Chapter 127: Hundred Battles Mind-Splitting Art

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Who on earth is Deok-chil?

Fortunately, this kind of reaction did not return. Rather, the statement that Deok-chil had sent him worked extremely well.

Hearing those words, Wu Yeong-jin’s face turned pale in an instant, and he even closed his eyes tightly.

After a brief exchange of introductions.

Wu Yeong-jin, who guided Jin So-myeong to the reception room, spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

“Are you the one sent by my father?”

“Yes.”

The moment he answered that it was so.

Wu Yeong-jin’s face distorted miserably. Like a person who received shocking news, he stared blankly into the void.

It seemed he had even figured out Perfected Wuyang’s death from the single word that Deok-chil had sent him.

‘Indeed. If senior Perfected Wuyang had come out alive from the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda, he wouldn’t have sent another person in his stead.’

Because he sat like a soul-lost person for almost ten minutes, Jin So-myeong, who had waited quietly for him, had no choice but to change the subject.

“If it is not rude, may I ask what the meaning of Deok-chil is?”

“…Deok-chil is the name my father used when he was a mortal. After starting cultivation and opening his mind, he chose the name Wuyang for himself.”

“Ah.”

“For reference, Deok-chil meant the seventh servant serving in a certain household. My father is not a person who would change the name given by his parents lightly, so please do not misunderstand.”

“I didn’t think of it that way.”

After a brief, awkward silence. A somewhat sudden question came from Wu Yeong-jin, who had regained his composure.

“Fellow Daoist Jin. By any chance, did you see my father’s last moments?”

“Hmm… at least he departed in a manner fitting a Nascent Soul stage expert.”

“It seems he did not depart peacefully. By any chance, is there a grudge I must repay?”

A bitter smile came out of its own accord. To ask immediately if there was an enemy…

‘He is a clever man.’

However, he hesitated whether he should speak honestly about the deceased. Because the Dead One was an existence so powerful that he could not even grasp what cultivation realm he was at.

The possibility of Wu Yeong-jin succeeding in revenge was… honestly, slim.

‘Far from revenge, the moment he goes to the 4th floor, his body will be taken or he will die.’

Would telling him just cause him unnecessary heartache?

Jin So-myeong, who pondered for a moment, let out a sigh.

He decided not to judge hastily. Judging how to act was the share of the son, Yeong-jin.

“As far as I know, senior Perfected Wuyang ascended to the 4th floor and then…”

Excluding the information that needed to be hidden like the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration, he spoke as exactly as possible.

“…The Dead One.”

He handed the jade box to Wu Yeong-jin, who fell silent with a stiff face.

“This is?”

“It was entrusted by the senior. He said it was the Beautiful Sky Grass-Leaf Herb.”

“The Beautiful Sky Grass-Leaf Herb?”

Wu Yeong-jin, whose eyes widened, carefully accepted the jade box.

Was it thanks to the spiritual herb capable of making the low-grade Nascent Condensation Pill?

Wu Yeong-jin’s complexion, which had been only haggard, brightened slightly. He looked like a person who had discovered hope in a difficult situation.

“To think you delivered it even while knowing it is the Beautiful Sky Grass-Leaf Herb… Fellow Daoist Jin is truly a conscientious person. Ah! It is not the time for this, I must give you some reward.”

“It is fine. The reward was already paid by senior Perfected Wuyang.”

“No. Even so, it is somewhat improper to send you away empty-handed. …By any chance, would you like to look at the jade slips collected by our family?”

“If you mean jade slips?”

“There is a library where cultivation methods and spells are collected. There will be at least one that will be helpful to Fellow Daoist Jin.”

“Oh, that is naturally good for me.”

There was no reason to refuse what was given. Because the more cultivation methods and spells he knew, the better it was.

When Jin So-myeong agreed, Wu Yeong-jin, who hesitated, spoke.

“It is not much of an exchange, but by any chance, could you keep the matter related to my father a secret?”

“A secret?”

“I beg of you. I hope the rumor of my father’s passing spreads as late as possible.”

“Since it is not difficult, I understand. In the first place, I had no intention of spreading the rumor. But everyone probably knows senior entered the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda. Won’t it be meaningless?”

“No. Everyone is unable to be certain. There are many who witnessed my father at the entrance of the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda, but in fact, no one saw the scene of his entry.”

