Baek Woo Jin opened his eyes after a full day had passed.
It had been a while. A day without any hint of intoxication. It felt even more awkward because of it. That cold and rational clarity felt strange to him.
In order to resume the suspended drinking wine cultivation technique, he naturally reached for the gourd at his waist.
Gulp, gulp!
As he took big gulps, the warmth of the alcohol started to spread through his body like a revitalizing blood flow.
Now that the drinking wine cultivation technique was back in motion, the energy that had been dormant while he was unconscious began to accumulate in his dantian once more.
The rate of energy accumulation was slightly faster than usual. It seemed his struggle to the death with the Unbreakable demon had not been in vain.
“You’ve woken up, young hero.”
An Se Ha who was sitting opposite him greeted Baek Woo Jin with a bitter smile as he watched him drink as soon as he opened his eyes.
“How is your body feeling?”
In response to his question, Baek Woo Jin turned his gaze toward his shoulder.
His arm was splinted and bandaged. When he tried to move it slightly, he found it was wrapped so tightly that it barely moved. And when he applied a bit more force, he felt a sharp pain.
A smell of herbal medicine wafted from beneath the bandages. Considering how strong the smell was even through the tightly wrapped bandages, it was clearly a high-quality medicine.
“It’s better than I expected.”
He said after checking it out.
Except for the slight discomfort from the tight bandaging, the treatment itself was excellent.
“Haha, Miss Jegal was incredibly dedicated.”
Baek Woo Jin turned his head and he saw Jegal Yeon Ji sitting at the edge of the seat.
She had fallen asleep with her head pressed up against the wooden wall of the carriage. This was likely to avoid touching his injured arm.
“She stayed by your side until dawn before finally closing her eyes.”
He stared at her face through the strands of hair that had fallen out of place.
Though her hair was unkempt and her skin was rough from lack of care, one thing was clear.
If she took care of herself, she would be stunning.
Her naturally fine features and face shape were excellent.
If she decided to take care of herself, she would not only escape her lonely life but also have men lining up in front of the dormitory just to have a conversation with her.
Worried that his gaze might disturb her sleep, Baek Woo Jin turned his head to look at An Se Ha.
“How much longer until we reach Mianyang?”
“Just one more day.”
They had completed about half of their mission, so they could return to Hanzhong after reaching Mianyang.
Baek Woo Jin was starting to feel bored.
Oh, right, I have that.
He took out the demonic stone he had kept in his inner pocket.
“Is that… A demonic stone?”
An Se Ha looked at the stone in his hand with a wary expression.
“As long as it doesn’t touch your skin, there’s no need to worry.”
“What about you, young hero…?”
“This much is fine.”
Although the stone was infused with demonic energy, the amount that seeped out was very small.
Ordinary people or third-rank martial artists might suffer from madness if they carried it for too long, but for a first-rank martial artist, it wasn’t a problem.
Once he started to get really drunk, Baek Woo Jin returned to his usual self.
Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
After all, demonic energy was a type of energy. It just had impurities mixed in that could drive people mad and lead them to ruin.
In that case, couldn’t this demonic stone that condensed such demonic energy be seen as an elixir or an inner core of a spiritual creature?
“Oh.”
Curiosity began to grow rapidly in him.
Baek Woo Jin’s gaze which had been fixed on the demonic stone shifted to the gourd at his waist.
What would happen if he put this demonic stone into the gourd?
He continued with thoughts that anyone would call crazy if they heard them, all because of the efficacy of this treasure gourd he had received from the Drunken Immortal.
He did say that it was possible to mix poisonous substances together.
In the past, the Drunken Immortal had said that as one’s mastery of the drinking wine cultivation technique increased, they could use the treasure gourd to mix even poisonous substances and create a unique liquor called Shinju (spicey wine).
Apparently, the poison in it would be completely removed and only a very sharp and spicy taste would remain.
In a way, isn’t this also a poison?
It was a very plausible theory. Demonic energy and poison were both harmful to humans. If the treasure gourd could purify poison through the use of drinking wine cultivation technique, then why wouldn’t it work on demonic energy as well?
“Mmm…”
As his thoughts reached that point, Baek Woo Jin immediately grasped the demonic stone with both hands.
An Se Ha who saw this felt uneasy.
“Wait. Young hero…?”
