Chapter 28 :

Chapter 28

Act 4: The Bamboo-Tube Beauty (9)

“It won’t cause you any particular harm, Senior. In fact, I believe it may prove to be a fortuitous opportunity that benefits you.”

Yise uttered the decisive words.

A fortuitous opportunity.

Since those words had sustained Kim Siwon throughout his life, he was certain to respond.

“Did you come empty-handed?”

At his question, Yise glanced at Seol Ryeong.

She swiftly stepped forward.

“It isn’t a spiritual herb, but this tea is famous for clearing the body and mind. It should help you while cultivating.”

“A paltry offering.”

Kim Siwon scoffed.

They might belong to the Grand Martial Path, but they were little more than fledglings who had only recently reached the Second Star.

It was obvious that they possessed little wealth.

“Hold your hands together before your chests where I can see them, and come inside.”

The two slowly entered the cultivation cave.

The cave was sparsely furnished, containing only a bed and a table.

However, the moment Yise stepped inside, the grotto-heaven’s energy of heaven and earth quietly enveloped his body. He could clearly sense just how great a fortuitous opportunity this untalented independent cultivator had discovered.

Merely entering caused spiritual energy to flow into his body. Yise felt that if he could remain here a little longer, he might be able to break through the wall blocking his cultivation.

Kim Siwon sat at the table, folded his arms, and crossed his legs.

“So, what wind has brought juniors from the Grand Martial Path all the way to this remote mountain?”

“Senior, did you encounter the Bamboo-Container Maiden on an immortal mountain near the Southern Sea approximately fifty years ago?”

Kim Siwon flinched.

His body was so honest that he could not control his expression at all.

“...How do you know about that?”

“That is why we came looking for you. The Bamboo-Container Maiden commissioned us to find you.”

“She’s still alive? That spiritual object?”

“Yes. Although she has become corrupted and is on the verge of transforming into a demon...”

“Corrupted? You mean she’s becoming a demon?”

Kim Siwon’s expression changed from moment to moment.

Without revealing anything, Yise carefully observed and interpreted every expression.

“Yes. That is why we want you to accompany us to her, stop her corruption, and help her find peace.”

“The Grand Martial Path... Right. The Grand Martial Path reveres spiritual objects.”

Having seemingly organized his thoughts, Kim Siwon slowly spoke.

“...I did not abandon her intentionally.”

They had been about to ask him to lie if necessary, yet Kim Siwon denied abandoning her of his own accord.

“An independent cultivator’s life is hardship itself. We do not have a sturdy roof or a warm greenhouse like you.”

“I’ve heard that independent cultivators endure many hardships.”

“At the time, I fought another independent cultivator of the same cultivation realm who had settled nearby. Since I had discovered the place first, I hid the spiritual object in a secluded location out of concern that my cultivation cave might be discovered. However... the map marking her location was destroyed in a fire during the battle. I was gravely wounded, and while recuperating, I also lost my memories.”

“So that is what happened.”

“Yes. That’s why I could never find her.”

“Then will you accompany us?”

“Of course. Lead the way.”

The independent cultivator Kim Siwon rose energetically.

Yise and Seol Ryeong brought Kim Siwon back to the Namsangol mountain pass.

The bamboo forest was covered in even denser mist than before.

The demonic energy had grown much thicker over the past seven days, just like the mist.

The Bamboo-Container Maiden had confidently claimed that she could endure for about another month, but it seemed she had considerably less time remaining.

As the thickening mist began to obscure their vision, Yise remained conscious of Kim Siwon following a short distance behind them. He took something from his clothing and tossed it into his mouth.

“Do you really have to bring food even in a situation like this? Ugh, that smell. What are you eating?”

“It is rude to tell someone that his breath smells.”

Faced with that devastating criticism, Seol Ryeong immediately closed her mouth and pouted.

“Try one. It’s salty. It’s also good for your health.”

Yise tossed Seol Ryeong a pellet.

“No, thanks. It smells like cow dung.”

“Suit yourself.”

The suspicious gaze that had briefly fallen upon Yise soon disappeared.

As they traveled, Yise tried to sharpen his five senses as much as possible.

His instincts told him that a battle was about to occur.

“Bamboo, come out. I brought your master.”

The Bamboo-Container Maiden cautiously poked her head out from the demonic energy surrounding her.

When her eyes met Kim Siwon’s, they widened like lanterns.

“Scholar!”

Her shrill voice rang through the forest as though tearing through the air.

The Bamboo-Container Maiden looked as though she wanted to rush toward him immediately, but she hesitated and watched Yise and Seol Ryeong for their reactions.

Kim Siwon took the first step toward her.

However, a cold blade touched the underside of his chin.

It was Yise’s axe.

“What are you doing?”

“Do not approach too closely. Confirm her identity from a distance. She is a spiritual object undergoing corruption. If you’re careless, you may become caught up in it as well.”

“Do you think corruption is some contagious illness like a cold? Move it, you insolent brat. Point a weapon at me one more time, and I will kill you.”

Kim Siwon began approaching the Bamboo-Container Maiden one step at a time.

When he reached her, Kim Siwon smiled at the spiritual object that had become a spiritual monster, his eyes gleaming greedily.

“You... You really are the one.”

“Yes, Scholar. It is me.”

