Chapter 46
Translator: T_Fan
Wen Xiaohe’s hand stopped.
“Junior Brother Li, are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Lee Hyun took a small pouch from his storage pouch.
Clatter.
Twenty low-grade spirit stones spilled onto the table.
Lü Wende looked from the spirit stones to Lee Hyun and back again.
“…You reached Qi Refining Stage 9, and suddenly you’ve become quite free-handed.”
Tang Yanfei asked,
“Does fellow Daoist Li have a cultivation clan?”
“No.”
“Then who do you plan to pass it down to?”
“There’s someone I know who collects unusual spirit plants.”
Even after counting the spirit stones, Wen Xiaohe did not immediately take them.
“Think it over again. I believe it’s genuine, but I really don’t know whether it’ll ever sprout. Even if you change your mind later, I won’t be able to return the spirit stones.”
“It’s really fine.”
Twenty low-grade spirit stones were nothing to Lee Hyun.
In the end, Wen Xiaohe put the spirit stones into her storage pouch.
After taking the wooden box, Lee Hyun asked Wen Xiaohe,
“If you happen to get more seeds like this in the future, ones that are cheap because they take a very long time to grow, or that won’t sell because their identity is difficult to determine, could you let me know?”
“You want to buy more?”
“I’ll decide after seeing the price.”
A faint smile appeared on Wen Xiaohe’s face.
“If that happens, I’ll let you know.”
…
Outer Alchemy Court residence.
Lee Hyun placed the wooden box on the table.
When he opened the lid, the seed of the Ringless Divine Tree came into view.
Lee Hyun touched the seed with the tip of his finger and used the Aura-Reading Art, followed by his divine sense.
Only after examining it for a long while did he sense the faintest trace of life force deep within.
‘It isn’t dead. She said it produces Profound Nether Frost Lightning after five thousand years.’
Lee Hyun recalled Wen Xiaohe’s words.
– I heard that when Profound Nether Frost Lightning touches someone, it supposedly freezes magical power and even slows the primordial spirit’s thoughts.
‘The primordial spirit….’
His thoughts naturally turned to the news Tang Yanfei had just shared.
The overseas cultivators who had seized the Lan Kingdom.
Lee Hyun remembered the red clouds that had once covered the skies above the Changchun Sect, the gray-white ash falling like snow, and the sea hanging upside down overhead.
The Red Furnace Adept’s empowered voice had carried the divine sense of a Golden Core cultivator and an image of fire. When Lady White Ash’s voice flowed through the air, even those burning with anger were swept up in the sorrow of the dead. And when the Azure Sea Wanderer spoke of the Dao of the sea, the Qi Refining cultivators felt as though they stood alone before a boundless ocean.
When the gazes of some Changchun Sect disciples began to waver, a Foundation Establishment Elder rang a bronze bell, while Gao Yuanhe released a medicinal fragrance that cleared the mind.
‘I wasn’t affected much back then, but…’
Perhaps it was because his entire body, including his brain and spinal cord, had been bathed in spiritual power while he formed the Primordial Body. Still, the empowered voices at the time had been wide-range methods directed at the entire External Affairs Market. No one had focused a divine-sense attack specifically on Lee Hyun alone.
‘The Changchun Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators were barely affected. But Qi Refining cultivators had their thoughts influenced merely by Golden Core cultivators carrying magical power and divine sense in their words.’
Lee Hyun realized what his weakness was.
The amount of spiritual power he possessed was incomparable to that of cultivators in the same realm.
But he had never specifically cultivated his primordial spirit.
‘If it’s a technique, I can counter it with spiritual power. But if my mind is bewitched, I might not even realize that I’m being attacked.’
‘What I need now is a way to defend against divine-sense attacks.’
…
The next day.
Outer Pavilion of the Scripture Pavilion.
Lee Hyun stood in the section containing inheritances that protected the primordial spirit.
Names and brief descriptions floated over the jade slips embedded along the wall.
《Mind-Clearing Spirit-Nurturing Art》, 《Delusion-Breaking Mind-Clearing Art》, 《Three Soul-Calming Tones》…
None of them were bad inheritances. But each differed slightly from what Lee Hyun wanted.
The Mind-Clearing Spirit-Nurturing Art consumed little spiritual power, but its effects were correspondingly weak. The Delusion-Breaking Mind-Clearing Art required him to first realize that he had been bewitched, while the Three Soul-Calming Tones was well suited to freeing several people from delusion but could not directly block a powerful divine-sense attack.
Lee Hyun slowly walked through the section until he stopped before one jade slip.
