TBISF 13

Chapter: 13

The Dead Cultivator Made a Request and Left a Reward

“Possession?”

In the sudden situation, this was the first threat that came to Ganghyeon’s mind.

Possession was a method where a cultivator, at the moment of death, preserved their soul and moved into another body. By doing so, they gained a new body and extended their life. It was said to be a commonly used method in the cultivation world.

However, although many tried it, it was not easy to succeed.

When one’s life was in danger, or when their lifespan was almost over, if a cultivator knew the art of possession, how could they ignore it?

Because of that, a last struggle using possession at the final moment was said to be common.

But in urgent situations, preparation was often insufficient, so the success rate was low.

On the other hand, if one was hit by a properly prepared possession technique, in most cases their body would be stolen and they would fall into reincarnation, or their soul would be damaged and destroyed.

Usually, a cultivator with a higher realm would use possession on someone with a lower realm, and the weaker side could not endure it.

‘But even if it’s possession, this case was clearly done in a hurry, so the chance of resisting it is high.’

Even in this urgent moment, Ganghyeon did not lose his composure and firmly strengthened his will.

Then, an unfamiliar voice flowed into his mind.

= I am Yang Wonchil of the Paegeom Sect. Whoever you are, if you have discovered my remains, I ask that you fulfill a small request in exchange for taking everything.

‘Whew… it seems it’s not possession.’

Ganghyeon felt relieved inside when he heard the message in his head.

Still, he did not let down his guard, remembering that this could also be a feint to make him relax.

= As a disciple of the Paegeom Sect, I received countless forms of support. At last, I stood before the threshold of the Decisive Realm, and I was confident I could reach it.

‘So he was a cultivator at the peak of the Foundation Realm. Yang Wonchil of the Paegeom Sect.’

Ganghyeon deeply engraved both the name and the realm in his mind.

= I chose an auspicious day and challenged the breakthrough, but the catastrophe where heaven and earth overturned occurred. In the end, not only did I fail to advance, I could not even preserve my life.

‘Just as we expected.’

Ganghyeon realized that his and Indeok’s guess had been correct and silently mourned the cultivator’s misfortune.

= What could I do? Heaven sought to block my path here. I, Yang Wonchil, chose to submit to the laws of heaven and earth. I was willing to return to reincarnation, but there was something that weighed on my heart, leaving regret behind.

At the word “regret,” Ganghyeon tensed again and became wary of possession.

But the next words were very different from what he feared.

= Though I received great kindness as a disciple of the Paegeom Sect, I died so vainly. How could this not be called ungrateful?

‘Loyalty to his sect is the reason for his regret?’

= Therefore, I leave this request while placing a strand of hope on an unknown fellow cultivator. I ask that you consider my wish deeply.

‘Do I really have to?’

In the end, it was a request left by the dead. Judging from it, he would probably ask that something be delivered to the Paegeom Sect.

Then was there any reason to fulfill such a request?

Would it not be better to simply take everything for himself?

Was that not the true way of the cultivation world?

At least, that was the common reality Ganghyeon knew.

= You will naturally think of my request with suspicion.

It seemed Yang Wonchil thought the same.

Because of that, Ganghyeon became curious about what kind of reward Yang Wonchil would offer to make him accept the request.

“If you grant my request, I promise you will receive sufficient compensation.”

= This is a promise made as a disciple of the Paegeom Sect. The sect will never break my promise.

‘I don’t know where that confidence comes from. I doubt the Paegeom Sect would value the promise of a dead man that much.’

Ganghyeon listened carefully, still feeling unconvinced.

= When you collect my belongings, you will find two precious items.

‘Precious items…’

= One is the Secret Method of Fertile Soil.

‘The Secret Method of Fertile Soil?’

= It is a special method for cultivating spiritual herbs. I dare say it is worth more than a Decisive Realm cultivation method.

‘More valuable than a Decisive Realm method… then it truly is precious.’

As he thought, the indoor herb garden he had seen in the antechamber of the cave abode came to mind.

