Chapter 89 – Before Leaving
===================
Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
Jin So-myeong packed a Jade Thunder Pearl the size of his upper body.
It hasn’t been long since he entered the Thundercloud Sea Region, but he already obtained a thunder-attribute spiritual object.
‘I was right to come.’
Nodding his head, his gaze suddenly turned toward beyond the horizon.
Rumble!
It was hard to take his eyes off the lightning pouring down like rain.
One of the reasons why the cultivators of Sky Island could not leave for other regions was precisely this lightning-striking sea.
Jin So-myeong was barely able to roam around fine only because he had mastered the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art; in fact, this sea was a dangerous forbidden land even to Golden Core cultivators.
‘…What is there beyond this sea?’
Although he did not know how long it would take, he wanted to see with his own two eyes what was beyond the Thundercloud Sea Region.
Staring beyond the horizon for a long time, he shook his head.
‘Forget it. Let us mine many Jade Thunder Pearls first.’
Rumble!
Soaring into the sky using the Lightning Escape Art, Jin So-myeong realized one advantage of the Thundercloud Sea Region.
‘Because the entire sea is too noisy, it does not show even if I use the Lightning Escape Art.’
Smiling slightly, he blended into the numerous lightning strikes.
How long did he fly?
A sea boiling bubbly like a hot spring appeared.
He carefully inspected, and it seemed like a natural phenomenon, not because of some creature.
‘…Shall I go?’
In this kind of unique terrain, the probability of treasures being present was high.
Wrapping his dharma power like a protective barrier around his body, he dove into the hot sea.
‘It was a volcano.’
Despite being underwater, the blazing flames made him doubt his eyes.
Jin So-myeong’s expression, which was meticulously inspecting the surroundings using Divine Sense, brightened up dramatically.
‘Purple-Red Crystal !’
It was a Rank 3 mineral with a similar effect to the Jade Thunder Pearl, but it was different in that it emitted flames instead of thunder Qi.
Since the Purple-Red Crystal could be used as material to make refining furnaces or fire-attribute dharma treasures, it was extremely useful.
‘Good, good.’
Jin So-myeong, who was smiling, hurriedly mined the Purple-Red Crystal. In the dark sea, his pupils shined vividly.
*
Three years later, in the Thundercloud Sea Region.
The sky, which had been pitch black without a single speck of sunlight, was dyed blue in an instant.
Because a single bolt of lightning falling from the sky lit up the world.
Right next to that pillar of light.
Jin So-myeong, who was flying in the sky with his bare body, gave a bitter smile.
‘This is killing me.’
Looking down, he saw his defensive robe turned pitch-black as if burned. His appearance was scruffy, like someone who had been shipwrecked.
After entering the Thundercloud Sea Region. For the first three months, there were no problems.
He was only happy about the thunder-attribute spiritual objects that appeared once in a while.
The problem occurred as he entered deep into the Thundercloud Sea Region.
The lightning falling from the sky gradually became stronger, to the point where it was hard to endure even with the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art.
He returned to the outer area as if retreating, but as time passed, finding thunder-attribute spiritual objects became difficult.
In the end, he had to go back to the deep sea, and could not help but become scruffy like now.
‘Still, I gathered all the Jade Thunder Pearls.’
Looking at the blue rocks filling his sub-space, he felt proud.
He gathered a total of 107 Jade Thunder Pearls the size of a human torso. The minor ones about the size of a fist were too many, so he did not even count them.
Although he suffered quite a lot, he had achieved his goal anyway!
‘It is time to return to Sky Island soon.’
At first, he also had thoughts of cultivating in the Thundercloud Sea Region, but he soon realized that it was an impossible task.
In cultivation, pacing was important.
He needed time to relax after concentrating to the limit, but in this sea, it was hard to rest with peace of mind.
Therefore, he only focused on obtaining thunder-attribute spiritual objects, and was able to achieve his goal at the end of three years of time.
Now, what remained was to return to Sky Island and strengthen the Jade Light Spring in the Secret Realm of the Mind.
***
Two months later.
Returning to his Sky Island cave dwelling, Jin So-myeong slept for three days straight.
‘Hoo. Now I feel like living.’
Since he had been in the Thundercloud Sea Region for three whole years, the sound of lightning still lingered by his ears like an auditory hallucination.
Wandering that place where lightning poured down day in and day out was not something a human could do.
‘This place is so quiet that it is to the point of being awkward…’
Looking at the quiet cave dwelling, Jin So-myeong smiled slightly. Anyway, the hardship was over, so it was time to eat the sweet fruit.
‘Let us start immediately.’
He entered the Secret Realm of the Mind right away.
