Yu Jeong-shin made many preparations to pass on Power Borrowing to Dam Hyun and Yi-gang.

Passing on Power Borrowing is, in fact, not an easy task.

Although Yu Jeong-shin spoke lightly as if it were something he could do anytime, the reality was otherwise.

They had to pick an auspicious day and gather the most spiritually adept Taoists to prepare the ritual.

It was tantamount to offering sacrifices to heavenly deities.

Moreover, they were hiding to avoid the eyes of the Evil Cult.

Yu Jeong-shin used spiritual power every day to maintain the concealment barrier of their hideout.

Even using treasures to offload the burden had its limits.

Many Honor Flower Disciples opposed Yu Jeong-shin’s decision.

“Junior Uncle, this is the wrong decision.”

The one calling Yu Jeong-shin ‘Junior Uncle’ was a man in his mid-forties.

His name was Ho-cheong.

In truth, he did not look much younger than Yu Jeong-shin, but in terms of ranking he was clearly a second-generation disciple.

Azure Forest Outer Gate.

In other words, he was an outer disciple of Azure Forest, active outside the main base of Azure Forest in Mount Hyeong, so his allocation was skewed.

His master, Taoist Cheok-gol, was an Honor Flower Disciple who had been active down beyond Yunnan.

“Isn’t this a time to replenish energy and prepare for the ritual? No matter how talented those kids are, must it be Power Borrowing?”

Power Borrowing is undoubtedly powerful.

The Honor Flower Disciples who had learned it knew that best.

But it had limits, and this was no time to insist on passing on Power Borrowing to only two people.

“We must beseech the power of Great Brightness Fuxi of the Three Sovereigns.”

Besides, the Honor Flower Disciples had priorities.

They were clearly weaker compared to the Evil Cult.

To break a rock with an egg requires adequate preparation.

The Honor Flower Disciples and Yu Jeong-shin planned to pray to Fuxi among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors for strength.

“If we delay, we’ll miss the auspicious day.”

Only seven weeks and nights remained until the auspicious day.

Even preparing the ritual by then would be tight.

“Ho-cheong.”

But Yu Jeong-shin was stubborn.

It was rare to see the gentle junior uncle so resolute.

“Those kids will surely achieve results in a short time.”

“Even the most talented ones took at least twenty-one days. No matter what…”

“Ho-cheong!”

At that shout, Ho-cheong shut his mouth.

Yu Jeong-shin, with a stern face and a smile, said.

“Three days. Try for three days, and if there’s no result, we’ll stop. Is that acceptable?”

In truth, even spending three days felt like a loss.

“…I will comply.”

Ho-cheong begrudgingly bowed his head.

Secretly, he intended to oppose again if there was not the slightest sign of talent on the first day.

He prepared with that thought in mind.

Highly spiritual Taoists lined up outside the valley and offered prayers.

Despite the cutting cold wind, those Taoists focused with all their devotion.

It was to help carry out the rituals of Yi-gang and Dam Hyun inside successfully.

Ho-cheong was among them inside.

Together with Yu Jeong-shin, he watched Dam Hyun and Yi-gang.

“We’ll start with Dam Hyun.”

Yu Jeong-shin gave that instruction.

Dam Hyun answered confidently and began to concentrate.

Ho-cheong widened his eyes and took in the scene.

He wondered what kind of people could command such enormous expectations.

Ho-cheong, who had spent his life in Yunnan, was slower to communicate compared to the other Honor Flower Disciples.

Other Honor Flower Disciples who had heard rumors about Yi-gang had hoped to at least catch a glimpse of his face.

Ho-cheong, who had a rebellious streak, did not believe the rumors.

Being outstanding in martial arts and versed in spell techniques was a different matter from Power Borrowing.

“…His posture is okay.”

Dam Hyun, who had been nonchalant moments ago, now wore a more focused face than anyone.

Ho-cheong’s prior assessment of Dam Hyun had been nearly the worst.

He was the gentle Yu Jeong-shin’s disciple, and a disgrace who had even stabbed his own master.

