Chapter 40 – Foundation Establishment Old Monster

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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***

Meanwhile.

Just as Jin So-myeong was swinging his sword at the man in black.

A tall, handsome man who was admiring the massive ice wall waved a pure white fan.

“Ho.”

The genius of the Three Great Families that ruled Red Yang Market.

Duan Sa-ryang glanced over and spoke as if amused.

“Sneaky thing. Come out immediately!”

“…!”

The rogue cultivator who was caught watching secretly was startled and tried to flee, but was immediately captured by the Duan Family cultivators.

“Why did you hide and watch us?”

“I-I was wrong!”

“Haha. As if I wouldn’t know your shallow thoughts. You probably intended to sneakily follow after we went through the trouble of breaking the ice wall.”

“No! I just saw people gathered and watched for a moment out of curiosity!”

Duan Sa-ryang, who looked down at the rogue cultivator with a cold gaze, suddenly smirked.

“Fine. No matter what reason you followed us for, I don’t care. If you attack that ice wall with full force just three times, I will release you.”

“I-is that true?”

“Would I, the successor of the Duan Family, speak empty words? However! If I judge that you are slacking, I will not forgive you.”

“I will trust you.”

Gritting his teeth, the rogue cultivator drew a spear-shaped dharma treasure.

“Uaaaaah!”

He thrust his spear with bloodshot eyes, and a sharp energy surged to strike the ice wall.

Boom…! Boom! Boom!!

Just as the three intense offensives passed.

Crack!

A large chunk of ice fell off from the ice wall.

The rogue cultivator, who turned pale from using too much force, winced, but there was no further commotion.

“Whew! It is done, right? I will be going now.”

“Wait.”

“…Yes?”

“It is insufficient. Did I not tell you to attack with full force? Stop holding back and attack two more times.”

At Duan Sa-ryang’s calm words, not only the rogue cultivator but even the Duan Family cultivators flinched.

“Um… Young Master?”

“Hmm? Hyang-ah, what is it.”

The girl right next to him mumbled her lips but ended up shaking her head.

She looked like she wanted to stop him, but could not put it into action.

Duan Sa-ryang, who smiled faintly, fluttered his white fan and spoke in a kind tone.

“Hyang-ah. You may curse me as a hypocrite. As long as our family cultivators can be safe, I can do anything. I will gladly accept any insult.”

“…Ah.”

At Duan Sa-ryang’s confident declaration, the girl’s face flushed red, and other Duan cultivators were also touched.

“No! Who would dare curse Young Master!”

“We merely follow!”

Everyone’s morale soared. It burned blazingly as if oil had been poured on firewood.

Except for just one person. The rogue cultivator who stood with his mouth wide open.

“…Grr.”

Clenching his fists and trembling, he had no choice but to draw his dharma treasure.

He struck the ice wall with an expression as if about to cry, and…

Boom!

He was enveloped in a pillar of fire and turned to ashes.

“Hmm. Seeing it in person, the fire’s power is quite something. Since we cannot take risks, bring the nearby rogue cultivators.”

“Yes!”

Even the girl, who was about to say something, shut her mouth. She ignored the prick of her conscience and followed the command…

The Duan Family began to attack the ice wall by sacrificing rogue cultivators.

Boom!

Before long, a large hole was pierced in the ice wall.

The path leading to the center was opened.

“Thanks to the wise Young Master, we did not suffer any sacrifices!”

“Fufu.”

Duan Sa-ryang, who stood haughtily, curled up the corners of his mouth.

Just as all of the Duan Family rejoiced with one mind.

“Good work.”

At the gloomy voice suddenly heard, the startled cultivators drew all kinds of dharma treasures.

“Who is it!”

The gazes of those who shouted loudly and kept alert to the surroundings converged on one spot.

It was because of the man in black who appeared suddenly.

Around the time everyone felt puzzled at him showing no action despite his bizarre appearance.

“…It’s poison!”

The staggering Duan Sa-ryang swung his fan to generate a strong wind. Just as he blew away the poison and swallowed a detoxification pill.

Rustle!

The attack of the venomous insects that crawled out from the ground began.

