Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Cultivation Through Copulation.

Episode 39: Monster Uproar

As Yuk-gyeong aided in the awakening of the boy destined to become a legend,

Elder Bu grumbled his way into the side hall marked ‘Elder Hall’. He muttered about being called when busy, but couldn’t refuse the summons.

After all, it was a man once hailed as a legend of a previous era who had summoned him.

In the deepest part of the grand and antique main hall lay a figure on a bed. The figure occasionally shifted as if in pain.

The man lying on the bed, groaning, was none other than Mu Ga-hwa, Dark Moon Sect’s Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

A skilled individual who could hold his own against three cultivators of the same rank, a name that once echoed throughout the Great Yue Kingdom, and a grandmaster who earned the title of Earth Turning by overturning the ground three times with a single gesture.

Now a frail old man on the bed, he welcomed Elder Bu.

“So, is the child doing well?”

“Greetings, Grand Elder. The child is doing well. Except for trying to climb to the top of my head, he’s quite lively.”

He omitted how spirited the child was and how much he aided his alchemy. Explaining such things felt too boastful and didn’t suit Elder Bu’s character.

Nevertheless, the Old Man Mu, grasped the underlying context of Elder Bu’s words.

“He he, it seems that you’ve taken quite a liking to the child.”

“Liking? The brat is arrogant. He’s progressed so quickly in his training that he’s already reached Qi Condensation Great Perfection and is whining for a Foundation Establishment pill.”

Elder Bu pursed his lips in apparent dissatisfaction.

Though his tone sounded like grumbling, those who knew him well could tell he was subtly requesting something.

“So, Elder Bu, are you asking to allocate a Foundation Establishment Pill to that child?”

“It’s not exactly that… It’s just that the child, the Single Spiritual Root owner, is rapidly advancing, and I don’t want to stifle him…”

Elder Bu trailed off. Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he displayed the typical behavior of someone whose true intentions had been exposed.

Old Man Mu shifted his body and let out a low chuckle.

“Hehe, a Foundation Establishment Pill has already been prepared for that child. But I want to see if he can advance through the Mortal Path. Since advancing through the Mortal Path aids in Core Formation.”1

“I wouldn’t know as I reached Foundation Establishment through the Earthly Path. I have heard that entering through the Mortal Path provides some help when reaching Core Formation.”

“Even a small step like that is a giant leap before the great gateway of Core Formation. I’m curious about that child’s limits. He reached Qi Condensation Great Perfection in just a week. How long will it take him to reach Foundation Establishment?”

“He’s been training without any bottlenecks so far. If he gets discouraged at the bottleneck, won’t it hinder his future cultivation?”

“What are the virtues of a cultivator? Patience and perseverance. If he gets discouraged just by that, he has no fate with cultivation. Why, are you so worried about him?”

“Worried? I’m just concerned that if the unreliable kid trips over a stone, he’ll become even more unreliable.”

“You’re not being honest.”

Old Man Mu clicked his tongue and spoke gruffly to Elder Bu,

“What about the Jang family? Has the Grand Elder of the Jang family said anything?”

“Do you think he can even open his mouth in the Elder Hall? Moreover, he declared seclusion over a decade ago and hasn’t communicated since.”

Old Man Mu treats the Grand Elder of the Jang family as a mere child.

Though revered as the Grand Elder of the Jang family, he was the youngest of those in the Elder Hall. Moreover, as there was no other Nascent Soul cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage except for Old Man Mu, Jang Family’s Grand Elder had no real voice to raise.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about?”

“There’s no need to worry. Just keep a close eye on the child. If he tries to stray onto the wrong path, discipline him harshly. Until he reaches Foundation Establishment, you are practically his master.”

At Old Man Mu’s advice, Elder Bu nodded. As an elder in the Foundation Establishment stage, his role was probably just up to that point.

He never thought of himself as Yuk-gyeong’s master. He believed it was absurd for a Foundation Establishment elder to teach a genius who was about to reach the Foundation Establishment stage himself.

Still, he couldn’t help but grow fond of the child while watching over him.

Elder Bu changed the subject.

“The Jang family’s tyranny is severe. The Sect Leader’s disdain for the Jang family isn’t a recent development.”

“They are despicable people who only think of their own family’s interests, not the Sect’s, but considering the dedication their ancestors showed to the Sect, we can’t just coldly dismiss the Jang family.”

The Jang family has been loyal to the Dark Moon Sect.

Their ancestors, and their ancestors’ ancestors, have been part of the Dark Moon Sect, and even the ancestor Jang So-gun, whom Old Man Mu remembers, was a cultivator who sacrificed his life for the Sect.

In truth, the Jang family exists on the foundation of their ancestors’ sacrifices.

That’s why they can speak loudly and live within the Dark Moon Sect.

“I’m not overlooking the Jang family’s contributions either….”

“Cough, cough. The young ones of the Jang family should restrain themselves. If they carry the fact that they are disciples of the Dark Moon Sect in their hearts, that is. Otherwise…they must be informed that the Dark Moon Sect does not welcome outsiders…”

In the dense forest of Iron Star Peak, a figure was rustling through the underbrush.

A tall shadow, rummaging around here and there, muttered as if troubled.

“Where on earth has it gone? To think that it escaped while I was out…”

The shadow, randomly flipping over the thick underbrush and using Spiritual Qi to search the surroundings, shook his head.

The creature he was looking for had an exceptional ability to hide, making it impossible to find with ordinary methods.

