Chapter 34
Translator: T_Fan
‘Almost all of the more than a hundred disciples died?’
“When did Senior Brother Guo pass away?”
“About four years ago.”
“Four years….”
Lee Hyun looked around the residence assigned to him once more. It had been kept spotless, without so much as a speck of dust, and did not look like a house that had stood empty for four years.
‘Do accidents happen often during alchemy or something?’
After leaving the residence, Lee Hyun examined the surrounding buildings more carefully than before.
At that moment, two people came down from higher up the mountainside.
The one in front was a female cultivator who looked to be in her early thirties. A small pill furnace emblem was embroidered on the sleeve of her green long robe, and she gave off the aura of Qi Refining Stage 8.
Behind her followed a man at Qi Refining Stage 5 with a short scar on his chin.
When the female cultivator spotted Luo Jingwen and Lee Hyun, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
“Senior Brother Luo, were you teasing the newcomer again?”
“Teasing? When have I ever done that?”
“Look at Junior Brother Li’s expression. I can more or less guess what you told him.”
Luo Jingwen turned to look at Lee Hyun’s face.
“What is wrong with his expression?”
“He looks like he thinks there’s a corpse buried under every residence on Pill Cauldron Peak.”
“…….”
Lee Hyun’s gaze slowly shifted toward Luo Jingwen.
Luo Jingwen cleared his throat.
“I only stated the facts.”
The man with the scar on his chin clicked his tongue.
“You told him again that almost all of Master’s disciples died, didn’t you?”
“Was anything I said wrong?”
“Not exactly, but someone hearing that for the first time would surely take it to mean something entirely different.”
Luo Jingwen replied with complete confidence.
“I was simply warning him in advance how dangerous the cultivation world is, so that he would remain vigilant.”
The female cultivator said to Lee Hyun,
“Believe only a third of what Senior Brother Luo says. The rest is either conjecture or meant to scare you.”
The scarred man added,
“Senior Brother Luo believes there is someone’s conspiracy behind everything that happens in the world.”
“…….”
Lee Hyun realized that Luo Jingwen had deliberately frightened him.
‘A brat that young dared to toy with someone over a thousand years old!’
The female cultivator lightly raised a hand toward Lee Hyun.
“We haven’t met before. I’m Shen Yanzhu, one of Master’s nominal disciples.”
The scarred man introduced himself as well.
“I’m Pei Jingsong. Same here.”
“I’m Li Dong’er. Since both of you entered the sect before me… may I address you as Senior Sister Shen and Senior Brother Pei?”
Shen Yanzhu nodded.
“That’s right.”
Pei Jingsong looked slightly awkward.
“Junior Brother Li is one Stage above me, so it feels a little strange to have him call me Senior Brother.”
Luo Jingwen said,
“Among those under our master, seniority within the same major realm is determined by the order in which we entered the sect. If we counted every Stage within Qi Refining, we would have to change how we addressed each other whenever someone pulled ahead by a Stage, wouldn’t we? Once someone reaches Foundation Establishment and receives a position such as Elder or steward, we address them by that position from then on.”
Lee Hyun immediately cupped his hands.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Pei.”
“All right. Let us get along well from now on.”
Lee Hyun looked back and forth between the two of them.
“Then is it not true that most of Master’s nominal disciples have died?”
The expressions of the two shifted subtly.
Shen Yanzhu shot Luo Jingwen a sidelong glance.
“That’s why you should have explained it properly, Senior Brother.”
Pei Jingsong explained to Lee Hyun,
“Master began taking nominal disciples more than a hundred years ago. Including Junior Brother Li, one hundred and seven disciples have had their names entered on the rolls so far, and fewer than twenty are confirmed to still be alive.”
“So most of them really did die.”
“That is true. But there is nothing strange about it. Most nominal disciples were Qi Refining cultivators, so many of those who entered early simply reached the ends of their lifespans. Others left for different regions and were never heard from again.”
