Cultivating Underground - Chapter 83

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

◈ Cultivating Underground ◈

Chapter 83

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Myeongyun looked puzzled.

“A Spirit-Gathering Formation can temporarily draw in the surrounding spiritual qi. But making a spirit vein itself produce higher-grade spiritual qi is truly hard to believe... I’ve read quite a few books on earth veins while studying formations, but I’ve never heard of such a method. How did the Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance obtain such an extraordinary inheritance?”

“I haven’t seen it myself.”

Im Gyeong-hwa set down their wine cup.

“Still, it’s a fact that the Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance greatly expanded its territory during its advance north... So the rumor doesn’t seem entirely absurd. They might have thought they could simply seize better land before their spirit veins ran dry. Demonic cultivators generally behave that way. Why would they care about future generations of cultivators?”

Yuk Hong-yeon frowned.

“Could it be something like a blood sacrifice? People say demonic cultivators treat mortals like livestock.”

“I’m sure methods like that exist,” Yun Chae-ryeong answered.

“But gathering mortals’ blood essence and strengthening a spirit vein for cultivators at Foundation Establishment or above are different matters. If something on that scale were common, merchants trading with Nammyeong would have brought back more detailed accounts.”

Jang Tae-san nodded.

“That’s right. There are evil arts that use mortals’ blood essence or souls, but that doesn’t mean they’re useful cultivation resources for every demonic cultivator. For example, a mortal’s soul is different from a cultivator’s primordial spirit, which has been shaped by the baptism of spiritual qi. Even when using them as materials for a soul banner, you would need to gather far more to achieve the same power. If that process also burdens your Dao heart, brings karmic consequences, and leaves enforcement cultivators pursuing you, it wouldn’t be worthwhile for most cultivators.”

A Cheongso Palace cultivator spoke.

“Besides, children with spiritual roots are born in the lands where mortals live, and those children eventually become sect disciples, don’t they? Even without discussing the Dao heart or karma, demonic sects are no different from us in needing a steady supply of new disciples to serve them. Demonic cultivators at the Qi Refining stage are valuable labor. To secure that labor without difficulty, it’s actually better for the mortal world to flourish.”

Yi Hyeon recalled the mortal county towns he had visited in the Gon Kingdom.

Even after those places had come under the Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance’s control, people had continued to plow their fields, trade, and return home at sunset. Being ruled by demonic cultivators did not mean bodies lay piled everywhere.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, “When you call the Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance demonic, do you place more weight on their cultivation arts or their actions?”

Im Gyeong-hwa looked at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Even demonic sects must have people who grow spirit plants and make alchemical pills. And being a disciple of an orthodox sect doesn’t mean someone never covets another person’s wealth. I suddenly wondered whether the label depends on the cultivation arts people practice or the things they do.”

Im Gyeong-hwa scratched their chin.

Wonjeong smiled faintly.

“The word does have several meanings.”

“How do you see it, Senior Brother?”

“Some use ‘demonic path’ to describe inheritances that handle demonic qi. Others use it for cultivators who commit evil acts.”

He wrapped both hands around his teacup.

“To begin with, demonic qi does exist as a kind of energy. I’ve even heard there are inheritances that turn the spiritual qi of heaven and earth into demonic qi. Of course, even then, not all demonic sects use the same energy. I’m told their inheritances differ from sect to sect.”

“Should those who handle yin energy, corpse qi, or poisonous miasma also be considered demonic cultivators?”

“It isn’t that simple. Even if people absorb the same energy, what accumulates in their bodies differs depending on the cultivation art they use to refine it.”

Wonjeong paused, then added, “There’s also a saying that those who cultivate demonic qi and ascend become connected to the demonic realm rather than the immortal realm. I don’t know how much of that is true, but if it is, demonic qi probably isn’t simply sinister, evil energy. It must have a foundation of its own, existing across more planes than one might expect.”

Im Gyeong-hwa spoke.

“That makes sense if we’re distinguishing them by their energy. But people don’t consider all that when they call the Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance demonic. Frankly, I don’t much care whether the alliance actually uses demonic qi or some other kind of true qi. I simply classify them as demonic cultivators...”

