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Translator/Editor: Dionysus

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◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈

Chapter 11: My Changed Combat Power

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Crackle...!

Some meat, skewered on a branch, was roasting over a poorly made campfire. Whenever fat dripped down, the flames surged for a moment, sending soot rising to cling to the meat, but Han Yujin did not care much.

Now that he was a cultivator, there was no need to worry about such trivial things. No matter how pathetic a cultivator was, they would not die of something like cancer.

‘In that sense, cultivators really are overpowered.’

As long as one entered the path and cultivated a cultivation method, even the weakest among them could live past a hundred without illness. After all, cultivation was not originally about strength, but longevity.

And Han Yujin liked this xianxia style very much. The cultivation methods, spells, and magical artifacts did not feel tacky or childish at all.

Of course, if he had learned fantasy-style magic instead, he probably would have liked that just as much. Still, it was not as if he disliked this.

Despite their vicious appearance, the monkey monsters' meat gave off an incredibly fragrant scent. Honestly, he had expected it to stink, since he was butchering and roasting wild beasts however he could. That had been a terribly ignorant assumption.

Meat infused with spiritual energy could not possibly be the same as ordinary meat. Like the meat before him, it would either smell wonderfully fragrant or stink so badly it was unbearable.

‘It’s a relief the meat doesn’t spoil quickly.’

The forest was fairly cool, but more importantly, because the meat contained spiritual energy, it would not spoil easily until that energy had fully dissipated.

Thanks to that, he could pile the monkey monster corpses off to one side without worry. Most of the blood had already drained, so they did not make much of a mess. Removing the organs had been a little unpleasant, but he had managed.

A while later.

When it finally seemed cooked through, Han Yujin brought the branch to his mouth and took a huge bite.

It was rather tough, but not impossible to chew. The more he chewed, the softer it seemed to become. Its flavor and aroma were slightly unusual, yet incredibly good.

If it were cooked properly, it might become a delicacy for the ages. Of course, good meat could bring out more than half its flavor just by being grilled.

He devoured all the meat, even though he had roasted more than he thought he could eat. Only after taking a sip of the fragrant liquor from the Spirit-Liquid Flask to cleanse his palate did he pat his stomach in satisfaction.

Within minutes, a faint warmth rose from his belly. Without hesitation, he put out the fire, entered his shelter, and sat down comfortably.

As he began circulating the Returning to the Origin Art, the warmth in his stomach moved in response to the spiritual energy he breathed in. It tempered his body while also strengthening and developing his soul.

People often said that a healthy mind resided in a healthy body. From a cultivation perspective, the two were not separate things, so naturally, to develop the soul, one had to develop the body as well.

After several basic circulation cycles, Han Yujin boldly attempted to elevate his soul into a Dharma soul.

More complex dharma patterns arose within the flow of spiritual energy that had been following a set path. They displayed their mysterious effects and brought about a certain transformation. This went beyond ordinary, efficient tempering. True cultivation had begun to work upon him.

The sensation was difficult to describe. It was refreshing yet tingling, occasionally painful, and then that pain would soon turn into refreshment again.

The changes in his body were remarkable, but the changes in his soul were especially profound. He had gained the ability to sense spiritual energy upon entering the Entry Stage, but this was perhaps the first time he had felt the existence of his soul so clearly.

For a cultivator to advance into the Dharma Soul Stage, at least forty percent of their soul had to be elevated into a Dharma soul.

If a soul could create spiritual energy on its own, then naturally, a Dharma soul could produce dharma power on its own. This dharma power was the true strength of a cultivator.

How great was that strength? A single Dharma Soul Stage cultivator could slaughter more than ten ordinary Entry Stage cultivators like sheep.

And Dharma Soul Stage cultivators were not merely powerful in battle.

Their intelligence basically rose in proportion to their Dharma soul elevation rate. This intelligence included perception, calculation, judgment, and memory.

It meant they could casually catch a surprise arrow using only their fingers, or solve several complicated math problems at once.

There was a reason cultivators of the Dharma Soul Stage and beyond were called true cultivators. The Entry Stage was, as its name suggested, merely the point where one had just begun.

‘The higher the Dharma soul elevation rate, the better it is for both ability and future growth, but...’

