WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Episode 16: Chance, Fate, and Destiny (5)

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Seeing something this absurd happen, Ise realized the Ryu Clan merely granted permission to use cave abodes. They did not protect or manage them.

That was probably why the cultivators had grown greedy when they saw Ise, who had concealed his realm as a first-star Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, enter a second-tier cave abode.

Ise knocked aside the spells flying at him with his bare hands, then crushed the attackers beneath his spiritual pressure.

He did not need spells or spirit artifacts.

There was already such a vast gap between him and early Qi Condensation Realm cultivators that his spiritual pressure alone could crush them to death.

“Urgh, ugh...”

“S-Spare m-”

Ise sighed as he looked at the cultivators trembling on the ground beneath his pressure.

‘What should I do?’

Robbers who dared covet another's property deserved to die, but he could not act recklessly here.

In the end, Ise decided to show mercy.

“Hand over everything you have and disappear. Then I'll spare your lives.”

After saying it, he realized it sounded like something a third-rate bandit would say. It made him feel strangely awkward.

* * *

Ise was quite annoyed.

He had gone through the trouble of obtaining a cave abode so he could focus on cultivation, only to be attacked four times over the past two months.

When he could no longer stand it and went to protest to the cave abode manager, the manager snapped back, asking why he had not set up a warding barrier. Did he not know something so basic, was he an idiot?

Fortunately, Ise's Dao heart was steady. Otherwise, he might have fallen into a heart demon and cut off the cave abode manager's limbs.

Thinking he should ask Ryu Seonghan to obtain a Warding Barrier Formation Plate, Ise returned to his residence and made rice soup with the last of the Snow Boar meat.

Most of its spiritual essence had faded with time, but it still tasted good.

Just as he was nearly finished with a bowl, Ryu Seonghan returned to the residence.

He naturally sat across from Ise and said, “I'm sorry, senior. I searched as thoroughly as I could, but I don't think it's in this city.”

“I see. Well, it can't be helped. Get me a Warding Barrier Formation Plate. Flies keep buzzing around me.”

“Huh? You've been cultivating without a warding barrier?”

Ise showed no reaction and continued moving his spoon steadily.

Ryu Seonghan watched him for a moment, then reached for the small amount left in the pot. Ise promptly pulled it in front of himself, making it clear that Ryu Seonghan should not even think about it.

He had no intention whatsoever of giving up the last portion.

Ryu Seonghan looked disappointed, then leaned back comfortably. He seemed much more at ease now.

“By the way, senior, how did you reach Foundation Establishment?”

“Isn't it rude to ask about someone's cultivation method?”

“Ah, well, it is... but I'm not asking about the method. Did you perform a ritual, or did you take a medicinal pellet?”

“A medicinal pellet.”

“Oh... Are you from some great sect? You don't seem to be from the Northern Continent. How did you get here?”

Ise gave Ryu Seonghan a quiet once-over.

“Was it that obvious?”

“You entered a cave abode without even a warding barrier, so you clearly don't know even the most basic things about the Northern Continent.”

“I came from the Eastern Continent. How I crossed over is confidential.”

“You came a long way.”

It was far away, all right.

Ise let out a quiet laugh.

He lifted his spoon again, slowly swallowed some broth, and thought.

What should he do now? Did he really have no choice but to visit every city and search one by one?

Ryu Seonghan read his concern and offered some advice.

“If you're looking for a cultivation manual, it may be better to go to the Heavenly Ice Palace than search like this.”

“Is that really a good idea? You're not trying to send me away, are you?”

“That would be nice for me, but... Agh! I'm not lying...”

After checking with Mind-Reading Art, Ise found that it was true.

He looked at Ryu Seonghan, prompting him to explain.

“The Heavenly Ice Palace may not manage people well, but it is strict about managing resources. Especially cultivation manuals. Their principle is to obtain and control every cultivation manual that exists on the Northern Continent.”