Shen Yanzhu said,
“Master doesn’t even take that many nominal disciples. Alchemists aren’t common, after all. On Chunjian Peak or External Affairs Peak, there are Elders with several hundred nominal disciples under them.”
“I see….”
Lee Hyun recalled Gao Yuanhe’s roster.
The red dots beside certain names and the ink lines drawn through others might have indicated whether those disciples were alive, dead, or missing.
“Then did Senior Brother Guo, whose residence I’m using, also reach the end of his lifespan?”
This time, no one answered immediately.
Pei Jingsong rubbed the scar on his chin.
“Senior Brother Guo died during the Qingmu Ridge Herb Robbery.”
“What is the Qingmu Ridge Herb Robbery?”
“It happened four years ago.”
Shen Yanzhu explained,
“Our sect has separate spirit fields at a place called Qingmu Ridge, more than a thousand li (about 392 km) north of here. The spiritual qi there is somewhat thin, but the soil is excellent, making it suitable for growing large quantities of spirit plants that need many years to mature.”
“Once every few decades, we harvest the mature spirit plants and transport them back to the main sect.”
Pei Jingsong continued,
“That year, we harvested several Tier 2 spirit plants as well. More than fifty disciples and one Foundation Establishment Elder from External Affairs Peak were assigned to escort the shipment.”
He paused briefly before adding,
“I was there too.”
“Don’t tell me… the convoy was attacked?”
“It was.”
The smile vanished from Pei Jingsong’s face.
“On the night we left Qingmu Ridge, dozens of masked cultivators appeared. There were even two Foundation Establishment cultivators among them.”
Shen Yanzhu spoke in a low voice.
“Twenty-three inner disciples died that night. Five of Master’s nominal disciples were killed too, including Senior Brother Guo.”
“…….”
“They were not only after the medicinal ingredients.”
Pei Jingsong said,
“They took the dead disciples’ identity tokens and long robes as well. Some disguised themselves as surviving disciples and infiltrated the main sect ahead of the convoy.”
“All the way here?”
“Yes. Those fellows made it through External Affairs Peak’s outer restriction, but their identities were exposed before the inner formation of the Nine Peaks Spring-Restoring Formation. They fled immediately, and after a pursuit, we managed to capture several of them alive. But because of restrictions placed on their primordial spirits, we could not discover who was behind them.”
Luo Jingwen folded his arms.
“No matter how I look at it, this was not something a band of rogue cultivators could have pulled off.”
Shen Yanzhu sighed.
“Here we go again.”
“Think about it. Dozens of people, including two Foundation Establishment cultivators, knew both the harvest date and the transport route and lay in wait. The Crimson Flame Flying Sabers and Fire Cloud Formation they used also resembled Honglu Sect methods.”
“What kind of place is the Honglu Sect?”
Shen Yanzhu answered,
“It’s a sect ten thousand li west of Qingmu Ridge. They control a Tier 3 spirit vein rich in fire qi and are famous for crafting magic tools and magic treasures. We trade with them too, but we often clash over interests in nearby cultivator markets.”
Pei Jingsong looked at Luo Jingwen.
“But Crimson Flame Flying Sabers can be bought in cultivator markets, and the Fire Cloud Formation is not a rare formation either. We found no Honglu Sect emblems or identity tokens that day.”
Luo Jingwen said,
“Would you only believe it if Honglu Sect cultivators appeared in person and announced, ‘We did it’? If they were only after the medicinal ingredients, why steal the identities of dead disciples and try to enter our main sect? From the start, their target was not Qingmu Ridge’s spirit plants, but our Changchun Sect.”
“I won’t deny that possibility. But we still have no conclusive evidence.”
Luo Jingwen lowered his voice.
“The supreme sect master entered secluded cultivation and has not appeared before anyone for decades. It was around that time that the surrounding powers began testing the Changchun Sect’s strength. What happened at Qingmu Ridge was probably one of those attempts.”
