The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 71
Pitter-patter—
Green tea steeped into the cup.
As I handed it across to Nacheon Jingun, Jeok Yang-jin, the sect leader of the Purple Cloud Sect, gave me a careful glance.
“It seems the newly initiated disciple has quite pleased Lord Nacheon Jingun. I heard he didn’t leave the Law Artifact Hall all day yesterday.”
“Heh, it’s been a while since I found someone worth investing in. I must have gotten absorbed without realizing it.”
“Is that so? Ah, I heard from the steward that you’ve opened access to a 3rd Realm lower-grade spirit vein for that fellow?”
“Heh, it’s not every day you find someone capable of crafting law artifacts, is it? When it’s time to invest, you invest.”
The Purple Cloud Sect had established its base in the Jayun Mountain Range, where a 4th Realm spirit vein existed.
They controlled a 4th Realm middle-grade spirit vein of the Jayun Mountain Range through formation arrays.
The Purple Cloud Sect had always distributed spirit veins strictly to its disciples according to their ranks.
Yet they had just granted access to a 3rd Realm lower-grade spirit vein to someone who had only joined yesterday?
This was considerable preferential treatment.
“It’s true that people capable of crafting law artifacts are rare. But what of his actual ability?”
“From what I’ve observed briefly, his foundation is quite solid. He sorted through materials without any hesitation.”
“Interesting. I heard from the steward this morning that he’s heading to the Beast Market today… will that be alright?”
Slurp—
Jeok Yang-jin, the Purple Cloud Sect leader, brought the teacup to his lips and spoke carefully.
Nacheon Jingun answered with a faint smile.
“Yes. Just to be safe, I’ve assigned someone to watch him. Even if something unexpected happens, he won’t be able to flee.”
“Hmm, it’s truly unfortunate that we cannot simply trust people.”
“Besides, since that fellow hails from the Mountains and Waters, he likely has no other connections in the Upper Realm.”
“I see. Then I shall entrust his safety to Lord Nacheon Jingun.”
“You may rely on me, Sect Leader.”
The two men addressed each other with utmost respect, maintaining an extraordinarily cautious demeanor.
This was understandable—though Jeok Yang-jin, the sect leader, was a Celestial Watcher of mid-stage Primordial Essence, he possessed talent only in cultivation methods and formation techniques.
Within the Purple Cloud Sect, only Nacheon Jingun possessed the ability to properly craft law artifacts and law treasures.
Thus, no matter how much authority the sect leader wielded, his manner had to remain cautious.
“Talent is precious in times like these.”
“Indeed.”
Had this been an era when the Lower Realm was still connected long ago,
they would have suppressed him by force or imposed restrictions through coercion.
But in an age like this, such actions would merely provide rival sects justification for assault.
One had to exercise restraint and self-control.
Of course, they engaged in similar acts behind closed doors.
But at least outwardly, such things were unacceptable.
And though they did not know it,
this magnanimous(?) judgment saved the Purple Cloud Sect.
* * *
I had decided to visit the Beast Market in Hyeontcheon Holy City.
At last, I was finally freed from the tedious chore of sorting and refining materials.
From the start, I had clear objectives and purposes in the Immortal Celestial Realm, so this was essential market research.
Surprisingly, not a single demonic beast could be found within the Purple Cloud Sect itself.
And I heard that all harmful demonic beasts in the surrounding area had been completely exterminated.
I determined that demonic beasts could only be seen at the Beast Market.
The problem was that I didn’t know the way around this place.
With no choice but to mention this, the Purple Cloud Sect kindly assigned me a guide.
That guide was none other than Man Chong, a patrol captain I had some acquaintance with.
“Senior Man Chong, I’m truly grateful that you would go to such trouble for me.”
“Hmm, you’ve certainly picked up proper etiquette well. You probably already sense it, but our sect has quite high expectations for you. You have genuine talent in artifact crafting, after all.”
“I will simply do my best to advance diligently.”
The Hundred Water Immortal Arts.
The hundred techniques and skills that Celestial Watchers learn.
And from among them, the four most outstanding were singled out and called the Four Celestial Arts.
Artifact crafting, pill refinement, elixir alchemy, and formation magic—these were the four techniques most prized by Celestial Watchers.
These were not skills one could learn simply by wishing to learn them.
Even with cultivation manuals, one had to be naturally gifted to learn them at all.
Talent alone wasn’t enough; one had to invest tremendous resources and spend an enormous amount of time to elevate one’s mastery.
Ilhyang was merely a fledgling who had just ascended from the Lower Realm.
But Man Chong, knowing well the talent of this young boy, showed him no disrespect whatsoever.
Rather, he treated him with excessive kindness.
‘Who knows? Maybe later I’ll receive a damaged artifact that needs fixing.’
Thinking of the scraps that would fall to him in the future, even this small kindness now cost him nothing.
And Ilhyang understood Man Chong’s true intentions better than anyone.
Even when he was on the Seven Continents, many had fawned over him just to obtain a single artifact he’d crafted.
‘For now, I’ll get along with these people well enough.’
Creating artifacts naturally produced better results when better materials were available.
At the Law Artifact Hall of the Purple Cloud Sect, I examined the same materials and precisely identified higher-quality items to select for Nacheon Jingun.
After doing this a few more times, Nacheon Jingun’s face became almost lovesick.
In fact, Nacheon Jingun’s expression became so besotted that he treated Ilhyang with the affection of an adopted son.
Moreover, the Purple Cloud Sect’s internal security was strangely lax, making it quite easy to gather information about the Upper Realm.