Yun Chae-ryeong turned her teacup with the hand wearing silver thimbles.

“That’s right. Perhaps our standards for distinguishing the orthodox and demonic paths aren’t all that fair. It’s difficult to judge someone solely by the cultivation art they practice. Not everyone from an orthodox sect can be trusted, either.”

Yi Hyeon drank his spirit tea.

He could produce profound yin white bone true qi himself. To him, it was simply a kind of true qi suited to handling bones. It did not seem to have any inherent connection to good or evil.

‘I don’t know whether profound yin white bone true qi counts as the demonic qi Senior Brother Wonjeong means. The Nammyeong Twelve-Sect Alliance’s other inheritances would be different again...’

Then he remembered the Two Heavens Society, which secretly drew spiritual qi from other people’s spirit veins, and felt a little embarrassed.

‘Hmm... Still, the Two Heavens Society doesn’t damage the spirit veins themselves...’

...

As the gathering continued, people began talking in smaller groups with those seated nearby.

They discussed which maker produced the best spirit wine in the Jeong Kingdom, what supreme-grade magical implements would be offered as prizes, and even which sect had owned the largest vessel they had seen during their journey by flying boat.

Myeongyun and Yun Chae-ryeong began drawing formation inscriptions on the table with spiritual power as they explored the connections between artifact refining and formations. Jang Tae-san argued with a Geumjeong Sect disciple over whether they should arm-wrestle, while someone beside them urged them to place bets.

Some were also talking through voice transmission.

A question suddenly occurred to Yi Hyeon, and he sent Yuk Hong-yeon a voice transmission.

[Senior Sister Yuk, do you happen to know about dual cultivation arts that Dao companions practice together?]

[Thinking of trying it with Seo-rin?]

[...I wondered whether it might help with cultivation.]

Yuk Hong-yeon smiled.

[You’re looking for a method that helps both people cultivate, not one that takes the other person’s vital essence?]

[Yes.]

[I’ve heard there are methods like that. But they have to suit the cultivation arts both people practice, so it probably won’t be easy. Did our Jewel Light Temple have an inheritance like that? Well, since you’re here for the Unju Dao Discussion Gathering, it wouldn’t hurt to look around the places that trade inheritances.]

She lifted the teapot and filled Yi Hyeon’s cup.

[Seo-rin takes cultivation seriously too, so think it over together.]

* * *

The following afternoon.

Yi Hyeon told Myeongyun where he was going, then left the guest residence alone.

He first stopped at a bookstore on the main street, where a travel account about the Yucheon Plateau caught his eye. It contained illustrations of several floating mountains and the observations of a cultivator who had accompanied merchant caravans traveling between them.

He flipped through a few pages, then paid for the book.

‘Mountains floating through the sky... If I dug a tunnel in one, would that mean the tunnel was flying too?’

Yi Hyeon also asked the bookstore’s owner, a cultivator at the Qi Refining stage, about dual cultivation arts.

The owner offered him a jade slip containing summaries of various cultivation methods. It only briefly described their effects and cultivation requirements, but that made it all the more suitable for Yi Hyeon, who did not know what to look for.

Yi Hyeon bought the jade slip as well, then left the bookstore.

After he had walked along the main street for a while, the smells in the air gradually changed.

The bitter scent of dried medicinal herbs, the acrid smell of charcoal heating pill furnaces, and the sweet fragrance of pills, as though someone nearby had opened a furnace.

Eventually, he reached a square.

‘This place...’

Alchemy platforms stood at regular intervals across a broad square opened for cultivators to exchange technical skills. Tables displaying alchemical pills and medicinal ingredients stood around them, and alchemists talked as they examined the things others had brought.

Wooden signs hung at the entrance, listing the demonstrations at each station and their times.

Yi Hyeon slowed his steps.

Fire threads were moving above one of the alchemy platforms.

The moment a nearly lightless fire thread crossed beside a brightly burning one, his gaze caught on it.

‘Is that...?’

A male cultivator at mid Foundation Establishment sat before the pill furnace. The emblem of the Taehyeon Sect was embroidered on his sleeve.