“Yes. Yes... You truly have become corrupted. You are becoming a demon.”

“Sniff... Scholar, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.”

“Even so, I am happy that I could see you before departing this world. Please call me by my name one final time.”

“......”

“Scholar?”

“Your name?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Wasn’t it Bamboo?”

The color immediately drained from Bamboo’s face.

The demonic energy within her began surging uncontrollably.

“Scholar, what do you mean? Have you forgotten my name? The name you gave me... No, more importantly, what has happened to you...?”

Yise tightened his grip on his axe and shield.

“Prepare for battle.”

“Now?”

“He isn’t a cultivator. That man is a demonic cultivator.”

“...What?”

“He is undergoing corruption as well.”

Seol Ryeong could see only the spiritual energy remaining within him, but Yise had seen it from the beginning.

A sinister energy had been gradually swelling within Kim Siwon.

Spiritual energy and demonic energy coexisted inside his body, just as they did within Yise.

More precisely, his spiritual energy had lost its flow and become stagnant, while his demonic energy writhed with increasing vitality.

“He reached a wall and resorted to a demonic art.”

The irony was almost laughable.

Two beings that had acquired spirituality encountered one another.

One was a cultivator who dreamed of eternal youth and everlasting life.

The other was a spiritual object that wished to protect its kind and its home.

The spiritual object was abandoned by the cultivator. She resented him, forgot righteousness, and became corrupted.

The cultivator took the spiritual object’s power, but his meager talent ultimately prevented him from advancing. He abandoned righteousness and resorted to corrupted power.

It was a fortuitous encounter that would have been better for both of them if it had never occurred.

“Scholar... You really did abandon me.”

“Hah. Don’t presumptuously pass judgment on me. I will take your demonic power. Hand it over quietly.”

“How could you... do this to me...?”

Kim Siwon, who had been reaching toward the Bamboo-Container Maiden, slowly turned toward the other two.

He had sensed the fighting spirit emanating from behind him.

The demonic energy he had carefully concealed now released such a vicious aura that even Seol Ryeong could sense it.

“Now that I have become a demonic cultivator, the Grand Martial Path will never leave me alone.”

An extreme killing intent immediately spread through the forest.

“So the two of you must die here. Isn’t your way to hunt others before you can be hunted?”

Yise silently stepped forward.

He held a small axe in one hand and a black-iron shield in the other.

Seeing Yise brimming with the will to fight, Kim Siwon gave him a cold, malicious smile.

“How insolent. You’re merely at the Second Star of the Energy Refinement Realm. You only just learned to walk, yet you intend to fight me. Does the immortal-cultivation world seem so easy to you? I may have resorted to a demonic art, but I have crossed the minor bottleneck!”

Kim Siwon let out a furious roar and began forming hand seals.

A violent wind swirled around him, causing his Daoist robe to flap.

“What a pity for you youngsters. You should have remained quietly inside your greenhouse instead of meddling—”

At that moment, black blood suddenly gushed from Kim Siwon’s mouth.

As though he had been waiting for this moment, Yise spoke to Seol Ryeong.

“The antidote I gave you earlier. Take it now.”

“What are you—cough!”

At the same time, Seol Ryeong, who had been preparing a defensive ritual implement beside him, made a strange choking sound and vomited black blood.

“Sorry I couldn’t tell you beforehand.”

Yise immediately apologized and told Seol Ryeong to eat the cow-dung-smelling pellet she was holding.

It was the same pellet he had chewed like a snack while climbing the mountain—the pellet he had prepared in Cheongnim Village under the pretense that it was an antidote.

Once she focused after hearing his explanation, she detected the musty odor concealed within the bamboo forest’s mist.

It was smoky and pungent.

The scent of poison.

“You... You...”

“If I had told you beforehand, your terrible acting might have given us away.”

Yise set down a gourd bottle he had been carrying inside his clothing.

Smoke the same color as the mist was pouring from the bottle.

It was the disposable ritual implement he had purchased for five spirit stones from the magical-artifact shop in Azure Mountain Capital.

When inhaled for a certain period, it emitted poisonous gas that disrupted the vital energy and blood circulation of cultivators within its radius.

“Even so, this won’t be an easy fight. Be careful.”

“Since when?!”

“Since the moment we entered the mist.”

“No! I’m asking when you started suspecting him!”

“From the moment we met him. There was demonic energy inside his body.”

Administering poison without alerting a cultivator’s five senses was no easy task.

As Yise had said, Seol Ryeong’s ignorance had allowed her to assist him naturally, enabling them to deceive Kim Siwon completely.

Without further complaint, Seol Ryeong swallowed the antidote.

It tasted exactly like cow dung.

“You’d better apologize properly after this!”

“I will. Join the fight once the poisonous energy has cleared from your body.”

Yise charged toward the retching Kim Siwon.

It was commonly said that upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, cultivators became immune to all poisons.

Conversely, that meant poison still worked against Energy Refinement Realm cultivators who had not reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.

One text even listed poison among the five dangers that Energy Refinement Realm cultivators needed to guard against most carefully.

Of course, being poisoned would not instantly erase the difference between their cultivation realms.

In particular, Kim Siwon would possess an overwhelming advantage in the quantity and quality of his protective equipment.

After all, he had spent more than seventy years accumulating it.