Chapter 57
Translator: T_Fan
Lee Hyun pressed the jade slip to his forehead again.
「The flesh rots away within a hundred years, but white bone endures for a thousand years even when buried beneath the earth, a vessel for the true self. Cast off the blood and flesh of mortals and inscribe the Profound Yin of the Nine Heavens into every joint of your bones.」
After the general precepts of the Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture came the Qi Refining Section and the Foundation Establishment Section. At the end, there was also a portion of an essential method for refining true essence in preparation for Core Formation, but there was no cultivation method for after forming a golden core.
‘Looks like the later cultivation methods are only passed down after forming a golden core…’
That was a little disappointing, but as befitted a sect-defining cultivation art, the secret arts recorded in the Foundation Establishment Section were anything but ordinary.
They ranged from the White Bone Refining Art, which tempered the skeleton like a magic tool, to the White Bone Yin Fire, which compressed yin qi to melt away an opponent’s body-protecting spirit light, and even the secret method for crafting the life-bound bone nail, which carved bone into a deadly concealed weapon. It also contained the Soul-Binding Spirit Control Art, which gathered weak souls and bound them to the White Bone Banner. Its methods were remarkably varied.
Lee Hyun removed the jade slip from his forehead and opened the book that had been stored with it. Its pages were densely filled with notes Guo Zhenming had written while cultivating.
Those notes also revealed the Haigu Island Lord’s cultivation realm.
Early Nascent Soul.
Although Haigu Island was a branch of the Yin Bird Sect, it was a powerful lineage in its own right, with a Nascent Soul cultivator of its own.
‘So the bastard had quite the background.’
Lee Hyun set the book down and examined the jade slip again.
Ultimately, the essence of the Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture lay in refining spiritual qi into Profound Yin White Bone True Qi and putting it to use. The inheritance resembled a demonic cultivation art, which made him reluctant to cultivate it himself.
‘There’s no reason to switch my cultivation art to the Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture….’
Still, the sections explaining the mnemonic formula and properties of Profound Yin White Bone True Qi caught his interest. Profound Yin White Bone True Qi was needed when refining the bones used to make bone puppets.
Moreover, the inheritance’s anatomical knowledge of bones and its arrangement of restrictions seemed to offer plenty of insights into controlling the body as well. Even without cultivating the inheritance itself, the knowledge alone held considerable value.
After studying the mnemonic formula closely, Lee Hyun concluded that he might be able to transform Primordial True Qi into Profound Yin White Bone True Qi.
‘If so, I might be able to make bone puppets too.’
The latter part of the inheritance contained detailed instructions for making bone puppets: how to judge bone quality, the order in which to remove impurities from each type of bone, and even how to join bones with different properties into a single body.
Lee Hyun blinked as he read the section describing the materials.
‘Most of them use demon beast bones.’
The sea surrounding Haigu Island was home to many marine demon beasts.
Among them, demon beasts with sturdy skeletons possessed bones far tougher than those of ordinary cultivators of the human race at the same realm. They were also much larger, so a single beast yielded far more bone material.
By contrast, unless a cultivator of the human race was a body refiner, reaching Foundation Establishment did not automatically make their bones good material for magic tools. Only an exceptional human body refiner would have bones comparable to those of a demon beast, so in most cases there was little reason to go out of one’s way to obtain human bones.
Lee Hyun took the Six-Armed Bone Puppet out of his storage pouch.
Thud.
The six-armed bone puppet lay on the floor of the cavern.
The bones forming its chest had gentle curves, while the bone material used for its arms was excessively long and straight. They were clearly not human bones. It seemed to have been fashioned into a roughly human shape by cutting, fitting together, and refining various demon beast bones.
Now that he had read the inheritance, Lee Hyun noticed things he had missed before. His attention settled on a green stone wedged among the spirit stones inside the puppet’s chest. The sensation was different when his divine sense touched it.