Shen Yanzhu’s expression hardened.
“Do not speculate recklessly about the supreme sect master.”
“I was only saying that outside forces may think that way.”
“That amounts to the same thing.”
Pei Jingsong stepped between the two.
“In any case, Junior Brother Li should remember this as well. Our Changchun Sect generally is not the side that starts fights. But that does not mean this is a place without danger.”
He looked over the alchemy chambers lining the mountainside and the peaks of the Changchun Sect visible beyond them.
“We grow spirit plants and make pills. To other powers, that inevitably makes us look like a place with plenty worth stealing.”
Lee Hyun nodded slowly.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Luo Jingwen said with a satisfied expression,
“See? Was it not helpful that I put him on his guard beforehand?”
“It would have been more helpful if you had explained it properly from the beginning.”
“People remember what they hear after a shock for much longer.”
“Where did you hear that one?”
“It is a conclusion drawn from my own experience.”
Shen Yanzhu clicked her tongue.
“Junior Brother Li, whenever you hear something from Senior Brother Luo, always verify it yourself.”
“I understand.”
After that, Lee Hyun toured Yang Fire Court’s shared alchemy chambers, medicinal-ingredient storage, and lecture hall under the guidance of the three.
…
Rather than rushing to buy up Essence-Raising Pills, Lee Hyun decided to first familiarize himself with life in the Changchun Sect and the circumstances around it.
The atmosphere on Pill Cauldron Peak was relatively relaxed. As long as he had no assigned duties, he could even leave the sect for several days at a time and visit Tunnel No. 2.
***
Three months later.
The lecture hall of Yang Fire Court.
Around a dozen disciples had gathered inside the spacious lecture hall, where twenty pill furnaces were arranged.
Gao Yuanhe stood beside the pill furnace at the very front.
Three jade plates had been set before him, each holding a single green leaf.
“Who knows what these are?”
One disciple answered.
“Green Vein Leaves.”
“Correct.”
Gao Yuanhe pointed to the three leaves one by one.
“Their medicine ages?”
Several disciples used the Aura-Reading Art and techniques for examining medicinal ingredients.
A moment later, Shen Yanzhu answered.
“All three appear to have medicine ages of around eighteen years.”
“Correct. They are also the same variety and were taken from plants propagated from the same mother plant. Their sizes and coloration are similar as well.”
Gao Yuanhe swept his gaze over the disciples.
“Then if these three leaves undergo Refining in the same way, will they yield the same medicinal potency?”
No one answered readily.
Gao Yuanhe moved a finger, and three small bronze containers beside the jade plates floated into the air, settling at even intervals above the pill furnace.
When he touched a formation inscription on the floor, flames of identical size sprang up from the three burners.
Fwoosh―
Gao Yuanhe placed one Green Vein Leaf into each bronze container.
The three leaves slowly curled under the heat, and the green sheen on their surfaces deepened.
After about ten breaths, a clear green energy began flowing from the first bronze container.
The energy gathered at the center of the container and condensed like a tiny droplet of water.
In contrast, steam suddenly burst from the second container.
Hissss―
The green medicinal potency scattered in every direction with the steam.
The third Green Vein Leaf seemed unchanged at first, but then began blackening from inside its veins. Before long, only a sticky black liquid remained.
Gao Yuanhe extinguished the flames.
“The same fire was used. They were placed inside at the same time, and the bronze containers are identical in material and size. Yet all three results are different.”
One disciple raised a hand.
“Were they stored differently?”
“No.”
Gao Yuanhe pointed to the first container.
“This one was harvested at the Hour of the Horse (approximately 11 a.m.–1 p.m.) after three consecutive days of clear weather. Its medicinal potency was evenly distributed through the leaf and stem.”
Then the second container.
“This one was harvested immediately after the Spirit Rain Art was used. Too much water qi remained inside the leaf. Even if the water on the surface is wiped away and the leaf is dried, the water qi that seeped between the veins cannot escape in a short time.”
