Chapter 53
Normally, it would be the time to connect to the Nameless Forum and enjoy the forum.
However, Dao Friend (237.309) left a bad taste in her mouth, so she couldn’t bring herself to log in.
“Haa, I’m bored to death.”
Baek-Cheong rolled around on the bed and let out a sigh.
Since she couldn’t use the Nameless Forum, even staying in her cozy room was torture.
Eventually, unable to endure the boredom, she left her Abode and wandered around.
“Move quickly! There aren’t just one or two broken places! We were ordered to finish cleaning up before the sun rises tomorrow, so there’s no time to rest!”
Due to the aftermath of the recent heavenly tribulation, the Main Clan was chaotic yet lively.
The half-destroyed Pill Refining room was reconstructed on a much larger and more magnificent scale than before, under the Clan’s full support.
Yak-seon remained holed up in the newly built Pill Refining room, continuing his pill refining day and night.
Naturally, he had no time to hold onto Baek-Cheong and teach her pill refining, so it was as if he continuously entered Secluded Cultivation.
Baek Mu-Jin had also entered a long Secluded Cultivation in the tightly closed Eastern Region of the Clan Head’s Hall to break through to the Golden Core stage.
As a result, Baek Mu-Yeong, who had taken on all the Clan’s major and minor affairs as well as the Merchant Guild’s duties, flashed from east to west, his eyes growing more hollow by the day.
Even Baek Mu-Ae-Ae, who had briefly stepped out of Secluded Cultivation due to the heavenly tribulation commotion, was nowhere to be seen as he handled the major affairs that had piled up in the Clan Head’s absence.
“Everyone is busy…”
Watching the busily operating Clan, Baek-Cheong felt a slight sense of loneliness.
It was definitely perfect freedom with no one bothering her, but now that the stage was set, she was at a loss for how to spend her time when she couldn’t even browse the forum.
First, to soothe her boredom, she directed her steps toward the Hundred Scriptures Pavilion.
The Archives on the first floor were filled with old and ordinary books, just like before.
She randomly pulled out dust-covered books and flipped through them.
[A Thousand-Year History of Yeonha Immortal City], [Spirit Herb Illustrated Guide of the Southern Region Continent], [Low-Grade Demonic Beast Dismantling Method].
Most were boring history books or miscellaneous texts compiling trivial knowledge.
“This is a bit…”
In the end, she couldn’t even last half a Shichen and left the Hundred Scriptures Pavilion.
She considered leaving the Inner Hall to look around the Outer Hall, but soon shook her head.
The Yeonha Baek Clan alone boasted a scale comparable to a decent minor sect.
Wandering around the vast area alone was nothing but a waste of time, and there was a high chance she wouldn’t find anything interesting even if she looked around the Outer Hall.
“In the end, it all comes back to training.”
Baek-Cheong changed her mind and headed to the private training ground in her Abode.
Last time, she had been scolded for being careless and drawing too much attention at the Clan’s training ground.
Then, she took out the Baekju Dharma Tool from her Storage Platform and gripped it.
Her meridians were adequately loosened after practicing Basic Techniques in sequence as a warm-up.
When she deployed Ice Dragon Shatter to its limit, twelve ice earthworms surged into the sky through Baekju.
After consuming the Inscribed Five Elements Pill, her natural Qi Absorption capacity had increased, her meridians had grown sturdier, and her limits had expanded.
Perhaps due to experiencing the Mental World, her Divine Sense Division also became smoother without any strain.
Because of this, she tried performing various feats while handling the ice dragons, and specifically failed while trying to step on and ride an ice dragon.
Afterward, when her stamina and energy were depleted from technique training, she sat in the Lotus Position, entered Meditation, and absorbed the Spirit Energy of Heaven and Earth.
Thanks to becoming a Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Root, she sucked in spirit energy with tremendous momentum, yet it was still a meager amount when it came to filling her Dantian, which was like the vast ocean squared.
When night fell, she steadily continued her training to expel the impure qi accumulated in her meridians and solidify her realm.
As this boring daily routine of repeatedly training as a wholesome Cultivator without logging into the Nameless Forum continued for two whole days,
.
.
.
