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Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 43: Episode 6: Heaven-Demon Dual-Meridian Physique (6)

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Ise calmed his flustered mind and first checked the warding barrier's range.

He placed a hand against the translucent wall and walked around it once, getting a rough sense of its outline.

The warding barrier enclosed Haeil's residence. Its range was broad enough to cover both the manor itself and the surrounding grounds.

It was likely permission to use the residence if necessary, in case Haeil's return was delayed.

Ise was grateful for such boundless consideration, but he had no desire to enter the home of an absent Nascent Soul Realm great cultivator.

Haeil had already shown him great kindness. He could not cause further trouble.

He had brought preserved food in his lunchbox, and if he rationed it, it should last several months.

Besides, a cultivator's body could easily endure a month on a single meal.

It was a shame to lose such personal pleasures, but he had gained something far more valuable.

Having made up his mind, Ise settled into place.

The spiritual energy density here could not be compared to that of Cheongsan's Training Compound.

It would not have been an exaggeration to call the entire space a single blessed grotto.

Every breath carried spiritual energy into his spiritual meridians.

Ise searched for the spot with the purest spiritual energy, then returned to his original position and sat cross-legged. The spiritual energy was evenly spread throughout the blessed grotto.

First, he confirmed the realm he had just attained.

He opened his palm and drew up spiritual energy.

After passing through the process of Spiritual Energy Manifestation and giving the spiritual energy a fire attribute, the energy within his body transformed into cultivation power.

Red flames bloomed over his palm. Ise smiled as he watched them.

The wall that had not budged despite more than three months of effort collapsed like paper the moment his shackles were removed.

Taking the chance, he used Fireball Art, one of the most basic spells.

The method was simple. He only had to launch the flame he had raised as though firing spiritual energy.

The spell flew forward, scattering sparks, and struck the warding barrier.

It did not leave so much as a scratch.

Ise gave an awkward smile and tried to manifest other attributes.

When he pressed his palm to the ground and converted his cultivation power into an earth attribute, soil gathered and rose. When he added metal-attribute cultivation power, it hardened like steel.

He then tried water and wood attributes, but unlike the first three, those two did not manifest easily.

‘Is this a talent, like a spiritual root?’

Ise shook his head. Given the circumstances, it was probably less a matter of talent than familiarity.

Fire, earth, and metal were things he had encountered countless times throughout his life. Compared to them, trees and water had been less familiar.

It was only a guess, but not something worth worrying about. It was a matter of time. He believed he would eventually master them all.

The basic Five Elements spells were included in the Demon Extermination and Spirit Subjugation Method, so he could train them slowly.

As for special attributes such as lightning, wind, and ice, he would be able to learn them if he acquired spell manuals.

‘Knowing a wide variety of spells will let me fight in more ways.’

The Five Elements had relationships of generation and opposition. He needed to make the most of his physique's advantages.

* * *

He did not know how much time had passed.

After completing the manifestation process for all five attributes and learning two basic spells for each, his stomach began protesting loudly.

Ise swallowed a fasting pill, then opened the secret manual of the Dokkaebi Shadow-Hunting Demonic Art and eagerly read through it page by page.

The manual described the cultivation system of the dokkaebi people in meticulous detail.

A demon's cultivation was fundamentally different from a cultivator's.

Cultivators advanced step by step as they gained enlightenment and learned to wield spiritual energy. Demons had a simpler, more brutal method of growth.

Devour enemies and grow the demon core.

They accumulated demonic qi through devouring, then compressed it to form a core within their bodies.

As Ise committed the manual's contents to memory, a thought occurred to him.

‘In a way, the Demon Extermination and Spirit Subjugation Method seems to mix a demon's cultivation method with a cultivator's.’

The method of absorbing an enemy's energy and making it one's own was how demons devoured.

Of course, the Demon Extermination and Spirit Subjugation Method included a process for purifying demonic qi into spiritual energy, but its underlying structure followed the same flow as devouring.

The roots of this method had likely been influenced by the Great Exorcist Order Lord, who possessed a physique like his own.

It was interesting. The foundational method of Great Exorcist Order might have originated in a demon's cultivation method.

