Chapter 118: Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda (18)

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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“Fairy will be the one to regret it. For daring to waste our time and spiritual power.”

The leader of the two men and one woman who were pressuring Madame Ryeo.

Na Seong-woo narrowed his eyes. This was because, although he had threatened her as if delivering an ultimatum, there had been no response.

‘Impudent wench. Is she planning to hold out until the end, relying on a single restriction.’

Clicking his tongue inwardly, he spoke in a soft voice this time:

“Fairy. Do not be stubborn. If you obediently deactivate the formation and come out even now, I will take only your storage pouch and let you go. If it is hard to believe, I will even make an oath.”

“Brother?”

At the mention of an oath, his sworn brother beside him stared in surprise, but he calmed him with a look.

This was because persuading her with words first was the best course of action.

However…

“Forget it. What I have to say is the same. Since my companion will arrive soon, you had better leave right away.”

The female cultivator inside the restriction repeated the exact same words like a doll.

Na Seong-woo’s gaze subsided coldly.

‘How annoying. She is a wench who won’t shed tears until she sees her coffin.’

Since things had turned out this way, there was no choice but to smash the restriction and drag her out forcibly.

However, piercing a restriction guarded by a formation master was tiresome work.

Just as Na Seong-woo was pondering what to do while suppressing the killing intent that was creeping up,

voice transmissions flew over from Du Gon and Jang Mae-yeon, whom he had taken as his sworn siblings.

-Brother! What are you hesitating for! Let us attack right away. That formation master wench is clearly bluffing at a single glance.

-Brother Du Gon is right. Even if there is a real companion, it does not matter. At most, it would be one or two people.

What Na Seong-woo worried about was the spiritual power and time that would be consumed while breaking the restriction, but he did not ignore his siblings’ words.

-One or two people… why do you think so?

-Because if the party is too large, internal strife will occur while dividing the treasures.

While he was thinking that it sounded plausible, the hot-tempered Du Gon urged:

-Brother! Even if that wench’s companion arrives, what could he possibly do! Would he even dare to show anger to you, who has reached the late Core Formation stage?

The corners of Na Seong-woo’s mouth slid up slightly.

Du Gon had a fiery personality, so he would rather die than say words he did not mean.

When such a Du Gon spoke words acknowledging his strength, his mood could not help but turn pleasant.

-Exactly. No matter who comes, they won’t try to antagonize Eldest Brother who is at the late Core Formation stage. They will probably politely offer their storage pouch and back off, won’t they?

-Ahem. Both of you calm down and eat the Emotion-Clarifying Pill first. In my view, you are far too excited right now.

His sworn siblings’ pupils were filled with greed. Their rationality had been clouded by the harvest they would obtain upon breaking the restriction.

Startled, they hurriedly consumed the Emotion-Clarifying Pill, and the miscellaneous emotions hovering in their pupils vanished completely.

The Emotion-Clarifying Pill was a medicine that paralyzed all emotions for a very brief moment.

Although the side effects were rather severe, it was a good medicinal pill to escape the influence of mental restrictions.

-How is it? Do you still have no change in your thoughts?

-Yes. Even when considering it rationally, it is correct to break the restriction.

-I agree too. Since that wench is also a Core Formation cultivator who climbed up to the third floor in her own right, she must have a lot of possessions. Let us plunder everything.

-Very well. Then, you two alternate in attacking the restriction. Since I will conserve my spiritual power to prepare for any contingency.

-Yes!

-Understood!

As if they had been waiting only for this moment, Du Gon and Jang Mae-yeon formed hand seals.

Kwang!

The spells that flew through the air battered the restriction. Along with a deafening noise, counterattacks poured out, but there was no major problem.

‘It should break in about two days.’

Watching the female cultivator desperately resisting inside the restriction, the corners of his mouth rose naturally.

‘Arrogant thing. To think she made us exert our strength in the end. I must teach her a lesson.’

Since the situation had come to this pass, he naturally had to make her pay the price.

Should he feed her poison and turn her into a slave?

Though she would be difficult to control since she was a Core Formation cultivator in name, she would have many uses.

He could command her to break restrictions, or throw her as a shield when fighting other competitors who would soon ascend to the third floor.

Na Seong-woo licked his lips.

Imagining how he would deal with the female cultivator who had caused trouble by relying on the formation made him feel thrilled from head to toe.

‘I must squeeze her to the limit and then discard her.’

Before long, half a two-hour period flew by.

“Urgh, you people… will truly regret it.”

Perhaps due to the endlessly pouring onslaught, pain began to permeate the female cultivator’s voice inside the restriction.

The faces of Du Gon and Jang Mae-yeon, who had been launching spells in turn, were filled with ecstasy.