Finally, on the morning of the third day,
“Ah! I can’t take it anymore!”
Baek-Cheong jumped up from the bed, her patience exploding.
She had originally treated training as a supplementary means to smoothly enjoy the forum, so a life of pure training devoid of the forum was no different from terrible torture.
“If you’re mad, try Breaking Through the Interface and coming to find me!”
Since he wouldn’t hear it anyway, she shouted confidently.
Then, with her Divine Sense trembling as if suffering from withdrawal symptoms, she connected to the Nameless Forum.
As soon as she logged in, dozens of piled-up notifications poured in.
Among them were plenty of notifications for replies to replies, but she ignored them as if conscious of Dao Friend (237.309).
“Phew, I feel like I can live now.”
Only then did Baek-Cheong regain her composure, browsing through the Chat Board and catching up on her missed forum activity.
However, she didn’t write any posts, mindful of Dao Friend (237.309), and instead continued her forum activity in a small way by skimming the posts written by the Dao Friends of the Nameless Forum and leaving replies.
Afterward, her boring training also regained its vitality.
In the morning, she performed Qi Absorption to fill her Dantian, tempered her meridians, and solidified her realm; in the afternoon, she used Baekju in the training ground to practice Techniques; and at night, she lay on her bed, genuinely enjoying the Nameless Forum while suppressing the urge to shitpost.
She would peek into the Nameless Forum whenever she took breaks, but in any case, she spent peaceful days with a balanced mix of training and forum activity.
* * *
As such a peaceful and regular daily routine repeated, another month and a half quickly passed by.
Her Dantian, which was like a vast ocean-ocean-ocean-ocean-ocean, was also gradually filling up thanks to her steady Qi Absorption, and her technique training using the Baekju Dharma Tool was progressing smoothly.
Then, one morning
A message finally arrived from Yak-seon, who had been silent for a while.
“Young Lady, Grandmaster Yak-seon wishes to see you.”
Baek-Cheong let out a deep sigh, feeling that what was bound to come had finally arrived.
The fact that Yak-seon, who had forcefully brought out pill inscriptions even while facing a heavenly tribulation, was calling for her after ending his long Secluded Cultivation meant that the long-delayed Pill Refining Hell had opened.
“Got it. I’ll be right there.”
She headed to the Pill Refining room with heavy steps, like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
When she opened the door to the Pill Refining room, which had become twice as grand as before, and entered, a thick pill fragrance wafted over her along with a sweltering heat.
Yak-seon was sitting leisurely on the Jade Flat Platform, drinking tea.
His face was tanned from long periods of pill refining, but his eyes were brimming with vitality and flashing brightly.
“Are you here, Cheong-A?”
Yak-seon welcomed Baek-Cheong, gesturing gladly.
He wore a soft and benevolent expression, unlike his previous strict demeanor when he scolded Baek-Cheong for her insolent behavior.
“Yes, Grandfather Yak-seon. I came because you called. Has your pill refining been going well?”
“Hoho, it’s all thanks to you.”
Yak-seon put down his teacup and laughed heartily.
“The idea you shared was truly a profound principle that shakes the very foundation of pill refining. Based on that idea, after countless failures and continuous research, I finally succeeded in establishing a new Pill Refining Method.”
Yak-seon declared in a voice full of pride.
“Thus, I have named it the Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method.”
Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method (Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method).
The theory Baek-Cheong had spouted as nonsense was reprocessed in the Nameless Forum, and the theory she had parroted from Dao Friend (553.24) was reborn into a heaven-defying Pill Refining Method through Yak-seon’s hands.
“It is certainly a Pill Refining Method that boasts an atrocious difficulty, making it overwhelming even for someone at my level as a Golden Core Cultivator to control the qi. However, if one grasps this profound principle, one can freely refine pills regardless of their grade and even bring out pill inscriptions.”
Yak-seon looked at Baek-Cheong with sparkling eyes.
“The reason I called you today is none other than this: to pass down to you the beginner’s chapter of this great Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method.”
“Huh? T-To me?”
Baek-Cheong stepped back in panic.
Learning a Pill Refining Method that was overwhelming even for a Golden Core Cultivator when she was only at the Qi Condensation stage was no different from telling her to die from Qi Deviation.
