When Ise infused spiritual power into the Spirit-Detecting Mirror, two dots appeared inside the translucent glass.
Written in characters so tiny that an ordinary person could never make them out were the words Qi Refining 1 and Qi Refining 9.
As expected, it seemed to be a magical artifact for detecting nearby people who possessed spiritual energy.
When he removed the Silver Spirit Ring, the mirror soon flickered, and the words Foundation Establishment appeared.
Ise paused.
‘It can even see through the Foundation Establishment realm?
What kind of principle does it use?’
He put the Silver Spirit Ring back on and tried casting a spell.
The dots appeared on the mirror, then disappeared.
‘Even while wearing the Silver Spirit Ring, casting a spell allows it to detect the spiritual energy of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, albeit only briefly.’
It could distinguish between the spiritual energy coming from a spiritual vein and that emanating from a Qi Condensation cultivator.
No matter how he looked at it, this was no ordinary spirit artifact.
At minimum, it was a treasure artifact.
Perhaps it might even be classified as a sacred relic.
It was fairly common for wandering cultivators who made their living hunting and robbing others to possess spirit-detecting artifacts.
A hunter needed some means of finding his prey, after all.
But an artifact with this level of performance must have been a once-in-a-lifetime fortuitous opportunity for that wandering cultivator.
It was easy to imagine how excited he must have been.
In the end, despite obtaining such an excessive opportunity, he had lost his life because he failed to act with sufficient caution.
“Ryu Seonghan.”
“Yes, Senior.”
“Run over there.
I’ll send Bisang when you need to stop.”
“You’re checking the detection range of the mirror.
Understood.”
Ryu Seonghan immediately increased his pace and began running.
By the time Ryu Seonghan disappeared from his field of vision, Ise checked the position displayed on the mirror.
The position was shown at approximately half the radius.
That meant it could detect things at least twice as far away as what could be confirmed with the naked eye.
Even though advancing to the Foundation Establishment realm had considerably broadened his field of vision.
Satisfied, Ise sent Bisang to tell Ryu Seonghan to return.
“How is it?”
“Quite useful.
The range is pretty wide.”
Ryu Seonghan cast an envious glance at it from beside him, but Ise ignored him.
You should have taken the opportunity when I gave you the chance.
When he placed it inside the high-grade Storage Pouch he had obtained in the secret realm, the name of the magical artifact appeared in his mind.
Spirit-Detecting Mirror.
Thinking the name was suitably straightforward, he put it into his belt-type Storage Pouch.
“Just how many Storage Pouches are you carrying around, Senior…?”
There was the belt-type one he normally wore, the large backpack-type one, the high-grade one that displayed the names of magical artifacts in his mind, the Spirit Herb Pouch, and now the Spirit Beast Pouch he had just obtained.
“Six.”
The envy in Ryu Seonghan’s eyes deepened.
“Why are you surprised?
Isn’t this much standard for a cultivator?”
“…”
After proudly showing off for a while, Ise put away his Storage Pouches.
Showing off his Storage Pouches was always enjoyable.
If anything, it made him feel like he had returned to his childhood for a moment.
Inside the wandering cultivator’s Storage Pouch were Cold-Resistant Shoulder Guards, single-use talismans, medicinal pills, and a magical staff.
It was a magical staff containing Water-element spells.
Apparently, the man had intended to use it to compensate for his weakness in that element.
After finishing sorting through his spoils, Ise dismissed the Earth Spear, overturned the soil, and buried the corpse.
Watching him, Ryu Seonghan asked,
“Senior, how are you able to cast spells so quickly?
You don’t even form hand seals or recite incantations.”
“Who knows.”
“Don’t tell me you’re manipulating the spiritual energy and magical phenomena directly, in their raw form?”
“Yeah?
It’s more convenient that way.”
“That can’t be possible.
You perform that complicated process this quickly?”
Ise couldn’t answer.
He didn’t know what process other cultivators went through to cast spells.
He had learned to do it this way from the very beginning, and had always used them this way.
Perhaps it was a characteristic of the Great Exorcist Order cultivation technique, which pursued a practical approach.
It wasn’t quite this fast, but most Great Exorcist Order Cultivator’s cast spells in the same manner.
Except for cultivators like Senior Irang, who particularly enjoyed wielding spells with tremendous destructive power.
Alongside Body Refinement, this was also one of the driving forces that allowed them to display their strength in battles against cultivators of the same realm.
The two hurried onward.
At this rate, they were going to spend years just traveling.
Above Ise’s head, the spirit beast Bisang flew through the air.
It would fly overhead, taking advantage of its superior vantage point, and whenever it spotted a demon beast, it would descend and give them a signal.
The little fellow was an extremely useful hunting falcon.
Its cultivation was around the 4th Star of the Qi Condensation Realm.
Since Buchun was currently blocked by a small realm bottleneck, whenever they encountered this fellow, they would have to call Buchun over to help.
In terms of usefulness, it was even more capable than Buchun.
“Where?”
“Gururuk.”