‘Either way, I have to form a demon core...’

A cultivator's path began with awakening to spiritual energy. A demon's path began with creating a demon core.

Most demons did not learn this process. They naturally acquired it through the struggle to survive.

Ise soon began forming his demon core.

‘Where should I place it?’

Once formed, moving a demon core would be difficult. Unlike a spiritual body, it had physical form.

That meant someone could cut him open, search through his body, and take it.

‘A place as safe as possible, where it won't affect my organs even if it grows a little...’

He chose the space between his liver and lungs.

As he remembered it, the demon core would shatter upon reaching the Core Formation Realm and become a spiritual Golden Core. A small space would be enough.

He drew together the demonic qi flowing through his body below his lower dantian, spinning it under immense pressure, compressing it, then compressing it again.

The longer he handled demonic qi, the more a chill settled over his body.

As if complaining about their uncomfortable coexistence, his spiritual energy surged whenever it passed through the place where the demonic qi gathered.

Normally, one formed a demon core first, then handled demonic qi around it.

But Ise was doing it in reverse. He was forcing the overwhelming quantity of demonic qi accumulated through countless devourings into a tight space.

Finding a path was difficult, but retracing it was easy.

At some point, the demonic qi that had been bouncing as though ready to scatter calmed down and gradually compressed into something denser.

A strange, foreign sensation arose, as though something had suddenly burrowed into his body. A considerable amount of demonic qi was absorbed into it.

The remaining demonic qi continued flowing through his spiritual meridians as before.

It seemed the total amount of demonic power a demon core could hold differed according to one's realm.

Ise opened his eyes.

A new sight unfolded before him, different even from when his spirit sight had opened.

Until now, he had only been able to see heaven-and-earth spiritual energy floating through the air. Now he could also see the demonic qi behind it.

If spiritual energy was yang, demonic qi was yin. Like shadows where there was light, the two energies drifted quietly through the same space.

He lowered his head and looked at his stomach. He could not see it, but he could feel it clearly.

It was an odd sensation, having a demon core lodged inside his body. He felt as though he had truly become a demon.

It would have been a lie to say he felt no revulsion.

Having lost family to demons and grown up with demon hunting as his calling, he had always seen demon cores as nothing more than things to shatter and consume.

At the same time, he felt a swell of emotion as he remembered the dokkaebi of Gwisu Temple, his new home. He could now learn the spells they used to command shadows at will.

The dokkaebi had saved him, raised him, and in the end, he had gained their power.

Revulsion and anticipation rose together within him.

There were three spells in the Dokkaebi Shadow-Hunting Demonic Art that a cultivator in the middle stage of the Qi Condensation Realm could learn.

Shadow Net Formation. A spell that created a net from shadows to bind an opponent.

Four-Directions Strike. A spell that pulled shadows from all directions to strike at once.

Earth Shadow Snare. A spell that seized an opponent's ankles through their shadow, like a surprise attack, and tripped them.

Unlike the dokkaebi, who were born able to control shadows, humans needed to learn to wield attribute-less cultivation power before they could use dokkaebi spells.

‘I’ll be able to use them once I reach the Sixth Star.’

The formula of the Sixth Star of the Qi Condensation Realm was attribute-less cultivation power.

It was the realm where one could freely grant, convert, and remove attributes.

Its core was the ability to convert spiritual energy into cultivation power without giving it an attribute.

Once he reached the Sixth Star, he would be able to learn a wide variety of attribute-less spells.

It was still beyond Ise's grasp, but his heart raced simply because he could finally see the threshold.

It was fun. Purely fun, like a child receiving a new toy.

Spells were tools for handling the world.

He could create fire, raise earth, and command shadows. All of it was born from his own hands.

Cultivation had always been enjoyable, but now it was especially so.

He wanted to climb the next step quickly and use the dokkaebi's spells.

Ise calmed his excitement, sat cross-legged again, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Haeil returned after more than fifty days.

Matters in the Archipelago had taken far longer than expected. What had been meant to be a quick trip had lasted nearly two months.

After tearing through space and arriving at the cave abode, Haeil first looked within the warding barrier.

