## Chapter 197 – 197. The Ascent To Light
197. The Ascent to Light
‘The only way is to poison the well.’
To safely steal the medicinal herbs and elixirs from the Herb Garden, the only option is to kill all the guards and enter.
‘There’s a well in the Herb Garden. They use the groundwater from that well as drinking water.’
In this world, the higher one’s cultivation level, the stronger one’s body becomes, but it doesn’t grant immunity to poison.
‘Unless they’ve specifically trained to build up resistance to poison… The warriors of the Meteoric Sword Sect haven’t. Still, they have a certain level of cultivation, so ordinary poisons won’t work.’
The warriors in the Herb Garden are at least at the mid-stage of the Will Manifestation realm. Even if they are poisoned, they can overcome it by expelling the poison from their bodies.
Poisons like that of a common viper found in the mountains won’t work.
‘It’s okay. I know a poison specialist.’
Having made up my mind, I began to plan.
‘Let’s do it tomorrow. The Herb Garden has the same routine every day, so there’s not much to consider.’
And there isn’t much time left for the special mission. I need to steal the elixirs, enhance them, consume them, and digest them.
***
To poison the well in the Herb Garden, I need to get inside. It’s too far to throw poison into the well from outside the Herb Garden.
‘But I have a drone.’
[Hacking successful.]
[Drone can be hacked for 35 minutes.]
I was confident in my drone piloting skills, but I used hacking. With hacking, I can move things according to my will, ensuring the poison is delivered accurately. It’s better to succeed in one go than to risk making a mistake while controlling it with my own hands.
The drone quietly flew towards the well inside the Herb Garden. A vial of poison was attached to the bottom of the drone.
‘The ultimate poison, meticulously crafted by Yuria. The Last Twilight.’
This poison, named The Last Twilight, allows the victim to remain unaffected for about 6 hours after being poisoned. It hides in the body for 6 hours before it starts to destroy the internal organs and brain.
‘It’s an extremely dangerous poison, so the cost of the ingredients alone was over 1 billion won.’
The drone went inside the well and dropped the poison. With that, the preparations were complete. All that was left was to wait 6 hours.
‘It’ll be around midnight after 6 hours.’
I retreated for now and started having dinner with Seong Ji-gon. While eating, I walked around with Seong Ji-gon to make sure other people saw us. Since something will happen tonight, it’s good to create an alibi.
“The landlady of the Sordid Inn has big breasts. She’s in her 40s, but she’s beautiful enough to satisfy even you, Yujin. More than five men have proposed to her…”
I listened to Seong Ji-gon’s words. Every time we were alone, Seong Ji-gon talked about women. 70% of his stories were lewd, and 30% were about beautiful middle-aged women. He has consistent taste.
“So, you’re saying we should go to Hunan City today?”
“Yeah. We haven’t been to the city lately because we’ve been learning the Meteoric Sword Technique.”
“We have servants.”
“The servants are okay, but I’m getting tired of them. The city has a large population and all kinds of women.”
Seong Ji-gon has no idea about the incident I’m about to cause in the Herb Garden.
I didn’t want to share my spoils with Seong Ji-gon. And I can handle this on my own.
“Hey, hey. We haven’t been in the Meteoric Sect for long, and you want to go to Hunan City already? What will other people think? Be more discreet.”
“Then when are we going to Hunan City?”
“Maybe in two weeks…”
I quickly shut my mouth. Someone was approaching us.
“Haha. New recruits. Still training late into the evening?”
It was a member of the Meteoric Sect. He had short hair and scars on his neck and ears, and he was acting friendly towards us.
His name is Baek Do-heo. He’s our senior… or rather, our superior.
“Greetings, Baek Do-heo-nim.”
“Greetings, Baek Do-heo-nim.”
Seong Ji-gon and I quickly bowed.
“The greetings are enough. Are you two going to the training grounds again?”
“Yes. We want to get stronger as quickly as possible.”
I answered.
In reality, I’m just following Seong Ji-gon.
