WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Episode 19: Essence-Absorbing Demon Valley (1)
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A pulse of energy quietly emerged, driving away the anomaly's malicious resentment that had been seeping into him before calmly disappearing once more.
Ise immediately swung the Vajra, scattering the evil spirit's remnants.
Only after confirming the evil spirit had completely vanished did he let out a quiet breath.
‘What was that just now?’
The energy he had felt for an instant was unmistakably from the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, yet after that brief outburst, it disappeared as though nothing had happened.
It had merely acted as though it would not allow the anomaly's malicious resentment to touch his soul.
No answer came, no matter how much he thought it over.
Still, one thing was clear. For now, it was not an energy that would harm him.
Its identity would likely reveal itself once he advanced further.
Ise waved off Cheongun's concern and finished sorting through the spoils.
“Please investigate it thoroughly.”
“Of course. I'll do my best. Until we meet again.”
Cheongun gave a casual farewell, raised his flying sword, and lightly turned away.
Before long, a single blue speck vanished into the distance.
By the time Ise returned to the Heavenly Capital Realm after parting ways with Cheongun, the Heavenly Ice Palace's lockdown had already been lifted.
It seemed the Heavenly Ice Palace had given up on reclaiming the Bottomless Labyrinth's secret map.
Back at his residence, Ise sorted through the items he had plundered from the demonic cultivator city.
He left the common Spiritual Stones, medicinal pellets, and ordinary talismans in his regular storage pouches. However, he set aside any spirit artifacts that might be mistaken for stolen goods and stored them in one corner of the Living-Spirit Cave Abode.
He was worried that selling them carelessly in the Heavenly Capital Realm might leave a trail.
After storing what he intended to keep and selling the rest, the Spiritual Stones in his possession exceeded two hundred thousand.
‘Just looking at them makes me feel full.’
The mountain of Spiritual Stones filled him with satisfaction all on its own.
Of course, they were not meant to be put on display.
Rather than simply hoarding them, it was time to start spending.
His first stop was one of the Heavenly Capital Realm's most renowned medicinal-pellet shops.
A faint herbal fragrance greeted him as he entered.
The moment the merchant saw Ise's Dharma-Flower Dantian, they hurried out to greet him.
“Welcome, Senior.”
After leading him inside, the merchant asked, “Is there anything you're looking for?”
“I need spirit pellets suitable for a middle Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.”
“Yes. I'll bring them at once.”
The merchant bowed deeply, then returned with a wooden tray holding three kinds of medicinal pellets.
“One is called the Spirit Essence Pellet. Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators mainly use mid-grade to high-grade versions. Another is called the Spirit-Accumulating Pellet, a medicinal pellet with consistently even quality.”
Ise assessed the energy contained in the spirit pellets with his divine sense, then asked, “How much?”
“A mid-grade Spirit Essence Pellet costs three thousand Spiritual Stones, while a high-grade one costs ten thousand. Spirit-Accumulating Pellets cost five thousand each.”
Ise's gaze lingered on the two medicinal pellets for a moment before he tilted his head.
The spiritual energy condensed within a Spirit-Accumulating Pellet was more than twice that of a mid-grade Spirit Essence Pellet. Yet it was a thousand Spiritual Stones cheaper.
“The Spirit-Accumulating Pellet seems rather cheap.”
“That is because it is made by a demonic sect, so it is less popular.”
“A demonic sect makes spirit pellets too?”
“Yes. They are made by the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley. Still, their quality and effects are guaranteed. You may consume them without concern.”
One of Ise's eyebrows rose slightly.
“What kind of demonic sect makes medicinal pellets?”
“Haha. Alchemists can be found anywhere.”
Ise slowly nodded.
To think he would live long enough to see medicinal pellets made by demonic cultivators being openly traded. It was quite something.
“Then do demonic sects make medicinal pellets for absorbing demonic qi too?”