‘So this wasn’t a spirit stone….’
He reread the relevant section of the jade slip.
Soul stone.
It was a type of spirit material capable of storing soul power and was said to be indispensable not only for bone puppets, but also for puppets made from spirit wood or metal.
Of course, merely inserting a soul stone would not make a puppet move on its own. A spell formula for carrying out commands had to be engraved into the processed soul stone, then connected to the restrictions throughout the puppet’s body.
‘I see. It needs something that acts as a brain… Just as cultivators have essence, qi and spirit, a bone puppet needs a center of intelligence in addition to bones and spiritual power. This part might be pretty difficult.’
Lee Hyun examined the restrictions around the soul stone more closely.
Several connections were damaged, but the soul stone itself was intact. According to the inheritance, it could be reused after clearing its master’s ownership imprint and the commands recorded within it.
‘I should make sure the soul stone stays intact for now.’
He took out a sheet of paper and sketched the bone puppet’s structure, then carefully separated the damaged knee and arm joints first. He marked the direction of each connection before storing the pieces separately, leaving the torso containing the soul stone untouched.
He would not be able to learn the Puppet Art immediately, but this bone puppet would serve as a valuable specimen for future research.
‘If I learn how to handle puppets… couldn’t I use them later to tend or guard the spirit fields in the tunnels?’
Lee Hyun’s gaze then shifted to the White Bone Banner lying off to one side. A faint presence of resentful spirits leaked from within.
‘What an ominous thing.’
He added a Spirit-Sealing Talisman to the White Bone Banner and placed it inside a separate jade casket.
He examined the restrictions and energies of the remaining items and sorted them by type.
He gathered the bone material used for repairs, the medicinal liquid applied to puppets, and the pieces of bone that had yet to be refined in one place. Among the bone material were several pieces that appeared to come from Tier 2 demon beasts.
Lee Hyun’s hand stopped as he inspected the medicine bottles. Two small jade bottles bore the same name.
「Spirit-Nourishing Pill.」
“This is… something I heard about during a lecture…”
The Spirit-Nourishing Pill was a Tier 2 pill that strengthened divine sense.
‘The cultivators of Haigu Island must consider strengthening their divine sense important because they have to control several puppets at once. If this pill checks out, I could take it myself.’
Lee Hyun carefully set the two bottles aside, then sorted the other medicine bottles as well.
Next, he took out the magic tools the cultivators had used.
There were two blood-red flying hooks, the one-eyed old cultivator’s flying sword, and a round shield.
The flying hooks were a paired set of high-grade magic tools. The restrictions on the two hooks resonated with each other, and the inner edges of their blades were densely engraved with patterns designed to tear through body-protecting spirit light.
The one-eyed old cultivator’s flying sword was also a high-grade magic tool. The round shield, whose owner had died before he could even use it properly, bore only a few scratches along its rim.
Selling just those four items at a fair price should bring in at least eighty mid-grade spirit stones.
He marked the items whose uses he could not identify and stored them separately.
‘I can examine them more closely after I return to the Danxiao Sect.’
Unlike before, he took most of the suspicious items with him as well.
Even if some hidden tracking method had been left among the items, it would be difficult for anyone to come all the way into the Danxiao Sect and act against him immediately. Still, he would have to thoroughly check whether any tracking methods remained once he returned.
‘If I find anything suspicious, I can just bury it somewhere in the Danxiao Range instead of taking it back to Tunnel No. 3.’
After sorting everything, Lee Hyun felt a warm sense of satisfaction as he looked at his now-bulging storage pouch. There were so many new things to examine that excitement rose in him naturally. He doubted he would be bored for quite some time.
More than anything, he was curious whether the Lesser Yang Stone could be used to grow Fire-Heart Orchids. Lee Hyun calmed his excitement and stood.
‘For now, I should return to my fellow disciples.’
***
That evening, Lee Hyun emerged from behind a boulder on the western slope near the stone wall by the realm gate.
