It seemed those Blood Market Tower bastards didn’t have anything they didn’t do.

They bought and sold cultivators, and even information.

It felt like some kind of crime department store of an organization.

‘Ah, come to think of it.’

But when I heard “Blood Market Tower,” something I’d been worried about started to come to mind.

I’d heard there were Blood Market Tower guys even among the ones we caught today, and there had already been a Blood Market Tower group making Spirit Stones in a cave in the forest.

We’d locked them up in an empty cave in the forest and they’d been in the middle of manufacturing Spirit Stones, but with the guys we caught today and the guys we caught the day before yesterday, I had a feeling the Blood Market Tower’s pursuit would start up again.

Isn’t there a talisman that finds the last person you met?

“Blood Market Tower? Will that be all right? I’ll treat your subordinates and let them go, but I don’t think we can let the Blood Market Tower bastards’ subordinates go, can we?

It’s a pain if they track us again. And then you’d find the Blood Market Tower inconvenient too, wouldn’t you?”

Hwangwoo’s subordinates were going to be treated and released, but I couldn’t release those bastards too.

I couldn’t let them go unless I brainwashed them or erased their memories.

Because they’d already started manufacturing Spirit Stones.

Not because it was a waste, but because they’d already crossed the line.

Then Hwangwoo, hearing me, spoke in a tone telling me not to worry.

“Don’t worry, Elder. Before you let us go, you can have them meet my subordinates, so just leave them as they are for about half a month.

Then the last ones they met will be my subordinates, so no matter how they try to find them, they won’t be able to.”

“Oh? So there was a method like that.”

Was it called a Fate-Tracking Talisman?

The last person you formed a connection with.

So if it tracks the last person you met, he was saying he’d have them meet his own subordinates last.

Hwangwoo was a guy who knew spells well, so he knew a simple way to resolve it.

Since that worked out well, I decided to ask something else too.

“Ah, and since we’re on the subject, I had a bit of a collision with those Blood Market Tower guys...”

“A collision, you say? You mean aside from the two I brought?”

“Yeah. Those bastards were waiting at the Ascension Platform and then attacked me out of nowhere.”

“Ah, come to think of it. The Blood Market Tower had taken control of the nearby Ascension Platform, hadn’t they? So you went up through there? Heh... The guys with worse luck than me...”

“Hm?”

“Ah, no, I mean I was lucky, but they were unlucky. Since I met you, Elder, I’m an unbelievably lucky guy.”

“That’s right. You met me, so you’re lucky.”

“Y-yes, of course. Ahahahahaha.”

Hwangwoo laughed loudly, then quickly fixed his expression and said,

“Don’t worry. I’ll have the other guys meet my subordinates too before we leave.”

“Yeah, if you do that, I’d appreciate it.”

“Then shall we go to our town? We will treat you with utmost sincerity.”

“Mm... then...”

I was thinking I should move and take a look around this so-called town, and that was when—

Shouts poured into the group chat.

『“No.”

“No.”

“So-ryong, you can’t.”』

It was my wives shouting that I shouldn’t follow him.

It seemed like they were telling me not to go because Hwangwoo still wasn’t trustworthy.

He’d decided to serve us, but it still wasn’t a relationship where I could trust him enough to follow him and accept his hospitality.

『“Ah, sorry. I almost followed without thinking. You’re right, we’re not at the point where I can trust him that much yet, are we?”』

The moment I said I’d been a bit careless, my wives looked at me like I was talking nonsense and asked,

『“No, that’s not it, Husband.”

“That’s not it, So-ryong.”

“My dear, that doesn’t really matter.”

“Master, that isn’t the issue, is it?”

“Yeah.”』

So there was another bigger reason I didn’t know about?

As I made a slightly flustered face, the reason I shouldn’t follow came out.

『“Dual cultivation.”

“Dual cultivation. If we follow him, won’t it be difficult to do dual cultivation somewhere that isn’t even safe?”

“That’s right.”』

It definitely would’ve been awkward to go to someone else’s home and do that.

And even just having sex would be awkward enough, but since this was cultivation, if someone started knocking on the door outside, wouldn’t that be even more troublesome?

***

I called Moji and Soji and treated Hwangwoo’s subordinates and the Blood Market Tower cultivator.

Then, as for those Blood Market Tower guys, I stripped all their belongings and placed them in the cave.