“Kuhu-hu. Are you exhausted already? Then pop out right this instant! If you keep holding out and we break the restriction, we will show you what hell is!”

“Brother Du Gon! Do not behave so rudely. She is someone who will soon become our companion.”

“A companion?”

“Do you know how useful a formation master is in a secret realm like this? Of course we should utilize her.”

“Ah, as expected, the youngest is smart.”

Na Seong-woo, who was curling the corners of his mouth upward while watching his bantering sworn siblings’ exploits, flinched.

This was because a neat-looking youth who appeared without any precursor was looking down at them while stepping on the void.

‘…Since when has he been there?’

Although the fact that he had missed his presence weighed on his mind, it was not a particularly big deal.

The distance to the youth was roughly 150 zhang (450 meters). It was a distance difficult to detect in a secret realm where Divine Sense was suppressed.

‘Ha, he is merely at the mid Core Formation stage.’

Once he extended his Divine Sense long in a single direction to find out his realm, his tension completely dissolved.

He had been wary because of a somehow ominous feeling, but he was a fellow not even worth that.

‘His physical state is a mess. Did he come after fighting?’

The fact that his complexion was pale and bloodless made it seem his internal injuries were severe.

The more closely he inspected, only the fact that there was no need to be tense became clear.

-Stop for a moment. It seems the companion that fairy spoke of so much has arrived.

When he sent the voice transmission, his sworn siblings, who had been targeting the restriction while making all sorts of mockeries, halted.

Discovering the youth belatedly, they gathered near Na Seong-woo in sudden surprise.

Simultaneously with that.

Madame Ryeo, who had been struggling to maintain the formation, also shouted in a clearly brightened voice:

“Daoist Jin! You have finally arrived!”

“I am sorry. I was late because I got caught up in some bizarre incident.”

“Ah… It seems Daoist Jin also went through some hardships. Is your body alright?”

“I am tired, but there is no problem. Let us leave my story for later, what happened here?”

“Isn’t it an obvious matter? They said they would spare my life if I opened the formation and offered my storage pouch.”

“Sparing your life… did they seem sincere?”

“Well. I do not know if they were sincere.”

“Hmm.”

“…If you are pondering whether to spare them, do as you please. Since I did not suffer any particular damage, it does not matter to me what happens to them.”

Na Seong-woo, who was listening with folded arms, furrowed his brow sharply.

Seeing them disregard him and talk among themselves made his mood turn foul.

‘Sparing or killing, it is quite a spectacle.’

Normally he would have sneered to his heart’s content, but for some reason, his mouth did not open readily.

The bizarre presence he felt when he first saw the youth kept lingering in his mind.

‘…The feeling is somewhat strange.’

Just as he was pondering whether he should withdraw even now, the hot-tempered Du Gon shouted out loud with a beet-red face:

“The way you two bastards act is exactly the same. Bluffing should have limits!”

The youth, who glanced at Du Gon, briefly clicked his tongue. Picking his ear as if annoyed, he spoke:

“Thinking you have gone mad due to the mental restriction, I will let you off once. Leave only your storage pouches and get lost.”

“…What?”

At the words so arrogant he wondered if he had lost his mind, Na Seong-woo, who was pondering the identity of the ominous feeling, gaped.

Who is telling whom to hand over the storage pouches?

Dare a mere mid Core Formation stage cultivator?

Deciding whether to let them off in the current situation was his authority as a late Core Formation stage cultivator.

It was so absurd that he did not even get angry.

Rationally, he should appear laughable, but…

Since he was far too confident, his ominous feeling grew even greater. Was it due to the sense of incompatibility he felt when he first saw the fellow? His mouth felt bone dry.

“Brother! I will deal with that arrogant fellow!”

Du Gon was at the 3rd layer of Core Formation, and the youth was at the 4th layer of Core Formation. However, since his internal injuries appeared severe, he was just a suitable opponent.

Normally, he would have told Du Gon to step forward and watched, but an inexplicable uneasiness drove him to step forward himself.

“Forget it. I will handle him.”

Na Seong-woo glared at the youth, releasing his killing intent.

‘This won’t do. I must kill him right away.’

He did not let his guard down whatsoever. He intended to exert his best to end him in a single blow.

The moment he formed a hand seal and channeled his spiritual power,

“Sigh. Even when given an opportunity, you insist on seeking death.”

Simultaneously with the brief, sigh-like murmur,

Seureureung…

a chilly metallic sound resounded.

The moment he saw the half-drawn sword, Na Seong-woo froze stiff like a mouse encountering a snake.

‘Ah?’

Only now did he realize the identity of the ominous feeling he had when he first saw the youth. His instinct had warned him.

