Chapter 20
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Is there anything our child needs?
=Thank you, Taehyun Zhenren, for 10 High-Grade Spirit Stones.=
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: I've always thought of you as my own granddaughter.
=Thank you, Taebaek Sword Lord, for 10 High-Grade Spirit Stones.=
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: You know very well that I only make such demands for your sake.
=Thank you, Jade-Cold Ice Empress, for 10 High-Grade Spirit Stones.=
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Kiddo! Remember, you'd be dead if it weren't for the sword I gave you!
=Thank you, Blood River Patriarch, for 10 High-Grade Spirit Stones.=
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: I will always be rooting for you.
=Thank you, Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Master, for 10 High-Grade Spirit Stones.=
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You know I always watch your streams, right?
=Thank you, Five Azure Demon King, for 10 High-Grade Spirit Stones.=
“…”
Why are the elders acting like this today?
This looks like a scene I've seen on TV…
They're saying nothing but nice things, like my grandparents would.
No, I know why.
Spirit herbs? It's because of those.
That flower patch I found yesterday? Or was it a meadow?
It's because of those.
Ever since Five Azure Demon King's message popped up.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: There it is!!!
“What's there?”
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Child, go take a closer look at that flower patch.
At Taehyun Zhenren's words, I walked over to the flower patch.
Then the viewers erupted in cheers.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: A Hwangong Herb!!! Is that really a Hwangong Herb?
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Judging by the patterns on its leaves, it must be at least thirty thousand years old.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Isn't that a Chamgong Flower over there? How can there be a Chamgong Flower in the lower realm?
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: If my eyes aren't deceiving me, that flower blooming in the corner must be a Nine-Turn Fusion Peach Blossom.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: There's a freaking Dowoon Orchid growing all over the place, too.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: There's Immortal Spirit Ginseng, too?
Everyone was so excited, they were busy flooding the chat.
How should I put it? Like otakus seeing their favorite character?
I could practically feel their boundless affection.
“Is that stuff valuable?”
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Actually, we discussed something among ourselves, you know?
“Discussed what?”
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: We were all excited because a low-level mob in the lower realm dropped materials from the Immortal Realm.
“Ah—”
Does that mean good items drop?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: But that cave abode you found… No, the cave… There's an entire field of spirit herbs beside it, isn't there?
“Spirit herbs?”
Hmm. If everything good has “spirit” in its name, should I just think of them as good plants?
As I tilted my head, Taehyun Zhenren chimed in.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Child, those spirit herbs are completely useless at your current realm anyway.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Exactly! Besides, aren't you standing in a ninth-grade-or-higher spiritual land? You won't need elixirs, either.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: That's why I was saying…
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Could you share those with us?
Ah—did they want me to pick the spirit herbs and send them over?
They sounded so desperate, I thought they were going to ask for something huge.
That wasn't difficult at all.
“Okay. I'll send them to you.”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: See? Didn't I tell you she had a kind heart and would gladly share them?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Yes. The child has a truly upright nature.
What's so difficult about picking some plants and sending them over?
If I need anything later, I can just look for more.
The fifth floor is enormous, after all.
“Should I pick everything here and send it?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: No! You must carefully gather only the ones we point out.
After that, I carefully picked the spirit herbs as my masters instructed.
“This one?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: No. It needs more time to grow. We should wait until it has more leaves.
“Then what about this one?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: That one is fine. Dig around it and lift it out carefully so it isn't damaged. It doesn't matter if there's soil on it.
I carefully picked out the ones they indicated, divided them equally, and sent them through the Heavenly Dao Network.
Was that why they were so happy now?
They must have been pretty valuable, after all.
'Are they really that valuable? More importantly, how are there plants tens of thousands of years old when the Tower hasn't even been around that long?'
1.
First Period.
So that was that, and this was this?
Didn't their affection seem a little misdirected?
They were all so excited!
They were completely set on treating me like royalty because I'd given them a nice gift!
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Your spiritual sense is excellent, and you're talented at wielding it, but you still have a long way to go.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Your CPU's clock speed is high, but it's not a flagship model.
“Yes…”
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: A Qi Refining sword cultivator cannot use telekinetic swordsmanship to make a sword fly.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Relying on an artifact like the Hongyun Silk may leave your fundamentals weak, so let's build those up first.
“Yep.”
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Cultivators gather the energy of heaven and earth in the lower dantian and channel it through the upper dantian. For sword cultivators in particular, training the upper dantian is of the utmost importance.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Your spiritual platform must be clear, and your spiritual sense as sharp as a sword, to reach the realm of unity between sword and wielder.