I pressed their meridian points and laid them down among the other guys, then I had Hwangwoo’s four subordinates go in and come back out, and after that, I decided to release Hwangwoo and his subordinates.

“Wait.”

“Understood, Elder.”

Once we came outside, Cho and Yohwa were guarding the hideout.

-Sssrrr. 『Dad.』

-Kssst. 『Big Brother.』

“Yeah, both of you worked hard. But Yohwa, can you open this for a moment? I think I need to go out and come back.”

-Kihihihi. 『Okay.』

After Yohwa opened the web she’d stretched over the entrance, I put Yohwa into Poison Fragrance.

Then I called out Sister Jeokwol and returned to near the place we’d fought earlier.

Near the rocky cave.

From where I could see that rocky cave, I took Hwangwoo and the other guys out of Poison Fragrance.

“Eukukuku.”

“W-where is this?”

At first they looked around in panic, but when I pointed to the place we’d fought earlier, they finally figured out the direction and made relieved faces.

Had they thought I’d release them somewhere insane?

I snickered and spoke to Hwangwoo.

“All right. Then all of you, go back.”

“Yes, Elder. Then once every hundred days, I will come and pay tribute. If you urgently need something, you can contact me with a talisman.”

“Got it. This Mind-Speech Talisman, right?”

A Mind-Speech Talisman is a talisman that lets you talk to someone far away.

They say if you store the other party’s energy in it, you can talk to them anytime, so I’d linked Hwangwoo and a few Mind-Speech Talismans.

When I pulled it out of my clothes and waved it, Hwangwoo nodded.

“Yes, Elder.”

“Yeah. Then good work, and—ah, the thing I asked you for, once you find out, contact me right away. Got it?”

Right before we parted, I’d asked him to find out Tang Hwa-seong sunbae’s whereabouts as quickly as possible, and Hwangwoo answered quickly.

He said he’d move as fast as he could.

“Yes, of course, Elder. I’m planning to move right away. Our side will say we simply haven’t seen the ones who went out searching for the spirit beast again, but I still think it would be better to move before that.”

Yeah, he was right.

Not even a day had passed, so it was fine for now, but soon they’d realize the searchers had vanished.

It was the same for the guys guarding the Ascension Platform too, so even if they were planning to feign ignorance, it was better to move quickly.

“Then, good work.”

“Yes, Elder. I’ll see you later.”

After Hwangwoo left, I flew through the sky again with Sister Jeokwol and Cho and returned to the big tree hideout.

“Everyone worked hard. Then go in and rest.”

-Sssrrr. 『Yes, Dad.』

-Chii. 『So-ryong, see you later.』

I put Sister Jeokwol and Yohwa into Poison Fragrance, called Yohwa back out, and restored the web.

And lastly, I cleaned the inside of the tree hole.

Well, it was already a clean place, but it looked like we’d have to stay here for a while.

There was really a lot to do here.

“At minimum, I need to raise my wives’ realms to the Profound Realm here.”

First, my goal was to raise my wives’ realms here to at least the Profound Realm.

Hwa-eun and the Princess were at the Transformation Realm, and Gun Hye-rin was at the very edge of the Transformation Realm after eating Moji and Soji’s demon pill.

So with dual cultivation, I could break through Gun Hye-rin’s blocked wall, and with the demon stones we got today, I was planning to raise Hwa-eun and the Princess’s realms to the Profound Realm.

If it were the Immortal Realm, would that be the Core Formation stage?

“Cleaning is enough, so I should tell Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin to take out the bed. Ah, I should look ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) at the dual cultivation manual too.”

Since I’d done a rough cleaning, I thought I should set up the training stage and take a look at the dual cultivation technique in advance, so I called Hwa-eun in the group chat.

『“Hwa-eun, I’m here, and I roughly cleaned the tree-hole hideout. Should I take out the bed?”

“Okay. I’ll come out right away with Hye-rin.”

“Yes, ah, and please bring the dual cultivation manual too.”

“A manual? Ah, yes.”』

After I waited a bit, smoke blew out from my nose.

The billowing smoke formed Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin.

Behind them, I could see the bed they were carrying.

-Thud.

When they put the bed down in one side of the tree hole, it filled about a third of the space.

Since it was about the size of a studio apartment to begin with, it seemed even one bed made it feel full.

After setting the bed’s position, I immediately checked the cleaning 상태.

Not because I doubted my wives, but because I’d gotten covered in rock dust and dirt in the morning.

