WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Episode 24: Great Exorcist Order's Utter Scoundrel (5)
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* * *
When the Azure Dragon Hall members were told they would be going to the Archipelago, preparations for a group excursion began.
They had been startled by the sudden order at first, but the prospect of leaving Great Exorcist Order territory for the first time seemed to excite them.
They gathered up every valuable ritual implement that had rarely sold within the Great Exorcist Order because of its price, along with ingredients for immortal cuisine.
If they were to build up their wealth through self-sufficiency in unfamiliar lands, it was best to carry as much starting capital as possible.
“Senior Bisang's Spirit Beast Foundation Establishment Pellet is ready.”
In the meantime, word arrived that Buchun had obtained Bisang's pellet.
Azure Dragon Hall members with day passes for Spirit Beast Grove, along with Buchun and Park Gangseo, gathered at its entrance to watch Bisang break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
A spirit beast's Foundation Establishment breakthrough was a rare sight, so they had come both to offer encouragement and broaden their experience.
Even within the Order's headquarters, known as a paradise apart from the world, Spirit Beast Grove was especially close to a land of immortals.
Spirit beasts wandered leisurely through the woods without a care.
Precious spirit trees, too valuable to price, rose everywhere, while spiritual herbs bloomed in abundance.
Spiritual materials that any other sect would risk their lives to obtain grew here as commonly as roadside weeds.
Park Gangseo stared wide-eyed and muttered, “Independent cultivators and cultivators from other sects would lose their minds if they saw this.”
“Everyone thinks that. Be careful where you step, seniors. If you trample and damage a spiritual herb, Divine Beast Haechi will appear with a Roar! and lock you in the Cave of Repentance.”
Buchun especially warned them to watch their footing.
There was no proper path in Spirit Beast Grove.
The places officials frequently traveled had simply become paths over time.
Growing cautious for no particular reason, the cultivators naturally fell in behind Buchun and began walking in a neat line.
They looked like ducklings following their mother, making Buchun burst out laughing.
Ise walked at the very back at a gentlemanly pace, looking around.
Buchun asked, “Hall Master, what are you looking for?”
“I'm looking around to see what we should take if one of our members becomes a great cultivator later.”
The thought was practically premature, but it was still pleasant to entertain.
As Ise happily calculated his imaginary future, the group arrived at the breakthrough site.
It was the edge of a cliff rising at the center of Spirit Beast Grove.
They said it was a place with especially dense spiritual essence, favored by spirit beasts when breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
Bisang settled at the cliff's edge overlooking Spirit Beast Grove, curling up as if brooding over an egg.
Ise approached, placed the Spirit Beast Foundation Establishment Pellet in Bisang's beak, then stepped back to watch with the others.
Internal qi gradually gathered in the spirit beast's inner core, and divine sense slowly spread from Bisang.
The breakthrough did not take long.
As calmly as though waking from a nap, Bisang completed the breakthrough, spread wide both wings, and opened divine sense.
Rich spiritual essence seeped out, and every feather held a faint glow.
It looked so effortless that Park Gangseo grumbled in bitter envy.
“...Isn't breaking through to Foundation Establishment far too easy for spirit beasts? It looks easier than crossing a minor realm boundary.”
“What karma could they possibly have accumulated? What memories are there for a heart demon to seize on? All they do is eat, sleep, relieve themselves, and play. Why would it be difficult?”
“I want to be born as a spirit beast in my next life.”
“That sounds exactly like something a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator who'll soon be dead would say.”
“Hall Master...”
While Ise traded trivial jokes with Park Gangseo, Bisang opened its eyes.
The spirit beast opened its beak and began moving it.
An unusual clear voice flowed out, somewhere between human speech and an animal's cry.
“Ah, ah.”
Ise asked Buchun, “How strange. Do spirit beasts gain the ability to speak as soon as they reach Foundation Establishment?”
