Chapter 224: Return to the Sacred City
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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“A Heavenly Spiritual Treasure…”
Mumbling in a slow tone, Ha Un closed his eyes tightly. He agonized for quite a long time, then continued.
“For me, who is at the Nascent Soul stage, to make a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure, I must have at least a Rank 5 fire vein.”
A fire vein referred to a place where flames constantly emerged like a spiritual vein, and it was naturally necessary for Ha Un, who was not a Soul Formation stage cultivator, to refine Rank 5 spiritual objects.
“If it is a Rank 5 fire vein, there are a few in the Sacred City. Use them as you please.”
“…You mean I must go to the Sacred City. I understand. I shall go.”
It had been the case since they first met, but Ha Un had no fluff in his words.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment at the mention of having to go to the Sacred City where his enemy had been the leader, but he made a resolute decision and behaved as if he would follow immediately without even packing his bags.
Admiring inwardly his manner of acting exactly as he spoke, Jin So-myeong waved his hand to stop him.
“There is no need to hurry so much. I have a place to stop by for a moment, so prepare to leave.”
“Understood.”
“A week at the earliest. At latest, it will take about a month.”
Exiting Ha Un’s dwelling, he pulled out a map jade slip.
Assessing the direction, he immediately left Cloud Dragon Immortal City and crossed the wasteland.
‘It should be somewhere around here…’
After flying for a long time while even unfolding the Lightning Escape Art, he arrived at a basin deeply gouged out as if a meteor had fallen.
Just as he spread his Divine Sense as widely as possible to search the surroundings meticulously.
‘Found it!’
He was able to discover the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda, a seven-story stone pagoda soaring high into the sky.
The Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda was a peculiar secret realm that existed in multiple regions simultaneously, and it was a place where he had obtained a very large harvest when he entered during his Golden Core days.
‘Does a single pagoda really exist in multiple places simultaneously?’
Examining the stone pagoda with its worn appearance closely, a question naturally arose.
The pagoda in the desert of the Eastern Province and the pagoda here in the Middle Province resembled each other to a wondrous degree. As if they were one.
‘By the way… it is not easy.’
He checked whether he could force open the formation and enter, but the formation guarding the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda was on a different level from the Red Cloud Secret Realm.
It seemed he could force an entry if he exerted his full strength, but doing so felt like it would break the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda.
‘That would be a bit of a waste.’
Putting aside all other issues, was it not a place where Nascent Soul-grade spiritual objects were produced periodically?
Thinking of the countless Nascent Soul stage cultivators who would be born through this secret realm, he was reluctant to touch it rashly.
‘Should I just enter when the secret realm officially opens?’
The Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda opened in a 300-year cycle. If he waited for roughly 220 years, it would open naturally.
Though it felt like he would already be in the Upper Realm in 220 years…
‘It would not be bad to drop by the Human Realm briefly around then. Just to check if everyone is doing well.’
If the situation was such that returning to the Human Realm was difficult, he could come down after another 300 years had passed.
Since his cultivation realm would have become unfathomably high in 520 years, he would be able to easily fix the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda even if it broke.
Nodding his head, Jin So-myeong returned to Cloud Dragon Immortal City.
“Let us head out gradually.”
“Ah, yes.”
Taking along Cheong Hwa-ran, who had been looking around the market like an innocent country girl, and Ha Un, who had packed all his luggage and was waiting, he headed to the Sacred City.
Utilizing five or six teleportation arrays in succession, arriving at the Sacred City was a matter of an instant.
“We pay respects to the Lord of the Divine Wood.”
The deacons guarding the Sacred City’s teleportation array paused upon seeing Cheong Hwa-ran and Ha Un, but they did not say much.
Though they might well be curious about the identities of those whom the Lord of the Divine Wood had personally brought, they merely greeted quietly and withdrew.
“These Daoists will stay in the Sacred City for a while, so make arrangements so that they can use the teleportation array at any time.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, and do you know who manages the Rank 5 fire veins?”
Whether it was an unexpected question, the deacon paused for a moment then answered politely.
“It is the Artifact Refining Altar Master, Im Seok-woo.”
“The Altar Master? That is perfect. I have someone to introduce, so tell him to come.”
“Yes.”
Leaving behind the deacon who was pulling out a sound transmission talisman to contact somewhere, he took Ha Un and Cheong Hwa-ran toward the eastern cave dwelling cluster.
Standing in front of the majestic mountain range extending over tens of thousands of li, he gestured with his chin.
