Chapter 105: Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda (5)

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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‘The probability that this Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda is not normal is extremely high?’

Jin So-myeong, who was reading the necklace Jade Slip, fell into thought.

It seemed that the scholar had known something about the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda after all.

‘Should I have captured him?’

He was slightly regretful, but it was already in the past.

Furthermore, extracting desired information from a Golden Core cultivator was not such an easy task.

Since he could lose the target while trying to dig up information, or get counterattacked by a trump card if he let his guard down, it was right to kill them when they could be killed.

Jin So-myeong, who stared at the necklace Jade Slip, infused his Divine Sense again.

[The probability that this Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda is not normal is extremely high. Always keep this fact in mind and be cautious.]

[Recently, the survival rate of the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda has become too high. As always, a restriction will be added.]

[To think a mental restriction would be added of all things… The only Magic Treasure usable in this situation is the Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads, but I don’t know how long I can hold out.]

[No matter how much I think about it, holding out for a year with the Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads is impossible. I will have to kill other guys to replenish Magic Treasures.]

Although he examined it meticulously, there were few recorded sentences.

Judging by the tone and content, it appeared to be something similar to a diary written directly by the scholar after entering the secret realm.

‘A mental restriction has been added to this secret realm…’

Was the sense of incongruity he felt after entering the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda due to the mental restriction?

Jin So-myeong, who was frowning, organized the information he had figured out.

First, he could roughly guess the reason why the scholar made the Jade Slip into a necklace and wore it.

‘To read it frequently. Perhaps he read the Jade Slip every time he had a free moment to reflect on these sentences.’

It was literally to maintain vigilance.

Although there were several methods to resist the mental restriction, the most fundamental was to constantly doubt whether one’s state was normal or not.

Since there was a restriction that twisted the mind in the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda, it was natural to be careful.

‘How is my mind right now?’

From the moment he first entered the secret realm until now. He retraced all his actions, but there was no particular problem.

However, he could not be completely at ease.

If he was already affected by the restriction, he would not be normal, so his judgment would have also blurred. He might be taking strange things for granted.

Therefore…

First, he had to regain his sanity.

There was no need to even ponder the method.

He possessed a supreme divine ability that could be called a fragment of omnipotence. Since he recognized the problem, solving it was simple.

Jin So-myeong, who was about to make a wish immediately, paused.

‘…It is a bit of a waste.’

Thinking about it again, he wondered, ‘Is it necessary?’

How many things could he do with the Supreme Great Ability, yet he would waste it just to resolve such a minor worry?

Jin So-myeong, who was scratching his brow, shook his head.

What was important now was to obtain more treasures and raise his realm. He must not uselessly consume something precious like the Supreme Great Ability.

‘It is fortunate that I have come to my senses even now.’

Jin So-myeong, who let out a sigh of relief, turned his gaze.

Looking at the restriction on the verge of breaking, impatience rushed in. Although he wanted to shatter the restriction right now and enjoy the thick spiritual Qi, he endured it.

There was still one more thing he had to do. He had to check the bracelet, the last treasure left by the scholar.

‘It is a Magic Treasure.’

It was a Buddhist rosary made of reddish-brown beads, and it was a Rank 3 high-grade Magic Treasure.

Infusing his Divine Sense and spiritual power, the name Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads, its usage, and effects came to mind.

‘It clears the user’s mind and warns them with scorching heat if there is a problem.’

Jin So-myeong’s complexion brightened completely.

The Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads was a Magic Treasure with an effect perfectly suited for a situation like right now.

‘As expected, it was good that I didn’t use the Supreme Great Ability. I almost wasted it.’

The moment he wore the rosary on his left wrist.

“Euk!”

A stinging pain as if burning flared up. He almost threw the rosary away.

Chieeeek!

The rosary, which had been reddish-brown, heated up to crimson. A heat hotter than lava traveled up his wrist and spread throughout his entire body.

Although it was a temperature at which it would not be strange for his skin to melt, his wrist was perfectly fine. It felt as if only the sensation of pain was transmitted through his nerves.

Hwareuk!

An illusory flame originating from the rosary swarmed to the space between his eyebrows. He grit his teeth at the intense pain of his divine soul burning.

