Chapter 9: Day 9

“How long has it been since we took that child in?”

The height of splendor.

A hall lined with various snakes made of all sorts of gold and silver treasures.

In the center, a middle-aged man sitting in the lotus position asked, and Elder Baek Ah, who was standing beside him, bowed his head and said.

“It has been four years.”

Four years.

That was the time that had passed since the girl entered the White Snake Gate under Baek Ah’s guidance.

At Baek Ah’s answer, an unpleasant expression appeared on the middle-aged man’s face.

“Is it true that the child still hasn’t been able to accumulate any magical power?”

“That is correct.”

“And you still haven’t found out what kind of spiritual root that child possesses.”

“That is correct.”

Each time the middle-aged man’s question continued, Baek Ah just repeated the same answer, ‘That is correct.’

The unpleasant light in the middle-aged man’s expression became thicker, stickier, and denser as Baek Ah’s identical and same answer continued.

“Four years.
Four years….”

The girl’s body, which was already beyond the Qi Condensation stage from birth and had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Perhaps she was born with a special constitution.

In addition, the talent of a one spiritual root user, the most blessed talent for a cultivator.

Besides that, according to Baek Ah, her comprehension was also excellent.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was born for cultivation.

But.

“You picked up useless trash.”

The middle-aged man said.

A body that had reached the Foundation Establishment stage?

A one spiritual root user?
Excellent comprehension?

What good were those things?

If she couldn’t accumulate even a single speck of magical power, she wouldn’t be able to move beyond that.

However, the middle-aged man who was saying and thinking that couldn’t hide a certain discomfort.

Even so, it didn’t make sense that she couldn’t accumulate even a single speck of magical power.

With that kind of talent.
With that kind of body.
Even if it wasn’t related to the spiritual root she was born with, she should have been able to convert the spiritual energy she received from outside into magical power that was suitable for her.

“What will you do?”

At Baek Ah’s question, a terrifying light flashed in the middle-aged man’s half-opened eyes.

Yes, there was no need to think deeply.

Even if that trash couldn’t fulfill its role, he could just ‘use’ and ‘recover’ it in other ways.

“Yes.
We have to get back everything we’ve wasted until now.
Prepare it.
That girl….”

The middle-aged man whispered.

The more the middle-aged man’s words continued, the deeper Baek Ah’s head bowed.

“I will follow your will.”

Four years.

For four years, the girl had been going back and forth between the library and the training room, exploring all kinds of cultivation methods.

A sigh filled with madness escaped from her lips.

Just why!
Why!
Why!

Why can’t I

“Accumulate magical power!”

The girl shouted.

At some point, the disciples of the White Snake Gate who passed by in the library didn’t even give the girl a glance.

Not contempt.
Not humiliation.

Not pity.
Not ridicule.

What they showed was only indifference.

The girl couldn’t stand their indifference even more than the various emotions and gazes they showed in the past.

That indifference seemed to tell her that her time to stay in this heaven was running out.

“I need to find a way.
I need to find a way.”

The girl muttered, a terrifying madness gleaming in her eyes.

She had to find a way.

She had to find a way not to be abandoned by this heaven.

But how?

For nearly four years, the girl had read all the cultivation method books that could be seen in the library.

Except for a few things that were not allowed even to the girl, it was no exaggeration to say that she had tried almost all of the cultivation method books at least once.

No, no.

There was one last place left.

A place where the girl could freely roam.

A place she had never visited until now.

“The basement….”

The girl remembered.

What did Uncle Baek Ah, who had brought her to the library, say at the end?

Clearly.

‘Do not enter the basement of the library.’

Yes.
He definitely said that.

Then, why did Uncle Baek tell her not to go into the basement?

“Is it because he’s jealous of me?
Is it because he’s envious of me?”

The girl muttered.

Yes.
Clearly Uncle Baek.

No, Baek Ah was jealous and envious of her talent.

There must be something in the basement of the library that would allow her talent to blossom.

Knowing that fact in advance, Baek Ah told her never to go into the basement.

“Heh-”

The girl’s lips twisted.

Yes.
It must be like that.

He was jealous and envious of her outstanding talent that would even surprise the heavens.

That’s why he had blocked the means and methods for her to blossom her talent from the beginning.

He couldn’t figure out what kind of spiritual root she had?

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

This was the White Snake Gate.

The capital sect that ruled the Current Empire.

There was no way that the huge White Snake Gate couldn’t even figure out the spiritual root of a mere cultivator.

Yes.
All of this was a trap set by that bastard Baek Ah.

The fact that she couldn’t accumulate magical power was also clearly because that bastard Baek Ah had done something.

Thinking like that.

Delusional like that.

As the girl muttered like that, the madness in her eyes gradually became denser.

It was to the point where a purple light shimmered beyond just being in her eyes.

Such a girl’s appearance was no different from that of a madman.

