Returning Immortal

Chapter 53 : Gift

Gwi Seongjin, who had sent Ho Risim away and had entered the cave, entered the stone chamber where the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation was spread and smiled without realizing it.

It was because the two Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions were sleeping soundly.

The mushroom he had given them was not visible.

The two scorpions had gnawed and eaten it all.

'To think they gnawed and ate all of that big mushroom... Their appetite is really enormous.'

The surprised Gwi Seongjin sat down and took out the mushrooms he had bought at the underground market to one side.

Next, he put his hand into the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation and pulled out the barrier banner he had broken.

Gwi Seongjin, who had repaired the flagpole with the materials he had bought at the market, was about to insert the original earth attribute spirit stone into it but then suddenly stopped his movement.

It was because he had discovered that the efficacy of the spirit stone was exhausted.

'The other flags are fine, so why did only this one's spirit energy get exhausted so quickly?'

Gwi Seongjin, who had been contemplating for a long time, took out a spirit stone from his Qiankun Pouch.

It was the spirit stone he had obtained at the entrance of the ancient formation.

Although the five elements attribute was different from the spirit stone that had been in the barrier banner, Gwi Seongjin was not very worried.

It was because he knew that although the stability would be slightly reduced when he replaced it with a fire attribute spirit stone, the aggressiveness would be much increased.

Swish!

Gwi Seongjin took out his Thunder Cloud Sword and cut off a part of the spirit stone.

Then he elaborately trimmed the fallen piece and inserted it into the flagpole.

Zap, zap, zap!

When Gwi Seongjin stuck the barrier banner in its original position, the power of the barrier formation became twice as strong as before.

The flames that were floating red like peach blossoms on the surface of the formation were now flashing with lightning like lightning.

Gwi Seongjin, who had finished repairing the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation, threw the mushrooms he had bought at the market into it.

Without even knowing that he had strengthened the barrier, the scorpions were still drunk with sleep.

Thud, thud.

Gwi Seongjin's gaze, who had dusted off his hands and had stood up from his seat, this time turned to the True Spirit Soil he had bought at the market.

The reason Gwi Seongjin had bought the True Spirit Soil was for the tree in his Qiankun Pouch.

Gwi Seongjin, who had filled the flowerpot with the True Spirit Soil, opened his Qiankun Pouch and took out a large jade box from within it.

The jade box, on whose surface an immortal flying on a cloud was stylishly embossed, looked very precious in itself.

But what was actually inside was just a single withered tree.

"Grow well!"

Gwi Seongjin, who had moved the tree from the jade box to the flowerpot, whispered in a small voice.

And after contemplating for a moment, he picked up the flowerpot and entered the stone chamber where the bedroom was.

Gwi Seongjin, who had moved the flowerpot to the head of the bed, looked at the tree for a long time with a dazed expression.

The tree seemed to have no hope.

It was because it had been neglected in the Qiankun Pouch for a long time and had lost all its vitality.

It was to the extent that it was admirable that it was maintaining its form...

Although most of the other things had rotted and decayed, leaving not even their form, the reason this tree had stubbornly endured for such a long time must have been because there was something it wanted to show the world.

Gwi Seongjin earnestly wished that the seed of that hope still remained.

And he decided to contribute to that hope.

Gwi Seongjin, who had taken out the jade bottle containing the Kongqing Stone Milk from his Qiankun Pouch, carefully dropped a drop of the milky spirit liquid into the flowerpot.

And he stood up and walked towards the training room.

In reality, cultivators were selfish beings.

There were almost no cultivators who would waste their cultivation resources on something they were not sure would be helpful to them.

There was no need to even mention it if it was the Kongqing Stone Milk, which was a legendary spiritual medicine.

Even so, Gwi Seongjin had given a drop of the Kongqing Stone Milk to the tree without hesitation.

Without even thinking about what kind of result that one drop of good deed would bring in the future...

* * *

Gwi Seongjin, who had arrived at the training room, sat cross-legged.

Mount Tian was a famous mountain, and the primordial qi of heaven and earth was thick and abundant.

Especially, this Mount Shinmok was to the extent that its divine energy was visible to the eye.