Hmm… Upper dantian? Spiritual platform? Spiritual sense?
What did that mean?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: The battery needs to be full and the voltage stable for the CPU to run properly.
“Ah—got it!”
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Now, what I will teach you is a sword formula called the White-Blossom Sword-Manifestation Formula.
“The White-Blossom Sword-Manifestation Formula?”
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: That's right. It's a secret art so far beyond the abilities of other Qi Refining sword cultivators that they wouldn't even dare look at it, much less use it.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: It doesn't merely let you wield a sword; it's a divine ability that lets you emit a faint sword intent.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: It scares the opponent and hits them with a debuff.
“Ah!”
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: It pains me a little that you understand what the Demon King says… But anyway! Sword intent does indeed weaken your opponent's resolve and slow them down.
“Ah—got it!”
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: I'm teaching you this special art because you've helped me, so make sure you learn it well.
“Yep.”
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Then let's begin.
Second Period.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: As you can tell from my title, I was born with an ice spirit root.
“Yes.”
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: An ice spirit root is a mutated spirit root formed from the fusion of water and wind spirit roots.
“Water and wind?”
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That's right. If you had a fire spirit root, the fire energy flowing through your spiritual meridians would weaken the water and wind energy.
“Yes!”
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: If your spirit root were incompatible, you wouldn't dare covet this technique. The energies would clash, sending you into qi deviation or severing your meridians.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You'd overheat and fry the motherboard.
“Ah! Got it!”
So, in short, I can learn it because I have a mixed spirit root?
I guess it means I can learn it because I have all the different attributes?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: So, the ice technique suited to your current Qi Refining realm is called the Frost-Condensing Mirror Art.
“The Frost-Condensing Mirror Art?”
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: It's a technique that gathers frost energy in the air to create a protective mirror.
Did she mean it reflected attacks?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: When the mirror shatters, frost-crystal dust scatters in every direction, obscuring the opponent's vision and blinding them, while the biting wind slows their movements.
“Ooh—”
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: I sent you a pill, so take it right now.
“Ah—got it!”
I checked the Heavenly Dao Network, and the pill had arrived.
'It's warm, like it was just made.'
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Taking the pill will keep the cold from damaging your meridians.
As she said, I swallowed one, and a warm sensation surged through me…
'It's like drinking alcohol.'
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I'd had a drink.
I wanted a drink.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Then let's begin.
Third Period.
“I'm tired.”
Ugh. This is so exhausting!
My head's throbbing!
My head and body are both working overtime.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Our child seems exhausted. Would you like to take a short break if it's too much?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: What are you saying, Zhenren? You must endure hardship and prepare yourself to avoid disaster!
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Even if you're tired now, child, let's start again for the sake of the future.
Ugh. How long do I have to keep doing this?
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: You said you needed them, so I searched every corner of my storage pouch. It's not as if we'll have any use for techniques suited to unusual spirit roots otherwise.
“Uh… um…”
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: The techniques you'll learn are the Diamond Technique, Earth-Traveling Technique, Water Sphere Technique, Earth Wall Technique, Wind Blade Technique, Palm Thunder, and Blazing Light Technique.
“What?”
Why are there so many?
No! Why did they suddenly go from making things easy for me to going overboard like this?
“You want me to learn all of these at once?”
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: You're a mixed spirit root with all five elements and mutations, aren't you! I went through a lot of trouble finding these.
Was the fact that no one was sending another message a sign that this was my cue to flatter him? Was that it?
“Th-thank you, Grandpa.”
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Good. The principles of heaven and earth lie in mutual generation and restraint. Laying the foundation for all techniques to return to one will greatly help you later.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: More RAM is always better.
“Yep.”
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: Then let's begin.
Fourth Period.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Kid, you must be having a hard time trying to follow such inflexible cultivation methods.
“Uh… no. I can manage.”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Why go out of your way to make things difficult? If you followed the demonic path, you wouldn't have to waste your effort like this.
“Uh… really?”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: First, check the Heavenly Dao Network.
When I checked the Heavenly Dao Network, there was a palm-sized jade bottle inside.
When I opened it, a black liquid gave off a terrible stench.
Isn't this poison?
“What is this?”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: It's called Nine Nether Dark Water. Once you've learned the technique, apply it to your hands.
“It looks like poison. Is it okay to put on?”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: You'll die if you haven't learned the technique.
