Chapter 162: A Rich Family’s Young Master’s Storage Pouch

===================
Translated by Frog in the Well

Read more at Nineheavens.org
===================

They faced the same single Dark-Thunder Azure-Heaven Beast, yet No Un-taek was in tatters while Jin So-myeong did not have a single thread of his clothes damaged.

The difference between the two was stark; whatever the truth was, this was how they appeared on the outside.

The face of No Un-taek, who had distrusted Jin So-myeong and told him not to be a nuisance when they first departed from Cloud Dragon Immortal City, was colored with embarrassment.

With the result being like this, what could he possibly say?

Muttering with his lips, he rolled his eyes to inspect the surroundings, which were filled with black scorch marks left by explosions and lightning.

It meant that it was true they had fought the Dark-Thunder Azure-Heaven Beast… but how could Jin So-myeong be so perfectly fine?

Unlike No Un-taek, whose mind seemed complicated, Jin So-myeong was calm, as if nothing had happened.

“Did you retrieve the consignment safely?”

“Yes. Although we suffered because the Dark-Thunder Azure-Heaven Beast was stronger than expected… at any rate, it was resolved well.”

Jin So-myeong, lightly nodding his head, concentrated his senses and spoke while carefully observing Du Geum-bo, the chief administrator of Myriad Treasures Tower.

“I learned of this while fighting, but someone kidnapped the offspring of the Dark-Thunder Azure-Heaven Beast and forced her to steal the consignment.”

“Pardon? What kind of scoundrel dared to do such a thing!”

“Well, who knows.”

Du Geum-bo, frowning deeply, muttered in a voice so quiet it could barely be heard.

“Just who is it? Could it be the bastards of the Flowing Cloud Merchant Guild? It can’t be that the information about this consignment leaked… Ahem.”

At that sight, he felt a little relieved.

He had tested him to see if he was in league with Mok Ryu-jin to lure him into a trap, but no particularly suspicious points were visible in his embarrassed state.

‘Indeed. If the Myriad Treasures Tower and Mok Ryu-jin were in league, they would have used other means.’

If the two were on the same side, there was no need to use a complicated method like today; it would have been much simpler and more threatening to just lure him to a remote place and trap him in something like a formation.

Moreover, there was no reason to vacate the spot under the pretext of retrieving the consignment; it would have been a more certain method for all of them to join hands and attack Jin So-myeong.

For various reasons, he judged that the probability of the Myriad Treasures Tower betraying him was not high.

“How about returning to Cloud Dragon Immortal City for now? The city is safer than this wild field, is it not?”

“Ah, yes. Both Fellow Daoist Jin and Fellow Daoist No worked hard. I will definitely obtain the promised reward within half a year.”

*

On the way back to Cloud Dragon Immortal City, No Un-taek, who had been groaning for a long time to the point of frustrating any onlooker, cleared his throat and spoke.

“Fellow Daoist Jin. I think I made a slip of the tongue. I apologize for being rude.”

Unlike his calm tone, his earlobes were bright red, suggesting that he had rarely apologized in his life.

“A slip of the tongue?”

“My eyes were blind. I failed to recognize an expert like Fellow Daoist Jin and said such arrogant things about you being a nuisance.”

With an awkward expression, he held out a ceramic bottle, which made a sloshing sound, indicating that it contained wine.

“It is Snow-Bright Fragrance, a Rank 4 spiritual wine brewed at our White Bottle Mountain Villa.”

Du Geum-bo, who was only watching the mood from the side, chimed in.

“Oh! If it is Snow-Bright Fragrance, is it not a precious spiritual wine of which only one bottle is produced every twenty years? I heard it has the effect of sharpening the five senses, especially eyesight. Is that true?”

“Ahem. That is correct.”

When Jin So-myeong accepted the ceramic bottle after a moment of consideration, not only No Un-taek’s but also Du Geum-bo’s expression brightened. From his perspective as a merchant, it was better for the Nascent Soul experts he usually associated with to get along rather than fight.

Thanks to Jin So-myeong accepting the apology, the atmosphere on the way back became much lighter, and they were able to part with smiling faces.

“If you like Snow-Bright Fragrance, you are welcome to visit our White Bottle Mountain Villa anytime. You will be welcomed, Fellow Daoist Jin.”

“Yes. You also worked hard today, Fellow Daoist No.”

After parting with the group, Jin So-myeong immediately returned to his cave dwelling.

He could not contain his curiosity about what treasures Mok Ryu-jin, the young master of the Mok Clan, had left behind.

