Chapter 79 – Breakthrough
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The moment Jin So-myeong extended his fist.
Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration. The mighty power that turned even a mountain to dust poured out.
Hyeok Cheon-ung, who had been enveloped in light for an instant, soon revealed his figure.
“…”
Without a single word of speech, Hyeok Cheon-ung, who glanced down at his own body, looked fine at first glance.
He, whose hem of clothes was not even damaged, spoke after a long silence.
“Once in a hundred years, no, once in a thousand years, a Golden Core who dies to a Foundation Establishment cultivator appears. Have you heard of it?”
“No.”
At Jin So-myeong’s brief answer, he looked at the sky and sighed.
“When I first heard of it, I mocked it saying it was nonsense… to think I would become that protagonist. Mwahahaha!”
Poof!
Before his mad laughter even finished, Hyeok Cheon-ung’s upper body turned to ash and scattered.
Swept up by the tyrannical energy of the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration, he could not even leave a proper corpse.
“Phew…”
Pops various recovery medicinal pills into his mouth and catching his breath, Jin So-myeong paused.
It was because his Divine Sense that had reached the Golden Core grade detected a subtle annoyance.
He concentrated while narrowing his brows.
At that moment when he searched the surroundings thoroughly repeating it several times,
he discovered something wriggling in the corpse where only the lower body remained.
Clang!
The moment he tried to slice it with a single stroke of his sword, whish! A thing like a small bead popped out and fled.
‘An inner core?’
An appearance like a magnified pearl. A Rank 3 Demonic King’s inner core flew through the empty air and distanced itself at a speed invisible to the eye.
The moment he saw that scene, he realized.
‘He is not dead yet.’
Right before dying, Hyeok Cheon-ung had poured all his strength into the demonic core that replaced his dantian and looked for an opportunity to escape.
He responded immediately to the speed fast enough to miss if he let his guard down.
Kaboom!
He cast the Lightning Escape Art with all his might.
If he missed the Golden Core-grade cultivator who became an enemy, it would be a trouble for a long time to come. He must absolutely not let him escape.
Exactly five seconds.
In that brief time, who was faster was decided.
The distance to the fleeing demonic core vanished. Just when he was about to slice it approaching right before his nose,
“W-Wait! Fellow Daoist! Calm down and listen to my words for a moment!”
Although a desperate voice was heard from the demonic core, he ignored it. He had no intention whatsoever of hesitating and regretting in a moment like this.
He struck down the sword enveloped in lightning as if cleaving it in two.
However,
Clang!
although he clearly sliced it precisely, the blade bounced off. Sparks flew as the demonic core and Sword Qi clashed.
‘…It is hard.’
Was a False Core cultivator still a Golden Core after all? Even the demonic core, one of the most vulnerable parts, was incredibly solid.
He could not easily cut it even with a sword carrying all his might.
‘Had the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration missed, it would have been difficult to win.’
Narrowing his eyes, he swung his sword again.
If once did not work, then twice. Attempting until it worked was enough.
Clang! Clang!
Almost like lashing with a hammer. Just as he repeatedly struck the demonic core several times,
“S-Stop! Please stop! If you kill me, you will regret it. You will also not see a good end… N-No!!”
Crack!
The moment a crack formed on the smooth surface of the demonic core,
along with a despair-filled scream, the fracture expanded in a spiderweb shape.
It was effective!
Jin So-myeong, whose eyes shone, swung his last sword.
Shatter!
Along with the roaring sound of glass breaking, a faint scream lingered in the demonic core split in three and vanished.
“…He is finally dead.”
Just in case, he checked twice, three times. Hyeok Cheon-ung was definitely dead.
Putting the fragmented demonic core into his sub-space, he returned to the place where the corpse with only the lower body remained.
He searched around the waist with an anxious mind, and fortunately, the storage pouch was hanging.
‘What a relief.’
He was worried that it had turned to dust by being swept in the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration, but it seemed to have narrowly escaped the trajectory.
Picking up the Rank 3 storage pouch embroidered with a dragon in gold thread, he infused his Divine Sense.
‘As expected, it does not work.’
Let alone his Divine Sense, even his spiritual power could not enter the inside and was bounced back.
It was the same as when he had obtained a Foundation Establishment-grade storage pouch during his Qi Condensation days.
Because a restriction acting as a lock was cast, he could not open it right away.
Since it was an expected situation, he was not disappointed. In any case, the solution was simple.
【By consuming 1,000 Supreme Great Ability beads, the contents can be preserved.】
Absorbing the storage pouch entirely with the Secret Realm of the Mind was the end.