Unfortunately, it came with a corresponding danger. During the process of Dharma soul elevation, cultivators could experience all kinds of hallucinations and potentially go mad.

But Han Yujin was not worried.

‘If I go mad, I can just die and cultivate again.’

Considering how brutally his soul had been damaged in the demon followers' world, he could easily negate side effects from cultivating a method.

His awakened ability truly was absurdly powerful. If he used it properly, the path of immortality ahead would never become bleak.

Trusting that, Han Yujin continued to focus on cultivating the Returning to the Origin Art.

* * *

It took about fifteen days to finish all the monkey monster meat. As time passed, more and more of the meat's spiritual energy was lost, so he had hurried a little.

With that spirit meat to support him, Han Yujin was able to steadily continue elevating his Dharma soul, even if he faltered slightly at times.

Still, he came to realize one unfortunate fact.

The reason he had sensed spiritual energy so quickly was not because he had outstanding spiritual root talent. As he tested it several times using minor techniques included in the Returning to the Origin Art while elevating his Dharma soul, it seemed his spiritual root talent was, at best, in the lower tier of True Spiritual Roots.

‘At least it isn’t a False Spiritual Root.’

He comforted himself that way, but whenever he remembered it again, a sigh escaped him automatically.

The truth was, he had secretly held high expectations ever since he succeeded in sensing spiritual energy so quickly. No, perhaps he had unconsciously been expecting it even before then.

They called Heavenly Spiritual Roots a talent granted by heaven. Expecting one was greedy, of course.

But humans were animals that could not help being greedy.

When he considered the difference between a Heavenly Spiritual Root and a True Spiritual Root, that desire only became more intense. A tenfold difference in cultivation speed was no small matter. The more he thought about it, the greater it felt.

‘With my awakened ability, perhaps...’

Thinking that during a brief rest, Han Yujin soon shook his head.

The path of immortality was not something one could gain by sitting around and waiting. It had to be actively seized. But that only applied when one had at least a minimum degree of strength to support it.

‘Even if it’s a little inefficient, it’s best to try after I gain the strength and insight of the Dharma Soul Stage.’

That was especially true because he could not even think of what exactly he should try. If he fixed the door while merely wishing for “improved talent,” he might regret it later even if he gained some kind of result there.

More than anything, he would probably lack karma after obtaining such talent. Spending it to rent a cultivation ground rich in spiritual energy and avoid dangers such as qi deviation was worthwhile enough.

It would be wiser to leave himself options as well.

Only after reaching that conclusion did he feel a little more at ease. Rather than continuing to cultivate here, he left his shelter with the plan of seeking other spirit meat and spiritual plants.

It had truly been a long time since he had gone out. With the help of the Spirit-Liquid Flask and the Purification Art, he had no reason to leave, so he had stayed inside like a hibernating bear.

It also helped that no particularly dangerous beasts had come looking for him. It really felt as though this part of the forest had become his.

But it was about time to explore the surroundings. He was not going to remain here for only another day or two, and he needed more spirit meat and spiritual plants for rapid cultivation.

Even aside from that, he might find a place with far richer spiritual energy.

He placed everything except the Five Elements Sword into the Storage Pouch at his waist. His movements looked quite practiced, because he had not focused solely on the Returning to the Origin Art over the past fifteen days. He had also practiced using magical artifacts and spells little by little.

‘Where were those Planet of the Apes bastards staying?’

It was a question that had occurred to him several times before. Since he had become the owner of this territory, he naturally needed to find out where its former owners had lived, what the terrain was like, and what could be found there.

Activating the Wind-Cloud Art without a hitch, he crossed the forest quickly while keeping his speed under control. He did not simply run along the ground. At times, he skimmed low through the air, covering considerable distances.

His speed was easily greater than that of an ordinary scooter. Considering that he was in the middle of a primeval forest filled with enormous trees and thick grass, it was exceptional mobility.

Needless to say, he had already cast the Concealment Art and Spirit Vision Art. After a few failures, he had successfully cast the Jade Skin Art as well.

‘This one is really tricky.’

He grumbled inwardly. Still, being able to cast four spells at once after only fifteen days was an excellent result.

Naturally, it was thanks to his extraordinary ability to understand languages. He needed no time at all to comprehend dharma patterns, allowing him to bypass the part that ordinary Entry Stage cultivators struggled with most.