Ryu Seonghan added that whenever an outside sect discovered or authored a new cultivation manual in a secret realm or elsewhere, it was customary to have it verified by the Heavenly Ice Palace and offer them a copy.

If that was true, there was a chance the Heavenly Ice Palace knew of the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art.

Still, if it was there, that came with an even bigger problem.

“Hmm... Wouldn't it be dangerous?”

“I don't see why it would be dangerous if you aren't planning to attack them and take it. They don't care much whether wandering cultivators or independent cultivators enter the Heavenly Ice Palace's territory. Whether you can get what you want is another matter.”

Fortunately, simply entering the Heavenly Ice Palace's territory did not seem dangerous.

There was one thing Ryu Seonghan did not know.

Ise possessed the Heaven-Demon Dual-Meridian Physique, so demonic qi and spiritual energy coexisted within his body.

Demonic cultivators moved around freely enough, so it would not be an immediate problem. But if his physique became known, he would surely draw attention.

Core Formation Realm great cultivators could see both demonic qi and spiritual energy.

There was no telling whether those interested in his physique would be good people or evil ones.

At the very least, he needed a way to avoid their notice, or he needed to reach the Core Formation Realm...

He was looking for the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art so he could safely reach the Core Formation Realm, yet he needed to reach the Core Formation Realm to find it.

It was practically a contradiction.

‘Should I try to find a Clone Art or something?’

He felt so stuck that even such pointless thoughts crossed his mind.

“Fine. Tell me more about the Heavenly Ice Palace first.”

“The Heavenly Ice Palace... It has quite a long history. Its greatest ambition is sect ascension.”

“Sect ascension?”

“Yes. Normally, ascension means rising to the Upper Realm alone, but the Grand Duke believes an entire sect can ascend together. That is why they are obsessed with collecting cultivation manuals.”

Sect ascension. It was an interesting idea.

Still, if such a thing truly existed, would the previous Great Exorcist Order Lord not have taken the Great Exorcist Order along when he ascended?

“You know about the Upper Realm, right?”

“I heard it is where beings of a higher order reside.”

“I don't know the details either, but according to rumors, the Upper Realm's heaven-and-earth spiritual energy is hundreds of times denser than that of the Lower Realm. Cultivation is faster there, and even ordinary people live longer. They say even Qi Condensation Realm cultivators can live nearly two hundred years... It's a dreamlike place for cultivators.”

“If a sect ascends, all its disciples will cultivate faster and have a better chance of living long lives.”

“That's right. In the Lower Realm, a sect's rise and fall rest on a single supreme expert... They seem to believe that making a reliable ascent to the Upper Realm is better for the sect than remaining in the Lower Realm, where they never know when their lineage will end.”

“Is sect ascension really possible?”

“Who knows? How could ordinary people like us understand the realm of Nascent Soul Realm great cultivators? But there must be some clue visible at that realm, or they would not make it their greatest ambition.”

Ise listened with interest to this new information.

That meant he needed to be even more careful. Their interest in special constitutions was likely as great as their interest in cultivation manuals.

“Is it easy to join or leave the Heavenly Ice Palace?”

“I don't know. It's not somewhere you can enter just because you want to... Becoming an outer disciple might not be difficult, though. You would probably need ties to at least a Core Formation Realm sect to become an inner disciple. At your realm, senior, it may be possible.”

“What about you? You have decent talent. Couldn't you join the Heavenly Ice Palace?”

“What? Are you telling me to infiltrate the Heavenly Ice Palace? That's completely... Agh!”

Ryu Seonghan clutched his head again. Apparently, he had no ability to learn.

“...I have to carry on my clan.”

“You only need to endure for a few decades. It isn't as though your current clan head will die soon. Think of it as studying abroad. Don't you want the restraint lifted?”

“...I do. But if I enter the Heavenly Ice Palace as a spy and get caught, I'll lose my life. I'd rather die alone than let my entire clan be slaughtered.”

Ryu Seonghan answered with a serious expression.

Ise decided to change tactics.