He instinctively felt something was wrong, but there was no opportunity to undo it.

Pit!

He felt the back of his neck burn, and the entire world spun.

‘What on earth.’

His field of vision grew increasingly dark. Within his rapidly slowing thoughts, he realized:

the world that seemed to be spinning was actually perfectly fine. It was just that his head was flying through the air…

‘To die like this?’

A cloudless clear sky, a thunderous roar that struck his ears, and a silvery sword light where bright yellow lightning fluctuated.

That was the final landscape Na Seong-woo saw in his life.

***

A bolt of lightning cleaved the void, and the headless neck poured out drops of blood.

Jin So-myeong, who sliced off the neck of the nameless late Core Formation stage cultivator with a single strike of his sword, thought:

this technique of fighting while continuously maintaining the state of the Lightning Escape Art is far more useful than he thought.

Becoming one with lightning, it felt like moving freely alone within stopped time.

“…!”

The reactions of the man and woman who lost their leader diverged starkly.

The man’s face distorted sharply, and he immediately unleashed a fire-attribute spell.

Die!

As if shouting so, he charged while glaring with bloodshot eyes.

He shot out flames condensed into the shape of a spearhead, but his entire body was full of openings.

This was because he had squeezed out all of his spiritual power and concentration, which originally should have been used for defense, and poured them into the onslaught.

Within the slowed world, the fire spear flying toward his dantian was visible.

It was a move of mutual destruction staking even his life, but it had no particular meaning.

“Gah!”

His pupils, which had flashed with killing intent, lost their light.

With a single move. The blade enveloped in Sword Qi cleaved the flames, and the man who charged like a madman was also split vertically.

The time consumed up to this point was two seconds.

As the price for defeating the two, his barely recovered spiritual power was entirely exhausted.

‘Hoo.’

As he stopped the Lightning Escape Art and caught his breath, fatigue rushed in.

It was mental fatigue. Intervening in the battle between Nascent Soul stage cultivators and confronting the Dead One had caused severe consumption of his mental strength.

Although he wanted to rest right away, he had to wrap up the situation first.

‘There is still one person left.’

When he turned his gaze, the female cultivator who had begun to flee the instant their leader died shouted with a deathly pale face:

“W-wait a moment! I was wrong! Whether it is my storage pouch or anything else, just say the word! I will give it all to you!”

She shouted urgently while trying to escape somehow, but she was tied down and could not leave because of Madame Ryeo who had emerged outside the restriction before she knew it.

“Sister! Please! If you spare me, I will never forget this favor!”

“…Ha. Who is calling whom sister.”

Madame Ryeo’s eyes grew sharply cold. The pale-faced female cultivator turned her gaze abruptly.

She stared earnestly at Jin So-myeong who was standing quietly and recovering his spiritual power, but of course, it did not work.

“It is already too late. You should have apologized before your companions died. Even if I let you go now, it is obvious you will only harbor resentment.”

“No, it isn’t! In the first place, those bastards were just people I met briefly and joined forces with, they cannot even be called companions! Actually, I did not want to attack the restriction. Brother…no, those bastards ordered all of…”

Should he call it wretched, or desperate?

The mouth that had been cursing those who were her companions until just now without resting even a bit was silenced.

Thud!

A single red spot appeared between her brows. With that as the end, the surroundings fell silent.

Jin So-myeong, who wrapped up the situation by releasing Sword Qi, paused.

This was because Madame Ryeo’s expression as she looked down at the collapsed female cultivator somehow appeared gratified.

‘Though she said she did not care how they were dealt with. She must have been tormented a bit.’

When their eyes met, she flinched and smiled awkwardly before soon wearing a serious expression.

“Now that I think about it, you said earlier that you were caught up in some bizarre incident, by any chance did some problem arise?”

“Mmm, I also do not know exactly how it happened. That is to say…”

*

Jin So-myeong, who explained the rough situation to Madame Ryeo, plundered the storage pouches of the two men and one woman and divided them.

Thereafter, he rested for a week in the restriction where the Ten Thousand Souls Tree had been.

He recovered his damaged meridians from using the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration in the form of a slash, and remained vigilant in case the Dead One tried to play tricks.

‘It is quiet.’

However, nothing in particular happened.

In all likelihood, the speculation that the Dead One had difficulty intervening on the third floor seemed true.

‘Indeed. Had it been possible, he would have already brought me forcibly to the fourth floor.’

He did not believe a single word of what was said about goodwill or whatever. He had let him go because it was impossible.

Feeling slightly relieved, Jin So-myeong pulled out a jade slip from the sub-space.

It was time to inspect the Nascent Soul insights, which he had not been able to examine closely due to a lack of leeway.

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