WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 183
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* * *
Whether his display had changed Order Lord Haeil's mind, Ise did not know.
In any case, he had made his intentions clear. All that remained was to wait for a decision.
Ise devoted himself to cultivation at once.
It was an arduous time, but being able to focus solely on cultivation gave him peace of mind.
Then one day, a guest arrived at Ise's Living-Spirit Cave Abode.
It was Woo Yu-hui.
At first, he assumed she had only come for a change of pace.
But once she settled in, she showed no sign of leaving.
Ten days passed, then a month. She remained in one corner of the cave abode without so much as stirring.
The daybed was not particularly wide, so sitting across from her to cultivate was somewhat distracting.
After about a year, Ise finally asked.
“Are you going to keep cultivating here?”
“Mm, why? Is it inconvenient?”
“Not exactly.”
“This has the best cultivation environment.”
Of course it did. He was pouring in high-grade Spiritual Stones without limit.
Ise kept that to himself. After all, he owed her a great deal.
And so, their strange companionship began.
* * *
“Father, I'll set the table.”
Bisang entered, carrying a tray.
After honing their immortal-cuisine skills with Qi Condensation Realm ingredients, Bisang had attempted Abyssal Mole-Mouse Dongpo Pork for the first time.
It was the first immortal-cuisine dish Bisang had developed independently, rather than following a recipe Ise had given.
Bisang waited tensely for their verdict as Ise and Woo Yu-hui slowly lifted their chopsticks.
After tasting a piece of meat, Ise carefully considered both its flavor and effects.
Then he nodded.
The lean meat fell apart softly, and the flavor was clean, without any unpleasant odor.
“It’s good. You could sell this.”
“Really? Wow!”
“Yes. Go tell Buchun to add it to the menu.”
Bisang left, practically bouncing with joy. Ise smiled after them, then slowly savored the meal.
Eating food prepared by someone else felt better than he had expected.
Food kept catching on Woo Yu-hui's mask, so she repeatedly lifted and lowered it while eating.
“If you're going to keep staying here, why not take off the mask and cultivate more comfortably?”
Woo Yu-hui's spoon stopped. Ise continued.
“It’s not as though I haven't seen your face before, Hall Master. I don't particularly care what expression you're wearing.”
“……”
Her gaze rested on Ise from behind the half-mask.
Ise set down his utensils and continued evenly.
“When I was young, people threw stones at me and called me a demon because of my lifeless eyes and expressionless face. It’s not as though I don't understand how you feel.”
“That must have hurt.”
“It was fine. I always paid them back properly.”
“……”
“I broke the noses or legs of children my age. For adults, I caught foxes and released them into their chicken coops.”
“It doesn't sound like they treated you like a demon because of your face.”
“Maybe so.”
After that, Woo Yu-hui fell silent for a while.
Then she raised a hand, removed her half-mask, and placed it in her storage pouch.
Ise watched.
Woo Yu-hui, now barefaced, picked up her spoon again as though nothing had happened.
“Why are you staring? Is something stuck on me?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
Woo Yu-hui ate with her cheeks puffed out.
Without the mask, her pace picked up.
Ise watched for a moment before speaking.
“By the way, I think you should pay some rent for using the cave abode.”
Woo Yu-hui's spoon stopped for the second time.
She raised her head.
A strange expression appeared on her face.
Her brows had risen, the corners of her mouth had fallen, and her eyes had narrowed halfway.
It was a combination he had never seen before.
“What sort of expression is that?”
“A disappointed expression.”
“Even if you are, it can't be helped. The cave abode runs on high-grade Spiritual Stones instead of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, and the amount you absorb isn't ordinary either.”
Instead of replying, Woo Yu-hui took out her storage pouch, turned it upside down, and shook it.
All sorts of things spilled onto the floor.
Spiritual Stones, bundles of talismans, secret manuals, old bedding, several spirit artifacts, unidentified stones, a medicinal-pellet box, and even a rusty sword of unknown age.
For the possessions of a great cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation Realm, it looked no different from a country villager's bundle.
Even her storage pouch was an old-fashioned kind that required her to rummage around inside by hand.
From among the clutter, Woo Yu-hui picked out only the high-grade Spiritual Stones and handed them over with her slender, jade-like hand.
Ise accepted them readily.
“You should carry a better storage pouch. You’re a great cultivator, after all. Want me to give you one?”
“It’s fine. I don't like changing things I've grown used to.”
