Chapter 194
As the first day of the New Year's banquet passed, the gazes surrounding Baek Cheong changed.
Having reached Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment and personally brewed a Danmun Hak-Su Dan, it was only natural.
For an ordinary alchemist, brewing a Danmun pill at such a young age and with only Foundation Establishment cultivation was something they could not even dream of attempting.
It was already no exaggeration to call her a third-grade alchemist who had surpassed her rank.
That was worlds apart from how she had previously been regarded as nothing more than a child who merely used pills brewed by Yak-seon.
Yet the subject of all this newfound status disappeared as soon as the first day ended.
She did not even show the tip of her nose at the banquet hall, holing up in her cave abode instead.
Even guests who had traveled from afar heard the rumors and were eager to catch a glimpse of the young alchemist.
Meanwhile, the girl in question was obliviously sprawled across her bed.
‘As expected, there’s no better place to browse the forum than my cave abode.’
With one arm beneath her head as a pillow, Baek Cheong leisurely scrolled through the Nameless Forum.
Using the banquet as an excuse meant she could cling to the Nameless Forum during the day without worry.
She had spent several days holed up in her cave abode, gorging herself on all the bait she had missed.
Besides, there was plenty of fun to be had tossing out shitposts and watching the Daoists bite and tear into one another.
Then a familiar handle caught her eye near the top of the general discussion board.
‘Oh, that one.’
It was the Daoist who had gotten especially heated at the post she had turned upside down a few days ago before slipping away.
Thinking she had found something good, she quickly clicked on the post.
『Daoist(443.2): Daoist(913.14) Was Being a Little Too Arrogant.』
[Forget whether it was an avatar of a True Immortal who lost his memories or whatever—what kind of person baits people and then runs away? Any Daoists know where the lower realm is?]
She was practically a fish caught on a hook, flapping helplessly before slipping free.
“Pfft.”
Baek Cheong could not help laughing at the sight of the enraged Daoist.
It was obvious what he intended to do if he managed to find out the lower realm’s location.
Meanwhile, replies began pouring into the heated post.
[Daoist(72.5): Normally, pinpointing the location of a lower realm requires risking your life, so who would do that?]
[Daoist(11.23): You want to go somewhere with more than ten Deity Transformation cultivators?]
[Daoist(519.8): Looking at how spiritual-realm goods are circulating there in the first place, it can’t be an ordinary lower realm...?]
└Daoist(6.41): It’s probably a lower realm on the verge of ascending to the Spirit Realm, so without a guide in the Star River, they likely couldn’t even break through the realm barrier to get in.
The replies were all trying to talk him out of it, making the Daoist clinging to his grudge look rather pathetic.
Watching the Daoists speculate and piece together information about her left Baek Cheong feeling rather strange.
She seemed to have become a fairly well-liked regular whose name came up often on the Nameless Forum.
But it was not as though that was a bad thing.
‘Being treated this well on the Nameless Forum isn’t bad.’
Baek Cheong was about to add a few replies and pour oil on the fire when...
The communication jade tablet resting on the table beside her bed began to glow.
When she examined it closely, she saw that a signal had come from Shangyuan, where her uncle was.
‘Why now?’
She clicked her tongue regretfully and rose.
The bait was just reaching its most entertaining point.
Even so, since it meant someone had something urgent to discuss, she left her regret behind.
***
Baek Cheong entered the study in Shangyuan.
Her uncle immediately brightened upon seeing her.
“Oh, it’s Cheong-ah. Come in.”
Her uncle pushed aside one section of the desk cluttered with official business and gestured for her to sit.
As usual, a sly smile hung at the corners of his mouth.
Yet before he could even ask how she was, he went straight to the point.
“I called you because I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“You know that newly brewed second-grade longevity pill, the Danmun Hak-Su Dan. Could you brew me a few?”
Baek Cheong blinked and stared at her uncle.
The Hak-Su Dan was a longevity pill that extended one’s lifespan.
But her uncle was still in the prime of his life, nowhere near the age when he needed to stock up on longevity pills.
“You’re still healthy and vigorous, Uncle.”
“Hah, look at this girl. Do I look old enough to be taking things like that already?”
Baek Mu-yeong let out an incredulous snort.
Then he waved his hands and explained the situation.
“I’m not planning to take them. I intend to put them up for auction through the merchant guild. A new second-grade longevity pill, no less. When have you ever seen something like this? The moment it goes up at the auction house, cultivators will come running with fire in their eyes.”
As expected, business came first for him.
A Danmun longevity pill brewed from a new formula was too valuable a lure for a merchant guild to pass up.
Under normal circumstances, she would have attached at least one condition.
But not long ago, she had received a spatial magical treasure as a gift to celebrate her Foundation Establishment.
After accepting something that valuable, it felt bad to negotiate payment every single time.
‘Just this once, I’ll do it for him.’
Baek Cheong obediently nodded.
“A few pills? I can brew those for you in no time.”
“......”
Her uncle, however, froze and stared blankly at her.
He blinked twice, his face suggesting he had heard something wrong.
“You’ll just do it for me...?”
“Yes. Is there any reason I can’t?”
“...No, but what’s gotten into you?”
Baek Mu-yeong examined his niece with a suspicious look.
A niece who gave away something without asking for anything in return was more suspicious than anything.
And with good reason—this was the girl who had slowly wrung Five-Element Puppets, auction items, and the like out of him over time.
Seeing her uncle’s bewildered face, Baek Cheong felt a mischievous impulse stir.
“If it really bothers you, then how about making me one third-grade Five-Element Puppet?”
“That’s a little...”
Her uncle’s face immediately filled with embarrassment.
He seemed to have remembered how Yuk-muk had been left half-crippled after making five second-grade puppets.
More importantly, a third-grade puppet would require more than twice as many spirit stones.
Baek Mu-yeong coughed and hurriedly changed the subject.
“Instead, I’ll give you half of whatever they fetch at auction. That should be enough to keep you from feeling slighted, right?”
Baek Cheong rolled her eyes slightly as she calculated.
Putting the pills up for auction would naturally inflate their price.
She could receive far more than if she sold them at the ordinary market rate.
Besides, spirit stones coming in openly through the merchant guild would be clean enough for her to use without hesitation.
‘This might be a decent way to launder the spirit stones from the merchandise.’
Pretending she could not resist, she nodded.
Only then did her uncle smile in satisfaction and take a sip of tea.
He seemed more comfortable adding a price than receiving the goods for free.
After deciding to brew a few Danmun Hak-Su Dan later when she had time, Baek Cheong rose to return to her cave abode.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“All right. Oh, and your father has been looking for you too. Stop by the Clan Head’s Hall on your way out.”
“Father?”
Baek Cheong tilted her head at the unexpected news.
She could not think of any reason her father would have to call her separately.
Even if she pressed her uncle for the reason, he did not seem likely to give her a clear answer.
She gave him an awkward bow and left the study.
‘What could it be?’
She left Shangyuan and headed straight for the Clan Head’s Hall.
She crossed the inner courtyard as familiarly as ever and made her way to her father’s study.
When she announced her presence at the door, a pleased voice came from inside.
“Is that you, Cheong-ah? Come in.”
When she entered the study, her father was buried beneath letters piled as high as a mountain.
He seemed to be busy dealing with the official affairs that had piled up during the banquet.
But the moment he saw her, he put down his brush and his expression softened.
“Have your studies been going well lately?”
“...Yes, they’ve been going smoothly.”
Baek Cheong answered calmly, though she felt a stab of guilt inside.
She had been sprawled across her bed browsing the forum until only moments ago.
Fortunately, there was no way her father could know what she had been doing.
Baek Mu-jin nodded in satisfaction, then paused for a moment.
“The reason I called you here is a different matter.”
Baek Cheong straightened her posture and adjusted her collar.
Her father’s tone was different from usual.
It sounded as though something weighty was about to follow, rather than a casual question about her well-being.
“Before long, the clans of the Southern Continent will be forming an alliance. We’re about to set out to find children among the mortals who possess spiritual roots. Are you interested in joining us?”
“An alliance?”
“That’s right.”
Baek Mu-jin put down his brush and straightened his back.
“The other continents are in turmoil, aren’t they? We decided to join hands and form an alliance before the sparks spread to the Southern Continent as well. We received favorable responses from the other clans during this New Year’s banquet, so it’s practically formed already.”
Baek Cheong nodded, but pondered his words carefully inside.
The cultivation world had certainly been unsettled of late.
On the Eastern Continent, the Dongcheon Mountain-Water Alliance was even gathering lords from the other continents.
On top of that, a demonic faction called the Nine Nether Demon Palace had been mentioned with surprising frequency.
‘...That damned Nine Nether Demon Palace.’
The corner of her mouth twitched before she knew it.
The fact that the Nine Nether Demon Palace was actually nonsense she had made up on the spur of the moment.
It was a secret she had to carry with her all the way to the grave, no matter what happened.
In any case, with the continent in turmoil, there was nothing wrong with the clans joining hands.
‘An alliance? Father is really making a big move.’
That much made sense, and she nodded.
But the part that followed bothered her a little.
It was the plan to seek out children with spiritual roots among the mortals.
‘That’s a little out of left field.’
Selecting and taking in children with spiritual roots from among the mortals was something sects commonly did.
Of course, it was not unheard of for clans to seek out talented individuals as well.
But the Yeonha Baek Clan had so far built its connections strictly around its blood relatives.
Now such a clan intended to discover talents among the mortals and even raise them.
In other words, it was essentially announcing its intention to expand its influence in earnest.
‘Is the clan starting to expand its numbers?’
It was clearly a move to extend its roots outward beyond the narrow fence of blood relations.
Once she reached that thought, Baek Cheong’s eyes sparkled instead.
‘Did a talent-discovery event just drop?’
It was one of the most important clichés in xianxia, right up there with obtaining a fortuitous opportunity.
Perhaps they might discover a child with an unusual spiritual root, such as a top-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root or a rare Lightning Spiritual Root.
The more she thought about it, the more interested she became.
Before long, she relaxed the contemplative expression on her face, as though she had finished deliberating.
“Yes, I’m interested. I want to join too.”
Baek Cheong nodded and answered without hesitation.
An interesting opportunity had come up for the first time in a while, so there was no reason to turn it down.
Baek Mu-jin smiled with satisfaction when his daughter readily volunteered.
‘If things go well, I might even get to use the Cloud-Rain Technique.’
He had no idea of his daughter’s peculiar ulterior motive.