To maintain the routine of training with Seong Ji-gon, I have to do it even if I don’t want to. This way, if I use auto-progress, I can be seen training with Seong Ji-gon.
“Impressive. Good. I’ll join you today.”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
There was no reason to refuse since our superior was offering to help. And from my perspective, it’s beneficial because I can create a solid alibi.
***
Midnight.
I used the Illusiter to make myself invisible and headed to the Herb Garden without anyone noticing.
I canceled the invisibility near a tree close to the Herb Garden and launched the drone. I couldn’t just barge in. There might be some who didn’t eat anything in the evening and weren’t poisoned.
Also, this world has mystical items called artifacts. It wouldn’t be strange if the warriors of the Herb Garden had artifacts that could neutralize poison.
‘It’s hard to fully grasp the situation with the drone. Then…’
I used the drone to drop a noisy toy in the center of the Herb Garden.
If the warriors of the Herb Garden were awake, they would come to check the noisy toy. But even after 15 minutes, no one came to check the toy.
‘It’s a pretty loud toy, but no one’s coming out? They must all be dead. Hehehe.’
I entered the Herb Garden with leisurely steps.
There’s plenty of time. Until the servants of the Herb Garden arrive in the morning, no one will notice the abnormality in the Herb Garden.
I first ran to the herb field. It wasn’t too large. The herbs grown here are all ingredients for elixirs, and if they were mass-produced carelessly, the quality would likely drop significantly.
Also, to artificially grow herbs that become elixirs, there must be a place with a spiritual vein where the spiritual energy of the land flows.
‘Hehe. There must be about 100 of them.’
I took out a hoe and a basket from my inventory and began to dig up the herbs in earnest. Every time I moved busily, the basket filled with herbs.
‘This one seems a bit underdeveloped…? Oh well, let’s just dig it up for now, even if I have to deal with it later.’
Even if they are underdeveloped, I have the Ascent to Light. With the Ascent to Light, I can transform underdeveloped herbs into fully grown ones.
‘If I sell all these herbs, I can live without worrying about money for the rest of my life.’
Of course, I had no intention of selling them. It’s not like I’m short on money.
After digging up all the herbs, I entered the building inside the Herb Garden. It smelled of medicine.
“……”
I found a man lying on the floor. It was a corpse with blood on his mouth. He had died from the poison I had put in the well.
I didn’t feel any sympathy.
I searched the man’s pockets. Since he was a warrior of the Herb Garden, I thought he might have an elixir.
‘Tsk. Empty.’
I passed him and began to search the Herb Garden thoroughly.
I couldn’t find any elixirs. The only place I hadn’t searched was the room of the Herb Garden’s owner, Seong Do-chun.
‘Is Seong Do-chun managing the elixirs separately?’
It made sense. Elixirs are like treasures. From Seong Do-chun’s perspective, he couldn’t easily trust even the warriors of the Herb Garden.
I entered the room of Seong Do-chun, the owner of the Herb Garden, and looked around.
The first thing I saw was Seong Do-chun lying on the floor. Seong Do-chun was dead with his hand on a medicine chest. It seemed he had died trying to detoxify himself.
I first searched Seong Do-chun’s body. I thought he might be carrying a superior elixir.
‘Why is this guy lying down with a bead in his hand?’
If you looked closely, he was holding a black bead in his left hand. The black bead didn’t look like it would be worth anything, so I left it alone. Other than the bead, Seong Do-chun had nothing.
‘Is it in the medicine chest?’
I opened the medicine chest. There were medicines, but they weren’t elixirs. They were probably medicines with detoxifying effects.
‘Let’s take them for now. I can find out what kind of medicine they are later.’
I began to rummage through Seong Do-chun’s room. When I opened the luxurious medicine chests in the room, I found the elixirs I had been looking for.
I found the Spirit Binding Pill, the Fragrant Vermilion Pill, and the Summer Following Pill.
There were 10 of each of the Fragrant Vermilion Pill and the Summer Following Pill, and 3 of the Spirit Binding Pill. Among these, the Spirit Binding Pill was the best elixir.
