novelraw Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Episode 30: Supreme Grade Spirit Stone
As Jang So-cheon immersed himself in the Nameless Manual of Intent and the Five Elements Heavenly Record, time flowed by like a swift river. Six months had passed since his return to the Extreme Heaven Sect.
One day, while Jang So-cheon was practicing the Earth Escape Technique, cloaked in earth-attributed spiritual energy within an unnamed canyon of Spirit Gathering Mountain, he sensed a familiar presence approaching from afar.
It was Soso.
Absorbing his Earth Walking Ghost into his dantian, Jang So-cheon soared into the sky and landed gracefully in front of Soso.
"Young Master Jang! It's been a while."
"It has indeed. Did you come all the way here just to see me?"
"That's right. I have something to tell you."
"What could be so important that you came in person?"
"There's a rumor going around that the Tamrang Tribe discovered a Supreme Grade Spirit Stone deep underground beneath Mubulsan Mountain here at Spirit Gathering Mountain. Unlike ordinary spirit stones, a Supreme Grade Spirit Stone allows you to directly absorb the spiritual energy contained within the stone. And it's said that the one they found this time has an especially high ratio of spiritual energy."
"Mubulsan Mountain... that's very close to the Extreme Heaven Sect, isn't it?"
"That's exactly why I came. If the Tamrang Tribe monopolizes the Supreme Grade Spirit Stone, their power will increase dramatically. We must stop them at all costs."
"I understand what you're getting at. I'll inform the elders immediately so we can put a stop to their ambitions."
"This isn't something the Extreme Heaven Sect can handle alone."
"I agree. But the final decision rests with the Patriarchs... If the Red Fox Tribe knows of any other human sects, it might be wise to inform them as well."
"I'll discuss that with the princess. By the way, your progress is remarkable, Young Master Jang. At this rate, you'll surpass me soon."
"I'm still a long way off. And here, these are elixir pills I made. Please give this one to the princess, and this one is for you, Lady Soso."
Coming to Golden Lotus Peak hadn't stopped Jang So-cheon from refining pills.
He'd experimented with the alchemy furnace he received from Uiseong, producing quite a few elixir pills.
However, he hadn't infused much divine power into them.
What he just handed Soso was all he had made so far.
"Thank you. And it seems our Red Fox Tribe won't be able to go to Mubulsan Mountain this time. Instead, Princess Umji will be going, so the Tamrang Tribe won't be able to take the Supreme Grade Spirit Stone for themselves."
"Thank you for sharing such valuable information. Please give the princess my regards."
"I will. See you next time."
Whoosh!
With three nimble flips through the air, Soso vanished without a trace.
Her Stealth Technique had clearly improved.
But she hadn't noticed that Jang So-cheon's eyes had followed her tail the entire time.
After Soso left, Jang So-cheon hurried to his Master and relayed everything he'd heard. Upon hearing the news, his Master went to meet Elder Jang Mun.
Wuji Perfected One, after hearing the story, was skeptical about the information's authenticity. Even with some friendly ties, it was too reckless to act solely on the word of a member of the Demon Clan.
Still, he couldn't ignore the words of the newly appointed Supreme Elder, so Elder Jang Mun summoned the Golden Sword Commander and dispatched several members of the Golden Sword Unit to Mubulsan Mountain. He also convened a grand meeting attended by the Supreme Elders.
The result?
Every elder present wanted to go to Mubulsan Mountain themselves.
Even Master Mucheon, who was at the mid-stage of the Void Refining Stage, said he would investigate discreetly—such was the fervor among the elders.
They decided to hold off on notifying other sects for now.
The plan was to handle the situation internally first, and only seek outside help if things got out of hand.
"Master, will you be going as well?"
"I've decided to. I'll be moving together with Gwang-eum Senior Brother, so you needn't worry too much."
"Master! The place where the Supreme Grade Spirit Stone was found is within human territory. The Tamrang Tribe will have come fully prepared."
"I know what you're trying to say. But the mere mention of a Supreme Grade Spirit Stone has everyone blinded by greed, so we've decided to hold off on involving other sects for now."
