Chapter 33
Translator: T_Fan
“Peak Master Zhu, aren’t you supposed to be selecting a spirit-plant cultivator? This child made a Spirit-Restoring Pill.”
“And where do you think the ingredients for that Spirit-Restoring Pill came from, the sky? How could he make a pill like that without properly understanding medicinal ingredients?”
Hundred Herbs Peak Master Zhu Jinglin scraped a little of the residue from inside the pill furnace with his finger and examined it.
“Good fire control alone wouldn’t produce a result like this. This is the work of someone who knows how to handle medicinal ingredients with care.”
“Which is why he should learn alchemy.”
“Which is why he should learn to cultivate spirit plants.”
Both men turned to Lee Hyun at the same time.
“…….”
Lee Hyun considered his options for a moment.
‘Which path would bring me closer to the pill recipe for the Essence-Raising Pill?’
The most direct route was, of course, to become an alchemist. The problem was that he had no idea when he would ever be entrusted with refining Essence-Raising Pills.
Even craftsmen in the mundane world did not readily reveal their family’s secret formulas to outsiders. There was even less chance that a cultivation sect would entrust a newly admitted disciple with a pill recipe capable of breaking through the barrier between mid and late Qi Refining.
Perhaps it would actually be easier to infer the Essence-Raising Pill’s recipe while working as a spirit-plant cultivator at Hundred Herbs Peak. After all, Hundred Herbs Peak would be the one supplying the spirit plants used to make Essence-Raising Pills.
‘But alchemy isn’t something you can do just by knowing the ingredients. I also need to know the Refining sequence, fire control, and how to harmonize the medicinal potency. There’s no reason to take the long way around.’
Lee Hyun spoke.
“I want to learn alchemy.”
A satisfied smile spread across Gao Yuanhe’s face.
“You heard him?”
The Hundred Herbs Peak master looked disappointed.
“To learn alchemy properly, you must first understand spirit plants and medicinal ingredients. An alchemist who only starts paying attention to the ingredients after tossing them into the pill furnace will find it difficult to rise above second-rate, no matter how skilled he is with fire.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Even if you join Pill Cauldron Peak, the doors of Hundred Herbs Peak will remain open to you.”
The disciple overseeing the examination cautiously interjected.
“Elders, we still haven’t checked the applicant’s bone age or spiritual root.”
“Isn’t that nothing more than a formality once they’re checked?”
Gao Yuanhe turned to Lee Hyun.
“Finish the remaining entrance procedures, then come to Pill Cauldron Peak. Unless some unusual problem turns up, I will accept you as my nominal disciple.”
“Thank you.”
The Hundred Herbs Peak master spoke as he turned away.
“Don’t become the sort of alchemist who burns his medicinal ingredients and then complains that he was unlucky. If you change your mind later, come to Hundred Herbs Peak.”
“Are you cursing someone else’s disciple?”
“Advice as valuable as spirit stones.”
The two old men disappeared from the hall while bickering.
The rogue cultivators taking the examination looked at Lee Hyun enviously. It was exceedingly rare for a rogue cultivator from outside the sect to attract the interest of two peak masters before even being admitted.
Lee Hyun realized that he had underestimated his own alchemy skills.
‘There were three sets of ingredients. Going out of my way to succeed on the very first attempt and draw attention to myself wasn’t very cautious….’
…
Once the alchemist examination was over, it turned out that Lee Hyun was the only person who had passed.
‘Good thing I succeeded on the first attempt….’
Under a disciple’s guidance, Lee Hyun headed toward another hall.
Various magic tools and measurement formations had been arranged throughout the spacious hall.
More than twenty applicants had passed the first examination. Unlike the alchemist examination, the other fields seemed to have produced a fair number of successful applicants.
…
The line for the bone-age test gradually shortened.
A few places ahead of Lee Hyun stood a large, broad-shouldered young man.
Judging only by his sun-darkened face and thick forearms, he could have passed for a sturdy laborer from the mundane world, but the aura of Qi Refining Stage 5 flowed from his body.
“Place your right hand here.”
The man set his palm on the stone slab.
A silver pattern resembling the bones of a human hand was engraved into its surface.
The pattern soon brightened, and a pale light swept from the man’s fingers past his wrist and up to his elbow.
Hummm―
Thin rings of light rose one by one above the stone slab.
The examiner studied the number and colors of the rings, then frowned.
“Your bone age reads eighty-three.”
“What? I’m twenty-seven.”
“Twenty-seven?”
The examiner looked back and forth between the man’s face and the stone slab.
“You haven’t taken a Rejuvenation Pill or Youth-Preserving Pill, have you?”
