Uncheong swallowed hard with a dissatisfied look in his eyes.
If Uncheong were a complete Display Case Practitioner, he would have jumped into action immediately.
Currently, my strength was barely a notch above the Avatar Phase.
Depending on the situation, I could exert power equivalent to that of a Display Case, so it would be worth attempting a fight with a practitioner of the same level.
“…You’re exceedingly arrogant.”
But he was merely a thought of a Display Case Practitioner who had died long ago.
The chances of him defeating me, being not alive, were nearly zero.
He twitched his hand and then sighed, as if giving up.
[You’re scared, haha]
[Scared?]
[Oh haha, just accept peace quietly]
[Can’t do anything right?]
[Hey Lily]
[What are you gonna do if I’m arrogant, lol]
“What do you want? Surely you haven’t just come to oppress my descendants.”
“I’ve already told you what I want.”
“Speak the truth instead of talking about peace.”
“It is the truth.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
It was far better to pursue peace than to steal, kill, or fight.
While I couldn’t definitively say I came for 100% peace, my involvement in the matter was not insignificant.
“I heard there’s a fight over ownership of some mountain. A mountain where valuable Spirit Herbs grow.”
“That’s correct.”
“While it’s nice to have plenty of Spirit Herbs or elixirs, it doesn’t really seem worth risking your life for. Is there a special reason?”
I had heard that becoming a practitioner beyond the Avatar Phase required at least a millennium of time.
In this context, a millennium was literally the basic timeframe, and it wouldn’t be surprising if that number increased two or threefold or more.
It felt a bit strange to push practitioners born from such long years of hard work and perseverance into danger just for a few Spirit Herbs.
‘It’s not like high-level Avatar Phase practitioners are plentiful.’
The Mid World has many Celestial Auras, making cultivation somewhat easier, but it’s not like there are overflowing levels of practitioners at the Mid World tier.
In the sect, I saw more practitioners at the levels of decisions or Origin Spirits rather than Avatar Phase.
However, there were hardly any practitioners below the Avatar Phase.
Uncheong shook his head with a bitter expression.
“It’s not something you should worry about.”
“It has become something I need to worry about. If it’s a problem I can help with, then I will.”
“…That cannot happen.”
“It does.”
“There is not.”
“It does.”
“……”
[Hahaha]
[Lily is so persistent]
[Peace Delivery Person, damn lol]
[LOL]
[Open your mouth, peace comes in]
[But seriously, why the fight?]
[Getting a bit cocky here]
[For real, haha]
“I don’t understand why you’re refusing. I’m trying to help.”
“…You can’t defeat Cheongjinryeong.”
“Is that person the mastermind behind this?”
“Mastermind… calling him that is ridiculous. Cultivation is a strong desire for everyone. I can’t blame him for that.”
“Is he the one stirring up the fight?”
“Fighting is just a process of results. What he truly wants is something else. The Spirit Herb that the descendants gather is just a part of it.”
“Hm…”
I thought it was strange to push high-level practitioners into a corner.
Clearly, there was pressure from something lofty.
Trying to force a truce between Uncheong Blue Gate and Red Thunder God’s Gate would be meaningless.
“And that applies to Lord Jeokmu-hyang as well.”
“…? Lord Jeokmu-hyang?”
Why is Lord Jeokmu-hyang here?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Uncheong nodded as if it were obvious.
“As you know, Unryusan is the mountain located between Lord Jeokmu-hyang and Lord Cheongmu-hyang. The reason Uncheong Blue Gate is risking their lives to occupy Unryusan is due to Cheongjinryeong’s wishes.”
But what about Red Thunder God’s Gate?
“Just because the Spirit Herb and Spirit Beads from Unryusan are precious doesn’t mean it’s worth risking your life to obtain them. But the Red Thunder God’s Gate seems to resist being pushed out just like Uncheong Blue Gate.”
“…”
“Their losses would be too great for them to make such a judgment. It may not be an order, but they were surely given similar hints from Cheongjinryeong.”
“Lord Jeokmu-hyang…”
In the end, this fight is between Lord Jeokmu-hyang and Lord Cheongmu-hyang.
No matter how much I try to end the fighting, it won’t cease until I deal with the two of them.
After arriving at the Record Phase, I decided to have a conversation with the two Archlords before leaving the Space of Thought.
“I’m not at the level to easily catch a display case.”
If I wanted to, I could potentially face them right now, but a display case is still a display case.
Each one matches the caliber of a Celestial Being like Ertarn.
If there were no penalties, I might be able to easily subdue them, but given my current status, it could prove quite difficult.
It seemed Uncheong was trying desperately to keep me around, but as I scattered more of the Infinite Completion, he eventually let go, seemingly giving up.