To recover a thousand at his current level took roughly two days. It was not difficult at all.
‘I should open it after returning to Sky Island.’
As it was a storage pouch obtained in the place guided by the Spiritual Seeking Talisman, he believed that what was absolutely necessary would be inside.
‘It would be nice if there is even a Golden Core spiritual object…’
Smacking his lips in anticipation, he mobilized his Golden Core-grade Divine Sense.
He observed the storage pouch as meticulously as possible.
Although he could not open the storage pouch right away, he could at least inspect whether there was a dangerous restriction.
‘There is none.’
Nodding his head, he strapped it to his waist.
Burning the remaining lower body of Hyeok Cheon-ung with fire-attribute lightning, he examined the Rank 3 millstone Magic Treasure that had lost its master and was still floating in the sky.
It had an appearance of two overlapping stone discs that gave a rough feeling, but peculiarly, it had no handle.
He tried infusing spiritual power as a test, but true to a Rank 3 Magic Treasure, it did not react. It was too much with the spiritual power Jin So-myeong currently possessed.
‘Let’s pack it for now.’
Putting it in his sub-space, he looked all around the place that he did not know whether it was a spiritual herb field or a cave dwelling.
The contrast between the destroyed ground and the blue sky was stark.
The hill where colorful spiritual herbs had been planted turned into ruins, but the sky was still clear and peaceful.
Looking at the cranes flying leisurely between pure white clouds, he suddenly realized.
‘…Was it a fake?’
Examining the ceiling closely, he could tell that it was an illusion created by a formation.
Indeed. A bird would not be flying leisurely when this kind of commotion occurred.
Apparently, this place seemed to be a cave dwelling constructed inside the deep sea.
He took a stroll all around.
Picking up the nameless spiritual herbs that survived in the chaos, he put them in his sub-space. He intended to transplant them to the Secret Realm of the Mind later.
‘The Speech-Opening Herb… let’s store it for now.’
One did not know the affairs of the world.
Although he had no thoughts of it now, if he came to raise even a spiritual beast someday, it would be usefully spent, so he packed them all away.
Just as he was closely checking if anything was missed,
he felt two structures at the edge of his Divine Sense. A log cabin was visible at the outer edge of the cave dwelling below the hill.
‘A cabin?’
Having furniture like a bed or a desk, it seemed to be the place where Hyeok Cheon-ung lived.
He closely inspected if there was anything usable.
‘A cushion?’
Although it looked like an ordinary straw cushion at first glance, judging by the aura it emitted, it was a Rank 2 top-grade dharma treasure.
Infusing energy into it, the usage came to mind.
‘It is a treasure that increases the speed of accumulating spiritual power.’
The usage was also simple. Just sitting on top and cultivating as usual was all.
Smiling at the satisfying harvest, he entered the neighboring building, and this place was a storehouse.
His eyes grew wide at the pitch-black soil filling half of the space that was about 100 pyeong.
‘Rank 3 spiritual soil!’
It was the highest-grade soil called the Living Earth .
If spiritual herbs were grown here, the quality improved and growth also accelerated.
To discover a soil so rare that it could not be obtained on Sky Island even if one offered spirit stones.
‘A jackpot. I was disappointed because the soil where the Sword Seed was planted was Rank 2.’
A laugh came out at the appearance of the treasure that was absolutely necessary.
True to the opportunity found with the Spiritual Seeking Talisman, each thing obtained was truly useful.
‘Let’s pack it for now.’
Because it was too much, it was difficult to put all in his sub-space. Traveling back and forth to the Secret Realm of the Mind, he moved all the Living Earth.
Just when he thought it was good that he took the risk to use the Spiritual Seeking Talisman,
– Hyeok Cheon-ung! Why did you call all of a sudden? It should still be far from when the Speech-Opening Herb is fully grown?
A booming shout echoed through the entire cave dwelling. He flinched at the growling sound unique to beasts.
‘A Rank 3 Demonic King?’
His brow furrowed of its own accord.
He recalled Hyeok Cheon-ung shouting that he would regret it while fleeing in his demonic core state.
It was clear that he had called the Demonic King nearby in his last struggle.
‘Tsk. He really does not go peacefully.’
He acted crazy, but in fact he was extremely cold, and tried to flee while pretending to die heroically. He was a truly insidious fellow.
He checked his body condition reflexively, and only a sigh came out.
No need to even say it. Naturally, it was the worst.
His meridians were tattered by the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration and on the verge of severing, and his spiritual power was exhausted.
Fighting a Rank 3 Demonic King in this state was a suicidal act.
‘This is too much.’
