent Soul...?’
...
Yi Hyeon held out thirteen hundred mid-grade spirit stones to the woman.
“The price I offered earlier.”
Only then did she check the spirit stones and hand over the Three-Molt Silkworm Robe, along with a jade slip containing its implement-control formula.
Yi Hyeon checked for any remaining spiritual sense imprints or suspicious auras before putting the items away.
When he looked at the steward in charge, the steward’s back straightened.
“Is there a shop here that buys goods?”
“...Pardon?”
“I’d like to sell their belongings.”
Yi Hyeon pointed at the bodies, and the steward’s gaze followed his hand.
“Ah, yes. Our market’s joint warehouse...”
“Could you call someone to appraise them?”
The steward was briefly lost for words, then nodded.
“I’ll call someone at once.”
...
Yi Hyeon first searched the four cultivators’ storage pouches and obtained about eight hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
He placed the remaining magical implements, talismans, and medicine bottles on a table.
A little later, the warehouse appraiser spoke cautiously.
“If you sell us these items... we can offer up to... four hundred and eighty mid-grade spirit stones.”
After finishing, the appraiser studied Yi Hyeon’s mask, but no expression could be read from the cicada’s face.
“Very well.”
Yi Hyeon looked back at the split floor.
“How much will the repairs cost?”
“Well...”
“Deduct it from the payment.”
The steward looked between Yi Hyeon and the floor, then cautiously bowed.
...
After settling the payment, Yi Hyeon borrowed a private room, removed his Dark-Scale Underarmor, and put on the Three-Molt Silkworm Robe.
When he formed the hand seals, the garment shrank to fit his body. Once he put his long robe over it, it felt like nothing more than an extra layer of thin underwear.
As Yi Hyeon left the hall, Goose followed a step behind.
They were much quieter than on the way there.
Yi Hyeon turned his head.
‘Are they frightened?’
“I’ll give you fifty mid-grade spirit stones as your brokerage fee.”
“Thank you!”
* * *
Ten years later.
Underground Hideout No. 3, Spirit Field No. 2-5.
Yi Hyeon brushed the soil from the roots of the Spirit-Storing Ginseng and put them into his storage pouch one by one.
After cultivating for the past ten years with the occasional aid of alchemical pills, he had finally reached the peak of the third layer of Foundation Establishment.
It was time to refine Origin-Opening Pills for his own use.
...
A few days later.
The alchemy chamber of Underground Hideout No. 3, twenty-five li underground.
As the pill furnace’s lid opened, round alchemical pills floated up through the haze.
They were Origin-Opening Pills.
He had made them countless times to sell through the Two Heavens Society, so the refining process had presented no particular difficulties.
Yi Hyeon divided the finished pills among jade bottles.
...
The cultivation chamber.
Yi Hyeon lay down comfortably and swallowed the first Origin-Opening Pill.
As it dissolved, a warm energy spread through his stomach.
He slowly guided the medicinal strength.
Hummm.
At some point, a blockage in one part of his body opened.
With his eyes closed, Yi Hyeon examined the quality of the spiritual power newly forming there. After confirming that it had fully stabilized, he moved on to the next part.
...
One month later.
The spiritual light surrounding his whole body brightened, then quietly settled.
After a long while, Yi Hyeon opened his eyes.
“At last...!”
The fourth layer of Foundation Establishment throughout his entire body!
His whole body had finally entered mid Foundation Establishment.
After thoroughly examining his body, he stood up.
Then he took out the stone tablet, erased the old writing, and carved new words.
【Realm: Foundation Establishment stage, Layer 6 (lower dantian), Foundation Establishment stage, Layer 4 (rest of the body)】
【Spiritual Power: 5,828 → 7,396】
【Physique: Primordial Unity Body, Foundation Establishment Level 4】
He mounted the stone tablet on the wall and looked at it with satisfaction.
A little later, he took a small wooden box from his storage pouch.
Inside were Mae So-gun’s letter and jade slip.
For the first time in a long while, Yi Hyeon read through their contents again.
Jewel Light Temple’s Gold-Condensing Pill.
‘Hmm... Perhaps it’s time to start looking into the Gold-Condensing Pill formula?’
* * *
Ten years later.
Yi Hyeon had thought about entering Jewel Light Mountain, but when it came to actually doing so, he found it too much trouble. Instead, he spent ten years reading popular novels he had bought in Hyeong Kingdom.
Just as he was beginning to grow bored, he heard that Jewel Light Mountain was recruiting disciples.
...