True to his status as a rich young master, Mok Ryu-jin’s storage pouch was also high-grade. Although it had a powerful restriction engraved on it, making it difficult to open for anyone other than the owner, it was meaningless before the Secret Realm of the Mind divine ability. It was opened easily.

‘Great Azure Spiritual Oil?’

Even from the first harvest, it was extraordinary.

Great Azure Spiritual Oil was a liquid tinged with a faint blue light, which could be considered a type of spiritual medicine for cultivation.

If there was a difference from ordinary cultivation pills, it was that the absorption efficiency was extremely high.

He carefully inspected it to confirm there were no issues, and after taking a sip, an exclamation naturally escaped his mouth.

‘Amazing. Do the Middle Province cultivators train while consuming such good things?’

Compared to the Unifying Harmony Pill he usually consumed, the effect was twice as good.

It seemed that if he had enough Great Azure Spiritual Oil, his cultivation period would be significantly shortened.

Based on pouring in all of his Supreme Great Abilities, it would take about nine years to reach the 2nd layer of the Nascent Soul stage.

Looking into the sub-space, he saw a total of thirty-two bottles of Great Azure Spiritual Oil.

‘With this amount… I can consume it for about three years.’

Although it was by no means a small amount, it was still regrettable. Just as he licked his lips,

he discovered a treasure called the Harmonizing Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Cauldrons large enough for an elephant to enter, and this Rank 4 Spiritual Treasure had only one function: to produce Great Azure Spiritual Oil.

‘I can make Great Azure Spiritual Oil myself?’

At the joyful news that made his eyes widen, he hastily searched the sub-space.

The recipe for Great Azure Spiritual Oil was recorded in the form of a jade slip, so it was not difficult to find.

[Azure-Fire Wood Essence, Meteor Snow Root, Sunlight Purple Gold, Ten-Thousand-Year Earth…]

Jin So-myeong’s expression, which had been smiling brightly as he read down the list of ingredients, gradually darkened.

‘Ah, my joy was short-lived.’

Great Azure Spiritual Oil was a much more luxurious item than expected.

To make a single bottle, an incredibly vast amount of ingredients was required. If he made pills with the same ingredients, at least twenty times the amount could be produced.

Simply put, the ingredients were consumed twenty times faster, but the effect was only twice as much.

‘At this rate, even with the Secret Realm of the Mind, the cost of ingredients won’t be affordable.’

It was far too expensive.

It was a luxurious spiritual medicine that only a rich young master could consume with peace of mind.

‘When I have spare spirit stones later, I should train using Great Azure Spiritual Oil.’

Looking forward to the future, he examined the next harvest. Besides Great Azure Spiritual Oil, there were many things helpful for cultivation.

Incense that cleared his mind to heighten his comprehension of cultivation methods, pills that momentarily activated his spiritual root to increase cultivation efficiency, and so on.

Since there was a mountain of spiritual objects assisting cultivation, he could only laugh.

Honestly, a part of his mind also found it absurd.

‘To have rich spiritual veins and even these kinds of cultivation resources… It is no wonder there are many high-level cultivators in the Middle Province.’

To consume these kinds of spiritual objects routinely from the moment one was born?

They would be able to raise their realms several times more easily than cultivators of other regions.

Of course, where there were advantages, there were bound to be disadvantages, and Middle Province people also had their own grievances.

For instance, if they recklessly revealed their talent, they might become the targets of high-level cultivators.

‘Spirit-Absorbing Wood.’

It was a Rank 4 spiritual wood with dark reddish-brown bark, which had been inside Mok Ryu-jin’s Beast-Taming Pouch.

‘Was the reason Mok Ryu-jin targeted me because of this wood?’

The Spirit-Absorbing Wood possessed a fairly bizarre ability; surprisingly, it could absorb another person’s Spirit Body to bear fruit.

It was said that if one subdued a cultivator possessing a Spirit Body and buried them alive under the roots of the Spirit-Absorbing Wood, the wood would absorb the cultivator’s Spirit Body and bear fruit.

‘By eating the fruit made like that, one can obtain a portion of the Spirit Body’s abilities?’

If one thought only of the result, it was a quite useful tree, but thinking from the perspective of the person who would be buried under the roots, it was a chillingly horrific thing.

If one was buried under the roots? One would suffer for a very, very long time before drying up and dying.

‘This is severe.’

An act this heinous was truly uncommon. It was a deed so wicked that it would be criticized even among cultivators who would do anything for cultivation.