As the man moved his fingers, the flames circling the edge of the furnace folded inward. Two streams wrapped around the medicinal liquid while the remaining fire threads supported it from below.

‘The Fire-Dividing Thread Spell?’

Yi Hyeon approached the platform.

The order in which the man withdrew the flames and the way he gathered and rotated the fire threads were not quite the same, but the foundation was clearly the spell Yi Hyeon knew!

A short while later, the man finished refining, and clear medicinal liquid was transferred to a jade dish. A middle-aged cultivator standing nearby placed it beside another medicinal liquid that had been refined earlier. The spectators drew closer to examine the difference.

Yi Hyeon waited until the others had finished asking questions, then spoke.

“Your method of controlling the flames is impressive. Is it an inheritance of the Taehyeon Sect?”

“It is. A fire-control method of our sect’s Yeonha lineage.”

The Yeonha lineage!

Yi Hyeon repeated the words to himself.

He remembered an old pine tree and the flat rock beneath it.

Dam Un-saeng sitting with fingers stained by medicinal ingredients.

Do Mun-gyeom pouring tea for the junior brother visiting for the first time.

His fellow disciples sharing their thoughts over a split pill on a stone table.

Yi Hyeon remained silent as the spectators left one by one. The middle-aged cultivator pointed at a wooden sign nearby.

“If you’re interested in heat control, you should apply to attend our lineage’s lecture. True Lord So-yeong will personally offer instruction on the third day of the gathering.”

Yi Hyeon turned his head.

“...True Lord So-yeong?”

“Yes. It will be held at the eastern alchemy compound. We don’t accept applications here, so you’ll need to visit the gathering’s administrative office.”

The information jade slip the cultivator handed him listed the lecture’s location and time, along with the procedures for attending.

「A lecture on refining Tier 3 True Essence Pills (眞元丹) and heat control.」

True Essence Pills were cultivation pills widely used by Golden Core cultivators to build their magical power.

Yi Hyeon read the lecturer’s name.

「True Lord Jin So-yeong, Yeonha lineage of the Taehyeon Sect.」

‘...!’

Even after lowering the jade slip, he struggled to speak.

When the Danso Sect had scattered, Jin So-yeong had followed Dam Un-saeng to the Taehyeon Sect.

And now that same Jin So-yeong had become a great Nascent Soul cultivator whom everyone in the Nine Kingdoms of Unju looked up to!

‘It feels like only yesterday that we took the Special Skills Selection together...’

“Are you surprised, Fellow Cultivator?”

The middle-aged cultivator smiled as though accustomed to that reaction.

“Everyone makes that face. It’s rare for the True Lord to give a public lecture.”

“...Thank you. I’ll be sure to attend.”

Yi Hyeon bowed and stepped away from the alchemy platform.

After leaving the square, he read the information jade slip again.

He wondered whether it might be someone with the same name, but given the mention of the Taehyeon Sect’s Yeonha lineage, it had to be the person he knew.

‘Amazing! To think she reached Nascent Soul...’

Jin So-yeong had possessed dual spiritual roots and stood out from an early age.

But that did not guarantee she would reach Nascent Soul. Even geniuses with a single spiritual root often reached the end of their lives without attaining Golden Core, let alone Nascent Soul.

A cultivator’s life was that unpredictable. Yet Senior Sister Jin, who had lost her sect and left for a foreign land, had finally made it through that narrow path.

‘I’m glad to hear about her... But I probably can’t go and visit.’

Yi Hyeon put away the information jade slip.

...

Cultivators stood in line at the administrative office, waiting to apply for lectures.

When his turn came, Yi Hyeon presented his Jewel Light Temple identity token.

“I’d like to attend True Lord So-yeong’s alchemy lecture.”

A little later, the steward handed him a small token engraved with a seat number.

“Bring this with you on the day. Entry and exit will be restricted once the lecture begins. During the refining process, you must not extend your spiritual sense into the pill furnace without permission. We can’t take responsibility if a Nascent Soul True Lord becomes angry, so be careful.”

“Understood.”

...

