“Yeah.”
Lee Hyun gazed outside the cave for a moment.
“The dangers of the Withering Yin Field are worse than people realize. I only understood that after working there myself. I can endure it for now, but if I stay there much longer, my immortal path will be cut off.”
Lee Hyun had made up a vague excuse for why he was leaving, but in a sense, he was also telling the truth.
If he remained in the Withering Yin Field too long, his secret would eventually be exposed. If that happened, it would not just be his immortal path that was cut short, but his life as well.
“What about asking the Outer Gate Affairs Hall for another assignment?”
“I heard they almost never reassign a disciple once they’ve been sent to the Withering Yin Field. Besides, I look perfectly fine, so they have no reason to transfer me.”
“Even so, disciples who desert the sect are treated as traitors.”
“A traitor? That’s overstating it. A single early Qi Refining disciple like me just isn’t important enough to warrant that. I haven’t stolen any treasures from the sect or harmed a fellow disciple. At most, they’ll send a few outer disciples to check my whereabouts. If I leave behind convincing signs of my death, they won’t have any reason to investigate further.”
“Do you really think so? I’m worried cultivators from the Law Enforcement Hall might come after you and kill you, Brother.”
“Think about it. Plenty of people will chase down someone who owes them money, but how many will go chasing after someone who made them money just to repay the favor? I’ve faithfully carried out every task the sect assigned me. The low-grade spirit stones and contribution points Qinghe Valley gives its outer disciples are only a portion of the value it gets from them in return. It might be different if I were an inner disciple, but....”
Wang Shao started to object, then closed his mouth. Lee Hyun’s words sounded convincing. Perhaps those extra few years really did make a difference. Lee Hyun understood the ways of the world far better than he did.
“Then where are you planning to go?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Somewhere far away from Qinghe Valley.”
Wang Shao thought for a moment.
“I think it would be best if you left the Great Yan Kingdom entirely. Wouldn’t it be safer to pass through the Anling Kingdom to the south and continue all the way to the Yunze Kingdom? I heard at the Spirit Beast Garden that Yunze Kingdom has very few spirit veins, so there are almost no major cultivation forces there. Instead, there are many rogue cultivators.”
“Yunze Kingdom....”
“I also heard there are several cultivator markets where rogue cultivators trade spirit plants, pills, talismans, magic tools, and the like. If you intend to keep cultivating after leaving the sect, wouldn’t somewhere like that be better?”
“Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Wang Shao looked at Lee Hyun for a moment, then took a small wooden box from inside his robes.
“Take this.”
Inside the wooden box were three black iron spikes, each about the length of a finger. Fine formation patterns had been engraved across their surfaces.
“What are these?”
“Spirit-Breaking Nails. I received them for completing a small task. They barely even qualify as magic tools, but if you infuse them with spiritual power and throw them, they pack far more force than a mortal’s crossbow. They should even be able to pierce the body-protecting spirit light of a Qi Refining Stage 2 cultivator.”
“Shouldn’t you keep them for yourself?”
“I intend to become a sword cultivator. I have no need for hidden weapons like these.”
Wang Shao said that, but his gaze lingered on the wooden box. They were clearly something he treasured.
“It’s fine. You keep them.”
“Are you sure?”
“I have far more means at my disposal than you think. How could I leave while owing my younger brother a debt?”
“If taking all three makes you uncomfortable, then at least take one.”
Wang Shao took a Spirit-Breaking Nail from the box and forcibly pressed it into Lee Hyun’s hand.
“It’s best if you never have occasion to use something like this, but if the day comes when you need it and don’t have it, you’ll regret it.”
“...You’re right. Then I’ll take just one.”
Wang Shao returned the wooden box containing the remaining two Spirit-Breaking Nails to his robes.
Lee Hyun took out a small bottle and handed it to Wang Shao.
“There are three Essence-Nourishing Pills in here from the allotment I received as a Withering Yin Field caretaker. Take one if you need to treat your meridians, or if your meridians are injured while cultivating the Metal Edge Art.”
