Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 230

Nangseon’s Romantic Tale – Episode 229

In the space between existence and nothingness, where storm clouds darker than pitch-black swirled, threatening to engulf all living things, San-gun handed his crafted space pocket to Bong.

“Indeed. With a space pocket of this quality, even living beings can enter.”

Even immortals in the Celestial Realm rarely possessed such a high-quality space pocket. It could house living creatures, and its volume was so vast it could contain an entire island. It was an extraordinary item.

It wasn’t something one could acquire through mere luck, making its origin a true mystery.

‘It’s not an item a being from the Lower Realm should possess…’

Still, having it was reassuring.

Since the inside of the space pocket was an isolated dimension, they could easily escape the threat of the Space of Nothingness.

With Bong holding it, their safety was practically guaranteed.

There was always the possibility that Bong might betray them, but he also needed San-gun’s help. They were in a position of mutual dependence, so he could likely be trusted.

They had sworn an oath on the Heart Demon [a powerful magical oath] and placed prohibitions on each other’s bodies, leaving little room for betrayal.

‘Bong, from what I’ve seen, isn’t one to betray others easily.’

Despite their brief acquaintance, San-gun somehow trusted him.

Perhaps it was intuition.

Whether due to age or experience, he could often discern whether someone was trustworthy upon meeting them. Of course, he couldn’t be entirely certain.

“The Celestial Origin Energy of the Space of Nothingness is something cultivators usually lack, but it’s like poison to us now. Carelessly handling it could ruin everything. We should enter the space pocket to solidify our cultivation and begin training.”

Inside San-gun’s space pocket were mountains of spirit stones [crystals containing spiritual energy used for cultivation].

They could use them as substitutes for spiritual energy and extract energy from unnecessary treasures for cultivation.

It was best to enter the space pocket, dispose of useless items, and prepare for advancing to the True Immortal stage.

Since this was the legendary Space of Nothingness, raising their cultivation and handling even a little Celestial Origin Energy wouldn’t hurt.

‘The Origin River was created by gathering Celestial Origin Energy over eons…’

By swallowing just one drop, Tam-hwa had instantly become a cultivator.

It must be due to Tam-hwa’s unique bloodline, but San-gun couldn’t help but feel envious.

This place was also filled with abundant Celestial Origin Energy, and he had Bong, a divided soul of the Phoenix, by his side.

If so, although it couldn’t compare to the Origin River, wouldn’t it be possible to create even a fraction of something similar?

‘There’s much to do.’

He also needed to examine the Hye-yeon Sword, a treasure of heaven and earth, and experiment with the various spiritual and immortal herbs he had obtained.

“Now that I think about it, it’s a shame I couldn’t retrieve the Cloud Iron from that place.”

Since the Hye-yeon Sword was made of Cloud Iron, he could have tried to repair it.

“I have some Cloud Iron.”

It was Cho-ah.

“You have Cloud Iron?”

“Yes, while I was collecting Cloud Iron…”

She was referring to her encounter with Ho-ri.

San-gun’s face lit up.

“Can you give me a little?”

“No.”

San-gun, who hadn’t expected such a firm refusal, was taken aback.

“I-I’m not saying I’ll take it for free. I have top-grade treasures… treasures comparable to divine artifacts, and I can give you spirit stones if you want.”

But Cho-ah smiled sweetly.

“You can have them all. We’re not strangers, so why are you asking such things? What’s mine is my husband’s.”

As she smiled and replied, San-gun scratched his nose, feeling embarrassed.

“After not seeing you for hundreds of years, you’ve only gotten better at teasing people.”

Cho-ah, covering her mouth and laughing, retorted with a sulky look.

“Then who told you to leave me alone for hundreds of years?”

“Oh, come on…”

San-gun chuckled and looked at Cho-ah with affection, caressing her cheek.

Her face was a little more mature than before, but otherwise, she hadn’t changed much.

Judging from her unchanged appearance, the cultivation method she practiced seemed to maintain her youth.

‘There are many such methods in the Ice Palace…’

That’s why those kinds of cultivation methods are popular among female immortals.

