Chapter 113: Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda (13)

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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【Resource Output】: 80 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day

【The spirit stone mine has reached the limit of Rank 3 high-grade.】

【To grow it to Rank 3 peak-grade or higher, highest-grade spirit stones are required.】

Highest-grade spirit stone. This fellow was also called a peak-grade spirit stone, and as always, it was an item difficult for a Core Formation cultivator to obtain.

‘Would I be able to obtain it if I went to a city larger than Vast Wilderness Immortal City?’

After pondering a method to obtain peak-grade spirit stones, he tucked the thought away in a corner of his mind.

Now was the time to focus on the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda.

Pat!

Having finished his business, he emerged from the Secret Realm of the Mind.

He went to check on Madame Ryeo, but she was still training. Judging by the flow of spiritual Qi, she was on the verge of breaking through to the mid Core Formation stage.

He stepped back quietly so as not to disturb her.

‘I should search in advance for the locations of the restrictions to break next.’

After leaving a Voice Transmission Talisman for Madame Ryeo saying that he would go look around the surroundings for a moment,

Jin So-myeong, who came outside the restriction, looked back.

The restriction where the Ten Thousand Souls Tree had been as planted looked similar in appearance to an unbroken restriction, because the Spirit Gathering Formation had filled the broken gap.

‘Indeed, it is convenient traveling with a formation master.’

Combined with the Spirit Gathering Formation, this restriction played a role similar to a fence.

The key…that is, if someone without the formation disc wanted to enter, they had to break the restriction. However, if they did so, a loud noise was bound to echo out.

Thanks to this, Jin So-myeong could lessen his worries about intruders and train comfortably for a month.

Thus, he did not worry that any problem might arise for Madame Ryeo inside.

‘If the sound of the restriction being attacked is heard, I can just return immediately.’

Nodding his head, Jin So-myeong flew up into the sky. He intended to grasp the locations of the restrictions by roaming the vicinity.

***

A day later.

Jin So-myeong, who had moved diligently, wore a satisfied smile.

This was because he had discovered as many as three intact restrictions. One among them was exceptionally large, making him look forward to what would be inside.

However, there was also bad news.

According to the information he found while roaming around, there were quite a few already broken restrictions in the surroundings.

There were as many as three that Jin So-myeong discovered.

It seemed a Nascent Soul stage expert was in this vicinity.

Although it was unpleasant news, if there was a fortunate point, it was that the sound of breaking restrictions was not heard.

‘Seeing how quiet it is, he might have already left.’

Stroking his chin, Jin So-myeong turned his gaze. Looking at the stone pagoda standing tall like a lighthouse near the horizon, he thought:

‘If I were at the Nascent Soul stage… wouldn’t I have challenged the fourth floor?’

The Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda did not only have up to the third floor. There was also a fourth floor and beyond.

However, a person who crossed over to the fourth floor and returned alive… was not a single one.

Survival rate 0%.

It was a fact proven by the history of the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda spanning thousands…no, tens of thousands of years.

Thus, Jin So-myeong also had no intention of going to the fourth floor.

‘If the survival rate were even just one percent, I would have pondered over it. Zero percent is a bit much.’

Of course, this was his perspective. What if it was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator whose lifespan was running out? There was no reason not to challenge it.

Once he thought up to this point, his mind grew at ease.

‘If he crossed over to the fourth floor, there will be no chance of meeting him.’

Feeling lighthearted, he turned direction. He intended to join up with Madame Ryeo and target a new restriction.

Just as he was returning by traversing the sky,

at a distance far enough that even Jin So-myeong, who possessed keen senses, could only vaguely see, his eyes met a wriggling small dot…no, a person.

Before he, who flinched in surprise, even had time to retreat, the moment he thought he perceived him, he was already right beside him.

“A new friend!”

A gaunt old man who appeared out of nowhere shouted with a welcoming expression, causing goosebumps to rise on his spine.

Until the old man who had been at least dozens of kilometers away stood right before his nose, he had not felt any intermediary process.

‘Just how fast is he that he cannot even be seen?’

A speed that could not even be perceived? Was there this much of a difference between Core Formation and Nascent Soul?

Because he prided himself on having grown strong in his own right, the shock was even greater.

The childish pride that did not want to admit it clashed with the rationality that dictated he face reality.

All sorts of thoughts made his head complex, but he forcibly swept them away.

‘Hoo.’

Taking a brief deep breath, he rotated his shoulders slightly and minutely moved his hands and feet.

While loosening the muscles that had stiffened tight due to tension, he prepared to be able to enter a combat stance at any moment.