“This is the eastern cave dwelling area where you will live from now on, so choose a place to your liking.”
“…I shall take that mountain.”
Ha Un, who was looking around various parts of the mountain range, chose a volcano where red lava boiled, which was a place with a Rank 4 high-grade spiritual vein.
“Good. You wait at the cave dwelling, Ha Un. Once the Altar Master I mentioned earlier arrives, I shall visit.”
“Yes.”
Unlike Ha Un who finished his choice easily, Cheong Hwa-ran could not readily choose, because her cultivation realm was low, making the speed of assessing the dwellings slow.
Since the mountain range was too wide to just leave her to it, he simply pointed out a suitable spot.
“How about that mountain? It has a Rank 4 high-grade spiritual vein, and since there is a small fire vein underground, it will be useful when refining elixirs.”
Cheong Hwa-ran, who was blankly staring at the mountain enveloped in dense spiritual Qi, swallowed hard and nodded her head fast enough to make a whistling sound.
“Yes. I like it very much.”
“Glad to hear that.”
“But Senior. You said you have a favor to ask of me, may I ask what kind of work it is?”
Perhaps because she had received a spiritual vein too outstanding for a rogue cultivator like her to obtain, she could not hide her nervous expression even while rejoicing.
“As I already said, it is not a dangerous matter, so there is no need to worry so much.”
After confirming that no one was around, he retrieved the Life-Generating Fire from his sub-space.
Cheong Hwa-ran, whose focus had unfitted for an instant as she gazed at the quietly burning pure white flame, shuddered at her shoulders.
“This is…”
“It is a Rank 5 flame called the Life-Generating Fire. As you can see, it is too weak, so I am worrying about how to revive it.”
“So that was why you brought me here.”
“You told me in the past that if you used the spiritual body you possess, you could nurture flames. Would this be possible too?”
Cheong Hwa-ran, who examined the Life-Generating Fire for a fairly long time, bit her lip firmly, then shook her head.
“I am sorry. With my current strength, nurturing a Rank 5 flame seems to be too much.”
It was a disappointing reply, but since it was as he had guessed, he was not let down.
In fact, in a way, it was natural.
Since she was still at the Golden Core stage, nurturing a Rank 5 flame was close to impossible.
“Understood. Then let us try it again after you become a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“I am apologetic for falling short of your expectations.”
“Not at all. I did not think nurturing the Life-Generating Fire would be easy in the first place.”
To be more honest, he wondered if it would still be difficult even if Cheong Hwa-ran became a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
After all, is the Life-Generating Fire not a flame related to lifespan?
Bringing her to the Sacred City was due to a faint expectation of ‘just in case’.
“You just focus on raising your cultivation realm. If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask the deacons.”
“Yes. Thank you truly. I will do my best to live up to Senior’s expectations.”
“Hm.”
Around the time he sent Cheong Hwa-ran, who expressed her gratitude repeatedly, to her cave dwelling.
A muscular man with a robust build flew over from beyond the horizon.
Altar Master Im Seok-woo, whose breathing had become unstable from flying with all his strength, landed about ten steps ahead and shouted in a booming voice.
“I pay respects to the Lord of the Divine Wood! I heard that you called for me.”
“You arrived right on time. I have someone to introduce, so follow me.”
“Yes!”
Taking along Im Seok-woo, who could be called the most outstanding artisan in the Sacred City, he headed to Ha Un’s cave dwelling, and the two artifact refiners faced each other.
“This person is…”
“My name is Ha Un.”
Honestly, it could not be said that the first meeting between the two was good.
For Ha Un, who had lost his father to the former Lord of the Divine Wood, hated the Sacred City to the point of shuddering, and Im Seok-woo, who was born and raised in the Sacred City, was only obedient to Jin So-myeong and extremely cold to others.
Whether he read the hostility contained in Ha Un’s gaze, Im Seok-woo frowned.
Before long, they became busy glaring at each other, but he had no intention of forcing a reconciliation.
“Since you are both outstanding artisans, you will gain much if you talk to each other. More importantly… the reason I gathered you is because of this jade slip.”
It was enough to throw them a difficult problem that required their utmost effort.
“It is said to be a method to raise the grade of a Natal Spiritual Treasure to a Rank 5 Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.”
“Do you mean a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure…?”
When he handed the jade slip discovered in the warehouse left by the Star-Shattering True Monarch to the startled Im Seok-woo, the latter scanned it a few times and let out a low groan.
