Chapter 136
The single bait she had casually thrown caused the Nameless Forum to blaze fiercely for days.
The question of who would win between the Righteous path and Demonic path worked so well that even she, the one who asked it, clicked her tongue in amazement.
The replies swelled past hundreds into the thousands, and spin-off posts birthed even more spin-off posts.
“Dao Friend (73.423): Those Demonic path bastards are just beasts wearing human skin.”
“Dao Friend (17.938): And the Righteous path are hypocrites worse than those beasts.”
Scrolling down through the posts of people growling as if ready to devour each other, Baek-Cheong continuously chuckled with pleasure.
“As expected, watching a fight is the most fun.”
Whenever the embers showed signs of dying down, she didn’t forget to sneakily pour oil on the fire.
The Dao Friends had also completely forgotten about the Cloud Spirit Pearl she had put up in the Marketplace.
Thanks to the Dao Friends' attention being entirely focused on the Righteous-Demonic Debate, there was no longer anyone taking the bait regarding the pearl with the insane price tag.
She was in the middle of letting a few days pass like that, holed up in her room and staring at the Nameless Forum.
The door opened, and her uncle stepped inside.
“Cheong-A, I came because I have good news.”
The shadow that had been cast over Baek Mu-Yeong’s face for the past few days had completely cleared up.
“They say they’ve weeded out every last one of the people who infiltrated the Sect.”
“Weeded out…?”
“Yes. It seems there was a spy within the Sect who brought the Demonic path into the Secret Realm. The Biun Sect has reportedly identified and dealt with the spy.”
Baek-Cheong blinked at the unexpected story.
“A spy? Something like that actually existed?”
The Demonic Cultivator and the Nine Nether Demonic Palace were definitely all nonsense she had made up.
And yet, the Biun Sect had somehow found and weeded out a spy.
She was dying to interrogate him about exactly who they had weeded out and how.
However, even though her mouth itched to speak, she firmly held it in.
If she misspoke for no reason, she could end up in big trouble.
‘I don’t know what it is, but as long as it’s not me, it’s fine.’
She merely nodded her head as if she understood.
“Since those who reached the main tournament couldn’t fully enjoy the Secret Realm, it seems the Biun Sect is preparing a separate reward for them.”
Her uncle continued with a bright face.
“Also, I plan to leave the Biun Sect as soon as the schedule wraps up, so if there’s anything you need to do before we leave, tell me.”
It was exactly what she had been waiting to hear.
“Then I’d like to use the Refining Ticket I received as the Top Ranker’s reward.”
“The Refining Ticket?”
“Yes. You said I could get a Dharma Tool or Dharma Treasure refined by a 4th-Tier Alchemist.”
Baek Mu-Yeong fell into thought for a brief moment before speaking.
“You already want to use such a precious item? It wouldn’t be too late to use something like that later, after you reach Foundation Establishment.”
Borrowing the hands of a 4th-Tier Alchemist was a difficult task even if one piled up Contribution Points like a mountain.
Therefore, her uncle seemed to hope she would save it and use it when it was truly needed.
However, Baek-Cheong shook her head.
“We don’t even know when we’ll come to the Biun Sect again. Besides, if we’re asking a favor from someone on the level of a 4th-Tier Alchemist, we might have to wait endlessly if the timing is off. It’s better to ask when the opportunity presents itself.”
“Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.”
Above all, she had something in mind the moment she heard about the Refining Ticket.
It was the perfect opportunity to have the Baekju, carefully stored away in her Storage Platform, reborn into a proper Natal Dharma Treasure.
At her quiet yet logical words, her uncle also nodded.
“True, your words make sense. The Sect is still in a state of disarray, so let’s move together.”
Baek Mu-Yeong even brought along a Gadan-gi Law Enforcer as a guard.
Since the Biun Sect had been turned upside down, there was a need to be fully prepared.
Like that, they made their way to Yeon-gi Peak.
* * *
Yeon-gi Peak, as always, gave off the mingled scent of black smoke from the braziers and the metallic stench of iron.
However, the place Baek-Cheong headed for was not the passage lined with stalls, but the top of the Peak.
At the Summit sat the Peak Lord’s Hall, where the Peak Lord resided.
The Butler guarding the front of the Peak Lord’s Hall greeted the group.
“We have come to use the Refining Ticket received as a reward for the Top Ranker of the Martial Arts Competition.”
Baek Mu-Yeong politely stated their business.
The Butler glanced at Baek-Cheong.
He seemed to recognize the Top Ranker who had swept through the Qi Condensation Group without drawing her sword even once.
“I will send word inside. However, if the Peak Lord has begun his work, you may have to wait quite a while…”
But before the Butler could even finish his sentence
“Tell the Top Ranker of the Martial Arts Competition to enter.”
A dignified voice rang out from deep within the Peak Lord’s Hall.
The Butler flinched in surprise and looked back inside.
“It is rare for him to call someone in personally…”
Baek-Cheong, feeling bewildered, walked toward where the Peak Lord resided.
And as soon as she stepped deep into the Peak Lord’s Hall, she stopped in her tracks.
