Chapter 50
Baek-Cheong looked at the ominous tribulation clouds, her small heart beating so fiercely it felt like it would burst.
The mere fact that the nonsense she had spouted had become a Heaven-Defying Pill and had called forth a Heavenly Tribulation made it impossible for her to calm down.
“Just what did he Refine using the Pill Refining Method I told him about?”
It was the moment everyone held their breath and fixed their eyes on the sky.
The fiercely swirling, pitch-black tribulation clouds suddenly stopped their rotation.
In the round hole that was like the eye of a storm, lightning intertwined like snakes and condensed into one.
KABOOM!
Soon after, with a deafening roar that shook heaven and Earth, a thick bolt of lightning struck down toward the ground.
The exact place the lightning tribulation struck was the Pill Refining Room where Yak-seon was cultivating in seclusion.
With a flashing glare, the roof of the Pill Refining Room shattered into pieces, sending debris flying in all directions.
“Venerable Yak-seon!”
As Baek Mu-Yeong cried out urgently and leaned forward, Baek Mu-Ae reached out an arm to stop him.
“Do not step any closer. If you carelessly set foot into the domain of the Heavenly Tribulation, you will be struck by the lightning tribulation as well. This is karma that old man Gok must overcome on his own.”
As the thick dust and smoke settled, the gruesome sight of the half-destroyed Pill Refining Room was revealed.
And in the middle of those ruins, the figure of Yak-seon could be seen, his Daoist robe torn to shreds and his face charred pitch-black.
However, Yak-seon’s eyes were shining more fiercely than the lightning itself.
Standing upright in his wretched state, Yak-seon spread his arms wide toward the tribulation clouds in the sky.
“Inscribed veins no longer belong to the Heavenly Dao!!!”
The resounding shout that erupted from his old body shook the Baek Clan Mansion.
It was an arrogant and heaven-defying declaration that inscribed veins, which could only be formed when bestowed by the heavens, could now be forged by human power alone.
The gathered Family members were appalled by the blasphemous cry and were left speechless.
As if the heavens were also enraged by Yak-seon’s provocation, the lightning tribulation within the tribulation clouds boiled even more violently.
RUMBLE!
The second lightning tribulation reared its head and immediately crashed down.
It was aiming precisely at the heated Pill Furnace at Yak-seon’s feet.
It was the will of the Heavenly Dao to destroy the Heaven-Defying Pill harbored within the Pill Furnace.
“Heavenly Dao!”
Yak-seon did not yield, even in the face of the Heavenly Tribulation’s overwhelming pressure.
Instead, he glared fiercely and lifted the Pill Furnace with both hands.
“Are you afraid of defying the heavens!”
Along with Yak-seon’s shout, the second lightning tribulation mercilessly struck the surface of the Pill Furnace.
A blinding flash of light swallowed the surroundings, and the aftermath surged all the way to the Training Ground, causing the Family members to stumble.
Baek-Cheong also squeezed her eyes shut and shielded her face with her arms, enduring it from behind Baek Mu-Ae.
As the flash subsided, the figure of Yak-seon could be seen standing firmly.
Yak-seon’s arms were charred black from the impact of the lightning tribulation and were dripping with blood, but the Pill Furnace he held aloft still maintained its sturdy form.
FLASH - ! KABOOM!
However, as if driving a wedge, the Heavenly Dao dropped a third lightning tribulation in rapid succession.
The third lightning tribulation harbored a massive and destructive power greater than the previous two bolts combined.
The moment the lightning struck the Pill Furnace occurred.
This time, even Yak-seon could not withstand it and fell to his knees, coughing up blood.
“Kuhuk…!”
Yak-seon’s body tumbled to the floor, and the Pill Furnace also rolled away with a loud metallic clatter.
But had the heavens' anger been satisfied?
The tribulation clouds, having poured out three lightning tribulations, softened their momentum surprisingly quickly and slowly began to scatter.
Warm sunlight shone through the dark clouds, illuminating the half-destroyed Pill Refining Room.
And the Pill Furnace rolling on the floor began to crack.
CRACK.
Deep fissures formed on the surface of the Pill Furnace that had taken the brunt of three lightning tribulations, and soon it split perfectly in half and broke apart.
From the gaps in the broken Pill Furnace, a thick and brilliant pill fragrance, the likes of which no one had ever smelled before, spewed out and instantly enveloped the area.
As a Cultivator, just smelling the pill fragrance gave one the fantastical feeling of their Dantian wriggling, qi meridians expanding, and soul Clearing up.
And from the ashes of the broken Pill Furnace, a brilliant Five-Colored cluster of light bloomed, revealing the form of a spiritual pill resting gently in the center.
“The, the Five Elements Pill!”
Someone’s trembling voice broke the silence.
What lay in the ashes was undoubtedly the Five Elements Pill, known as Yak-seon’s masterpiece.
However, it was on a completely different level from the Five Elements Pill that Baek-Cheong had received and eaten.
On the surface of the Five Elements Pill, which radiated a brilliant Five-Colored light, a mysterious Silver Cloud Pattern that looked like churning clouds and striking lightning was densely engraved.
“To think he engraved… inscribed veins onto a Five Elements Pill.”
Even Baek Mu-Ae muttered in a daze at the unbelievable sight.