‘I want to eat them right now, but… I should enhance them with the Ascent to Light first.’
That’s the most efficient way.
After taking all the elixirs, I was about to run away when I stopped at the sight of the study.
‘Are those books related to alchemy? If I learn alchemy, I can make my own elixirs. Let’s take these too.’
After putting everything that looked expensive into my inventory, I ran away from the Herb Garden.
A satisfied smile appeared on my face as I returned to my room.
‘I feel the best on days like this.’
First, I put the Summer Following Pill into the Ascent to Light. If I put in the Spirit Binding Pill, it would take a long time, so I plan to aim for the 6th stage of the Standing realm by using an elixir that can be enhanced relatively quickly.
‘If I eat the enhanced Spirit Binding Pill in my current state… I could aim for the 7th… no, even the 8th stage of the Standing realm.’
I plan to increase my cultivation level through elixirs slowly.
It hasn’t been long since the tragedy at the Herb Garden, and if my cultivation level suddenly increases? Unless people are complete idiots, they’ll definitely suspect me.
‘There are many elixirs in this world, so I should take care of myself in this world to some extent… and I should take a few elixirs to the real world. I should also get some for Yuria.’
I was looking at the Ascent to Light with a satisfied expression when something suddenly came to mind.
There’s an event in the original story that I really like. That event will happen soon.
‘…Damn it. The exact date wasn’t mentioned… but I know the approximate location, so I’ll have to install surveillance cameras and check every day.’
***
The next day.
As expected, the Meteoric Sword Sect was turned upside down.
The warriors of the Herb Garden, the most important place within the sect, were all poisoned and killed, and the elixirs and alchemy techniques were stolen. It would be strange if there wasn’t an uproar.
The sect leader, Seong Go-dan, declared a state of emergency. The sect’s security was tightened to a serious level, and there were restrictions on entering and leaving the sect.
Both leaving and entering the sect required the sect leader’s permission.
Due to the unprecedented situation, everyone in the Meteoric Sword Sect was tense as they went about their daily tasks. They couldn’t just stop working.
The servants working within the sect were trembling as they worked. They moved carefully, paying attention to every step to avoid being caught.
Seong Ji-gon and I couldn’t train. We had to stand guard in one of the sect’s areas.
‘It’s still better than the others. They’re searching everywhere, including the mountains and even Hunan City.’
Seong Ji-gon, who was standing next to me, looked at me with serious eyes.
“This incident at the Herb Garden… you didn’t do it, did you?”
My face immediately frowned.
“Are you crazy? Even if I’m a mess, I’m not that much of a mess.”
This guy, Seong Ji-gon, is surprisingly perceptive, which surprised me.
“Right? I was just saying it.”
“Realistically, how would I get the poison that killed the owner of the Herb Garden?”
“You got the sleeping powder last time.”
“Is sleeping powder the same as the poison that killed the owner of the Herb Garden?”
“I guess not. There’s no way you could easily get a poison strong enough to kill the owner of the Herb Garden, who’s at the Five Qi realm. But when will this situation end?”
“I don’t know, but it’ll last at least three months.”
“……Three months without going to Hunan City?”
“That’s the minimum. And Hunan City isn’t important right now. You, don’t touch the servants.”
“The servants… wouldn’t it be okay if it’s just occasionally?”
“That ‘occasionally’ could be your death day, so please hold back.”
“Haa. Who is the culprit anyway? Nothing is going right because of that bastard.”
I answered calmly to Seong Ji-gon, who was venting his frustration.
“You said it.”
A few days later.
I heard unbelievable news.
‘The owner of the Herb Garden, Seong Do-chun, is alive…!’
I wanted to believe it was a lie, but I saw Seong Do-chun moving with the elders with my own eyes.
It wasn’t hard to find out why Seong Do-chun was alive. The Meteoric Sword Sect was buzzing with the fact that Seong Do-chun was alive.
‘…He had the Poison Absorption Bead? Was that bead he was holding the Poison Absorption Bead?!’
The Poison Absorption Bead had absorbed the poison.
