WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Episode 21: Core Formation Preparations (1)

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The teleportation formation blazed with light.

Ise took his first step back onto the soil of the Eastern Continent.

He had returned home after twenty years.

He drew in a deep breath of the familiar warmth that had somehow become unfamiliar.

‘It’s spring.’

It was not the heat emitted by the Heavenly Pearl Furnace, but the natural warmth of heaven and earth.

How long had it been since he had breathed in warmth instead of cold?

It had been a long journey abroad.

Enjoying the earthy scent that tickled his nose, Ise took Bisang out of the Spirit Beast Carrier.

“Feeling cramped?”

Bisang, curled up as though asleep, spread its wings wide and soared into the sky.

“Don’t go too far, and watch out for demon beasts. Though... you seem bigger.”

With its wings spread, it easily looked over three meters across.

Bisang seemed to have grown quite a bit again.

The spiritual energy within its body had grown stronger as well.

‘What realm is it at now, around the eighth star?’

The spiritual energy of the Qi Condensation Realm was so slight that he could not accurately judge its realm.

Either way, all he had given Bisang was food, yet it had steadily grown.

‘Spirit beast tamers sometimes feed medicinal pellets or spiritual herbs to spirit beasts to raise their realms.’

He thought of the spiritual herbs flourishing in the Living-Spirit Cave Abode.

Spiritual-herb trading was not especially active in Demon Valley City, and everyone had tried to drive down the prices. Other than the herbs he had urgently used as bribes, he had kept growing all of them.

As a result, his Living-Spirit Cave Abode now held Full-Moon Thousand-Year Herbs cultivated for ten years, thousand-year-old Snow Ginseng, Iceheart Grass, and more.

He could not even imagine what they would be worth on the Eastern Continent.

Since he had already grown them for ten years, he was tempted to keep growing them for as long as possible.

Ise rode the Dream-Saving Cloud to Prison Wind Gorge.

The updrafts pouring out from within the gorge still formed a prison of wind.

“This is probably where you... no, where your egg was born. I should confess this now. The demon beast I thought was your mother died fighting me. Don’t hate me too much if you find out later, all right?”

Bisang gave a rolling chirp as though it did not care, then tried to circle down into the gorge.

Prison Wind Gorge’s winds seized it without mercy.

Bisang was tossed about like a reed before a storm before slamming into the gorge floor.

Ise burst out laughing before landing beside it.

As if seeking revenge on the wind prison of Prison Wind Gorge, Bisang forcefully took flight again.

Then it was thrown straight back into the ground.

Uin must have stolen the egg from somewhere.

Ise settled atop the nest, half-decayed with age.

He intended to raise the Wind-Shattering Qi Art and wind-attribute spells to the tenth star here before leaving.

A year should be enough.

Before that, he sent a Message Talisman to the Great Exorcist Order, saying that he had arrived on the Eastern Continent and would return after spending about a year in cultivation.

He added that he would return at once if needed, but received a reply telling him to return once he had finished, since nothing urgent was happening.

‘Then first...’

Now that he had arrived on the Eastern Continent and felt more at ease, it was time to sort through the storage pouches he had stuffed away in a frenzy.

Ise began with the storage pouches he had acquired from the Yun Clan, separating the Spiritual Stones from the artifacts.

He planned to have the lesser spirit artifacts appraised and sold when he returned to the Great Exorcist Order.

Next, he took out Ghost Lord Ancestor’s lucky-pouch-shaped storage pouch.

It was the first storage pouch he had acquired from a great demonic cultivator at the Core Formation Realm.

He did not expect much.

Cultivators who had reached the Core Formation Realm rarely relied on artifacts, and Ghost Lord Ancestor had fought using only his own power.

As long as it held plenty of Spiritual Stones, that would be enough.

When Ise opened the storage pouch, its contents became clear to his divine sense.

“...Huh.”

His hopes had been fulfilled.

Piles of gleaming mid-grade and high-grade Spiritual Stones filled the space. A rough count put them at no fewer than three hundred thousand.

‘What a greedy old monster.’

Why had someone who was practically waiting to die amassed this much wealth?

This alone more than replaced the Spiritual Stones Ise had used as bribes in Demon Valley City.

There were also more valuable-looking artifacts than he had expected.

He had grown somewhat numb to the thrill of looting storage pouches for spoils, but this excitement felt fresh.

