Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

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Dark Heaven Village

This whole area is god-given Breath Soil?

Mang-ryang continued his explanation.

"Probably, the original Breath Soil bestowed by Jeon-uk was used to control the great flood and then remained, transforming into the hills that envelop the ruins. But as time passed, the divine power held within the Breath Soil spread in all directions, drawing in the earth's energy, and the originally flat terrain turned into mountains. And with the formation of what we call Yellow Mountain, the ruins of Suyo became buried deep within it, I surmise."

"No... that's all well and good, but..."

I sorted through Mang-ryang's explanation in my head and countered.

"There's no proof that this basin or the Yellow Mountain area is Breath Soil."

"Eccentric?"

"A Goryeo eccentric named Jeon Woo-chi taught me the spell."

With that, Mang-ryang scooped up a handful of soil from near where the Millennium Snow Ginseng had been buried. Then he chanted the incantation.

"My path is one that penetrates all."

Woooo

The moment the incantation ended, the soil emitted a brilliant green light. The green glow was so intense it hurt the eyes, but there was no evil in it—rather, it felt like a holy power. As I looked on in wonder, Mang-ryang continued.

"The effect of this incantation is to measure and reveal the divine power within things or expose a yokai's true form. Beyond that, it's a versatile spell handy for things like palm winds, shrinking the earth to an inch, and so on."

"Oh, convenient."

"Watch closely. If there's no spiritual power at all, it should emit its original black light, but this is green. The levels of spiritual power measured by this spell total five stages, in the order of black, yellow, vermilion, white, green."

I understood what Mang-ryang meant and replied.

"The highest stage, green! So it holds the utmost spiritual power."

"Exactly. And even the soil of most spiritual mountains rarely exceeds vermilion or white light."

Mang-ryang scattered the soil on the ground and continued.

"We'd know for sure if we checked everywhere else, but the soil around where the black-and-white lotus and Millennium Snow Ginseng grew naturally is undoubtedly ancient soil brimming with immense spiritual power. Nothing but the divine Breath Soil granted to a king in the mythic age fits."

"Hmm. So that means..."

I crossed my arms, thought it over, and ventured a guess.

"Because the Breath Soil multiplied, those supreme spiritual herbs—the black-and-white lotus and Millennium Snow Ginseng—grew by feeding on its spiritual power?"

"Correct. That's the most persuasive hypothesis for now."

Mang-ryang chuckled.

"Breath Soil is 'living' soil that multiplies and grows on its own. Over thousands of years, it expanded enough to form Yellow Mountain without losing its mythic-age divine power. This Yellow Mountain is blessed ancient soil in its own right!"

"...!!"

"That's why something as unreal as the Millennium Snow Ginseng could grow here. Where else is there an environment that can condense spiritual power for a thousand years? The bottom of that pond is probably Breath Soil too."

"Indeed...!!"

I was amazed.

Now, well past my twentieth reincarnation, most of the mysteries surrounding Suyo's ruins finally seemed solved. But one part still puzzled me, so I said to Mang-ryang.

"...Great that we've figured it out, but what do we do now? How can we use the Breath Soil?"

"Hmm..."

Mang-ryang sighed briefly and said.

"The uses are endless. Don't you agree?"

"Not really sure..."

"The most basic use would be to dig it up and eat it. If you're hungry and eat this Breath Soil, it won't just stave off hunger—it should even strengthen your spiritual power. But how many people who've entered Yellow Mountain would deliberately eat dirt...?"

"......"

"And aside from this basin and a few specific spots, there probably aren't many places in Yellow Mountain where the Breath Soil's spiritual power flows intact."

That made sense.

Even in extreme droughts, people might eat soil, but basically, eating dirt doesn't help human sustenance much. When I was dirt poor and starving, I ate soil and tree roots, but it only made me feel like dying.

"Next, you could boil the Breath Soil in water and use it as material for alchemy or pill refinement. Since it's a lump of spiritual power itself, it could serve as premium material. It would enable the artificial production of spiritual pills."

"Ooh!"

"But this would require considerable research, I think. Best to ask Uncle later, since it's his field."

I felt exhilarated and kept asking.

"Any other uses?"

"That's to farm here."

"Fa... farm?"

When I countered, Mang-ryang nodded.

"This place already has a history of naturally growing mighty spiritual herbs like the Millennium Snow Ginseng and black-and-white lotus. And in my view, there's still an extraordinary amount of spiritual power left in the Breath Soil, so growing more shouldn't be a problem."

"You're saying we should farm spiritual herbs?"

"Exactly."

Mang-ryang grinned.

"It's the same principle as the White Lotus Cult finding spiritual lands in the vast basins of Gansu to mass-cultivate sacred lotuses. If we farm well, mass-harvesting spiritual herbs in the near future isn't impossible."

"...!!"

"With the full resources of the Anti-Heaven Alliance, we can collect as many spiritual herb seeds or plantable items as possible. If we do it right, we could mass-produce experts rivaling the White Lotus Cult. Plus, our offerings to the Heavenly Realm would be plentiful."

"Ooh!!"

Incredible!