Bisang bobbed its beak and indicated a direction.
In the direction Ise headed, a 9th-grade demon beast was waiting for the misfortune that was about to befall it.
After hunting the demon beast and placing it inside the Demon Beast Sealing Album, Ise spoke regretfully.
“When will you learn how to speak?
It would be more convenient if we could actually have a conversation.
Another spirit beast I encountered before, one at the Qi Condensation, could speak.”
“It depends on the environment, but it is generally known that most spirit beasts only develop the ability to speak once they reach the Foundation Establishment realm.”
“I see.”
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do.
Ise smacked his lips.
“But what is that?”
Ryu Seonghan pointed at the Demon Beast Sealing Album.
“It’s a Demon Beast Sealing Album, a single-use Storage Pouch specifically for corpses.”
“Wow.
What an amazing item.”
Normally, he was required to report every time he used one of its pages, but since a long absence from the sect was unavoidable, he had received permission to use it freely for this particular mission.
Thanks to that, he could hunt as many demon beasts as possible and store them inside the Sealing Album, then take them out only when needed and turn them into spirit food.
It was a good substitute for a Flesh Storage Vault, at least in a pinch.
The two continued onward.
***
“Senior.
They’re cultivators from the Heavenly Ice Palace.”
At Ryu Seonghan’s words, Ise silently cast his gaze ahead.
They had almost reached the vicinity of Tiandao City.
“It would be best not to use a flying magical artifact within the Heavenly Ice Palace’s territory.
You’d stand out too much.”
“Right.”
After answering, Ise dismounted from Dream-Saving Cloud.
The two people wearing the Heavenly Ice Palace’s Daoist robes approached in a straight line and clasped their fists toward Ise.
Their divine senses made contact.
One was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, while the other was a Qi Condensation cultivator.
“Daoist, pardon the intrusion.
Would you cooperate with a brief inspection?”
“What is this about?”
“We’re searching for a wanted fugitive.”
When Ryu Seonghan looked at Ise, Ise gave a slight nod.
“Please present your identity token.”
Ryu Seonghan handed over the Ryu Clan’s identity token.
Then he glanced at Ise and added, “Senior is a wandering cultivator.”
“Daoist, could you tell us why you’re currently using Silver Spirit Art?”
“I’m merely using the magical artifact I possess.
Is that a problem?”
“Not at all.
Excuse me.
This is a magical artifact used to check whether someone has disguised their appearance, so please don’t be alarmed.”
The Foundation Establishment cultivator briefly swept a rod-shaped magical artifact across Ise’s face.
Nothing happened.
The two exchanged glances before showing them a wanted poster.
This time, the Qi Condensation cultivator questioned Ryu Seonghan.
“Have you seen this person on your way here?”
“No.
This is my first time seeing him.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.
You may proceed.”
The two cultivators continued on their way and disappeared.
A warm breeze blew through the area.
Strictly speaking, the climate was about equivalent to winter in the Eastern Continent, so calling it a warm breeze was somewhat misleading.
Still, compared to the temperatures in the northern reaches of the Northern Continent, it was considerably better.
What was surprising was that villages appeared from time to time.
They were fairly sparsely scattered, too.
“People live outside the Heavenly Ice Palace’s territory as well?”
“What?
No.
We’ve already entered the Heavenly Ice Palace’s territory.
This is Tiandao City, the capital of the Northern Continent and the territory of the Heavenly Ice Palace.”
“There aren’t any city walls?”
“That’s right.
You can think of every area reached by the power of the Heavenly Flame Pavilion as Tiandao City.
Do you know about rain?
If you go farther inside Tiandao City, water called rain falls from the sky instead of snow.
It’s really pleasant when it falls on you.”
Ise understood that the culture was different and smiled, finding it amusing.
Tiandao City felt almost like it could simply be called a nation.
“Wouldn’t that make it difficult to manage outsiders?
There must be wandering cultivators everywhere.”
“There’s no reason to manage them.
From the perspective of the Heavenly Ice Palace, the ruler of the continent, wandering cultivators are walking resources.
Unless they’re wanted criminals, there’s no need to drive them away.”
“I see.”
As they continued traveling, more and more buildings appeared, enough for the place to be called a city, and the crowds gradually grew thicker.
Tiandao City was enormous.
When Ise asked Ryu Seonghan, he said it was even larger than the Dark Heaven Secret Realm.
It seemed to be at least comparable in size to one of the Three Kingdoms of the Peninsula.
There were mountains, and rivers flowed through the land.
Since Tiandao City itself constituted an entire nation, it was understandable why they had little interest in the remote fortresses.
Of course, all of this was ultimately the power of a divine object.
The two traveled for several more days before reaching the vicinity of the Heavenly Ice Palace’s main mountain.
The main mountain was surrounded by a wall, apparently because access to the area was restricted.
After observing the Heavenly Ice Palace’s main mountain from a distance, the first thing they did was find a place to stay.
Even though the rent was expensive, they rented a residence with a barrier formation for the sake of security.