It was no wonder the heavens had grown furious and sent down a Heavenly Tribulation, considering he had artificially engraved inscribed veins unpermitted by the Heavenly Dao onto a Heaven-Defying Pill that artificially enhances the potential of a Five Elements Spirit Root.
“It can truly be called… heaven-defying.”
An Unprecedented Divine Pill, one that could be called truly heaven-defying in more than just name, had been born.
While everyone held their breath and ecstatically admired the form of the Inscribed Five Elements Pill, Yak-seon, who had collapsed on the floor, staggered to his feet.
With his bloodied hands, he carefully picked up the Inscribed Five Elements Pill and preciously placed it into a splendid jade box he had prepared in advance.
Then, with staggering steps, he parted the crowd and approached exactly one person.
It was none other than Baek-Cheong, who stood there with a stiff expression.
“Grandfather Yak-seon…”
Seeing Baek-Cheong looking genuinely worried, Yak-seon offered a benevolent smile on his pitch-black, charred face.
“It is thanks to you, Cheong-A. If you hadn’t opened a new path for me, I would have spent the rest of my life merely waiting for the right time and season, and only for the inscribed veins bestowed by the Heavenly Dao.”
Yak-seon pressed the jade box containing the Inscribed Five Elements Pill into Baek-Cheong’s arms with trembling hands.
“Therefore, this pill was made entirely for you.”
The weight of the jade box in Baek-Cheong’s arms felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
It was because she had clearly witnessed the power of the Heavenly Tribulation just moments ago.
“N-No! How can I accept something so precious? This is something grandfather Yak-seon risked his life and even endured a Heavenly Tribulation to make. It’s too much for me!”
When Baek-Cheong adamantly tried to refuse, Yak-seon burst into a hearty laugh.
“I have now awakened to the principles and logic of a new Pill Refining Method, so from now on, I will be able to Refine Moon-Tier Pills without difficulty, not as a pseudo-Tier 5, but as a true Tier 5. Furthermore, if I devote myself to this Pill Refining Method, I have reached a realm where I can even engrave inscribed veins onto Tier 4 pills. So what does a single Inscribed Five Elements Pill, an Unranked Pill whose tier cannot even be measured, matter?”
It was a statement dripping with the composure and confidence of a Grandmaster who had torn open a new horizon in Pill Refining.
It also meant that since his Pill Refining skills had taken a step forward, he could now forge inscribed veins again whenever he set his mind to it, not just on the Five Elements Pill but up to Tier 4 pills, so she shouldn’t feel burdened.
Only then did Baek-Cheong grip the jade box tightly and carefully open her mouth.
“But grandfather Yak-seon… You said before that eating the Five Elements Pill multiple times is bad because it offends the Heavenly Dao. This one even has inscribed veins on it, so it must be under even more scrutiny from the Heavenly Dao. What if I just eat it and get targeted by the Heavenly Dao and struck by a Heavenly Tribulation?”
At Baek-Cheong’s innocent worry, Yak-seon burst into a hearty laugh once again.
“Did the pill and I not pay for the karma of offending the Heavenly Dao by enduring the lightning tribulation with our own bodies? Since the Heavenly Tribulation has already been paid, that karma will not carry over to you just because you consume it.”
At those words, Baek-Cheong let out a sigh of relief.
“Then… should I eat it now?”
She carefully asked what she should do with the precious Inscribed Five Elements Pill.
At that, her grandfather, who had been watching from the side, approached with a complicated expression and spoke.
“No matter how much the karma has been washed away, it is a Heaven-Defying Pill that has gone through a Heavenly Tribulation. It is not even certain if a Qi Condensation Stage body can handle its medicinal properties and potency. If you are not careful, your qi meridians could tear or your spirit root might fail to handle it, turning you into a crippled person, so you must exercise caution.”
As her grandfather warned her with a stern expression, Yak-seon also nodded in agreement.
“That Baek fellow is right. Even I find it difficult to guarantee what the might of the Inscribed Five Elements Pill will be like. That Baek fellow and I will stand as your protectors, so it would be best to set a separate date.”
At that, Baek Mu-Ae nodded and gently stroked his Granddaughter’s head.
“Indeed. Today, the surroundings of the Clan are very chaotic and the energy is murky because that Gok fellow endured a Heavenly Tribulation. Set a date a few days from now, and consume it while that Gok fellow and I watch over you. If by any chance something goes wrong, we will assist you.”
Leaving her slight disappointment behind, Baek-Cheong obediently nodded.
It wasn’t an urgent matter, so there was no need to be impatient.
“Yes, grandfather. I will be patient and wait.”
On the other hand, she was looking forward to seeing if consuming the Inscribed Five Elements Pill would free her from her Fake Heavenly Spirit Root.
Her small heart swelled with anticipation, filling her with utmost excitement.
Suddenly, she recalled the story that a Pseudo-Heavenly Spirit Root buries the presence of other spirit roots due to the prominent presence of a Single Spirit Root.
She had no way of knowing how this phenomenon would affect the growth of her Five Elements Spirit Root.
“It should be fine.”
Since she would be consuming the pill in the undeserved glory of having two Golden Core Cultivators stand as her protectors, she blew away any shred of worry.