《Spirit-Guarding Essence-Protecting Method》.
「A secret art that forms an Essence-Protecting Seal within the sea of consciousness to protect the primordial spirit from another’s divine sense. Spiritual power is continuously consumed while maintaining the Essence-Protecting Seal, and consumption increases in proportion to the strength of the impact inflicted upon the primordial spirit. 90 contribution points.」
‘Hm?’
Lee Hyun read the description again.
Continuously consuming spiritual power while the secret art was active was a major drawback for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator, but Lee Hyun was different.
‘If spiritual-power consumption is its only drawback, then it practically has no drawbacks for me, does it?’
The Spirit-Guarding Essence-Protecting Method was a secret art in which the Essence-Protecting Seal was formed in advance. Once formed, as long as it was maintained, the Essence-Protecting Seal would automatically react and protect the primordial spirit even if he failed to notice that he had been bewitched or attacked by divine sense.
It was precisely the inheritance he had been looking for.
Lee Hyun immediately went to the disciple in charge.
“I would like to study the Spirit-Guarding Essence-Protecting Method.”
The disciple placed Lee Hyun’s identity token on the formation plate.
Hummm―
The 368 contribution points remaining on the identity token appeared, and 90 of them vanished.
“Go to inheritance chamber eleven. Your study time is two shichen (about four hours).”
“Understood.”
…
Even after memorizing every detail from the jade slip in inheritance chamber eleven, Lee Hyun did not immediately leave the Scripture Pavilion. Instead, he looked around a little more.
This time, he headed toward the artifact refining section.
‘I have too many magic tools now…’
The high-grade magic tools he currently possessed were his six bronze flying swords, the black-iron longspear, and the Protective Bell. His mid-grade magic tools were the Mountain-Suppressing Sword and the Force-Dispersing Inner Armor.
Before he knew it, he had accumulated five different types of magic tools.
It was inconvenient to take them to an artifact refiner every time one suffered minor damage or a restriction developed a problem. At the very least, he needed to be able to inspect them and carry out simple repairs himself.
After checking several jade slips, Lee Hyun chose 《Essentials of Magic-Tool Nurturing and Refining》.
「Contains methods for inspecting a magic tool’s restrictions, nurturing it with spiritual power, and repairing minor damage. 42 contribution points.」
He paid the contribution points and studied the Essentials of Magic-Tool Nurturing and Refining as well.
…
After studying both inheritances, Lee Hyun finally searched for records concerning the Ringless Divine Tree.
An illustrated guide to ancient spirit trees that cost 10 contribution points to study contained only a short entry.
「The Ringless Divine Tree leans toward Water among the Five Elements, and yin among yin and yang. It grows over long periods of time in damp places untouched by sunlight.
Forcing its growth with powerful spiritual qi instead causes it to shrink back. Only time can nurture a Ringless Divine Tree.」
‘So the concentration of spiritual qi isn’t important? And judging from its nature, it doesn’t seem like a bad choice to grow in a tunnel….’
Lee Hyun felt pleased.
If it took nearly three times as long to grow somewhere without a spirit vein, as other spirit plants did, then he would have to wait fifteen thousand years rather than five thousand to see Profound Nether Frost Lightning.
‘Even for me, waiting fifteen thousand years would be a bit much….’
After memorizing everything he had studied, he left the Scripture Pavilion.
After studying the Spirit-Guarding Essence-Protecting Method, the Essentials of Magic-Tool Nurturing and Refining, and the illustrated guide to ancient spirit trees, 226 contribution points remained on his identity token.
Other outer disciples did not usually spend as many contribution points at the Scripture Pavilion as Lee Hyun did. After all, contribution points could also be exchanged for pills, spirit stones, magic tools, and cultivation resources.
But Lee Hyun was not short on spirit stones.
Most ordinary items could be bought with spirit stones, but verified inheritances preserved by the Danxiao Sect were another matter. Having lived as a rogue cultivator for many years, Lee Hyun understood their value better than anyone.
‘There’s still quite a while before my lower dantian reaches Qi Refining Great Perfection. I can always earn more contribution points in the meantime….’
…
A few days later.
After completing all his assigned alchemy work, Lee Hyun requested permission to leave the sect.
…
Nine days later.
Tunnel No. 3.
After inspecting the water supply facilities and spirit fields, Lee Hyun headed toward an empty cavern far from the existing caverns.
The cavern was cold and damp.
Groundwater seeped slowly through the rock.
‘This should be suitable for planting the Ringless Divine Tree.’
Lee Hyun moved earth and stone with techniques, reshaping the cavern.