“Are you really allowed to give these to me?”
“They were compensation for my work at the Withering Yin Field, so they belong to me. What I do with them is my choice. I still have several Essence-Nourishing Pills left, so don’t worry. Consider this payment for the Spirit-Breaking Nail.”
Wang Shao carefully placed the bottle into his storage pouch.
“Thank you. I wish you well, Brother.”
“You take care too.”
The two of them left the cave.
After walking a few steps, Wang Shao turned back.
“If you change your mind, please tell me anytime. I might be able to ask a Steward I know for help.”
“Got it.”
Lee Hyun carefully checked whether anyone was nearby, then concealed himself and watched Wang Shao disappear beyond the mountain path.
Wang Shao was the first fellow Lee Hyun could truly call a friend since entering Qinghe Valley. But he would probably never see him again.
That was why Lee Hyun had accepted only one of the Spirit-Breaking Nails Wang Shao offered and given him Essence-Nourishing Pills in return. He did not want to leave while owing him a debt.
...
After returning to the hut at Withering Yin Field No. 8, Lee Hyun lay down and cultivated the Primordial One-Qi Art while lost in thought.
Now that he had decided to leave Qinghe Valley, he began considering what he would need, one thing at a time.
The first was food.
People of the mundane world regarded cultivators as beings akin to immortals and assumed they had no need to rely on food.
But Qi Refining cultivators were not nearly that extraordinary. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators, let alone those in Qi Refining, could not completely abstain from food. A cultivator had to at least form a golden core before they could free themselves from dependence on food.
Of course, that did not mean Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators ate just anything. Relying on food from the mundane world caused turbid qi to accumulate, which interfered with cultivation, so they ate food containing spiritual qi whenever possible.
For the time being, Lee Hyun had around two hundred Hunger-Warding Pills. He had accumulated them by saving the pills issued by the sect while eating Qinghe Rice with Senior Brother Lu instead.
There were things in the mundane world that were also called Hunger-Warding Pills, but the ones issued by the sect were made by alchemically refining Qinghe Rice together with several spirit herbs, making them incomparably more precious than their mundane counterparts.
If Lee Hyun wanted to maximize his cultivation speed, refining ten Hunger-Warding Pills a day would not be impossible, but if he only wanted to stave off hunger, he needed to refine just one every two days.
Lee Hyun also had twenty jin (about 12 kg) of Qinghe Rice in his storage pouch. This was thanks to the generous Qinghe Rice allotment given to Withering Yin Field caretakers. One jin of Qinghe Rice, once cooked, was enough to stave off hunger for five days.
‘So if I’m only thinking about keeping myself fed... the Hunger-Warding Pills will last four hundred days, and if I include the Qinghe Rice, I have enough for five hundred days. I don’t need to worry about food anytime soon.’
‘Besides, unlike other cultivators, eating food from the mundane world shouldn’t matter much to me. Even if turbid qi accumulates and slows my cultivation, I’m not racing against my lifespan.’
The second was seeds.
After leaving the sect, he planned to dig a tunnel, hide away inside it, and grow various spirit plants to pass the time.
The problem was that he had no way to predict which spirit plants would thrive in the environment of an underground tunnel. For that reason, Lee Hyun needed to take seeds from as many varieties of spirit plants as possible.
Fortunately, after working with Senior Brother Lu for several years, he already had seeds from Green Dew Grass, Earth Vein Flower, and Blood-Clotting Grass in his storage pouch.
And while repeatedly harvesting and sowing crops at Withering Yin Field No. 8, he had quietly collected small amounts of leftover Bone-Rot Flower and Yin Soul Grass seeds after setting aside enough for the next sowing and for reserves. He had also secured enough young Purple Poison Orchid bulbs to start one small spirit field.
With Qinghe Rice seeds on top of that, he already possessed seeds from seven different kinds of spirit plants.
