Chapter 83 – Golden Core Challenge

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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 consumed 20 high-grade spirit stones in the Secret Realm of the Mind.

The spiritual vein, which was at the Rank 2 high-grade, grew rapidly.

【Resource Production】 : 80 mid-grade spirit stones / 1 day

【Resource Production】 : 81 mid-grade spirit stones / 1 day

【Resource Production】 : 82 mid-grade spirit stones / 1 day

…

【Resource Production】 : 99 mid-grade spirit stones / 1 day

At the same time the last, twentieth high-grade spirit stone vanished.

The air changed.

The spiritual vein had taken a step further from the Rank 2 level and reached Rank 3!

Assessing the energy flowing from somewhere connected to his soul in the deepest part of his body, he was relieved.

‘It is manageable.’

The energy that grew thick as the Secret Realm of the Mind reached Rank 3 was approximately ten times.

Although his meridians throbbed slightly, he believed he would adapt to it soon.

Of course, if such energy had welled up inside an ordinary Foundation Establishment body, their meridians would have burst and they would have died.

But because Jin So-myeong possessed a strong body that had reached Rank 3, he could accept it without issue.

‘My cultivation will become faster.’

He tried operating the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art as a test.

Looking at the speed of spiritual power accumulating in his dantian, it seemed he could reach the 9th layer of Foundation Establishment in about five to six years.

‘If I rent a Rank 3 cave dwelling on top of this, it will become even faster.’

He did not need to worry about the cave dwelling rental fee.

Because he belonged to the Red Blossom Unit and actively participated in the war, his merit points overflowed.

Flash!

【Secret Realm of the Mind】

【Facilities】 : Rank 3 low-grade spiritual vein, Rank 3 low-grade spirit stone mine

【Resource Production】 : 1 high-grade spirit stone / 1 day

A smile naturally emerged at the hologram that appeared before his eyes.

It was because high-grade spirit stones, which were treated as precious even on Sky Island, were produced one per day.

He, who was satisfied, turned his gaze.

He looked around the Secret Realm of the Mind, which had visibly expanded compared to a few minutes ago.

‘Forty or fifty thousand pyeong? Enormous.’

The Secret Realm of the Mind, which was merely a small hill at first, had expanded enough that a castle could be built on it.

‘At this level… I could even make a training ground.’

There was one difficulty he had felt ever since he awakened the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration.

Golden Core-grade dharma spells were each and all too powerful. It was to the extent that it was difficult to find a place to practice with a peace of mind.

In the midst of that, since the Secret Realm of the Mind had expanded to this degree, it seemed he could build a training ground.

Swish!

He scattered Sword Qi widely.

He flattened one side of the hill and pressed it down firmly using his vast spiritual power.

Tapping the tightly compressed soil, he nodded.

Since it was harder than ordinary steel, he was somewhat satisfied.

‘Hmm.’

He looked around the landscape of the training ground he made himself.

Although it was flat and spacious, making it good to practice dharma spells, it felt empty because there was too much of nothing.

After pondering for a moment, he took out a few logs. Carving them into the shapes of scarecrows, he set them up in one corner.

‘…It is done. I will make it better later.’

Suddenly, something like a simulation training ground that might appear in movies came to mind.

If he could fight enemies safely in a virtual space, it would be of great help in handling various dharma spells proficiently…

Having silly thoughts, he let out a chuckle.

‘Since I am here, I should stop by the Jade Light Spring.’

He headed toward the thunder-attribute spiritual spring from which rumbling thunder and blue light emitted.

Because he could not come for the past few months due to being busy, thunder Qi had accumulated heavily.

He soaked his body without hesitation in the open-air bath where lightning like blue threads flowed on the surface.

Crackle!

Operating the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art which had reached Mastery, he absorbed all the pouring lightning strikes.

He converted the thunder Qi into spiritual power and stacked it step by step in his dantian.

‘Whew…’

The flashing Jade Light Spring turned into plain water in an instant.

A smile naturally formed. It was because he obtained in just one hour the spiritual power that would have taken several months of cultivation to accumulate.

‘I should go out and continue cultivating.’

Jin So-myeong, who was about to return to the cave dwelling after finishing his business, paused.

It was because a change was sensed at the center of the Secret Realm of the Mind and the top of the hill, where he had planted the Sword Seed.

“Oh?”

Although he could tell what change had occurred using his Divine Sense, he wanted to see it directly with his own eyes.

He hurriedly ran to the place where the Sword Seed was planted.

“It finally sprouted!”