Considering the possibility that the Ringless Divine Tree would one day grow into a towering giant, he raised the ceiling and spread a broad layer of black soil and fine sand brought from another region across the floor. He also dug a shallow channel so groundwater would not pool on one side.
…
One shichen later.
Spirit Field No. 3-1 was complete.
At the center of the wide spirit field was a small hole less than a handspan deep.
Lee Hyun removed the seed of the Ringless Divine Tree from the wooden box.
He placed the seed in the hole and covered it lightly with soil. After gently pressing down the surface with his palm, he moistened the earth with a little groundwater seeping from the rock.
“Do I just wait now?”
He smoothed the soil once more. If there was one thing he was good at, it was waiting.
After filling the water tank one last time, Lee Hyun left Tunnel No. 3 and returned to the Danxiao Sect.
***
Nine years later.
The cultivation chamber in the Outer Alchemy Court residence.
Lee Hyun sat in the lotus position, circulating the Primordial One-Qi Art as improved by later generations.
Spiritual qi gathered inside the cultivation chamber along the Qi-Gathering Formation.
Whoooosh―
The spiritual qi entered his body through his skin and with each breath, then was refined into Primordial True Qi.
When he had moved away from evenly cultivating his entire body and begun focusing cultivation on his lower dantian, Lee Hyun had worried that the two methods might conflict.
However, the mnemonic formula improved by later generations and the mnemonic formula of the Primordial Body differed only in the area treated as the dantian. They were fundamentally the same cultivation art. No problems had arisen afterward.
‘Now I know for certain. A cultivator’s realm isn’t determined by the amount of spiritual power stored inside the body.’
Even if cultivators exhausted all their spiritual power, their realm did not fall, and recovering it took only a few shichen. What determined their realm was the cultivation state of the physical body and dantian that absorbed spiritual qi, refined it into spiritual power, and stored it.
Each time repeated cultivation raised the upper limit of his spiritual power, the minute structures of his flesh, blood, and meridians underwent subtle transformations. To put it in terms from his past life, it was as though each cell that handled spiritual qi was changing into some mysterious existence of a higher level.
‘It’s possible to break through to Foundation Establishment with only the lower dantian. But even if I circulate the liquefied spiritual power from my lower dantian throughout my body afterward, it doesn’t seem like the rest of my body will automatically reach the Foundation Establishment realm.’
‘Only if I separately cultivate the rest of my body until it can refine heaven-and-earth spiritual qi into liquid spiritual power on its own, then break those regions through to Foundation Establishment as well, will I truly possess a Foundation Establishment-level Primordial Body.’
Hummmm―
Waves of spiritual power rippled around Lee Hyun’s Sea of Qi Acupoint.
Both the density and purity of the spiritual power there had reached the absolute limit possible within the Qi Refining realm.
His lower dantian had reached Qi Refining Great Perfection!
The inflow of spiritual qi into the cultivation chamber gradually subsided.
After examining the changes around his Sea of Qi Acupoint, Lee Hyun took out the wooden board he used as his handmade status screen from his storage pouch.
【Spiritual Power: 1,333 → 1,340】
His spiritual power limit had increased only by the amount contributed by the breakthrough of his lower dantian.
‘If my whole body had advanced from early Qi Refining Stage 9 to Qi Refining Great Perfection, it would have increased by 350 rather than 7…. Anyway, now I can attempt Foundation Establishment as soon as I have a Foundation Establishment Pill.’
Lee Hyun rose from his seat.
“I should find out where I stand in the queue for a Foundation Establishment Pill first.”
…
A few days later.
Mission Hall under the Outer Alchemy Court.
Lee Hyun stopped after entering the hall.
One wall, normally covered with mission tokens, was filled with red.
Dozens of red wooden tokens had pushed aside the ordinary mission tokens and taken their places.
Outer Alchemy Court disciples gathered in front of them, speaking in low voices.
“There are even more than last month.”
“How many bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills is that?”
“We’re not talking a few bottles. We’re talking hundreds.”
Lee Hyun examined the nearest red mission token.
「300 bottles of Tier-1 mid-grade Blood-Staunching Pills.
Deadline: two months.」
Similar missions continued beside it.
「200 bottles of Qi-Restoring Pills.」
「150 bottles of Mind-Clearing Pills.」
「200 bottles of Detoxification Pills.」
They were all pills normally produced by the Outer Alchemy Court, but both the quantities and deadlines were completely different.
“They expect us to make all of this within two months?”
One of the Outer Alchemy Court disciples gathered before the red mission tokens spoke in a horrified voice.