He planned to search for other seeds while traveling through cultivator markets outside Qinghe Valley. As far as Lee Hyun knew, none of the spirit plants cultivated by the outer disciples became more valuable simply by being grown for longer periods.
The third was combat capability.
This was his greatest problem. Lee Hyun still did not have a magic tool he could rely on as his primary weapon.
There had naturally been no reason to fight while he remained inside Qinghe Valley, but outside the sect, he would need a way to protect himself.
He had copied down and memorized several basic techniques, but the only ones he could use to any practical degree were the techniques he had employed while tending spirit plants. He had only barely reached Novice in a few techniques for self-defense and escape, while he still could not properly execute the rest.
A Qi Refining Stage 2 cultivator could take on tigers and bears barehanded, as well as ordinary bandits armed with melee weapons. But this was a xianxia world, and demon beasts capable of killing Qi Refining cultivators genuinely existed.
Even martial artists from the mundane world could kill the current Lee Hyun!
Lee Hyun had picked up quite a bit of knowledge about the world while working with spirit plants. Even among mortals without spiritual roots, there were realms along the martial path, and those who reached a certain level were known as martial artists.
Among martial artists were powerful experts who had reached Transcendent Peak, or even the Transformation Realm and Profound Realm beyond it. According to Senior Brother Lu, under favorable circumstances such as an ambush, these people were terrifyingly skilled enough to kill even Qi Refining cultivators, and such incidents had actually occurred from time to time.
Cultivators who were denied the chance to use their techniques or lacked combat experience were particularly vulnerable.
If Lee Hyun’s current strength had to be evaluated, he could not guarantee his survival if he encountered a hostile Transcendent Peak expert on the road.
Lee Hyun was still a greenhorn at Qi Refining Stage 2 who felt uncomfortable even killing animals. He was weaker than his younger brother Wang Shao, who had entered the sect at the same time and learned the Azure Steel Sword Art before him.
Of course, if he circulated his spiritual power and manifested body-protecting spirit light, a Transcendent Peak expert would not be able to kill him easily. But Lee Hyun had lived such a peaceful life that he had absolutely no combat proficiency.
Put simply, he was the sort of person who would reflexively squeeze his eyes shut if an ordinary person suddenly threw a punch at his face.
‘Do I need to learn how to fight too? First, I should get myself a magic tool before I leave. I suppose it’s finally time to spend my remaining contribution points and the low-grade spirit stones I’ve saved....’
...
A few days later, Lee Hyun headed to the Artifact Hall at the foot of the main peak.
The Artifact Hall was a building carved entirely out of a massive boulder. Palm-sized formation patterns were embedded in the doorposts, and the moment Lee Hyun stepped over the threshold, his identity token gave a faint tremble.
As he entered, the scents of metal and oil reached his nose.
Several rows of low shelves lined the walls. Items rested neatly on wooden stands, while the more expensive-looking pieces sat inside open wooden boxes, surrounded by faint halos of light.
A palm-sized throwing knife, a short sword with a dark blue sheen, a round shield engraved with wave patterns, a bronze mirror as large as a human face, a finger-sized jade plaque....
‘Oh....’
Lee Hyun slowed without realizing it.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he had entered a proper shop since falling into this world. The old feeling of staying up all night adding things to his shopping cart and then removing them again in his previous life suddenly returned after a very long time.
Behind the counter, a man who looked around forty was polishing a short spear with a cloth.
“What are you looking for?”
“Greetings, Senior Brother. I came to purchase a magic tool.”
The man set down the cloth and glanced at Lee Hyun’s identity token.
“An outer disciple at Qi Refining Stage 2... Where are you assigned?”
“The Withering Yin Field.”
“The Withering Yin Field... Ahem. Then I suppose you can afford a low-grade magic tool. You’ve had it rough.”
The man’s voice softened slightly.
“I’m Zhao Fan. I’ve worked at the Artifact Hall for fourteen years. Have you ever bought a magic tool before?”
“No.”
“I thought as much.”
