Chapter 28
Translator: T_Fan
Once he had made his decision, there was no reason to delay.
Lee Hyun first laid seven storage pouches out on the floor.
The sizes of their internal spaces varied.
The smallest was only about the size of a single room, while the one he had newly bought at Cuiyun Market and the storage pouch Wei Wendao had used were spacious enough to hold an entire storeroom.
‘Perfect. I can put the three Stone Honey Peach trees in the largest one.’
Lee Hyun first gathered the items already inside the storage pouches into one place. Spirit stones, talismans, pill bottles, books, records of techniques and cultivation arts, the formation stones of the Nine-Fire Flame-Storing Formation and the bronze pill furnace, the Earth Shovel Sword, clothing, and food.
Then Lee Hyun entered Spirit Field No. 1-1.
‘I should be able to move them while they’re still alive… right?’
Spirit beasts and spirit insects required dedicated containers such as spirit-beast pouches and spirit-insect pouches, but plants were different.
Even when he had worked with spirit plants at Qinghe Valley, he had often transported them in storage pouches.
The spirit plants he had used to establish the spirit fields here in the first place had been obtained from Qinghe Valley and brought over in storage pouches, so there was no doubt that putting spirit plants inside one would not kill them.
The problem was how long they could be stored.
Lee Hyun had seen Qinghe Rice and Hunger-Warding Pills that had been kept in storage pouches for many years lose a considerable amount of their spiritual qi.
Time inside a storage pouch flowed far more slowly than outside, almost as though it had stopped, but it was not completely frozen.
That was why cultivators transporting precious spirit plants used jade boxes containing spirit soil and spirit liquid suited to the plants’ attributes, then placed restrictions on them and even affixed talismans to keep their medicinal potency from leaking away.
But Lee Hyun had no specialized jade boxes, and there were far too many spirit plants to move.
‘I’ll take as much of the roots and surrounding soil as possible, then build Tunnel No. 2 quickly and transplant them. That should prevent any serious problems.’
Lee Hyun went through Spirit Fields No. 1-1 to No. 1-5 in order and began placing the spirit plants into storage pouches.
Whenever he spotted a fuzzbee along the way, he put it into the spirit-insect pouch.
The more he worked, the more practiced he became.
Lee Hyun operated the Ground-Sense Art and Aura-Reading Art simultaneously to examine the directions in which the spirit plants’ roots had spread, then used the Soil-Turning Art to separate the earth surrounding several plants at once into a huge clod.
Rrrrumble―
Whenever a clod more than one zhang (about 3.3 m) across slowly rose from the ground with dozens of spirit plants embedded in it, Lee Hyun opened a storage pouch.
Light spread out, and the enormous clod vanished without a trace.
“Good.”
Lee Hyun repeated the same process.
…
Spirit Field No. 1-6.
Lee Hyun first harvested the ripe lotus seeds separately.
Then he put not only the Yin Water Lotus flowers and leaves, but also the mud tangled with their rhizomes and even part of the pond created with the Spirit Rain Art into a storage pouch.
…
Spirit Field No. 1-7.
The three Stone Honey Peach trees had spread broadly sideways along the low ceiling.
Lee Hyun harvested only the fully ripened fruit, leaving the immature fruit on the branches.
Afterward, he first pruned the branches that had grown long enough to interfere with moving them. Since the cut branches could later be used for propagation by cuttings, he wrapped the cut ends in damp cloth and bundled them separately.
…
A long while later.
Three enormous clods containing the trees’ roots and surrounding soil lay in the middle of the spirit field.
Lee Hyun opened his largest storage pouch, enveloped the Stone Honey Peach trees in light one by one, and placed them inside in sequence.
“Whew… done. Now you’re the only ones left.”
Bzzzz―
Perhaps because of all the commotion around them, the remaining fuzzbees darted frantically around Lee Hyun.
Lee Hyun took out the spirit-insect pouch and collected every last one.
Then he packed up the facilities and tools.
He gathered the paper, lumber, hardware, and tools piled in the storeroom, then dismantled and packed away the bronze pipes, water tank, and axle of the automatic irrigation device. He also took every record he had made while inspecting the spirit fields, the wooden boards engraved with his handmade status screens, and the household items he had used for so long, leaving nothing behind.