Fortunately, my bed, which had gotten covered in rock dust, had been cleaned spotless, and it seemed like Mirang, Sister Seol, and Gungbong had cleaned it thoroughly.

The bed was enough like this, and next was dual cultivation.

“The bed’s done. Hwa-eun, what about the dual cultivation technique?”

“Here. So-ryong.”

I naturally thought it would be a secret manual, so I expected it to be a book, but what Hwa-eun held out wasn’t a book.

What Hwa-eun held out was a round bead.

It was a bead about the size of a golf ball, tinged with red light.

“Uh, this is?”

“They said this is the Spirit Stone that contains the dual cultivation technique. They said among the Spirit Stones people leave behind when they die, there are ones like this that contain enlightenment from a technique.”

“Ah-ha. Then how do you learn it?”

“They said you just close your eyes and breathe energy into it.”

As she said, I closed my eyes and breathed energy into it, and the energy generated from the Spirit Stone began getting sucked into my upper dantian.

‘Oh, wow.’

An exclamation burst out without me meaning to.

The technique was a video.

With a demonstration added.

***

Hwangwoo thought he’d really been lucky today.

He’d lost a spirit beast and lost a Spirit Stone filled with a lot of water energy, but he could always get those again anytime.

But it was a gain to form a connection with a cultivator from the Central Plains Martial World.

He’d formed a connection with a cultivator from the Central Plains Martial World, who only ascended once every few hundred years, so no matter how you looked at it, it was a gain.

Before returning to the town, Hwangwoo gathered the cultivators who’d gone out with him and used a spell.

“If anyone tells someone else what happened today, everyone will lose their lives.”

A death oath.

It was a spell that made you lose your life the moment you revealed the secret to someone, and if he was going to reap a big reward later from the Spirit Stones he’d invested, they had to keep the secret well.

After finishing the oath, Hwangwoo took a new Dusk Blade and Spirit Stones from the town’s warehouse and headed to White-Night Castle.

To the Blood Market Tower’s main base in White-Night Castle.

He arrived at White-Night Castle using a talisman.

When he went inside, he felt that heavy, uncomfortable feeling he’d felt before.

It was probably the influence of a magic treasure.

The one embedded in the center of White-Night Castle, preventing people from using spells.

Moving at a fast pace, almost running, Hwangwoo reached the Blood Market Tower’s main base, and when he showed his face again, the cultivators standing guard flinched.

It seemed like they thought the earlier matter hadn’t been handled yet and Hwangwoo had come back again.

But when he told the cultivators at the entrance why he’d come, he got a very kind reaction different from before.

“What brings you this time?”

“I came to buy information.”

“Information, you say?”

“That’s right.”

“We will guide you, Elder.”

What Hwangwoo was guided to again was Chief Steward Mong-a’s office.

At first, Chief Steward Mong-a reacted like the guards had.

“What is it? Why are you back so quickly?”

“Ah, I came to buy information.”

“Information?”

“That’s right.”

Unlike before, Chief Steward Mong-a even served tea made from spirit herbs.

As he took in the fresh fragrance and savored the taste, Chief Steward Mong-a asked,

“What information do you want?”

“I want information on a cultivator. One who ascended about four or five hundred years ago—will that be all right?”

“If it’s four or five hundred years ago, that isn’t such an old matter.”

A Qi Condensation stage cultivator lives a hundred to a hundred and fifty years, and a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator lives two hundred to three hundred years.

A Core Formation stage cultivator’s lifespan is four hundred to seven hundred years, so it wasn’t such an old matter—and it was the moment Hwangwoo said the name.

“A cultivator who ascended about four or five hundred years ago. I expect he came up from the Central Plains Martial World, and the name is Tang Hwa-seong.”

-Clatter.

The teacup Chief Steward Mong-a was holding fell to the floor and shattered.

“H-how do you know that name?”

“You know him?”

Seeing Chief Steward Mong-a react like that, it felt like he was a dangerous person, and then—

Suddenly, his nape was gripped.

-Crunch.

Chief Steward Mong-a’s slender hand clamped onto the back of Hwangwoo’s neck and yanked him up.

And at the same time, a sharp question rang out.

“W-who did you hear that name from!?”

“Ghk. Guhk.”

This was a place where spells couldn’t be used.

But Chief Steward Mong-a was using the strength of the brute-force type cultivators.

Just like those who came from the Central Plains Martial World.