And by the time I got out, I heard some shocking news via an official document from Red Thunder God’s Gate.
“Wait? What’s unfolding here?”
■
“…Is this really all you’ve gathered?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Lord Jeokmu-hyang’s Palace.
Sitting on the throne that exuded undeniable majesty, Sovereign Jeokmuhyang Jeokho frowned.
In front of Jeokho lay a mountain of rare treasures like Spirit Herbs and Spirits Stones, piled high.
These were tributes from the countless sects within Jeokmu-hyang, treasure enough for even the lowest-ranking practitioners to raise their cultivation to the beginning of the Record Phase.
For the practitioners cultivating the Spirit Herb, it was nothing short of a dreamlike spectacle.
However, the recipient of these treasures, Jeokho, looked down at the treasures and his servant with a very uncomfortable expression.
“…Did I not clearly order you to scrape together all of this? You surely didn’t dare say no, did you?”
“T-that’s impossible. Everyone knows the Lord’s grace… They all sent what they could. But…”
“You mean to say this is all they sent?”
“Yes… I think the recent disputes over ownership of Spirit Herbs and Spirits with other regions have made it hard to gather more—”
“No… That’s not it.”
Gazing down at the treasures, Jeokho coldly shifted his gaze toward Jeokmu-hyang.
He had shown much mercy thus far.
He had built absurd facilities to accommodate the convenience of those pathetic bugs that could be blown away with a single breath, and had displayed an abundance of goodwill.
He had established countless rules forbidding battles, killings, and excessive chaos within the bounds of Jeokmu-hyang.
In that process, he had dealt out severe punishments to those who broke the rules.
It was a place that could truly be called an era of peace.
In a world where the strong devour the weak, Jeokmu-hyang was like the only safe haven.
Other regions weren’t entirely without rules, but none matched the level of Jeokmu-hyang.
Jeokho chuckled.
“If you couldn’t find it, you should have squeezed harder to get it. I didn’t go through all this trouble just to receive a measly scrap like this. What on earth are you doing? Do you take my grace for granted?”
“……”
“There’s even a crucial item missing? Where’s the Bloodflow Fruit?”
“The chief of the Snake Clan recently upgraded his Record Phase and used up all the Bloodflow Fruits…”
KWA-GAGANG!!!
Jeokho’s fist struck the air.
The red mist imbued in his punch created a massive rift in the space, and shortly after, the space began to close with a loud noise.
“Hahaha!! Used them all up? That’s quite amusing, don’t you think?”
“Isn’t that so?”
“……”
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have let those snake bastards off the hook. I just thought maybe Lord Heukmuhyang could make use of those guys who were about to die.”
“…If you give me two days, I can bring back a few, even if I have to kill someone.”
“If you’re gonna sacrifice a few, you should have done it long ago. These bastards are looking down on me.”
“…That can’t be true.”
“It is. And looking at this, it seems even more so.”
As Jeokho flicked his hand, a bundle of medicinal herbs hidden among countless Spirit Herbs shot up.
Unryuchao.
A medicinal herb that grows on Unryusan, and one of the biggest reasons for the conflict between Red Thunder God’s Gate and Uncheong Blue Gate.
At the very least, this Unryuchao was extremely, extremely important, so I had given consistent instructions to supply it to Red Thunder God’s Gate.
“Only 10? What does that remind you of?”
“…You must be crazy.”
“That’s what I think too.”
Red Thunder God’s Gate usually delivered around 10 to 20 Unryuchao.
Looking at the numbers alone, wouldn’t you think they sent the right amount? But Jeokho was in a hurry this time and directly mentioned it.
This wasn’t just a suggestion, it was a direct ‘notification.’
Yet, Red Thunder God’s Gate sent only 10, just like always.
In fact, it was even fewer than what they usually sent.
Of course, this was due to recent chaos caused by ‘someone,’ which affected proper information delivery.
If it had been the usual Nua Hyogyeom, he would have sent double or triple the amount without question, but he was also in quite a confusing situation.
However, unaware of that, Jeokho’s patience was running thin.
“…There’s no other way.”
“I’ll go and get it all today…”
“No need for that.”
Jeokho looked down at his Lord Jeokmu-hyang.
His own territory, nurtured for a long time.
However, with the talks with the Archlords approaching, he had to make a once-in-a-lifetime choice.
Jeokho’s magic technique enveloped the entirety of Jeokmu-hyang.
‘Spirit Separation.’
“If there’s nothing available, I’ll have to grind down their Origin Spirits to fill the gaps.”
‘Since I have sacrificed during this time, isn’t it now your turn to make a ‘sacrifice’?’
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