“No. How could I afford pills that expensive?”
“What about a body-refining art?”
“I’ve only practiced a little external martial arts in the mundane world.”
As though something had occurred to him, the examiner asked,
“Have you taken Bone-Forging Powder recently?”
“What? Yes. How did you know? I took one dose packet on my way here.”
“Did you buy it in the south?”
“I bought it at a cultivator market in Nanli Kingdom. It was mid-grade Bone-Forging Powder made by the Qingchao Pill Pavilion of the Qingchao Merchant Alliance.”
“That’s the cause. The medicinal strength of Bone-Forging Powder seeps directly into the bones, and until it is fully absorbed, traces of the ingredients’ medicine age remain in the bone tissue. The stone slab mistakenly counted even those traces as years you have lived.”
A troubled look appeared on the man’s face.
“Then what should I do?”
“How long has it been since you took it?”
“About ten days.”
“We’ll measure you again in a month. By then, most of the traces of the medicine age should have disappeared, and we’ll be able to determine your bone age properly.”
“Then have I passed or failed?”
“I’ll mark you as passed for now. Finish the other tests. However, if we test your bone age again in a month and discover that you lied, don’t regret whatever punishment you receive.”
The man withdrew happily after hearing that he had passed for now. The examiner immediately called the next applicant.
Lee Hyun watched the man’s retreating back.
‘Bone-Forging Powder can affect a bone-age test?’
It was unexpected information.
As the line gradually shortened, Lee Hyun asked the disciple standing nearby and guiding the applicants,
“If the bone-age test can be thrown off that easily, doesn’t that cause problems?”
“What kind of problem?”
“Couldn’t someone trying to enter the sect use Bone-Forging Powder to lie about their age?”
“It’s the opposite. Taking Bone-Forging Powder only makes your bone age read older than it really is. It won’t make you appear younger. Anyone trying to enter a sect would want to pass themselves off as younger. Who would deliberately make themselves look older? At the same realm, a younger disciple receives a better evaluation and is more likely to receive concentrated support from the sect. Increasing your bone age would only make you look less talented.”
“That certainly makes sense.”
Lee Hyun nodded as though convinced, but inwardly he was delighted.
‘So I can make my bone age read higher than it really is!’
It was a loophole that was utterly useless to anyone else.
But Lee Hyun was different.
‘The next time I enter another sect or faction, I can use Bone-Forging Powder to fake my age.’
At present, he could refine Tier 1 Bone-Forging Powder himself.
The main ingredient and supplementary spirit plants used in Bone-Forging Powder each had a range of medicine ages permitted by the pill recipe. The reading produced by the magic tool would also vary depending on the medicine age of the ingredients, the dosage consumed, and the amount of time remaining before the test. If he experimented a few times and figured out the pattern, it seemed possible to adjust things so that the stone slab displayed a bone age within whatever range he wanted.
On top of that, if he altered his appearance with a few disguise methods and adjusted his aura with the Spirit-Concealing Art and Aura-Concealing Art….
‘I could create a much more convincing identity.’
In truth, Lee Hyun had worried a great deal about his bone age even before entering the Changchun Sect.
Unlike the number of years he had actually lived, Lee Hyun’s bone age remained nineteen. Combined with his realm of Qi Refining Stage 6, that made him seem far too outstanding for a rogue cultivator, which could attract unnecessary attention.
But because he had not known any way to fake his bone age, he had gone ahead and entered the sect anyway.
While they spoke, the applicants ahead of him completed their examinations one after another.
“Next.”
Lee Hyun stepped in front of the stone slab.
“Name?”
“Li Dong’er.”
“Place your right hand here.”
Lee Hyun placed his palm on the stone slab.
A pale light slowly swept from his fingers to his elbow.
Hummm―
Thin rings rose one after another.
“Bone age, nineteen…”
The examiner was writing the number in his register when he looked back at Lee Hyun.
“Wait. Qi Refining Stage 6 at nineteen?”
“That’s correct.”
“You’re listed as a rogue cultivator. Do you have a master?”
“No. I taught myself from the inheritance my parents left behind.”
“Were your parents cultivators too?”
“Yes. My father gathered spirit herbs and hunted demon beasts, while my mother knew how to refine a few Tier 1 pills.”
“Where are they now?”
“They went out into the southern sea when I was young and never returned.”
Lee Hyun put on a bitter expression.
Of course, the entire story was fabricated.
There were countless islands in the South Sea whose names had never even been recorded. Nor was it rare for ships to disappear after encountering storms or being attacked by demon beasts.
Being the son of a missing rogue cultivator couple was a background that was difficult to verify without being particularly unusual.