‘What in the world is this…’

Jin So-myeong’s expression became serious.

When the situation reached this state, he realized that something was thoroughly wrong.

His state right now was not normal.

“Keuk!”

Perhaps due to the heat, his head began to ache as if it would split.

The judgment that he had to immediately return his mind to normal with the Supreme Great Ability clashed with the utterly complacent thought of enduring a little because the Supreme Great Ability to be consumed was a waste.

Biting the tip of his tongue added a stinging pain.

In an instant, reason became stronger than instinct, and Jin So-myeong, who pulled himself together, gathered his spiritual power.

Woong!

He infused spiritual power into the Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads almost as if pouring it. This was a possible action because spiritual power was not considered a waste like the Supreme Great Ability.

The moment the color of the rosary grew increasingly deeper and reached the extreme.

The burning heat slightly melted away something that had been tightly filling his mind.

‘Ah.’

His mind snapped back as if cold water had been splashed onto him.

As clear reason returned even if just for a moment, he realized what the very first action he had to take was.

Pasak!

Consuming 30,000 uses of the Supreme Great Ability, he made a wish.

For his twisted mind to become normal.

The instant a mysterious fluctuation originating from the Supreme Great Ability swept Jin So-myeong.

The heat pouring from the Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads vanished completely.

‘Huu.’

The rosary beads that had been heated up to crimson returned to reddish-brown.

Touching the rosary that had turned cold in an instant, a sigh of relief naturally escaped him.

Why would this turn cold? It meant his mind had become normal.

‘As expected, it is the Supreme Great Ability.’

Jin So-myeong, who regained his composure, traced his memories.

From the moment he entered the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda until now, he re-inspected all his actions.

Although he had not recognized it earlier, recalling the past in a normal state, there was more than one strange point.

He had wanted to chase down and snatch the storage pouch of a cultivator who had not even attacked, and he had obsessed over a single useless, worn-out piece of cloth.

In addition, going straight to the 3rd floor of the secret realm was more beneficial in the long run, yet he could not ignore the restrictions he encountered.

Should he say his vision had narrowed? It felt as if he had become a clumsy, greedy person.

By now, he could guess the effect of the mental restriction that had been added to the secret realm.

‘Did it amplify my greed?’

Added to that, it seemed to have an effect of preventing him from recognizing that he himself was abnormal.

‘It is tricky.’

Right now was the early stage of the secret realm.

It meant he had not been exposed to the restriction for long, so his mind was still on the normal side until now.

Should he say it was to the extent that he could endure even if he felt greedy?

He could tell by looking at those who visited Jin So-myeong and then quietly backed away.

But what if he spent a year in this place? Would he be able to endure even then?

‘…The closer the secret realm gets to its end, the more fierce it will become.’

Greed that grew little by little would reach the heavens, and cultivators consumed by covetousness would emerge one by one.

What would those who had turned like ghosts do?

They would likely wander through the secret realm and attack every person they met, demanding their storage pouches.

It might become a hellish mess where cultivators driven mad by greed roamed.

Jin So-myeong, who was imagining what would unfold in the future, shook his head.

‘Forget it. Pondering about it now is useless. If they are around the Golden Core stage, they would feel something is strange and prepare.’

The action he had to take did not change anyway. Collecting treasures and cutting down the enemies who visited was enough.

Although he felt sorry for the people who would be swayed by the mental restriction, he could not care to that extent. Warning them to back away a few times, just as he did with the scholar, was the best.

Ttak!

He flicked his fingers. Burning the scholar’s corpse, he absorbed the storage pouch through the Secret Realm of the Mind divine ability.

Although 10 uses of the Supreme Great Ability were consumed to preserve the contents intact, he did not care.

He quickly scanned the items newly created in his sub-space.

Fitting for a cultivator who wielded ice-attributed spells, there were many spiritual objects related to coldness.

‘It is decent.’

There were many items that could be directly used, including cultivation medicinal pills.

Passing over all Magic Treasures and spiritual medicines, he examined the Jade Slips carefully. Because he was curious if there was other information about the secret realm.

‘Yin-Yang Great Hand Seal.’

It was the spell the scholar had used as his primary technique.