“I greet you, Senior.”

As he greeted him while looking at the gaunt old man reminiscent of a skeleton…no, Perfected Wuyang, the latter blinked his two eyes.

“Is my name Senior?”

“…Yes?”

“Is it not? Everyone called me Senior.”

He wondered if he was joking, but the innocent look in his eyes weighed on his mind.

In truth, to put it nicely it was innocent, but to put it vulgarly, he seemed a bit foolish.

“I asked if I am Senior!”

He shouted out loud, and fittingly for an old man, he had quite a strong voice.

Jin So-myeong, who was carefully examining Perfected Wuyang’s expression, especially his pupils, shook his head.

“As far as I know, Senior is called Perfected Wuyang.”

“Wuyang? Mmm. I think I have heard it somewhere…”

The old man, who furrowed his brows as if his head ached, groaned for a long while before shaking his head.

“Tsk, forget about Wuyang or whatever. Since we are bored, let us play together.”

By this point, Jin So-myeong had no choice but to realize:

‘Has he been bewitched by the pagoda? I heard one becomes an idiot…’

In all likelihood, Perfected Wuyang was not in his right mind.

“…I am sorry, but since I have a lot of work to do, it will be difficult.”

“Why are all the friends here so busy? Shall I help you?”

“It is fine.”

He declined as politely as possible, but the old man beamed with a broad smile and rejoiced.

“It is fine? That means you like it, right?”

Seeing that he could not even understand a refusal, he let out a sigh and just said it outright.

“It meant you do not have to help. Well then, I shall take my leave.”

He retreated carefully while maintaining his vigilance, but he followed right behind. When their gazes met, he shouted out loud as if it were out of the question:

“Are you trying to leave me behind again? That won’t do!”

He clung like a shadow. It was a headache since he had the momentum to follow him wherever he went.

Moreover, what did he mean by leaving him behind ‘again’?

In all probability, he had already met someone who was not Jin So-myeong and parted ways after being deceived.

‘Is there someone else who has arrived at the third floor besides Perfected Wuyang?’

Once he perceived this fact, his mind grew hurried.

Rather than bickering uselessly with Perfected Wuyang here, he wanted to break restrictions and train.

Pondering how to shake off Perfected Wuyang who was following right behind, he opened his mouth.

“Very well. Let us play. There is a fun game called hide-and-seek; how about it?”

“Hide-and-seek? What is that?”

“It is a game where I hide and Senior searches for me.”

“Mmm… It does not seem very fun…”

Perfected Wuyang’s mouth clamped in a straight line. He seemed not to welcome it much, but Jin So-myeong just pushed forward.

“I like hide-and-seek. Let us start right away. Senior, you can wait here for one two-hour period and then come search for me.”

In fact, Jin So-myeong was currently testing Perfected Wuyang.

Because if the opponent was playing with him under the guise of being out of his mind, it would be the worst situation.

“You want me to stay still for a whole two-hour period? That is too long!”

“How about half a two-hour period?”

He shook his head side to side in refusal, and frankly, it was not a pleasant sight to see an old man as gaunt as a skeleton behaving like a child.

‘…No matter how I look at it, he does not seem to be in his right mind?’

He was half-certain here.

Could a person who had lived for over a thousand years act like a child in that manner? That was an act of throwing one’s face into the trash bin.

“Let us make it the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If you do not like this either, I simply won’t play.”

“Alright. The time it takes to drink a cup of tea!”

Leaving behind Perfected Wuyang who shouted in sudden surprise, he slowly increased the distance.

“Then, I shall depart first. You must absolutely move only after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Is it a promise?”

“I said I understand. The friend hides and I search, right?”

“Yes.”

After walking slowly for about two hundred meters, he looked back; Perfected Wuyang was still staring blankly from the same spot.

‘I have finally shaken him off.’

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea was roughly fifteen minutes. If he put distance between them during that time, no matter how capable the Nascent Soul stage was, he could not pursue him.

He gradually increased his walking speed.

The moment he penetrated between the canyons and his line of sight was blocked,

Tat!

he ran with all his might.

He intended to return to the restriction where the Ten Thousand Souls Tree had been as quickly as possible, take Madame Ryeo, and flee.

However.

The moment he blinked his eyes, Perfected Wuyang, who had been incredibly far away, appeared beside him like a ghost.

There was not even a precursor. Should he say it felt like a section of his memory had been excised?

He was dumbfounded because he literally appeared in the blink of an eye.

“…Why did you move already? You should have departed only after waiting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

“No. The friend is too fast, so I think I will lose him.”

