Chapter 193: path is open

The light over Pyeongchang-dong was cold and gray, filtering through the dense pine trees that surrounded the stone walls of the estate. Min-Soo descended the concrete steps into the subterranean vault, his footsteps echoing softly in the quiet morning air. He secured the heavy steel door behind him, locking the bolts into place.

He sat cross-legged at the center of the dark concrete floor. His liquid balance had restabilized slightly after the hand-lock session with Jin-Ah, sitting at $2,791,000. It was still far too low for the twenty-million-dollar auction verification, but it was enough to purchase the baseline fuel he needed to crack his first spiritual pathway.

Min-Soo tapped the dull bronze band on his index finger. Lady Ling-Xian. Awake.

The air instantly softened, the scent of ancient peach blossoms filling the enclosed concrete vault. A thick trail of white amber smoke poured from the metal ring, molding into her flawless, hundred-score figure. Lady Ling-Xian floated three inches above the ground, her long yellow and white silk hanfu sleeves drifting around her slender waist as her dark, starry eyes locked onto his face.

"You did not do something with the mortal girl last night, Min-Soo," Ling-Xian purred, a subtle, knowing smile touching her lips. "Your soul link remained completely calm. You chose to give her a guest room instead of taking her capital."

" I am restructuring her family’s utility step by step. Right now, my focus is on the power gap. The ambient Qi in this district is non-existent. We need to compress the environment artificially."

Ling-Xian’s expression turned serious, her head nodding slowly in approval. "A wise calculation. A man does not rush the harvest. If the air is empty of breath, we must use spiritual catalysts to forcibly saturate your meridians. Open your private network board. Search for raw, high-grade Earth-Core Spirit Stones or Liquid Qi Condensate. We need to buy out a baseline supply immediately."

Min-Soo pulled out his smartphone, his fingers swiping across the screen to access the encrypted underground market database he had extracted using his Master-Level business logic. Because the hidden cultivation clans used unlinked data grids to dodge corporate eyes, the listings were priced entirely in premium fiat currency or raw lifespan stones.

His eyes scanned the black-market index until he found a localized supply depository hidden inside a legal warehouse in the western dock sector.

Listing: Refined Liquid Qi Catalyst (Grade 1 - Low Purity)

Quantity Available: 10 Amps

Price: $100,000 per Ampule

"Ten amps will cost a million dollars," Min-Soo said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the steep price. Spending a million would pull his liquid balance down significantly, stretching the one-month timeline to reach the twenty-million-dollar Star-Core Lotus auction limit. But without a baseline cultivation core, he wouldn’t even survive the front doors of the auction house if a high-level sect elder decided to erase his identity.

"Do it," Ling-Xian said, her long silks floating closer until her transparent face was inches from his. "Gold can be printed at any moment, Min-Soo. But your physical foundation cannot wait until the harvest day."

Min-Soo didn’t hesitate. He tapped the terminal screen, routing his matte-black system debit card through the private escrow terminal.

[Transaction Approved: 10 Amps of Liquid Qi Condensate Purchased.]

[Deducting Funds: $1,000,000.]

[Current Liquid Balance: $1,791,000.]

The digital numbers in his vision rolled back instantly, dropping beneath the two-million mark to a tight one point seven million. Within ten minutes, the estate’s automated drone delivery box outside the main courtyard gates buzzed with a secure drop-off alert. Min-Soo left the vault briefly, returning with a heavy, foam-lined titanium case containing ten glass ampules filled with a glowing, thick silver liquid that vibrated with a faint, low-frequency hum.

"Crack the first glass," Ling-Xian commanded, her voice dropping into a deep, authoritative register that echoed off the concrete walls. "Pour the condensate over your palms, close your eyes, and force your mind to draw the concentrated fluid through your skin pores. It will burn, Min-Soo. Your mortal pathways are narrow, and forcing raw spirit fuel through unpolished skin is like pouring boiling oil down a glass tube."

Min-Soo broke the tip of the first ampule, pouring the thick silver liquid directly onto his bare palms. The substance felt freezing cold for a split second, then instantly erupted into a violent, white-hot heat that made his skin smoke.

His jaw clenched tight, his nails cutting into his palms as a sharp, agonizing burn spread up his forearms. He didn’t scream. He didn’t pull his hands away. He closed his eyes, his breathing dropping to a slow, ragged rhythm as he forced his entire mental focus to guide the silver energy currents down into his chest, filtering the raw chemical heat toward his lower dantian exactly as she instructed.

Lady Ling-Xian floats over him, her amber soul energy wrapping around his shoulders to prevent his narrow pathways from collapsing under the intense artificial pressure.

The room fills with a dense, white spiritual fog as the silver condensate evaporates against his skin, his veins visibly pulsing with a faint light through his shirt.

Under her thousand-year-old guidance, the first block inside his chest cracks open with a dull, internal snap, establishing his very first Level 1 spiritual foundation core.

Min-Soo opened his eyes by noon, his breathing heavy, his black undershirt completely soaked through with dark, metallic impurities his body had forcibly expelled through his skin. He looked down at his palms—the burns were gone, replaced by a subtle, healthy luster that radiated a faint, solid strength he had never felt before.

[System Notification: Spiritual Integration Detected.]

[Host Cultivation Base: Level 1 Qi Condensation established.]

[Notice: Your physical reflexes and baseline sensory logic have expanded by 200%.]

"You survived the first compression," Lady Ling-Xian smiled softly, her transparent form slowly melting back into a trail of white smoke as she retreated inside the bronze ring to rest her soul. "The path is open, Lee Min-Soo. But we have nine more ampules to burn before the month ends."

Min-Soo stood up from the floor, his body feeling incredibly light, his thoughts sharper. The thin energy of the modern world couldn’t block him anymore.

.