“There is no need to be afraid. I have specially modified the beginner’s chapter to extremely simplify the Qi Manipulation so that even someone at the Qi Condensation realm can handle it.”
Yak-seon dismissed Baek-Cheong’s anxiety and stood up from his seat.
“If you learn this beginner’s chapter and further master the basic chapter, you will be able to perform the miracle of transcending realms to effortlessly refine a 2nd-Grade Pill, even at the Qi Condensation realm. If that happens, you will be able to create the Five Elements Pill with your own hands!”
Yak-seon wore a good-natured smile, seemingly unable to contain his own excitement.
However, in Baek-Cheong’s eyes, Yak-seon’s smile looked like the grin of a demon heralding a terrible hellish training.
“Now, there is no time to delay. Sit in front of the Pill Furnace immediately!”
In the end, Baek-Cheong was helplessly dragged over and sat in front of the Pill Furnace.
Yak-seon began his harsh instruction, reciting the Incantation and Meridian Manipulation Method of the beginner’s chapter.
It was a task that required a high degree of concentration: drawing up the Five Elements Qi from the Dantian to trace a microscopic Taiji Orbit inside the Pill Furnace, and then placing the essence of the medicinal herbs onto the Taiji Orbit to rotate the orbit.
‘Ah, I’m already home, but I want to go home.’
Baek-Cheong screamed internally as she forcefully circulated her qi.
But then, a bizarre thing happened.
“Huh? Why is this so easy?”
The complex orbit and meridian movements that Yak-seon instructed were operating so naturally and smoothly inside her body, as if she had known them from the very beginning.
Her Divine Sense captured every minute change in qi inside the Pill Furnace, and the overwhelming control exuded by her evolved Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Root smoothly harmonized the Conflicting Qi.
In just a couple of shichen, a pleasant pill fragrance wafted up from the Pill Furnace.
When she opened the lid of the Pill Furnace, three flawlessly refined supreme-grade Qi and Blood Pills, which were high-tier 1st-grade pills, lay neatly inside.
“…”
Yak-seon froze with his mouth wide open.
She had perfectly succeeded without a single failure in the beginner’s chapter that he had barely established after staying up for several days and nights.
“How… did this happen.”
Yak-seon picked up the Qi and Blood Pills with trembling hands and examined them from every angle.
They were of supreme quality, without a single impurity.
Moreover, because they were refined using the Taiji Orbit, their medicinal properties were vastly more concentrated than those of ordinary Qi and Blood Pills.
“Do I really, truly have a talent for pill refining?”
Meanwhile, Baek-Cheong looked down at her hands with a bewildered expression.
Though she didn’t realize it herself, this was a miraculous effect brought about by the combination of her heaven-defying aptitude as a Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Root, her abnormally massive 19-zhang Divine Sense, and the customized guidance of Yak-seon, a star instructor.
“Grandfather Yak-seon, did I do well?”
When Baek-Cheong asked cautiously, a bizarre smile slowly began to spread across Yak-seon’s stiff lips.
Yak-seon’s eyes were gleaming with something akin to madness, even more so than when he had faced the heavenly tribulation earlier.
“It’s not just a matter of doing well, Cheong-A! You are truly a heaven-sent Pill Refining Prodigy!”
Yak-seon laughed heartily, unable to hide his excitement.
“With a Prodigy of this level, it would be fine to graduate from the beginner’s chapter in one go! Let’s dive into the basic chapter’s training starting today!”
“Huh?! W-Wait, already?”
“There is no time to rest! Until the day you refine a 2nd-Grade Pill, this Old Man will teach you even if it means carving my own flesh and bones! Now, prepare the next batch of medicinal herbs!”
Baek-Cheong stared blankly at the pile of medicinal herbs being poured with a despairing expression.
Because her talent was so outstanding, it backfired terribly, causing the intensity of her training to skyrocket.
“Ah, I should have pretended to be bad at it.”
But it was already too late for regrets.
If she let her mind wander even a little, Yak-seon would notice like a ghost and hurl a scolding at her.
“Your hands are idle! Yes, that’s how you do it! Keep brewing it just like that for ten shichen!”