Running to the Jade Light Spring he usually used, he poured out all of the over 100 Jade Thunder Pearls.
Water overflowed because there were too many, but he ignored it for now.
Rumble…
The faint thunder grew gradually larger as time passed.
The lightning bolts flowing on the water’s surface instantly thickened, then intertwined into one and became the shape of a thunder dragon.
“Oh?”
The blue thunder dragon born from the condensed thunder Qi glared at Jin So-myeong.
It put on airs as if it were the master of the Jade Light Spring itself, but far from feeling bad, he was happy.
The stronger the thunder Qi and spirituality, the better it was for Jin So-myeong who would absorb them.
Crash!
At the energy growing stronger without knowing its end, the tub holding the Jade Light Spring cracked with a creak.
The tub made of Rank 2 minerals having strong resistance to lightning was about to burst.
The meaning of this was obvious. The Jade Light Spring had reached Rank 3!
‘I was worried it might be insufficient, but what a relief.’
Now he became able to use the Jade Light Spring even in the Golden Core realm.
Crack!
Watching the tub on the verge of breaking, Jin So-myeong pulled up his dharma power.
After raising the entire water including the Jade Thunder Pearls, he took out a house-sized rock from his sub-space.
This rock was cut out from a part of a rocky island scattered in the Thundercloud Sea Region, brought along after seeing it maintain an intact shape even in a place where lightning raged.
Swish!
As sharp Sword Qi went back and forth in the void a few times, the crude rock was sculpted into the shape of a tub.
Thump!
Simultaneously with the tub, which had grown 10 times larger compared to the past, burrowing into the ground.
All of the water floating in the void was sucked into the tub. The water that became insufficient as it widened was filled using spiritual water purchased at the market.
—Graaaaar!
The blue thunder dragon being moved here and there by the dharma power spewed anger. Looking at the thunder dragon roaring as if rebelling, he smiled slightly.
Although it was a fellow powerful enough to become a disaster if it appeared in a city where ordinary people lived…
‘Right now, it is just my food.’
Splash!
The moment he immersed his body in the new tub.
Crash!
The thunder dragon that charged as if it had been waiting tried to burn his whole body, but was rather subdued.
It became a meal by the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art…
A moment later.
Jin So-myeong, who was estimating the dharma power accumulated in his dantian, muttered.
‘It will take about five years to reach the Golden Core 2nd layer.’
Although a little regrettable, it was an extremely fast speed for Golden Core.
There were also many who ended their lives unable to escape the early Golden Core stage their entire lives.
‘Still, I wish it were faster.’
While pondering methods, he headed to the spiritual herb field.
Viewing the various spiritual crops planted in an orderly fashion, he reached out his hand.
Pluck.
Plucking a green stem that had a reddish color, he chewed and ate it like a squid leg.
‘Bitter.’
The spiritual crop he was currently munching on was a Rank 3 vine called the Wind Blood Vine, a body-tempering spiritual medicine that increased the speed of vital energy circulation.
Although it was better to refine it into a medicinal pill and eat it than to eat it raw, it was a difficult task for Jin So-myeong who did not know elixir refining arts.
‘Elixir refining arts… I must learn them little-by-little starting from now.’
Swish!
Exiting the Secret Realm of the Mind, Jin So-myeong stepped straight out of his cave dwelling.
He sought out the formation master Hyeon Jin-ja who was in charge of managing the Soul Washing Land and handed over the treasures.
Choosing the unnecessary ones among the spiritual objects of heaven and earth obtained while roaming the Thundercloud Sea Region for three years, he gave them generously.
Coral emitting cold air, wood that trained the Divine Soul, and so on. They were all things treated as treasures at the Foundation Establishment level.
“I thank you on behalf of Sky Island. It has truly been a long time since the treasures in the Soul Washing Land increased.”
Hyeon Jin-ja, who shined a satisfied smile, spoke as if suddenly remembering.
“Fellow Daoist Jin. By any chance, do you remember the False Core cultivator who previously raised the Speech-Opening Herb?”
“Of course.”
The False Core cultivator Hyeok Cheon-ung was the first Golden Core Sage Jin So-myeong had won against.
The Rank 3 spiritual crop art obtained back then was still used usefully even now. Naturally, he remembered.
“Recently, we discovered a super long-distance teleportation array suspected to have been used by him. However, since we do not know where it is connected to, we have sealed it for now.”
A teleportation array. It was welcome news to Jin So-myeong who was looking for a method to leave for another region.
However, Hyeok Cheon-ung had treated this sea as a remote, destitute place.
It meant he had come from a place much more developed than Sky Island, but it weighed on his mind that he did not know where it connected to.