“They already possess language ability. More precisely, Foundation Establishment spirit beasts can create vocal organs capable of producing human language, just as cultivators shape spirit bones and spirit organs.”
“I see.”
“Ah, ah.”
Bisang tested the voice awkwardly, then finally spoke a complete word.
“Father.”
Ise corrected the form of address, since the word had been directed precisely at Ise.
“...What do you mean, Father? Call me Hall Master.”
But the next words left Ise with no choice but to panic.
“Father. Don't abandon me.”
“...”
Ise had never imagined those would be the first words Bisang spoke, and could not bring Ise to answer.
It seemed that being told to live freely in Spirit Beast Grove had been understood as abandonment.
“Hall Master, were you trying to abandon a spirit beast?”
At Seolryeong's question, Ise hurriedly made excuses.
“I wasn't trying to abandon Bisang. I was trying to give Bisang freedom.”
“Don't abandon me, Father.”
An inexplicable guilt pricked Ise's heart, and Ise answered in a much gentler voice.
“I won't. If you want to, you can follow me around as much as you like.”
“Yeah.”
“You should say, ‘Yes.’”
“Yes.”
At the brief answer, Bisang finally closed its beak as though reassured.
“Buchun, can you take Bisang to the Foundation Establishment spirit beasts so Bisang can learn to speak?”
“Yes. Bisang will improve quickly. Spirit beasts are fast learners.”
“Good. Teach Bisang to speak properly before we cross to the Archipelago. Teach some manners as well. Shin Hyeon, handle Bisang's admission procedures for Azure Dragon Hall.”
“Yes, Hall Master.”
The Azure Dragon Hall, which had only five members, gained one beast.
A spirit-artifact artisan, a formation specialist, a pellet alchemist, a spirit-stone artisan, a dokkaebi clan member, and a spirit beast.
It truly was a hodgepodge of a hall.
The Azure Dragon Hall members scattered to prepare for the excursion. Buchun quietly approached Ise alone and began, “Hall Master, may I come with you to the Archipelago?”
“No. What about Dine and Go?”
“I can leave it with the assistant manager. Senior Park Gangseo has agreed to oversee management and supervision. I'll also make sure the support for the orphanage is prepared without interruption.”
“Azure Dragon Hall members are people I can mobilize, but I can't just drag a formal disciple along on a private excursion. It violates the rules. I've already asked for plenty of exceptions, so I'd feel ashamed to ask for more.”
“Don't worry. If you register me as a member of your estate household, you can mobilize me privately.”
Considering Buchun had already found a solution, the desire to come along must have been intense.
“It'll be dangerous. Why do you want to come so badly?”
“The Azure Dragon Hall members are all outstanding cultivators, but business and management are another matter, aren't they? You'll need a servant to handle unpleasant work.”
After considering it, Ise nodded.
“If you insist, do as you like.”
“Thank you. If I can travel overseas at least once in my life, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?”
“This isn't a vacation.”
Though Ise grumbled, Ise ultimately allowed Buchun to accompany them.
After all, if they were going to establish a household in unfamiliar territory, it would be better to have such a considerate worker around.
As Ise sorted out his thoughts, Ise added, “Our realms may differ, and we may hold different positions, but you're my friend. Don't call yourself a servant.”
Buchun blinked silently for a moment, as though unable to speak, then bowed deeply.
* * *
Before leaving for the Archipelago, Ise went to scout the area around Gwisu Temple.
Ise wanted to quiet the uneasy anxiety that had continued pulling at one corner of Ise's heart since deciding to leave.
The area around Gwisu Temple was being sealed off by Haewol and Vine Serpent Hall.
‘Their goal isn't really to seal it off. They're only keeping it under surveillance.’
Foundation Establishment cultivators patrolled without gaps, but they did not seem able to completely block the sky routes.
‘If they want to escape, they can do so anytime.’
To Ise, it looked like a net full of holes.
The limits of manpower made it unavoidable.