Using the Breath Soil, we could mass-cultivate spiritual herbs that are impossibly rare?

As I jumped for joy, Mang-ryang stroked his chin and said.

"My personal hunch is that this Breath Soil is the key factor differentiating black-and-white lotus from sacred lotus."

"What do you mean?"

"It's certain that sacred lotus is an artificial offshoot from black-and-white lotus. In the early cultivation stages, it was probably no different, but once it couldn't absorb the endless spiritual power from Breath Soil, its quality degraded. After dozens of generations, that's inevitable degeneration."

"Hmm... But sacred lotus still has inner power enhancement effects comparable to black-and-white lotus. That's why the White Lotus Cult overflows with thousands of peak first-class sacred lotus practitioners."

Mang-ryang nodded at my words.

"They poured all their resources into cultivating it in selected spiritual lands of Gansu Province, so the core inner power boost was preserved. But there's a big difference between those grown in Breath Soil and those not—specifically, the effect of purifying harmful demonic curses or spells."

"I see."

"That's why black-and-white lotus can heal the Young Leader's strange illness with divine power, but the degenerated sacred lotus cannot."

Mang-ryang concluded calmly.

"Then let's head to White Ring Peak of Yellow Mountain."

"Why White Ring Peak?"

"White Ring Temple on White Ring Peak has black-and-white lotus too. They only cultivate the black lotus there, but it's certain that Breath Soil forms the foundation of Yellow Mountain. The proof is that it maintains its black color without degenerating into sacred lotus."

"Ah!"

Whoosh

Soon, Mang-ryang and I headed to White Ring Temple. Watching the temple monks go about their daily routines from afar, I felt an inexplicable nostalgia.

'Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I came here.'

At the start of my first reincarnation, I'd heard rumors of the Millennium Snow Ginseng and spent years near Yellow Mountain trying to get my hands on the spiritual herb to become a martial arts master. It felt like ancient history, yet vivid as yesterday. Eventually, Mang-ryang and I went to the pond full of black lotuses, and he plucked one stem to examine it.

"Hmm... You need to consume black and white lotus together to manifest extreme yang energy, but only black lotus grows here, so it has no effect. No inner power enhancement either."

"Is the soil around here definitely Breath Soil?"

Mang-ryang scooped up some soil near the pond, chanted the incantation, and green light soon emanated.

"Yes."

"Indeed..."

"I'll talk to the abbot."

Mang-ryang went to White Ring Temple's abbot and requested permission to use the temple's grounds.

"Heh heh... You just had to come after the previous abbot passed away."

Learning the new abbot was a fairly young middle-aged monk made me bittersweet.

'That old man... he's gone.'

Last time I'd seen him, he was so frail with age that death could come any moment. With time passed since my reincarnation, he must have died of old age. Thinking someone I'd met before was dead left a bitter taste.

The abbot demanded an explanation of the situation, and Mang-ryang explained fairly honestly why he wanted the grounds—without mentioning spiritual herbs, just noting the pond area's sanctity. He also promised substantial financial support to the temple going forward and offered two or three gold ingots.

The abbot pretended reluctance but accepted, saying.

"Very well. You seem like a man of great wealth, benefactor. Could you build us a new temple nearby?"

"I'll fund it all."

"We'll relocate the temple soon."

We acquired the Breath Soil far more easily than expected. It showed that Mang-ryang's current influence and funds were immense by normal standards. Still, seeing the monks move for money so readily felt a bit off.

Once the arrangements were done, Mang-ryang said.

"Let's head back. Ten years from now will be something to look forward to."

Gazing blankly at Yellow Mountain's scenery from the snowy plateau, I replied.

"Will I even be alive then?"

I've died so much like a fragile life that I have no confidence anymore.

As I replied in a self-doubting tone, Mang-ryang patted my shoulder.

"That's exactly what we strategists must make possible."

Mang-ryang looked to the sky and continued.

"Baek Woong, What I'm about to say... I think there's a reason you possess the Heavenly Dark Secret Book."

I turned to Mang-ryang.

"What do you mean?"

"If I, Jin So-cheong, or Uncle had obtained the Heavenly Dark Secret Book, the progress against the [Ancient Ruler] over these twenty-three cycles might have advanced far more. Isn't that right?"

"... It is..."

It was a constant thought.

What if it were Jin So-cheong instead of me?

Mang-ryang?

Jeokgal-sa?

But every time such thoughts arose, my mental strength wore away, so I'd shut my mouth. Mang-ryang went on.

"But Baek Woong, none of us seek to take the Heavenly Dark Secret Book from you. Why do you think that is?"

"I've always wondered..."

"It's because we're not fools chasing immediate gains."

"I don't follow."

Mang-ryang smiled bitterly.

"...Haha. Because the Heavenly Dark Secret Book and its creator behind the scenes may be beings beyond our imagination."

"......?"

"It's past the point of talking betrayal."

Mang-ryang's words were hard to grasp at first. He turned his head sharply and continued.

"Baek Woong. Remember this."

Mang-ryang smiled.

"As long as you, as king, do not lose your will, we will devote our lives to you until death."

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