Baek Woo Jin, who had forgotten An Se Ha’s presence for a moment because he was lost in thought, looked at the demonic stone and his face in turn and opened his mouth with a grin as if he had a good idea.
“Guild master.”
“W-What is it?”
“Before I passed out, I clearly remember hearing something.”
That he would be properly rewarded for dealing with the Unbreakable demon.
“Isn’t that right?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right.”
“I have found a use for this demonic stone and plan to split it in half.”
At his words, An Se Ha tilted his head in confusion and asked.
“What use could a demonic stone possibly have…?”
Demonic stones were entirely useless. Martial artists mostly obtained them after killing demonic cult members.
From the beginning, the Moorim Alliance had repeatedly researched ways to use the demonic stones that could be obtained from capturing demons to strike back at the demonic cult, but they had yet to find practical applications for these stones.
An Se Ha’s skepticism was understandable.
“Well, it’s more of an experiment to satisfy my curiosity than a practical use.”
“I see.”
Realizing that the man before him was different from other young warriors, he nodded obediently.
“But if you split it in half, won’t the reward from the Moorim Alliance be reduced accordingly?”
“Yes, they determine the reward based on the size of the demonic stone.”
By now, anyone with common sense would have realized what he was asking for.
Especially someone like the head of a merchant guild.
“Alright. We have remained safe thanks to the young hero killing that Unbreakable demon, so it’s the least we can do for you.”
“Hehe, good.”
There was nothing that held him back right now. Baek Woo Jin immediately used his internal energy to gather force in both hands. As he applied a bit of pressure, he heard a cracking sound from the demonic stone which then split cleanly in half.
As it split, a slight trace of demonic energy leaked out for a moment, but Baek Woo Jin quickly dispersed it with a wave of his energy and made it vanish.
“This part is done…”
He put the half he was going to submit to the Murim Alliance back into his chest pocket and was about to put the remaining half straight into the gourd but changed his mind.
Better safe than sorry.
Since it was still an unverified experiment, he needed to approach cautiously to avoid any issues, like the demonic energy corrupting the gourd or rendering it unusable. Such incidents could stop the flow of the wine entirely.
An Se Ha proved to be important in times like these.
“Could you find a small bottle for me?”
“There are spare water flasks for the workers.”
“That’ll do perfectly.”
After stopping the carriage for a moment, An Se Ha gave instructions to someone outside, and soon, the goat-like manager rushed over with an empty flask.
Baek Woo Jin placed the demonic stone into the flask, channeled the drinking wine cultivation technique to infuse his energy into the stone, then opened the gourd stopper and poured the wine into the flask.
Spill.
Baek Woo Jin poured enough wine to submerge the demonic stone and then closed the stoppers on both the gourd and the flask.
Since the experiment was conducted with a regular flask instead of the treasure gourd, he couldn’t afford to be impatient.
Baek Woo Jin decided to replace the wine in the flask daily and observe the results after a few days.
The caravan arrived in Mianyang.
After successfully completing an important transaction, the caravan decided to stay here for one night and then return.
With an extra day at their disposal, Baek Woo Jin and Jegal Yeon Ji first headed to the local branch of the Moorim Alliance in Mianyang.
“What brings you here?”
The guard at the branch stopped them, and Baek Woo Jin pulled out his student token of the Jeongmu Academy from his inner pocket and showed it.
“I am Baek Woo Jin, a student of the Jeongmu Academy. I am here to report a demon subjugation during my mission.”
The guard confirmed the token then stepped aside and opened the gate.
“Come in.”
The two of them entered the branch and headed straight to the department in charge of demons.
After explaining the situation to the administrative warrior who came out to greet them, Baek Woo Jin took out the demonic stone from his chest and showed it.
“Hm, why is the size of this…?”
As the administrative warrior examined the demonic stone, confusion spread across his face. Seeing this, Baek Woo Jin opened his mouth with a stiff expression on his face.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“In that case, please provide the compensation.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Baek Woo Jin inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the administrative officer go to collect the compensation with a puzzled expression until the end.
I’m glad I ground it down in advance.
He was worried about the clean cut, so he had thoroughly ground the stone before coming here which proved to be a wise decision.
Baek Woo Jin received the compensation from the returning administrative warrior, and then he wrote a brief report on the incident. Then he left the Moorim Alliance branch together with Jegal Yeon Ji.
At the same time, two carrier pigeons flew into the sky from the Moorim Alliance branch.
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