Chapter 169: An Anomaly
===================
Translated by Frog in the Well
Read more at Nineheavens.org
===================
The key is belief.
A heartfelt belief that the Dao I have established can leave traces in the world—that was the condition to perform A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens and enter the threshold of the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword.
I shall cleave whatever blocks my path.
The moment intent settled in the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration, which had only run wild purely for destruction.
The teaching that the Star-Shattering True Monarch had bestowed in the distant past, A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, manifested in this place after crossing vast ages.
Just as stars rise in a pitch-black night sky,
the first single flash of light split into two, then divided again into four. From four to eight, from eight to sixteen. In an instant, the countably infinite split flashes filled the entire sky.
The brief moment A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens was performed.
The Great Elder of the Ice Flower Palace, sensing danger, squeezed out all of his spiritual power to unleash his ultimate skill.
Yin-Yang Heaven-Breaking Wheel.
Two wheels larger than an average island rose in the sky.
They simultaneously spat out intense heat capable of melting steel and extreme cold capable of freezing even the atmosphere.
The moment the two elaborately interlocking wheels began to rotate in opposite directions,
*Creeeeeeeeak!*
along with a hair-raising roar, a purplish-black wave spread, and everything touched by the wave twisted like dough.
The Heaven-Breaking Wheel that ripped through the sky showed astonishing power, true to its arrogant name.
However…
the Yin-Yang Heaven-Breaking Wheel, which boasted a mighty presence as if to crumble even heaven and earth, was helpless before the sword Jin So-myeong lightly swung down.
Just as darkness lost its strength before a single tiny candle.
The moment they touched A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, the pure white light, everything vanished.
First, the Great Elder of Ice Flower Palace vanished as if evaporated, in the exact posture of clasping his hands.
The Yin-Yang Heaven-Breaking Wheel, which was massive enough to cover the sun, was also no exception. Unable to buy even a split second of time, it hollowly turned to powder, and
“Just what is this…”
the expression of Gwak Hon-bi, who had thrust his staff in return while prepared for death at the last moment, was dyed with futility.
*Faaaaade…*
The tip of the staff turned to dust. It stopped dead a mere inch from Jin So-myeong’s forehead and could advance no further. Although Gwak Hon-bi did his utmost to the point that thick veins bulged on his forearms, it was the same.
In the end, Gwak Hon-bi, along with his staff, turned to ash and scattered as if weathered, without leaving even a single word of last testament.
The moment he realized the enemy had died, all tension dissipated along with the thought that it was over.
*Cough!*
Exhaling a stifled breath, a bright red lump popped out.
Along with a spinning sensation in his head, the world tilted.
No, was he falling?
Just as his vision darkened and the rapidly approaching ground was about to slap his face.
*Hummmm!*
Limitless, who resided in the sword, popped out.
In the split second he went “Huh?”, it laid out over thousands of fine Sword Qi like a barrier to support his chest, so that he would not fall.
“…!”
No, really. He understood it wanted to help, but what did it mean to try to support a person with Sword Qi?
His mind, which had felt like fainting as tension relaxed, tightened up instantly.
Squeezing out his last strength, he reached out. It was better to injure his hand than to have his chest blown away.
Yet, mysteriously,
the Sword Qi that touched his palm was not sharp but flat. It was to the degree that he would not be hurt even if he pushed it away with bare hands.
‘…I’m not cut?’
It was control over Sword Qi grand enough to draw admiration.
Perhaps because it laid out the extremely fine Sword Qi widely in a barrier shape, he was not cut. It felt as if a truly solid wall, not Sword Qi, was supporting him so that he would not fall.
Although he felt awkward as if he had made a fool of himself alone, at any rate, thanks to that, he was able to gather his senses.
‘I almost met with disaster.’
Thinking about it, this was the Flow-Shearing Grassland, where even the wind was as sharp as Sword Qi. If he fainted in such a place, the probability of going to the afterlife was 99%.
‘Or not? If Limitless protects me by my side, maybe I would survive.’
Shaking his head to wake his mind, which kept trying to grow hazy, he stuffed recovery pills into his mouth as they came to hand.
Like administering first aid, he connected his severed meridians with the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability and escaped the state where he felt like dying right away.
‘Phew.’
After recovering to the point where he could barely breathe, he inspected the surroundings.