From centipedes to ants. The swarm of insects with bizarre appearances rushed in as if hunting.

“Aaaaah!”

“It hurts! Save me!”

They ate alive the Duan Family cultivators who were flustered and panicking.

Duan Sa-ryang, enraged by the sight, cast wind-attribute spells frantically. Desperately driving away the insects, he shouted.

“Cowardly bastard!”

“Absurd. Do you think anything would change if we fought head-on? A novice like you is no match for me.”

Ring…

The moment a strange bell sound rang out from somewhere.

The appearance of Duan Sa-ryang, who was resisting wildly, changed completely.

“Ah…”

He suddenly stopped blankly and only stretched his hands forward. He even drooled as if looking at something ecstatic.

“Young Master! What are you— No!”

As if embracing a heavenly beauty, he threw himself toward the fiercely rampaging swarm of insects.

“Young Master!!”

“Uh? Aaaaah! S-save me!”

By the time reason returned to Duan Sa-ryang’s eyes, everything was already finished.

He was gnawed down by the swarm of insects, failing to even retrieve his corpse.

“Nonsense!”

“How could Young Master…?”

The 9th layer Qi Condensation cultivator whom everyone believed would become a Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator was defeated without even being able to resist.

At the horrific sight, the Duan Family cultivators froze stiff.

At that moment.

“C-could it be Foundation Establishment?”

The moment a despairing word came out from the mouth of someone whose complexion turned pale.

“…!”

“Run away!”

The Duan Family cultivators who had been resisting in unison scattered in all directions as if by agreement.

They truly ran away with all their might, but did not go far.

One by one. Falling to the ground like kites with severed strings, they turned into food for the insects.

“Ah!”

The only ones who survived were those who had stopped resisting early on and knelt.

Why on earth is a Foundation Establishment expert here?

It was a question that arose in everyone’s minds simultaneously, but no one dared to ask.

Even if they were a Foundation Establishment expert whose cultivation was suppressed to the Qi Condensation stage due to the secret realm’s restriction, a Foundation Establishment expert was still a Foundation Establishment expert.

Even if they exerted only a portion of their abilities, they were far more powerful than ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators.

“E-elder. Please spare my life.”

“I will do whatever you order!”

The Duan Family cultivators bowed their heads in fear.

Despite the family successor having died miserably, they could not even dare to think of taking revenge.

The girl who was loved by the Young Master and called Hyang-ah was no exception either.

She only knelt while shivering in fear.

“Hmph.”

Just as the snorting man in black was about to do something.

Suddenly frowning, he pulled out a name plaque from his bosom.

“…”

Veins popped on the forehead of the man in black who stared at the name plaque for a long time.

“Pathetic thing! To be beaten by fellows steeped in this kind of peace and send a request for rescue!”

Flutter!

Fluttering his sleeves widely, the man in black set off immediately.

He departed to the center through the punctured ice wall without looking back.

At that sight, all of the Duan Family, including the girl, burst into tears.

“Elder. Thank you so much!”

“Uh…?”

The cultivators who rejoiced thinking they were spared were startled. It was because of the bizarre swarm of insects flocking from all directions.

“Aaack! Elder, please!”

The desperate shriek did not last long.

Drowned out by the buzzing swarm of insects, they disappeared without a trace…

***

Returning back to the center of the secret realm.

The battle between Jin So-myeong and the man in black was one-sided.

“Damn sword cultivator!”

The shouting man in black rolled on the ground with a startled expression.

Fleeing desperately to avoid the sword wielded by Jin So-myeong, he shouted in a messy state.

“Nonsense! How did a mere mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator cultivate such powerful Sword Qi!”

“Does knowing that change this situation?”

“Damn it!”

Jin So-myeong, holding the sword enveloped in haze, smirked.

Watching the opponent flee while covered in mud, he felt the worth of becoming stronger.

This world was one where the strong devoured the weak.

How could he not be pleased when the man in black, who was mocking him until just a while ago, was making an expression of deep regret.

“I… no, I was wrong!”

“Really?”

“Of course! If you promise to release me, I will present everything I have and withdraw!”

