However, possessing the key wouldn't allow just anyone to enter the warehouse, as the key was only effective if it was utilized by Kang-hyuk.
The man who had created the key for him was the head of the renowned Jaegal family.
He had also designed Kang-hyuk's warehouse, and created the energetic formation that would enable it to be invisible within the boulders of the Northern Mountains.
Kang-hyuk smiled while recalling him. Whilst the man could be somewhat ill-tempered, he had a good heart.
'I wonder how the old man would react if he found out about my age reversal.'
He was glad to have found the key as it was quite c.u.mbersome for him to frequently travel to the warehouse whenever there was an object he needed.
After picking up a few other artifacts, Kang-hyuk went back to the Academy.
***
Baek-gap and Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g were in Yeongyowon, pa.s.sionately working.
Before leaving for the warehouse, Kang-hyuk had asked them to complete a task for him.
"Baek-gap Hyung-nim, should I take all of them out?"
Baek-gap nodded at Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g's query. Since Baek-gap was older than him, Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g had begun to address him as 'Hyung-nim'.
Baek-gap was pleased being addressed in this way, and found Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g's following of him quite adorable. This was why he wanted to inform him of something.
"Ahem, Cheon Jogyo."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what type of orchids are we moving?"
"I'm not sure, but the moon-shaped flowers are quite beautiful."
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g looked at the orchid pots they were moving.
Kang-hyuk had a.s.signed them to move thirty orchid-containing flowerpots to a particular location.
"So, I have a feeling you have no idea why Seonsaengnim told us to place a Defensive Qi force field around our body before beginning the task given to us?"
"I don't know."
As Baek-gap had suspected, Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g hadn't fully understood the reason behind Kang-hyuk's instructions.
Due to the Defensive Qi force field, they were finding it harder to breathe deeply. Whilst it was excellent at shielding the body, one of the drawbacks to using it was that it used up a lot of Qi.
Nonetheless, it was thanks to it that they were successfully able to transfer the last pot.
"Phew!"
Baek-gap took a deep breath and sat down a distance away from the pots. He called Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g to come over to him.
"Come here. It's not good to be too close to the pots. Those orchids are Moon Orchids."
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g tilted his head questioningly.
"What variety of orchid is a Moon Orchid?"
Baek-gap grinned at Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g's innocent question. He was under the impression that the Moon Orchid was just a certain variety among ordinary orchids.
"It would be impossible to call it a variety of orchid. It's an orchid we dug up from Eumwolgok within the Mu-dang Mountains."
"What?!"
"Did you just say Eumwolgok?"
Eumwolgok was a legendary location, and so, Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g was aware of its qualities.
"Yes, you didn't hear wrongly."
"...."
It was only then that he realized that the Moon Orchids they were moving weren't ordinary orchids, but under the cla.s.sification of sacred herbs.
He then also understood why Kang-hyuk had told them to use a Defensive Qi force field before working.
Whilst it was known that when one was near the Moon Orchid, one would feel neither hot nor cold, this was only under the circ.u.mstance that the Orchid was growing in soil high in yin energy.
If the Moon Orchid was moved, and kept on soil that wasn't high in yin energy, after a day, it would become dangerous.
If touched, it would begin to exude a fatal 'Cold Poison' in all four directions.
"Eeek!"
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g rapidly moved over to where Baek-gap was sitting.
"Why are you so scared?"
"I-isn't that the Moon Orchid?! How on earth is it here?"
Baek-gap pulled up his sleeve, revealing the Eternal Fire Ring on his arm. He awkwardly smiled, aware of Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g's bewilderment.
"Seonsaengnim gave this to me when we went to dig out the Moon Orchids."
"So you went to Eumwolgok with Kang Seonsaeng?"
"I did."
"...!"
Baek-gap laughed at Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g's surprised expression.
"If you're surprised just from that, what are we going to do with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can a.s.sure you, obtaining Moon Orchids is nothing. Seonsaengnim's feats are far greater than what you think."
Baek-gap however, couldn't speak of Kang-hyuk's true ident.i.ty as the Retired Leader.
The truth of the matter was that a Defensive Qi force field would be ineffective against the Cold Poison of the Moon Orchid, even if a warrior of peak cultivation used it.
Baek-gap was only able to withstand it as he was wearing the Eternal Fire Ring, and Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g's practice of Ice Qi enabled his protection.
'Well, he wouldn't have a.s.signed us to do a task that we couldn't execute.'
Baek-gap stood up, and brushed soil from his behind.
"We should begin the next task."
"Okay."
The other task Kang-hyuk had given them was to cultivate the uncultivated areas of Yeongyowon.
He had the intention of planting flowers in those regions.
They were devotedly hoeing the ground, when Kang-hyuk unexpectedly appeared.
"You're both working quite hard!"
"Seonsaengnim, you're back?"
Baek-gap and Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g dropped their hoes and walked towards Kang-hyuk.
"I bought some meat filled dumplings on my way back. Let's have some of this with some tea!"
Kang-hyuk unwrapped a bundle of cloth. The snacks were a welcome treat, as they were all feeling a little peckish.
"Thank you!"
A while later, after finishing their snacks, they stood up.
Whilst Baek-gap and Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g headed back to finish their task, Kang-hyuk had a task of his own.
His gaze fell upon the thirty Moon Orchids.
At present, they still had their deadly Cold Poison, and therefore were unsuitable for the students to practice on.
This was why Kang-hyuk had brought the Ice Crystals from his warehouse.
"Hmm, let's see…."
Kang-hyuk walked over to where the Moon Orchids had been moved. It was a s.p.a.ce far away from where the students had sowed their flower seeds.
