Chapter 145: The Secret Realm of the Mind Reaches Rank 4
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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***
The Black Night Palace was literally in extreme chaos.
Because not everyone welcomed the death of the Yin Moon Old Devil like Mister Demonic Jade.
There were those who said they had to seek out Jin So-myeong right away and take revenge, and there were also many opinions that since it was in any case a matter of fighting a Nascent Soul-grade expert, they had to respond cautiously.
Under such circumstances.
The Black Night Palace Master, who was pondering something with a serious expression, let out a sigh.
‘It cannot be helped. I must report this to the Supreme Elder.’
The Palace Master’s realm was the late Golden Core stage, and despite being the head of the Black Night Palace, he was not a Nascent Soul.
It was not a particularly strange thing.
Developing a sect and managing disciples was a task that required quite a lot of handiwork. Therefore, it was common for the sect’s head to be a subordinate rather than the highest expert.
Of course, that was merely the tendency.
Depending on various conditions such as the sect falling into a crisis of life and death, there were also many cases where the highest expert concurrently served as the head.
In any case, rising from his seat, the Palace Master headed toward the canyon deep within the Black Night Palace, where the Supreme Elder was in closed-door cultivation.
Dismal energy chilling to the bone and thick mist where wails of ghosts resounded blocked his path, but he did not stop.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he advanced toward the innermost depth.
The sun vanished before anyone knew. Just as darkness began to squirm like a living entity, and a hair-raising silence encroached on the surroundings.
An old man with skin pale as a corpse suddenly appeared from within the mist.
His breath was choked by the emotionless gaze, but he quickly bowed his head.
“Greetings, Supreme Elder!”
However, there was no reply. The chilly gaze felt like it was poking his entire body.
Just how much time had passed?
Only when the cold sweat forming on the back of his neck flowed down to the point of making his spine damp did a cracked voice sound.
“What is it? I should have told you not to disturb my cultivation unless it is a matter major enough to shake the Black Night Palace.”
As if the cold voice were a pardon, the Palace Master, who bowed his head with bated breath, spoke in a hurry.
“Great Elder Yin Moon has been killed by a Golden Core sword cultivator.”
“…What did you say just now?”
At the words asked back as if dumbfounded, the Palace Master explained the recent events in as much detail as possible, and the Supreme Elder’s brows furrowed deeply as he listened quietly.
“I do not understand. Great Elder Yin Moon fell to a mere Golden Core sword cultivator? Could it be that other Nascent Soul stage Old Monsters trying to keep our Black Night Palace in check played a trick?”
“That possibility is high.”
“How did Demonic Jade react? And did he take revenge on that cheeky sword cultivator?”
“Saying that because his own strength is similar to Great Elder Yin Moon, he lacks the capability to take revenge, he is asking Supreme Elder to resolve this situation.”
“He lacks the capability to take revenge? Didn’t you say that sword cultivator consumed the Extreme Fire Spirit-Ascending Pill? He should be a crippled person by now.”
“…Correct.”
“Tsk. Neither this guy nor that guy, not a single one is decent.”
The Supreme Elder, who indulged in silent thought for a fairly long time, frowned.
The more he thought, the more strange points there were.
A Golden Core sword cultivator sliced up a Nascent Soul cultivator?
It was unbelievable. Frankly, rather than such nonsense, it was a more rational judgment that a Nascent Soul cultivator hiding nearby had secretly delivered a fatal blow.
Suddenly he doubted whether this matter was a trap trying to draw him in. Because the Black Night Palace had rapidly expanded its power by absorbing several demonic sects recently, it had many enemies.
“Because my cultivation has reached an important juncture, I cannot leave my place. Convey to Demonic Jade to settle this matter before I finish my closed-door cultivation.”
“…Yes.”
“It does not matter whether Demonic Jade follows submissively or not. Once I finish this closed-door cultivation, I will be at the mid Nascent Soul stage. In that case, whoever plays whatever trick, it will be useless. Therefore, I shall raise my realm.”
Was it because of the confidence felt within the calm tone? The Palace Master’s expression brightened completely.
“Understood. I shall follow as you commanded.”
The higher a cultivator’s grade was, the greater the difference of each single step grew. If one merely became a mid Nascent Soul stage, one could easily overwhelm the early stage.
Letting out a snort, the Supreme Elder vanished into the mist. Clicking his tongue as if mocking someone…
***
Meanwhile.
Jin So-myeong ignored all trivial matters and focused only on recovery. Even pouring in his Supreme Great Abilities without sparing them.
The time that flowed by in such a manner was nearly two months.
He was able to escape the aftereffects of the Extreme Fire Spirit-Ascending Pill perfectly.
‘Done!’
As expected, health was the best. Escaping the tedious pain made him feel good merely by breathing. It felt like being liberated from a burden that weighed down his shoulders.
*Clench!*
As he clenched his fist, a colossal strength capable of even collapsing mountains was felt.
As his body, which was no different from a half-corpse, recovered, his body tempering realm advanced greatly. His physical body, which was at high-grade Rank 3, seemed about to reach supreme-grade before long.
‘Heh.’