Black liquid remained in the final container.
“This one was harvested before sunrise. During the night, most of the Green Vein Leaf’s medicinal potency had sunk toward the roots, while a large amount of fine turbid qi remained in the leaf.”
Several disciples rapidly wrote down what he said.
Gao Yuanhe said,
“Suppose a pill recipe says to use one eighteen-year-old Green Vein Leaf. Would all three of these leaves count as suitable medicinal ingredients for that pill recipe?”
“No.”
“Then is the pill recipe wrong?”
“No, it is not.”
“Exactly.”
Gao Yuanhe pointed to the blackened medicinal liquid.
“Alchemy begins before the medicinal ingredients ever enter the pill furnace!”
Gao Yuanhe struck the central pill furnace with his palm.
Thunk―
“A pill furnace is a miniature heaven and earth. The burner serves as a formation station, while the restrictions engraved into the pill furnace serve as formation inscriptions. The flow of medicinal potency is no different from spiritual qi circulating within a formation.”
He spread both arms.
“They say a formation master can move heaven and earth across hundreds of li! Yet an alchemist also manipulates the heaven and earth within a pill furnace. Only the scale differs; the underlying principle is the same. Then let me ask you this. Do the principles of heaven and earth not exist elsewhere as well, beyond formations and alchemy?”
Gao Yuanhe continued,
“An alchemist who knows only alchemy will struggle to take even a single step beyond the pill recipes he has learned. Formations and spirit-plant cultivation techniques, artifact-refining art and talisman-crafting art, heavenly timing and earthly terrain, military strategy and music, divination, insect control, ghost control, beast control, illusion arts, poison arts, medicine, bedchamber arts, even the cooking methods of chefs from the mundane world! Learn and think wherever you can, and seek out principles you can bring back into alchemy. Only by learning to seek principles even where others fail to see them can you advance another step!”
One disciple asked,
“Don’t we need contribution points to access inheritances from so many different fields?”
“Hmph, that is an excuse. Do you have any idea how many books and jade slips in the Scripture Pavilion an inner disciple can read freely without spending a single contribution point? If you have read every last one of them, I will take you as my master.”
“My apologies. This disciple was shortsighted.”
Gao Yuanhe stroked his beard.
“If the door is open, there is no reason not to enter. Do not waste your time.”
“Yes!”
The disciples answered in unison.
…
After the lecture ended.
Lee Hyun left Yang Fire Court with the other disciples.
He had originally planned to return to his residence and rest, but after hearing Gao Yuanhe’s words, he suddenly wanted to visit the Scripture Pavilion.
‘I have nothing else to do anyway. Maybe I’ll read some books.’
…
Changchun Peak.
Situated at the center of the nine peaks, Changchun Peak was far taller and broader than Pill Cauldron Peak. Halls housing the Council of Elders and the sect’s administrative offices lined the mountain paths, and many disciples came and went.
The Scripture Pavilion stood halfway up Changchun Peak.
It was a five-story pavilion built from brown spirit wood, with small bronze bells hanging from every eave. Even without wind, the bells rang at differing intervals, sensing the surrounding spiritual qi and the presence of people nearby.
As Lee Hyun approached the entrance and took out his identity token, an invisible barrier parted to either side.
…
Inside the Scripture Pavilion, thousands of narrow slots lined the walls, each holding a jade slip. Books and stone tablets were arranged separately on long shelves beneath them.
A middle-aged cultivator at Qi Refining Stage 9 sat at a table just inside the entrance.
“Greetings, Senior Brother.”
“I certainly have not seen you before. Pill Cauldron Peak?”
“Yes.”
“I am Lin Daoqian, and I manage the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion. Since this is your first visit, I will explain the rules. Any inner disciple may freely read every book and jade slip on the open shelves of the first floor. However, nothing may be taken outside the Scripture Pavilion.”
“I understand.”