"They've done a good job."
Baek-gap had placed the pots on a stand, arranging them in neat rows as Kang-hyuk had requested.
Satisfied with Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g and Baek-gap's efforts, Kang-hyuk got to work.
He began by marking out the exact centre, north, south, east and west points of the plot where the Moon Orchids were to be placed, with the intention of placing the Ice Crystals he had obtained from his warehouse in those positions.
But before that, he had another thing to do.
This was to engrave the Ice Crystals with a talisman.
"Let's go!"
He found a tree stump to sit on, and then pulled the Ice Crystals out of a drawstring bag.
He then began to engrave a talisman on a Crystal with the index finger of his right hand.
It was quite an incredible feat, as it was well known that even a finely crafted sword couldn't scratch the surface of an Ice Crystal.
He utilized a special method he had learnt from the North Sea Ice Palace when he had first obtained the Crystals.
Kang-hyuk carefully concentrated all of his energy onto the tip of his finger-tip as he engraved.
There was nothing more powerful than his own energy!
Within an hour, he had engraved all five of the Ice Crystals.
And with that, the time had come to place the Ice Crystals into the ground. He took a Crystal, and placed it onto the marked centre point.
He then stretched his hands out, with one facing above and one facing below the Crystal.
Kang-hyuk had pushed the Crystal down with his energy, lodging it deep into the ground.
After he had repeated this process in all of the marked locations, a cold chill could be felt rising up from the ground.
The cold energy rising from the Ice Crystals would help neutralize any danger from the Moon Orchids. In around two months, it would be completely safe to be in their vicinity and for the purpose of the students' practice.
'Well, they might feel a little cold at first. Then again, if they can't handle a little chill, they don't deserve to be called students of Hwacheon Academy.'
Kang-hyuk then erected a sign near the plot.
Moon Orchid.
Do not go beyond this location.
If you do, there is a great possibility of death.
He also added a force-field around the site that would only allow those with a peak level of cultivation to enter, just in case anyone foolishly ignored his sign.
As he had finished his task, Kang-hyuk headed over to where Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g and Baek-gap were working on, creating new flowerbeds.
He had the intention of planting flowers and plants that would enhance the beauty of the landscape.
"Right, seeing as you've cultivated the bed, let's plant some flowers.'
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g and Baek-gap stood in front of Kang-hyuk.
"We'll need to do some preparation first."
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g tilted his head, looking quite confused.
"We've cultivated the soil and added a layer of compost on the top as you instructed. Isn't that all the preparation needed?"
Kang-hyuk shook his head.
"All plants have varying preparation methods. To think that all plants are the same is naivety. Keep this in mind, okay?"
"I understand."
"Right. Now, could you sprinkle this all over the soil?"
He handed them both a small drawstring bag. The moment he received the bag, Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g immediately felt the energy that had been depleted while using the Defensive Qi forcefield rushing back.
He was completely taken aback.
"Seo-seonsaengim! What on earth is this?"
"It is the powdered form of Qi Returning Stone."
"...!"
At the mention of 'Qi Returning Stone', both Baek-gap and Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g widened their eyes in astonishment. Baek-gap then spoke pressingly.
"Wait...so is it the Qi Recovering Stone that recovers and speeds up Qi when kept on the body?"
"That's right. You're quite well informed….but why do you seem so shocked?"
Baek-gap cried out at Kang-hyuk's unperturbed response.
"Seonsaengnim! Did you really think we wouldn't be surprised? It's a precious artefact that the people of Moorim look out for with their eyes peeled! How could you instruct us to sprinkle such a treasure on soil?!"
"So...are you telling me I can't do so?"
"Well, I'm not saying that you can't but…"
"The best perspective to have is that if you find an appropriate use for something, you should just use it there."
"...."
"Right now, this is the most appropriate use for the powder."
Baek-gap, incredibly speechless, simply sighed.
"Hurry and sprinkle it over the ground. I'm going to fetch the flower seedlings we're going to be planting here."
"Okay."
Kang-hyuk walked over to a somewhat secluded location within Yeongyowon, a location no one could easily see.
It was the perfect location for what Kang-hyuk was intending to do.
He took out a key from his sleeve. This key was the very key he had found in the warehouse earlier.
"I hope it still works."
After Kang-hyuk lifted his arm and poked the key into the air, he turned around.
.The sound of friction could be heard as a long belt of light began to stretch out into the air, as the air began to sway from left to right in movement.
"Ah, it's working perfectly!"
Within a few moments, a square door, wide enough for two people to enter, appeared.
Kang-hyuk commanded the s.p.a.ce.
"Take me to the second warehouse!"
He then strode into the door.
***
Within a few moments, Kang-hyuk appeared in a completely different location. Unlike the first warehouse, the second one was at a superbly high alt.i.tude, with an open blue sky above the ceiling.
It was a place that had been owned by an old man named 'To-ong'.
He had vast knowledge on all kinds of sacred herbs and cultivated them with great joy.
However, no one had been aware of his existence.
Kang-hyuk too, would have been unaware of his existence if he hadn't fallen off a cliff during one of his missions.
The old man was approaching the end of his life, and considered it his good fate to have met Kang-hyuk at an opportune moment.
He taught Kang-hyuk all he knew about sacred herbs and their cultivation, and then gave him the s.p.a.ce as a present.
Most of the knowledge Kang-hyuk had on sacred herbs had come from the man named To-ong.
Kang-hyuk had then connected the access to this s.p.a.ce through the key by requesting the head of the Jaegal family.
Even as he was in the s.p.a.ce right now, he warmly recalled To-ong as if he was still there.
