Zihwa told me to avoid people as much as possible.

She said this place was full of lunatics who caught people and turned them into pills to eat.

It wasn’t like they were tarantulas that were born just to devour each other.

You could say this was a world where things like what the Five Poisons Sect once tried—creating inner cores out of humans—were commonplace. And before I could even think about whether to avoid them or not, people were already rushing at me first.

As I dodged blades imbued with fire and wind, that thought crossed my mind.

'Come to think of it, the Ascension Platform was a ridiculously good farming spot, wasn’t it?'

That’s right.

This Ascension Platform was, in terms of the game from my previous life, a respawn point where newbies who had just ascended from the lower world popped out one after another. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

If people with slightly higher cultivation—or even weak ones who just gathered in groups—waited here with their mouths open, it was no different from a golden field where pills fell nonstop.

A place where ascenders who had just stepped into another world, still confused and disoriented, poured out in droves.

A perfect hunting ground in a world ruled by the law of the strong devouring the weak.

That was probably why so many cultivators were gathered here.

I slipped behind the man closest to me in an instant.

The internal energy riding my fingertips shot out like lightning. When I struck his naga acupoint, his body froze stiff like a block of wood.

That sight threw the attackers into confusion.

“That movement! I-is he late Qi Refining Stage?”

“Be careful! He might be Foundation Establishment Stage! I heard there are cases where someone already at Foundation Establishment ascends!”

“Damn it! Squad leader! Contact the bosses!”

They seemed to have realized, just from my movement, that my realm was high.

At that moment, what Zihwa had told me beforehand came to mind.

This Heavenly Realm—no, this cultivation world—had a completely different realm system from the martial world.

At the very bottom were Mortals.

They were nothing like the ordinary humans we knew.

The Mortals here all possessed strange bloodlines, grotesque appearances, or were races born with unimaginable strength.

Above that was the Qi Refining Stage.

In martial-world terms, it was close to third-rate, but even beginners who had just stepped into cultivation supposedly possessed internal energy at least at the level of peak masters.

Moreover, instead of bodily martial arts, they used law arts as their main weapons, which already gave them an overwhelming advantage over martial artists in terms of compatibility.

Next came the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Though it shared a name with foundation-building in the martial world, it was an entirely different realm. I’d heard it was comparable to the Transformation Realm.

Once you reached Foundation Establishment, rejuvenation occurred, granting eternal youth.

Zihwa wasn’t familiar enough with martial realms to compare perfectly, but she firmly equated Foundation Establishment with the Transformation Realm.

She said shedding the old body and returning to youth was the hallmark of that stage.

Above that was the Core Formation Stage, said to rival the Profound Realm.

According to Zihwa, since my body had surpassed the Life-and-Death Realm, by this world’s standards I corresponded to the Golden Core Stage.

I hadn’t formed a Primordial Infant yet, so I wasn’t at the Primordial Infant Stage. But having entered the Life-and-Death Realm and felt completely freed from reincarnation matched the Golden Core trait of severing the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} cycle of reincarnation.

In other words, even by this cultivation world’s standards, I was a master who had already gone well beyond the pinnacle.

So their chatter about me being merely Foundation Establishment was just a ridiculous misunderstanding.

'Heh. You could call it an early-game cheat.'

Even so, the reason Zihwa told me to be careful was that she couldn’t verify my realm with certainty, and she worried that my unfamiliarity with law arts or dao techniques could lead to an absurd defeat.

Not only soul-seizing hypnosis-type techniques, but also law arts that directly attacked the soul, or countless other arts I couldn’t even imagine, apparently existed here.

To counter them, you’d need law arts of your own or defensive treasures imbued with law power, and I had none of that.

For now, I decided to subdue everyone here and then leave.

Their realms were low enough that it didn’t seem difficult to deal with them.

The moment one of them pulled out something like a talisman to relay orders, I slipped behind him and struck his acupoint, then swiftly subdued the three nearby.

“Keuk... h-how is this possible...”

It was just after all five of them collapsed on the cold floor of the Taoist temple.

I was certain I had subdued the one holding the talisman quickly, yet the talisman in his hand burned.

Then space suddenly rippled, and a man in vivid red robes tore through the air and appeared in front of me.

“Why call me out for something pointless— y-you lunatic!”

The moment he appeared and saw me, he froze in shock.

I moved first, striking his acupoint, and from his mouth came a voice filled with resentment and disbelief.

“A Golden Core cultivator... why would one be at the Ascension Platform...”

It seemed this one could accurately discern realms.

After subduing him, I informed everyone of the situation through the group chat.

『“Zihwa, I just arrived, but some guys attacked me here?”』

『“What!? Damn it! Were there people lying in wait at the Ascension Platform!? How many?”』

『“So-ryong, are you okay? We’ll come out!”』

『“Master! I’ll go out! How dare they touch our master!”』

『“My lord, please wait just a moment!”』

『“Stop. Even if you go out, you won’t be much help if a Foundation Establishment cultivator appears. Can you handle it alone?”』

The chat exploded, and I spoke with a slight curl of my lips.