Ho-cheong was deeply impressed by Yu Jeong-shin’s character and skill, so he couldn’t help but look upon Dam Hyun with contempt.

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing saliva came from right beside him.

When he turned his head, Yu Jeong-shin was also staring at Dam Hyun with wide eyes.

Dam Hyun concentrated like that for a long while and then….

He snapped his eyes open.

It was Yu Jeong-shin who let out the exclamation.

Soon Dam Hyun’s mouth opened.

“Nothing is happening!”

Dam Hyun had failed.

Ho-cheong felt completely deflated.

He felt foolish for having been tense even for a moment.

The first threshold to mastering Power Borrowing is to draw out the corporeal soul beyond the Heavenly Gate and enter a state of selflessness.

A half out-of-body experience.

With proper guidance from the surroundings, one must enter the Heaven-Reaching Realm, an intermediate realm between the mortal world and the spirit world.

Naturally, it was impossible to succeed on a single attempt.

Ho-cheong sighed and looked back at Yu Jeong-shin.

“This can’t be, it just can’t be…”

Yu Jeong-shin looked flustered, as if he could hardly believe the result.

Yu Jeong-shin’s bewilderment made Ho-cheong even more stunned.

“Try once more!”

Before Ho-cheong could stop him, Dam Hyun began concentrating again.

But this time the result did not change.

After a short while, Dam Hyun sprang to his feet.

“Bah! Is any of this even working?”

“You find it hard to believe. Why on earth…”

A vein bulged on Ho-cheong’s forehead as he listened to the exchange between master and disciple.

“I don’t see anything. Seeing anything is out of the question.”

“It’s unexpected, but for you, Dam Hyun…”

“You seem to have no talent.”

And Dam Hyun asked as if it were nonsense.

“No talent? Me?”

Ho-cheong couldn’t help but snort.

It was not the time to discuss talent. Failure was to be expected and they should calmly follow the steps.

Dam Hyun’s reaction here amused him.

Dam Hyun spoke with a serious expression.

“Master, haven’t you grown quite old so that your judgment has dulled?”

His voice was more than serious, it was concerned.

But Ho-cheong was incensed by that remark.

“You insolent brat! You have a comment for everything you hear, don’t you!”

Ho-cheong also harbored doubts about Yu Jeong-shin’s judgment, but he hadn’t voiced them.

“What blasphemy are you speaking about to your master!”

Hearing the scolding, Dam Hyun frowned in displeasure.

“Who are you?”

“W-what did you say!”

Ho-cheong’s face went red.

Thinking about it, Ho-cheong knew Yi-gang and Dam Hyun, but they probably did not know him.

Being an outer disciple didn’t set one apart from the main disciples, but he had overlooked that nuance.

While Ho-cheong hesitated whether to introduce himself after being scolded,

Yi-gang helped him.

“Senior Brother Dam Hyun, this is Senior Brother Ho-cheong.”

Ho-cheong’s eyes widened.

He had never formally introduced himself to Yi-gang and hadn’t expected Yi-gang to recognize him.

“He is an outer disciple who lived in Yunnan.”

Moreover, he knew more than just his name.

‘He must have been busy beyond catching his breath, yet he learned these details in the meantime.’

Ho-cheong was impressed. Yi-gang had remembered the personal details of disciples he had just met.

“Oh really? An old man of his age, is he a second-generation disciple like us?”

“He’s an outer disciple. Greet him properly.”

“Ah, uh, nice to meet you, Senior Brother.”

His fist to palm salute was rather polite, but his words remained impudent.

“You scoundrel…”

It was Yu Jeong-shin who restrained him.

He wore a very stern expression.

“There is no time to waste! Dam Hyun, wait for now. Next, Yi-gang will try.”

When Yu Jeong-shin gestured for Ho-cheong to sit, he hastily returned to his place.

And this time it was Yi-gang’s turn.

Yi-gang sat cross-legged and began to concentrate as Dam Hyun had.

Everyone in the hall held their breath and watched Yi-gang.

Ho-cheong was no different.

‘It’s a pity, but there probably won’t be much difference.’