“I understand. I have that tendency too.”
Ise nodded as he put away the high-grade Spiritual Stones.
One year. Two years.
Time continued to pass.
The two remained settled in the cave abode, devoting themselves solely to cultivation.
Outwardly, their days seemed frozen in time.
Yet time was passing more quickly than ever.
The moon changed shape with every qi circulation, and seasons changed while they pondered a single insight.
The Full-Moon Herb in the spirit field bloomed three times. More books that had escaped confiscation piled up on the bookshelf Ise had provided for Hwayeong.
Bisang's immortal cuisine eventually reached a level that rivaled a skilled chef's.
Visitors occasionally came to the residence during that time.
Buchun came with the account books, while Azure Dragon Hall members came to report their cultivation progress.
Ise asked Buchun to purchase several items.
“All of these?”
“Yes, please. Dine and Go has plenty of funds, right?”
“Yes, it does, but... is someone preparing for a Core Formation breakthrough?”
“I have a use for them.”
At Ise's words, Buchun promised to secure them quickly and departed.
Seolryeong brought news that the Foundation Establishment Realm shamans at the main headquarters had recently been gathering often for group training.
Ise tilted his head at the mention of group shaman training, but he could not guess what it meant.
The person who visited most often was Hong Wonseo.
To research medicinal-pellet recipes using the spiritual herbs in the Living-Spirit Cave Abode, the assignment Ise had given her, she came and went constantly, taking a petal here and a leaf there.
Then one day, an unexpected pair of visitors arrived.
“Hall Master. Gwak Chan and Irang have come to see you.”
At Onyu's message, Ise stepped out onto the veranda.
“It has been a long time, Azure Dragon Hall Master.”
“It has. Good to see you both.”
Gwak Chan still wore his good-natured grin, while Irang's expression remained as neatly composed as if measured with a ruler.
“Is the Winged Dragon Hall Master here?”
“Yes. She’s coming out.”
While they exchanged greetings, Woo Yu-hui walked out from inside.
She wore no mask, her hair tied carelessly, her sleeves rolled up, and comfortable clothes.
Gwak Chan's eyes widened, then curved into a lecherous smile.
“You’ve practically set up house here?”
“I came to cultivate.”
“Ah, that’s the strategy? You come to cultivate, then just settle in for good? I never took you for someone so proactive, Hall Master. Want me to recommend a decent dual cultivation method?”
Thwack!
Irang's foot struck Gwak Chan's shin.
“Rude. You lecherous bastard.”
“Ah, seriously! Stop kicking me!”
Woo Yu-hui did not so much as blink at their commotion.
“Gwak Chan. What do you need?”
“Nothing in particular. There haven't been any summons or training lately, so I came to see whether you were doing well.”
“Go cultivate. Are you planning to attempt Core Formation after you die?”
“...I like that you never change, Hall Master.”
Woo Yu-hui turned her gaze to Irang.
“What about you, Irang?”
“I think my preparations for the breakthrough will soon be complete. I came to ask you to act as my breakthrough guardian.”
“All right.”
Irang bowed, then turned toward Ise.
“May I ask the Azure Dragon Hall Master as well?”
“Of course. You helped me before.”
He owed her for serving as his breakthrough guardian during his own breakthrough.
Ise readily agreed.
“That is reassuring. Thank you.”
“Call me when you’re ready.”
“Yes.”
Irang smiled, offered her thanks, and left, dragging Gwak Chan away by one ear.
“I don't understand why they stick together every day when they bicker like that.”
“Those two are in love.”
“...Pardon? You’re joking, right?”
Ise asked as though he had just heard something utterly absurd, but Woo Yu-hui had already gone back into the cave abode without a sound of footsteps.
Three months later, Irang's Core Formation rite was held.
A tribulation platform was erected in Winged Dragon Hall's training grounds, with Ise and Woo Yu-hui standing to either side as breakthrough guardians.
With two Core Formation Realm cultivators guarding her, the Winged Dragon Hall members were so excited that they seemed to believe their Deputy Hall Master's success was already half assured.
The sky darkened, and the first Lightning Tribulation descended from the heart of the black clouds.
The first bolt shattered Irang's defensive formation and spirit artifacts. The second tore apart her body, made her vomit blood, and sent her rolling from the tribulation platform.
Having lost consciousness for a moment, her Golden Core dispersed before it could fully form.
The result was failure.