"What about the So-yo Tribe?"
"They'll act according to the situation. Even though they're hostile to the Tamrang Tribe, they're still part of the Demon Clan, aren't they?"
"I understand. When will you depart?"
"It's already been three hours since the Golden Sword Unit's scouting party set out. As soon as they arrive, we'll depart immediately."
Despite his words, their departure was delayed.
The scouting party from the Golden Sword Unit hadn't returned.
Judging the situation to be serious, Elder Jang Mun sent a second group from the Golden Sword Unit. At the same time, he signaled to Perfected One Palhwang of Cheongyebong Peak, who excelled at stealth and tracking.
* * *
Mubulsan Mountain was only two hundred li from the Extreme Heaven Sect.
Though close, the Golden Sword Unit members each took their flying magic devices and sped toward Mubulsan Mountain.
But as they approached—
Whoosh!
Space twisted, and the air itself seemed to swallow the Golden Sword Unit like a vengeful spirit.
A Spatial Barrier.
Startled, the Golden Sword Unit hastily tried to retreat, but only two managed to escape the barrier.
Even so, they were still in grave danger.
Screeeee!
Investigators of the Chang-eung Tribe, hidden within the barrier, unleashed their Dharma Treasures.
The Golden Sword Unit was annihilated in an instant, and Perfected One Palhwang, who had been following them under the cover of a secret technique, quickly retreated.
He sent a message talisman, reporting that a massive Spatial Barrier had been erected above Mubulsan Mountain.
Descending underground, Perfected One Palhwang opened the Spirit Gathering Platform at his side.
Bzzzzzzzz.
Thousands of black ants shot into the sky from the platform.
Ironclad Ants.
These were flying ants that could share their senses with Perfected One Palhwang.
Chirp!
A moment later...
A single ant, larger than a finger, soared into the sky, its mouth lined with four menacing fangs.
It was the Queen Ant, ruler of the Ironclad Ants.
* * *
When word came that the Golden Sword Unit's scouting party had been wiped out, Elder Jang Mun was left speechless for a long time.
The Golden Sword Unit was the backbone of the Extreme Heaven Sect's fighting force.
With so few experts, every loss was a bitter blow.
But a Spatial Barrier...
Among both the Human Tribe and the Demon Clan, only the Black Phoenix Tribe could create such a barrier.
That meant the Tamrang Tribe had brought Black Phoenix Tribe investigators to Mubulsan Mountain.
And perhaps not just them.
A Supreme Grade Spirit Stone.
If the rumors were true, the Demon Clan would be throwing their full strength into this affair.
"Master! We have no way to break a Spatial Barrier in the Extreme Heaven Sect. I think we need to request help from the Golden Heaven Divine Sect."
"Those beasts... can we handle them?"
At Master Gwang-eum's words, Elder Jang Mun swallowed hard.
The Golden Heaven Divine Sect specializes in thunderbolt magic.
Among the Human Tribe in Taehyeon Kingdom, only they could break a Spatial Barrier.
But their temperament was fierce and greedy.
In trying to drive out wolves, they might end up inviting jackals.
"Still, they're better than the Demon Clan. If they get out of hand, we'll inform the other sects to keep them in check."
"Let's invite the Sword Immortal Sect as well. The experts of the Golden Heaven Divine Sect aren't as effective underground."
"As you wish, Master. I just received a message talisman from Perfected One Palhwang—he's found the entrance to the underground."
"Where is it?"
"If you go down several hundred zhang below Demon-Suppressing Cave, there's a long natural cavern where the Demon Clan is digging into the rock face."
"Understood. Tell Perfected One Palhwang not to act rashly. Wuji Perfected One and I will head to Demon-Suppressing Cave first. Elder Jang Mun, keep the disciples under control and prevent any major losses."
"I will follow your instructions."
As the two Supreme Elders vanished, Elder Jang Mun immediately sent message talismans to the Golden Heaven Divine Sect and the Sword Immortal Sect, urging them not to inform any other sects.
