Chapter 16
Chapter 16.
Immortal Wine Gourd Bug.
A gourd-carrying bug that makes immortal wine.
I pondered as I watched the creature, still not fully recovered.
“Is the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug dangerous?”
“Most of the gourd bugs I know are quite weak. The Immortal Wine Gourd Bug might be a little different, but I think it'll be fine.”
Basically, gourd bugs were that sort of creature.
Like fireflies.
They weren't born carrying gourds; they laid their eggs inside gourds, ate their way out, and then carried the gourds on their backs.
They didn't eat or drink, instead gathering various kinds of energy inside their gourds. Apparently, they could survive on that alone.
“They're really fascinating creatures.”
Flying insects were pretty fascinating, too, but gourd bugs were even more so.
I searched the Yao Immortal Pavilion, but couldn't find any particularly useful information.
There were only impressions similar to Seo Geum's, or descriptions of their habits.
There wasn't much information that could help.
There was one post, though, by a Yao Immortal with a title I'd never seen before. Maybe they'd already ascended.
[Evil Wine Immortal: About Gourd Bugs.]
-Gourd bugs are inherently weak. However, they can sometimes wield great power if they gather enough Heaven-and-Earth energy to fill their gourds over a long period of time. I've raised quite a variety of gourd bugs and observed their nature. But they each hold different kinds of energy and attempt to molt in different ways depending on their environment. After their first molt, they become one with their gourds. After the second, the gourds themselves gain supernatural abilities, and some gourd bugs use them aggressively. No matter how many times I raise them, they keep changing in different ways. They are truly fascinating spirit insects.
Basically, gourd bugs changed in different ways depending on their environment, and transformed through molting.
Molting was similar to shedding, so there wasn't much difference in interpretation.
“This little guy's molted once, right? It's kind of attached to its gourd.”
“I think so, too. If it was parasitizing your cave abode, Master, it must have molted a long time ago.”
“Hmm... I should put a restriction on it, just in case.”
I'd already subdued a spirit insect before, so I had a general idea of how to impose a restriction.
I stirred up my yao power, formed the binding seal, and recited the incantation. A spell formed in my mouth and seeped into the Immortal Wine Gourd Bug.
As I felt a strong connection form with the gourd bug, it soon awoke. It shuddered, looked around, then shrank back as if terrified.
“Gourd bug. Do you want to live here?”
The gourd bug tilted its head, then stared intently at me.
Could it understand what I was saying?
I'd formed a binding seal by placing a restriction on it, so even if it couldn't understand my words, it should be able to sense my intentions.
The gourd bug opened its closed gourd on its own and poured wine into my hand.
“You want me to drink it?”
“Oh my.”
“Is it okay to drink this?”
“The binding seal should keep it from doing anything that could threaten you. I think it understands the situation. How cute.”
When Seo Geum gently stroked the gourd bug, its gourd wriggled as if it felt good.
The wine the gourd bug gave me.
The immortal wine was enough to pool a little in my palm.
I took it as some sort of greeting from the little guy and gladly drank it.
The wine smelled wonderful, and just breathing in the aroma restored my vitality. There was no reason not to drink it.
Besides, the binding seal meant it couldn't do anything that might threaten me.
As soon as I tried a sip of the immortal wine...
“!”
My face flushed, a powerful wind blew from my body, and a vision unfolded: I was sitting atop a high mountain, surrounded by clouds and overcome by the scenery.
At the same time, my cultivation, which had been stuck at the second layer of the Yao Art, instantly broke through to the third.
‘I see. The Immortal Wine Gourd Bug's wine... wasn't made simply by stealing the Heaven-and-Earth energy from my cave abode.’
The enlightenment that came with drinking the wine showed me all sorts of visions.
One person stole, another killed, while someone else, consumed by envy and jealousy, framed and slandered an innocent person.
I looked down on the evil in that marketplace from the mountaintop and shouted at it. The evil was cleansed from the evildoers' hearts.
“Gasp!”
“Master, are you all right?”
I raised my palm to show I was fine, then came out of the vision and immediately returned to my quarters to sit in meditation.
One sip of immortal wine.
There was all kinds of evil in it.
The visions began in a marketplace, but soon I could picture people who abandoned their disciples, betrayed their lovers, and severed their ties to their sects.
The evil they held.
The goodness they held.
Those things accumulated little by little, transforming into a single essence that blossomed and ripened into the immortal wine inside the gourd.
‘Ah...’
Once Gyo Ran ended her meditation, she observed her own body.
Her cultivation had just broken through to the fourth layer of the Yao Art, and her inner core had become denser and more concentrated.
It had also moved a little higher, from her lower abdomen toward her chest.
It was just about to reach her middle dantian.
‘The essence, qi, and spirit are gathering in my inner core, becoming something that both exists and doesn't exist.’
It would settle into her middle dantian, undergo another round of compression and refinement, and then, at some point, move to her upper dantian.
Then Gyo Ran's realm would be Yao Life.
With a second life, she would become a Yao Immortal who wouldn't easily die, even if her head were cut off.
“Phew...”
Gyo Ran's violet eyes flashed as she breathed out her profound inner energy.
Having reached the fourth layer of the Yao Art, not only had her body grown much stronger, but her reserves of yao power had also deepened. Her spiritual sense, which had reached 40 zhang, broke through two stages and extended to 50 zhang (150 m).