The side of his long robe was torn, and dirt and dust clung to his sleeves and hair. Before approaching too close to the stone wall’s formation, he took out his identity token.
A cultivator standing watch atop the stone wall spotted him.
“Which group are you with?”
“I am Li Dongsan of Yanxia Peak.”
A moment later, a passage opened in the formation’s barrier.
As Lee Hyun stepped inside, Yue Wugou, who had been walking out from one of the halls, stopped in his tracks.
“Junior Brother Li!”
He strode over.
“Why are you so late? We received your voice-transmission talisman, but….”
Yue Wugou’s gaze settled on the torn long robe.
“Were you hurt?”
“Just a scratch. It doesn’t interfere with my movement.”
Tao Wenqian and Mei Sujun also came out from the hall.
Tao Wenqian examined Lee Hyun’s face and aura before finally relaxing his shoulders.
“Good to have you back.”
Mei Sujun brushed the dirt from Lee Hyun’s sleeve.
“You startled me when you disappeared underground. I was worried whether you’d managed to get away afterward. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I hid my presence in a deep crevice underground. Once things above quieted down, I took a roundabout route back.”
“No one followed you?”
“No.”
Tao Wenqian nodded.
“Good. We brought the goods back safely, and no one on our side suffered any serious injuries. Now that Junior Brother has returned too, we can finally rest easy.”
Su Buyi approached from the neighboring hall as well.
“Fellow Daoist Li. If we get the chance next time, I’d like you to give me some pointers on the Earth Escape Art. After seeing it today, I began thinking I ought to learn it myself.”
“It takes some time to become proficient.”
“I expected as much.”
‘It really does take a long time, though…’
…
After being assigned quarters within the walled encampment, Lee Hyun used the Cleansing Art to remove the dirt from his body and clothes.
He applied medicine to his bruised side and changed out of his torn long robe.
Then he took the Profound Iron Buckler from his storage pouch.
Hummm–
The palm-sized shield expanded until it was large enough to cover his upper body.
Lee Hyun put the shield away and summoned it again. He changed the direction in which he extended his hand, repeating the same motion even while turning his body.
He also inspected the cracked Protective Bell, but it did not seem capable of withstanding any powerful attacks for the time being.
Lee Hyun stored the Protective Bell separately, then put away the Profound Iron Buckler once more.
***
Several days later.
New information reached the stone wall.
A Biluo Sect scouting group had found the route leading to the enemy’s realm gate. The testimony of a newly captured liaison had apparently provided the clue.
The atmosphere in the stone wall changed as soon as the news spread.
“We finally caught their trail.”
“Now those bastards have somewhere they have to defend too.”
Cultivators with bandages wrapped around their arms came out of the halls, while even those who had remained silent for some time went around looking for maps. Many cultivators of the Danxiao Sect and Biluo Sect were filled with fierce resolve to take revenge.
Still, no order to attack came immediately.
Tao Wenqian gathered his fellow disciples and explained the plan.
“As scheduled, reinforcements will arrive on the fifteenth day. At that time, we’ll send only some of the wounded out first. The rest of us will postpone our rotation and join the attack.”
Yue Wugou asked,
“What about the places we’ve been guarding?”
“We’ll withdraw additional personnel from several spirit fields. We still need enough forces to guard the realm gate and the stone wall, so our only option is to gather those scattered throughout the area.”
Tao Wenqian looked at Lee Hyun.
“How is your condition, Junior Brother Li?”
“I’m fine.”
“Then come with us.”
“Understood.”
…
On the fifteenth day after entering the secret realm.
New cultivators emerged from the realm gate one after another.
Some took charge of the wounded, while others distributed the formation flags and talismans they had brought to the cultivators stationed there.
Starting that night, the attacking force split into several groups and left the stone wall.
Lee Hyun moved with Tao Wenqian’s group. They flew low along the valleys and forests confirmed by the scouting group, while neighboring groups advanced in parallel with mountain ridges separating them.