…
The next day.
All traces of long habitation and every man-made object had vanished from Tunnel No. 1, leaving it like an empty shell.
Lee Hyun used various detection methods as he made a complete circuit of the tunnel, checking for anything he might have left behind, then either collected or erased everything he found.
Finally, he returned to the space he had used as his living quarters.
He lay comfortably for a moment in the place where he had always slept.
The cold sensation of the ground seeped into his back.
If he closed his eyes, he felt as though he might hear water dripping into the reservoir, leaves rustling, and the hum of fuzzbee wings.
“…….”
Lee Hyun sat up.
“I’ll just make Tunnel No. 2 even better.”
As Lee Hyun formed a hand seal with both hands, the Soil-Turning Art spread throughout the entire tunnel.
Rrrrrumble―
Spaces that had existed for hundreds of years filled with stone and earth. The air shafts and passageways were sealed one after another.
Once even the final cavern had been completely buried, the place looked like a natural layer of earth where nothing had ever existed, even when examined with the Ground-Sense Art.
“Farewell.”
***
Twenty days later.
A place 65,000 li (about 25,480 km) south of Tunnel No. 1 in a straight line.
A faint salty scent mingled with the wind.
Rustle.
Lee Hyun’s body slowly came to a halt as he slid down the mountainside.
He stood up, sat on a rock, and looked south.
A blue horizon stretched before him.
“The sea.”
It was the first time since coming to this world that he had seen a proper ocean.
The endless blue and the salty scent in the air were not much different from his memories of his past life.
However, the horizon before him seemed unusually distant, and the scale of the fortress and harbor built along the coastline was difficult to compare with anything he had seen in his past life.
Lee Hyun took out the maps of the mundane world that he had purchased along the way.
After leaving Yunze Kingdom, he had crossed the borders of four mortal kingdoms and reached the southernmost edge of Hailing Kingdom. By the standards of the cultivation world, he should already have left Kun Kingdom, a Tier-4 cultivation nation.
He did not know which cultivation nation Hailing Kingdom belonged to, nor did he particularly care to find out. Once he crossed the strait before him, he would leave that cultivation nation behind as well.
“Let’s cross the sea too.”
One of the Azure Cloud Sect cultivators he had killed might have had some powerful senior within the sect backing him. If possible, Lee Hyun wanted to go even farther away so he could live with peace of mind.
…
Haimen City, at the southern end of Hailing Kingdom.
Even outside the city walls, the broad highway split into several branches, with an endless stream of ox- and horse-drawn carts heading toward the harbor.
The carts were piled high with silk, porcelain, timber, and medicinal ingredients. The carts coming from the harbor, meanwhile, carried dried fish, salt, enormous seashells, and exotic spices, giving off scents that were both fishy and pungent.
Beyond them, hundreds of masts filled the harbor like a leafless forest.
Before entering the city, Lee Hyun activated the Seven-Aspect Disguise Method.
He lowered his eyelids slightly and let the corners of his mouth droop. He darkened his complexion as though it had been tanned by the sun and attached a beard he had prepared in advance to his chin.
He hunched his shoulders slightly and shortened his stride.
He also divided the seven storage pouches among his clothes and concealed them inside his broad belt.
Finally, he pushed both the Spirit-Concealing Art and Aura-Concealing Art to their limits.
…
The scenery inside Haimen City was unfamiliar.
There were bronze-skinned merchants, sailors with white cloth wrapped around their heads, and foreigners with pale-colored eyes.
Hard-to-understand dialects could be heard in shops everywhere.
Lee Hyun wandered the streets for several shichen (two hours each), familiarizing himself with the unfamiliar accents and frequently used words.
…
At the end of the main road, the harbor spread out before him.
Dozens of docks extended far into the sea, and ships constantly came and went, ranging from small fishing boats to enormous sailing vessels that looked capable of carrying hundreds of passengers.
Laborers walked back and forth across planks with huge timbers and jars strapped to their backs. Whenever heavily loaded carts passed, the stone paving beneath them rumbled.
“Looking for a ship to Haiwu Kingdom?”
Lee Hyun stopped at the tout’s call.
“Is there a ship going to Haiwu Kingdom?”
