Nano-engineering Immortal Cultivation Chronicle

Episode 13: Ominous Signs

A few days later, good news arrived at the Extreme Heaven Sect.

Rumor had it that the Heavenly Medicine Hall Lord had advanced to a mid-grade, third-class Pill Alchemist.

Upon hearing this, Jang So-cheon quietly asked Wuji Perfected One,

"Master! Since you’re already a mid-grade, first-class Pill Alchemist, why not try for the second-class exam next year?"

Wuji Perfected One gently rebuked him.

"So-cheon! Don’t get obsessed with empty honors. Focus solely on building your skills. It’s not the rank that makes a great Pill Alchemist—when your skills improve, the rank will naturally follow."

"I’ll keep your words in mind, Master."

"The reason I took the Pill Alchemist exams and raised my rank was to show Elder Jang Mun my abilities and receive more ingredients for pill refining. But now that we’re not struggling to get by, improving our skills is far more important than chasing ranks. Do you understand?"

"Of course."

"And whenever you have time, devote yourself to raising your cultivation. Once you reach 4-Star Qi Refiner, I’ll give you your own Pill Furnace."

"Thank you, Master."

Motivated by Wuji Perfected One’s words, Jang So-cheon poured even more effort into pill refining and cultivation.

Time passed quickly.

But before long, gathering spirit herbs became increasingly difficult.

There were rumors that the Thousand Mile Gorge had been closed off, and even darker tales that a curse from the heavens had withered all the herbs.

The price of spirit herbs soared, and finally, the ingredients for the Enhanced Spirit Energy Pill that Master was refining ran out.

*

Huff! Huff!

After going out to gather herbs and being chased by a demonic beast, Jang So-cheon was gasping for breath, clutching the Primordial Divine Sword.

His clothes were stained with blood.

Where once these mountains had been full of herbs, now there was hardly a trace.

Fortunately, he managed to find a spot glowing with green light and harvested three rare spirit herbs.

But that was all.

He couldn’t find a single herb needed for the Enhanced Spirit Energy Pill, or even for the Yellow Essence Pill.

Just then—

Kyaooong!

With a sharp screech, a cat-like demonic beast leapt at him, swiping at his eyes.

Swish!

Reacting instantly, Jang So-cheon stepped back and thrust the Primordial Divine Sword forward. The cat beast lifted the sword with its paw and tried to duck underneath.

Slice!

But in the next moment, its paw and head were severed together, and it fell dead to the ground.

He hadn’t realized just how sharp the Primordial Divine Sword was.

No sooner had he killed the cat beast than a huge shadow swooped toward him from afar.

It was the Giant Demonic Beast that had been tracking him all this time.

This monster had nearly killed Jang So-cheon before with the two iron maces attached to its long chains.

But the Giant Demonic Beast wasn’t unscathed either.

One arm was charred and dangling, likely from a Thunderclap Talisman, and only one iron mace remained.

Perhaps that was why it was pursuing Jang So-cheon with such vengeance.

Hooowaaah!

The Giant Demonic Beast roared furiously as it charged.

It leapt into the air, hurling its long chain at Jang So-cheon.

Clatter!

The chain unraveled, blocking off all of Jang So-cheon’s escape routes, and the iron mace at its end shot toward his heart like a meteor.

"Haah!"

Even in crisis, Jang So-cheon kept his composure.

Like an immortal strolling through the clouds, he stepped onto the chain and glided gracefully through the air, twisting his body to dodge the mace.

Slice!

With a flick of the Primordial Divine Sword, the chain binding the mace was cut clean through.

Enraged, the Giant Demonic Beast swung its chain in a spiral, trying to trap Jang So-cheon inside.

But Jang So-cheon’s special ability wouldn’t allow it.

Before the chain could fully encircle him, he preemptively blocked key areas, disrupting its movement.

The chain tangled and fell uselessly to the ground.

Now weaponless, the beast bared its massive fangs.

Jang So-cheon responded by hurling two Thunderclap Talismans he’d received from Makjang.

Zzzap!

Flash!

One of them, by luck, flew straight into the beast’s open mouth.

Screeech!

Leaving the beast writhing and foaming at the mouth behind him, Jang So-cheon used the Cloud Moon Divine Technique to dash back to his companions.