“Pardon? Um... I've never heard of such a thing. But I have heard that they trade a mineral called Demon-Soul Stone within their sects, one that contains condensed demonic qi. I suppose it is a kind of medicinal pellet. I do not believe it is distributed outside their sects, though.”
Demon-Soul Stone.
A new term was carved into Ise's mind.
If he could buy minerals containing condensed demonic qi, he could obtain demonic qi without resorting to dangerous methods like conquering demonic cultivator cities.
Still, such things were mainly traded internally, so they would hardly make their way into regular markets.
Besides, he felt uneasy about using anything made by demonic cultivators.
For now, he would simply remember it.
“How many high-grade Spirit Essence Pellets do you have?”
“Four in total.”
“Perfect. I'll buy all of them.”
“All of them?”
Surprise and delight spread across the merchant's face.
Unable to hide the look of someone who had struck gold, the merchant hurriedly brought out all their stock.
It was forty thousand Spiritual Stones' worth of spirit pellets.
Ise left the medicinal-pellet shop, leaving the merchant behind with a beaming smile.
The owner bowed so deeply that their head nearly touched the ground.
After setting up the Secret-Realm Key at his residence and preparing plenty of immortal cuisine, Ise began cultivating in earnest.
He consumed the immortal cuisine and Spirit Essence Pellets one after another.
The spiritual energy inside his body immediately began to surge.
His goal was the late Foundation Establishment Realm.
He intended to break through the minor realm boundary in one go.
* * *
Ise checked the calendar Ryu Seonghan had left on the table at his residence.
Ryu Seonghan had left it there so Ise would remember to keep track of the date.
Three years had passed since he began cultivating.
And Ise had broken through to the late Foundation Establishment Realm.
Once he had gathered the required amount of internal qi and circulated it according to the late-stage cultivation formula, he naturally reached the late stage.
Perhaps because he had already awakened primordial qi, he had been able to skip part of the process.
It felt as though he had gained something for free, which put him in an excellent mood.
His cultivation speed was satisfying, and his mission was progressing smoothly.
Now, the Core Formation Realm was one step closer.
Like fireworks bursting in celebration, he expanded his greatly strengthened divine sense as far as possible before drawing it back in.
Then he counted on his fingers.
He had stopped keeping track of time long ago, but it seemed around ten years had passed since he came to the Northern Continent.
The spiritual energy in the teleportation formation should have recovered by now. Once he found the lower volume of the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art, he could return home.
Ise left his cave abode to take Bisang out for a little outing and sell fifty roots of the Full-Moon Hundred-Year Herb from his second harvest.
The moment he stepped outside, he released Bisang, and the spirit beast flew about excitedly.
He had only learned later that no one in the Heavenly Capital Realm bothered spirit beasts that flew freely through the air.
Most spirit beasts within the Heavenly Ice Palace's territory had owners. If someone carelessly harmed one, it could cause a bloodbath, so no one dared touch them without reason.
Thanks to that, he sometimes let Bisang fly freely like this.
‘I've told you to leave and live freely.’
Whenever Bisang seemed restless, he offered to set it free, but it never left.
Perhaps he had grown attached after spending so much time together.
He had planned to release Bisang in the Great Exorcist Order's Spirit Beast Grove, but at this rate, he might feel sad when it was finally time to part ways.
He did not know what Bisang liked so much about a master who only shut himself away to cultivate.
Still, Bisang had been growing as it shared resources and spiritual energy with him.
It had already reached the sixth star of the Qi Condensation Realm.
Buchun would have to call Bisang Senior when they met now. A tragic fate.
He visited every nearby herbal shop to sell the Full-Moon Hundred-Year Herbs, but only managed to sell forty-five out of fifty.
Even then, he had sold some at a reduced price.
It seemed the herbal shops did not want to keep too much stock on hand.
In the end, he decided to plant the remaining five back in his cave abode.
At least he had recovered most of the Spiritual Stones he had spent on medicinal pellets.
Next, he headed to an artifact shop.
Perhaps word had spread that he was a wealthy independent cultivator, or perhaps it was because he had reached the late Foundation Establishment Realm. Either way, they treated him with great respect.