Thinking about it, it was so. Perfected Wuyang vanished as if teleporting, so he did not show the scene of entering the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda to anyone.

“I have currently spread a rumor that my father is luring enemies while pretending to have entered the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda.”

“Ah.”

Perfected Wuyang, whose lifespan was not long, was hiding to perish together with the enemies threatening the family.

Thanks to this rumor, the Wu Family seemed able to endure at the Rank 4 spiritual vein.

“If we are lucky, we will be able to endure for about ten years. Within that time, I plan to find a place for the family to settle and move.”

*

Jin So-myeong arrived at the Wu Family library following the guide Wu Yeong-jin had assigned to him.

“If needed, you may copy the jade slips, but please do not take the originals.”

“Understood.”

The moment he entered a pavilion larger than an average playground, the jade slips filling his vision welcomed him.

‘…Just how many jade slips are there?’

A seven-story large shelf was packed with jade slips, and there were over hundreds of such shelves.

Since the room wide enough for a large training hall was filled with jade slips, at a rough estimate, there were well over ten thousand.

‘Is this the strength of a Nascent Soul-class family.’

Of course, not all jade slips contained Golden Core-class knowledge.

He picked up and inspected a random jade slip, and a basic spell like the Rank 1 Fire Bullet Spell was recorded.

‘Most of the jade slips near the entrance are at the Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment level.’

Deciding to inspect the low-level spells later, he went straight to the deep part and read the jade slips as they came to hand.

‘Cloud-Concealing Sword Style, Flowing Fire Secret Escape, Limitless Chain Sword, Sky-Shattering Flowing Sword, Green Wood Body Tempering Art, Explosive Thunder Lightning Hand, Thundercloud Cannon Chapter…’

While reading the sword arts, body tempering, and lightning spells with particular focus, if he thought they were even slightly decent, he copied them all and stored them in his sub-space.

Although he had no intention of changing his cultivation method right away, was it not that the more knowledge he had, the better? Knowing any cultivation method would exert a positive influence.

‘When a sword cultivator reaches a high realm, all things in the world become swords. One can even load Sword Qi onto each of the hundreds of millions of raindrops pouring from the sky…’

Although there were occasionally contents that were hard to believe and suspected to be a boast, in any case, they were helpful.

How many times did he repeat picking up and setting down the jade slips. Time flew in an instant.

Jin So-myeong, who indulged in the library all day long, smacked his lips.

‘It is good, but… there is no absolute secret transmission or anything.’

It seemed that the truly precious jade slips were stored in another location.

Although it was slightly disappointing, it made sense in its own way.

From Wu Yeong-jin’s perspective, Jin So-myeong was a strange cultivator he had met not long ago. There was no way he would reveal secret transmissions like the life-bound cultivation method, which was no different from the family’s roots.

‘Naturally so.’

Although delivering his father’s gift was of course thankful, that could not become a reason to trust Jin So-myeong. In fact, he should not trust him. It was a proper action as the head of a large force.

‘He is probably investigating me by now. Though nothing will particularly come out.’

All Jin So-myeong had done since coming to the Eastern Province was to cultivate for a short time, harvest the Moonbright Grass, and enter the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda.

‘Ah, he will be able to find out that I have many spirit stones. Since I bought an enormous amount of medicinal pills in a short period.’

To rest for a moment, Jin So-myeong, who was lost in stray thoughts, focused on the library again.

There were still many jade slips he had not inspected. Although there was nothing that could be called a secret transmission, since there was much useful knowledge, he had no intention of just passing over it.

A week from then.

Living almost as if he belonged in the library, he read all the jade slips at least once.

‘Whew. It is nothing short of heavy labor.’

His head was ringing. Since excessive information was injected in a short period, his head throbbed.

Thud!

Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the library, Jin So-myeong, who was reflecting on the knowledge obtained over a week, stroked his chin.

‘Even though there are this many jade slips, there are only a few secret techniques related to Divine Sense.’

Even those that existed were of low quality. Especially the Soul-Splitting Art, a secret technique to divide the mind, mostly had severe side effects and was not usable.

‘It is regrettable, but there is nothing I can… No, wait.’

Suddenly, the scene where Perfected Wuyang fought in the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda came to mind.

At that time, Perfected Wuyang controlled a thousand sand soldiers simultaneously.

‘All the sand soldiers moved like a single body.’

Because he had seen too many scenes that made his eyes roll, he had not thought of it as important, but thinking about it now, this was also an absurd scene.

