Chapter 25
Baek-Cheong rushed out of the Training Room and sprinted frantically toward her Abode.
Because of the waste clinging to her entire body, the stench of an open sewer pierced her nose with every step.
Her face burned as she saw the Family members she encountered flinch and step back in surprise.
“Hurry up and draw my bathwater!”
As soon as she arrived at her Abode, Baek-Cheong urgently gathered the Maidservants.
Normally, she would have quietly let the Maidservants wash her body, but today she declined.
Showing this dreadful appearance to anyone was shameful in itself.
“I’ll wash myself, so all of you step back.”
Baek-Cheong sent the Maidservants out and jumped into the spacious bathtub.
Soaking the hardened waste in the warm water and scrubbing it off was exhausting work, but it felt refreshing.
While soaking in a half-bath and relaxing her tense muscles, Baek-Cheong suddenly sensed a change in her Divine Sense.
“Huh?”
The Divine Sense she extended absentmindedly pushed past the walls of her Abode and spread out without hesitation.
Her Divine Sense, which had been stuck at 11 zhang during her 3rd Stage Qi Condensation, had expanded to a whopping 15 zhang (about 45 meters) after breaking through the minor realm.
It was an overwhelming range that allowed her to grasp every situation in the vicinity of her Abode in three dimensions, as clearly as the palm of her hand, just by focusing her mind.
“It’s literally on the level of a biological radar.”
Fascinated, Baek-Cheong rolled her Divine Sense around here and there.
But soon, extreme fatigue washed over her, and her head throbbed.
Indiscriminately spreading out her massive Divine Sense was like shoving all the unnecessary noise and visual information from her surroundings straight into her brain.
Furthermore, carelessly peeping into others' territories was a rudeness that went against the minimum etiquette and morality required in the Cultivation World.
“Ugh… my head.”
Baek-Cheong quickly withdrew her Divine Sense and accessed the Nameless Forum out of habit.
She felt like she would burst if she didn’t brag about the joy of her 4th-stage breakthrough to the whole neighborhood.
Pulling up the Chat Board, Baek-Cheong cleared her throat and scanned the screen.
The board was flooded with the usual pointless shitposts.
However, bizarrely formatted posts that stood out here and there caught Baek-Cheong’s eye.
『※Dao Friend(22.10): a Half-human, Half-cat Demon Emperor, euh-heu.』
『※Dao Friend(105.8): Toad demonic beast, euh-heu-heu.』
『※Dao Friend(44.91): Thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox vixen, euh-heu.』
She could frequently see posts with symbols indicating that an image was attached.
This was a phenomenon that occurred as the Cultivators of the Nameless Forum, who had been suppressed by the fear of Jinseonkasu, began to freely utilize the Image Function like a bursting dam, using Baek-Cheong’s provocation as a starting point.
The Cultivators boldly shattered the unspoken rule, placing the act of opening image posts entirely on their own responsibility.
After all, images containing the forms of True Immortals or fatal contamination were naturally filtered out in the Lower Realm Nameless Forum anyway.
It was also a big factor that they realized there was no great danger as long as they avoided posts with bizarre, unrecognizable characters in the title.
“Is this thanks to me?”
Of course, cautious Cultivators who were still aware of the danger strictly avoided image posts and stuck only to text.
Furthermore, even the unidentified expression [Euh-heu] that Baek-Cheong had casually spread began to circulate secretly among the Dao Friends, firmly establishing itself as a sly exclamation of Admiration upon seeing demonic beasts or suspicious things.
“Still, I have to do what I have to do.”
Baek-Cheong tried hard to ignore the chaotic board and focused on her own goal.
Majestically, she moved her Divine Sense and began to write a new post.
『Dao Friend(913.14): Minor realms are nothing special. Hit 4th-Stage Qi Condensation.』
[Took a bit longer this time since I was solidifying my realm too, yep.]
As soon as she registered the post, the Dao Friends who had been keeping an eye on her Interface Number swarmed in like bees to leave replies.
[Dao Friend(11.23): Does time flow differently in your Cultivation World, Dao Friend? How can a Five Elements Spirit Root Holder reach 4th-Stage Qi Condensation in less than four months?]
[Dao Friend(88.4): Looks like the Old Monster of the Qi Condensation Stage forgot its Qi Condensation days.]
[Dao Friend(281.11): Euh-heu.]
However, contrary to Baek-Cheong’s expectations, the reactions were extremely bland and unenthusiastic.
The explosive reactions of shock and disbelief shown in the beginning were nowhere to be found.
The Cultivators seemed to have already concluded that Dao Friend(913.14) was a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage or higher, addicted to terrible trolling.
An atmosphere had formed where, no matter what amazing achievements she bragged about, they dismissed it as the nonsense of an Old Monster and maintained their indifference.
“Ah, did I draw too much aggro?”
Baek-Cheong pouted her lips, expressing her dissatisfaction.
Even so, she had no intention of going back into the Training Room, consuming Spirit Gathering Pills, and overexerting herself to write an image post just to be a troublemaker.
The cost-effectiveness of drawing aggro just didn’t balance out.
“No fun.”
Baek-Cheong irritably logged out of the Nameless Forum.
Then, finishing her bath, she stroked her soft, dry skin and hurried to get dressed.
Since she had safely reached 4th-Stage Qi Condensation, she needed to extort some new spiritual medicine from her father.
“There wouldn’t happen to be something like an Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill, would there?”
Humming a tune, Baek-Cheong headed toward the Family Head’s Hall.
