Chapter 57 – Opportunity Found with the Spiritual Seeking Talisman?

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Translated by Frog in the Well

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

Jin So-myeong, who bought the Spiritual Seeking Talisman with a Foundation Establishment spiritual object, changed his plan.

Originally, he had intended to rent a suitable cave dwelling and dedicate himself to cultivation, but he decided to look for opportunities using the Spiritual Seeking Talisman first.

‘What kind of opportunity is it? I hope it is helpful for cultivation.’

After fiddling with the Spiritual Seeking Talisman wrapped in a faint light halo, he stored it in his sub-space for now.

Since he did not know in what manner it would find opportunities, he prepared as much as possible.

First, he purchased a jade slip containing the map of the Source Light Sea. He also bought a compass that always pointed in the direction of Sky Island.

With this compass dharma treasure, he could return to Sky Island at any time.

After practicing for a few days and completely recovering his Supreme Great Ability,

Whoosh!

simultaneously with burning the Spiritual Seeking Talisman, he boldly invested half of his Supreme Great Ability.

He amplified the Spiritual Seeking Talisman’s effect with seven hundred and fifty golden beads.

Buzz!

The Spiritual Seeking Talisman’s energy, which was hovering in the air, permeated Jin So-myeong.

A faint, ticklish sensation was felt, pointing in the northeast direction.

‘So it’s this kind of method.’

Jin So-myeong, who narrowed his eyes, kicked off the ground.

By the time he left the safe Filial Moon City and passed through the distant mountain range, the unidentified sensation gradually grew faint.

‘This won’t do.’

Sky Island was as wide as a typical continent. He could not know how far the place pointed to by the Spiritual Seeking Talisman would be.

Since he had already come to a deserted place, there was no reason to hesitate.

Rumble!

Using even the Lightning Escape Art, he rapidly accelerated. He flew swiftly, becoming a streak of light traversing the sky.

Around the time he grew anxious at the Spiritual Seeking Talisman’s energy, which had grown faint as if about to disappear soon,

a forest filled with pure white trees appeared.

‘White Wood Forest ? This is a place where demonic beasts are.’

Sky Island was basically the territory of humans, but because it was so wide, there were also demonic beasts in deserted places.

Jin So-myeong, who hesitated for a split second, hardened his gaze.

From what he knew, this forest was not a place dangerous enough to be unmanageable.

Boom!

With thunder, he moved quickly enough to generate afterimages. It was because the Spiritual Seeking Talisman had truly reached its limit.

Simultaneously with the unidentified sensation that pointed to the opportunity disappearing without a trace,

he barely arrived.

Jin So-myeong closely inspected a five-to-six-meter-tall grayish-white tree that appeared before his eyes.

The black fruits hanging in clusters, which had three or four reddish-brown stripes, looked highly special!

And.

His gaze met with a demonic beast corresponding to Rank 2 mid-grade, mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

“Human?”

The large monkey sitting near the tree was startled, then scanned the surroundings.

The demonic beast, which had been vigilant even sniffing with its nose, suddenly curled up the corners of its mouth.

“To come alone despite being weak! Chirp, chirp! By the way, you smell delicious!”

Its smacking was as if it was smacking its lips.

Jin So-myeong narrowed his brows at the sight of it making delicate expressions like a human.

‘It speaks?’

Usually, a demonic beast could only speak upon reaching Rank 3, so it was a strange thing.

Of course, there were always exceptions. It was possible it had eaten a spiritual herb by chance that opened its speech.

‘Good.’

Jin So-myeong, who was just curious about how high his own combat strength would be, drew his sword, and…

“Skreee!”

Along with a bizarre scream, the mid-stage Foundation Establishment demonic beast charged.

Thud, thud, thud!

As the house-sized giant body dashed, the earth rumbled.

Demonic Qi burning like fire pressed down on his shoulders. Although it pressured him as if to prevent him from escaping, he had no intention of retreating in the first place.

Rather, taking a step forward, he raised his concentration.

Whoosh!

He stared straight at the fist flying in, cutting through the air.

The flow of force leading from the thick thighs to the waist and shoulders was clearly visible.

The slowly extended sword tip met with the demonic beast’s fist,

Clang!

A sound as if steel clashed with steel was heard. Sword Qi and demonic Qi collided, scattering sparks.

The physical strength felt through the blade was unusual.

If he made even a slight mistake, he felt like he would be turned into a meat paste.

“Heh…”

Although it was a dangerous moment, for some reason, a laugh came out.

Just since when was it? He felt as if he would become addicted to this sensation of his life standing on the blade.

The colossal force pushing in ignorantly tried to burst his head, but the tip of his sword did not shake.

Aiming accurately at that spot, he thrust with the River and Cloud Sword Qi.