There was another piece of good news.
The secret transmission pill of the Eastern Province’s Heavenly Elixir Sect. There was a hidden effect in the Extreme Fire Spirit-Ascending Pill…
Once his body fully recovered, his cultivation speed became faster compared to before.
Should he say the capacity of his dantian to accommodate spiritual power, the vessel itself, grew larger? Although it was merely a rampage, it was an incidental effect obtained thanks to the experience of having once endured Nascent Soul-grade spiritual power.
‘Will it take around fifteen years to reach the 9th layer of the Golden Core?’
Estimating the speed at which spiritual power accumulated gave an approximate time.
It was a speed so fast that others would have told him not to scam them if they saw, but Jin So-myeong thought it was insufficient.
‘If I reinforce the Secret Realm of the Mind to Rank 4, it will become even faster.’
He did not hesitate since it came to mind. Grasping the twenty supreme-grade spirit stones obtained from the Yin Moon Old Devil, he concentrated his mind.
[Resource Production]: 81 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day
[Resource Production]: 82 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day
…
[Resource Production]: 98 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day
[Resource Production]: 99 high-grade spirit stones / 1 day
Each time a supreme-grade spirit stone disappeared one by one, the spiritual Qi of the Secret Realm of the Mind grew continuously thicker.
The moment the daily production reached ninety-nine.
He paused briefly. Reinforcing it just one more time from here would bring the Secret Realm of the Mind to Rank 4.
‘Is it okay to do it? It is ambiguous.’
If the spiritual vein grade rose to Rank 4, the spiritual Qi would grow thick as if exploding, and he lacked confidence in whether his current meridians could endure it.
After hesitating briefly, Jin So-myeong steeled his heart. One way or another, in a situation like the present, he had to challenge it.
Simultaneously with the twentieth supreme-grade spirit stone vanishing.
*Ruuuuumble!*
The entire Secret Realm of the Mind began to vibrate as if it would collapse.
The gray mist that served as the sky, earth, and fence of the secret realm expanded, and in an instant drew away to the point of being invisible to the eye.
[Secret Realm of the Mind]
[Facilities]: Rank 4 low-grade spiritual vein, Rank 4 low-grade spirit stone mine
[Resource Production]: 1 supreme-grade spirit stone / 1 day
“Kuuu…”
It was thrilling, as if he had knocked back a carbonated drink!
What was a Rank 4 spiritual vein?
A Rank 4 spiritual vein was a treasure so precious that even Nascent Soul stage experts coveted it. Countless individuals killed and were killed by each other to occupy a Rank 4 spiritual vein.
To obtain such a precious thing for free like this?
‘As expected of the Secret Realm of the Mind.’
It was truly the best. The divine ability obtained by sacrificing his lifespan during the Qi Condensation days, the Secret Realm of the Mind, had always supported him robustly.
Furthermore, since this Rank 4 spiritual vein was bound to him, there was no worry of it being snatched away by someone.
Putting aside his joyous heart that formed a smile naturally,
He heightened his tension tightly. Because it was time to verify if he could endure the dense energy emitting from the spiritual vein that rose to Rank 4.
‘…Mmh.’
The spiritual Qi flowing in from the Secret Realm of the Mind connected to the depths of his soul continuously swelled.
Rank 3 and Rank 4.
It was merely a difference of a single number, but the practical gap was beyond imagination.
The dense spiritual Qi that swelled in an instant galloped along his meridians. Like a heavy rain pouring down causing a small stream to overflow, his narrow, bursting meridians reached a state right on the verge of tearing rather than expanding.
‘Huh?’
It was a feeling of a dam collapsing.
Had he been complacent? Was his greed too excessive? The powerful energy pouring without knowing an end became a ferocious torrent and swept through his entire body.
‘…It seems I’m screwed?’
Cold sweat flowed. At the energy several times more powerful than expected, he instinctively used his Supreme Great Abilities.
He caught his breath by reinforcing his meridians that were on the verge of bursting, but this was merely a temporary patch.
The one million Supreme Great Abilities hoarded for emergency began to vanish as if evaporated.
900,000, 800,000, 700,000…
He operated the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art with all his might. He tried to control the energy flowing along his meridians, but it had no particular meaning.
In the first place, he had already been controlling the energy inside his body properly for a long time. The problem was that the energy flowing out from the Secret Realm of the Mind was too vast, so the meridians acting as passages and the dantian acting as a vessel could not endure it.
*Bzzt!*
First, he converted all the spiritual power inside his body into lightning Qi and emitted it in all directions. However, this was also merely a temporary measure.
To truly resolve the problem, his meridians had to become strong enough to endure the immense energy welling up from the Rank 4 spiritual vein.
He tried various methods, but there was no answer. Broadening meridians in an instant was no easy task.
*Drip.*
Ultimately, blood flowed from his mouth. Because the meridians near his dantian failed to endure the fierce flow and tore, and the energy that raged in a split second damaged his internal organs.
Just as even his Supreme Great Abilities bared their bottom, and he felt like he would truly die at this rate,
He immediately put into practice an idea that flashed through his mind.
‘It works!’