The disciple beside him shook his head.
“There are smaller batches too. Look below.”
A row of small blue wooden tokens hung beneath the red mission tokens.
「10 bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills.」
「20 bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills.」
「30 bottles of Blood-Staunching Pills.」
“Didn’t we make about this much last month too?”
“That’s exactly why it’s strange. Just how much are they planning to stockpile….”
Lee Hyun examined the red mission tokens again.
Pills used for staunching blood, restoring spiritual power, detoxifying poison, and stabilizing the primordial spirit. It was a selection meant to prepare for a situation in which hundreds of cultivators were injured or exhausted their spiritual power all at once.
‘Is the Danxiao Sect preparing for war?’
…
Lee Hyun entered the Outer Alchemy Court hall at the center of the valley.
Steward Quan noticed him and briefly swept him with divine sense.
“You’ve reached Qi Refining Great Perfection.”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Lee Hyun asked,
“Steward Quan, may I ask you something?”
“You came because you’re wondering about the Foundation Establishment Pill, I assume.”
“That’s right. What do I need to do to receive one?”
Steward Quan examined the ledger for a moment.
“Based on your current length of service and accumulated contribution points, your turn is still seventy or eighty years away. If more candidates are added in the meantime, it could be pushed back as far as ninety years.”
‘Ninety years!?’
It was longer than he had expected.
Li Dongsan’s current identity was that of a forty-seven-year-old Qi Refining Great Perfection Tier-1 alchemist. A Qi Refining cultivator’s lifespan was at most around one hundred and fifty years, and normally closer to one hundred and twenty.
“If I’m lucky, I might receive one before I die.”
Steward Quan shook his head.
“That’s only a calculation based on mechanically applying the current criteria. Long before your turn comes, you’ll be passed over because of your age and declining chances of a successful breakthrough. Would the sect hand a precious Foundation Establishment Pill to a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivator over ninety years old? The chances of a successful breakthrough fall with age.”
“Then…”
“At this rate, it will be difficult for you to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. It’s a problem faced by most outer disciples, not just you.”
Steward Quan closed the ledger.
“That is why they take dangerous or unpopular external assignments in addition to their regular duties and use them to move themselves up the queue.”
He thought for a moment before continuing.
“As it happens, there is one option available right now. If you’re willing to take a posting in the Anling Kingdom as a resident cultivator, you could shorten your wait for a Foundation Establishment Pill by roughly fifty years.”
“A resident cultivator?”
“There will be a briefing at the External Affairs Court tomorrow. You can attend even if you don’t intend to apply, so go see for yourself.”
Steward Quan handed Lee Hyun a notice.
“I don’t understand. Why would simply serving as a resident cultivator in a mundane kingdom let me receive a Foundation Establishment Pill sooner?”
“I don’t know the exact circumstances either. They’ll explain it at the briefing.”
…
The next day.
A small meeting hall under the External Affairs Court.
Around twenty late Qi Refining outer disciples interested in the posting sat at a long table.
A map of northwestern Kun Kingdom was spread out at the front.
To the south of the Anling Kingdom stretched the long border of the Qianyang Kingdom, marked by a thick black line. All the territory that had once belonged to the Yunze Kingdom now lay within that line.
The person leading the meeting was a Foundation Establishment steward from the External Affairs Court.
The steward began.
“First, let me make one thing clear. The Danxiao Sect is not at war with the Qianyang Kingdom.”
His finger moved along the border on the map.
“Over the past several hundred years, the Qianyang Kingdom has annexed the Yunze Kingdom to the north along with several smaller kingdoms. As a result, it now shares a long border with the Anling Kingdom.”
The steward first placed three red markers over the Tier-2 spirit veins in the north.
“Over the past five years, the Qianyang Kingdom has steadily increased the number of gu warriors stationed at three northern spirit veins.”
He placed another marker on the highway leading toward the Anling Kingdom.
“They have also renovated their border checkpoints and begun strictly controlling the movement of cultivators and gu warriors who lack royal authorization.”
The final marker was placed on a small cultivator market near the border.
“Two months ago, three rogue cultivators from the Anling Kingdom disappeared near the border. One of them had been assisting the Immortal Veneration Court.”
The atmosphere inside the meeting hall grew somewhat heavier.
One disciple asked,
“Were they killed by gu warriors from the Qianyang Kingdom?”
“That has not been confirmed. It could have been the work of bandit cultivators, or they may have disappeared of their own accord.”
The steward pointed south on the map, toward the Cang Kingdom.