Unfortunately, the girl was unaware of her current state and appearance.

She just.

“The basement.
I have to go to the basement.”

As if possessed by something.

Or as if swallowed up by the madness that filled her to the core.

She just moved, muttering in a dry voice, ‘The basement.
I have to go to the basement.’

Flinch-.

The girl left the training room and headed for the basement of the library.

Whenever the disciples of the White Snake Gate in the library encountered the girl, they flinched and unknowingly stepped back.

There was no need for an instinctive judgment.

Even with a rational eye, they could tell that the girl was in a state where she should never be touched.

After passing the disciples of the White Snake Gate, the girl finally arrived at the entrance to the basement.

Never enter.

The entrance to the basement of the library, which had been warned against, was surprisingly ordinary.

It wasn’t blocked by a huge steel door.

There were no restrictions on outside intrusion through any magic.

There was no barrier, just a very ordinary wooden door.

Standing in front of the wooden door, the girl felt a strange feeling.

A feeling that something was calling her from beyond the door.

Although she couldn’t hear any sound, a sound as if something beyond the door was calling her echoed in her head.

The girl, drawn by that call, opened the wooden door without hesitation.

Creak-.

The old wooden door opened with a unique, eerie sound.

Splash.

Something like black smoke spewed out from the open doorway and wrapped around the girl.

“Wh-What!”

The girl shouted in surprise at the suddenly spewing black smoke.

However, that surprise didn’t last long.

The black smoke that spewed out from the doorway only lingered around the girl.

The girl realized that every time she inhaled the black smoke that lingered around her, her mind and body became comfortable.

Every time she took a breath of the black smoke, she could feel the madness that had filled her to the core subside.

Just what.

“What is this smoke?”

The girl, whose eyes were now those of a sage, not a madman, looked at the black smoke with wonder.

The girl felt something familiar in the black smoke.

It was something similar to the spiritual energy that the girl had absorbed and accepted until now to accumulate magical power.

However, it was unlikely that this black smoke was really made of condensed spiritual energy.

Although it was definitely something similar to spiritual energy, the girl could tell that it was something fundamentally different.

No, no.

What was important now was not what this black smoke was.

What was important was.

“My thoughts were correct after all.”

The girl muttered, looking at the passage beyond the open door.

Her thoughts were correct.

If she used and utilized whatever was sleeping somewhere in this basement.
She could accumulate magical power.

Even at this moment.

Every time she took a breath of the black smoke, her danjeon throbbed, and she felt ‘something’ wriggling that she had never felt before.

This was it.

“Magical power….”

The girl, muttering blankly while looking at the empty air, finally walked through the door.

A passage without a single speck of light.

The girl walked through the naturally formed cave passage, untouched by human hands, as if it were nothing.

Like that, after walking and walking and walking, the girl finally arrived at the end of the passage.

And there.

“Ah, it’s beautiful.”

In the very center was a mask in the shape of a demon.

On either side of it were a book and a spiritual pill.

“Where is that child?”

“Hehe, by now, she must be cooped up in the training room doing useless things.”

At Elder Baek Ah’s question after visiting the library, the old woman answered with a chuckle.

‘The training room, the training room.’

Elder Baek Ah mulled over the words training room.

She should have given up by now.

Was she still struggling so vainly?

Come to think of it.

‘It’s been about a year since all support was cut off.’

Considering that, it was understandable that the girl was still making meaningless struggles at this moment.

She probably thought that if she accumulated magical power.

Then she would be able to receive the support of the White Snake Gate again.

As Baek Ah thought about the girl, he clicked his tongue lowly.

The more he thought about the girl, the more unpleasantness and annoyance crept up.

When he first discovered the girl, Baek Ah felt the thrill of discovering a treasure buried in the mud.

A girl who had surpassed the Qi Condensation stage from birth and reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

In addition, although the type was unknown, the talent of a one spiritual root user, which every cultivator desired.

But it wasn’t.

It wasn’t a treasure.

A girl who couldn’t accumulate even a single speck of magical power until now.

Because of that.

“My position has been greatly reduced.”

Because he was the first to discover her.
The first to bring her.

Because he was the one who suggested that the child be accepted as an inner disciple of the White Snake Gate.

If he had known from the beginning that the girl had such a defect, he would not have brought her to the White Snake Gate in the first place.

Because of that, Baek Ah’s position had become quite difficult.

To the point where he might not even be able to maintain his position as an outer elder.

Perhaps that was why.

Beyond the unpleasantness and annoyance on Baek Ah’s face, undisguised anger lingered.

“Fortunately, the Sect Leader gave me a chance…!”

Chills-.

Baek Ah’s expression, which had been walking towards the training room where the girl was holed up, instantly hardened.

This eerie feeling rising from his spine.

Could it be?

“‘The basement’ has been opened…?!”

Startled, Baek Ah shouted and ran.