It was because the sight unfolding before her eyes was far too bizarre.
The blazing fire was made of clouds.
The brazier, the flames flickering above the brazier, and even the hammer and tongs neatly placed to the side were all made of clouds.
The flames made of clouds emitted heat twice as intense as a brazier meant for melting iron.
Every time the hammer forged from clouds lifted, spiritual energy scattered and then gathered back together.
To mold intangible clouds like this so freely.
It was on a completely different level from the Artificers who melted iron in braziers and pounded it with hammers.
And it was not difficult to tell that this spectacle was the handiwork of the Peak Lord, a 4th-Tier Alchemist.
“Wow…”
Baek-Cheong opened her mouth naturally, unable to stop her Admiration.
Beside the Brazier, an old cultivator biting down on a long smoking pipe was staring intently down at Baek-Cheong.
Seeing the young child looking around at the clouds in a daze, the Peak Lord looked pleased, the corners of his mouth rising.
“You have quite a good eye.”
Taking a drag from his pipe, the Peak Lord exhaled a long stream of smoke.
“So, you wish to use the Refining Ticket.”
At his words cutting straight to the chase, Baek-Cheong snapped back to her senses and offered her respects.
“Greetings, Peak Lord. Before I use the Refining Ticket, there is something I would like to ask first.”
“Speak.”
“Is it possible to turn a Dharma Tool into a Dharma Treasure and make it my Natal Dharma Treasure?”
The Peak Lord’s eyebrows twitched.
Soon, a hearty laugh burst forth.
“Hahaha, a mere Qi Condensation cultivator is already looking beyond Foundation Establishment? What commendable ambition. Let me see this Dharma Tool.”
Baek-Cheong took the Baekju out from her Storage Platform.
There was a reason she hadn’t taken out the Baekju during the Martial Arts Competition.
Using the Baekju to handle spells that were duplicated twofold went far beyond the bounds of comprehension and reason, so there was nothing good about showing it off carelessly.
As soon as the Peak Lord received the Baekju, a strange light gleamed in his eyes.
“Hoh. This is not an item from our Lower Realm.”
It was an unexpected statement.
Both Baek-Cheong and Baek Mu-Yeong looked at the Peak Lord with surprised eyes.
The Peak Lord tapped the pipe in his mouth as if it were nothing.
“Even if one just looks at the Cloud Sea Secret Realm, a demonic beast called the Void Fish lives there. The things the Void Fish eats and spits out cross over multiple Lower Realms. The things spat out like that pile up at the bottom of the Cloud Sea.”
The Peak Lord continued speaking while stroking the Baekju.
“However, the things piled up there are mostly things that drifted in from other Continents. Items from other Lower Realms getting mixed in only happen once in a blue moon.”
Only then did Baek-Cheong realize the true nature of the unidentified trash that had filled the Cloud Sea.
That was why they didn’t belong to the Biun Sect, and their styles were so varied that she couldn’t even guess their origins.
Soon, the Peak Lord examined the Baekju from various angles and spoke.
“To have this thing reborn as a Dharma Treasure will require quite a few rare materials.”
Without hesitation, Baek-Cheong took out all the materials she had hoarded.
It was a heaping pile of rare Dharma Tool materials she had bought while scouring the Bohwawon auctions.
Among them was even the 2nd-Tier High-Grade Supreme-Grade Dharma Treasure she had salvaged from the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.
Even if priced solely in High-Grade Spirit Stones, it was wealth that easily exceeded twenty of them.
To top it off, her uncle snapped out of his surprise and stepped up to help.
“Peak Lord, it does not matter how much it costs, so please do everything in your power to make it happen.”
The Peak Lord put on a dumbfounded expression.
Not only was a mere Qi Condensation cultivator casually pulling out this much wealth, but the one who was supposed to be the elder of the Clan was fully backing her up instead of stopping her.
His stunned face lasted only a moment before the Peak Lord took the pipe from his mouth.
“The wealth is not the issue.”
The Peak Lord tapped the Baekju.
“To forge this thing into a Dharma Treasure, there must be a material of a similar composition. But since it’s an item that cannot be obtained in our Lower Realm, it’s practically impossible.”
“Ah…”
Baek-Cheong’s shoulders were just about to droop in disappointment.
Suddenly, something came to mind, and her eyes shot wide open.
“Could it be that…?”
She hurriedly rummaged through her Storage Platform and pulled out an item.
It was an unidentified object she had once bid on for a whopping five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and then shoved into her Storage Platform.
A dark, dull thing made of a strange material that was neither stone nor iron, making its purpose impossible to even guess.
Yet, somehow, it bore a strange resemblance to the Baekju.
The true nature of the sense of déjà vu that had tickled her fingertips when she first touched it was precisely this.
“By any chance… could this be used too?”
Baek-Cheong held out the dark, dull object to the Peak Lord.
The Peak Lord, still biting his pipe, took the object and examined it meticulously.
A moment later, an intrigued light flickered around the Peak Lord’s mouth.
“Hmm… If it’s this, then that’s a different story.”
The end of his pipe pointed at the dark, dull object.
“With this thing, it is possible.”