However, when she arrived at the Family Head’s Hall, a heavy and bleak atmosphere, unlike usual, pricked her skin.
The number of Guards protecting the entrance had doubled, and a taut tension hung in the air, as if they might draw their swords at any moment.
“What’s going on?”
Baek-Cheong briefly debated whether she should turn back.
But as if in response to Baek-Cheong’s arrival, the heavy doors leading to the Inner Hall of the Family Head’s Hall smoothly slid open.
After just gauging the situation to ensure it was safe to enter, Baek-Cheong cautiously crossed the threshold.
Inside the Inner Hall, her father and Yak-seon were sitting across from each other, having a conversation.
Unlike the sharp air felt outside, the expressions of the two men looked quite bright and relaxed.
“Cheong-A, you’ve come at a good time. Come closer.”
Baek Mu-Jin welcomed her gladly and called his daughter closer.
As Baek-Cheong approached with quick, short steps, Yak-seon’s eyes gleamed sharply.
His keen senses at the Core Formation stage instantly noticed the subtle change in the energy radiating from Baek-Cheong’s body.
“Hoho, my word. In the short time I haven’t seen you, your disposition has completely changed. The expansion of your energy meridians is noticeably prominent, and the Purity of Spiritual Energy you emit has risen to another level.”
Because she had expelled the accumulated impurities while breaking through the minor realm, subtle changes were also evident in Baek-Cheong’s outward appearance.
Her eyes had become clearer, and her skin bore a smooth luster like white jade.
Baek Mu-Jin, too, only noticed his daughter’s changes after hearing Yak-seon’s words and flinched in surprise.
“Cheong-A, could it be… have you broken through the minor realm and reached the 4th stage?”
“I steadily solidified my realm this time, and accumulated spiritual energy while taking Spirit Gathering Pills in the Eastern Region. Unfortunately, the wall was too thick, so I had to take a realm-breaking pill to break through, though.”
Baek-Cheong pretended to be sullen and put on a pitiful expression.
At that, Baek Mu-Jin chose his words carefully and asked for the reason.
“Yes, as someone with a Five Elements Spirit Root, there must be difficulties in raising your realm, no matter how much you have awakened the Five Elements Mutual Generation. However, you could have taken your time to break through the realm, so why did you break through so hastily?”
“That’s… “
Faced with the sharp question, Baek-Cheong couldn’t answer hastily.
Because she couldn’t possibly say it was out of a desire to post image posts easily on the Nameless Forum.
“I wanted to raise my realm as quickly as possible to achieve Five Elements Unification…”
“Five Elements Unification… I understand your impatience since it hasn’t been long since you stepped into cultivation, but patience is important in cultivation. Even if you have solidified your realm, it is a distant dream to cross the wall with easily accumulated spiritual energy.”
“Ah…”
Finally realizing her oversight, she let out a small sigh.
However, she didn’t regret what had already passed.
Because she had gained a small enlightenment while breaking through the realm.
“What is that…?”
Suddenly, her gaze was fixed on a small box made of white jade placed in the center of the table.
The appearance of the box, emitting a faint chill, was extraordinary.
Baek Mu-Jin noticed his daughter’s gaze, relaxed his worried expression, and pointed at the box.
“This is a new spiritual medicine that Yak-seon has concocted after researching our Baek Clan’s Jueuncho.”
Yak-seon stroked his beard and continued in a pleased voice.
“I was inspired by the way you handled the five elements while Pill Refining. I melted down the five elements method of handling Conflicting Energies to Refine the medicinal properties of the Jueuncho to the absolute limit.”
Yak-seon carefully opened the lid of the jade box.
Inside the box lay a single medicinal pill, shining brilliantly with Five-Colored patterns forming the shape of the five elements.
Just breathing in made the spirit root in her Dantian churn madly, crying out in thirst.
“Thus, I have named it the Five Elements Pill.”
Then, Yak-seon’s detailed explanation followed.
The Five Elements Pill was a product that achieved perfect harmony of the five elements by generously grinding in centuries-old spiritual herbs of water, wood, fire, Earth, and metal to bring out the potent medicinal properties of the Jueuncho.
If a Cultivator with a Five Elements Spirit Root consumed the Five Elements Pill, it would hold the immense potential to directly stimulate the spirit root and elevate the aptitude of the Five Elements Spirit Root by a whole stage.
“I didn’t intend it, but borrowing the Five Elements Pill Refining Method resulted in the birth of such an item. This is also thanks to Cheong-Yi, so it is my first gift to you.”
Yak-seon pushed the jade box containing the Five Elements Pill in front of Baek-Cheong.
Baek-Cheong gulped, unable to take her eyes off the Five Elements Pill in the box.
A medicinal pill with better effects than the countless top-grade medicinal pills she had consumed lay right before her eyes.
“C-can I really accept something so precious and amazing?”
The value of the item was far too much for her to just shamelessly accept it without hesitation.
At Baek-Cheong’s cautious question, Yak-seon burst into hearty laughter.
“Hoho, don’t worry and take it. Thanks to your grandfather generously providing the Jueuncho colony, the ingredients are overflowing, so I can continue to concoct them steadily in the future. Furthermore, Cheong-Yi is like a Granddaughter to me as well, so watching you grow will be a great joy for This Old Man. So, don’t feel burdened.”
Cheering inwardly, Baek-Cheong carefully embraced the jade box with both hands.
And with utmost sincerity, she expressed her gratitude to both Yak-seon and her father.