Chapter 128
Inside the Cloud Sea, one couldn’t gauge even an inch ahead.
With white clouds blocking everything in all directions, opening one’s eyes was no different from keeping them closed.
Even her ears felt muffled, every sound crushed as if buried in cotton.
Her body felt strangely heavy, and a freezing sensation clung stubbornly to her skin.
Only a cold, damp feeling was at the tip of her nose.
Even the sensations touching the tip of her tongue were jumbled together, naturally making her head spin.
Her five senses were completely scrambled.
[Just like the rumors.]
Even so, Baek-Cheong didn’t panic.
She had already heard plenty of stories that Divine Sense was the only thing she could trust.
The twenty-seven zhang of Divine Sense she had spread out at full power meticulously scanned through the clouds.
Her vast Divine Sense perfectly filled the void left by her deadened five senses.
Her surroundings were painted in her mind more clearly than if she were looking with her own eyes.
[My head hurts a little, but it’s bearable.]
The further her five senses faded, the more the superiority of her Divine Sense stood out.
In fact, as soon as she entered the Cloud Sea, something bizarre was caught the edge of her Divine Sense.
Not far away, something was scattered about in a mess.
[There’s a fortuitous encounter this close?]
Suppressing her surging expectations, Baek-Cheong walked over to it.
Approaching closely, she examined it thoroughly with her Divine Sense.
The identity of the bizarre object was some kind of Dharma Treasure.
However, it was tumbling around like a ragged mop, without a single intact part.
Its spiritual energy had long since dissipated, leaving only a husk, and its surface was so crushed that crumbs were on the verge of falling off.
Even if she picked it up and called it a Dharma Treasure, it was no different from trash.
[What is this?]
The anticipation that had swelled up in her small chest deflated, and she furrowed her brow.
It fell far too short to be called a fortuitous encounter.
For a place supposedly known as a Sacred Ground of fortuitous encounters, the first pull was unimpressive.
Still, just in case, she extended her Divine Sense elsewhere.
Something similar was rolling around not far away.
This time, it looked like a jade slip containing some kind of Technique/Spell.
But it was a piece of trash, cracked all over and leaking spiritual energy, making it impossible to read even a single line of text.
[This is broken too, isn’t it?]
Tilting her head, Baek-Cheong spread her Divine Sense wide like a net.
Then, she caught a massive pile of similar trash stacked up on one side.
Broken Dharma Tools, cracked jade slips, and shattered artifacts were tangled together in a mess.
Only after probing that far did she realize what it was.
“Ocean trash…?”
A sound unconsciously leaked from her mouth in bafflement.
They called it a sea made of clouds, and it seemed a sea was indeed a sea.
It was just like marine debris swept in by the ebb and flow of the tide gathering in one corner.
The junk drifting through the Cloud Sea had been swept up and collected in one spot.
[Could the Cloud Sea Secret Realm actually be the Biun Sect’s garbage dump?]
Such a suspicion suddenly reared its head.
If she assumed the Biun Sect threw all its unusable artifacts into the Secret Realm, it made sense.
However, thinking it over carefully, she realized it didn’t add up.
Among the items mixed in the trash pile, there wasn’t a single thing the Biun Sect would likely use.
If it were the Biun Sect, there should naturally be a ton of artifacts related to the Water Element or clouds.
But the broken Dharma Treasures had all sorts of different elements and origins, making them impossible to pin down.
[If they aren’t the Biun Sect’s, where did all this roll in from?]
No matter how much she racked her brain, no answer came to mind.
Harboring her confusion, Baek-Cheong decided to set the question aside for now.
Now that she confirmed there was trash, the next step was simple.
It was highly likely that intact items were mixed in among the broken ones.
She moved her Divine Sense meticulously to sift out the intact ones.
Her Divine Sense, which had been filtering out the broken junk one by one, soon pinpointed a single blade of grass.
It was a spirit herb with whitish roots that resembled clouds.