[Dao-Bone New Scripture (道骨新書) - Observation]
■ Plane: Lower Realm
■ Owner: Gyo Ran (蛟瀾)
■ Race: Purple Cloud Jiaolong (紫霞蛟龍)
■ Realm: Yao Art, Fourth Layer - Yao General
[Personal Attributes]
* Lifespan: 107 / 1000
* Stamina: 2,000 → 2,500 (Low-High)
* Yao Power: 2,000 → 2,500 (Low-High)
* Spiritual Sense: 1,000 → 1,500 (Low-High)
* Luck: 150 (High-Low)
* Insight: 80 → 81 (Mid-Low)
* Fame: 0 → 10
* Charm: Exceptional (High-Mid)
[Combat Attributes]
* Critical: 150 → 155 (Low-Mid)
* Guard: 200 → 205 (Mid-Low)
* Cultivation Method Resistance: 145 → 150 (Low-High)
* Spirit Root Resistance: 150 → 155 (Low-High)
[Martial Arts Aptitude]
* Dao Arts: 62
* Spear Arts: 63
* Sword Arts: 41
* Fist Arts: 43
* Palm Arts: 50
* Finger Arts: 43
[Yao Root Aptitude]
* Fire Root: 30 → 31
* Water Root: 60 → 62 (Jiaolong)
* Lightning Root: 86 → 88 (Innate Bloodline)
* Metal Root: 41 → 42
* Earth Root: 32 → 33
* Wood Root: 36 → 37
Looking at the Dao-Bone New Scripture...
My stamina and yao power had increased by about 500.
My spiritual sense had increased as expected, while my insight had gone up by one and most of my other stats had risen quite a bit, too. None of my martial arts aptitudes had increased, but it was good that my Yao Root aptitudes had.
I couldn't believe I'd broken through two minor stages at once and even improved my aptitudes and insight.
“Is this what they call a fortuitous opportunity...?”
How well-behaved had I been to get showered with fortuitous opportunities like this?
After gathering her energy, Gyo Ran hurriedly sprang toward the gourd bug, intending to kiss its gourd, then stopped short.
“Hm? Something's strange.”
The scenery inside the cave abode looked a little different.
There were more spirit fruits growing on the spirit trees.
And Seo Geum's room was gone.
“How much time has passed?”
Looking at the yao qi in the cave abode and the number of spirit fruits that had grown, it felt like at least five years had passed.
I hurriedly searched for Seo Geum.
“Master!!”
Seo Geum came rushing out through a stone door from the inner cave abode beside the workshop.
“What happened? It feels like about five years have passed. Is that right?”
“Yes. After you drank the immortal wine, you sat in meditation, and your energy seemed so unusual that you went into seclusion. I was terribly worried that I might have brought ill fortune upon you, Master.”
“What misfortune? It was a fortuitous opportunity.”
“Now that you mention it... Have you reached the fourth layer of the Yao Art?”
“Yeah. I reached the fourth layer. Drinking the gourd bug's immortal wine swept me into a profound enlightenment, and I needed time to make sense of it!”
Gyo Ran hugged Seo Geum without thinking. She was happy that her cultivation had risen so much all at once.
Seo Geum flinched, but felt the soft warmth of her master, whose frame was smaller than hers, and hugged her back.
A short while later.
The joy of seeing each other again and the excitement of breaking through a realm had both subsided somewhat.
Gyo Ran was a little embarrassed, while Seo Geum smiled brightly.
“But if it took five years to rise two stages, doesn't that mean it wasn't that great a fortuitous opportunity? Why did so much time pass...”
The dignified-master act Gyo Ran had wanted to maintain around Seo Geum had fallen apart, so she grumbled for no particular reason.
In fact, breaking through two minor stages in five years was an incredibly short time.
Especially for a yao beast with a thousand-year lifespan, that was an incredibly short time.
But Gyo Ran had been born and raised in a cave abode in the forbidden grounds of Golden Ring Immortal Paradise, surrounded by all kinds of Dharma artifacts and fortuitous opportunities.
To her, two stages in five years didn't feel all that fast.
Still, she was quite pleased that she'd broken through a minor realm without having to work hard at cultivation.
“You little gourd bug! Get over here!”
Since her dignified-master act had already fallen apart, Gyo Ran picked up the gourd bug and peppered it with kisses.
“You adorable little thing!”
The gourd bug struggled, its gourd swaying from side to side.
It didn't seem to mind the affectionate attention from its master, whom it hadn't seen in a long time.
Seo Geum watched the gourd bug with a little envy, then came to her senses.
“Are you feeling all right?”
“Yeah, I feel great. I couldn't feel better! But... it seems like you've settled in pretty well.”
Five years.
To Gyo Ran, it felt like about five days, but it hadn't been the same for Seo Geum.
Her appearance hadn't changed much, but Seo Geum, who'd been eighteen, was now twenty-three.
You could say she'd become a little more mature.
“Didn't you get taller?”
“No, my height is the same as ever.”
“Hmm, right.”
At eighteen, most people had already reached their full height.
Men could keep growing even after twenty, but that was quite rare for women.
Seo Geum probably just looked taller because she'd grown more mature.
As a member of the Rat Yao clan, her cute, characteristic appearance was unchanged, so there wasn't much difference, really.
“Hmm... Why am I...”
Gyo Ran opened and closed her hand for no reason, knitted her brows in displeasure, then shook her head.
What could she do about it?
All she could do was rest her chin in her hand and let out a quiet sigh.