The examiner studied Lee Hyun for a moment, then softened his voice slightly.
“They must have left you some pills and spirit stones.”
“I used most of what my parents had saved.”
“You had good parents.”
The examiner added a few words to one side of the register.
“Next, we’ll check your spiritual root. Place both hands on the orb.”
When Lee Hyun placed both hands on the orb used to identify spiritual roots, three different colors of light blossomed inside it.
“A triple spiritual root. Average quality.”
He looked slightly disappointed.
“Is there a problem?”
“No problem. It’s only that your realm at such a young age was so impressive that I got my hopes up. Qi Refining Stage 6 at nineteen is truly a rare achievement among rogue cultivators. If you’d had a dual spiritual root or better, no one would have found it strange to recommend you immediately as a candidate to become one of the Elders’ personal disciples….”
The examiner continued.
“Still, there’s no need to be discouraged. Becoming an inner disciple is already quite good. Besides, I heard Elder Gao said he would accept you as his nominal disciple?”
“Yes.”
“If you work diligently as an alchemist, you’ll have every chance to be entrusted with important duties… In any case, since you’re already at Qi Refining Stage 6, what you want is an Essence-Raising Pill, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
“If you contribute to the sect and accumulate contribution points, you’ll eventually be able to exchange them for an Essence-Raising Pill. However, Essence-Raising Pills are fairly precious, so even inner disciples have to carry out missions for quite some time. Some Qi Refining Stage 6 cultivators in the sect simply buy Essence-Raising Pills with spirit stones.”
“Spirit stones… how much does one pill cost?”
“When they’re cheap, around 150 low-grade spirit stones. These days, they sometimes sell for 200. And that’s the price inside the sect. Outside, they’ll probably cost at least 250 each.”
“That’s expensive. What about a Foundation Establishment Pill?”
“A Foundation Establishment Pill… Our Changchun Sect cannot refine Foundation Establishment Pills, so they aren’t easy to obtain even if you have spirit stones. You’ll have to seek an opportunity outside the sect. Still, you’re only nineteen. Even after you reach Qi Refining Stage 9, you’ll have plenty of time to search for one.”
…
At last, all the examinations were finished.
While waiting to receive his identity token, Lee Hyun recalled what the examiner had just told him.
‘Come to think of it, why was I trying to refine Essence-Raising Pills myself?’
He was no longer poor.
‘Of course, buying fifty pills at once would be impossible. But couldn’t I change my appearance, disguise my identity, and steadily buy one or two at a time from the cultivator markets around the Changchun Sect? I could put the ones I buy first into a good jade casket so their medicinal potency doesn’t dissipate, seal it with talismans, and then store it inside my storage pouch.’
‘Right. There’s no need to obsess over the pill recipe. I’ll just buy Essence-Raising Pills little by little and stockpile them.’
‘Until I have fifty, I can cultivate to the limit of Qi Refining Stage 6 at the Changchun Sect while practicing alchemy. Even better if I manage to obtain the pill recipe.’
…
After completing all the entrance procedures, Lee Hyun received a green long robe, a new identity token, and a thin booklet containing the sect rules.
A small pill-furnace emblem was embroidered on the sleeve of the robe.
A blue tree was engraved on the front of the identity token, while his name and affiliation were engraved on the back.
Lee Hyun put the robe on over his Force-Dispersing Inner Armor and hung the identity token at his waist.
‘This is my first time becoming an inner disciple!’
At Qinghe Valley, he had been an outer disciple, and at the Fengtian Bureau, he had been a Retainer. He had also served as the society head of the Qutian Society and as a guest alchemist for the Qingchao Merchant Alliance.
But this was the first time he had become a formal inner disciple of a cultivation sect and would call someone else Master.
…
Outside the hall floated a broad flying boat measuring five zhang (about 16.5 m) in length.
The flying boat’s hull was made of pale brown spirit wood, with leaf patterns engraved along its edges.
“I heard there’s a fellow headed to Pill Cauldron Peak. Who is it?”
“Me!”
Lee Hyun hurried aboard the flying boat.
A cultivator who appeared to be in his late thirties stood aboard it. The sleeve of his green robe bore the same pill-furnace emblem as Lee Hyun’s.
“Good to meet you, Junior Brother. I’m Luo Jingwen of Pill Cauldron Peak. I’m at Qi Refining Stage 9 and… I’m one of Master’s nominal disciples, which makes me your Senior Brother. I’ll give you a brief explanation before we arrive.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother. I look forward to your guidance.”
Hummm―
The flying boat slowly rose into the air.