Next, they immediately went looking for a place where Ise could cultivate.
But there was a problem.
Cultivation grounds within Tiandao City were more expensive than he had expected.
Ever since reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, cultivating in an ordinary location instead of a cultivation ground was barely enough to make any difference.
He possessed roughly six thousand spirit stones.
Even if he sold everything he had obtained from the wandering cultivator, he wouldn’t have nine thousand.
There was no immediate problem, but if he intended to stay for an extended period, he needed a way to earn spirit stones.
“I heard a secret realm is opening soon.”
Ryu Seonghan, who had gone off to gather information, returned and said this.
When Ise showed interest, he continued explaining.
“It’s a Qi Condensation Realm secret realm.
The type is called ‘Trial.'”
“What kind of type is a Trial?”
“They’re secret realms spread around by beings from the Upper Realm for entertainment and viewing.
They deliberately create trials and place rewards at the end.
They’re famous for being difficult but offering good rewards.”
“Sounds interesting.
Want to go in?
If it’s nine stars, it’ll be much better than last time.”
“No?
It’s generally understood that you shouldn’t enter a Trial secret realm unless you’re forcibly drafted into one.
There’s no point going in just to die a dog’s death.
Especially after I’ve already encountered a great fortuitous opportunity.”
That dangerous?
Ise became interested, but if it was a Qi Condensation secret realm, then it had nothing to do with him.
He thought that if he got the opportunity later, he would like to experience a Trial secret realm as well.
“For now, I need to find a way to earn spirit stones.
What about you?
Rather than entering right away, why don’t you first achieve Great Completion and then enter?
You’ll have time to adapt in the meantime, and the Heavenly Ice Palace will probably consider you a reserve force.”
“Yes.”
But how was he supposed to earn spirit stones?
His thoughts grew deeper.
“I noticed you just throw things like Snowfish scales away.
You don’t sell them?”
“Do they make money?”
At Ise’s question, Ryu Seonghan nodded.
When they were in the Great Exorcist Order, they had sold things like demon beast parts in bundles for practically nothing.
There was almost no demand for them.
When Ise asked about the market price, Ryu Seonghan answered that something like Snow Ape fur went for roughly one spirit stone per geun.
Trade was more active here than in the Eastern Continent, but even so, collecting things like that wouldn’t amount to much.
“The fastest way would probably be plundering.”
“That way of thinking really suits a demonic cultivator.”
“That’s hurtful.
Don’t you know the saying, ‘Cultivation is plunder’?”
“What kind of saying is that?
Has the Northern Continent lost all the principles of the martial world?”
Ryu Seonghan chuckled at Ise’s words.
Opening a spirit-food restaurant would be a very good way to earn spirit stones, but if he did it alone, he wouldn’t have any time left for cultivation.
Buchun and Park Gangseo weren’t here.
He couldn’t do everything by himself.
He would need advertising, and running a shop involved far more miscellaneous chores than one might expect.
“You could work as a private master or something, but you don’t have any way to guarantee your identity….”
The biggest problem was his identity.
Ryu Seonghan planned to use his existing identity token, under the pretense that he had become a wandering cultivator after losing a clan war.
If he entered the Heavenly Ice Palace before word reached the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley, the danger would disappear.
Not that they would bother investigating the background of a Qi Condensation wandering cultivator.
Unlike Ryu Seonghan, whose identity was clear even though his clan had fallen, Ise’s options for earning spirit stones were extremely limited.
Wandering cultivators had no guaranteed identities, which meant there were few jobs they could actually take.
“How do the other wandering cultivators earn spirit stones?”
“They do odd jobs for sects… Usually, they wander around the snowfields or the wilderness looking for spirit creatures.”
That wasn’t exactly a lucrative business either.
Ise rubbed his brow and muttered,
“What about conquering a Foundation Establishment city ruled by a demonic sect?”
“…You’re joking, right?”
It was a joke, but if there were any guarantee that it wouldn’t bring future trouble, Ise might have tried it at least once.
“Why don’t you hunt bounties instead?
There are occasionally wandering cultivators or demonic beasts with bounties on their heads.”
“Wouldn’t hunting people like that cause trouble later?”
“They’re wanted criminals, literally.
The bounty is pretty substantial, and you can keep their spoils too.
And Senior can do the hunting while I report the results to the Heavenly Ice Palace.
I heard that having a record of hunting wanted criminals gives you bonus points when entering the palace.”
“I see.
So you’re telling me to slaughter demonic cultivators in your place?”
“Ah… That’s not what I meant.”
“I love it.
Let’s do it right away.”
The Great Exorcist Order was originally a group of demon-beast butchers.
And Ise happened to be exceptionally well suited for it.
For those wondering where’s the chapters below chapter 116, read it on wetriedtls I can’t be bother to plug in those chapters
They have a paywall after you hit the limit that they set, so I decided to just translate it myself and share it with others who also hate paywalls, but since I’m doing this for me and for free, don’t expect constant updates since I gotta pay for the raws which aren’t as expensive as the paywalls