He had found it strange that an herb garden was built indoors rather than outside. Perhaps it was because of this Secret Method of Fertile Soil.

= You may take this for yourself. Even so, if you later deliver it to the sect, I promise the reward will not be small.

‘So it’s fine whether I give it or not? Then the other item must be the one he truly wants returned to the sect.’

Ganghyeon swallowed dryly, curious what Yang Wonchil valued enough to even give up the Secret Method of Fertile Soil.

= You will see my sword. What I wish is for my sword to return to the Paegeom Sect.

‘He wants me to deliver the sword? Is it that precious?’

= You may guess that the sword holds a secret, but it cannot be solved without the sect’s secret arts. I ask you to abandon greed.

‘So without the Paegeom Sect’s techniques, I can’t unlock it anyway. In that case, handing it over and receiving a reward makes sense.’

In the end, the conclusion was that fulfilling the request for the reward was the best option.

But inside, Ganghyeon shook his head.

‘It’s possible the Secret Method of Fertile Soil is actually more important. He might be using the sword to send me to the Paegeom Sect because of that.’

The value of the Secret Method of Fertile Soil would become clear once it was examined.

Then anyone would naturally hide it and cultivate it in secret.

Yang Wonchil might have feared that and used the sect’s symbolic sword to draw the one who obtained the method to the Paegeom Sect.

‘The sword might only contain a short message telling them to retrieve the Secret Method of Fertile Soil from the bearer. I don’t know what’s inside, so I can’t walk into the Paegeom Sect on my own. I’m sorry, Senior Yang, but I cannot accept your request.’

= I knew few would accept my request willingly. Therefore, with my last hope, I prepared one more measure.

‘What?’

Ganghyeon sensed danger in Yang Wonchil’s next words. He urgently drew up his spiritual energy to protect his body and mind, tensing himself.

= It would be useless against someone of my realm or higher, but if by chance you are a trainee of the Great Eastern Academy, you will never escape my preparation.

“Damn it!”

In desperation, Ganghyeon tried to pull his hand away from Yang Wonchil’s body, but his body, which had stiffened the moment he touched him, did not move at all.

“Guh…!”

A strand of energy flowed out from Yang Wonchil’s body and seeped into Ganghyeon.

That energy moved around, then reached his heart and wrapped it like a thin rope.

“What is this?”

= The energy binding your heart is made from my true blood. Though weak, it carries my will. The firmer your resolve not to deliver the sword to my sect, the greater the pressure on your heart will become.

“What kind of situation is this… ngh!”

As Ganghyeon grew angry and resisted Yang Wonchil’s trick, the energy truly tightened, placing strain on his heart.

“This is absurd.”

Ganghyeon let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

= As long as you simply decide to deliver my sword to the sect, there will be no problem. Please calm your anger. As for the secret within the sword, I will not explain it, for fear of stirring your greed.

“Fine. I’ll deliver it someday—when I’m strong enough not to be controlled by the Paegeom Sect.”

Ganghyeon quickly found the loophole in Yang Wonchil’s restriction.

As long as he maintained the intention to deliver the sword, the restriction was effectively harmless.

There were no other conditions on when he had to deliver it. So he could do so only after he no longer feared the Paegeom Sect.

‘Perhaps Yang Wonchil expected this as well. In that case, he may truly have only wished for his sword to return to the Paegeom Sect. Either way, I’m glad there’s no immediate danger.’

Ganghyeon let out a breath of relief and carefully withdrew the hand that had touched Yang Wonchil’s body.

The barrier surrounding the two of them also began to disperse.

“Ganghyeon!”

Indeok shattered the fading barrier and rushed toward him.

“Wait!”

Ganghyeon hurriedly stopped Indeok and repeatedly clenched and unclenched the hand he had pulled away, checking his condition.

Though he was moving his hand, he was carefully examining his entire body, his heart, and even his mind space.

He was checking whether Yang Wonchil’s soul or lingering thoughts had transferred to him and were hiding inside.