“That is how the game is originally played. I go far away to hide during the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and Elder searches later.”

Just as he was persuading him in the manner of coaxing a child,

“Lies! You are trying to abandon me, aren’t you? Do you think I will be fooled again!”

Perfected Wuyang, whose face turned beet red in anger, extended his palm, and a vast spiritual power like none he had ever felt in his life made the atmosphere fluctuate violently.

Kwang!

The dust that surged as if exploding transformed into hundreds of snakes and attempted to bind his entire body.

Within the suddenly changed atmosphere,

‘How did he know?’

‘He is quicker-witted than I thought.’ Ludicrously, this thought came to him first.

Following the absurd thought, curses followed.

‘Launching a surprise attack? That damn old man.’

He forgot all panic, curiosity, and anger. Emptying all stray thoughts, he entered a combat stance in a single instant.

Whether the old man was in his right mind or not, he could not just take it lying down, could he? The reason was no longer important.

Chaeeeng!

Simultaneously with drawing the sword, he whipped up the Wind Transformation Body Force. He infused Sword Qi into the swirling spiral gale.

Just as he swept away the hundreds of snakes made of dust all at once,

“Hehe. Fun, so fun! This is much better than hide-and-seek!”

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!

The fragments scattered as the snakes split collided with the ground.

A chain explosion occurred, and the dust that flared up compressed with a crunching sound, turning into iron beads.

In an instant, the sky darkened.

An uncountable number of iron beads surrounded the surroundings.

“Hehe. You rascal Yeong-jin! This father will test just how much you have grown!”

Simultaneously with the crazy old man’s nonsense,

rain…no, iron beads began to pour insanely from the sky.

Kwareureung!

Jin So-myeong, who gritted his teeth, was enveloped in lightning. He broke through a single point while slashing the iron beads that blocked his way.

He intended to narrow the distance somehow and engage in close combat with Perfected Wuyang.

Just before the blade touched,

“Oh!”

the old man, who rejoiced while letting out an exclamation, vanished like a phantom.

“Our Yeong-jin has grown so much! You have become strong!”

Clap-clap-clap!

He turned his gaze at the sound of clapping echoing in his ears, only to see Perfected Wuyang, who appeared three hundred meters away, clapping his hands.

‘I missed him again.’

Jin So-myeong narrowed his eyes. Thanks to his intuition heated by battle, he could vaguely feel it.

He had not missed him simply because he was fast. There was a fundamentally different cause.

At the same time, he realized:

that is the difference between Core Formation and Nascent Soul.

If he could not resolve that bizarre method of vanishing without a precursor and appearing elsewhere, he would not be able to win.

‘Just what is different?’

Just as he was desperately racking his brain, the iron beads that pursued with unrelenting precision rushed in.

He tried to block them somehow with his widely spread Sword Qi, but they were too numerous.

‘Urgh!’

The iron beads he failed to deflect battered his entire body, and he almost vomited blood.

It was excruciatingly painful.

As he suffered one-sidedly, his insides boiled with rage. Tolerating the pain, he charged again, but the same situation repeated itself.

Just as his compassion for being a pitiful old man who was not in his right mind gradually faded,

Swaeeek!

he snatched an arrow that flew toward his flank.

It was an arrow made by compressing soil, and it contained such powerful force that it vibrated for a long while even after being caught in his hand.

‘Ha, is he really trying to go all out?’

Killing intent dwelled in his coldly subsided heart. He completely discarded the hesitation that had remained under the name of compassion.

‘Fine. Let us see who dies first.’

Just as he was about to exert his full strength by even mobilizing the Supreme Great Ability,

he furrowed his brow, finding something bothering.

He inspected the arrow he had just snatched once more, and the arrowhead was not sharp but rounded.

“…”

Suddenly, the expression of Perfected Wuyang smiling joyfully caught his eye.

Come to think of it, not a single attack until now had flown toward a fatal vital spot.

“Hoo.”

Suddenly, his energy completely relaxed. It felt like the killing intent rising in his heart subsided.

“You rascal! Why are you suddenly staying still! You must not do that! Do you want to get scolded by this father!”

Watching quietly as the old man yelled at the top of his lungs while brandishing a switch…wherever he had pulled it out from…he spoke:

“Elder. Do you really want to play?”

“Huh?”

Jin So-myeong, who swung his sword to shake off the dust, nodded his head.

“Very well. Let us have a proper bout.”

It was for the best. Since things had turned out this way, he should find out just how strong the Nascent Soul stage was.

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