Over the next few days, Yi Hyeon continued practicing with his newly purchased magical implement and completed his tournament registration together with his fellow disciples.

* * *

The opening day of the Unju Dao Discussion Gathering.

The central training hall of Cloud-Gathering Immortal City.

Perhaps because it had been built to accommodate sparring between cultivators, its scale was enormous.

Dozens of tiers of seating rose like steps around a huge circular training platform built from white stone. Between sections of the stands were raised areas bearing the flags of the various sects.

Jewel Light Temple’s seats were on the eastern side.

Beneath a flag embroidered with a lion standing on clouds, Yi Hyeon sat among his fellow disciples and looked around.

He could not see an empty seat.

There were disciples competing in the tournament and the elders leading them, cultivators who had come for the lectures, people from merchant caravans, and independent cultivators from across the Jeong Kingdom who had come to watch.

The lower stands were already packed with people. As though that were not enough, others watched from pavilion roofs outside the training hall or from flying magical implements hovering in the air.

Myeongyun marveled.

“The training platform itself is a formation disk.”

Yi Hyeon had already sensed it too.

Thousands of formation inscriptions intertwined beneath the white stone’s surface. Eight pillars around the platform connected to those inscriptions, binding the entire platform into one enormous restriction.

‘No matter how wildly Foundation Establishment cultivators fight, the shock waves won’t reach the stands.’

At noon, the noise in the stands gradually subsided.

People appeared on the highest dais on the northern side of the training hall.

At the front were Golden Core elders from the Taeak Sect and Cheongso Palace. Behind them, several seats of honor had been set apart.

The moment the people who would occupy those seats appeared, the air grew heavy.

None of them had displayed their might. They had merely sat down, yet even the faint whispers remaining in the stands drained away like the ebbing tide.

Nascent Soul.

These were the great cultivators who supported the major sects of the Nine Kingdoms of Unju.

Yi Hyeon steadied his breathing and examined the seats of honor one by one.

An elder with long white hair, a middle-aged Daoist sitting with eyes closed, a sword cultivator with a sword at the waist.

There were only a few, but they were more than enough to overwhelm everyone around them.

And at the end of the row sat a female cultivator wearing a pale blue enchanted robe. Clear energy flowed faintly through the patterns along its hem. The robe looked incredibly expensive.

A jade hairpin held her neatly arranged hair in place.

Though her face, which appeared to be that of someone around thirty, was not heavily adorned, it drew the eye.

Yi Hyeon recognized her at once.

It really was Jin So-yeong!

He quickly looked away. Staring at a Nascent Soul cultivator for too long was impolite.

The Taeak Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator rose.

“Fellow cultivators of the Nine Kingdoms of Unju.”

The calm voice reached every corner of the vast training hall as clearly as if the speaker stood beside each listener. The unimaginable technique made everyone hold their breath.

The opening address was brief.

It welcomed the cultivators of the Nine Kingdoms of Unju, gathered again after sixty years, and expressed the hope that they would share their Dao and learn from one another. There was also a reminder to compete in the tournament without leaving grudges behind.

“I hereby open the Unju Dao Discussion Gathering.”

At those words, the eight pillars around the training platform shone at once.

Hummmmm...

An enormous screen of light spread through the air above the platform. At its center appeared enlarged images of three magical implements.

A stir passed through the stands.

They were supreme-grade magical implements listed in the Unju Implement Appraisal. Each implement’s name and rank appeared beneath it in golden letters, and exclamations broke out on every side as people offered their opinions.

The first to catch the eye was a metal awl a little over one chi long.

Its body was dark gold, and three spiral grooves converged at its sharp tip. As it slowly rotated, a small point of light at the tip flashed sharply.

「Aura-Piercing Awl (破罡錐). Ranked 37th in the Unju Implement Appraisal.」

The voice of the Golden Core elder introducing the implements rang out.

“This implement concentrates spiritual power at a single point on its tip, making it especially effective at piercing Protective Spiritlight and defensive restrictions. After a fully charged strike, it must accumulate spiritual power again. However, that first strike is so powerful that it scarcely seems possible for a magical implement, earning it high praise in the Appraisal.”

Yuk Hong-yeon unfolded her arms.