Ise put the storage pouch into his Cosmos Pouch, then took out the final three volumes of the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art.

When the upper, middle, and lower volumes came together, light shone from the manuals, and he felt them connect through a mysterious force.

The seals locking the secret manuals had been released.

He wanted to inspect them immediately, but held himself back.

After turning the manuals of the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art over in his hands for some time, Ise began cultivating.

Wind gathered around his body.

He did his best to ignore Bisang, which continued rolling around on the ground.

* * *

At the edge of his vision, the peak of Eumpyeong Pass, symbol of the Great Exorcist Order’s headquarters, came into view.

With an inexplicable flutter in his chest, Ise passed through the headquarters’ warding barrier.

Nothing had changed.

Neither the scenery within nor the bustling atmosphere of the people moving about had changed. Even the Black Panther, the Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast guarding the entrance, was still there.

Remembering the suffocating air of the Northern Continent, he found this familiar commotion especially welcome.

Ise headed straight for the Chief Master’s office in Chuyo Hall.

There was no need to personally report his return to the Chief Master, but this had been a long-term mission directly ordered by the Order Lord. It was only proper.

“I greet the Chief Master.”

Kang I-tae, whose face looked worn with exhaustion, raised his gaze to receive him.

“It has been a long time, Cultivator Ise.”

“Yes. I came to report my return.”

Kang I-tae looked him over once with indifferent eyes.

They had not met in a long time, so he might have shown some pleasure at their reunion, but showing no emotion at all was very like him.

“The mission?”

“I secured it successfully.”

“The Order Lord will be pleased. You’ve done well. Rest and remain on standby for a while. The Order Lord has stepped out briefly, but the Order Lord will return as soon as the news is received.”

“Yes.”

“If you need the Order’s help with your Core Formation preparations, you may make a request through the Winged Dragon Hall Master.”

“Thank you.”

After leaving the Chief Master’s office, Ise sent a Message Talisman to Woo Yu-hui, the Winged Dragon Hall Master, to announce his return.

- To Winged Dragon Hall.

A Message Talisman in familiar handwriting soon returned.

When he entered Winged Dragon Hall, most of its members were gathered in one place.

There were quite a few unfamiliar faces as well.

They must have been juniors who had joined over the past twenty years.

Greetings of welcome rang out from all around, and someone gave a sharp whistle.

Just as Ise was about to bow to Woo Yu-hui, she appeared in front of him first and raised a hand.

Then she rose onto her toes and patted his head.

At the silent praise, Ise tilted his head slightly.

“...What are you praising me for? I haven’t even told you whether the mission succeeded.”

“Your realm improved. You worked hard while you were gone.”

Ise only smiled faintly and answered, “Yes.”

The hall members all added a word or two.

“Wow, you’ve really changed while we haven’t seen you. Is it that?”

“...What do you mean, ‘that’?”

As Gwak Chan put on a sly expression, Ise furrowed his brow.

Whenever Gwak Chan wore that look and made a joke, it was usually...

“There are only three times a man changes that much. When he becomes a parent. When he gets married. And the other is when a bachelor finally gets la-”

Smack!

Irang grabbed Gwak Chan by the head and slammed him into the floor.

“Shut up, you lecher. You did well, Cultivator Ise.”

“Haha... yes.”

The atmosphere had not changed at all.

After catching up with the hall members, Ise finally headed to Dine and Go.

He had deliberately not contacted them because he wanted to surprise them.

He had arrived on a full-moon market day, one of their business days, so everyone should be gathered there by now.

Yet when Ise arrived in front of Dine and Go, he frowned.

The spot where the shop had stood was empty.

Not only was the sign gone, but the building itself had vanished.

‘Surely the business didn’t fail, and no one died.’

They said that in the mortal world, twenty years was enough time for mountains and rivers to change twice.

That saying did not quite apply in the cultivation world, but it was still a long time for Qi Condensation Realm cultivators.

Suppressing his unease, Ise stopped a passing junior at the Qi Condensation Realm.

“Junior. What happened to the immortal-cuisine restaurant Dine and Go that used to be here?”

“Oh, that place? Go toward the central district. It moved about ten years ago, I think. Have you been away somewhere far?”

“I have. Thank you.”

After thanking them, Ise headed for the central district.