First, he checked if there were storage pouches left by the enemies…
‘Oh?’
Even while dying of fatigue, a smile naturally formed.
This was because he saw two storage pouches and one Beast-Taming Pouch lying abandoned on the ground devastated by the fierce battle.
Furthermore,
‘they are perfectly fine?’
He had thought they would have completely turned to powder under the overwhelming destructive power of A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, but it was not so.
Could it be that A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens could precisely strike only the desired targets?
‘What a relief.’
Dragging his tired body, he cleaned up the battlefield. Packing the Myriad Thunders Chaos Sky Scroll, storage pouches, and so on that fell on the ground, he pondered where to go.
He needed a place to recuperate his body, which had been crippled due to performing A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens.
‘Hmm… for now, I must leave the Flow-Shearing Grassland as quickly as possible.’
No matter how he looked at it, the Flow-Shearing Grassland was not a good place to recover.
Just as he was about to take out the mobile Spiritual Treasure, the Mysterious Night Flying Carriage, and set a direction, he felt that Limitless, which was circling around and absorbing the blade-winds, felt regretful.
From Limitless’s perspective, the Flow-Shearing Grassland filled with sharp energy was no different from a buffet where food poured out limitlessly.
“Do you want to stay here longer?”
*Hum!*
Watching Limitless repeatedly draw a very large circle, a chuckle came out.
He pulled out the map and examined the surrounding terrain. Fortunately, since there was at least a canyon suitable for resting, he headed there.
***
By a quiet pond.
The clear sky was reflected in the calm pond where not a single breath of wind blew. The surface of the water was so clear and transparent that it could be used instead of a mirror.
In front of the picture-perfect, ideal pond,
a youth who appeared to be in his early twenties stood with a calm face.
If anyone were asked this youth’s age, they would be bewildered.
Normally, it was hard to estimate a cultivator’s age just by looking at their appearance, for there were more than enough ways to change one’s outer features.
Therefore, one had to estimate the actual age through the overall atmosphere, and since the youth emitted dense vitality from his entire body, it seemed he was indeed young.
However, there was a contradicting point:
when one quietly stared into the youth’s eyes, an indescribable, vast expanse of time was felt. It was chilling to think just how long one had to live to possess such eyes.
“It is far too quiet here. It is to the point of being boring. I do not know what kind of pleasure that old man, the Master of Heavenly Secrets, found in living while staring only at this pond.”
The youth, muttering as if to himself, cast a quick glance. Looking at the woman standing in attendance like a maid in the rear, he spoke.
“How many years did the Master of Heavenly Secrets watch this pond?”
“I report to the Heavenly Venerable. He observed it for exactly 342 years.”
“Heh. He watched this boring thing for over three hundred years? What an amazing old man. Even if they ordered me, I would not be able to do it.”
While the woman was bewildered and could not answer, and the youth called the Heavenly Venerable stared at the pond with an expression soaked in deep emotion as if recalling the past,
the calm water surface suddenly rolled, and rough waves rose.
Furthermore, the deep blue sky reflected in the pond even darkened, as if night had arrived. Although it was still broad daylight without a breath of wind, it was a truly bizarre thing.
Just what was going on?
Unlike the woman who widened her eyes in surprise, the youth’s composure did not break.
As if it was a familiar thing, he simply looked down quietly at the star rising in the night sky reflected in the pond.
The youth, staring directly at the starlight rising in the night sky, smiled bitterly as if sighing.
“To think the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword still continues… I do not know whether to call it sickening or amazing.”
Muttering with complex feelings, the youth looked up at the sky.
“Is this the reserve power of humanity? I am happy, yet also regretful.”
After a brief silence.
The youth, erasing all emotions with a single sigh, spoke in a low voice.
“Since a person who mastered the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword has appeared, the connection with the Upper Realm will strengthen. The affected secret realms will roll, so prepare.”
“I receive your command.”
“Settle it as much as possible. The connection with the Upper Realm must not strengthen any further. And… if you find the person who mastered the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword, tell me. I shall step forward myself.”
The hesitant woman bowed to receive the order, and then left quickly.
And,
on the face of the youth left alone by the quiet pond, a sense of fatigue passed briefly.
“I do not know how much longer I must wait… Truly a heavy burden.”
