Nano-engineering Immortal Cultivation Chronicle

Episode 8: Thunderclap Talismans

The vice-captain wasn’t in the dormitory.

Still, on his way back, Jang So-cheon ran into Han Sa-jeo, who told him that the captain was busy making pills.

Leaving behind Han Sa-jeo, who seemed puzzled as to why he was being told about the captain’s whereabouts, Jang So-cheon returned to his room.

He took out a sheet of paper and wrote down the exact method the captain had used for pill refining.

Next, he analyzed the effects and roles of the ingredients listed in the pill recipe, but it wasn’t as easy as he’d thought.

Some ingredients would neutralize each other’s toxicity and enhance their original effects, or even create entirely new outcomes.

Certain ingredients acted only as catalysts in the reaction and had no medicinal effect on their own.

Still, after persistent analysis, Jang So-cheon managed to grasp the roles and effects of most of the ingredients.

Drip, drip, drip.

Jang So-cheon poured the medicinal liquid from the mystic flask into a small bowl.

Examining it closely, he could discern the composition and the progress of the reaction.

He could now roughly estimate how much heat and for how long it needed to be applied at each stage.

Of course, he couldn’t be sure his deductions were entirely correct.

There were too many variables: the water and air pressure used in the reaction, the temperature and humidity of the refining room, and so on.

Jang So-cheon poured the liquid back into the mystic flask.

Then he headed to the kitchen next to the dormitory and poured it into a cauldron.

Whoosh!

Placing a large stone on the lid, Jang So-cheon stoked the fire in the hearth and began boiling it over high heat.

After half a shichen had passed,

When he opened the cauldron, the liquid had boiled down to a sticky residue at the bottom.

He scraped it up with a spatula and rolled it into balls, making three decent-looking pills.

They were more effective than what the captain had shown him…

But still far from good enough to boast about or sell.

After cleaning the cauldron and tidying up the kitchen, Jang So-cheon headed to Makjang’s room.

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing much. Just drawing talismans since I had nothing else to do.”

“Talismans?”

Jang So-cheon looked around Makjang’s room in surprise.

Now that he noticed, the room was filled with failed talisman papers.

Most were failures…

But a few seemed to be infused with spiritual energy.

Thwack!

Makjang, who had been drawing talismans with a brush dipped in cinnabar, set the brush down with a loud smack.

“I realized during that fight at the market—there’s nothing quite as effective for attack as a talisman. The guy was way stronger than me, but a single talisman knocked him out. If I’d had just one more, I could’ve subdued him and helped you out…”

“Hey! Thanks to you fighting so well that day, I managed to muster some courage and hold out. Do you know why those guys picked a fight with us?”

“They probably thought they were stronger.”

“Exactly. So let’s take these pills and raise our cultivation level quickly.”

“What are they?”

“Elixir pills that boost your cultivation.”

“Really?”

“Would I lie to you?”

With a smooth motion, Jang So-cheon handed Makjang two Yellow Essence Pills.

He gave more to Makjang, who lacked spirit root attributes.

“Can I really take these?”

“Of course. They’re free, too.”

At the word ‘free,’ Makjang snatched up the two pills without hesitation.

“Only take one a day!”

Jang So-cheon poked his head back in as he was leaving.

“When you finish the talismans, you’ll give me a few, right?”

“Of course.”

Grinning, Jang So-cheon returned to his room.

After taking a Yellow Essence Pill and practicing Qi Circulation Meditation, he felt his dantian grow noticeably heavier.

Three days later, Jang So-cheon visited the captain again.

“You’re here?”

“Are you refining pills again today?”

“When a man draws his sword, he has to see it through to the end.”

“How do you afford all these ingredients?”

“I made a lot last time. Plus, I have Contribution Points…”

“You still have money left?”

“It’s almost all gone now.”

No wonder.

One side of the captain’s room was piled high with defective products.

Aside from those completely ruined by fire, there were so many failed attempts it was hard to count.

“Have you never succeeded?”

“What are you talking about? Look over there.”

Where the captain pointed, there were indeed three Yellow Essence Pills on the table that looked like genuine elixirs.

But the medicinal effect was still lacking.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

“My success rate isn’t even ten percent yet. But I’m getting better, little by little.”