A long stretch of pale blue mist hung between the hall where the entrance examination had been held and the Changchun Sect’s nine peaks. At first glance, it looked like ordinary mist, but when Lee Hyun examined it with the Aura-Reading Art, he saw countless patterns appearing and disappearing within it.
Luo Jingwen raised his identity token.
Hummm―
A circular passage opened in the blue mist. The moment the flying boat entered it, both the air and the spiritual pressure changed at once.
Ssssh―
Dense heaven-and-earth spiritual qi naturally seeped into his body through his skin. The environment was superior not only to Tunnel No. 2, but also to most of the vein seats used by the Qutian Society.
“Surprised?”
Luo Jingwen laughed when he saw Lee Hyun’s expression.
“This area is the inner formation of the Nine Peaks Spring-Restoring Formation. It gathers the spiritual qi of the nine peaks so it doesn’t disperse outside, and if enemies invade, it transforms into the Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation. This is also why inner disciples are given residences inside.”
“That’s an incredible formation. Can the sect really afford the spirit stone consumption required to keep such a massive formation running all the time?”
“Spirit stones? It isn’t running at full power right now. If a formation is laid out to take advantage of the natural harmony of heaven and earth, it doesn’t require many spirit stones. Of course, only an outstanding formation master could construct something like this. It’s a legacy left by our Changchun Sect’s Golden Core ancestral masters, who invited great formation experts to build it long ago.”
Pride colored Luo Jingwen’s words.
The scenery of the Changchun Range spread out beneath them.
At the center of the mountain range, nine great peaks stood in a broad circle.
Old-fashioned halls lined the tallest central peak. In the wide valley below, Lee Hyun could see a clear lake and spirit fields, with small formation barriers covering various areas.
The entire northwestern peak looked like one enormous spirit field. Terraced fields stretched along its slopes.
Several thin plumes of smoke rose from the western peak.
Luo Jingwen pointed out the peaks one by one.
“The main peak in the center is Changchun Peak. That’s where the sect master’s residence, the Council of Elders, the Scripture Pavilion, and the like are located. To the northwest is Hundred Herbs Peak, where spirit plants are cultivated, and to the west is Pill Cauldron Peak, where we’re headed.”
The flying boat slowly changed direction.
“The place with those silver pillars is Formation and Artifact Peak, which handles formations, pill furnaces, and magic tools. The eastern peak where you can see sword light flying back and forth is Chunjian Peak. The others are Spirit Beast Peak, External Affairs Peak, Earth Fire Peak, and Ganlu Peak. Once you’ve been here a while, you’ll learn about them naturally. Matters within each peak are decided by its peak master, while major affairs concerning the entire sect are discussed at the Nine Peaks Council, where all nine peak masters gather.”
As Lee Hyun listened, he committed the terrain and the locations of the halls to memory.
According to Luo Jingwen, the Changchun Sect had a supreme sect master in the Golden Core realm, but he was now over five hundred years old and was almost completely inactive. The current sect master was at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, while most of the other peak masters had reached late Foundation Establishment. In practice, the Changchun Sect was led by these nine peak masters.
…
As the flying boat passed near External Affairs Peak, Luo Jingwen pointed below.
Dozens of shops and large warehouses lined the foot of the mountain. Merchant caravans’ carts and small flying boats constantly came and went.
“External Affairs Peak is like a cultivator market run by the sect. It sells the sect’s pills and spirit plants to outsiders and purchases whatever supplies we need. If you want to take on outside missions, that’s where you go.”
…
The flying boat continued westward.
The closer they came to Pill Cauldron Peak, the stronger the medicinal fragrance in the air became.
Sweltering heat mingled with bitter smells, sweet scents, and the odors of heated metal and stone.
Alchemy chambers of all sizes dotted the mountainside like honeycomb cells. Lower down were many small alchemy chambers used by new disciples and Tier 1 alchemists, while both the halls and alchemy chambers grew larger farther up the mountain.
The booming of pill furnaces echoed from all around.
BOOM!
Black smoke suddenly burst from one alchemy chamber. A moment later, the door opened, and a young cultivator whose face was blackened with soot stumbled out.
Lee Hyun looked around at the alchemy chambers with interest.
‘The facilities are impressive. It couldn’t have been easy to channel earth fire all the way up the mountain…’
…
The flying boat landed on a broad stone platform halfway up Pill Cauldron Peak.
Luo Jingwen led Lee Hyun toward a hall with red roof tiles.
Three characters were written on its signboard.
「Yang Fire Court」
Inside, lecture rooms, a medicinal-ingredient storeroom, and rooms of various sizes used by the disciples were arranged in orderly fashion.
“Yang Fire Court is where Tier 1 alchemists who enter Pill Cauldron Peak learn alchemy.”