…
Lee Hyun sat in the shadow of a boulder and looked toward the mountain ridge ahead.
The enemy’s realm gate lay beyond that mountain.
It was a little over two thousand li (about 784 km) from the realm gate managed by the Danxiao Sect, in an area without spirit fields that normally saw little traffic.
A short distance away, two cultivators spoke quietly.
“Then does that mean there’s another realm gate outside as well, two thousand li from the Danxiao Range?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve heard distances inside a grotto-heaven don’t necessarily correspond directly to distances outside.”
“Then it could be in the Lan Kingdom or the Cang Kingdom.”
“It could even be tens of thousands of li away.”
Lee Hyun listened for a moment before Tao Wenqian returned from the meeting of the group leaders.
“Our group will enter along the southern slope. Another group will handle the formation at the front. Stop any enemies trying to flee the main camp, but don’t pursue them all the way to the realm gate.”
Mei Sujun folded the map.
“Understood.”
…
The attack began.
Flash!
A gigantic sword light rose beyond the ridge.
Dozens of streaks of spirit light followed, pouring into the valley from different heights. As magic tools and talismans hammered against the enemy’s outer formation, a barrier resembling blue scales appeared in what had been empty air.
Boom-boom-boom!
Explosions thundered one after another.
Enemy cultivators flew up from the halls and behind boulders. Some moved to fill gaps in the formation, while others scattered left and right in an attempt to circle around the attacking force.
The cultivators concealed on the southern slope revealed themselves at that moment.
“Move!”
A long stream of crimson flame shot from Tao Wenqian’s sleeve.
Yue Wugou’s iron plaque hurtled toward two enemies flying low to evade the flames, while Mei Sujun’s blue-green silk swept between the trees to block another cultivator’s path.
Lee Hyun floated the Profound Iron Buckler a short distance behind them.
Thud!
A blast of energy from within the forest struck the shield, sending violent ripples across its surface.
A deep blue chill bloomed over the shield.
Lee Hyun turned his head.
A cultivator in an indigo long robe walked out from between the trees. He was a man at roughly Foundation Establishment Stage 5.
At his waist hung a bizarre blue-black gourd as large as a human head. Fish-scale patterns protruded across its surface, and dense cold air streamed from its mouth.
The cultivator removed the gourd from his waist, gripped it in one hand, and lightly struck its base with his palm.
Hissss–
Cold water mist poured from the mouth of the gourd and spread in every direction, forming a dense curtain in an instant.
“A Danxiao Sect brat thinks one shield is enough to make him fearless.”
The cultivator gave a sinister laugh and formed a hand seal.
Rooooar–
The sound of rushing water burst from inside the gourd, and twelve gleaming flying blades shot out through the deep-blue chill.
The crescent-shaped flying blades cut through the mist like fins as they surged forward. They resembled a school of piranhas that had scented blood and rushed in to tear apart their prey.
Lee Hyun angled the Profound Iron Buckler.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Three or four of the leading flying blades ricocheted off the shield’s edge. Yet the deflected blades twisted their trajectories in midair as if lashing their tails, then hid themselves in the mist and drove toward Lee Hyun’s blind spots.
Lee Hyun drew the Profound Gate Sword.
The blade shifted briefly to the side.
Clang!
A flying blade that had slipped through the mist toward his flank struck the sword and bounced into the air.
Lee Hyun took half a step back and watched the man.
The cultivator flicked his fingers and realigned the flying blades. The scattered twelve blades swam through the mist, constantly changing positions as frostlike energy overlapped along the paths they traced.
Lee Hyun relaxed his grip on his sword slightly.
‘For now, I just need to keep this guy occupied.’
…
Clang! Clang!
The Profound Gate Sword knocked aside the descending flying blades one after another.
Lee Hyun retreated with the recoil of each collision while surveying his surroundings with divine sense.