The Extreme Heaven Sect and the two invited sects were quite far apart.
Even with the fastest flying magic devices, it should have taken days to arrive, but to everyone's surprise, two experts from the Golden Heaven Divine Sect arrived at the Golden Palace that very afternoon.
The Golden Heaven Divine Sect had sent message talismans to their elders who happened to be traveling near the Extreme Heaven Sect.
The Sword Immortal Sect was no different.
Not long after the Golden Heaven Divine Sect's elders arrived, an investigator descended from the sky riding a sword.
He radiated a chilling aura—a supreme expert.
It was Demon Sword Feng Gi-hyeok, at the mid-stage of the Void Refining Stage.
"Welcome. With Investigator Feng here, I feel much more at ease."
"It's been a while. Where are the investigators from the Golden Heaven Divine Sect?"
"They've already departed for Demon-Suppressing Cave."
"Normally, they don't care a whit for the affairs of the cultivation world, but the moment a Supreme Grade Spirit Stone appears, they're on fire. Lead the way."
"Of course."
No one else could act so arrogantly at the Extreme Heaven Sect.
But Demon Sword Feng Gi-hyeok had earned the right.
Mid-stage Void Refining.
At this level, one's reputation transcended sect boundaries.
As time passed, more experts arrived at the Golden Palace.
They all wanted to head straight for Mubulsan Mountain, and Elder Jang Mun had the Golden Sword Unit escort them.
Meanwhile, he kept a close eye on the situation at Mubulsan Mountain, and from the next day, uninvited guests began to appear nearby.
They were from other sects in Taehyeon Kingdom.
The situation was quickly spiraling out of control, but Elder Jang Mun focused solely on gathering intelligence.
He judged it was not yet time for the Extreme Heaven Sect to act.
* * *
The Five Elements Heavenly Record was the only magic technique manual Sanggwan Cheonse had brought with him when he fled his family.
His parents, from a collateral branch, had suffered all their lives and died when Sanggwan Cheonse was still a child.
With no one to rely on, Sanggwan Cheonse was scorned and neglected by his clan...
He was barely surviving, just breathing.
Then, one day—
A neighboring great sect invaded as a group.
They burned the clan to the ground and massacred the retainers. In the chaos, Sanggwan Cheonse grabbed the magic manual from the dead clan leader's arms and fled far away.
Sanggwan Cheonse had always been clever.
While on the run, he mastered the Five Elements Heavenly Record, which allowed him to escape all the way to Taehyeon Kingdom, tens of thousands of li away.
By chance, he ended up joining the Extreme Heaven Sect, where he met Jang So-cheon.
The Five Elements Heavenly Record allowed a cultivator to create and use avatars suited to their spirit root attributes.
However, at low cultivation levels, one could only create a single avatar per attribute.
Sanggwan Cheonse chose the Fire Serpent as his fire-attributed avatar.
He also created metal and earth avatars, but rarely used them in combat.
Perhaps because of the vivid memory of his family burning, he found it easy to manifest the fire avatar, while the metal and earth avatars were much harder to materialize and thus less effective.
But Jang So-cheon was different.
Thanks to his training in the Nameless Manual of Intent, his consciousness was on par with a Spirit Refining Stage investigator.
Materializing his intent was effortless, and he could even perform high-level transformations in an instant.
That was how he managed to create an Earth Walking Ghost with earth-attributed spiritual energy and use the Earth Escape Technique.
Once he mastered the Earth Escape Technique, Jang So-cheon delved deep underground.
He spent entire days wandering beneath the earth.
Whenever he found an underground water vein, he would create the White Horse, his water-attributed avatar, and run through the water...
When he tired of that, he would absorb the White Horse back into his dantian and use the Earth Escape Technique to collect alchemy materials scattered underground.
Swish, swish, swish!
He also practiced sending sword energy from the Primordial Divine Sword while using the Earth Escape Technique.
One time, he unknowingly ventured deep underground and sensed suspicious presences with his spiritual perception.
They were members of the Demon Clan.