“Ah.”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Don't worry. Just gather its energy once with a technique called the Bone-Melting Art, and you're set.
“Gather its energy?”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: That's right. It's a secret art that melts an opponent's meridians and flesh in an instant.
“Whoa…”
It melts people?
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: If a stronger opponent lets their guard down, all you have to do is casually lay a hand on them, and even their robes will melt away without a trace.
He called himself a Demonic Patriarch, but this seemed kind of underhanded.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: After that, you can learn the Blood Battle Art and Spirit-Escape Art. That should cover just about everything you can learn at your current realm.
“But these look just as hard as what the others are teaching me.”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: You'll see they're easy once you try them.
“Yes…”
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Then let's begin.
Fifth Period.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: What I will teach you are the basics of spiritual runes.
“Spiritual runes?”
It's not English or anything…
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: That's right. Handling and understanding spiritual runes is the proper path to cultivating safely.
“Why is it safe?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Because alchemy costs a lot of money.
“Ah…”
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: It's true. Guys who love alchemy are like gambling addicts. Their brains are soaked in dopamine.
“Huh? But I learned alchemy first, didn't I?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Isn't another great expert watching over you? Unless you're the direct disciple of a major sect—no, even if you were, a Qi Refining cultivator couldn't possibly have the protection of a great expert from the Immortal Realm.
“Ah—so I was lucky.”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Fortuitous encounters are a kind of talent, too. In any case, even grasping the basics of spiritual runes will lay the foundation for formation arts, artifact refinement, and talisman crafting.
“Ah—got it!”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Of course, formation arts are the greatest among them.
“Why formation arts?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: The reason I can stand alongside the great experts despite my low realm is that I've layered a protective formation over the cave abode, creating a formation within a formation.
“A protective formation? A formation within a formation?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: It's a defensive formation made by placing multiple formations inside one another. Anyone who enters without permission will have to face my formations.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You think I can't break through?
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Please restrain yourself, Your Majesty.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: I'll let it go this time.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: As you can see, once you grasp the intricacies of layering formations one over another, even high-realm cultivators will hesitate.
“Ah.”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: In any case, I've sent the materials you need to build a foundation through the Heavenly Dao Network.
When I opened the Heavenly Dao Network, I found countless daggers, tools that looked like carving knives, a jar, red powder, spirit charcoal, and jade slips.
“What is all this?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: The daggers are ordinary weapons made by Qi Refining cultivators. The other items are spirit-carving blades, demonic beast blood, fire spirit sand, spirit charcoal, and jade slips.
'Spirit-carving blades, huh.'
Since it has “spirit” in the name, that must be the core item.
“Do I use all of this?”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: That's right. Infuse the spirit-carving blade with spiritual energy, then carve grooves into the daggers according to the spiritual-rune designs.
“Yep.”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Next, soak the daggers in a solution made by mixing demonic beast blood and fire spirit sand in the proper ratio, and let it seep in.
“Yep!”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Finally, light the spirit charcoal, place the daggers inside, and heat them while infusing them with spiritual energy.
“Yep.”
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: If the formation inscriptions are carved properly, the daggers will absorb fire energy on their own.
“Absorb it?”
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Enchanting an item with fire attributes.
“The daggers will attack with fire?”
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yep.
Ooh. I like how fantastical that sounds.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Then let's begin.
Sixth Period.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: I don't have anything to teach.
“Oh, really?”
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yep. You don't need my techniques right now, do you?
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: They certainly wouldn't help a cultivator.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Child, you don't need to learn the Demon King's techniques.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: What? You little shit.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Please don't take offense, Your Majesty. The child still has a great deal to learn, doesn't she?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: I'll let it go this once.
I put on a somewhat disappointed look, but honestly, I felt like I'd just escaped death.
Especially the artifact refinement the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Master taught me was incredibly hard!
They kept telling me to pour in spiritual energy, and it felt like my strength was draining away.
It felt like I'd carried a hundred sacks of cement.
Honestly, I felt like collapsing right now, but at least there wasn't another lesson after this, right?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Child, today's lessons are over, so go into the cave abode and begin your breath-control training.
“Again?”
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That's right. Don't you have to reach the peak of your realm before advancing to Foundation Establishment?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Max level.
“Ugh—”
It took me fifteen days just to climb to the fifth floor last time, didn't it?
So I have to go through this for another two weeks?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Tomorrow, let's practice what you learned today, too.
Sigh. I want to get out of the Tower.