“Then let’s do that. It seems like you two have a lot to catch up on, so go into the space pocket as planned. I’ll set up the Myriad Directions Return Formation [a powerful defensive formation] and prohibitions around this area using the Space of Nothingness.”

Soon, San-gun and Cho-ah entered the space pocket, and Bong, left alone, looked around with a sense of nostalgia, muttering to himself.

“I hope no unwanted beings pop out…”

The Space of Nothingness was a place where various mysterious divine creatures lived, besides the Space of Nothingness itself.

Among them were beneficial and harmful ones, so he had to be careful.

* * *

Whoosh.

San-gun and Cho-ah, who had entered his space pocket, looked around.

There was no ground inside, and familiar objects floated aimlessly in the air.

Weapons, spiritual herbs, and spirit stones were piled up like mountains. Cho-ah couldn’t help but gape at the sheer quantity.

“I always scanned and took things out in a modern way, so I knew what was here… but seeing it in person is quite something.”

Perhaps because it was inside the space pocket, the whole space had a subtle amber glow, so it wasn’t too dark.

In one corner, Gui-yul could be seen sitting cross-legged behind the Dharma statue of the Unforgivable Great Demon [a statue embodying a powerful demonic entity].

“Really? I’ve been here once before, so it’s nostalgic.”

“Before?”

Now that she mentioned it….

“When I was injured in Go-seon, I was in here. It’s a bit hazy, but I remember it.”

There was such a time.

San-gun couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Back then, San-gun was still in the Spirit Connection stage, so he was swept away here and there.

‘Whether it’s then or now, I’m still being chased by something.’

He didn’t know why his life was always about being chased.

Because of that, his cultivation was increasing day by day, and it was also the driving force behind his ascension faster than anyone else.

But no matter what, his fate was unfortunate, so looking back, it was truly bleak.

No matter how much life is like a winding path, what joy and fortune could there be in a life that was only about being chased?

“Husband, what are you going to do now?”

“Well… I need to organize things first.”

He wanted to complain, but there wasn’t enough time for that in the current situation.

It was urgent to quickly organize the treasures, sort out the items optimized for cultivation, and shorten the time.

“First of all, this.”

San-gun took out a wooden box from his chest.

When he opened it, an immortal herb with ten flower buds appeared.

The immortal herb that granted ten lives.

It was the Ten-Life Golden Carp Herb.

“First, I should make an elixir with this to break through the bottleneck.”

“If that’s the case…”

Cho-ah took out a book from her chest.

“Is that an alchemy manual?”

“Yes. It is said that if cultivators consume the Ten-Life Golden Carp Herb as it is, their bodies will be harmed by its powerful energy.

Therefore, it’s best to refine it through a definite process.”

That wasn’t wrong.

It wasn’t just a regular spiritual herb, but an immortal herb.

Since it was an immortal herb filled with Celestial Origin Energy, they might be devoured by its energy.

And even with ordinary spiritual herbs, it was best to refine them to enhance their medicinal effects.

San-gun nodded and infused the alchemy manual with his divine sense, reading it in an instant.

As he processed the contents, he frowned.

“The success rate is at most 30%, and the duration is at least three hundred years…”

He was already short on time, but it would take at least three hundred years, leaving him speechless.

Moreover, the probability of successfully refining it was only 30%.

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped his lips.

“It takes too long.”

As she said, it took too long.

‘How did Ho-ri do it then?’

He had clearly eaten the Ten-Life Golden Carp Herb, but he immediately ascended to the Eternal Realm and appeared, which was puzzling.

‘Did he find and eat an elixir made from the Ten-Life Golden Carp Herb in the first place?’

It was a mystery.

But the important thing was that he couldn’t afford to waste that much time on refining.

“What should we do? Should we refine it while cultivating at the same time?”

“Well, it’s something to consider, but we don’t need to decide right away.”

“Yes? Why?”

“Because we have Bong.”

A little later.

“So, I have a small request.”

Bong, who had been wandering around setting up prohibitions, crossed his arms and listened attentively to San-gun’s story.

“My wife and I will advance to the Earth Immortal and Eternal Realm here.”

