Farming In The Eastern Cultivation World-Chapter 50: A Bowl of Head Mushroom Soup

Then Im Beomhyeon asked in an eerie tone, "Taejin, do you know...?"

Just then, a gust of cold wind blew past, making Bok Taejin shiver. "B-Brother Im, know what?"

"Your sect—no, the entire One Flower Sect—carries a huge responsibility," Im Beomhyeon’s tone grew even more ominous.

"I heard from Second Uncle that many strange and terrifying demonic beasts are sealed in the Jade Blossom Mountain Range. In the past, the outer region of the mountains was much more peaceful. But as your One Flower Sect has weakened over the years, the suppression has become less effective, allowing the creatures inside to leak their presence. That’s why the plants and animals in the outer regions have started mutating."

Bok Taejin was stunned.

He had never heard of this before.

Im Beomhyeon continued, "For now, it’s still alright. The ancient sealing formations left by your sect are still in place. These abnormalities remain within the outer regions of the mountains. The borderlands haven’t been affected much, and beyond the Jade Blossom Mountain Range, you won’t find these strange creatures at all. But what if, one day, the seals can no longer hold?"

Im Beomhyeon finally slowed his steps.

Although the sky was cloudless, dusk had settled in, casting a dim gray-blue hue over everything.

Im Beomhyeon lifted his head, staring off into the distance, though it was unclear what he was looking at. freēwēbnovel.com

"Taejin, do you know why the One Flower Sect has only accepted one disciple in all these years?"

Bok Taejin didn’t have time to answer.

It seemed Im Beomhyeon wasn’t expecting him to answer anyway.

"A long time ago, when the One Flower Sect recruited disciples, geniuses from all over the world longed to be chosen. The selection process was extremely rigorous, and only the best of the best were ultimately accepted."

"Even so, many talented people who failed to qualify as inner disciples were content with just becoming outer disciples. Some were so desperate for the opportunity that they willingly gave up positions as personal disciples in other prestigious sects just to do menial work in the One Flower Sect."

"At that time, the One Flower Sect truly lived up to its reputation as the number one sect under the heavens. Not only did it occupy the vast Jade Blossom Mountain Range, but it also controlled countless fertile lands and many prosperous cities."

"But those prodigious disciples who entered the One Flower Sect... one after another, they all died young. After several generations of this, even the most gifted talents no longer dared to join."

"Perhaps the One Flower Sect brought one closer to the great Dao of Heaven and Earth, but what good was that if they lost their lives in the process?"

"As a result, the quality of new disciples declined, and their numbers dwindled."

"By the time your master’s generation came around, no one was willing to enter the One Flower Sect anymore."

"Maybe for ordinary people with no other path, such an opportunity was something they couldn’t afford to reject. Just like you back then—joining the sect meant you could live. If you hadn’t joined, perhaps you wouldn’t have survived at all, right?"

Bok Taejin instinctively nodded.

Im Beomhyeon muttered, "But those who desire the One Flower Sect are no longer the kind of people the sect desires. And after all that effort, the only one they managed to take in was you. Yet you... you’re unable to cultivate. The future of the One Flower Sect... sigh!"

With a deep sigh, he stopped in his tracks, staring at the thickening twilight ahead.

Bok Taejin walked up beside him, turning to observe the unfamiliar expression on Im Beomhyeon’s face.

Suddenly, he saw Im Beomhyeon raise his hand, preparing to flick his forehead again.

Bok Taejin quickly lifted the myna bird he was holding and placed it on top of his head.

Unfortunately, while he had anticipated Im Beomhyeon withdrawing his hand upon seeing the bird, he hadn’t accounted for how fast Im Beomhyeon could change his moves.

Without hesitation, Im Beomhyeon reached out and twisted his cheek instead.

This time, the strength wasn’t much—it didn’t hurt.

Im Beomhyeon sneered, "What’s this? You dared to look at me like that just now, but you won’t let me teach you a lesson? Heh, kid, you can think about revenge when you can beat Taehyeon first!"

Bok Taejin followed along with a smile, though his laughter was a bit forced.

It was as if all of Im Beomhyeon’s earlier melancholy and wistfulness had been nothing more than an illusion.

But Bok Taejin knew—it had been real.

Im Beomhyeon was a man with a story.

And it’s seems the One Flower Sect... was a sect with an even deeper story.

...

There was a bamboo birdcage in Im Beomhyeon’s house, and it didn’t look it was made recently.

After retrieving it from where it hung high in the tool shed, Im Beomhyeon ran his fingers over it for a moment, feeling a sense of nostalgia before finally opening the birdcage door and motioning for Bok Taejin to place the myna bird inside.

Once the myna bird was inside, Im Beomhyeon secured the cage door and set the cage on the table in the main hall, preparing to head to the large kitchen with Bok Taejin to be the first to taste the head mushroom soup.

He said casually, "I made this not long after I arrived in Hwayang Village, using bamboo. Back then, I thought about catching a special bird from the mountains to keep as a pet, training it to be smart so I could show everyone that my bird-raising skills were the best in the city."

"But in the end, I kept putting it off. I put it off for so long that I started preparing to settle here permanently, maybe even live here forever. Raising and training birds didn’t seem to matter much anymore. And so, this birdcage I crafted is only being used now."

Bok Taejin could hear the heavy sadness in his words and was thinking of a way to comfort him.