Even he found it difficult to locate, though he had tied it up securely before he left…

When he returned from his outing, the chains he had used were broken, and the creature he was now searching for had fled.

The shadow counted on his fingers, estimating, and muttered again.

“I heard that disciples have been disappearing within the Sect… Could it be?”

It must be. The creature enjoyed eating humans. It was probably true. Damn it!

Yes, I shouldn’t have taught it that.

Formation arts.

Finding a creature that uses formation arts was incredibly difficult.

Teaching formation arts to a Foundation Establishment stage creature was a laborious and thankless task, and now it had become a troublesome affair.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have taught it formation arts.

“If this thing causes any more trouble…”

The tall shadow sighed and continued his search. The image of an enraged Sect Leader loomed in his mind.

“Did you hear? The story about a monster entering the Sect.”

“I heard too. They say several people have disappeared already? I heard another disciple vanished from Iron Star Peak this time.”

The strange rumor that a monster had infiltrated the Sect became more specific after two more disciples went missing.

So far, a total of four disciples have disappeared. Among them, three were at the Qi Condensation stage, and one was at the Foundation establishment stage.

The strange rumor that both Senior Sister Kang, and Senior Brother Cho had heard, was gradually taking shape and sweeping through the Sect’s disciples.

With the rumor reaching this point, the Sect could no longer remain idle.

Thus, the Sect decided to form an investigation team led by an elder at the Core Formation stage to uncover the truth behind the monster rumor.

A middle-aged man with a celestial demeanor, dressed in a sky-blue robe, stood before the investigation team with his hands in his sleeves.

“I have been appointed to lead this investigation. I am Elder Geum Seung-won of Severed Will Peak.”

Iron-faced Geum Seung-won.

Elder Geum, who had overseen the entrance exam when Yuk-gyeong joined the Dark Moon Sect, was the one in charge of this matter.

A subtle wave of Spiritual Qi emanated from him. Just by standing still, he exuded an aura of intimidation, causing the surrounding disciples to feel slightly daunted.

A scholar from the cultivation world described beings at the Core Formation stage as follows:

“…Monsters capable of creating a flow of Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Qi just by shifting their bodies. They defy the heavens to form their cores, hence they are called Core Formation stage…“

Moreover, Elder Geum was at the late Core Formation elder, so close to the Nascent Soul stage, that he was known as a True Monarch.

The members of the investigation team felt reassured. Given Elder Geum’s cultivation level, they believed that any dangerous situation could be managed.

“With Elder Geum, there shouldn’t be any danger.”

“If Elder Geum is involved, this matter will be resolved quickly, don’t you think? We might as well earn some free contribution points from this. The disciples who didn’t take on this mission will regret it.”

“Look over there. Isn’t the Single Spiritual Root owner here as well? If someone like the Single Spiritual Root owner is included in such a mission, doesn’t that guarantee safety?”

Yuk-gyeong was also part of this exploration team.

Why was he part of the exploration team? He volunteered because this exploration was taking place near the Servant Hall. If an exploration happens at the Servant Hall, there would definitely be a certain someone attending, and he had business with that person.

Of course, he could earn some contribution points while he was at it.

Elder Geum led the exploration team towards the Servant Hall.

As the group swarmed towards the Servant Hall, an unusual commotion erupted there.

Cultivators who usually wouldn’t even set foot near the Servant Hall flocked in, causing the people of the Servant Hall to murmur, wondering what was happening.

When Elder Geum and the exploration team arrived, the deacon of the Servant Hall, who had been informed in advance, had to come out to attend to them.

“Deacon of the Servant Hall, come out and report. Has there been any disappearance from the Servant Hall as well?”

“Yes, yes. Disciple Yeong Sun-il greets Elder Geum. There have been no disappearances of disciples from the Servant Hall.”

Yeong Sun-il, the deacon of the Servant Hall, reporting to Elder Geum.

The person Yuk-gyeong had business with at the Servant Hall was none other than him.

Yeong Sun-il!

Qi Condensation 7-Star, having aged and finding it difficult to continue cultivating, he became the steward of the Servant Hall.

Yuk-gyeong could never forget him.

Yuk-gyeong was someone who never forgot either grace or grudges.

He realized that the oppression Sun-il inflicted on him was because the Jang family was backing him.

The delay in seeking revenge on him was because it wouldn’t be beneficial for him if word got out that Yuk-gyeong sought revenge on Sun-il immediately after leaving the Servant Hall and entering the outer sect.

He wasn’t even a disciple of an elder, he entered as a medicine attendant, and the first thing he does is seek revenge? If such a perception spread, it would be disadvantageous for Yuk-gyeong.

And then there’s the issue of his relationship with the elder he serves.

He still didn’t know what kind of person the Elder was and hadn’t built any rapport, so using his influence to seek revenge was risky in many ways.

First, he needed to get along well with the Elder, his superior, before he could turn his attention to other matters.

That’s why he’s turning his attention now.

His relationship with his superior is good, and quite some time has passed since he entered as a medicine attendant.

It’s time for revenge.

And if he’s going to do it, he might as well do it properly.

When the deacon, Yeong Sun-il, finished his report and was about to return to the crowd, Yuk-gyeong stepped forward.

“Elder! I have something to say!”

Footnotes:

1: TL/N: There are three ways a cultivator transcends from Qi Cultivation to Foundation Establishment. The three ways were previously translated as Method of Heaven, Method of Earth, and Method of Man. From now on they will be translated as the Heavenly Path, the Earthly Path, and the Mortal Path. ↩️