“Of course. The Haiyan departs tomorrow morning for Qingjin Port in Haiwu Kingdom, across the strait. It takes about forty days.”
“That’s faster than I expected.”
“It’s a narrow strait compared to the outer ocean, and the Haiyan sails directly without stopping at any ports along the way. In bad weather, it can sometimes take more than three months, but the winds have been favorable lately.”
The tout quickly looked over Lee Hyun’s clothing.
“A shared cabin costs two liang of silver, a second-class cabin shared by six people costs five liang, and a private room costs fifteen liang.”
“I’ll take a private room.”
“You’re fortunate. The Haiyan is one of the largest and safest ships in all of Haimen City.”
Lee Hyun followed the tout toward a pavilion at one side of the docks.
…
The Haiyan was an enormous sailing ship nearly a hundred zhang long.
Its hull was built of black timber, and it had seven masts. A swallow with its wings spread wide was carved into the bow.
Below deck were the cargo holds and the crew’s quarters, while the three-story deckhouse near the stern contained cabins for passengers.
‘Hm?’
There were cultivators among the passengers waiting to depart.
A robed old man and a young man stood at one side of the dock.
The two gave off auras corresponding to Qi Refining Stage 5 and Stage 3, respectively.
The old cultivator surveyed his surroundings, his gaze briefly passing over Lee Hyun as well.
“…….”
But he soon looked away as though he had no interest whatsoever.
Judging from the old cultivator’s reaction, the Spirit-Concealing Art and Aura-Concealing Art were working properly.
Lee Hyun boarded the Haiyan while keeping a suitable distance from the two cultivators.
…
The next morning.
Boom―
A deep drumbeat echoed across the harbor.
The sailors released the ropes, and dozens of laborers used long poles to push the ship away from the dock.
As the wind began to blow, the enormous furled sails unfurled one after another.
Whump! Whump!
The white sails billowed full with wind.
The Haiyan slowly began to move.
Standing on deck, Lee Hyun watched Haimen City recede into the distance.
The towering walls and hundreds of masts gradually shrank, while the voices of the crowds that had filled the harbor were swallowed by the sound of waves and wind.
Lee Hyun leaned against the railing and gazed across the endless water. The sunlit waves glittered like tens of thousands of silver scales, and the salty wind brushed against his face.
White foam parted to either side along the hull, and several seabirds followed behind the ship.
Screee―
Splat.
“…?”
The bird dropping was headed straight for Lee Hyun’s shoulder, but the Square-Inch Step inherited from Liu Baichuan, a Profound Realm martial artist who had made a name for himself in Qianyang Kingdom, was not so easily bested.
…
The morning of the fifteenth day.
A commotion broke out on one side of the deck.
“Look over there!”
“A whale!”
The passengers surged toward the railing. Lee Hyun also looked where everyone was pointing.
At first, he thought an island had risen from the sea.
But it was slowly moving.
Whoooosh―
A thick jet of water shot high into the sky.
A gigantic whale was passing far from the ship. Faint silver stripes ran across its dark blue back, and its body appeared to be more than fifty zhang long.
‘Why is it so huge?’
A short while later, two smaller whales appeared beside it.
A sailor laughed and said,
“It’s a Silverback Whale! They’re gentle creatures, so there’s nothing to worry about!”
The passengers relaxed and watched the whales.
Lee Hyun examined the whale with the Farsight Art and Aura-Reading Art.
He could sense a tiny amount of spiritual qi from it, but nowhere near enough for it to qualify as a demon beast.
…
On the afternoon of the forty-fifth day after departure.
A port city built along the distant coastline began to come into view. Large and small sailing ships crossed the waters in front of it, while the docks were packed with people.
Boooooom―
The Haiyan sounded a long horn announcing its arrival.
“Qingjin Port!”
“We’re finally here!”
The passengers gathered their belongings in relief.
…
Qingjin Port, Haiwu Kingdom.
After disembarking, Lee Hyun heard speech with an accent slightly different from that of Haimen City. Even so, it was not different enough to make conversation difficult, and they used the same script, allowing him to read most of the signs along the streets.
Lee Hyun passed through customs and purchased a map.
After taking a room at an inn, he immediately spread the map across the floor.