The judgment was made without even needing consideration. He immediately took out the Rank 3 Teleportation Talisman he had left for emergency use.
– Wait… something is strange. Hyeok Cheon-ung! Answer right now!
The moment he activated the Teleportation Talisman, ignoring the Demonic King who seemed like he would invade right away,
his vision, no, space was inverted.
‘Urgh.’
His stomach churned. Forcibly suppressing the feeling of wanting to vomit, he scanned the surroundings.
Splash!
A cool sound of waves was heard.
From the cave dwelling where the spiritual herb field was, he arrived at a beach where pure white sand was spread before he knew it.
Admiration came out at the miracle achieved by a single sheet of talisman.
A hundred li. An immense distance reaching 40 km was moved in an instant.
Everything was truly good, but…
the gamey smell of beasts wafting in ruined everything.
At a distance close to be called right next to him, his eyes met with three Rank 2 high-grade demonic beasts that were sniffing.
“Grr. A human?”
Wolves with webbed claws between their toes glared at him who suddenly appeared.
Whish!
He sighed at the sight of them attacking as if it were natural.
‘Of all things, is it these guys?’
They were wolves called the Sea Wolf Clan , a race famous for tracking well due to their persistent personality and sensitive sense of smell.
How could he have such bad luck.
Although they were guys he would slice with a single stroke of his sword under normal circumstances, his current body condition was the worst.
‘Phew.’
It was useless to complain. He brushed off negative emotions in a single short breath.
The important thing was to face reality and do the best he could.
Gathering all of the spiritual power recovered with difficulty, he guided it to the sword.
Whish!
Toward the guy who rushed first. He lightly stabbed as if pointing a dot with the tip of his sword.
A single red dot created on the forehead.
At a single tiny wound, the vital energy in the eyes of the demonic beast that was charging violently went out.
Thud!
Simultaneously with the corpse that died in a single move collapsing. Taking a step back, he avoided the falling mass according to inertia.
He disposed of one using truly minimal strength.
“How dare you!”
Bloodred coloration hovered in the eyes of the remaining two. They were enraged by their companion being taken down ridiculously.
Boom!
Demonic Qi soared as if responding to their emotion. The wind raging from all directions began to carry sharp energy.
The whirlwind and sand mixed to become over thousands of hidden weapons.
Toward the gale approaching as if to tear him apart,
Boom!
he just ran. He charged, trusting his body that had hardened to the level of a dharma treasure.
Since he did not know when the Rank 3 Demonic King would chase after him, there was no time to squabble with the guys.
Ting ting ting!
Sand that had transformed like blades poured, but could not even pierce his skin.
The moment Jin So-myeong, who broke through the hidden weapon storm by a simple and ignorant method, flashed his sword light,
a head flew through the sky.
“Gasp!”
The last remaining Sea Wolf Clan member tried to flee in startled surprise, but he did not let it go.
It was obvious that if he let it live, it would bring other companions and act bothersome.
Slice!
Squeezing out the last remaining spiritual power, he delivered a slash.
The wolf that was diving into the sea was cut in two, scattering blood.
“Phew…”
Taking out medicinal pills from his sub-space and popping them in his mouth, he held a spirit stone in his hand.
He had to recover his spiritual power as soon as possible and leave the place.
*
Jin So-myeong, who was flying over the vast ocean, bit his lip.
After disposing of the Rank 2 high-grade demonic beasts, he was able to grasp his current position by comparing the shape of the island with the map. However…
‘Drifting for a fortnight more just to reach Sky Island.’
It was truly not good.
Even though he used the Rank 3 Teleportation Talisman, the uneasy feeling did not clear away.
It was as unpleasant as a venomous snake sitting on his shoulder and licking the nape of his neck.
A long time ago.
The sensation he used to feel when climbing Mount Red Yang teeming with beasts during his mortal days. A sense of crisis welled up gradually.
‘This will not do.’
Although he was moving as fast as possible, it did not seem like he could shake off the pursuit of the Rank 3 Demonic King.
At this point where life and death were decided by a single judgment, he had to make a choice.
“…”
Jin So-myeong, who was pondering while flying in the sky, turned his direction abruptly. Selecting a nearby uninhabited island, he landed.
Simultaneously with installing the formation dharma treasures purchased on the market as if scattering them,
he took out a medicinal pill he had stored preciously in his sub-space.
The Steel Body Pill .
Which he had originally saved to consume when challenging the Golden Core stage.
Without hesitation, he swallowed it, which had the effect of amplifying physical abilities.
And.
he operated the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art with all his might. With the intention of breaking through to Rank 3 body tempering at this very moment!