Before long, he found Dine and Go’s sign standing proudly in the best alley in the middle of the market-town streets.

It was a three-story building.

It was comparable in size to the buildings once used by the Four Great Noble Houses.

Curiosity got the better of him. He gave up on the surprise and sent Message Talismans to the staff of Dine and Go and its unofficial staff.

Before the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, the third-floor windows flew open, and a familiar voice called out.

“Senior!”

The first person he saw again was a dear face leaping down from the third floor of Dine and Go.

“Senior, is that really you? You’re alive! You never sent a single message, so I thought you might have died alone somewhere...”

Buchun had aged terribly in the meantime.

* * *

A little later, his companions gradually joined them, gathering in one place and making a great fuss for quite some time.

He was grateful for the boisterous welcome, but after spending twenty years walking on thin ice, Ise found it difficult to adjust to such an atmosphere.

Still, his heart felt at ease, and he thought he would adjust soon enough.

“Shall we catch up on how everyone’s been doing?”

What he really meant was that he would inspect whether they had been cultivating properly.

Under Ise’s sweeping gaze, Buchun and Park Gangseo lowered their heads.

“Wait! Wait! What’s that ring on your left ring finger...?”

Just as Ise was about to point out the two cultivators’ realms, Seolryeong hurriedly cut him off in a shrill voice.

Her gaze was fixed on the Golden-Needle Ring on Ise’s left ring finger.

Thinking that, as expected of a spirit-artifact artisan, she had recognized a fine spirit artifact, Ise answered briefly.

“That happened.”

Seolryeong wanted to shout, “What do you mean, that happened?” but asked again in a halting voice.

“Did you form a Dao companionship or get engaged?”

“Huh? How did you know? I did agree to become a live-in son-in-law for a clan in the Northern Continent.”

Seolryeong’s already pale face grew even whiter as her mouth opened and closed soundlessly.

Pi Garam, unable to watch any longer, stepped in.

“You really are oblivious. She is asking whether the ring on your left ring finger is a token of a marriage vow.”

“...? This is just a defensive spirit artifact. I wore it there because other people did too.”

“Among cultivators, a ring on the left ring finger is a symbol of marriage.”

“Since when? I’ve heard of tying red thread around the ring finger or sending a marriage proposal, but never this.”

It was the first Ise had heard of it.

“I don’t know when it began. But I heard it was a custom that came from the Western Regions. Some great cultivator learned it there, and those who admired that person gradually began following it until it became established.”

As though he had heard an interesting story, Ise nodded. Then he moved the ring to his middle finger.

Seolryeong pressed on.

“Then what about becoming a live-in son-in-law?”

“That part is true, but that clan has probably been wiped out by now. No, don’t change the subject. Let’s inspect everyone’s realms. Hong Wonseo and Pi Garam... you’ve reached Foundation Establishment. That’s good enough. Why are the other three still in such poor shape? Did you trade the spiritual herbs I left you for candy?”

At Ise’s rebuke, Buchun, Park Gangseo, and Seolryeong lowered their heads.

“Senior hasn’t changed at all,” Hong Wonseo murmured, then calmly sipped her spirit tea alone.

* * *

Meanwhile, a Core Formation Realm demon was traveling north, farther and farther north, enduring biting cold as it followed Ise’s trail.

It was a monster that resembled a flower.

After adapting to its Golden Core, the monster that called itself Flower Demon Mother headed beyond the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains.

It intended to avenge itself upon the arrogant human who had dared interfere with its heavenly tribulation ritual and kill its children.

Flower Demon Mother set out north with grim resolve, but soon had no choice but to panic.

The northern cold was brutal enough to affect even a Core Formation Realm demon.

It was not cold enough to bring it down, but as a flower monster, it was clearly an environment where it could not bring out even half of its true strength.

Still, the monster pressed onward.

What did half its strength matter? It was confident that even a single vine could reduce a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to dust.

Or so it had thought.

Flower Demon Mother stopped in its tracks, confused.

The tracking scent attached to its enemy had definitely been coming from the far north.

That was why it had pushed through the cold, fierce winds, and snowstorms for so long.

Then the tracking scent suddenly vanished, only to reappear in the south an instant later.

At a distance so vast that it seemed impossible to reach.

“...?”

Flower Demon Mother could not understand what had happened.

Footnotes:

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