Chapter 112: Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda (12)
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Spectacular.
That was the very first thought that came to Jin So-myeong after checking the storage pouches of the Dragon Elephant Demonic Palace.
From all sorts of spiritual medicines and body tempering cultivation methods to dharma treasures helpful for training.
Each and every one of them was to his absolute liking.
In truth, the kind of enemy Jin So-myeong disliked the most was a demonic cultivator who had practiced demonic cultivation methods.
Not only did he dislike their actions, but even if he went through the trouble of killing them, the harvest was wretched.
‘I would probably only get useless insect corpses.’
In contrast, the Dragon Elephant Demonic Palace was excellent.
Fitting for a wealthy Spell and Body Dual Cultivation sect, their storage pouches were abundant, and the items inside were also highly useful body-tempering spiritual objects.
When he separated and calculated only the medicinal pills for body tempering training, they could be consumed for at least fifteen years. It seemed there would be no shortage of medicinal pills for the time being.
‘It is fifteen years by my standards, but anyone else would have eaten them for sixty years.’
The sweet harvest was to the point of making his head spin, but this was only the beginning.
The bastards of the Dragon Elephant Demonic Palace even possessed spiritual wine.
To put it simply, spiritual wine was spiritual medicine brewed in the form of alcohol. Everyone liked it because it tasted good and helped with training, but it had one fatal drawback, which was that it was extremely expensive.
There were a total of seven bottles of wine contained in smooth, pure white porcelain.
Drawn on the wine bottles were rugged mountain ranges and a peach forest in full bloom with red flowers, which were beautiful enough to make even Jin So-myeong, who had no interest in art, admire them.
Click.
The moment he carefully opened the lid, his tension completely dissolved at the subtly wafting fragrance.
As he blinked his eyes at the somehow listless feeling, he was startled.
‘My tension dissolves on its own?’
He was flustered yet pleased at the same time. Since even he, who possessed a late Core Formation stage-grade Divine Sense, was affected by the fragrance alone, it was clear how strong the medicinal efficacy was.
‘It is a precious wine at a single glance.’
The liquid inside the bottle was crimson. It was red enough to bring rubies to mind, and since deep vital energy and spiritual Qi wafted simultaneously, a sense of thirst somehow arose.
‘It seems it would be good to drink when doing body tempering training… but I do not know what kind of wine it is.’
With the intention of having it appraised later, he set it aside for now.
Next, he inspected the jade slips and let out a hollow laugh.
‘My word, just how many of these are there.’
This was because the jade slips were absurdly numerous. He gave them a rough count, and there were over a hundred.
It seemed that Wi Mun-seok, who was the Great Elder of the Dragon Elephant Demonic Palace, had a hobby of collecting body tempering cultivation methods.
‘He must have gone through some trouble to collect them.’
He possessed truly numerous body tempering cultivation methods, and counting just the Core Formation-grade ones, there were as many as thirteen.
Of course, they were cultivation methods with many shortcomings compared to the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art which had reached the Minor Success stage, but that did not mean they were useless.
Reading them slowly, there were many helpful details.
‘A method of using deadly poison to build physical strength… This is good. I can use it too.’
Rummaging through the jade slips, Jin So-myeong paused.
This was because, among the over a hundred jade slips including minor Qi Condensation stage cultivation methods, he discovered an all-too-familiar name.
‘This is here?’
It felt like his eyes were wide open.
And for good reason, because it was a name that was familiar yet incredibly welcome at the same time.
Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art – Blood Armor Condensation Chapter.
He had discovered a part of the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art, which was said to have been scattered throughout the world in fragments.
‘Oh.’
With a joyful heart, he hurriedly examined the contents. It was a secret technique that condensed the vital energy or the essence contained in the physical body to create an intangible armor.
It was a technique like the protective body Qi that often appeared in martial arts novels. To explain it more easily, it was like a shield.
‘This… seems to be the technique Wi Mun-seok used?’
The red energy barrier that had blocked his fist when he struck the bastard’s solar plexus came to mind.
If so, its defensive power passed. If it could block his Sword Qi, it would be fully effective in actual combat.
Jin So-myeong, who read the jade slip of the Blood Armor Condensation Chapter repeatedly, nodded his head.
Perhaps because he had mastered the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art up to the Minor Success stage, he understood it well.
Should he say it was in line with the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art he had practiced all this time? It felt like it was naturally merging, fitting for a cultivation method that was originally one.
‘I must practice it properly when I have time.’
Setting down the Blood Armor Condensation Chapter, he examined all the other jade slips as well, but there was no secret transmission of the Dragon Elephant Demonic Palace.
He felt a bit disappointed but let it go. They had probably left the secret transmissions that could not be leaked back at their headquarters.
Since he was already fully satisfied, he did not pay it any mind.
With a feeling like having eaten a hearty meal, he inspected the dharma treasures, and indeed.
Fitting for those who were crazy about…no, focused on body tempering, they even possessed a dharma treasure for physical training.