[Oh, isn’t this a Cloud Root Herb?]
The Cloud Root Herb was a medicinal ingredient used to Refine the Supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
The Foundation Establishment Pill was a precious item used only when approaching the Foundation Establishment realm.
It was considered so difficult that even a renowned 2nd-Tier Alchemist couldn’t easily Refine it.
Among them, a Supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill went without saying.
Only those with considerable wealth might barely get the chance to pop a single pill into their mouths.
Because it was the exclusive property of the haves, even finding one for sale was rare, making its price whatever the seller demanded.
Therefore, just the ingredient, the Cloud Root Herb, could easily fetch a couple of high-grade Spirit Stones.
[It’s pretty trivial for a fortuitous encounter.]
Unsatisfied, Baek-Cheong pouted.
A couple of high-grade Spirit Stones were worth less than selling a few Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pills.
Still, it was better than empty hands.
[It’s free, so it’d be more of a loss not to take it.]
She carefully dug up the Cloud Root Herb and stored it in an empty jade bottle.
After fishing out the Cloud Root Herb, the number of intact items caught by her Divine Sense increased one by one.
Roaming the Cloud Sea, she used her Divine Sense to find and pocket every intact thing she came across.
Soon, a rather decent-looking item also caught the edge of her Divine Sense.
One was a Formation board engraved with a 2nd-Tier Formation.
Although it wasn’t activated so she couldn’t see the Formation Glyph properly, she could tell it was a rare Formation.
[Oh, is this somewhat useful?]
She was tempted for a moment, but Baek-Cheong quickly lost interest.
A 2nd-Tier Formation board was an item that only someone around the Foundation Establishment realm could operate.
To her, a Qi Condensation cultivator, it was no different from a Pie in the Sky.
Even if she sold it, it would only fetch a couple of high-grade Spirit Stones at best.
A similar disappointment soon followed.
The next thing she fished out was a jade stone called Cheong Un Jade.
It was a rare material used to forge 3rd-tier Dharma Tools.
However, to her, a Qi Condensation cultivator, a 3rd-Tier Dharma Tool was a distant dream.
As expected, even if she held onto it, it was nothing more than pocket change she could exchange for a couple of spirit stones.
[Ugh, it’s all so trivial.]
The more artifacts she found, the more her enthusiasm deflated.
She had been full of expectations since it was supposedly the Sacred Ground of fortuitous encounters.
But all she got her hands on were useless items or materials worth mere pennies.
[There’s no way stuff like this is a fortuitous encounter.]
Even so, she had no intention of backing down empty-handed after coming this far.
Baek-Cheong made up her mind to dig deeper.
The deeper she went, the more the pressure weighing down on her body gradually increased.
The clouds became even denser, heavily constricting her body.
Her footsteps finally grew sluggish, as if she were submerged in water.
But since it wasn’t a burden or too much to handle, she brushed it off and advanced deeper.
Instead, the deeper she went, the noticeably better the condition of the trash caught by her Divine Sense became.
The Dharma Tools that had been like ragged mops were taking on a proper shape the further inside she went.
Occasionally, perfectly intact 1st and 2nd-tier Dharma Tools floated around whole.
[As expected, the deeper I go, the better the items get.]
Feeling that a fortuitous encounter was getting closer, she naturally quickened her pace.
However, as she dug further inside, an unknown sense of incongruity crept up on her.
She couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was.
It was just an unsettling feeling, a constant itch at the very edge of her Divine Sense.
It also felt like something was watching her from somewhere beyond the clouds.
[Is it just my imagination? No, it never hurts to be careful.]
Baek-Cheong immediately pulled the Ilseong Sword from her Storage Platform and gripped it in her hand.
It was the sword she had never ended up drawing during the Martial Arts Competition for fear of hurting someone.
But here, there was nothing to hold her back.
Since it was a Secret Realm where demonic beasts were said to lurk, she could swing her weapon without hesitation.
A strange sensation flowing from the scabbard was softly wrapped around her fingertips.