The opponent apologized with a sincere expression, but he did not believe it.

Rustle!

This was because the presence of insects crawling stealthily through the ground was clearly felt.

The moment Jin So-myeong, narrowing his eyes, waved his hand.

The strong wind raised by the Wind Control Art rotated centering around him. He mixed Sword Qi into the wind wrapped like a curtain.

Wielding Sword Qi in this manner would weaken its power, but it was sufficient for the tiny insects.

Crackle!

Numerous venomous insects that rushed in as if in a surprise attack failed to even approach and turned to powder.

The face of the man in black, who had acted politely until just now, distorted violently.

“Gngh! Do you know how difficult the Black Slaughter Insects you killed are to raise!”

“Well. Seeing how weak they are, they don’t look precious.”

“…Hmph! I didn’t want to use this.”

The gritting man in black tried to pull out something from his storage pouch, and Jin So-myeong, who was aiming for that gap, thrust a swift sword in that split second.

Thud!

The moment the blade of the Limitless Divine Sword pierced his neck.

One of the rings worn by the man in black burned up.

A fishy smell of blood wafted sharply, and the guy’s figure teleported ten meters away. The wound on his neck also healed rapidly.

It was a bizarre sight.

It felt as if he escaped a fatal attack by sacrificing the ring as an offering.

Although he failed to kill the opponent, Jin So-myeong was not disappointed.

This was because it was a scene that had repeated several times while dealing with the guy so far.

‘The last ring has shattered. It’s the end now.’

The rings, which were the reason the man in black could persist tenaciously, had all burned and vanished.

Since the defensive dharma treasure was shattered, he just had to deal the final blow now and it would be over.

Just as he was circling around the opponent while aiming for a gap.

The man in black, who rolled his eyes up to show the whites, shook a skull bell.

Ring…

A strange soundwave swept the battlefield.

Jin So-myeong, who drew up his spiritual Qi to prepare for the final struggle, froze.

‘A headache?’

A faint pain poked his brow, making it extremely unpleasant.

A frown naturally formed, but the opponent’s reaction was even more intense.

“W-why isn’t it working! Why!”

The man in black, whose eyes were bloodshot and looked like a wreck, shook the bell frantically.

Screeech!

A horrific ghostly wail resounded along with the bell sound, but…

That was all.

It did not work on Jin So-myeong. A slightly worsened headache was all.

‘…A soul attack?’

Looking at it now, that bell was a special dharma treasure that attacked the mind.

It would be an extremely troublesome attack for ordinary cultivators, but it did not work on him.

This was because he had trained his soul through the spirit stone mine.

“Keo-heok!”

Perhaps due to the aftermath of failing the soul attack, the opponent vomited blood and collapsed.

He had self-destructed before Jin So-myeong could even strike his neck.

‘Tsk. To use a dharma treasure that attacks the soul at the Qi Condensation level.’

He didn’t know the details either, but he heard that this kind of dharma treasure carried great risk to the user as much as it was powerful.

Jin So-myeong, who clicked his tongue, looked down at the man in black who had turned into a corpse.

His appearance, devoid of a single drop of blood as if his essence had been sucked by a ghost, was hideous.

Glancing at the skull bell rolling on the floor, he reached out.

Swish!

He took everything the guy possessed and left the spot.

Moving to a place that looked as safe as possible, he checked the harvest.

The storage pouches the fellow left were two in total.

Examining one of them, a belt-style pouch, Jin So-myeong’s eyes widened.

‘Could it be a Beast-Taming Pouch?’

A Beast-Taming Pouch was a spatial-type dharma treasure with a function similar to a storage pouch, but different in that it could contain living creatures.

It was a treasure in which cultivators could contain and travel with spiritual beasts or spiritual insects they commanded.

‘It should be quite a precious item.’

Just as a smile was about to form at the harvest that was several times more valuable than a storage pouch of the same size.

【An absorbable space-attribute spiritual object has been discovered. Do you wish to absorb it?】

Pleasant news arrived.

‘Oh?’

【If absorbed, the trait of allowing living creatures to live in the sub-space will be added.】