But even where his companions were, it wasn’t safe.

The ground was littered with the corpses and blood of slain demonic beasts.

And in the distance, another pack of beasts was charging toward them—but fortunately, Jang So-cheon reached the Flying Magic Device before they did.

"We’re taking off!"

At the shout from team leader Gwak Mu-jin, Sanggwan Cheonse and Han Yeo-ok quickly operated the Flying Magic Device, lifting it into the sky.

Kyaaong!

A nimble beast leapt up, nearly reaching the device.

But—

Slice.

With a swing of his great saber, the team leader cut the beast clean in two.

"Whew! Did you manage to find anything?"

Seated, Gwak Mu-jin looked around at his team members.

But everyone kept their mouths shut like clams—no one had succeeded.

Only Jang So-cheon carefully opened his Heaven and Earth Pouch.

He took out three Heavenly Fragrance Immortal Herbs, each over seven hundred years old.

"I happened to find some Heavenly Fragrance Immortal Herbs, but I couldn’t find a single other herb. What should we do?"

Jang So-cheon asked anxiously, but Gwak Mu-jin’s face brightened as if he’d met a Bodhisattva in hell.

"Wow! You really are something else, So-cheon. This is more than enough."

"But we didn’t get any ingredients for the Enhanced Spirit Energy Pill! That’s why we came all this way…"

"So-cheon, don’t worry. With these spirit herbs, we can get what we need for the Enhanced Spirit Energy Pill and as much as we want for the Yellow Essence Pill. You know how rare the Heavenly Fragrance Immortal Herb is, right?"

"What are you planning to do?"

"What else? Trade them. Vice-captain, isn’t the Medicine Market nearby?"

"The Medicine Market is fine, but Tai He Valley might be even better. I’ve heard they’re paying top price these days."

"Really? Then let’s head to Tai He Valley. Do you know anyone at the market there?"

"Of course."

So Gwak Mu-jin took the three Heavenly Fragrance Immortal Herbs to auction in Tai He Valley.

The herbs were prized for making elixir pills not only for Spirit Refining Stage cultivators but also for those at the Void Refining Stage.

Word spread that Heavenly Fragrance Immortal Herbs were up for auction, turning Tai He Valley upside down.

That night, the Auction House was packed with Pill Alchemists from the valley…

Even after deducting the commission, Gwak Mu-jin walked away with two hundred and thirty Medium Grade Spirit Stones.

That was equivalent to twenty-three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones—a staggering fortune.

Back at the inn, Gwak Mu-jin handed one hundred and twenty Medium Grade Spirit Stones to Jang So-cheon, as a reward for harvesting the spirit herbs.

He said he’d use the rest to buy as many herbs as possible.

"Captain! A hundred and twenty Medium Grade Spirit Stones is a huge sum. Are you really going to spend it all on herbs?"

"I checked the market today, and it seems they haven’t realized there’s a herb shortage yet. Prices will rise soon, so let’s buy as much as we can and bring it back to Present Ghost Peak."

"Understood. Tomorrow, Han and I will go to the market and buy up every herb we can find—especially the ones for the Enhanced Spirit Energy Pill and Yellow Essence Pill."

"Then I’ll get the Flying Magic Device serviced. There’s quite a bit that needs fixing. Jang and Mak, you two can just browse the market in the meantime."

"Understood. But even if I found the spirit herbs, it doesn’t seem right for me to get so many spirit stones. Why don’t we each take twenty, and use the remaining twenty to buy more herbs?"

"Are you sure you won’t regret it?"

"Of course not. Twenty Medium Grade Spirit Stones… I’ve never seen that much money in my life."

"Alright. Then, since one hundred and ten is enough for the herbs, let’s each take twenty, and Jang can take forty. Everyone okay with that?"

"No complaints here."

With everyone in agreement, Gwak Mu-jin divided up the spirit stones.

The next morning, after telling the team where and when to meet, he went to see a famous Qi Refiner to get the Flying Magic Device repaired.

*

"Makjang! Where did you say you wanted to go?"

"I’m going to buy talismans."

"Want me to come with you?"

"No need. You like pill refining, so go check out the herb shops. Let’s meet here in an hour."