…
Lee Hyun first browsed the shelves related to alchemy.
《Twelve Variations of Fire Control》, 《Comprehensive Survey of Tier-1 Spirit Plants’ Medicinal Potencies》, 《Essential Formulas for Distinguishing Pill Toxins》, 《One Hundred Cases of Conflicting Medicinal Strengths》, 《Record of Restoring Failed Pills》….
Many of the titles were unfamiliar to him.
Lee Hyun took out several jade slips, pressed them to his forehead, and skimmed their contents with his divine sense.
Some contained basic material, but they also held systematic classifications and countless records of failures that a rogue cultivator alchemist would have found difficult to obtain.
‘Joining a sect was definitely the right choice…’
After reading jade slips for a while, Lee Hyun looked through another section and discovered slips dealing with formations.
《Introductory Guide on Formation Inscriptions》, 《Record of the Eight Gates’ Transformations》, 《Distinguishing Formation Devices from Formation Plates》, 《Treatise on Drawing Spiritual Qi through Earth and Water Veins》, 《Essential Formulas for Adapting within Mountain-Guarding Formations》, 《One Hundred Classes of Restrictions》, 《Thirteen Methods for Breaking Illusion Formations》….
An entire wall was filled with formation materials. Complete formation diagrams and methods for crafting high grade formation devices were omitted, but the material was quite detailed when it came to recognizing the structure of formations and operating formations that had already been installed.
Lee Hyun returned to Lin Daoqian.
“Senior Brother Lin, may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“There are far more materials on formations than I expected. Can we truly read all of these without contribution points?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t formation inheritances normally precious?”
Lin Daoqian nodded.
“Inheritances for designing formations or crafting formation devices and formation plates are precious. But most of the materials over there concern recognizing and operating formations that have already been installed.”
He pointed toward the nine peaks visible through the Scripture Pavilion’s windows.
“If enemies attack and the formation master is injured, the remaining disciples cannot simply stand idle in front of the formation stations, can they?”
“Come to think of it, I heard formations also played a major role during the Qingmu Ridge Herb Robbery.”
“They did…. I was on External Affairs Peak at the time.”
Lin Daoqian’s expression grew somewhat heavy.
“Once their identities were exposed, those fellows ambushed the two formation masters on External Affairs Peak first. But the inner disciples who had learned basic formation inscriptions split up to man the auxiliary formation stations and held out until a formation master from Formation and Artifact Peak arrived.”
Lin Daoqian looked toward the formation section.
“That is about all the sect expects. We cannot make every disciple into a formation master, but in a crisis, they should at least know which formation station to stand at and what to do there.”
Lee Hyun nodded.
“So that’s what it means.”
…
From that day onward, Lee Hyun visited the Scripture Pavilion whenever he had spare time.
He first learned the forms of formation inscriptions and the four basic functions those inscriptions could produce.
Gathering, which gathered spiritual qi; Guiding, which directed its flow; Blocking, which prevented movement and passage; and Transformation, which altered properties.
A single formation inscription did not necessarily perform only one function. Even the same inscription could draw spiritual qi inward or, conversely, push it away depending on where it was placed within a formation diagram and how it connected to other formation inscriptions.
‘Now that I understand the principles, the formations I saw before look completely different.’
Of course, understanding formations and constructing them oneself were worlds apart. Lee Hyun had only just moved beyond complete ignorance of the subject.
…
About a month after he began regularly visiting the Scripture Pavilion,
Lee Hyun found an old jade slip on a shelf containing miscellaneous discussions of formations.
《Treatise on Formations and the Five Precelestial Stages》
‘What is this…?’
Lee Hyun took the jade slip from the shelf and pressed it to his forehead.
As his divine sense seeped into it, an enormous volume of text and diagrams unfolded within his consciousness.
「Formations are composed of postcelestial spiritual qi and spirit materials. Postcelestial matter cannot be returned to the precelestial, but by tracing the vestiges of its transformations, one can imitate certain images.