It was a matter of course that his cultivation speed would increase if he cultivated here, but Gwi Seongjin was not cultivating the Primordial Chaos Spirit Qi Art now.

Instead, he was concentrating on meditation.

Although his eyes were half-open, the eye of his mind's eye was looking straight at one place in his spirit platform.

It was the sky where the Cheonbugyeong was hanging like a star.

After reading the Cheonbugyeong, his view of the Northern Nether Divine Art had completely changed from before.

At first, Gwi Seongjin had thought that the Northern Nether Divine Art was an incomplete cultivation method that could not avoid qi deviation.

But after encountering the Cheonbugyeong, he had no choice but to acknowledge the skull cultivator's words that it was the most outstanding supreme-grade cultivation method in the lower realm.

So he was in a dilemma.

Whether he should abandon the Primordial Chaos Spirit Qi Art passed down in his family for generations and cultivate the Northern Nether Divine Art...

The Primordial Chaos Spirit Qi Art was a cultivation method whose safety was guaranteed.

But its cultivation speed was extremely slow.

To reach the twelfth stage of Qi Refinement and achieve a golden core, one had to practice the Primordial Chaos Spirit Qi Art for almost two hundred years.

Even a genius with high talent would take over a hundred years...

It was fortunate if one didn't grow old and die in the meantime.

But he couldn't stop his cultivation at the Qi Refinement stage.

When he completed the golden core and rose to the Spirit Condensation stage, he now had to challenge the Void Refinement stage.

The cultivation time for a Spirit Condensation stage legal master to form a primordial infant and become a Void Refinement stage immortal was roughly a thousand years if one cultivated the Primordial Chaos Spirit Qi Art.

Since a legal master at the peak of the Spirit Condensation stage could live up to 500 years, one could never reach the Void Refinement stage unless it was a considerable fortuitous encounter.

The fact that there was not a single person who had reached the Void Refinement stage among his ancestors was the proof.

But if he cultivated the Northern Nether Divine Art, he could drastically reduce that period.

Safety...?

There was no doubt that the Northern Nether Divine Art was a dangerous divine art.

But with the insight he had gained from the Cheonbugyeong, it seemed he could overcome that danger without much difficulty.

"..."

Although these conditions were gathered and were urging him to learn the Northern Nether Divine Art, Gwi Seongjin postponed his decision for a few more days.

And he concentrated on meditation.

After the Cheonbugyeong had entered his spirit platform, Gwi Seongjin's consciousness had been greatly enhanced.

Even with a little meditation, his mind became as clear as a still mirror, and the cycle of awakening also became much shorter.

His thinking also became deeper.

Thanks to that, he could now grasp the laws of nature and the psychology of people, which he had not been able to see before, without much difficulty.

The same went for the skull cultivator.

Before, he could not guess his intentions.

But now, he could gauge not only his situation but also his inner thoughts.

* * *

The next morning.

Gwi Seongjin, who had hung his nameplate on his waist and had gone to work at the Dark Spirit Council, was called by Ne Jinja from the morning.

The reason Ne Jinja had called Gwi Seongjin was nothing special.

It was an advice to study harder as they would be going to the absolute forbidden zone soon.

"Well, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Not yet. However, if it is true that the time of departure is imminent... please raise my internal energy even a little before that. Although my martial power will not increase, at least the incidents of damage caused by me will be reduced."

"Are you asking for a spiritual pill?"

"It would be even better if it were a pill that suits me."

"Of the orthodox faction?"

"..."

Gwi Seongjin did not bother to answer.

It meant that he should judge for himself.

In fact, the reason he had requested a spiritual pill was not for the purpose of increasing the internal energy of his lower dantian.

Gwi Seongjin knew well that even if he ate a spiritual pill, most of its efficacy would go up to his middle dantian, and only a little internal energy would increase in his lower dantian.

Even so, the reason he had requested a spiritual pill was to obtain a justification to bring out the late-stage first-rate realm he had hidden.

"I'll think about it. But don't have too high expectations!"

"I understand."

"Are you going straight to the Spring and Autumn Pavilion?"

"The Cult Leader and many others are hoping that I will completely uncover the formations of the absolute forbidden zone and the Heavenly Demon's Tomb. From tomorrow, I'm thinking of going to work at the Spring and Autumn Pavilion altogether."