Ho-cheong’s expression softened, but his thoughts remained unchanged.

Yi-gang would fail like Dam Hyun did.

No one could see Soul fragments, but the Honor Flower Disciples roughly knew what would happen.

If one entered the Heaven-Reaching Realm, certain ‘signs’ would surely appear.

‘It was never possible in the first place…’

Then, Ho-cheong’s mind went blank white.

Someone couldn’t help but exclaim.

Something he thought absolutely impossible was taking place.

“It’s working, it’s working.”

Yu Jeong-shin muttered as if with conviction.

Yi-gang’s body was glowing.

A halo began to shine behind his head.

It was evidence that he had entered the Heaven-Reaching Realm.

Yi-gang could see Soul fragments.

It was an ability even the Honor Flower Disciples, who were familiar with things not of this world, did not possess.

He could see the Immortal Sword, he could seeBlue-Eyed Mad Demon, and he could see Zhang Sanfeng and the Heavenly Demon.

That meant he could also see his own Soul fragment.

Of course, even Yi-gang couldn’t see everything.

For instance, Yi-gang could not see the back of his own head.

Even if a corporeal-soul was drawn from the Heavenly Gate at the crown, he could not see it.

Yet Yi-gang was seeing it.

He saw something pale and whitish emerging from the crown of his head.

It was as if the eye of a third-person was looking down from above.

He saw the astonished Honor Flower Disciples and the baffled Dam Hyun.

He also saw the light emanating from his own body.

‘It feels different from when my Soul fragment was ejected.’

Yi-gang had once been ejected from his body in Soul fragment form in the imperial palace, and he had also possessed another body.

For him, entering the Heaven-Reaching Realm was inevitably easy.

However, it was certainly a strange experience.

“…Ah.”

It was not something one could attempt alone.

Yu Jeong-shin, and the elite and Taoist disciples outside, were each positioned according to the Mysterious Gate Formation.

Thanks to their help, Yi-gang’s mind entered a new place.

A vision dyed jet black.

A space expanding infinitely.

A dark realm as if eons had passed and even the sun in that sky had grown cold.

What Yi-gang saw there was….

Yi-gang came back to his senses.

By then, Yu Jeong-shin and many others had gathered around him.

Yu Jeong-shin gripped Yi-gang’s shoulder and asked.

“Are you back to your senses!”

Yi-gang clutched his throbbing head.

Entering the Heaven-Reaching Realm had been easy.

But staying there was not as easy as he had thought.

Before long, Yi-gang had been flung back and regained consciousness.

“It’s natural. A living person forcibly drawing out the corporeal-soul from their body will have homeostatic forces wanting to return. More than that, succeeding at all is remarkable.”

The Heaven-Reaching Realm was not a real physical place.

Yu Jeong-shin explained that it was about drawing out the corporeal-soul and forcibly setting one foot into the spirit realm for the ritual.

“So, what did you see?”

“A dark space. I saw a night sky, and there were stars.”

Exclamations burst out here and there.

It seemed that what Yi-gang had seen was indeed the Heaven-Reaching Realm.

When Dam Hyun asked, “Really?” Yi-gang nodded.

“Did those stars perhaps look extremely close?”

“Yes, they seemed within reach of my hand.”

“You didn’t reach out to touch them, did you?”

“As you said, I remained still.”

“Good, very good!”

He had been told to do nothing and remain still.

Yu Jeong-shin added that gods, immortals, and great demons would take interest in seekers who entered the Heaven-Reaching Realm.

Those who took interest in the seeker would appear like stars.

“You must not make the first contact. One must not easily reveal their identity. That’s the reason why I told you to do so.”

Yu Jeong-shin asked in an expectant tone.

“How many stars did you see? Two? Three? For you, there should be at least a few.”

Yi-gang was momentarily surprised and countered.

“Why? There were only one or two? That’s still fine.”

“No, that’s not it…”

The night sky Yi-gang saw in the Heaven-Reaching Realm.

At that place, there was without a doubt.

“There were too many to count.”

A Milky Way densely embroidered across the dark veil of night and shone brilliantly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep