Chapter 33
Baek-Cheong could not contain her joy and began to Refine Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pills one after another.
The sensation of tuning the energy inside the Pill Furnace and suppressing the conflicting properties was a new realm she had never experienced before.
However, the joy was short-lived, as the continuous Inscribed Pill Refining gnawed away fearsomely at her stamina and Divine Sense.
The task of bringing out the inscribed pattern by minutely controlling the Five Elements Qi required a high level of concentration that was overwhelming to handle even with her massive Divine Sense.
Furthermore, with her realm at 4th-Stage Qi Condensation, there was a clear limit to fully preserving the spiritual energy inside the Pill Furnace.
In the end, after dozens of attempts, the Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pills that Baek-Cheong managed to Refine perfectly amounted to a mere five pills.
Even that was a painful result, barely completing one pill at a time by pouring in all her effort, unlike the Top-grade Medicinal Pills where she could pull out three pills in a single Refining process.
“Haa, haa…”
Placing the fifth and final Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill into a jade bottle, Baek-Cheong collapsed into her Seat.
Due to the excessive use of spiritual energy and Divine Sense, her head throbbed as if it would split open, and her entire body was drenched in sweat.
Moreover, she didn’t even have the energy left to lift a single finger.
Yak-seon, who had been silently watching from the side, clicked his tongue and approached.
“I told you not to overdo it. Bringing out an inscribed pattern is like stealing the energy of the heavens, so it inevitably consumes a massive amount of mental and physical energy. Return to your Abode for today and get some good rest. Do not even come near the Pill Room for a few days.”
Despite Yak-seon’s stern scolding, Baek-Cheong could not wipe the smile hanging on her lips.
The presence of the jade bottle held tightly in her embrace seemed to compensate for all the pain.
“Yes, grandfather Yak-seon… I will go in and rest.”
With staggering steps, Baek-Cheong left the Pill Room and headed to her Abode.
As soon as she entered the door, she collapsed onto the soft bed without even thinking of washing up.
Without even a moment to plan her forum browsing for the next day, let alone to make a Nameless Forum Connection, Baek-Cheong fell helplessly into the deep, deep swamp of sleep.
* * *
The very next day.
Only when the sun was high in the sky did Baek-Cheong barely open her eyes and raise her stiff body.
Her Divine Sense and meridians had fully recovered from the deep sleep, but some fatigue remained.
“It is finally the day of the decisive battle.”
Baek-Cheong clenched her fists and finished getting ready.
Her goal for today was exactly one thing.
To consume the painstakingly refined Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill to explosively fill her spiritual energy, and to post a picture post on the Nameless Forum for all to see, drawing in all the aggro.
However, there were many uneasy aspects to starting this endeavor in her Abode, which relied solely on the medicinal efficacy of the Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill.
To preserve the spiritual energy she had steadily gathered so far without losing a single drop while uploading the picture post, the assistance of a Spirit Gathering Formation that could draw in even the energy of heaven and Earth was absolutely necessary.
“It was hard holding back from forum browsing all this time. This is a reward I’m giving myself.”
As soon as Baek-Cheong finished her rationalization, she moved her steps toward the Clan’s Back Mountain without delay.
The C-grade Training Room, for which she had received her father’s permission, was always open for her.
“Grandfather Jin!”
“Oh, Cheong-Yi is here.”
After briefly greeting the elder guarding the entrance of the Eastern Region, she navigated through the complex, Labyrinth-like path and entered the Training Room.
The Dense Spiritual Energy gently embraced Baek-Cheong inside the Training Room.
“Huu… Hap!”
Baek-Cheong sat in the Lotus Position in the center of the Jade Flat Platform and made full preparations.
Taking one deep breath, she pulled the jade bottle from her embrace and tossed a single Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill into her mouth.
As soon as the pill touched the tip of her tongue, a phenomenon on a completely different level from the Top-grade Spirit Gathering Pill occurred.
Rumble!
The Silver Inscribed Pattern carved on the surface of the pill wriggled like a living creature and began to spew out explosive spiritual energy.
As she went beyond the level of condensing the energy of medicinal herbs, a pure and massive vortex of spiritual energy containing the Principles of Heaven and Earth plummeted down her esophagus and into her Dantian.
At the same time, the Spirit Gathering Formation on the floor of the Training Room reacted intensely, sucking in the external energy with a terrifying momentum.
The spiritual energy springing from the Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill and the spiritual energy infused by the Spirit Gathering Formation fought as if competing within her meridians.
“Heueuk!”
A painful scream leaked from Baek-Cheong’s tightly shut mouth.
It far exceeded the limit her meridians could handle, resulting in an overload.
The blood vessels all over her body swelled as if they would burst, and her joints screamed and dislocated.
The spiritual energy rushing in like a tidal wave instantly filled her vast Dantian and, not stopping there, roughly pounded against the walls of her Dantian, struggling to forcefully reach toward the next realm.
If she carelessly left this Qi Rampage unchecked, she would be in danger of having her meridians torn apart and the walls of her Dantian collapsing, forcing a breakthrough in her realm.
The tower of effort she had painstakingly built up until now was on the verge of collapsing.
“This is crazy… Why is the medicinal efficacy so strong!”
Baek-Cheong could not hide her internal shock.
It was a painful mistake, caused by being deceived by the title of a 1st-Grade Low-Tier Pill and underestimating the true power harbored by the inscribed pattern.
Even so, she couldn’t just run out of the Training Room right now.
It was obvious that if she escaped the control of the Spirit Gathering Formation, the rampaging spiritual energy would tear her physical body to shreds and scatter outside.
She needed a way to somehow control or relieve the wildly rampaging energy.
“The Name…less Forum!”
A flashing solution crossed her mind.
Her original purpose was the picture post function of the Nameless Forum.
It was no different from a monster that ruthlessly devoured both Divine Sense and spiritual energy.
“I have to write a post somehow…”
Clenching her teeth to endure the tearing pain, Baek-Cheong strenuously extended her Divine Sense.
She brought up the Nameless Forum before her eyes and entered the Writing Window.
Even in the midst of that, because she hadn’t forgotten her purpose, she took out an extra Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill and roughly tossed it onto the Jade Flat Platform.
She quickly focused her Divine Sense on the Nameless Forum and opened the Image Function.
She adjusted her vision so that the brilliant Silver Pattern of the Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill formed clearly in the center of the image.
Then, as if squeezing out every last drop, she poured her limit of 15 zhang of Divine Sense into the Nameless Forum to attach the picture.
Shoooook!
Then, a miracle occurred.
The spiritual energy that had been rampaging powerfully enough to burst her meridians began to be sucked into the Nameless Forum at a terrifying speed.
The explosive momentum pounding against the walls of her Dantian was broken, and the Spiritual Energy Level that had risen to her chin gradually lowered, achieving a bizarre state of equilibrium.
The supply of spiritual energy spewed out by the Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill and the discharge of spiritual energy consumed by the Nameless Forum picture post matched exactly, continuing a precarious tightrope walk.
“Haa… Haa…”
Breathing heavily, Baek-Cheong held onto her consciousness and watched the situation.
If the balance twisted even a little, the spiritual energy could rampage or become completely depleted.
It was a desperate situation where she could easily become a crippled person if she wasn’t careful.
A suffocating tug-of-war continued, where she couldn’t let go of the string of tension for even a moment.
.
.
.
How much time had passed?
In proportion to the process of the picture being safely attached to the main text, the momentum of the spiritual energy spewing from the pill also gradually subsided.
“Huh? If I use this well, I could write one picture post per Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill…”
Even in the midst of a terrible crisis, Baek-Cheong came up with an Eccentric Idea.
However, due to the depletion of her Divine Sense and the overload on her meridians, her limits were approaching their maximum both mentally and physically.
Her vision blurred, and tinnitus began to ring in her ears.
Baek-Cheong barely held onto her fading consciousness.
Squeezing out her last bit of strength, she urgently wrote the title and body of the post.
『※Dao Friend(913.14): Is it okay to eat this Spirit Gathering Pill? It looks like it has mold on it.』
[It has a squiggly Silver Pattern on it. Isn’t it rotten? Should I throw it away?]
As soon as she finished writing, her vision flickered pitch black, and all her senses cut off.
Unable to check the red notifications generated by the Dao Friends' replies as the post was safely registered on the Nameless Forum, Baek-Cheong collapsed onto the Jade Flat Platform and fell into a deep State of Unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, the Nameless Forum’s Chat Board, where Baek-Cheong’s picture post had been dropped, turned into an absolute chaotic mess.
Unable to overcome their curiosity at Dao Friend(913.14)'s highly provocative title mentioning Pill Mold, the Cultivators cautiously opened the post.
And they checked the picture uploaded in the main text and confirmed the true identity of the pill.
The board was covered in shock, anger, and dumbfounded chuckles.
[Dao Friend(11.23): Mold? You crazy bastard, that’s an inscribed pattern! Are you blind! For such a clear pattern to appear on a mere Spirit Gathering Pill, it must surely be the handiwork of the Dao Friend named Yak-seon!]
[Dao Friend(553.24): Such a distinct and vibrant Silver Cloud Pattern (Cloud Pattern)… To be able to carve such an inscribed pattern onto a 1st-Grade Low-Tier Pill. This Dao Friend’s Talent as a Prodigy is truly terrifying and bizarre.]
[Dao Friend(201.9): If it’s rotten, throw it to me!]
[Dao Friend(822.82): By the way, aren’t you writing your Cultivation Journal these days?]
[Dao Friend(77.21): Seeing you flex while talking about mold makes my blood pressure rise, but I have no choice but to admit it. This Dao Friend is indeed a genius. When it comes to the Talent for pissing others off, you are the best in the Cultivation World.]
The Cultivators realized they had been thoroughly played by Baek-Cheong’s shameless flexing and burst into anger.
However, the appearance of the perfect inscribed pattern carved onto a 1st-Grade Low-Tier Pill was enough to cover the Cultivators' anger with awe.
All sorts of reactions, mixed with criticism and praise, jealousy and envy, poured out with the momentum to burst the Nameless Forum.
However, Baek-Cheong, who should have been giggling while appreciating the amusing and fierce reactions, was merely collapsed on the cold floor of the Training Room, fallen into a deep, sweet sleep.