Of course, even this would put tremendous pressure on Cheoryang Thunder Gate.
As Haeil had said, it was nearly impossible for them to send disciples out to gather resources.
Even the basic flow of supplies necessary for daily life did not look easy.
Ise gazed from afar at Gwisu Temple's warding barrier.
It was quiet.
Too quiet to believe demonic cultivators were swarming inside.
There could be no mistake in the calculations of Order Lord Haeil and the leadership.
They had accurately tracked Bi Hyeongrang's realm before, and the temple was not an environment suited for normal cultivation.
The problem was that Bi Hyeongrang had already devised an ingenious plan that upset even those precise calculations, through an unforeseen alliance and a move just one step faster than expected.
Even without that incident, Bi Hyeongrang had raised a demonic sect in the Eastern Continent, where demonic cultivators struggled to gain a foothold, into an organization comparable to the three great sects.
A person like that could not fail to recognize the peril of the present situation.
Bi Hyeongrang was surely quietly preparing a scheme beyond the calculations of the Great Exorcist Order and Haeil.
Ise did not possess the insight to see through the strategic contest of cultivators at such exalted realms, but Ise was confident that Ise's instincts were no worse than anyone's.
‘Hall Master Woo has thirty years, and Bi Hyeongrang has fifty...’
Then I should assume Bi Hyeongrang will move earlier than that, within twenty-five years. No, to be safer, within twenty years.
If Bi Hyeongrang moved, it would be just before the balance of the continent collapsed.
Before then, Ise resolved to at least reach the mid-stage Core Formation Realm and obtain a life-bound treasure artifact, enough to throw off Bi Hyeongrang's calculations.
* * *
Ise and the Azure Dragon Hall members rose into the sky.
The members followed on their own flying spirit artifacts, while Buchun flew on Bisang's back.
“Flying while riding on a senior, the Great Exorcist Order has truly turned upside down.”
Ise made the teasing remark.
“S-Sorry, Senior Bisang.”
“It's all right. It's Father's order.”
“I told you not to call me Father. Call me Hall Master.”
“You brought me into the world. You're Father.”
“This is Father's order. Don't call me Father.”
“Why can't I call Father, Father?”
Bisang refused to yield even an inch, and Ise gave up and continued flying.
It seemed Ise had failed spectacularly at raising a child.
As they flew toward the coast, Azure Dragon Hall members shared what they knew about the Archipelago.
Their destination was the Archipelago.
It was also called the Southern Sea Archipelago.
A vast collection of countless islands.
Mighty ocean currents sometimes lay between islands, and the distance between two islands could be as wide as the Zheng Empire.
In other words, the whole of the southern sea in the Human Realm was called the Archipelago.
“I heard the Archipelago is incredibly hot. Even winter there is as hot as summer on the Eastern Continent.”
“I also heard there are terrible parasitic demons.”
Ise added to Seolryeong's comment.
After suffering through the bone-cutting cold of the Northern Continent, it seemed they would now suffer through sweltering heat in the Archipelago.
Despite its climate, the Archipelago was called a blessed land.
It possessed more resources than any other continent.
Heaven-and-earth spiritual energy was abundant, as were spirit beasts and spiritual materials, while enormous blessed grottos were plentiful enough to stumble across.
They said it was common for an entire island to be one enormous Spiritual Stone mine.
In truth, not only the Archipelago but the ocean of the Southern Sea itself was a treasury of resources. Yet humans could not approach it.
The ocean between the continent and the Archipelago was the territory of the Water Dragon Clan and the Water Dragon King, a Nascent Soul Realm great demon who led them.
“The Water Dragon Clan. So they are the dragon clan I've only heard about.”
“Water Dragons are born with the strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Most grow smoothly to the Core Formation Realm, then end their long lives near the Nascent Soul Realm.”
Shin Hyeon explained to the others.