Ise was still seated cross-legged in the same spot where Haeil had left him, cultivating.

As though determined not to make the same mistake twice, Ise sprang to his feet and offered a respectful greeting the moment he sensed Haeil's presence.

“You've returned.”

“I was delayed.”

Ise simply stood straight, as though it did not matter.

“Let's see how diligently you've cultivated.”

Haeil's gaze swept over Ise's body. A faint look of surprise arose.

“Sixth Star?”

“Yes.”

Haeil gave a hollow laugh. The entry disciple before Haeil had already stepped into the realm of attribute-less cultivation power.

When Ise had first come here, he had been floundering because he could not cross a minor realm boundary.

Haeil had confirmed Ise's breakthrough to the Fifth Star after the gu parasite was removed, but had not expected him to reach the Sixth Star so quickly.

For a cultivator, two months could pass during a single meditation session.

This was effectively a two-step leap.

‘The moment his shackles came off, he ran wild.’

As Haeil looked at Ise, Haeil recalled Ise's answer that reaching the Fourth Star after the entrance exam had taken only about a month.

The spiritual energy and enlightenment Ise had accumulated while bound by the gu parasite had likely burst forth the moment the shackles disappeared.

It had taken Woo Yu-hui a year to cross the first minor realm boundary, so Ise's pace was twice as fast.

“I did not tell you because I thought it was still far off, but it would be better to tell you now.”

Ise's eyes brightened, immediately focused on Haeil's words.

“There are generally three ways to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. The first is to take a medicinal pellet called a Foundation Establishment Pellet, forcibly open your divine sense, and form a Dharma-Flower Dantian. It is safe, but it requires the rare Foundation Establishment Pellet. That is the Pill Altar Sect's method.”

Foundation Establishment Pellet. Ise had heard of it. At the Pill Altar Sect, disciples would risk fighting to the death over that medicinal pellet.

“The second is to construct an altar with an immense number of Spiritual Stones, offer a Heavenly Rite, and reach the Foundation Establishment Realm with Heaven's help. It requires a long time, favorable timing, and tremendous resources. That is Kunlun's method.”

Haeil continued.

“The last method is to use a body-tempering cultivation technique to break down and recreate your bones, flesh, and organs, personally achieving a rebirth of flesh and bone to form divine sense and a Dharma-Flower Dantian. That is Great Exorcist Order's method. It may look crude, but anyone can attempt it without another person's support or sacrifice.”

“I heard it was dangerous.”

“It is. If you fail, you will suffer corruption, die, or be crippled.”

Haeil continued as though it were nothing serious.

“You will go through that method as well. But you must carry out both Great Exorcist Order's method and the demon's method. That is, you must shed your demon core. Refer to Mongryeon's cultivation method for the details. Just remember the overall direction.”

Haeil finished speaking and dispelled the warding barrier. The translucent wall vanished like mist, and Ise understood it as a dismissal.

“Thank you for your kindness, Hall Master.”

Ise immediately rose and bowed with proper respect.

“Remember your three tasks well, and do not die a dog's death. If an enemy learns of your physique, make sure that enemy dies.”

“I will remember.”

“Go back.”

Ise bowed deeply, then turned away.

Haeil watched Ise's retreating back and muttered to himself.

“Recovering the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art would be nice, but I should cultivate diligently too.”

A new wind was blowing.

It was a wind of change that would transform the cultivation of the Eleven Inner Halls' Hall Masters, who had grown accustomed to their stagnant routines.

If the Hall Masters learned how quickly that boy's realm was rising, they would redouble their training as though someone had suddenly kicked them in the backside.

Just as their realms had gradually risen after Woo Yu-hui appeared.

The Eastern Continent's peace was maintained by a precarious balance.

That boy was still only a chick. Who knew what ripples he would create decades from now?

That was when Haeil noticed tooth marks on the sweet potato peels scattered across the floor.

‘Tsk. There was plenty of food inside.’

Haeil picked up a sweet potato peel lying on the floor, the only one left, and muttered, “Maybe I should ask him to pick a fight.”

Because it was imbued with spiritual energy, the sweet potato Haeil had thrown out a month ago was still fresh.

Footnotes:

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