“With your talents, you’re more than capable. Besides, you have the Ten-Life Golden Carp Herb… Is the request you have for me about the refining method of the Golden Carp Herb?”

He got straight to the point, which was good.

“Yes. It’s not that I don’t know the refining method, but it takes too long, and the Celestial Spiritual Energy here is scarce. The success rate with the refining method we know is only 30%, so I would like to ask for your advice.”

It was an immortal herb that could be replicated as much as possible with the Four-Month Divine Cauldron [a legendary alchemy cauldron] as long as it was made into an elixir.

If that were the case, the path to the Eternal Realm, which had seemed daunting, would become much easier.

If they replicated several, they could trade them for valuable prices, and it would be good to bestow them upon the disciples of Mount Baek.

Besides, who knew?

‘He might skip several stages at once like Ho-ri.’

Knowing his past life was a bit concerning, but to escape the threat of Dang-chun, it was best to become stronger as soon as possible.

“That’s not difficult. Fortunately, I have quite a bit of knowledge about refining elixirs.”

However.

“I can’t do it for free.”

San-gun’s eyebrows twitched.

“Of course… What do you want? Anything within my capabilities, and as long as it doesn’t endanger my life, I can do anything.”

“For someone who says it so readily, your tongue is quite long [you’re quick to make promises]. There’s no need to worry so much. It’s something you can definitely do…”

Bong raised his head slightly and glanced at San-gun out of the corner of his eye, then chuckled.

“It’s something I’m not sure about yet, so I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

“I understand. I’ll do that.”

The future was the future, and the refining method of the Ten-Life Golden Carp Herb was urgent now. With Cho-ah’s refining method, they would have to spend hundreds of years refining, which was already giving him a headache.

He was already short on time because of Dang-chun’s existence.

But the fact that even the refining method took so long was naturally making him anxious.

If it was an alchemy method from the Upper Realm, wouldn’t they know a faster and more successful refining method than in the Lower Realm?

“The refining method I have uses Celestial Origin Energy to make it, so it doesn’t take that long.

If you have a suitable cauldron and spiritual fire, you can make it in three months.”

As expected of a Phoenix.

Now, he didn’t know whether it was Bong or a Phoenix, but he was definitely trustworthy.

“But there’s a problem. Even if I replace the flame with my Azure Fire, it’s difficult because there’s no suitable cauldron to perform the refining.”

“Cauldron…”

“The most important thing in refining is the ingredients and the combination, but a cauldron and spiritual fire that can contain them completely are essential.”

Everything else was fine, but the fact that there was no suitable cauldron was a problem.

“What kind of cauldron do you need? If it’s Cloud Iron, I can make a suitable one…”

But Bong shook his head firmly.

“Cloud Iron won’t be able to withstand my Azure Fire.”

“Then is there no way?”

“I know how to make a cauldron needed for refining, but the materials are special…”

“Can’t you make it here?”

“To put it simply, no.”

He was in trouble.

He had heard of the materials needed to make the cauldron, but they were metals and rare objects that only came from the Upper Realm, so it was not easy to obtain them here. Even if he obtained them….

“It would take at least five hundred years to make the cauldron, so it would be difficult.”

“Five hundred years…”

“That’s absurd…”

San-gun scratched the back of his neck.

He had a headache.

He thought Bong would have a suitable method, but… there was no choice.

“Ha- I can’t help it. Three hundred years is shorter than five hundred years.”

It couldn’t be helped.

Since San-gun was already at the peak of the Eternal Middle Stage, it would be better to raise his cultivation to the final stage of the Eternal Realm with other elixirs.

‘I’ll have to think about what to do after that.’

Just as he was about to give up.

Clang-

A bell sound that seemed somewhat mournful rang out.

“Do you hear that?”

“I heard it too. A bell sound in the Space of Nothingness… that’s unusual.”

He seemed to think it was strange.

The bell sound was so faint that you had to listen carefully to hear it, but it gradually grew louder.

Gulp.

San-gun’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Just as he was at his most tense.

Swoosh. A talisman flew in from outside Bong’s prohibition.