Thus, drawing upon the theory of the Five Precelestial Stages, this treatise discusses the origins of various restrictions.
What are the Five Precelestial Stages? The transformations before the creation of heaven and earth can be divided into five stages.
Great Change is the state before even qi has manifested.
Great Beginning is the state in which formless qi first appears.
Great Inception is the state in which fragments of form first begin to emerge within qi.
Great Simplicity is the state in which form acquires substance and begins to take on material reality.
Supreme Ultimate is the undivided state in which qi, form, and substance are all present but have not yet separated from one another.
Supreme Ultimate divides into the Two Modes, namely yin and yang.
Clear and light yang rises to become heaven, while turbid and heavy yin descends to become earth.
The Two Modes differentiate into the Four Images, and the Four Images into the Eight Trigrams. Meanwhile, the qualities of all things in heaven and earth manifest through the generation and overcoming of the Five Elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water…」
‘Great Simplicity….’
Lee Hyun reread that section.
‘Put in terms from my previous life, is this something like the stage where form acquires physical substance and mass?’
Lee Hyun moved on to the next section.
The later portions introduced various restrictions devised by referencing the transformations of the Five Precelestial Stages.
Most were closer to theories and records of failures than complete formation diagrams.
What caught Lee Hyun’s attention among them was the Earth-Origin Sky-Suppressing Treatise.
「There are several types of flight-suppressing restrictions.
Some disrupt wind qi to upset the balance of flight, while others interfere with the operation of flight magic tools or obstruct a cultivator’s use of spiritual power.
Among higher-level Flight-Suppressing Formations, some use an earth vein as an anchor to generate Earth-Origin Gravitational Pressure.」
‘Earth-Origin Gravitational Pressure?’
An illustration of a deployed Tier 2 Grand Flight-Suppressing Formation appeared within the jade slip. The formation devices placed in the eight directions were connected to the earth vein, and arrows pointing downward were drawn on the matter inside the formation.
Once the formation was activated, everything within its range was pulled toward the ground more strongly than usual. Flight magic tools consumed more spiritual power to maintain altitude, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators found it difficult to lift themselves into the air near the center of the formation.
「Earth Origin is not the Earth Element. The Earth Element merely serves as the anchor and medium that fixes Earth-Origin Gravitational Pressure to the earth vein.
When form acquires substance, weight arises, and whatever has weight sinks toward the center.
Trace that origin backward through the theory of the Five Precelestial Stages, and it reaches the substance of Great Simplicity.」
Lee Hyun’s gaze sharpened.
‘So it really is talking about gravity.’
According to the knowledge of his previous life, the force that pulled objects toward the ground was gravity. This world was incomparably larger than Earth, but people and objects still fell to the ground in the same way. Cultivators seemed to understand that force through an entirely different framework.
Lee Hyun continued reading the jade slip.
「Postcelestial Five-Element spiritual qi cannot reproduce the precelestial Great Simplicity.
However, by harmonizing Five-Element spiritual qi, one may temporarily return it to an image of primordial unity and use formation inscriptions to imitate the transformation by which form acquires substance and condenses. The force generated through this is called Earth-Origin Force.
To generate Earth-Origin Force through a formation, one must use an earth vein as an anchor, prepare formation devices of the Five Elements and a formation plate, and complete the transformations of Return to Unity and Materialization.
Among the mnemonic formulas for Return to Unity and Materialization that have been verified enough for use in a Tier 2 Grand Flight-Suppressing Formation, the most widely used are taken from the Foundation Establishment Section of the 《Primordial One-Qi Art》, a cultivation art that almost no one directly cultivates.」
“…….”
Lee Hyun’s divine sense stopped on that sentence.
He checked it once more to make sure he had not misread it.
The Foundation Establishment Section of the 《Primordial One-Qi Art》.
That was unmistakably what it said.
‘Foundation Establishment Section?’
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