I judged it suitable to establish as a base for the Immortal Celestial Realm.
“By the way, are you looking for something? If you need pills, I know a regular shop.”
As we flew toward the Beast Market using a flying artifact.
Man Chong kept speaking to Ilhyang in a friendly manner.
The Purple Cloud Sect had been skilled in pill refinement from its founding, but in truth, everything else was a weak point for the sect.
Because of this, pills needed for cultivation and formation discs useful for formation magic were all purchased from outside sources.
Even the artifacts used by the sect’s leadership had to be bought externally, since there was no 4th Realm artifact crafter.
So relative to the sect’s size, its financial situation wasn’t particularly good.
Only recently had the sect master Jeok Yang-jin barely reached the lower tier of the 4th Realm in pill refinement, improving the situation somewhat.
“I thought I’d simply wander about and see what there is to see.”
“I see. Well, having spent so long in the Lower Realm, you must have plenty of questions.”
Ilhyang gave a vague nod to Man Chong’s murmuring.
In truth, my curiosity had already been largely satisfied.
As I’d mentioned repeatedly, the Purple Cloud Sect was remarkably lax with information security, so I’d encountered no obstruction while rifling through the Library Archives.
Thus I’d obtained vast knowledge about this world almost for free.
Upon examining the documents, I found that elixir refinement techniques fell short of the methods for creating essences that had been developed across the Seven Continents over time.
There was a certain uniqueness to them, but that was all.
Artifact crafting was equally crude compared to scroll production.
‘It all simply felt somewhat refreshingly novel, nothing more.’
I had no intention of wasting time learning these anew.
Nor was there any need to.
What I desired in this place—the Beast Market—was singular.
‘I need to find a beast with thick bloodline traces.’
Not just any common beast.
A beast whose lineage carried deep, unmistakable marks.
Only then would precise coordinates be inscribed upon it.
This was the reason I’d decided to visit the Beast Market in Hyeontcheon Holy City.
Throughout the flight on my artifact, I’d been organizing in my mind the vast information I’d reviewed in the Library Archives.
‘Beasts are essentially spirits with physical form. And the secret art they recorded for controlling such spirits—this Beast Mastery technique—was truly laughable.’
One of the Hundred Water Immortal Arts.
The technique called Beast Mastery, purportedly a cultivation method for handling beasts,
was surprisingly poorly regarded among the Celestial Watchers.
Binding restraints to a beast’s soul and using it as a tool produced remarkably limited effects.
The effort-to-reward ratio was abysmal.
‘Of course it would be—you’re robbing the spirit of reason and enslaving it. It’s bound to become worthless.’
Expecting a beast moving passively without its soul to unleash its true power was nothing but the logic of a thief.
Still, there was one aspect that piqued my interest: the method by which Beast Mastery handled the souls of beasts.
‘From what I read, it bears considerable similarity to spirit arts.’
Spirit arts fundamentally required a ‘strong resonance’ between spirit and human as a prerequisite.
Yet in this world, humans and beasts were antagonistic to an abnormal degree.
‘As if someone had deliberately arranged it that way.’
The moment my thoughts reached that point,
“We’ve arrived.”
The Beast Market, reached in two days aboard the flying artifact piloted by patrol commander Man Chong.
To be precise, it was Hyeontcheon Holy City.
The left half of Hyeontcheon Holy City was the Beast Market, so entering through the western gate of the Holy City led directly into it.
“It’s larger than I expected.”
The massive fortress before my eyes.
Remarkably, the fortress was constructed from black stone.
I heard that Black Jade Stone was a rather precious resource even in the Upper Realm, and the city was constructed from it.
“The Lord of this city has reached the Incarnation Realm, and he personally designed the formation arrays for the city’s construction. Even if another Incarnation-level Celestial Watcher were to arrive, they wouldn’t be able to breach the formation in a single attempt. Its durability is said to be its greatest advantage, wouldn’t you say?”
True to Man Chong’s explanation, the city itself contained a massive magic circle within it.
‘Certainly, it was crafted with considerable care, but….’
From Ilhyang’s perspective.
How should I put it—like using extraordinarily fine ingredients to barely create edible food?
There were several places where I could see room for improvement.
But since that wasn’t my concern, I simply pretended not to notice.
“Let’s go in.”
Under Man Chong’s guidance, I arrived at the entrance of Hyeontcheon Holy City and went through the verification process with the Gatekeeper.
The moment I stepped inside, my eyes widened slightly.
‘Is it directly synchronized with the one who created the formation array?’
Remarkably, the instant I entered the formation array.
For just a moment, I felt as though I had stepped into the body of some colossal giant.
Since this was a sensation I was intimately familiar with, I examined my surroundings with an intrigued expression and smiled.
‘It wouldn’t have mattered even if the formation array’s completion was lacking.’
There was a reason why the formation array was praised for its durability.
This formation array was connected to its creator through their consciousness with extraordinary strength.
It was an unconventional method.
But since it was a waste of power, I simply laughed it off.
“So this is the Beast Market!”
As Man Chong walked ahead and spread both arms wide dramatically while speaking, I made an effort to match his enthusiasm by displaying a genuinely surprised expression.
“You don’t seem particularly impressed?”
But Man Chong was disappointed.
For some reason, the reaction he had expected was not forthcoming.
Seeing that dejected expression, I offered an awkward smile.
‘What more could I possibly do here?’
The Purple Cloud Sect members were all fine, but they wanted far too much.
I deliberately averted my gaze from Man Chong’s drooping shoulders and surveyed the surroundings.
Indeed, all manner of goods were neatly arranged and displayed by grade.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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