‘Mok Ryu-jin… was a very vicious fellow.’

Jin So-myeong, shaking his head, casually set the Spirit-Absorbing Wood aside in a corner of the sub-space.

Since there was no spiritual Qi in the sub-space, the wood would not be able to last long, but he did not particularly care.

At any rate, other than cultivation resources, there were many harvests.

There was also a Rank 4 medium-to-high grade Spiritual Treasure named the Three Lights Treasure Wheel.

Sunlight, Moonlight, Starlight. It was a wheel that emitted three types of light that caused destruction, sealing, and heart demons respectively, making it a fairly powerful Spiritual Treasure.

Although it did not suit him, as he mainly fought in close combat, it was fine.

‘Since I can just sell it and exchange it for something useful.’

Since it was a Rank 4 medium-to-high grade Spiritual Treasure, he would be able to exchange it for a fairly precious treasure.

He then examined the jade slips, but there was no item that could be called a secret transmission. Apparently, he did not carry around cultivation methods that must not be leaked in the first place.

Although it was slightly regrettable, other than secret transmissions, there was plenty of puppet-related knowledge. If he mastered it well, would it not be enough to grasp the basics of the puppet art?

‘Should I make an additional clone and have him research puppets?’

However, it was doubtful whether he could master the puppet art enough to be effective in real combat with just that much effort. After all, even Mok Ryu-jin, who had poured all kinds of effort into puppets, had failed to overcome a single sword.

After properly packing away minor harvests like spiritual herbs and talismans, he finally examined the spirit stones.

There were about 3,000,000 high-grade spirit stones and 20,000 supreme-grade spirit stones.

It seemed small for the wealth possessed by a rich young master, but after pondering for a moment, he understood.

‘Indeed. Unless one is a rogue cultivator, there is no need to carry around one’s entire fortune.’

At any rate, it was a very satisfying harvest as a whole.

Thanks to the young master who went out of his way to hand over his storage pouch, he was able to save a significant amount of training time.

If he combined all the various harvests, it seemed he would reach the 2nd layer of the Nascent Soul stage in about seven years.

Jin So-myeong, nodding his head, took out the feather of the Dark-Thunder Azure-Heaven Beast this time.

‘Where should I use this?’

Something suddenly came to mind, so he headed toward the Jade Light Spring, the lightning-attribute spiritual spring in the Secret Realm of the Mind. He pulled out a painting that had been submerged in the water where blue lightning surged.

The first use that came to mind was this: completing the Myriad Thunders Chaos Sky Scroll, the incomplete Spiritual Treasure he had obtained from the Great Elder of the Black Night Palace in the past.

According to the design, the Myriad Thunders Chaos Sky Scroll could not only dye the entire sky with a lightning-striking storm, but it was also said to be possible to enter the painting to train.

Since it possessed a Rank 4 medium-grade rank, it would be quite useful once completed.

He carefully inspected the feather given by the Dark-Thunder Azure-Heaven Beast, and strictly speaking, it was a Rank 4 low-grade spiritual object.

‘It is slightly awkward to use as a material.’

At any rate, the Myriad Treasures Tower would soon bring him a Rank 4 medium-grade lightning-attribute spiritual object, so should he just absorb the lightning Qi inside to accumulate spiritual power…

Just as he was thinking that,

‘Hmm…?’

A faint response was felt from the egg of an unnamed demonic beast that he had left near the Jade Light Spring.

When he waved the feather of the Dark-Thunder Azure-Heaven Beast in his hand, the longing felt from the egg became increasingly clear.

‘Is it asking for it?’

Alternating his gaze between the egg covered in blue spots and the feather enveloped in lightning, Jin So-myeong stroked his chin.

After pondering for a moment, he placed the feather on top of the egg, and the lightning Qi began to be absorbed.

Inspecting it with his Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, it seemed it would hatch within a few days.

‘What kind of demonic beast will be born?’

The egg, upon whose surface blue lightning shimmered, was smooth and warm, making stroking it a superb pleasure.

After lingering around the egg to watch it for about ten minutes, Jin So-myeong emerged from the Secret Realm of the Mind.

Since he had finished checking his harvest, he went outside his cave dwelling to check the rumors floating around Cloud Dragon Immortal City, and indeed,

it was in an uproar with news that the young master of the Mok Clan had suddenly died.

Enjoyed the chapter?

If you like our work, consider supporting us on Ko-fi. This site solely runs on donations. Every donation helps us keep translating!

Support on Ko-fi