After keeping silent for quite a long time, he chuckled and turned around.
“Well, it will end someday.”
His footsteps leaving the pond headed toward the giant tree, the symbol of the Middle Province called the Divine Tree by the world.
***
Two months later, in a remote cave.
*Gulp… Gulp…*
Jin So-myeong, who drank the amber liquid contained in the gourd bottle without hesitation, shouted as if his insides were completely refreshed.
“Ah, now I feel like living.”
The wine contained in this gourd bottle was Meridian-Warming Soul-Nourishing Wine, a Rank 4 spiritual wine highly effective in healing damaged meridians and the soul.
It was an item that came from the Ice Flower Palace cultivator’s storage pouch, but the treasures obtained through the recent death match were not limited to this.
Dual-Polarity Essence-Tempering Pill.
A pill with efficacy powerful enough to rupture meridians if not consumed according to a special method, the Sun-Moon Precious Jade which was a training treasure that raised the surrounding spiritual Qi density, and so on.
He obtained harvests so numerous that it was hard to list them one by one.
He had originally expected it would take about ten years to reach the 3rd layer of the Nascent Soul stage, but thanks to the various training resources obtained recently, it seemed it would be shortened to about seven years.
‘Should I try taking one?’
Staring at the Dual-Polarity Essence-Tempering Pill, a pill engraved with two dragons flying and drawing a Taiji pattern, Jin So-myeong tossed it into his mouth as if eating a snack.
Originally, it was a pill that had to be consumed cautiously through a special procedure to guard against internal injuries, but he did not care.
*Fwip!*
The moment the pill melted, hot and cold energies surged simultaneously in his stomach.
Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin. Since the two energies located at opposite extremes swept through all parts of his body, his meridians tingled as if he had consumed poison.
An ordinary cultivator would have already spat blood, but this much pain was familiar. Operating the Water-Fire Meridian-Melting Chapter of the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art, he absorbed the efficacy while simultaneously tempering his meridians.
‘Good. The efficacy is far more outstanding than expected.’
He tried eating the Dual-Polarity Essence-Tempering Pill as a test and was highly satisfied.
To be able to accumulate spiritual power while simultaneously tempering meridians, it was a training pill perfectly suited to his current situation.
Jin So-myeong, nodding his head, took out a jade box pasted with numerous talismans this time.
In fact, this was the most precious of the harvests obtained this time.
*Click.*
The moment he carefully released the seal and opened the jade box.
The intense vital energy that wafted out sent a chill down his spine. It felt as if he was helplessly exposed in front of a predator.
Contained inside the jade box was a single drop of golden blood. That was all.
‘Just what kind of blood is this that it harbors such a powerful aura?’
Although he had not yet found out its exact identity, it was clearly a very precious treasure at a glance.
Just absorbing the vital energy contained in the golden drop of blood would raise his body tempering realm by several steps.
After carefully observing the golden drop of blood with the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, he closed the jade box. Pasting talismans again to seal it meticulously, he put it in the sub-space.
He intended to use it for training if there were no issues after investigating in Cloud Dragon Immortal City.
At any rate,
there were numerous harvests other than this golden drop of blood, but for now, first…
‘It is time to return gradually.’
Dusting himself off, he stood up and walked out of the cave, and saw Limitless, whose size had grown twice as large compared to usual.
Perhaps because it had consumed too much Sword Qi, Limitless, which struggled like a person who had overeaten, circled around the empty air in welcome.
“Shall we go since you have eaten it all?”
*Hum!*
Seeing it whine to leave quickly unlike before, a chuckle came out. As expected, even Limitless could not absorb sharp energy endlessly. It needed time to digest.
***
An unusual atmosphere began to linger across the Middle Province.
This was because the secret realms that the Sacred City had perfectly controlled began to leak out one by one.
Just what kind of anomaly had occurred? Could it be that a problem had arisen in the Sacred City?
The gazes of the giant forces, which had only watched the mood at first, began to change gradually.
Since another name for a secret realm was opportunity and it was also the path toward the Soul Formation stage… it was a golden opportunity that a cultivator yearning for the Great Dao of Longevity could absolutely not resist.
Enjoyed the chapter?
If you like our work, consider supporting us on Ko-fi. This site solely runs on donations. Every donation helps us keep translating!
Support on Ko-fi