He sounded proud, but to Jang So-cheon, even these were still defective.

They were more like Half Essence Pills, maybe even a bit weaker.

“I plan to sell the finished Yellow Essence Pills at the market. Then I’ll buy more ingredients and keep refining…”

“Then you won’t have to worry about ingredients anymore.”

“I wish that were true, but I’m spending way more than I’m earning right now.”

“I’ll buy the defective ones. That way, you’ll be able to hold out a bit longer.”

“That would help me, but…”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll take all of today’s batch, too. Same as before—one spirit stone per bottle.”

“Isn’t that too much?”

“You must not know—I’m loaded. Besides, the defective ones seem better than before.”

“Haven’t I told you I’ve improved? Soon, I’ll be making more genuine pills than defective ones.”

“You’d better. Mind if I watch you refine?”

“I’m doing it right now, aren’t I?”

“Now that you mention it, you are.”

This time, Jang So-cheon watched the refining process for even longer.

He could clearly see the captain’s skills had improved.

And not just the captain.

By observing today’s process, Jang So-cheon now fully understood the roles of the ingredients used.

He could pinpoint exactly when to add each ingredient and when to raise or lower the temperature.

After watching twice, Jang So-cheon pondered how to further enhance the Yellow Essence Pill’s effects.

As a result,

He discovered one ingredient had been mishandled, impure water was used, the low-temperature reaction time was too short, and the steam vent was opened and closed at the wrong moment.

But the biggest issue was heat transfer.

The heat the captain blew in with his Qi Refining technique only heated the outer edge of the pill furnace, not distributing evenly inside.

That was the main reason for incomplete reactions.

Of course, if you got picky, there were at least ten more things to fix.

“That’s enough for today. Mind if I come again next time?”

“Of course.”

After bowing to the captain, Jang So-cheon gathered up all the defective pills and left.

He placed five spirit stones on the table.

Back in the kitchen, Jang So-cheon added some of the ingredients he’d gotten from the captain into the cauldron.

He was trying to further react the unfinished medicinal liquid.

Using high-quality firewood to maximize the heat, he stirred the cauldron with a spatula.

Once the reaction was complete, he removed all the firewood from the hearth.

Sizzle!

He covered the cauldron and poured cold water over the lid, cooling it rapidly.

When he opened it, a rich medicinal aroma wafted out.

He scraped up the now-potent mass and rolled it into sixteen pills.

These were even more effective than the so-called “genuine” Yellow Essence Pills the captain had made.

“What am I supposed to do with all these?”

After pondering, Jang So-cheon visited Makjang, whose whole body was stained with cinnabar from drawing talismans, and handed him three pills.

“Are these free too?”

“No, it’s a loan. Pay me back with talismans later.”

“I haven’t even succeeded with a single one yet… You really mean I can pay you back later?”

“Of course.”

“Then it’s basically free. Thanks!”

Makjang snatched up the Yellow Essence Pills.

If it was free, Makjang would eat lye if you gave it to him.

“You finished the last batch, right?”

“Yeah. And they were amazing. Where did you even get such good pills? Did you buy them at the market?”

“Well… something like that. But this batch should be even more effective. Don’t be too shocked when you take them.”

“Really?”

“Have I ever lied to you? Anyway, if you want to pay me back, keep working on those talismans…”

“I will. Want a few now?”

“Not the half-baked ones. And what kind of talisman are you making that your room is such a mess? Even your furniture’s burned…”

“Hehehe. It’s called a Thunderclap Talisman. It can summon lightning. You’ll be impressed.”

“Summon lightning?”

“Yeah. I’m close to succeeding. But…”

“But what?”

“Could you lend me some money? I had no idea making talismans would be this expensive.”

“Didn’t you just get a bunch of spirit stones?”

“I spent them all. I’m almost out of Contribution Points too…”

“How are you planning to pay me back?”

“Once I master the Thunderclap Talisman, I’ll sell them at the market. Once I get good, I’ll earn more than I spend.”

He was thinking just like the captain.

Jang So-cheon couldn’t bring himself to refuse, so he ended up lending Makjang ten precious spirit stones.

‘Investment. Yes, this is an investment.’