Mount Tai Heavy Vibration Seat.
It looked like a thin, wide cushion, but had no combat function. It was a dharma treasure made solely for physical tempering.
‘Shall I try using it?’
The moment he sat on the cushion and injected spiritual power,
Kooong!
Breathing became difficult under the heavy pressure crushing his entire body. It felt like carrying Mount Tai on his back.
‘…This is decent?’
As he injected more spiritual power, the pressure also grew endlessly stronger. It was to the point that the muscles of his entire body trembled and let out screams.
It was painful yet joyful at the same time.
This was because he could feel his muscles compressing and hardening little by little to resist the external force.
He suddenly wondered how strong the pressure could get. The moment he poured in half of his spiritual power all at once,
a ferocious energy surged from the Mount Tai Heavy Vibration Seat and split into thousands of pieces.
Ting-ting-ting!
They became minute slashes that tried to tear the skin of his entire body, and they were quite powerful. It was to the extent that his skin, which had hardened to the level of a Rank 2 dharma treasure, turned bloody in an instant.
Jin So-myeong, who repeatedly got injured and recovered, nodded his head.
‘It is a dharma treasure where the load applied to the body becomes stronger the more spiritual power is injected.’
It was a training-use dharma treasure perfectly suited for a Spell and Body Dual Cultivator who trained both the physical body and energy simultaneously.
It was to his absolute liking. He had been inwardly worried because training became harder the stronger his physical body became, but thanks to this dharma treasure, his worries were lessened.
Having finished organizing his harvest, Jin So-myeong’s eyes gleamed.
‘Let us start training right away.’
Among what he had obtained from the storage pouches, he separated the medicinal pills for training. After picking out what to use right now, he entered full-scale training.
First, he split his day into five.
He invested three out of five into the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art to accumulate spiritual power.
He used one to train in various spells, including sword arts. This was to adapt to his rapidly increased spiritual power.
The last remaining one was used for body tempering.
He immersed himself in tempering his physical body and melting the Blood Armor Condensation Chapter into the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art.
Day by day, his realm increased rapidly.
Before long, a span of twenty days flew by like an arrow…
‘Finally.’
The peak of the 3rd layer of Core Formation. He had reached the limit that the early Core Formation stage could touch.
He was on the verge of breaking through the minor realm. Really, just a single step remained until he reached the mid Core Formation stage.
Was there any reason to hesitate? He immediately sat cross-legged.
With his eyes closed gently, pouring all his devotion into training, he felt certain.
That the next time he opened his eyes, he would be at the mid Core Formation stage.
And…
that thought was correct.
***
【Jin So-myeong】
【Lifespan】: 50 / 702
【Realm】: Core Formation 4th layer
【Supreme Great Ability】: 190,000 / 400,000
【Divine Abilities】:
【Cultivation Methods】: Omitted
【Spells】: Omitted
【Skills】: Omitted
How should he express this joyful heart? It had been only two months since entering the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda, yet his realm had risen by two layers.
Even one of the two layers was a wall thick enough to be called a minor realm.
“Spectacular.”
A silly smile emerged every time he looked at the status window.
Core Formation 4th layer.
He had leaped from the early stage to the mid stage. As he had broken through the minor realm, rapid growth followed.
First, his Divine Sense grew stronger.
Based on the outside standards rather than the secret realm where Divine Sense was restricted, his range, which had been a four-kilometer radius, increased to five kilometers.
This was the limit that an ordinary Core Formation cultivator could reach. In other words, Jin So-myeong had come to possess a Divine Sense on the level of the Great Perfection of the Core Formation stage.
His Supreme Great Ability also doubled from 200,000 to 400,000.
The same was true for his spiritual power, which had doubled, and thanks to this, his overall basic capabilities, such as the speed of the Lightning Escape Art and the sharpness of his Sword Qi, rose by a level.
To sum it up simply in a single line…
he could be considered to have become about 1.5 to 2 times stronger than during his days at the 3rd layer of Core Formation.
Squeeze!
He felt a surging power when he clenched his fist. Jin So-myeong, who was measuring his grip strength, nodded his head with satisfaction.
‘If I fight Wi Mun-seok again now, I think I can win without any major injuries.’
Once the realization that he had grown stronger set in, some leeway arose.
He did not know how strong the Nascent Soul stage would be, but if he exerted all his abilities, wouldn’t he at least be able to flee?
‘…Or not? I am not sure.’
Jin So-myeong, who was recalling Perfected Wuyang whom he had met at the entrance of the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda, shook his head.
The information was too scarce.
If he could see a Nascent Soul stage expert fight even just once, he would be able to gauge their strength, but regrettably, he had no such experience.
‘Ah, whatever.’
Since worrying would not change anything, he focused on the present.
The month promised with Madame Ryeo had almost completely passed. He had to draw up a plan for what to do next.
He decided on his highest priority goal, which was so clear there was no need to ponder over it.
‘Void Shadow True Blossom Herb.’