It was a miserable failure that did not even reach the Soul Tribulation. Without the Tribulation-Failure Preservation Pellet, she would not have survived.
Winged Dragon Hall members rushed over with regretful expressions.
“It is only natural, Deputy Hall Master. Who succeeds on their first attempt?”
“That’s right. They say nine out of ten fail!”
Amid the flood of consolation, Irang laboriously raised her head.
Then her eyes met those of the two Hall Masters who had served as breakthrough guardians.
Ise and Woo Yu-hui stood side by side, wearing the same expression.
‘Why couldn't she withstand that?’
Neither said it aloud.
But both pairs of eyes spoke those exact words with painful honesty.
Irang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and quietly lowered her head.
The expressions on the two great cultivators' faces left a deeper wound than a hundred warm words of comfort.
* * *
The Great Exorcist Order began to grow busy around that time.
Buchun came to the cave abode without warning.
“It feels as though war may break out soon. An order has been issued for every merchant in the Great Exorcist Order to stockpile supplies.”
“A stockpiling order. I suppose the time is drawing near.”
“Yes. Purchase prices are rising, first for recovery pellets and talismans, then for formation materials. Dine and Go has also begun preparing to supply military provisions.”
No wonder the lights in the pellet workshop and talisman hall had remained lit even at night.
The entire main headquarters had been silently preparing for battle.
At last, Order Lord Haeil and Chief Master Kang I-tae appeared to have decided to act.
No orders had yet been given to the Hall Masters.
But beginning to stockpile supplies was an omen that they intended to move within the next two or three years.
Ise counted on his fingers.
Fifteen years had passed since he entered the Core Formation Realm.
It was an even earlier move than Bi Hyeongrang's predicted fifty years until Nascent Soul, Woo Yu-hui's predicted thirty years until her breakthrough, and even the twenty years Ise had calculated on his own.
With a move this swift, they would certainly catch either the Zheng Empire or Bi Hyeongrang off guard.
Azure Dragon Hall had not been idle in the meantime.
Every member had broken through to mid Foundation Establishment, while Shin Hyeon had reached the late stage.
Across the main headquarters, three Core Formation rites had been held for White Tiger Hall Deputy Hall Master Jang Yeowon, Kirin Hall Deputy Hall Master Ujeol, and Winged Dragon Hall Deputy Hall Master Irang. Unfortunately, all three had failed.
Their second attempts were postponed until after the war.
After hearing Buchun's report, Ise summoned the Azure Dragon Hall members and headed for the eastern side of the main headquarters to conduct guided sparring.
As he crossed the plaza, he stopped.
Four heads hung side by side in the center.
Wondering who dared imitate his demon-hunting emblems, Ise approached the Qi Condensation Realm official guarding the display and asked.
“Who are they? Demonic cultivators?”
The official startled and hurriedly bowed.
“Ah, Azure Dragon Hall Master! They are spies who were recently exposed.”
“There were spies?”
“Yes. More and more spies have been uncovered lately. Some entered recently, while others infiltrated decades ago. External recruitment and receiving outside guests have been prohibited altogether.”
“I wasn't told that.”
“Haha, Hall Masters need not concern themselves with such trivial matters. Sending message talismans beyond the main headquarters is also currently prohibited, so please keep that in mind.”
The official added that, fearing information might leak before the war, the Law Enforcement Pavilion was conducting a complete investigation.
“It doesn't make sense that they were unable to find the spies until now.”
“Hmm... Now that you mention it, that is true. Perhaps they deliberately left them alone? If they kept up the appearance of peace, then exposed all the spies at once immediately before wartime, it would be difficult for the enemy to respond.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
In that case, displaying the spies' heads was likely part of the further purge.
So that the rats who sensed ill omens in the changing currents of fate would move, only to have their tails stepped on.
Ise nodded and was about to hurry on his way.
Hummm!
A massive wave swept over the earth.
Then heaven-and-earth spiritual energy began to churn wildly.
Like water being drawn from deep within water veins, the demonic qi among the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy in every direction converged toward a single point.
It was in the direction of Gwisu Temple.
Several Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators stopped and looked up at the sky.
The Qi Condensation Realm cultivators could not sense the abnormality, but their eyes darted about at the ominous atmosphere.
Ise instinctively understood.
Someone was attempting a Nascent Soul breakthrough.
And aside from Woo Yu-hui, there was only one being nearby capable of attempting it.
Bi Hyeongrang.
That bastard was attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
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