He kept repeating that to himself…

Back in his room, Jang So-cheon took one Yellow Essence Pill a day and practiced Qi Circulation Meditation for several days.

Thanks to his now four spirit root attributes, his dantian absorbed the spiritual energy from the pills with ease.

His dantian grew noticeably larger, and the amount of spiritual energy he could wield increased significantly.

With his cultivation improved, Jang So-cheon went to the training room used by his team and practiced the Cloud Moon Divine Technique and the Carefree Sword Technique.

He also occasionally mimicked the sword forms illustrated in the sword manual given to him by his master.

Sanggwan Cheonse, seeing this, burst out laughing.

He said Jang So-cheon’s forms were so clumsy, they looked like something a beast—or better yet, a flying mythical beast—would perform.

It was nonsense.

Why would a flying beast wield a sword?

Still, Jang So-cheon decided to give it a try.

“Huh!”

Something felt different.

Imagining a two-armed eagle flying through the sky and performing sword forms made the movements feel much freer.

It was as if all constraints had vanished.

Wooooong.

As his sword forms became freer, the Blue Silver Sword, brimming with spiritual energy, soared into the sky and twisted like a dragon.

A dragon roared, a phoenix spread its wings, and then, with sharp beak and talons, tore the air to shreds.

As the sword forms transformed uncontrollably, Jang So-cheon let go of conscious control and simply let his body follow the flow.

He felt that trying to control it would only ruin everything.

And honestly, he didn’t even know where to stop the sequence.

Pant! Pant! Huff!

Out of breath, his face was filled with exhilaration.

Even though he’d only been mimicking the sword forms, his understanding of swordsmanship had deepened considerably.

At this rate, he felt he could perform the Carefree Sword Technique much better.

Sure enough,

After catching his breath and performing the Carefree Sword Technique, his movements became smoother and his sword sharper.

His skill now rivaled that of the Sword Master Department.

When he was mimicking the sword forms from his master’s manual, Sanggwan Cheonse didn’t pay much attention.

But when Jang So-cheon skillfully performed the sect’s Carefree Sword Technique, Sanggwan Cheonse stopped his own training and stared at him in shock.

Then he muttered to himself,

‘When did my junior’s swordsmanship improve this much? At this level, he could go toe-to-toe with a Qi Refining Stage prodigy.’

Finally, Sanggwan Cheonse challenged Jang So-cheon to a spar.

“With me?”

“Yes. But only using the Carefree Sword Technique… How about it?”

“I’d be grateful for your help, vice-captain. Shall we start?”

“Come at me!”

Knowing that Sanggwan Cheonse was trying to help him improve, Jang So-cheon didn’t hesitate and poured his newfound insight into his sword technique, attacking.

When he was pushed back, he switched to defensive forms; when he stabilized, he went on the offensive again. As they fought, he began to see his opponent’s sword path.

It was as if Sanggwan Cheonse’s movements had slowed down.

Whoosh!

As Jang So-cheon’s Blue Silver Sword pierced the air and flew toward him, Sanggwan Cheonse twisted his body to dodge.

But, astonishingly, the Blue Silver Sword was already blocking his path.

Exactly.

It was as if Jang So-cheon had anticipated where he would go and thrust his sword there.

Sensing he couldn’t dodge, Sanggwan Cheonse unleashed his sealed spiritual energy and struck the flat of Jang So-cheon’s sword with his own.

Spin.

Amazingly, Jang So-cheon’s sword spun half a turn, avoiding the tip of Sanggwan Cheonse’s blade.

But then—

Whirl!

Caught in the spiral of Sanggwan Cheonse’s sword energy, Jang So-cheon’s sword was finally pushed aside.

Taking the opportunity to put some distance between them, Sanggwan Cheonse looked at Jang So-cheon in disbelief.

“What are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“How is this possible? Are you a genius?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then how…? Should we go again?”

“Thank you.”

But—

The second duel played out the same way.

Jang So-cheon displayed uncanny skill, and Sanggwan Cheonse had to break his vow and use spiritual energy to barely subdue him.

In the end,

It was the vice-captain, Sanggwan Cheonse, who gained more insight from the duel.

Setting down his sword, Sanggwan Cheonse sat cross-legged and entered meditation, showing no sign of waking anytime soon.