“Forgive me, but could you explain a little about magic tools?”
“Hmm... The world of magic tools is far too broad for me to explain everything here. But as for the basics... magic tools are divided into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade. Low-grade and mid-grade magic tools are generally used by Qi Refining cultivators, while high-grade and supreme-grade magic tools are used by Foundation Establishment Seniors.”
“Are there no magic tools above supreme-grade?”
“Above that, they’re no longer called magic tools, but magic treasures. Magic treasures are used by Great Seniors in the Golden Core realm. Those aren’t things the likes of us will ever have anything to do with. At your level, the only things you can handle or afford are low-grade magic tools.”
Zhao Fan gestured with his chin toward a short sword on the shelf.
“A higher grade isn’t always better. If an early Qi Refining cultivator uses a mid-grade magic tool, they’ll exhaust all their spiritual power after controlling it only a few times. And no matter how fast or powerful the magic tool is, if your divine sense can’t keep up, you’ll hit a tree or a rock instead of your enemy. What matters is finding something suited to you.”
Lee Hyun pointed to several small flying needles nearby.
“What about these?”
“Those are the Mother-Child Flying Needles. One mother needle and six child needles make a single set. You have to control all seven at once, so they consume a great deal of divine sense. They’re classified as a mid-grade magic tool, but in practice, even late Qi Refining cultivators have trouble handling them.”
The next item Lee Hyun examined was a palm-sized blue leaf.
“Is this a flight magic tool?”
“That’s right. The Azure Wind Leaf. But at Qi Refining Stage 2, you won’t be able to fly very high, and after riding it for half a shichen (about one hour), your spiritual power will be completely drained. The price is forty-eight low-grade spirit stones.”
Lee Hyun spent quite some time browsing the Artifact Hall, but he still could not decide what would suit him best.
‘Hmm... Come to think of it, thanks to Wang Shao, I’ve memorized both the Azure Steel Sword Art and the Introductory Guide on Telekinesis and Sword Control. In that case, buying a sword-shaped low-grade magic tool should be the safest choice.’
He had circled the shelves twice when something caught his attention.
On the bottom shelf at the very back, where a thin layer of dust had settled, several strange objects had been tossed about carelessly.
A chipped sickle, a watering can with a long spout, and a broad longsword with a somewhat blunt appearance.
‘A longsword... is that really what it is?’
The weapon, a little over three and a half chi (about 1.15 m) long, looked unusual from the start.
The two edges of the blade ran almost perfectly straight and parallel, only curving gently inward near the end to form a blunt point. The blade and hilt were forged as one continuous piece of metal, and the grip was long enough to hold with both hands.
Most striking of all, the blade was a full half chi wide, far broader than an ordinary longsword.
“Why are you looking at that?”
Zhao Fan spoke with an incredulous expression.
“It hasn’t sold in nine years.”
“Is this also a magic tool?”
“It’s called the Earth Shovel Sword. Its restrictions are simple, so it’s classified as a low-grade magic tool, but the materials are good enough to be used in a mid-grade one. That makes it exceptionally sturdy.”
“It was made from such good materials, but no one bought it?”
“Because it’s a shovel.”
‘A shovel!?’
Zhao Fan sighed and lifted the Earth Shovel Sword.
“There was once a crazy Senior Brother who said he wanted to plow spirit fields with the Azure Steel Sword Art instead of the Soil-Turning Art. He had this magic tool specially commissioned from black iron mixed with earth-bone stone because he wanted a shovel capable of digging through solid rock. There’s even a restriction engraved inside it that activates the Soil-Softening Art. When you infuse it with spiritual power, any soil or stone touched by the blade softens.”
“I see. But if it was specially commissioned, why is it here?”
“While the Earth Shovel Sword was being made, the Senior Brother who ordered it advanced to Foundation Establishment and stopped working with spirit plants. I casually asked him about it afterward, but he said he had no use for it anymore and refused to buy it. And it’s not like I could argue with a Foundation Establishment cultivator....”