"You'll have a hard time."

"Not at all."

Gwi Seongjin bowed politely to Ne Jinja.

And as he was walking to the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, he met an unexpected person on the way.

He was a stout man with a large build and a face full of scars.

Especially, half of his face was so scarred that it was difficult to find a normal spot.

"Are you Gwi Seongjin?"

"You must be Legal Guard Han. I've heard a lot about you."

The reason Gwi Seongjin had recognized him was because he had heard from Ho Risim.

The middle-aged stout man's name was Han Cheolwi, and he was said to be in charge of the prison.

His martial power was at the late stage of the supreme realm.

Among the three Legal Guards excluding him, his martial arts were the highest.

However, he was said to be arrogant.

"A young brat who's not even a handful is trying to speak informally to me, a fellow Legal Guard. If you don't want to be beaten to death, speak politely. And lower your eyes..."

At Han Cheolwi's threat, Gwi Seongjin let out a chuckle.

No matter how much the Luminous Cult was a place of the strong, Han Cheolwi and he had the same rank.

There was no reason to use honorifics.

"To use honorifics between fellow Legal Guards... You're joking too much."

Gwi Seongjin said in a calm voice.

"Do you want to die?"

Han Cheolwi clenched his large fist and came close to Gwi Seongjin.

He was in a momentum to hit him if he could.

"I don't know if you have the skill for that. By the way, what is it?"

Gwi Seongjin asked back, raising his head stiffly.

Although Gwi Seongjin's body was thin, he was on the tall side.

Since he had grown another chi after rising to the third stage of Qi Refinement, there was now not much difference when compared to Han Cheolwi in front of him.

"Since you didn't come to report to the senior Legal Guards, I came to see what kind of a great guy you are. But you're much more arrogant than I heard."

Crack. Crack.

Han Cheolwi, who had brought his head close to Gwi Seongjin's face, cracked his knuckles as if to scare him.

Chuckles!

Gwi Seongjin chuckled once again.

It was a clear sneer.

"If you came for that purpose, then take a good look while you're here. By the way, is Adjutant Cheok well?"

"Why are you asking me about his well-being?"

Han Cheolwi shouted with a face that had turned red and blue.

It was an expression of being unable to control his anger.

In contrast, Gwi Seongjin was endlessly relaxed.

"If I don't ask you, his superior, then who would I ask? Anyway, if you see him, please give him my regards. That I will come to repay the debt I owe soon..."

"You tell him yourself. A young brat is arrogant..."

"Hahaha! It must be nice to be old. I have urgent business, so I'll go first."

Gwi Seongjin, who had taken a step back, had already turned his body and had moved far away from Han Cheolwi.

And he walked forward calmly.

"This son of a bitch..."

Han Cheolwi's fist trembled.

Although he wanted to beat Gwi Seongjin to death with one punch, Han Cheolwi suppressed his anger with superhuman patience.

It was because he had also heard the news that the Cult Leader had called Gwi Seongjin yesterday and had personally encouraged him.

* * *

Gwi Seongjin, who had arrived at the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, immediately went up to the third floor.

It was because the booklets related to formations and barriers were displayed there.

The formation manuals of the demonic path were often cruel and heaven-defying.

There were some that would only be released when those who had entered the formation fought each other until only one person was left, and some formations would only be dismantled when hundreds of humans were massacred at once.

There were also many strange barriers.

There were even some where if even a part of the barrier was damaged, the barrier stones would collapse all at once, spewing out dozens of types of demons.

It was truly unfolding a scene of hell.

However, there was also a principle here.

It was that the more dangerous and cruel the barrier was, the more difficult the opening condition was.

What Gwi Seongjin valued more than these formation or barrier manuals was the Yin-Yang and Five Elements manual.

Gwi Seongjin also knew well that Taiji was born from the primordial chaos, was differentiated into Yin and Yang, and then changed into the Four Symbols and the Eight Trigrams.

The same went for the Three Talents and the Five Elements.

However, the booklets stored here were mostly cases that deviated from the general principles.

It was to the extent that even Gwi Seongjin, a master of formations, had not a few things to gain while reading the books.

(End of Chapter)