"Alright, see you then."

After parting ways with Makjang, Jang So-cheon started toward the herb shops but changed his mind.

This market was several times larger than the one at Extreme Heaven Sect.

There were all sorts of fascinating items he’d never seen before.

Hoping to broaden his horizons, Jang So-cheon wandered among the antique stalls—until something caught his eye.

At the far end of the market, an old shop was radiating a dazzling blue light.

He walked over, frowning in surprise.

He’d expected some kind of treasure, but the source of the blue glow was just a square-shaped stone.

The only unusual thing about it was its black color.

Other than that, it didn’t seem special.

"Shopkeeper! Is that for sale?"

When Jang So-cheon pointed at the stone, a sly glint flashed in the seemingly innocent shopkeeper’s eyes.

"Of course! That’s a mystical stone that brings good fortune—I paid five spirit stones for it myself. But for you, I’ll let it go for just three."

"Are you sure you can go that low?"

"Absolutely. Just don’t tell anyone you bought it here, or people might scold me for selling it too cheap."

"Understood."

The shopkeeper’s face lit up as he sold the stone, clearly thinking he’d made a killing.

He secretly laughed at Jang So-cheon for being a naïve young master—unaware of the loss he’d just suffered.

After that, Jang So-cheon went to the herb shop and bought enough ingredients for the Yellow Essence Pill to last a year.

Leaving the shop, he headed to the meeting spot to wait for Makjang.

A short while later, Makjang showed up, looking oddly excited.

"What’s up? Did something happen?"

Makjang just grinned, not answering, until he spotted the team leader in the distance and finally spilled the beans.

"So-cheon! Guess what I just bought at the market?"

Jang So-cheon shook his head, and Makjang, grinning from ear to ear, launched into his story.

Apparently, one of the talisman shops was closing down today.

Flush with spirit stones thanks to Jang So-cheon, Makjang told the owner he’d buy in bulk if he got a good price.

The owner agreed, and Makjang made his purchases.

But as he was leaving, the owner hesitantly grabbed his sleeve.

When Makjang asked why, the owner whispered in his ear.

‘I have something really special…’

Sensing a stroke of luck, Makjang played it cool, saying, "What good could possibly be in a shabby, closing shop like this?" and pretended he was in a hurry to leave.

But the owner grew desperate, ran into the back, and returned with a book.

Makjang, feigning disinterest, flipped through it—only to feel his flesh tingle and his blood boil.

The Talisman Scripture.

It contained everything there was to know about talismans.

Dozens of different types, all detailed inside…

Still acting nonchalant, Makjang casually asked the price.

The owner seemed to have some idea of its value and started high, but Makjang haggled him down…

In the end, he got the book for twelve Medium Grade Spirit Stones.

"Whew! I’m still shaking. And thank you."

"For what?"

"If you hadn’t shared your spirit stones, I never could’ve bought this. I almost missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Is it that big?"

"That doesn’t even begin to cover it. Once I master this book, even the greatest expert in Taehyeon Kingdom will tremble before me."

"Sounds like all the experts are dead. Anyway, I’m glad you found a book you like. Happy?"

"My heart’s still pounding. Hehehe."

Makjang laughed like a child and strode confidently over to Gwak Mu-jin.

Then—

"Captain! The weather’s nice today."

"Nice? Looks like it’ll rain soon."

"Uh… really? Well, that’s good! We can just fly above the clouds…"

"You’re probably right."

Even as he said it, Gwak Mu-jin shot Jang So-cheon a look, as if asking if he’d fed Makjang something strange at the market.

"Makjang seems to be in a good mood today. Oh! There’s Senior and Sajeo coming."

"Good. The Flying Magic Device is fixed, so we can leave right away."

"That’s a relief."

As they flew, it really did start to pour.

But Sanggwan Cheonse didn’t take them above the clouds.

He suggested they enjoy the rain for a change.

On the way back to Spirit Gathering Mountain, Han Yeo-ok mentioned that the herb shopping had gone smoothly.

But she kept fidgeting with her fingers.

Heh!

Jang So-cheon chuckled to himself.

There was a ring on Han Sajeo’s finger that he’d never seen before.