Haiwu Kingdom was a mortal kingdom facing Hailing Kingdom across the sea, with Qinglu Kingdom and Nanli Kingdom extending southward in succession.
“Hmm….”
Judging by the area shown on the map, this continent appeared narrower from north to south than the continent he had traveled from.
Lee Hyun was rolling up the map when his gaze fell on one of the storage pouches beside him. He suddenly remembered the pill bottles he had obtained from the Azure Cloud Sect disciples.
‘They aren’t pills I’ll use, and some are mixed in that I can’t even identify. Is there any point in keeping them? I’d be better off turning them into spirit stones.’
…
The next day.
Disguised as someone else, Lee Hyun visited Qingjin Market, a little over seventy li west of Qingjin Port. After selling some of the pills there, he changed his appearance again two days later and headed for Wusong Market.
After selling the remaining pills among several shops in Wusong Market, Lee Hyun’s holdings had risen to 670 low-grade spirit stones.
He unfolded a map of the cultivation world that he had purchased in Wusong Market.
According to the map, Haiwu Kingdom lay within the territory of Lan Kingdom, a Tier-4 cultivation nation, while Hailing Kingdom and the kingdoms he had passed through on the far side of the sea were marked as belonging to Cang Kingdom.
‘So I came from Kun Kingdom, passed through Cang Kingdom, and reached Lan Kingdom.’
There were now two cultivation nations and a sea between him and the Azure Cloud Sect. Having come this far, it seemed reasonable to consider himself considerably safer.
‘There’s no reason to stay long near the places where I sold the Azure Cloud Sect cultivators’ pills. Should I go a little farther south? I have plenty of time anyway.’
***
About twenty days later.
Southern Lan Kingdom, sixty thousand li south of Qingjin Port.
The southernmost edge of Nanli Kingdom.
Lee Hyun stood atop a cliff and gazed at the scenery before him.
It was the sea again.
Whenever the fierce waves below the cliff crashed against the rocks, white foam burst across the dark blue surface.
Rooooar―
After leaving Qingjin Port, Lee Hyun had traveled through Haiwu Kingdom and Qinglu Kingdom before reaching the southernmost edge of Nanli Kingdom. Qinglu Kingdom had been filled with blue-feathered waterbirds and broad reed fields, while after entering Nanli Kingdom he had often seen reddish hills and broad-leaved trees.
‘How far have I come?’
Lee Hyun layered several maps together and marked the location of Tunnel No. 1, where he had first set out.
From there to Haimen City was 65,000 li.
From Haimen City across the sea to Qingjin Port was 30,000 li.
And from Qingjin Port to here was another roughly 60,000 li.
“A total of 155,000 li….”
The actual distance he had traveled was longer, but that was the total straight-line distance he had moved south.
‘At this point, I should be able to forget about the Azure Cloud Sect and sleep soundly. Should I build Tunnel No. 2 somewhere around here? Whenever I feel cooped up, I could come out and look at the sea.’
‘Before that… I should learn about the cultivation world in southern Nanli Kingdom.’
Before deciding on the location of Tunnel No. 2, he needed to investigate the nearby cultivator markets, cultivation factions, and the spirit plants traded there. In particular, if he wanted to perform alchemy on Barrier-Breaking Pills in large quantities, he needed to determine whether the spirit plants required by the pill recipe could all grow properly in underground spirit fields.
If any varieties could not be cultivated there, he would have to buy them from cultivator markets.
…
Fifteen days later.
Nanya Market, southern Nanli Kingdom.
Lee Hyun was walking along a mountain path covered in faint mist.
Before entering the mountain, Lee Hyun had changed his face with the Seven-Aspect Disguise Method.
He now appeared to be a thin rogue cultivator in his mid-forties.
At the end of the mountain path stood a sheer cliff. To an ordinary mortal, it appeared to be a dead end with no way forward.
When Lee Hyun revealed the aura of Qi Refining Stage 3, the mist before him parted to either side.
The scenery he had thought was a cliff rippled like water, revealing the entrance to the cultivator market.
Two Qi Refining Stage 6 cultivators stood at the entrance.
After receiving a brief explanation, Lee Hyun entered the market.
Nanya Market was larger than any cultivator market he had seen before.
‘Wow…’
Even at a rough estimate, hundreds of cultivators were coming and going.