He needed genuine cooperation anyway.

A deal would be better than an order.

“Then don't enter as a spy. Enter for real. In exchange, I'll give you suitable compensation. How much is a Foundation Establishment Pellet on the Northern Continent?”

“I don't know. It isn't something you can buy just because you have money, but if you could buy one, it would probably cost a hundred thousand Spiritual Stones.”

Ryu Seonghan answered with a doubtful expression.

The moment Ise heard the price, he withdrew the offer.

“That won't work. Instead, if you successfully join, I'll make you immortal cuisine that even Foundation Establishment cultivators can eat. I'll keep doing so until you gather all the spiritual energy you need to reach Foundation Establishment. You'll probably cultivate dozens of times faster than you do now.”

“...Even so. If I enter, I don't even know whether I can leave the sect afterward.”

“How many years did it take you to reach the eighth star?”

“I'm about fifty this year, so around forty years.”

Ise flinched slightly at the older-than-expected age.

Still, he quickly regained his composure.

What did age matter in the cultivation world? Some cultivators lived for centuries. At fifty, Ryu Seonghan was practically a child.

“Eight stars in forty years. Even the second-tier cave abodes in Pungnyu City are terribly lacking. With this amount of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, it'll take you another fifty years just to gather enough spiritual energy for Foundation Establishment.”

“Hmm... That seems like a perfectly normal pace.”

“If I keep supplying you with immortal cuisine, I can reduce it to ten years.”

“Is that really true...?”

“It took me a total of seven years from the day I started immortal cultivation to reach Foundation Establishment.”

“What? Don't lie.”

Ryu Seonghan stared at Ise with a deep frown.

Yet Ise's expression was utterly serious.

“Really?”

Instead of answering, Ise conveyed the truth through his expression.

Ryu Seonghan could not use Mind-Reading Art, but he sensed that the senior before him was not lying.

Once he believed it, only one thought came to mind.

He had stepped in shit.

He had provoked someone he never should have touched.

“Damn it. A monster like this actually exists. I dug my own grave...”

“You'll do it, right? This is a great fortuitous encounter for you.”

Ise was sure Ryu Seonghan would accept the deal.

If someone could turn away from a fortuitous encounter right before their eyes, they should be stripped of the right to call themselves a cultivator.

“...Please give me some time to think.”

Saying that he would visit his main family, Ryu Seonghan left the residence with a conflicted expression.

Alone in the residence, Ise quietly reviewed their conversation.

He organized the new information in his mind, weighed the dangers ahead, and considered what could happen in the future.

He thought through every possible scenario, along with how to respond to each one.

After sorting out his thoughts for a long while, Ise began to crave a snack.

The spirit-gathering effect had weakened, so he considered going out to the snowy plains to hunt demon beasts. Then he suddenly remembered Uin's egg in his Cosmos Pouch.

‘I should roast an egg.’

Even when simply roasted, the eggs of predatory demon birds made effective immortal cuisine.

They tasted good too.

Ise took out Uin's egg and placed it over the brazier.

Then he used Fire-Release Art, keeping the flames as low as possible as he slowly cooked it.

He could not let it remain undercooked or become overcooked.

Controlling the heat was everything when roasting an egg.

Remembering the Tiger-Patterned Bird egg he had eaten once before, he adjusted the fire with the care of an artisan firing porcelain.

About fifteen minutes passed. Thinking it should be done by now, Ise extinguished the Fire-Release Art.

Just as he was about to crack the egg with his hand...

Crack.

The shell began to split.

“...?”

For a moment, Ise froze, unable to understand what was happening.

What? Why is it cracking when I haven't even touched it?

Did I cook it too much?

Still misunderstanding the situation, he reached out once more.

Then a piece of shell fell away.

Peep.

A small beak popped out.

Uin's egg... had hatched.

“...?”

This wasn't right.

Why are you coming out now?

Unable to understand what had happened, Ise could only stare blankly at the chirping bird's beak with his mouth open.

Footnotes:

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