A sprout peeking out between the pile of dirt was seen.

It seemed to have germinated under the influence of changing the Rank 2 spiritual soil to the Rank 3 Living Earth obtained from Hyeok Cheon-ung, alongside the growth of the Secret Realm of the Mind.

He stared blankly at the silver leaves enveloped in Sword Qi and a faint haze.

His heart swelled at the seed that sprouted after almost nine years of careful cultivation.

Sensing that he had come, the silver sprout swayed gently. It was as if it was greeting him.

‘It is somewhat cute.’

The moment he stroked it gently using his fingertip.

“Huh?”

A prick of sharp Qi pierced his skin.

Although it did not hurt, he was puzzled. Staring at it quietly, he could hear a vague whisper, like the whimpering of a newborn.

More precisely, it felt close to a faint will or emotion.

“…You are hungry?”

Apparently, it had not been greeting him but was just asking for food.

He flicked his finger. When he condensed and threw Sword Qi, it consumed it as if it had been waiting.

It was a complete glutton.

Watching it absorb the sharp Qi endlessly, as much as he gave, a name that suited it perfectly came to mind.

“Your name is Limitless from now on.”

The silver sprout flapped like a sparrow’s wings. It was indistinguishable whether it liked it or disliked it.

The fellow was just busy eating Sword Qi.

“…If you become stronger later, I will add ‘Divine Sword’ at the end.”

Finally, after pouring even two thousand Supreme Great Ability beads into it, he left the Secret Realm of the Mind.

Lately, his feeling was good. At times like this, he had to focus on cultivating to raise his realm.

*

Before knew it, five years of time had passed.

Jin So-myeong reached the 9th layer of Foundation Establishment.

The Secret Realm of the Mind, the miniature Jade Light Spring, the straw cushion that increased the speed of spiritual power accumulation, the medicinal pills consumed like drinking water, and so on.

It was a celebratory event achieved after focusing on cultivation without resting for even a single day in a blessed environment.

Jin So-myeong, who rose to the 9th layer, rested for just one day.

Because Golden Core, the stage after Foundation Establishment, was right before his eyes, he did not want to rest.

Instead, he raised his cultivation speed further. Once he judged that his meridians had adapted to the high-concentration spiritual power, he moved his cave dwelling immediately.

He continued cultivating using the Rank 3 low-grade cave dwelling and the Secret Realm of the Mind simultaneously.

Like that, another five years passed…

【Jin So-myeong】

【Lifespan】 : 43/ 315

【Realm】 : Great Perfection of the 9th layer of Foundation Establishment

【Supreme Great Ability】 : 2900/25000

【Divine Abilities】 :

【Cultivation Methods】 : Omitted

【Dharma Spells】 : Omitted

Usually, if one reaches Golden Core before 100 years of age, they are considered a genius blessed by heaven.

But Jin So-myeong had already strayed far beyond that level.

At the absurdly young age of his early forties, he reached the limit that could be attained in Foundation Establishment.

Even setting aside the body tempering that had already reached Rank 3, it was so.

‘Whew.’

Jin So-myeong, who achieved the end of Foundation Establishment, rested for a full month.

He relaxed his body and mind, which were exhausted from ten years of cultivation.

Walking through the market without any business and so on, he released the accumulated fatigue while resting deeply and doing absolutely nothing.

The moment he recovered to a perfect state. He returned to the cave dwelling and sat cross-legged.

‘…Good.’

Now, all preparations were finished.

The only thing left was one. Consuming the White Spirit Herb, a Golden Core spiritual object, and forming a Golden Core.

***

An uninhabited island near Sky Island.

On a tiny island that had no characteristics other than having many colorful clams.

As many as sixteen Demon Kings gathered secretly.

One of the Demon Kings, who was observing the distant Sky Island, turned his gaze.

Glaring at the monkey with golden fur, he expressed irritation.

“Golden-Haired Sacred Ape. You surely said that if fifteen Demon Kings gathered and attacked simultaneously, we could breach the Sky Island formation. Do you remember?”

“Yes. I did say that.”

“But what is this? Even to me who knows nothing, the Sky Island formation is completely different from before?”

Other Demon Kings also agreed with the questioning tone.

“Right. Just by looking, those damn humans’ formation has become several times stronger.”

“It seems to be utilizing the spiritual vein… Can we really breach the formation if we attack?”

At the gazes focused from all directions, the Golden-Haired Sacred Ape cackled and coolly admitted.

“Correct. The humans have combined the spiritual vein with the formation. It is truly an admirable skill. Probably, even if we attacked for a whole month right now, the Reverse Polar Strong Chain Formation would be perfectly fine.”