It was an attack technique that condensed energy in the shape of a palm to strike enemies, which he passed over for now with the intention of reading it in detail later.

After checking all the Jade Slips, he came to know various pieces of information.

First, the scholar was from the Frost Smoke Continent.

Unlike the Eastern Province where Jin So-myeong was located, the Frost Smoke Continent had possessed the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda since thousands of years ago. Therefore, there was far more information known about the pagoda.

‘Normally, the survival rate of the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda is below 20%…’

The pagoda changed its difficulty continuously as if it were alive. If there were not enough people dying inside, a vicious restriction would be added.

The reason Jin So-myeong had not known this fact was due to the information gap between continents.

Since this was only the third time the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda opened in the Eastern Province, not much was known.

‘I can roughly tell what the situation is.’

Jin So-myeong, who finished grasping the situation, was about to close his sub-space but paused.

Frowning, he pulled something out, which was the worn-out piece of cloth.

Looking at the item he had taken while swayed by greed, a chuckle came out.

“My goodness.”

Because even now when he made up his mind to throw it away, a feeling of it being a waste crept up.

A faint heat was felt from the rosary worn on his left wrist. It meant he was already being influenced by the mental restriction.

‘It is truly persistent.’

Jin So-myeong, who stared intently at the piece of cloth, closed his eyes.

For a long time, he calmly observed the changes occurring in his heart.

‘What is the reason I consider this piece of cloth a waste?’

Facing the gradually growing desire exactly as it was, he sought to grasp the principle of how the mental restriction operated.

Although it was a piece of cloth of no consequence, selling it would yield spirit stones. Spirit stones had the identical meaning as cultivation resources.

What about cultivation resources? They led to the raising of one’s realm and the Great Dao of Longevity.

‘It is a way of making me even more obsessed with what I usually desired.’

After grasping up to this point, he set his will straight.

Hwik!

Casting the Wind Transformation Body Force to generate a gust of wind, he blew the piece of cloth far away.

Although he did not know if there would be low-stage cultivators coming up to the 2nd floor of the secret realm, he conceded it to them.

“Hoo.”

Taking a short, deep breath, he felt his head clear.

Although it was natural for a person to have greed, if it was due to others’ intent, they must not be swayed by it.

Along with a subtle sense of accomplishment, he realized reasonably good news.

The effect of the restriction was not absolute.

Although he did not know if it was designed this way on purpose, if one set their will straight, they could resist it.

It would not be easy, but a truly upright person would not be swayed by the restriction.

‘Perhaps it might even be helpful to cultivation…’

If he became able to distinguish between the greed originating from himself and the desire degenerated by the restriction, it seemed something would change.

Jin So-myeong, who was deep in thought, closed his sub-space first. Then, holding the necklace Jade Slip, he focused his mind.

He added a warning phrase so that the same problem would not reoccur.

[You are not normal right now. If you think something is even slightly strange, do not hesitate and use it. Do not spare it.]

What that meant was, naturally, the Supreme Great Ability.

However, because he did not want to record the name of the divine ability in a Jade Slip that others might see, he merely called it ‘it.’

‘This much is enough.’

Fidgeting with the cold-turned rosary made him feel at ease.

If he checked the Jade Slip from time to time and wore the Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads, he would not be unilaterally affected by the mental restriction.

‘Since I have regained my sanity, I must redraw my plans.’

First, he examined his bodily state.

He gauged the spiritual power accumulated in his dantian; since he had swept through all the restrictions starting from the 1st floor, before he knew it, he was just on the verge of reaching the 3rd layer of Golden Core.

Although it was a slightly foolish action thinking about it now, at any rate, thanks to that, his cultivation progress had advanced a lot.

It seemed he would break through the 3rd layer of Golden Core if he broke just one or two more restrictions.

‘…Good. Since it has turned out this way, let’s raise the realm first.’

Even thinking with a cleared mind, this was correct. If his realm rose, his flying speed would also become faster, so there was no reason to hesitate.

The things he had to do in the future became clear.

It seemed he just needed to raise his realm to the 3rd layer of Golden Core, ignore all restrictions completely, and go straight to the next layer.

Jin So-myeong, who made a decision, operated the clone.

Conveniently, there was a restriction right next to him on the verge of breaking.

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