“I heard that thing once pierced a low-grade defensive magical treasure.”

The second item looked like folded silk.

But when it unfolded in the image, it proved to be a net woven from fine silver threads. Small ice crystals glinted as the mesh opened, and blue beads lined its edges.

「Profound Ice Net (玄冰網). Ranked 68th in the Unju Implement Appraisal.」

“When spread, it can cover an area more than ten jang across. If it wraps around a body or magical implement, cold seeps in and slows its movements.”

Myeongyun nodded.

“That would be useful for catching demonic beasts.”

Several disciples from Life-Release Court also leaned forward.

The last item was a pair of shoes made from deep blue leather.

Wing shapes were embroidered on either side of the ankles. Wind patterns running along the soles repeatedly brightened and faded.

「Whirlwind Shoes (回風履). Ranked 112th in the Unju Implement Appraisal.」

“Wearing this implement allows you to dash over short distances, whether on the ground or in the air, and change direction easily even while moving at high speed.”

Yi Hyeon’s gaze lingered on the last implement.

‘An implement that makes you move faster... I wouldn’t mind having that.’

The highest-ranked item, the Aura-Piercing Awl, drew the most exclamations, but quite a few cultivators could not take their eyes off the other two.

The Golden Core elder continued.

“The top three competitors will receive one item each. The champion will choose first, the runner-up will choose next, and the third-place winner will receive the remaining implement.”

The murmuring in the stands grew louder.

Yuk Hong-yeon leaned toward Yi Hyeon.

“Which one will you choose, Junior Brother Yi?”

“I doubt I’ll win one. Do I really need to think about it?”

“That’s harsh. Not a romantic bone in your body... You’re brushing me off because I’m not Seo-rin, aren’t you? You could at least think about it beforehand. Wait, was that aimed at me? Are you saying you might win a prize, but I definitely won’t, so I shouldn’t bother?”

“......”

As soon as the opening ceremony ended, the draw for the tournament began.

A Golden Core elder from Cheongso Palace flew above the training platform and suspended a large formation disk in the air.

“All competitors, take out your jade tokens.”

Hundreds of jade tokens rose onto people’s palms throughout the stands.

Yi Hyeon also took out the jade token he had received at the guest residence.

As the formation disk began to rotate, hundreds of thin beams of light shot out toward the jade tokens scattered through the stands. One fell onto Yi Hyeon’s palm as well.

Words appeared on the token’s surface.

「Group 47.

First bout: Wu hour on the fifth day of the gathering.」

‘Fortunately, it doesn’t overlap with Jin So-yeong’s lecture.’

The elder’s voice rang out again.

“Five hundred and forty-three people have completed their final registration. You have been assigned to sixty-four groups of eight or nine. Each competitor will face every other member of their group once, and the top two from each group will advance to the main tournament. There will be one hundred and twenty-eight qualifiers in total.”

Cultivators throughout the stands examined their jade tokens.

“The preliminary rounds will run from the fourth through the twelfth day of the gathering. Consult your jade tokens for your group members, the time of each bout, and the rules for determining rankings in the event of a tie.”

...

The morning of the gathering’s third day.

Cultivators were already making their way to the eastern alchemy compound early in the morning.

Attendance tokens were checked at the entrance, while Taehyeon Sect disciples directed people to their seats in the corridor beyond.

As Yi Hyeon followed the corridor inside, he looked ahead.

A round stone platform rose from the center of a broad courtyard.

A large bronze pill furnace stood on it. Formation inscriptions began beneath the furnace and extended across the floor to four pillars surrounding the platform.

The seating rose in tiers around the stone platform, arranged so that no one’s view would be blocked by the person in front.

There was no roof above the platform.

As Yi Hyeon sat down, he examined the restrictions between the pillars. The formation seemed designed to keep heat and medicinal strength from spreading to the stands. It seemed to be enclosed at the sides and open only at the top.

‘Do they really need a formation like this just to refine pills?’

Golden Core cultivators with powerful auras sat upright in the front row, all looking toward the stone platform.