This spiritual herb, which was an ingredient for the Soul Condensing Pill, was the most important.
Once the goal became clear, a plan naturally followed.
‘Before other people climb up to the third floor, I must break as many restrictions as possible to obtain the Void Shadow True Blossom Herb first.’
If he was lucky enough to obtain the Void Shadow True Blossom Herb, it seemed he could then trap the spiritual Qi with the Spirit Gathering Formation like now and train earnestly.
A week later.
He gathered his energy which had become unstable while breaking through the minor realm, and finished adapting to his rapidly increased spiritual power.
‘I should move soon.’
Brushing himself off and standing up, Jin So-myeong roamed around the inside of the restriction.
After checking if there were any spiritual herbs he had missed and not harvested, he finally pondered while looking at the Ten Thousand Souls Tree.
‘Should I harvest this, or not?’
He focused on the unique sensation that arose while using the Supreme Great Ability, the divine ability engraved in his soul.
He could vaguely feel it. It seemed that if he consumed roughly 200,000 points of the Supreme Great Ability, he would be able to transplant it to the Secret Realm of the Mind.
‘200,000 points…’
It was an amount that was both large and small.
No matter how large the total amount of the Supreme Great Ability was, it would be fully restored in a month.
Currently, the maximum capacity of his Supreme Great Ability was 400,000 points. To recover 200,000 points, it would take half a month.
In truth, if he were outside, there was no need to worry. He would just transplant it and recover his Supreme Great Ability for half a month, and that would be that.
However, this place was the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda. Each and every day was precious, and this was a location where the uses for the Supreme Great Ability were also very numerous.
In the end, the question boiled down to this.
Was it worth spending half a month of time to transplant the Ten Thousand Souls Tree?
‘…Let us transplant it.’
Frankly, the Ten Thousand Souls Tree was not a spiritual object he needed right away.
Even so, it was a waste to leave it behind. If he did so, he felt he would regret it when the fruit of the Ten Thousand Souls Tree became necessary.
‘I will use it someday. If it is really not needed, I can just sell it.’
Touching the rosary worn on his left wrist, the Heart-Clearing Heat-Warning Beads, he felt that it was cold. It meant it was a decision made with a clear mind.
‘Good.’
He pulled out the millstone dharma treasure from the sub-space.
This Black Binding Wheel was a dharma treasure he had obtained in the past after defeating a False Core cultivator who was a spiritual crop master, and it was specialized in sealing and suppression, making it good to use when transplanting spiritual plants.
Creeeeak!
The moment the millstone floating in the air rotated, a spider-web-like energy stretched out and tightly wrapped around the Ten Thousand Souls Tree.
‘Now.’
Activating the binding and sealing functions simultaneously, he consumed 200,000 points of the Supreme Great Ability.
The instant the Ten Thousand Souls Tree turned as if it had fallen into a state of suspended animation,
he lifted it up along with the ground where the roots were and put it into the sub-space.
Pat!
Next, he immediately moved to the Secret Realm of the Mind and ran to the herb field. He planted the freshly uprooted Ten Thousand Souls Tree just as it was.
‘…Is it done?’
Just as he stepped back carefully to watch the Ten Thousand Souls Tree,
the branches trembled. Fitting for a Rank 4 spiritual tree, its spirituality was extraordinary, and it seemed flustered by the suddenly changed surrounding environment.
Even so, fortunately, there were no signs of it withering.
‘I succeeded.’
Just as he let out a sigh of relief,
all the spiritual Qi in the Secret Realm of the Mind swirled with the Ten Thousand Souls Tree as the center.
“Huh?”
Fitting for a Rank 4 spiritual plant, it absorbed a massive amount of spiritual Qi. If left alone, it seemed it would monopolize the spiritual Qi of the Secret Realm of the Mind.
Flustered, Jin So-myeong approached the Ten Thousand Souls Tree and tapped it.
“Do it in moderation. If you keep this up, I have no choice but to pull you out again.”
Did it understand the warning? He did not know if it was a coincidence, but the spiritual Qi the Ten Thousand Souls Tree absorbed decreased drastically.
At the same time, the spirituality felt from the fellow became faint.
‘Has it fallen asleep?’
Seeing that the surrounding environment was unfavorable, it felt like it had left only the minimum functions necessary for survival.
He felt slightly apologetic, but what could he do? Once the rank of the Secret Realm of the Mind rose later, the Ten Thousand Souls Tree would awaken again.
‘Hmm… Now that I think about it, shall I strengthen the spiritual vein?’
Currently, the daily output of the Secret Realm of the Mind’s mine was seventy-two high-grade spirit stones.
It was an output set in accordance with the limit that his meridians could bear, but since he had reached the mid Core Formation stage, it seemed he could strengthen it further.
Simultaneously with investing several hundred high-grade spirit stones,
【Resource Output】: 72 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day
【Resource Output】: 73 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day
【Resource Output】: 74 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day
…
the spiritual Qi inside the Secret Realm of the Mind began to grow dense.
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