“Son of a bitch! What are you standing there admiring for! Then, didn’t we just hand over the Rank 3 ultimate-grade spiritual vein for nothing because of your nonsense!”

“You extorted high-grade spirit stones from us saying you were researching the formation! What on earth have you been doing all this time!”

The annoyed Demon Kings paused.

It was because the Golden-Haired Sacred Ape was smiling so brightly that all of his teeth were exposed.

“Hehehe. Do not be hasty. If the spiritual vein is the problem, isn’t it enough to just shatter the spiritual vein?”

“…Was that something that could be shattered?”

Even the angry Demon King became dumbfounded and could not say a word.

Although he did not know about other regions, at least in this sea, spiritual veins had no physical form.

They merely called the place where spiritual Qi welled up for whatever reason a spiritual vein.

“It is possible if you use a formation. You can block the flow of spiritual Qi and explode it.”

“No, wait. Then what happens to the Rank 3 ultimate-grade spiritual vein?”

“Naturally, it will be ruined. It will split into hundreds, thousands of pieces and scatter all over the sea.”

“…Then isn’t it also an immense loss to us?”

If it only divided, it would be somewhat fortunate, but the spiritual vein grade would also probably decrease.

It meant the place for the Demon Kings to cultivate would also vanish.

The corners of the Golden-Haired Sacred Ape’s mouth, who was smiling brightly, twisted. He spoke in a cheerful tone as if he was going crazy with joy.

“We can wipe out those detestable humans completely, so is such a minor loss an issue?”

“…Looking at it now, you are the most radical one here.”

The Demon Kings exchanged glances. The sign of reluctance was clear on the majority.

Right now, the spiritual veins occupied by humans were only about one-third of the total.

Over half of it was the demonic beasts’ domain, so shattering the spiritual vein was a foolish act of cutting their own flesh.

Perhaps because of the lukewarm attitude.

The voice of the Golden-Haired Sacred Ape, which was filled with heat, sank down.

“Tsk. If that petty benefit is so important, let me explain it in a different way. If we bring down Sky Island this time, what will happen?”

“Hmm…?”

“Our demon race’s lifespan is much longer than humans. Imagine a hundred years from now. Around that time, without even needing to compete with humans, this entire sea will be ours.”

A hundred years. It was too long a time.

Probably, even if they smashed Sky Island this time, the humans would not collapse immediately.

It was clear the war would become much more violent than now.

Nobody knew how many of the Demon Kings present here would die to eradicate all humans.

Unless they intended to sacrifice themselves for the next generation, it was a choice that nobody would like.

“…”

The atmosphere split in two.

The solitary Demon Kings naturally disliked it, while the leader-class existences leading clans seemed tempted.

Just as a strange silence descended.

A weather anomaly occurred in the sky above Sky Island.

Dark storm clouds emerged in the sky, and the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth within a radius of dozens of li gathered like a whirlwind.

“That is…”

“Golden Core! A Golden Core cultivator is about to be born among those human bastards.”

The gazes of those who were shouting in shock turned sharply.

It was because the sea split in the back and a fish-dragon with golden scales appeared. Clad in clouds on its claws like a dragon in legends, its appearance was majestic.

As a late Golden Core-grade Fish-Dragon appeared, the Demon Kings were flustered.

The Sea Dragon Clan was born arrogant and treated other demon races as beasts. Although not as bad as humans, their relationship was naturally poor.

“No… Why are you here?”

“I invited him. Don’t we need an expert to deal with the Lord of Sky Island, who is at the late Golden Core stage?”

Simultaneously with the Golden-Haired Sacred Ape’s laughter-laced words.

The Fish-Dragon, who overwhelmed everyone with vast dharma power, spoke as if commanding.

“Perfect timing. If we ruin the spiritual vein now, that human will also fail to rise to Golden Core. Begin immediately.”

***

Meanwhile.

Jin So-myeong, who was challenging Golden Core with all his heart and strength, frowned.

It was because the spiritual vein suddenly became unstable. The spiritual power that flowed in uniformly was cut off in chunks.

“…Tsk.”

Although he could not know the reason, the solution was simple.

Entering the Secret Realm of the Mind, he poured in the high-grade spirit stones he had gathered over ten years.

【Resource Production】 : 10 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day

…

【Resource Production】 : 20 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day

【Resource Production】 : 21 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day

He strengthened the Secret Realm of the Mind, which he had tuned to just the appropriate level so as not to strain his meridians.