‘He also controlled tens of thousands of iron balls simultaneously, while making each ball move as if it were alive.’

Could that be something that could be done simply because his spell proficiency was high?

Of course it could be, but there was also another possibility. Perhaps the Wu Family possessed a fairly decent Soul-Splitting Art.

Once it came to mind, he did not hesitate. He went straight to Wu Yeong-jin and asked directly.

“Are you asking if our Wu Family possesses a Soul-Splitting Art with fewer side effects?”

“Yes. Because I recalled senior Perfected Wuyang controlling a thousand sand soldiers simultaneously. I am asking just in case.”

“Hmm, that is.”

Seeing him unable to continue speaking with a troubled expression, he said.

“A few days ago, you told me you plan to move soon.”

“…I did.”

“To move such a large family all at once, it seems a lot of spirit stones will be needed. Coincidentally, I have quite a few spirit stones.”

Currently, the high-grade spirit stones Jin So-myeong possessed well exceeded two million.

It was an overwhelming wealth, unbelievable for a single individual to possess.

Whether he read that atmosphere, the reluctance on Wu Yeong-jin’s face faded. Rather, a hint of being swayed was glimpsed.

“You have many spirit stones…?”

“Yes. If you possess a decent Soul-Splitting Art, and if you have the intention to sell it, I will buy it.”

“Ahem. Just a moment. Let me think.”

Watching him fall into contemplation, he thought it was fortunate inwardly.

‘He indeed seems to possess a decent Soul-Splitting Art.’

Tapping the table, frowning, and contemplating for quite a long time, Wu Yeong-jin spoke in a cautious tone.

“A-about how much are you thinking by any chance…?”

For an instant, a laugh almost came out.

Because the emotion was clearly read from Wu Yeong-jin’s subtle gaze. It seemed spirit stones were lacking due to the things that had recently occurred in the family.

“Naturally, I must see the object first. Shouldn’t that be so to decide.”

Although the opponent’s situation seemed urgent, he had no intention of slashing the price. Rather, he would give generously.

Because giving away the overflowing spirit stones and obtaining what he needed was a good thing for him as well.

A moment later.

A mutually satisfying transaction ended.

Giving five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, he obtained the Nascent Soul-grade secret technique, the Hundred Battles Mind-Splitting Art.

[When achieved to Great Success, one can divide the mind into a thousand, and handle a hundred battlefields simultaneously.]

He was highly satisfied from the goal point the secret technique aimed for.

‘A hundred battlefields. That is absurd.’

Here, the meaning of battlefield was not simply a single fight, but a literal war zone.

It meant that if he achieved the Hundred Battles Mind-Splitting Art to Great Success, he could simultaneously wage a hundred chaotic battles where thousands and tens of thousands of cultivators were tangled.

‘Crazy.’

Just how many thoughts would he be able to have at the same time? It was hard to even imagine.

At that time when he was nodding his head in satisfaction. Wu Yeong-jin’s voice was heard.

“You probably know from reading the jade slip, but the drawback is slightly serious. Will it really be fine?”

“That it consumes a lot of soul-related resources? It is fine. It will work out somehow.”

To summarize the principle of the Hundred Battles Mind-Splitting Art as simply as possible, it was this.

Dividing a part of the mind. Then growing that part to the point of being comparable to the main body.

This was the core.

Because it separated an extremely small part from the main body, the side effects were less compared to other Soul-Splitting Arts, and because it had to grow that small part to the level of the main body, the resource consumption was extreme.

It could be said that the advantages and disadvantages were clear…

Actually, that it consumed a lot of resources was a fairly serious drawback.

Because resources that grew the soul were so rare that they were hard to obtain even if one gave spirit stones.

‘But I have the Secret Realm of the Mind.’

Mining spirit stones there tempers the soul.

It was a situation no different from having an infinite supply of soul-related spiritual medicine.

‘If I send the clone made by splitting my mind to the mine, it will grow on its own.’

The drawback of the Hundred Battles Mind-Splitting Art was not a problem at all.

At that time when he was pondering how to utilize the newly obtained Soul-Splitting Art.

Wu Yeong-jin opened his mouth with an expression that seemed somewhat embarrassed for some reason.

“Ahem. Since Fellow Daoist Jin says you have many spirit stones, I am saying this… by any chance, are you interested in the Nascent Condensation Pill?”

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