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Chapter: 12
Training Cave of a Paegeom Sect Cultivator
Buzz—! Crackle—! Boom—!
“Ghh… I’m dying.”
Indeok groaned, his face twisted in pain.
“Focus!”
Ganghyeon snapped at him.
“Isn’t this insane? How can anyone train like this?”
Indeok looked at Ganghyeon with pitiful eyes, clearly asking to stop.
But Ganghyeon shook his head.
“This kind of lucky chance is rare. Especially for someone like you with metal and lightning attributes. Spirit lands for those are hard to find. And now an environment filled with lightning and metal energy keeps forming again and again—are you really going to waste that?”
“Hey, look around. There’s no one here but us. All those demon beasts and monsters are gone. They must’ve all fled far away.”
Indeok spoke anxiously, trying to change Ganghyeon’s mind.
“Maybe not for me, but for you, there’s no better training ground. So endure it.”
“What if those demon beasts come back?”
“Then we hide deeper.”
“Can we even hide? They’re clearly above the Foundation Establishment level.”
“They’re too busy fighting each other to care about us. To them, we’re just insects.”
“I trust you, but I’m still really nervous.”
With a helpless expression, Indeok closed his eyes again and focused on Accumulated Thunder Art, the lightning cultivation method he had received from Yanggwang.
It was the basic art of the Heavenly Thunder Sect, used to steadily accumulate lightning energy.
Indeok, who had the rare dual attributes of metal and lightning, trained lightning energy with Accumulated Thunder Art,
and metal energy with Vajra Body Refinement Art.
That art did not cultivate spirit energy directly but strengthened the body.
It suited Indeok’s straightforward personality well.
Wrapping lightning energy around a reinforced body and fighting up close—
that was the combat style best suited to him.
Ganghyeon glanced at Indeok, then closed his own eyes.
The world was filled with lightning and metal energy.
Far away, two enormous monsters—one lightning-aligned, one metal-aligned—were fighting.
Since the overturning of heaven and earth, the six monsters fought periodically,
pairing off against each other.
The closest pair happened to be lightning and metal monsters.
Their realm was so high that even the energy leaking from their battle greatly aided Indeok’s training.
That was why Ganghyeon always urged Indeok to gather lightning or metal energy whenever they fought.
‘For me, it’s the opposite. This is the hardest time to train.’
The lightning and metal energies were too strong.
Wood energy was almost impossible to find.
For Indeok, this place was a blessing.
For Ganghyeon, it was hardship.
So while Indeok trained, Ganghyeon focused on the summoned treant in his mind space.
The treant could not cultivate spirit energy anyway.
‘It won’t be long before it’s time to harvest the spirit fruits.’
The treant bore several fruits on its bare branches.
One came from absorbing the boar demon beast earlier,
and the rest bloomed after the world overturned.
‘This place is basically a treasure vault.’
Countless demon beasts and monsters had died from the catastrophe and the monsters’ clashes.
And there was no one to clean them up.
All animals had fled far away.
Within hundreds of li, only Ganghyeon and Indeok cultivated spirit energy.
‘There’s no need to rush spirit fruits for wood energy either. Everything is being poured into the spirit root.’
The treant had grown many tempting fruits,
but Ganghyeon did not desire them.
His realm was Qi Condensation Stage 4, close to Stage 5.
What he lacked was the amount of wood energy stored in his spirit root.
‘Once Indeok stabilizes, I’ll have to move elsewhere.’
Among the six monsters, one far away clearly carried strong wood energy.
‘If I go near that fight, I could benefit like Indeok does here.’
It was not certain, but worth hoping for.
The problem was Indeok’s anxiety—he did not want to be separated.
‘If persuasion fails, we’ll move together after he reaches Stage 5.’
Even though Indeok slowed him down,
Ganghyeon never thought of abandoning him.
The cultivation world was cruel, and the path of the Dao was lonely—
but Indeok had followed him since childhood with unwavering trust.
Ganghyeon would never betray that.
“Haha, this feels great.”
“What does?”
“Being outside with you like this. We were stuck in that cave forever.”
“They say cultivators can sit in one place for decades once they start training.”
“Eek. We’re only sixteen? Seventeen at most.”
They could no longer tell their exact ages, trapped in a place without time.
“Let’s go that way.”
“Huh? Why? What’s there?”
“I don’t know. I feel faint spirit energy. Like it’s hidden in fog.”
“Maybe it’s just weak?”
“If that were all, I wouldn’t suggest going. This feels like something is concealing it.”
“A concealment formation?”
“If it were that strong, I couldn’t sense it at all. But it does feel hidden.”
“Alright. This way?”
Indeok confirmed and used Earth Escape Art.
At their level, it only softened the ground to dig tunnels,
but they could still advance several zhang at once.
Rustle—!
“Huh? It broke through.”
“Careful!”
Indeok’s tunnel opened into empty space.
Ganghyeon stepped forward and created a ball of light.
Whoosh—
“Ah… a cave dwelling. Right?”
It was clearly a cultivator’s training cave, though partially collapsed.
“Some formations are still active. That’s why it was hard to detect.”
“Look. The spirit stones still have energy.”
“Is the owner gone?”
Ganghyeon spread his senses.
“The outer formations are destroyed. The inside seems safe.”
“Let’s go.”
Ganghyeon entered first.
“Judging by the markings, this is a workshop, this is a cultivation hall… and this is—an herb garden? Inside the cave?”
Ganghyeon looked surprised.
Usually, herb gardens were outside and protected by formations.
“Interesting.”
He wanted to rush inside, but—
“Ganghyeon, there’s something in the cultivation hall, right?”
“Yes. I think the owner is there.”
Ganghyeon straightened his clothes and knocked.
“This junior has accidentally reached the residence of a senior. I offer my respects.”
“Why bother? He’s probably dead.”
“Even so, manners matter.”
Indeok muttered but said nothing more.
The door was sealed.
“No response.”
“So what now?”
Ganghyeon smiled.
“The outer formations are gone. Let’s dig in from the side.”
After some effort, Indeok broke through.
The seal lifted.
The door opened.
Inside, a cultivator sat cross-legged, a sword resting on his thighs.
“A Paegeom Sect cultivator.”
“Yes.”
“He’s dead, right?”
“Yes. He has passed into eternal rest.”
Ganghyeon examined the body.
“He died during cultivation.”
“From the world overturning?”
“Yes.”
Ganghyeon reached out—
Buzz—!
The corpse suddenly flared with energy and opened its eyes.
Indeok screamed.
A silver translucent barrier formed around Ganghyeon and the cultivator.
“Ganghyeon—!”