Jewel Light Mountain, Seo Kingdom.
The smell of incense reached all the way to the foot of the mountain.
Shops selling tea and food lined both sides of the road. People in monastic robes mingled with ordinary cultivators as they came and went.
In the distance, pillared halls rose in tiers along the mountainside. The higher peaks beyond them were hidden by thin clouds.
Yi Hyeon read the notice posted in front of the mountain gate.
Below the dates and qualifications for accepting young disciples was a separate passage.
「Cultivators skilled in alchemy, artifact refining, talisman crafting, formations, or other disciplines should register separately at the guest hall.」
The admission procedure was written beneath it.
From what he had learned, Jewel Light Temple accepted cultivators who had practiced other cultivation arts as disciples, provided their technical skills were sufficient.
...
Yi Hyeon’s face looked like that of an ordinary middle-aged man of about forty. It was the most common appearance among Foundation Establishment cultivators.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator with such an appearance could actually be fifty or a hundred and fifty, depending on when they had begun cultivating and made their breakthroughs. Their age was difficult to judge from appearance alone.
This time, he had decided to use the alias Yi Dong-sa and give his age as seventy.
By adjusting the amount and timing of his Bone-Tempering Powder intake, he had already arranged for bone-age inspection implements to show the same age.
The aura he revealed was at the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment.
Thanks to his long practice of the Qi-Concealing Spell and Spirit-Hiding Spell, he could disguise himself as a cultivator whose lower dantian alone was at the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment.
He had chosen the identity of an independent alchemist.
...
A guest-receiving monk at late Foundation Establishment guided him.
“You’ve applied to Lotus Court.”
“That’s right.”
“This way, please. There aren’t many applicants today, so you shouldn’t have to wait long.”
As Yi Hyeon followed the monk up the stairs, he looked at the back of his guide’s head.
The monk’s hair was long.
It was black and tied back, with a blue tint at the ends.
“Is shaving your head not required?”
“That’s right.”
The monk briefly turned to look back.
“I can’t cut mine because of my vow, but some do shave theirs.”
What were these vows?
According to the brief research Yi Hyeon had done before coming to Jewel Light Temple, the temple drew its Buddhist power from vow cultivation.
Vow cultivation was a method of gaining power by making and keeping one’s own vows.
Their cultivation still required spiritual roots.
However, they added the vow power gained through vow cultivation to the spiritual or magical power produced by absorbing spiritual qi through their spiritual roots. In this way, they created true qi suited to Jewel Light Temple’s cultivation arts.
Yi Hyeon spoke again.
“Is the color at the ends of your hair related to your vow too?”
The monk touched the dyed hair.
“I just dyed it.”
“...I see.”
Yi Hyeon was a little taken aback.
‘This is a little different from the Buddhism I had in mind...’
A little farther up, the path widened.
Yi Hyeon slowed as he looked at the paintings hanging on the walls to either side.
At first, he thought they depicted male and female immortals at play.
But on closer inspection, their clothes were far too revealing.
Some showed men and women exchanging cups of wine in a pavilion. In others, figures gazed at one another through thin silk.
A woman in one painting slowly turned her head.
When her eyes met Yi Hyeon’s, she smiled.
‘?!’
As Yi Hyeon tried to look again, his guide stopped.
“Is this your first time seeing them?”
“I didn’t expect to find anything like this in a temple.”
The monk pointed at a wooden sign on one wall.
「All paintings here are for cultivation.
If your heart is stirred, your cultivation is lacking.
If your heart is not stirred... you are already a Buddha.
However, do not steal the paintings.」
“This is...”
His guide’s voice was serious.
“A Golden Core painter-monk painted these personally. They’re used to observe how the heart responds to beautiful things.”
“So it’s fine if looking at them doesn’t stir your heart?”
“These are only for beginners. People passing through the mountain gate also use this path... There are even more stirring paintings inside.”
...
In the broad courtyard at the top of the stairs, monks were carrying wooden crates.
One crate rattled, and short claws poked through a hole.
Grrr.
It was the growl of a small beast.
“Move them carefully.”
“Yes, Martial Uncle.”
When one monk leaned close to a crate, the growling inside grew louder.
The monk nodded.
“You’ve grown well. May you live a long life out in the forest sea.”
Yi Hyeon asked a question.
“Is this where you raise spirit beasts?”
“This is the Life-Release Court. They’re moving the young beasts that will be released into the Vast Verdant Forest Sea today.”
Yi Hyeon looked at the crates.