Luo Jingwen pointed toward the residences behind the hall and the alchemy chambers on the opposite slope.
“The residences are to the west, and the communal alchemy chambers are to the east. I’ll explain the detailed rules later. For now, let’s go pay our respects to Master.”
…
Upper Pill Cauldron Peak.
At the end of a stone path running along the mountainside stood a small hall.
Bamboo mats for drying medicinal ingredients and pill furnaces of various sizes filled the courtyard. Beneath one of the eaves stood a row of black jars filled with failed pills, and the entire courtyard was steeped in an aged medicinal fragrance.
Gao Yuanhe sat at a table inside the hall.
On the wall behind him hung a portrait of a Daoist seated before a pill furnace. Beneath it stood a small incense altar enshrining the successive peak masters of Pill Cauldron Peak and its alchemy ancestral masters.
Two cups of tea and a small incense burner sat on the table.
“You’ve come?”
“Greetings, Elder Gao.”
“You should be calling me Master now, not Elder.”
“I haven’t formally performed the rites yet.”
“I see. You know the proper procedure.”
Gao Yuanhe spoke to Luo Jingwen.
“Prepare it.”
Luo Jingwen lit three sticks of incense and handed them to Lee Hyun.
“First, pay your respects to the ancestral masters of Pill Cauldron Peak. The ceremony for a nominal disciple is simple, but it must still mark that you’ve formally entered the sect.”
Lee Hyun bowed three times before the incense altar, then placed the incense into it.
Luo Jingwen handed Lee Hyun one of the cups of tea from the table.
Lee Hyun accepted the teacup with both hands, knelt before Gao Yuanhe, bowed three times, then offered him the tea.
“This disciple, Li Dong’er, pays respects to Master.”
“Good.”
Gao Yuanhe accepted the tea and took a sip.
He pulled a thick register from beneath the table. Its cover was dark red, as though scorched by fire, and the pages inside were densely filled with names and dates of admission.
Some names had red dots beside them, while others had thin lines of black ink drawn through them.
Gao Yuanhe wrote the name ‘Li Dong’er’ and today’s date in the final empty space of the register.
“From today onward, you are my 107th nominal disciple.”
‘…?’
As though he had noticed Lee Hyun’s subtle expression, Gao Yuanhe stroked his beard.
“If you were expecting more, I apologize. Being a nominal disciple means little more than having your name registered under me and gaining the right to attend my public lectures. Only my personal disciples receive direct instruction at my side.”
He pointed to the register.
“From now on, you may attend the lecture I give once each month, and you may use an alchemy library one level above Yang Fire Court’s communal library. If you encounter a problem during alchemy that you cannot resolve, you may ask me about it directly once each season. However, medicinal ingredients, pill furnaces, and high-grade cultivation cave abodes must be obtained by accumulating contribution points, just as they are for any other inner disciple. If you try to use my name for personal advantage, you will lose your status as my nominal disciple.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Lee Hyun actually felt more at ease. He preferred being left to his own devices.
“For the time being, learn the fundamentals of alchemy at Yang Fire Court.”
“Yes.”
“Jingwen. Show Dong’er to his residence and explain the rules of Yang Fire Court.”
“Understood.”
Lee Hyun cupped his hands.
“This disciple will take his leave.”
Luo Jingwen led Lee Hyun down the western side of Yang Fire Court.
Unlike the eastern side, where the alchemy chambers were clustered together, houses with broad courtyards were scattered sparsely across the western slope.
The two stopped in front of the outermost house.
When Luo Jingwen inserted Lee Hyun’s identity token into an empty slot, a faint light traveled once around the gate and surrounding wall.
Hummm―
The closed wooden gate slowly opened.
Inside the house were a bedroom, a small cultivation chamber, and a room for preparing medicinal ingredients. A Qi-Gathering Formation had been installed in the cultivation chamber, and one wall had slots for inserting spirit stones.
As Lee Hyun slowly looked around the interior, he noticed signs that someone had been using the place until recently.
“It seems someone was living here. Is it really all right for me to use it?”
“This was used by Senior Brother Guo, Master’s thirty-first nominal disciple.”
“Did he move to another residence?”
“He died.”
“I see….”
Lee Hyun suddenly had an ominous feeling.
“By the way, Senior Brother.”
“Go ahead.”
“If I’m the 107th… Master has more than a hundred nominal disciples, but I didn’t see anyone except you on the way here. Where is everyone?”
“Ah, is that what you were wondering? Almost all of them are dead.”
“…?”
“The path of cultivation is perilous by nature. You’ll need to get used to it quickly, Junior Brother.”
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