Creak!

A mere inch. The trajectory pushed away by the Sword Qi was completely distorted.

Simultaneously with the fist that would turn even steel to powder grazing past his ear,

Swish!

the sword swung like lightning grazed the nape of its neck.

“Skreee!? It hurts! I said it hurts!”

Thud, thud!

The giant monkey, which retreated several steps, screamed. It stared here with bloodshot eyes.

‘…It didn’t die?’

Inspecting the bloodline formed on the demonic beast’s neck closely, only the skin was cut. Thanks to muscles tougher and sturdier than steel, it was fine even after being hit by the blade.

However, whether the moment of almost dying had stimulated its wildness, the demonic beast’s momentum surged explosively.

Thud, thud, thud!

It beat its chest like a gorilla and inhaled. The moment its chest, swollen like a balloon, reached its limit,

“Roar!!”

Along with a roar, whitish sharp wind scattered in all directions. Frowning at the sight of it grinding everything the trajectory touched,

‘I should finish it quickly.’

If left alone, it would turn even the grayish-white tree nearby into powder.

Boom!

The moment Jin So-myeong, enveloped in lightning, took a step,

the distance between them disappeared.

In a place close enough to feel the breathing, he mixed the Sword Qi and the spiritual power accumulated through the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art, targeting the solar plexus.

Thrust!

Right before the Five Elements Sword sliced the hide and pierced the heart,

an intense counterforce blocked the Sword Qi.

It felt like forcibly stabbing a lump of iron compressed to high density. The physical durability possessed by the demonic beast was beyond imagination.

Crackle!

In the end, he even poured out lightning.

He stirred up the inside of its body with powerful lightning infused through the tip of the sword. He burned not only the heart but also the internal organs in a single breath.

“Gack!”

Ending with a short death rattle,

the Rank 2 mid-grade demonic beast, which could sweep away a small city by itself, collapsed.

The body that blocked even Sword Qi was impressive enough, but it could not withstand the lightning roasting it from the inside.

“…Whew.”

Jin So-myeong, who calmed his breathing which had grown rough with a single breath, fell into deep thought.

He coolly assessed his own combat strength, and without using the Supreme Great Ability, it seemed to be at the level of the 5th or 6th layer of Foundation Establishment.

Foundation Establishment 2nd layer had leaped over minor realms and defeated a mid-stage.

This was great enough to cause a stir throughout the entire city, but he was not satisfied.

Staring blankly at the smooth blade of the Five Elements Sword, he murmured.

‘Sharpness is lacking.’

Because the level of the sword was low?

Although that was also one of the undeniable reasons, a person who blamed all responsibilities on the sword could not become a sword cultivator in the first place.

The one truly lacking was himself.

The Sword Qi that was close to invincible in the Qi Condensation stage felt somewhat regrettable.

‘Should I drag up the mastery of the River and Cloud Sword Art with the Supreme Great Ability?’

However, right now, there was no leeway in the Supreme Great Ability.

Most of it was being consumed on spiritual root improvement and the natal cultivation method, the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art.

Moreover, it weighed slightly on his mind.

Leaving combat aside, at least when practicing the sword, he did not want to lean on the Supreme Great Ability.

It was because he had a faint premonition that only by doing so could he reach the Ultimate Martial Path.

…Actually, to be more honest, his stubbornness as a sword cultivator was simply the greatest reason.

‘What do other sword cultivators do in times like this? Is practice the answer?’

He was curious but folded it in a corner of his mind. Right now, he had to finish cleaning up after the fight with the demonic beast first.

Swish!

After putting the demonic beast corpse entirely into his sub-space,

he approached the grayish-white tree and inspected it closely. It was expected that the opportunity pointed to by the Spiritual Seeking Talisman was likely this.

“Oh?”

Indeed. Before long, he could roughly find out what effect this tree possessed.

‘Blood energy is abundant. It will help with the body tempering cultivation method.’

Perhaps it was related to the body of the monkey he had just dealt with being hard.

Just as he was about to harvest the colorful fruits due to the reddish-brown stripes, he paused.

‘Is it fully ripe?’

It weighed on his mind that the monkey had left the fruits without eating them.

If it was unripe, he should not pick it now. Jin So-myeong, who was contemplating, counted the number of fruits.

Thirty-two.

It was more than he thought. One should be fine.

Snap.

He closely inspected the fruit he detached from the branch with a slight resistance.

Being roundish, it looked appetizing if not for the black color. It was an intermediate shape between an apple and a peach.

He pressed it repeatedly, and it was harder than expected. He would believe it even if said to be a lump of iron carved in the shape of a fruit.

‘If one does not practice a body tempering cultivation method, they won’t even be able to eat it.’