“I didn’t know you even raised young demonic beasts yourselves to release them.”
“It builds merit.”
The monk smiled with satisfaction.
Just then, one of the monks carrying a crate called out.
“Martial Uncle, they say the Black-Horned Deer we released in the western valley has formed a demonic core!”
The face of the monk stroking the crate brightened.
“Oh, the karmic bond has finally ripened! Tell the Demon-Subduing Court. If they’re late, something else might eat it.”
“Yes!”
Yi Hyeon’s guide spoke.
“When you build merit, karmic bonds follow.”
...
In front of a hall farther inside stood a stone monument engraved with Jewel Light Temple’s monastic rules.
「Enjoy your spirit beast meat. Forcing yourself to eat is disrespectful to the offering.
Grain tea is grain.
Do not pass on the teachings to those with whom you have no karmic bond.
Do not mock another’s vow. Yours is stranger.
Refrain from useless killing. Consult the Life-Release Court for the definition of useful killing.」
As Yi Hyeon looked at the monument, his guide spoke.
“Our founding patriarch said that clinging to rules is also a form of attachment. Shaving your head doesn’t rid you of worldly cares, and refusing meat doesn’t purify your heart.”
“So everyone can cultivate as they see fit?”
“For the most part. However, you must keep the vows you make.”
The monk opened a palm. A faint golden energy seeped between its lines.
‘Is this the famous Buddha-Light True Qi...?’
It was calm, yet it had a strange quality that made it seem difficult to disperse.
The monks of Jewel Light Temple had genuine skill.
“Many of our temple’s techniques carry one’s vows within the true qi. Vows you’ve kept become strength, but if you break them, that strength can turn against you.”
...
Lotus Court’s guest hall.
Lotus Court handled Jewel Light Temple’s technical disciplines, including alchemy, spirit plant cultivation, and formations. Research into medicinal ingredients and the refining of Gold-Condensing Pills also took place here.
Seated across from Yi Hyeon, in front of a small pill furnace, was an elderly monk with thick eyebrows and a broad jaw. This was an elder at early Golden Core.
After examining the documents Yi Hyeon had filled out and several items, the monk asked him to demonstrate some simple alchemy techniques.
As Yi Hyeon displayed his skills over the course of one gak, the elder put down the documents and watched his fingertips closely.
At last, the monk raised a hand.
“Excellent!”
After writing something on the documents, the monk looked up again.
“Why do you wish to join Jewel Light Temple?”
“I’d like to learn more about pill refining. I’ve heard that few can match Jewel Light Temple when it comes to handling demonic beast materials.”
The monk nodded.
“Our court does have many such inheritances. But joining doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to learn everything...”
“I’ll work hard.”
“Can you really do it?”
The monk opened a thin booklet beside the documents.
“The technique most commonly used in Lotus Court is the Clear Yang Purifying Fire Art! It’s used to refine away the turbid, violent energies mixed into the flesh, blood, and inner cores of demonic beasts. The condition for learning this technique is terribly harsh. You can’t possibly imagine it.”
“What could the condition be?”
The monk’s expression grew serious.
“To advance far in this technique, you must preserve your primordial yang!”
Yi Hyeon nodded.
“I see.”
The monk paused and studied Yi Hyeon’s face.
“Do you understand what that means?”
“You’re saying I mustn’t lose my primordial yang, aren’t you?”
“Yes. But...”
The monk leaned forward.
“It’s harder than you think.”
Yi Hyeon waited.
The monk put down the brush.
“I don’t mean a few days or months. You must preserve it for the entire time you practice the technique. That could be decades, or even more than a hundred years.”
“Yes.”
“It’s not something you can agree to so lightly!”
The monk’s voice rose.
After leaning back against the chair, the monk leaned forward again.
“There are many beautiful female cultivators in this world. A fortunate bond might bring you someone who asks to cultivate together. Could you refuse even then?”
“I think I could.”
“You think?”
The monk’s eyes widened.
“Give me a clear answer. It means you can’t marry, and you can’t go whoring! You can’t even touch a mortal woman who isn’t a cultivator! This isn’t a matter of holding back for a little while. If you hold back today, you must do it again tomorrow. If you hold back next year, you must do it the year after that too!”
The monk’s expression grew increasingly solemn.
“Are you prepared to endure those years of abstinence and restraint? I’m asking whether you can belong to Lotus Court and cultivate alone for more than a hundred years, keeping away from women!”
Footnotes:
“Grain tea” is a joking euphemism for alcohol, used to get around the Buddhist prohibition on drinking.
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