Next, she enveloped her entire body in the Five Elements Shield, which bore the five elements.
As the translucent Barrier surrounded her body, she felt much more reassured.
Preparing for the worst-case scenario put her mind at ease.
[Now it should be fine no matter what pops out.]
Equipped with her sword and shield, she spread her Divine Sense in all directions once again.
At the edge of her Divine Sense, which was scanning the surroundings, a round fruit appeared.
It was bobbing around in the Cloud Sea, holding a faint cloud-like hue.
[Oh, isn’t that a Cloud Spirit Fruit?]
It was definitely the spirit fruit the Inner Sect Elder had told them about.
He said the fruit could be exchanged for contribution points if they gathered it, even if they missed out on a fortuitous encounter.
He had said they formed everywhere, but it was only after reaching this deep spot that she finally spotted one for the first time.
[Seeing a Cloud Spirit Fruit means…]
It meant that the place where the real fortuitous encounters were buried would be from here on out.
With surging anticipation, Baek-Cheong carefully harvested the Cloud Spirit Fruit.
Holding it in her hand and examining it closely with her Divine Sense, she felt a strange curiosity.
It was definitely a medicinal ingredient used in Pill Refining, but she couldn’t place it at all.
Among the Pill Room recipes she had learned so far, not a single one that included the Cloud Spirit Fruit came to mind.
[An ingredient I don’t know?]
If it was a medicinal ingredient she didn’t know, it meant it was a material used for at least the 3rd-tier or higher.
The Pill Refining Knowledge she had been taught by Yak-seon covered everything up to the 2nd-tier without exception.
[At least a 3rd-tier material.]
Only then did Baek-Cheong show interest, her eyes sparkling.
She had thought it was just a common fruit to be exchanged for contribution points.
But it turned out to be a precious medicinal ingredient used in at least 3rd-tier Pills.
She made up her mind to pocket every Cloud Spirit Fruit she laid eyes on without exception.
Of course, it wasn’t as if there was nothing weighing on her mind.
Because she could actually take only two items out of the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.
One was her share for reaching the main competition, and one was her share for taking the Top Ranker spot.
No matter how much she swept up, in the end, she would only be left with two things in her hands.
[Well, I can just choose later.]
She shrugged it off as no big deal.
Narrowing it down to two right now was a matter for later.
For now, sweeping everything she saw into her Storage Platform was the profitable move.
It wouldn’t be too late to pick and choose slowly after raking in everything that looked good.
[I’ll also sabotage the fortuitous encounters of the Cultivators who have the Cloud Sea Map.]
Humming a tune, Baek-Cheong dug deep into the Cloud Sea.
Spreading her Divine Sense to the fullest, she swept up every intact item she could find.
Another Cloud Root Herb was caught, a Cloud Spirit Fruit was caught, and an intact Dharma Tool was caught.
Various items piled up neatly inside her Storage Platform.
* * *
It was at a certain moment while she was excitedly looting the Secret Realm.
Something strange caught on the edge of her Divine Sense as it probed beyond the deep clouds.
It was on a completely different level from the items she had been picking up so far.
It was far from being trash, a spirit herb, or a floating Dharma Tool.
Something massive was sitting quietly right in the middle of the clouds.
Just probing it with her Divine Sense sent a jolt down her spine; it emanated an incredibly dense aura.
[I wonder what that is.]
The sense of incongruity that had been tickling the back of her neck earlier was also wafting from that direction.
She couldn’t tell if it was a true fortuitous encounter or a demonic beast that hadn’t been cleared out yet.
At the very least, it wasn’t moving, so the danger seemed low, but…
[Let’s send a golem first.]
Exercising caution, Baek-Cheong took out Baek-Roe from among her Five Elements Golems.
It was the sturdiest golem she possessed.
Just in case it was a demonic beast, she infused spiritual energy into the Ilseong Sword.
Gripping the Escape Jade Token in one hand, she made full preparations.