Three-story pavilions and shops lined both sides of the road, while hundreds of stalls filled a broad open square.
He saw all manner of exotic goods.
The carcass of a demon fish covered in sharp scales.
A pearl taken from a shell as large as a human head.
Dried spirit herbs from beneath the sea and coral saturated with dense water qi.
Some stalls even sold small living demon fish inside water-filled jars.
At a bookstore in the market, Lee Hyun purchased a thin volume titled Brief Guide to Cultivation in Southern Lan Kingdom, along with maps of the surrounding area.
The book provided a concise overview of the major cultivator markets, cultivation clans, and sea routes of southern Lan Kingdom.
There were no large sects in the south.
Because decent spirit veins were scarce, the powerful sects and clans of Lan Kingdom were concentrated mainly in the central and northern regions, while the south was primarily home to Foundation Establishment clans occupying small spirit veins and groups of Qi Refining rogue cultivators.
One name among them caught Lee Hyun’s attention.
「Qingchao Merchant Alliance.
A merchant alliance formed by eight merchant groups operating between Nanli Kingdom and the southern archipelago. It jointly manages spirit ships and sea routes, and primarily trades spirit materials, pills, and demon-beast materials.
Fifteen Foundation Establishment cultivators serve as alliance elders, with all major and minor affairs of the merchant alliance decided by the Council of Alliance Elders.」
‘Fifteen Foundation Establishment cultivators….’
That was not a force Lee Hyun could handle personally, but viewed in the context of Lan Kingdom as a whole, it was merely a regional merchant alliance without any Golden Core cultivators. As long as he concealed his identity properly, they would be easier to deal with than a great sect.
According to the book, the Qingchao Merchant Alliance did not directly control Nanya Market, but it maintained several shops and warehouses within the market and operated branches in other southern cultivator markets and mortal cities as well.
…
The central district of Nanya Market.
Lee Hyun was walking along the road when he suddenly stopped.
Across the street stood a large shop marked with a blue wave emblem.
「Qingchao Pill Pavilion」
A wooden board outside the shop listed the pills currently for sale.
Lee Hyun’s gaze stopped on one name.
「Tier-1 Bone-Forging Powder.
One low-grade dose packet: 18 low-grade spirit stones.
One mid-grade dose packet: 30 low-grade spirit stones.」
‘Bone-Forging Powder?’
Bone-Forging Powder was a spirit medicine that permanently strengthened a cultivator’s skeleton in proportion to the medicinal strength absorbed.
And its main ingredient was….
‘Bone-Rot Flower.’
Lee Hyun’s eyes sharpened.
He immediately entered the Qingchao Pill Pavilion.
“Welcome.”
A young clerk in blue robes approached him.
The wave emblem of the Qingchao Merchant Alliance was embroidered on his sleeve.
“I came to see the Bone-Forging Powder.”
“You’ve come to the right place. Our Qingchao Pill Pavilion’s Bone-Forging Powder has an excellent reputation even throughout the southern archipelago. Are you a body refiner, fellow Daoist?”
“I am not.”
“That doesn’t matter. Stronger bones allow you to better withstand the backlash of techniques and external impacts as well. Even an ordinary cultivator will clearly feel the effects from the first three or four dose packets.”
“How different are the effects of the low grade and mid grade?”
“The medicinal strength of the mid grade is about thirty percent greater than that of the low grade. It also contains fewer pill toxins. But if this is your first time taking it, the low grade will be more than sufficient.”
“How is it taken?”
“Dissolve it in spirit spring water and consume it in portions over three days. If you take the entire dose at once, your bones may ache and you may develop a fever.”
“I see.”
Lee Hyun examined the displayed Bone-Forging Powder.
A small sealing talisman was attached to every palm-sized medicine packet.
Lee Hyun asked,
“Does the Qingchao Merchant Alliance produce this directly?”
“That is correct. It is made by Tier-1 alchemists affiliated with our alliance.”
“Do you happen to sell the pill recipe as well?”
“We do not sell pill recipes.”
The clerk firmly shook his head.
“Bone-Forging Powder is not monopolized by our alliance, but its pill recipe is taught only to our alliance’s alchemists or guest alchemists who have maintained a long-standing relationship with us.”
“What is required to become a guest alchemist?”