They were not numerous, but no one knew where they might appear. They hated intrusions into their territory, were aggressive, and possessed strong instincts to protect their own kind. Thus, everyone agreed they must be avoided without exception.
“Fortunately, their highest priority is preserving their species, so they do not enter the human cultivation world. Unless humans intrude first.”
“How do we know their territory?”
“It is easy to judge Water Dragon territory. If you can see an island or continent with the naked eye, you are not in it. If there is nothing but the horizon in every direction, you may be within Water Dragon territory.”
“What kind of answer is that? Does that mean the whole ocean is their territory? What an arrogant species.”
“The ocean is also full of countless demons and other races besides the Water Dragon Clan. I believe it simply means we should stay near the coast.”
“If human territory is limited to this degree, isn't the Great Exorcist Order's commitment to its principles just wasted effort? It doesn't look like heaven-and-earth spiritual energy would dry up even if we used a fair amount.”
“E-Even so, it is a principle established by the founder. Please be careful about betraying your master and destroying your ancestors...”
“Three hundred years ago, the founder isn't an ancestor. More like a senior, so let's call it betraying the master and wiping out the seniors.”
Ise added that it was a joke when Shin Hyeon looked flustered.
While they exchanged information about the Archipelago, the group finally reached the coastline and stopped at a nearby home.
There, Ise sent the Azure Dragon Hall members into the Living-Spirit Cave Abode.
Storing items in a storage pouch was common enough, but a cave abode where living people could enter and reside was truly a rare treasure.
The members' eyes widened at the portable cave abode they had never seen before and the spirit field created inside it.
“Is this Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng?! There is Ice Jade Herb too? But this also looks at least several thousand years old...?”
Hong Wonseo was the most shocked of all.
She rarely displayed much emotional fluctuation, yet the instant she saw the spiritual herbs in the spirit field, her eyes went wild and she began making a tremendous fuss.
Pi Garam showed interest in the spatial division formation set up in the spirit field. Seolryeong asked whether they could take apart the spirit artifact at the center of the cave abode, only to receive a lecture from Ise.
“Ah, it's too chaotic. Focus on cultivation while we're crossing over. If external qi runs low, just put Spiritual Stones in here.”
“This is seriously so amazing...”
Seolryeong looked around the Living-Spirit Cave Abode with an open mouth, as though about to drool. Ise took the chance to boast for the first time in a while.
“What cultivator these days doesn't have a portable personal cave abode? Can you even call that person a cultivator?”
“Who on earth has something like that...?”
Unable to say anything rude to a superior, Seolryeong trailed off.
Seolryeong was always consistent in precisely these moments, making Ise occasionally wish they would commit insubordination.
After sending everyone inside and retrieving the Secret-Realm Key, Ise rose into the air.
The coastline gradually shrank, and soon Ise ascended above the clouds.
An endless sea of clouds, like spread cotton, stretched below, while the deep blue ocean lay far beyond.
Somewhere in those vast waters, the Water Dragon Clan would be lurking.
‘Long-lived species or Demon King, it won't matter if I simply don't meet them.’
After making several test flights to ensure safety, Ise began crossing the ocean in earnest.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Living-Spirit Cave Abode was quiet.
When they had first entered, people had made a fuss everywhere. But as soon as the door closed, each settled into a place and began cultivating.
They were obeying their Hall Master's order to devote themselves to cultivation.
Watching them, Shin Hyeon felt strange.
This cave abode was a naturally blessed place for cultivation. Shin Hyeon had never experienced an environment with such abundant external qi.
Still, cultivating in front of others was not easy, no matter what.
Yet they showed one another complete trust, exposing their weaknesses without reservation.
They did not even mind that Shin Hyeon and Doksu of the dokkaebi clan were not particularly close to them.
Perhaps this was only possible because of their limitless trust in Ise, the Azure Dragon Hall Master.
Glad and comforted to be included within that trust, Shin Hyeon naturally closed their eyes and immersed themself in cultivation.
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