After taking out a jade box and putting the fruit in, he meticulously memorized the surrounding terrain.

If he had it his way, he wanted to transplant the entire tree to the Secret Realm of the Mind, but he lacked knowledge regarding spiritual crops.

Some spiritual objects die the moment their roots are pulled.

There were even sensitive fellows that died even if the soil was entirely removed.

‘I should return to Filial Moon City and ask a spiritual crop master.’

If they were experts at growing spiritual herbs, they would know well about the tree.

The tree’s name, the fruit’s effect, and the method of transplanting.

He intended to return after finding them out.

*

Upon arriving in the city, Jin So-myeong immediately looked for a spiritual crop master.

It was not very difficult either. A few spirit stones were sufficient.

“I heard your spiritual crop art is outstanding enough to work at Rank 2, is that correct?”

“Haha. Well…”

The Qi Condensation youth wearing a yellow long robe scratched the back of his head with a sheepish expression.

Although he seemed to act humble, his eyes were filled with confidence.

“This fruit. Would you happen to recognize it?”

He showed the fruit picked from the grayish-white tree as a test, and the answer came out as if it had been waiting.

“Though it is unripe, it is the Steel Blood Tree fruit. It helps with body tempering cultivation, and since it is a fruit that demonic beasts enjoy eating, they have dried up, but you managed to obtain it.”

“What is the appearance of the Steel Blood Tree?”

“It is a grayish-white tree with bark as hard as steel, and its size varies depending on the rank. Also, a fine burnt smell comes from the sap…”

Jin So-myeong nodded his head. Although he was a Qi Condensation cultivator, his skill in the spiritual crop art seemed sufficient.

Since his ability was confirmed, it was now turn to ask the points he was truly curious about.

“If the tree height is about two zhang, what is its rank?”

“It is Rank 2. However, did you by any chance find the Steel Blood Tree? It is an extremely precious spiritual object.”

“Yes. I discovered it by chance. I wish to transplant it, how should I do it?”

“Uh… With the secret technique I practiced, one can pull up the roots while preserving the vital energy, but it will be hard if you do not know the spiritual crop art.”

It was a relief at least that it was possible.

As the opponent was a Qi Condensation cultivator rather than a Foundation Establishment, there was no need to guard too much.

“If you do not mind, would you go with me to the place where the Steel Blood Tree is and help transplant it? I will give you sufficient reward.”

“Mmm.”

The youth, who groaned for a long while, kept glancing back and forth.

He spoke in a cautious tone as if scanning his expression.

“Well. To tell you honestly, it is hard to believe. How can I trust Senior and go outside the dangerous city walls.”

“What if I contract not to deceive you?”

“…Even then, it is the same. From what I heard, starting from Foundation Establishment where Divine Sense is opened, one can resist contracts.”

“My word.”

“I am sorry, but looking for another spiritual crop master—”

“Ten mid-grade spirit stones.”

“Yes?”

He showed dozens of mid-grade spirit stones to the youth, who froze solid like a statue.

“My wealth is this much, would I cheat a Qi Condensation cultivator like you? If you do not want to, I will just find someone else.”

“Heh! N-No! When shall we go? I am ready!”

***

Jin So-myeong, who looked around the Secret Realm of the Mind, let out a satisfied smile.

Looking at the Steel Blood Tree situated on one side of the hill—no, a wide knoll, he felt reassured.

Thanks to the spiritual crop master pulling up the roots, he transplanted it successfully.

The youth, who sealed the vital energy so the tree would not die, wondered where it would be planted, but naturally he did not tell him.

‘He said it is fully ripe once there are twelve reddish-brown stripes on the fruit.’

As long as he had this grayish-white tree, it would be of great help in practicing the body tempering cultivation method.

On Sky Island, he had been in a bind because cultivation medicinal pills for body tempering were rare, but thanks to this, his worries were lessened.

Moreover, the Steel Blood Tree fruit also possessed a special effect.

In addition to replenishing blood energy, it made the physical body as hard as a dharma treasure.

If consumed for a long time, he would obtain skin where even Sword Qi would not lodge, like the monkey demonic beast.

‘Once that time comes, I will become stronger.’

Perhaps he could even block all sorts of spells or dharma treasures with his bare body.

Flash!

Jin So-myeong, who came out from the Secret Realm of the Mind, straightway left the inn.

Renting a Rank 2 cave dwelling, he dedicated himself to cultivation in earnest.

Years flowed like running water, and…

Rumble!

One day. A lightning storm raged within the cave dwelling. His spiritual power, which reached the 3rd layer of Foundation Establishment, stretched in all directions!

Turning off his attention to everything,

Jin So-myeong, who focused only on cultivation to the extent that his beard grew, snapped his eyes open.