“You must prove that you are a Tier-1 alchemist and build trust by carrying out work for our alliance. For the details, you would need to inquire at the General Affairs Pavilion.”
Lee Hyun nodded.
He had no intention of joining the Qingchao Merchant Alliance immediately, but he was pleased to have discovered a legitimate way to obtain a pill recipe that used Bone-Rot Flower.
After establishing Tunnel No. 2 and raising his realm sufficiently, approaching them as a guest alchemist might be worth considering.
Lee Hyun was about to ask whether the Qingchao Pill Pavilion purchased Bone-Rot Flowers, but stopped himself.
‘Come to think of it, the fact that Bone-Rot Flower is used in Bone-Forging Powder might not be common knowledge here.’
After leaving the Qingchao Pill Pavilion, Lee Hyun continued looking around the nearby shops and stalls.
…
The eastern stall district of the cultivator market.
Dozens of flowerpots of various sizes stood beneath a black canopy.
Each pot was covered with a thin sheet of oiled paper to block the poisonous pollen. Inside grew spirit plants with layer upon layer of ivory-colored petals.
‘Those are Bone-Rot Flowers!’
Pretending he had never seen the spirit plant before, Lee Hyun squatted in front of the pots.
“What kind of spirit plant is this?”
“Bone-Rot Flower.”
The middle-aged cultivator tending the stall answered.
“What is it used for?”
“It’s an ingredient in Bone-Forging Powder. If you raise it well, you can harvest seeds from it too.”
‘I see. So it looks like everyone around here knows Bone-Rot Flower is used in Bone-Forging Powder.’
“What is their medicine age?”
“The smaller ones over here are twelve years old. The larger ones are thirty-one years old.”
“And the price?”
“One low-grade spirit stone for a twelve-year plant. Six for a thirty-one-year plant.”
Lee Hyun pretended to inspect the pots closely. The medicine ages stated by the seller roughly matched their actual ages.
“Did you grow them yourself?”
“They were grown in my family’s spirit fields. Spirit-plant cultivators who raise Bone-Rot Flowers aren’t uncommon around here.”
“It must be a widely used spirit plant.”
“The Qingchao Merchant Alliance keeps making Bone-Forging Powder, so there’s always a market for them.”
The middle-aged cultivator pointed to one of the larger pots beside him.
“If you’re confident you can raise them properly, buy a young one. Once its medicine age passes a hundred years, the Qingchao Merchant Alliance will buy it for a good price.”
“A hundred years….”
Lee Hyun wore a subtle expression.
For a single Qi Refining cultivator, a hundred years was hardly a short amount of time.
But if an entire family passed down its spirit fields from one generation to the next, it seemed possible to produce spirit plants over a hundred years old.
‘In that case, even if I put one or two of my Bone-Rot Flowers with medicine ages over 160 years up for sale, they probably won’t immediately become suspicious of where they came from.’
Lee Hyun rose from the stall and looked around some more. The stall was not the only place selling Bone-Rot Flowers.
Another spirit-plant shop sold Bone-Rot Flowers between forty and sixty years old as medicinal ingredients after detoxification.
…
Qingchao Merchant Alliance Spirit Materials Hall.
The interior of the pavilion was spacious.
Tables for purchasing spirit plants were lined up along one side, while cultivators waiting for appraisal sat on the other.
Wooden plaques listing purchase prices for various spirit plants hung on the wall.
Lee Hyun examined the plaques one by one until he found the purchase prices for Bone-Rot Flowers near the bottom.
「Purchase Prices for Bone-Rot Flower Mother Plants.
Final appraisal based on medicine age and condition.
The following are approximate standards for reference only.
Medicine age of 100 years: 30 low-grade spirit stones.
Medicine age of 200 years: 120 low-grade spirit stones.
Price reduced if the roots or growing points are damaged, or if medicinal potency is insufficient.」
“…….”
Lee Hyun’s gaze remained fixed on the wooden plaque.
He read it again to make sure he had not seen it wrong.
‘Thirty for a hundred-year plant, but a hundred and twenty for a two-hundred-year plant?’
At that moment, a cultivator entered through the pavilion doorway carrying a flowerpot.
“I’ve come to sell a Bone-Rot Flower mother plant.”
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