‘My spiritual root talent is ordinary, but my comprehension is practically genius-level.’

Perhaps that was why his desire for better spiritual root talent burned even more fiercely.

Although he had spent over fifteen days in this forest, after moving only a short distance, he felt as if he had entered a completely unfamiliar place. It seemed as though he could run forever and never see the end of this primeval forest.

‘It’s lonely.’

That thought suddenly came to him, but Han Yujin did not neglect his vigilance. Whenever he found something interesting or something thick with spiritual energy, he stopped at once to investigate it.

Even during this short exploration, several types of mushrooms and small fruits went into his Storage Pouch.

There were several ways to test whether spiritual plants containing spiritual energy were poisonous. They involved applying portions of the dharma patterns for the Healing Art and Purification Art. He no longer needed to examine, touch, and taste everything one by one as he had when he was ordinary.

In truth, it was a little regrettable when he judged something poisonous and simply passed it by. If he knew alchemy, he could have made use even of those toxins.

‘And alchemy isn’t the only thing I lack.’

Artifact refining, talisman crafting, spiritual plant cultivation, beast taming, restriction arts, puppet arts, and more.

There were an enormous number of useful skills and bodies of knowledge for walking the path of immortality. The problem was that one did not have enough lifespan to learn all of them.

Cultivating a method alone kept one busy. When would one learn every other skill, one by one? It was not as if those skills were simple.

There was a reason such specialists were rare and respected accordingly.

As he thought, he discovered a small gorge that felt quite safe. The grass there was unusually overgrown, and without the Spirit Vision Art, he might have passed it by.

“Hmm.”

When he moved closer and examined it, he caught a faint animal scent. It seemed vaguely familiar, and after thinking about it, it seemed to be the scent of the monkey monsters.

‘Was this their nest?’

After checking the Jade Skin Art and Concealment Art, he entered the gorge.

Within only a few minutes, the narrow path disappeared, opening into a broad clearing farther inside.

A stark, dark black tree at its center drew his eye. More notably, the corpses of small monkey monsters lay scattered around it, badly gnawed apart.

“...”

It seemed something had attacked this place and slaughtered the young monkey monsters that had remained behind.

And the black tree in the center did not seem to have been bare from the start. It appeared to have borne some kind of fruit.

He could see several objects resembling fruit seeds nearby. They contained such dense spiritual energy that he could not have missed them.

Grrr...!

Just then.

Something growled from above the gorge. Han Yujin raised his head and saw a wolf-like beast staring down at him.

He called it wolf-like because its ears were somewhat unusual, and its tail bore a sharp stinger that reminded him of a scorpion's. As he examined it, several more beasts poked their heads out and looked down at him.

He had the Concealment Art active, but he had come too close and apparently been detected by their sense of smell. His mastery of the Concealment Art was not yet perfect, either.

The wolf-like beasts seemed to test the waters for a moment, then bared their teeth as if preparing to attack.

They must have thought prey had conveniently walked right to them.

“Hoo.”

In response, Han Yujin let out a light breath and drew the Five Elements Sword from his waist without any fear.

“If you’re going to come at me, hurry up, you bastards.”

He was no longer the pathetic person he had been before.

Perhaps because of that, Han Yujin could regard them as very delicious prey as well.

If he hunted and ate them all, he could likely keep cultivating until his Dharma soul elevation rate reached around ten percent.

The path of immortality was not something one could gain by sitting around and waiting. It had to be actively seized.

As he thought that, a faint golden dharma-pattern restriction appeared on the Five Elements Sword in his hand. Then the sword left his grip on its own and floated beside him in midair.

It was a fairly convincing combat stance for a cultivator.

A small amount of tension filled the air.

Bark! Grrr...!

One wolf-like beast raced down the slope of the gorge as if flying, and the rest began their attack as well. What he had thought were only five or six beasts turned out to be quite a large pack.

The Five Elements Sword resonated in response.

With a flash, a sharp streak of golden energy shot forth and split the leading wolf-like beast in half. It did not stop there, cutting down two more beasts behind it.

There was no resistance at all, as though an infinitely sharp blade had sliced through them. If not for the blood that burst forth, he might have mistaken it for a hallucination.

Footnotes:

“Planet of the Apes” is Han Yujin’s mocking reference to the monkey monsters.

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