Using the Blood Armor, the intangible armor originating from the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art, he wrapped the insides of his meridians as if coating them to raise their durability. That was to say, so that they could endure even rough pressure.
‘Could the Blood Armor be used in such a manner too…?’
It was an attempt made unconsciously in a state of self-forgetfulness, but it succeeded much more easily than expected. It was almost to the point where he wondered if this was the original purpose of the Blood Armor.
Due to the prejudice of it being an armor, he had only used it to block external attacks, yet for it to have such a use. It was simply astonishing.
‘Could I also protect the meridians from being ruined when casting the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration?’
In an instant, various useful applications came to mind, but he merely memorized them for now.
Right now, he had to concentrate all his nerves on adapting to the energy pouring from the Secret Realm of the Mind.
While protecting his meridians with the Blood Armor, he occasionally deactivated the Blood Armor to intentionally cause wounds and recover, repeating the process.
He fell into a state of self-forgetfulness. Utilizing the Water-Fire Meridian-Melting Chapter of the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art, he made his meridians tough and solid.
The time during which he could not even drink a single drop of water, let alone sleep, was a month.
After spending all his time on meridian tempering without resting for even a single moment, he finally finished adapting to the Rank 4 spiritual vein.
‘Phew.’
A bitter smile came out naturally. Just imagining what would have happened had he not realized the new use of the Blood Armor made his spine chill.
It felt literally like having broken a cold sweat.
Let us act a bit more prudently next time. Just as Jin So-myeong made a pledge that he did not know whether he would keep or not, he paused.
“Mmh?”
Simultaneously with emerging from the state of self-forgetfulness and his senses returning,
he felt dozens of flying swords floating in the air as if escorting him, centered on him.
“Limitless?”
Examining closely because the appearances of the flying swords were familiar, he could tell they were all Rank 3 flying swords that lay in Limitless’s nest.
*Whirrr!*
A gold-and-silver light sphere that flew like a ray of light hovered around as if welcoming him, and a surge of touching emotion rushed in an instant.
The cotton candy holding an old sword shard while keeping watch on the surroundings, the fellow who was normally only cute felt robust for some reason today.
“You escorted me? Thank you so much.”
To Limitless, who had suffered for a month, he fed plenty of Sword Astral and Supreme Great Abilities.
!!!
For a good while, Limitless, extremely excited at eating Supreme Great Abilities after a long time, flew here and there around the cultivation room to express its joy.
The flying swords that hovered in the empty air returned to Limitless’s nest in an orderly fashion.
In the cultivation room that regained silence before anyone knew.
Closing his eyes gently, he inspected the harvest obtained as the Secret Realm of the Mind reached Rank 4 and marveled.
‘Seven years!’
The speed at which spiritual power accumulated increased significantly. It seemed he could become a Golden Core 9th layer if he cultivated for roughly seven years.
He was happy. Now, the Nascent Soul stage was truly not far away.
***
Half a month later.
Wu Yeong-jin, who had been delayed because he was leading the members of the Wu Family, finally arrived in the Damun Kingdom.
Seeing Jin So-myeong who had settled in Natian City, Wu Yeong-jin shook his head.
“Fellow Daoist Jin. Do you know just how many times I heard your name while coming all the way here? Even if you cause trouble, you should do it in moderation.”
Wu Yeong-jin, whom he had gotten close to after meeting occasionally on the flying vessel crossing the Dead Soul Wilderness, spoke as if joking, and Jin So-myeong, who let out a soft chuckle, told him briefly about what had happened during that time.
“I went to the Thousand Corpses Sect to take revenge, and it turned out the Black Night Palace’s Great Elder was there.”
“Heh. Even so, to fight a Nascent Soul stage expert? And you even won? I knew you were strong, but for it to be to this extent…”
“Since the Yin Moon Old Devil tried to kill me, I had no choice. I could not simply die meekly, could I?”
“As if. If it were you, you would have picked a fight with a Nascent Soul expert even intentionally. Anyway, Father said that there is not a single sane one among sword cultivators so I should be careful, and his words are exactly right.”
“…Even I do not pick fights with just anyone.”
“He said that if there is a sword cultivator who looks sane among them, they are a properly crazy person, so I should keep my distance.”
“It is a prejudice.”
Just as he was releasing old feelings while joking with Wu Yeong-jin whom he met after a long time.
At a thought that suddenly popped up, he snapped his fingers and spoke.
“Didn’t we agree to go to the Medicine King Sect to request the Nascent Condensation Pill before long?”
“We did.”
“It occurred to me not long ago that I possess an item a Rank 4 elixir refiner would covet. With that, we might be able to make the pill refining request without even giving the Rank 4 Longevity-Extending Pill.”
“Mmh?”
“If the Medicine King Sect agrees to do the pill refining request upon receiving the price I proposed, can you give the Rank 4 Longevity-Extending Pill that was originally intended as payment to me?”
Wu Yeong-jin, who pondered briefly, nodded his head.
“Understood. As long as I can obtain the Nascent Condensation Pill anyway, it does not matter to me who the Rank 4 Longevity-Extending Pill is given to.”
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