『“I already handled them all. They’re nothing special. Most were Qi Refining. One might’ve been around Foundation Establishment level.”』

『“That’s a relief. Get away from there quickly and move to a safe place. No—first, we need to check where you are and what they possess. Interrogate them and put them all inside for now.”』

『“Got it.”』

Following Zihwa’s instructions, I stuffed all five into Dokmul-hyang, looked around, and flew toward the forest.

***

Hyeok Hyeoreum, known as the “Ascension Death God” of Blood Market Tower, was a Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator tasked with capturing ascenders at the Ascension Platform and delivering them to the main tower.

Blood Market Tower was one of the dark forces ruling the Lower Heavens of the Nine Heavens, a massive organization ranked among the top three, its name meaning a place where blood itself was traded.

Their merchandise was people.

They captured clueless ascenders and sold them elsewhere.

Hyeok Hyeoreum managed one of the Ascension Platforms controlled by Blood Market Tower, and that was because of his unique ability.

While not perfectly precise, he could perceive others’ realms as colors.

He could even roughly judge their talent and the value of their treasures.

And now, he had been subdued and dragged into an unfamiliar space.

Thick grass and brush filled the area, and the spiritual energy was extremely thin.

It looked like a space inside a Peach Garden Map recreating the lower world.

“Even the squad leader got caught...”

“Squad leader, what will happen to us?”

“Shut up. This looks like a Peach Garden Map.”

“A Peach Garden Map!?”

Just as he snapped at his subordinates’ clamor, three women emerged from the grass, eyes filled with menace.

“Can we start by cutting off an arm or a leg?”

“Maybe we should let them feel their intestines rot with Intestine-Rotting Poison.”

“Let’s start with Severing Muscles and Dislocating Bones.”

“It’s been a while since my sword tasted blood.”

“I’ve never personally used Intestine-Rotting Poison on a human before. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Severing muscles and bones gets noisy, but it should be fine, right?”

Two appeared to be mid Qi Refining Stage, one late Qi Refining Stage. The swordswoman suggested cutting limbs, while the sharp-featured woman spoke of poison.

The woman with a gloomy presence talked about tearing apart muscles and bone.

Terrified, the subordinates yelled at them.

“T-there were disciples inside the Peach Garden Map too? W-was it Core Formation Stage or higher?”

“Damn it. I heard group ascensions haven’t happened for hundreds of years...”

“Y-you women! Even if you ascended as a group, we belong to Blood Market Tower!

We’re one of the top three forces in the Nine Heavens! Release us at once!”

Until moments ago, Hyeok Hyeoreum thought a Golden Core cultivator from above had come to seize the Ascension Platform.

Ascenders shared a clear trait—wearing mortal clothing.

But a true Golden Core cultivator would wear high-grade treasures woven of spiritual-thread fabric brimming with spiritual energy.

That was why he’d assumed someone above had descended for the platform.

Yet the women before him clearly bore the aura of newly ascended cultivators.

They were wearing lower-world clothes, not even the lowest-grade spiritual garments common here.

Which meant this was a group ascension.

A phenomenon unseen for centuries.

Sometimes, someone who exceeded the limits in the lower world ascended while bringing disciples inside a Peach Garden Map.

Every such appearance caused upheaval.

His luck was abysmal—of all things, provoking a group led by a Golden Core-level figure.

As that reality sunk in and despair spread across Hyeok Hyeoreum’s face, the women halted.

“Blood Market Tower?”

At that moment, a subordinate shouted,

“Y-you ignorant women! We serve Lady Hyeol Okhwa, a Core Formation cultivator! If you touch us, you won’t survive!”

Instantly, a vicious aura surged from the three.

The swordswoman drew her blade, and the sharp-faced woman rummaged for something in her robes.

They spoke in chilling voices.

“Ah... if you hadn’t said that, this would’ve been easier.”

“Right. We really hate names with blood in them.”

“I’ll personally tear apart every muscle and bone in that bastard’s body.”

The dark-aura woman stepped forward and brushed a subordinate. His limbs twisted grotesquely as screams erupted.

“Gaaah! P-please, spare me!”

“No chance. You attacked our lord and thought this would be the end?”

“That’s right. You touched our master and expected to walk away intact?”

In less than a moment, he was begging for his life.

Next came the one beside him, screaming and pleading—until it was Hyeok Hyeoreum’s turn.

“I-I didn’t attack the honored elder! I arrived late and was subdued!”

Apparently believing their anger stemmed from the attack outside, he insisted he hadn’t touched that man.

“Is that so?”

“Y-yes! Absolutely!”

The hands paused.

Then the subordinate who had first suffered Severing Muscles and Dislocating Bones grit his teeth.

“H-he’s our leader! We just followed orders!”

That bastard.

Dragging him down at the end?

As he vowed to boil that man into a pill if he survived, the dark-aura woman approached.

“So you were the ringleader?”

Just as Hyeok Hyeoreum squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed hard, another woman’s voice rang out.

“Wait. What are you doing?”

“What else? Interrogation.”

“Yes. Interrogation.”

“If you damage their bodies like that, their spiritual energy will dissipate.”

At those words, Hyeok Hyeoreum’s tension loosened.

This woman didn’t seem to like torture.

So as hope flickered—

Her voice continued.

“If you ruin their bodies, they’ll lose value. We need to turn them into spirit pills, so don’t damage them too much.”

Hyeok Hyeoreum’s throat bobbed.