They gave him a private room for distinguished guests and even served precious spiritual tea.
“Is there anything you need, Senior?”
“First, three Foundation Establishment Realm Mind-Settling Talismans. Do you have a spirit artifact that can partition space?”
“To partition space...?”
“I want to divide my spiritual-herb garden in two. The herbs need different temperatures.”
The Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and Ice Jade Herb grew well in low temperatures, while the Full-Moon Hundred-Year Herb and spirit rice needed somewhat warmer conditions.
It seemed best to cultivate them separately.
“Ah, then a mechanism spirit artifact would be perfect. We have one. It is about ten feet wide and ten feet long. Would that be suitable?”
“Give me that one for now. Then show me every Foundation Establishment Realm treasure artifact or better that this shop has.”
“Yes!”
The shopkeeper hurried off as though wings had grown on their feet.
A while later, Ise looked over the spirit artifacts the clerks brought out one by one, but none particularly appealed to him.
Most contained offensive spells.
One item did catch his eye.
“You have an Origin-Defense Talisman?”
“Yes! It was very difficult to acquire.”
“I'll take it.”
Ise bought the Origin-Defense Talisman at once. It could block one attack from a Core Formation Realm great cultivator.
It was valuable enough that each talisman could be considered an extra life.
“I don't need anything else... Do you have any sacred relics?”
“Foundation Establishment Realm sacred relics are difficult to trade through artifact shops. It would be the same elsewhere. Even if one came in, an artifact of that value would be dangerous simply to possess, so we consign it to the Heavenly Ice Palace's auction house as soon as we acquire it.”
“An auction house?”
“Yes. If you need anything, Senior, you may use the auctions hosted by the Heavenly Ice Palace.”
An auction house.
Even on the Eastern Continent, major sects occasionally held auctions.
Still, it had been difficult to arrive at the right time, so Ise had never attended one.
The shopkeeper added that every three years, the Heavenly Ice Palace gathered artifacts that were not needed internally or could not fetch their proper value through internal trade alone, then held an auction.
After replenishing the Foundation Establishment Realm talismans he had used, Ise handed the shopkeeper one Spiritual Stone as thanks.
It was quite a paltry gesture from a late Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, but the shopkeeper was not foolish enough to show it.
After all, it was fortunate enough that a cultivator of his realm had conducted business peacefully without causing trouble, then left.
* * *
About two seasons remained until the auction.
During that time, Ise practiced the Five-Element Life-Accelerating Art while waiting for it to begin.
Tap, tap.
Something knocked against the window of his residence.
It was a Message Talisman from Ryu Seonghan.
- Are you going to the auction house? Show them my guarantor token, and you can use a private room for distinguished guests. And don't forget to take off your shoes when you enter.
Information on how to participate was written below as well.
Ise read it calmly, then sent a message of thanks.
On the day of the auction, Ise headed to the auction house with an excited heart.
The auction was held in the Event Affairs Institute, where the Heavenly Ice Palace managed its affairs with outsiders.
Ise showed two identity tokens to the Heavenly Ice Palace cultivator guarding the entrance.
“A private room for distinguished guests, please.”
“Yes, Senior.”
Ise promptly received a number placard and was about to remove his shoes before entering.
Then he noticed other cultivators entering normally and glanced at their feet.
No one was taking off their shoes.
It seemed Ryu Seonghan had played a prank on him.
Ise immediately sent Ryu Seonghan a Message Talisman.
- Your head will soon be cleaved in two.
- Please spare me.
Ryu Seonghan must have been nearby, because Ryu Seonghan soon rushed over and lowered their head.
Ise lightly tapped their head with his hatchet.
“Getting comfortable with me now, aren't you?”
“Haha. I heard it was a prank people play on cultivators visiting the Heavenly Ice Palace auction house for the first time, so I thought I'd try it once... Come on, let's go in. I made time because I thought you might be lonely going alone.”
“Sure. Thanks so much.”
Footnotes:
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