“Some of you may have heard rumors that cultivators belonging to the overseas faction that seized the Lan Kingdom have appeared in southern Cang Kingdom.”
Several disciples nodded.
“We do not know how the Wangu Sect will respond to them. Nor do we know why the Qianyang Kingdom is strengthening its northern border at the same time.”
The steward paused briefly.
“The two matters may be unrelated. But ours is not a sect that waits until a threat becomes reality before taking action. After discussions with the Biluo Sect, we have decided to reinforce the forces stationed at Immortal Veneration Courts throughout Kun Kingdom as a precaution. The Immortal Veneration Court in the Anling Kingdom is one of them.”
Another disciple asked,
“Wouldn’t it be better to send Foundation Establishment cultivators?”
“Foundation Establishment cultivators are valuable. More importantly, deploying a large number of them to the border could be interpreted by the Qianyang Kingdom as preparation for war.”
The steward’s finger pointed first to the Qianyang Kingdom, then to the Cang Kingdom.
“Our sect hopes those two kingdoms will block the overseas faction’s northward advance. We have no desire to provoke the Qianyang Kingdom or the Cang Kingdom excessively, nor do we want relations with them to deteriorate. That is why, for now, we intend to reinforce the existing resident cultivators and the forces of the mundane kingdoms with Qi Refining disciples.”
Lee Hyun roughly understood the situation.
“There is no war at present, so there is no need to worry too much. However, because this assignment requires you to accept risks that have not yet fully revealed themselves, suitable compensation will be provided. The posting lasts twenty years. If you complete your term, your place in the Foundation Establishment Pill queue will be advanced by fifty years. Even if nothing happens during those twenty years, the reward will remain unchanged.”
A quiet stir ran through the meeting hall.
One disciple raised his hand.
“What duties will the dispatched disciples actually perform?”
“You will divide up the existing resident cultivator duties. The basics include supervising rogue cultivators employed by the royal family, receiving tribute, selecting children with excellent spiritual roots, and mediating disputes between cultivation clans. Craft disciples will also take charge of matters related to their specialization. For example, an alchemist would manage the Immortal Veneration Court’s pill reserves and handle the refining and inspection of pills needed locally.”
“How strong are the Immortal Veneration Court’s defenses?”
“There is a Tier-2 defensive grand formation that can be activated in an emergency. In addition to resident cultivators from the Danxiao Sect and Biluo Sect, Qi Refining rogue cultivators hired by the Anling royal family and martial-path experts of comparable strength are also stationed there.”
The steward swept his gaze across the meeting hall.
“But the existence of a formation does not guarantee absolute safety. If the Immortal Veneration Court is attacked, you will have to fight as well.”
He added one final point.
“If you successfully reach Foundation Establishment, you will qualify to enter the Inner Gate and may even gain the opportunity to become a disciple under a Golden Core Elder. Whether that opportunity is worth taking this level of risk is for each of you to decide.”
…
The explanation continued for one shichen.
Judging solely by the conditions offered, it was not a bad assignment. Yet as soon as the briefing ended, more than half the disciples immediately left the meeting hall. Apparently, they all felt that something about the situation was off.
Lee Hyun, however, remained seated, staring at the map before him.
The Anling Kingdom.
It was the country where Tunnel No. 3 was located.
He was familiar with the surrounding terrain and local powers as well.
More importantly, he was the society head of the Two Heavens Society. It seemed a shame to continue neglecting the organization he had spent nearly three hundred years building. If he remained in the Anling Kingdom, he could keep an eye on the Two Heavens Society and gradually resume its activities.
‘Besides, even if I don’t volunteer now, if the situation worsens, the Danxiao Sect will probably start conscripting outer disciples.’
At that point, he would have to face the same risks without any guarantee that his place in the Foundation Establishment Pill queue would improve. And if he were sent to a different kingdom instead of the Anling Kingdom, he would be farther from both Tunnel No. 3 and the Two Heavens Society.
If he volunteered now, the duration, location, and duties of the assignment were all clearly defined.
‘Better to choose the post I want while I still have a choice.’
Lee Hyun looked at the Anling Kingdom on the map.
‘From my experience in my past life, shortening your commute improves your quality of life tremendously.’
*****
TL Note: Bonus chapter for the review posted on NovelUpdates by ‘Somebodyinahood’. I’ll post the other three chapters around the usual release time once I’m done with them.
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/hiding-tunnels-in-xianxia/
P.S. I’ll only be able to offer extra chapters for reviews until around Chapter 55 or 56, since we’re very close to catching up with the latest raw chapters.
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