Roughly forty zhang (about 132 m) to his right, Mei Sujun was driving back her opponent. Yue Wugou and Su Buyi were doing much the same.
‘Everyone’s doing well.’
At that moment, a flying blade shot up from beneath his feet.
Swoosh!
Lee Hyun sidestepped and used the Profound Gate Sword to knock away the flying blade that followed immediately after. Then he lowered his shield slightly and extended the Profound Gate Sword.
When the flying blade struck the sword and flew back, Lee Hyun saw the man beyond the mist grit his teeth.
It must have been an incredibly frustrating battle for him.
Lee Hyun’s cultivation realm was lower than the man’s, and he had exposed openings several times. Yet every attack missed by a hair, and whenever a strike came from an angle difficult to block with a magic tool, Lee Hyun escaped with strange footwork.
When the flying blades intertwined and rushed at him again, Lee Hyun retreated a little farther this time.
Two flying blades crossed through the place where he had been standing.
The center of the valley briefly came into view beyond the scattered mist.
BOOM!
One side of the enemy’s outer barrier was collapsing.
Late Foundation Establishment and Great Perfection cultivators surged through the breach. Tao Wenqian had also driven away the enemies near him and was blocking those trying to flee south with a wall of flame.
The familiar sound of waves echoed from afar.
The owner of the shell-shaped magic tool that had attacked Chishui Garden seemed to be inside the valley as well. This time, however, its empowered sound could not continue for long because of the sword lights from Biluo Sect cultivators converging on that area.
Lee Hyun turned his attention back to the enemy before him.
The cultivator in the indigo long robe thrust the gourd in front of his chest.
“You vermin… I’ll grind even your bones to dust!”
Rumble–
The gourd’s mouth opened wide, and a raging torrent burst forth, swallowing the twelve flying blades circling through the air.
The torrent and flying blades intertwined into the shape of a massive flood dragon. Razor-sharp blades flashed throughout the churning water as it crashed toward Lee Hyun with enough force to pulverize every tree in the forest.
At the same time as the man unleashed the attack, he flung himself sideways. No longer obsessed with killing Lee Hyun, he was trying to retreat toward the valley where some of his allies still remained.
‘Time to end this.’
Mei Sujun’s opponent had already fallen, and Yue Wugou and Su Buyi were dealing with the remaining enemies.
Just then, a tremendous explosion erupted from the center of the valley, sending a violent wave of spiritual power outward. Everyone’s attention turned in that direction.
At that instant, the black line running across the center of the Profound Gate Sword’s blade blazed so brightly it hurt the eyes. Lee Hyun’s arm moved like a bolt of lightning.
Slice!
Sword light flashed, cleanly severing the enormous torrent and the dozen flying blades in midair.
Crack-crack! BOOM!
Fragments of broken flying blades scattered in every direction as the torrent lost its form and dispersed.
At the same time, Lee Hyun’s body slipped into the water mist.
‘What the hell…?!’
The retreating man went deathly pale and shoved the gourd in his hand in front of the sword while driving his body-protecting spirit light to its limit.
However,
Flash!
The sword light did not merely cleave the gourd cleanly in two. It sliced straight through the body-protecting spirit light and the man’s upper body as well.
The man’s eyes widened.
‘How…?’
It was the same sword his opponent had used throughout their dozens of exchanges only moments before.
He had never imagined that the same magic tool could unleash such power. While he had been fighting with everything he had, just how little strength had his opponent been using against him?
The man’s body collapsed into the water mist.
Lee Hyun took the storage pouch from the falling man’s waist. He also caught the two halves of the shattered gourd and several broken flying blades before they reached the ground.
He flicked the remaining water from his sword.
The mist that had spread throughout the area gradually began to thin.
…
As Lee Hyun walked out from between the trees, Mei Sujun turned her head.
“Junior Brother Li, are you all right?”