If he encountered a Nascent Soul Old Monster after using the teleportation array, it would be a disaster.
‘I should look for another method.’
Jin So-myeong, who was pondering, parted with Hyeon Jin-ja after giving his thanks.
Since he had filled the Soul Washing Land with treasures as well, it was now time to hunt the Demon Kings.
***
An unnamed island in the Demonic Roaring Sea.
As many as four Demon Kings gathered and looked at each other with serious faces.
“Sigh. Recently, another Demon King was fallen to that damn human Jin So-myeong.”
“I am going crazy.”
Their faces crumpled completely.
Because of Jin So-myeong, who had not achieved Golden Core for very long, the pride of the Demon Kings was in tatters.
The problem was that terrifying divine ability the fellow possessed.
The moment one encountered Jin So-myeong alone, it was as good as dying. It was hard to even roam around with peace of mind.
The gaze of those who fell silent turned toward the monkey Demon King who was missing one arm.
“Golden-Haired Sacred Ape. Is there some good method? If we cannot handle Jin So-myeong who runs wild like a foolhardy child, we will eventually all die.”
“Let us lure the fellow and plunge him into a trap.”
“A trap?”
As curiosity hovered in the eyes of the Demon Kings, the Golden-Haired Sacred Ape said while gritting his teeth.
“Sky Island is not the only place where humans live. If we go to the Source Light Sea, there are many small islands.”
“Small islands?”
“Yes. The places where Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment humans live. Let us raid there and sweep them all away.”
“…Although that would certainly be gratifying, what meaning does that have?”
Although many people would die, there was almost no practical blow.
Because the power maintaining Sky Island in the end came from the Golden Core Sages.
“Besides, those Sky Island fellows will not stay still either? In retaliation, they will slaughter our low-rank demonic beasts.”
The Golden-Haired Sacred Ape’s expression grew ferocious.
Firmly gripping his shoulder which had not yet recovered after being hit by the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration, he growled.
“Hmph. What does it matter to us if a few beasts whose spirituality has not even opened die.”
The Golden-Haired Sacred Ape’s voice was full of only madness and anger. Since becoming one-armed, his patience had long since vanished.
“And what do you mean there is no meaning? If we raid persistently, will those Sky Island fellows be able to stay still? They will definitely come to stop us.”
“Mmm…”
“It does not matter even if a human other than Jin So-myeong gets caught. Because we can use them as a hostage.”
The expressions of the other Demon Kings frowned.
“Hostages? You want to do a despicable deed that only humans would do?”
“Ha. You are still overflowing with ease. Then are you going to be hunted one-by-one and die like this?”
“Ugh.”
Just when the Demon Kings were in conflict in the uncomfortable silence.
“There is no need to agonize. Because you will all die here.”
Even before they, who were startled, could react properly.
The Golden-Haired Sacred Ape and the Demon King next to him were enveloped in light.
“Ah?”
The brilliant light that blocked their vision soon scattered, but… the Golden-Haired Sacred Ape and the Demon King swallowed by the light did not return.
In the blink of an eye, the counterparts they were conversing with just now had died!
The surviving two suddenly snapped out of it.
“Jin So-myeong!”
The fellow had sneaked in using stealth art, then launched a surprise attack with his terrifying divine ability!
Since he would be in a state of exhaustion, they had to find him right now and kill him.
Their Divine Senses swept all directions. Soon they found Jin So-myeong extending his fist inside the shadow.
“You bastard!”
Just when all kinds of spells were pouring down like rain.
Gold-silver Sword Qi blocked the front of Jin So-myeong. His Natal Magic Treasure, Limitless, moved on its own and blocked the spells.
The moment the Demon Kings who gritted their teeth pulled up their demonic Qi tightly.
Boom!
Jin So-myeong, who boarded the black vessel, soared into the sky.
The Demon Kings urgently pursued him who was growing distant in an instant. They tracked him for a long time, but the distance was not easily narrowed.
“Damn it! Just what kind of dharma treasure is that to be so fast.”
“I feel the aura of the Black Night Eagle…?”
In the end, the Demon Kings who gave up the pursuit spat out only curses in regret.
The expressions of those standing in the void and lamenting soon stiffened.
Because Jin So-myeong, who had only been fleeing, turned in the exact opposite direction and rushed toward them.
“He recovered already?”
The startled Demon Kings scattered to both sides without anyone needing to be first.
Boom!
Hearing the sound of the Lightning Escape Art from behind their backs, the Demon Kings who were fleeing desperately had an intuition.
Soon one would be caught up and die, and the other would also meet a similar end.
If they had known it would be like this, they would have fled without even looking back the moment they were surprise-attacked…
It was already a belated regret.