Even after using every method available to him, he found nothing.

Only a single strand of energy binding his heart had appeared.

‘If I raise my realm, I should be able to find a way to deal with the heart restriction. Yang Wonchil himself said his preparation would be meaningless against someone of similar or higher realm.’

Of course, since the restriction had already activated, things could be different.

Still, Ganghyeon chose to hold on to cautious optimism.

“Are you okay?”

Indeok finally asked, unable to hold back.

“For now… yes.”

Ganghyeon answered, but Indeok kept pressing him for details, so he had no choice but to explain everything about Yang Wonchil.

Only after that could they properly begin searching Yang Wonchil’s cave abode.

“Wow! Wow! Wow! In your words, Ganghyeon—this is huge, right?”

“From our perspective as mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, anything belonging to a peak Foundation Realm cultivator is bound to be incredible.”

“Right? Look at this. All the artifacts are high-grade. And this one—low-grade, but it looks like a treasure, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. If even I can’t appraise it, it’s likely a treasure.”

Artifacts were spiritual items with specific effects.

They were created through refining or alchemical techniques, and there were countless kinds.

Among them, items commonly used from the Qi Condensation Realm to the Decisive Realm were called artifacts, while those meant for higher realms were called treasures.

Ganghyeon and Indeok had found an item likely to be a treasure inside Yang Wonchil’s storage pouch.

“It’s a strange orb. Look—it’s like there are clouds inside.”

Indeok excitedly examined the orb-like treasure.

It was about the size of a palm, and its material was impossible to identify.

It almost seemed as if clouds themselves had been compressed into a sphere.

“You keep that. Clouds suit you better than me.”

“But I’m lightning, not clouds.”

“I told you—when wind is added to clouds, lightning is born. Take it for now. You won’t even be able to use it yet anyway.”

“Mm… okay.”

“Then I’ll take this.”

Ganghyeon held out the jade slip containing the Secret Method of Fertile Soil.

“That’s obvious. That’s the method for creating herb gardens, right?”

Indeok barely glanced at the jade slip, his eyes still fixed on the orb.

“I’ll learn it first, then teach you later. Don’t even think about avoiding it.”

“Huh? I have to learn it too?”

“Among the hundred arts of cultivation, alchemy, talisman-making, and artifact refining are things you must learn. And this method will greatly help with alchemy.”

Cultivating herbs for alchemy was a basic field most cultivators had to learn.

So even if it didn’t suit Indeok’s temperament, Ganghyeon planned to teach him anyway.

“Mm… okay.”

“For now, put that away and let’s organize the rest. No matter how precious it is, these are far more valuable right now.”

With that, Ganghyeon thoroughly emptied Yang Wonchil’s storage pouch.

Enough cultivation resources spilled out to fill half of the cultivation hall.

The two of them spent more than ten days just appraising and sorting everything.

And that wasn’t the end.

Valuable resources were scattered throughout the cave abode, and even the indoor herb garden using the Secret Method of Fertile Soil took a long time to organize.

“Wow… we’re rich.”

After everything was done, Indeok summed it up with that single sentence.

This time, Ganghyeon smiled brightly along with him.

It was truly an unimaginable haul for Qi Condensation cultivators.

A complete windfall.

“So what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“With just what we got this time, isn’t reaching the Foundation Realm no problem? At least in terms of resources.”

“Mm. We have plenty of spirit stones, talismans, and artifacts to study. There are also plenty of bamboo slips, books, and jade slips with techniques and spells.”

“Then…”

“What? If you have something to say, say it.”

“Do we really have to go find that monster?”

At Ganghyeon’s prompting, Indeok finally spoke the thought he had been holding back.

The direction they were heading was where a wood-attribute monster was fighting a fire-attribute monster.

They had discovered Yang Wonchil’s cave abode by chance along the way.

Now that they were done here, wouldn’t they continue on that path?

Indeok hoped they could avoid danger and go somewhere safer.

“Hmm…”

Ganghyeon fell into thought, his expression troubled by Indeok’s words.