“Yes. You weren’t hurt either, were you, Senior Sister?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go to Eldest Senior Brother.”
Lee Hyun put away the Profound Gate Sword and Profound Iron Buckler, then rose into the air and followed her.
***
The fighting inside the valley was also drawing to a close.
Once the outer formation collapsed, the enemies retreated to the low stone platform surrounding the realm gate. A narrow crack ran through the rough rock wall there, and formation flags erected around it anchored the light within the fissure.
When several cultivators jumped through the realm gate first, those holding the rear could no longer maintain their positions.
Cultivators from the Danxiao Sect and Biluo Sect surged in from both sides.
Swoosh!
A cultivator fleeing toward the realm gate was struck in the thigh by a flying sword and fell. Another looked back at him, but before he could even reach out, another sword light came flying.
The last remaining enemies detonated all their talismans at once.
Rumble-BOOM!
Amid the light engulfing the space in front of the stone platform, several streaks of spirit light disappeared beyond the realm gate.
“Do not cross!”
The cultivator commanding the attacking force shouted.
“Stop! We don’t know what’s on the other side!”
The pursuing cultivators halted in midair.
A cultivator who had let the last enemy escape gritted his teeth and recalled his flying sword.
While the guarding cultivators aimed their magic tools at the realm gate, the formation masters stepped forward. They planted formation flags in front of the realm gate and deployed a formation to seal the passage.
Hummm–
A barrier covered the crack in the rock wall. The surging light within the fissure narrowed, and the faint scenery visible beyond the realm gate vanished.
Long sighs of relief escaped the cultivators standing guard nearby.
“We sealed it.”
Someone muttered.
Tao Wenqian looked over Yue Wugou, Mei Sujun, and Lee Hyun in turn. Including Su Buyi and the Biluo Sect cultivator who had moved with him, all six were present. Only then did the flames lingering in his hand die away.
…
Even after sealing the realm gate, several groups scattered through the forest and rocky cliffs to search the area. There could still be enemies remaining inside the secret realm.
Under the protection of the reinforcements, the formation masters began setting up a defensive formation that would encompass the entire encampment. The Danxiao Sect intended to build a stone wall here as well and station defenders so that even if the passage were reopened from the outside, the enemy would not be able to immediately force their way through.
Lee Hyun sat on a boulder along the slope.
Yue Wugou approached while applying medicine.
“You really are fine, Junior Brother.”
“Were you hurt, Senior Brother?”
“I got a small cut on the back of my hand. Hardly worth calling an injury, yet here I am putting medicine on it….”
Yue Wugou chuckled and closed the medicine bottle.
…
Three days later.
In front of the realm gate of the Huatian Secret Realm that connected to the Danxiao Sect.
Tao Wenqian checked the group one final time before holding out his identity token.
“Four from Yanxia Peak. We are returning.”
The cultivator guarding the realm gate marked the register.
“Confirmed. You may pass.”
Lee Hyun glanced back at the stone wall behind him.
They were not returning as a group of roughly one hundred and fifty, as they had when setting out.
Some had already left. Some remained behind to stand guard. And some would never return.
“Let’s go.”
Tao Wenqian entered the realm gate first.
Lee Hyun followed.
Shhhhh–
A strange sensation swept over his body as he passed through the realm gate.
The next moment, a cool breeze touched his face.
He stood in a gorge of the Danxiao Range.
Beyond the stone platform guarded by Golden Core Elders, he could see the blue sky and familiar mountain peaks.
***
Five days after their return.
The Lecture Hall on Yanxia Peak.
When Tan Yunsheng entered, around twenty disciples rose to their feet in unison.
“Greetings, Master.”
“Sit.”
Tan Yunsheng looked over the four who had returned from the secret realm one by one.
“I heard what happened in the secret realm. You’ve all done well.”
His gaze stopped on Lee Hyun.
“Among you, our youngest, Dongsan, distinguished himself unexpectedly.”
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