“Great Sun True Essence, Purple Bright Light Jade, Night Shadow True Sand… the ingredients are all absurdly rare spiritual objects. It will not be easy.”
“Fortunately, the materials are prepared, so do not worry. More importantly, quite a few methods are recorded in that jade slip, so study which method among them would be best to use.”
The jade slip was subsequently passed to Ha Un; though he read it with an expressionless face at first, Ha Un could not suppress his admiration.
“Heh. Just who wrote this jade slip? They seem to be someone who has reached the pinnacle of artifact refining.”
“I do not know either.”
He merely guessed that it might be one of the artifact refiners born in the long history.
“Hm… it seems we must see the Natal Spiritual Treasure possessed by the Lord of the Divine Wood to select the suitable method.”
“Understood.”
Since it was a natural request, there was no reason not to grant it.
The moment he called Limitless, the Natal Spiritual Treasure connected to his soul.
Hum!
Along with the clear metallic ring made when a sword vibrates, Limitless popped out from the empty air and radiated a powerful light.
Limitless, which had now recovered its sharp Qi to the level of the Rank 4 highest grade, showed off its sharpness.
“Heh.”
“Mmh…”
Limitless looked like fuzz or dandelion seeds and seemed soft at first glance, but in fact, it was a dangerous entity formed by the clumping together of over tens of millions of sharp Qis.
“It is an uncommon amorphous dharma treasure. Is it by any chance a sword born from a Sword Seed?”
“You recognize it.”
As he agreed to the words of Ha Un, who was staring intently at Limitless, a question followed.
“Excuse me, but how many years has it been since it sprouted from the seed?”
“Since it was born when I was at the Foundation Establishment stage, it has been roughly a hundred years.”
As he replied while searching his memory, the two artifact refiners muttered in disbelief.
“Only a hundred years…?”
“Even though a sword born from a Sword Seed has limits to its growth speed.”
Did it understand that it was praise for itself?
The light radiated by Limitless, which was floating in the empty air, grew stronger. As if its mood had improved, it even hovered back and forth between the two artifact refiners and scattered its sharp Qi.
“Heh. Did it just understand my words, when I am not even its master? Its spirituality is so outstanding that it is hard to believe it has only been a hundred years.”
Is it because he had given it plenty of the Supreme Great Ability since it was in the seed state?
Limitless had become an entity closer to a living creature rather than a simple dharma treasure. If it grew smoothly and its spirituality became stronger, it would probably come to be called the Artifact Spirit Race.
Watching the two who were worrying in order to make Limitless into a Rank 5 Heavenly Spiritual Treasure, he spoke.
“Altar Master. You make arrangements so that Ha Un can use the Rank 5 fire veins. I say again, you are both outstanding artisans, so you will gain much if you share opinions.”
“…I receive your command.”
He poured out Rank 5 spiritual objects that were in the warehouse left by the Star-Shattering True Monarch, focusing especially on minerals. They were all things to be used to make Limitless into a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.
“If there is anything else you need, do not hesitate to request it. Ah, this is a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure I obtained by chance, so refer to it during your research.”
Leaving behind the artisans who had grown blank at the sight of the Rank 5 cauldron, the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron, and all kinds of precious materials, he departed.
Since making a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure would not finish in a day or two, there was no reason to wait here.
Returning to his cave dwelling with the Rank 5 spiritual vein, he called Myo Seol, who was called the Grand Manager of the Sacred City.
He intended to check if the ingredients for the Mysterious Heaven Brilliance Pill, the pill that raises one’s aptitude to the Heavenly Spiritual Root, had been gathered, and also find out news about Hong Seol and other acquaintances.
*
Myo Seol, who came with a face so expressionless it felt slightly cold, greeted respectfully and delivered good news.
“You found the Heavenly Thunder Wood Core?”
“Yes. It is said that Cheondong Chamber of Commerce purchased it by spending an enormous fortune after a rogue cultivator exploring the Forest of Ten Thousand Trees discovered it by chance.”
Among the ingredients for the Mysterious Heaven Brilliance Pill, there were only two that had not yet been obtained.
The Heavenly Thunder Wood Core and the Mysterious Jade Crystal, to think he had obtained one of them.
He was naturally delighted.
His aptitude, which was initially a Mixed Spiritual Root, had grown step by step, and before he knew it, he had arrived right before the Heavenly Spiritual Root, the idol of all cultivators.
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