They were elders who had brought disciples from their sects. Among them was an elder of Lotus Court whose face Yi Hyeon recognized from Jewel Light Temple.

Foundation Establishment alchemists filled the seats behind them. Even those who had been exchanging greetings fell silent when the bell rang.

A short while later, a door behind the platform opened.

Two Golden Core cultivators from the Taehyeon Sect emerged first and stepped to either side. A female cultivator walked out between them.

It was Jin So-yeong.

Seeing her much closer than at the opening ceremony made him even more certain. The look in her eyes as she examined the furnace and medicinal ingredients in turn overlapped with his memories of her at Yeonha Peak.

As the Golden Core elders rose, the cultivators behind them stood as well.

“Greetings, True Lord So-yeong!”

Hundreds of powerful voices filled the courtyard.

Jin So-yeong lightly returned their greeting.

“Thank you for coming such a long way. Please, sit.”

She stood before the pill furnace.

She neither displayed any pressure nor stirred her magical power. Yet scarcely even the rustle of clothing could be heard in the courtyard.

Alchemists from several kingdoms waited for her to speak.

When Jin So-yeong raised her hand, several jade trays beside her slowly floated upward.

“Today, I will demonstrate heat control and pill condensation for True Essence Pills. Most of the ingredients have already been refined, so you can observe as I finish the remaining refining and begin harmonization.”

The trays held medicinal liquids enclosed in preservation restrictions, along with several ingredients that had yet to be processed.

“I have been making True Essence Pills regularly since I used them for cultivation in early Golden Core.”

Jin So-yeong opened the furnace lid.

“The longer we work with a pill formula, the easier it is to fall into habit, neglect further study, and trust only the sequence familiar to our hands. I hope today gives us a chance to consider how far we alchemists can reach when we break free of those habits and move forward.”

A small flame appeared at her fingertip.

Fwoosh.

The flame split, and thin streams of fire spread above the furnace, tracing circles at different heights.

‘The Fire-Dividing Thread Spell!’

Yi Hyeon watched wide-eyed, determined not to miss a single moment.

...

For a while, he could follow the process.

He could see which flames broke down the ingredients and which caught the medicinal potency as it dispersed. The pattern of intertwining fire threads was complex, but the principles behind it were ones Yi Hyeon himself had practiced for many years.

Jin So-yeong brought two refined medicinal liquids close together.

One was pale yellow, the other clear blue.

As their edges touched, a small bubble formed within the blue liquid.

A single fire thread slipped into the blue liquid. While the bubble swelled, the flames surrounding the liquid weakened until they gave off almost no light.

Pop.

The bubble burst.

The medicinal strength that seemed about to scatter with its force was caught within the flames. A thin stream of yellow liquid seeped into that spot, and the two colors blended smoothly.

An elderly Golden Core cultivator in the front row leaned forward slightly in surprise.

As more medicinal liquids were added, the flow of the flames grew increasingly complex.

At some point, Yi Hyeon could no longer predict the next action. Despite his deep understanding of the Fire-Dividing Thread Spell, he could not tell why she divided the medicinal liquids or changed the heat at particular moments.

More people in the front row began to lean forward.

About one shichen had passed.

The medicinal strength blending above the furnace divided into six masses.

The flames surrounding each one rotated in circles, and the soft medicinal liquid gradually took shape.

The cultivators watching held their breath.

A little later, the five pills that took shape first descended into the lower part of the furnace.

Only one remained above.

The fire threads surrounding it grew thinner.

Thinner still.

Even Yi Hyeon, who had reached Perfect Mastery of the Fire-Dividing Thread Spell, could now scarcely distinguish the boundary between the firelight and the medicinal strength.

Then wind blew into the courtyard.

‘A breeze? No, this is...’

Goosebumps rose on Yi Hyeon’s arms.

Every decorative tassel hanging in the corridor tilted in the same direction.

Toward the pill furnace.

The surrounding spiritual qi was moving.

As though responding to the small pill above the stone platform, the scattered spiritual qi was gathering of its own accord.

A very quiet voice came from the front row.

“Could it be...?”

Yi Hyeon looked up too.

A black dot had appeared in the clear sky.

It spread rapidly.