Chapter 183: The Base of the Insect-Armor Race
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read more at Nineheavens.org
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***
Ma Gyeon-seong, who had become 4th layer of the Nascent Soul stage thanks to the fortuitous opportunity obtained in the Defeated Sage Dojo.
He was originally of a suspicious nature. He did not believe anything unless he personally saw and experienced it.
‘Jin So-myeong… he doesn’t look like much.’
He closely observed Jin So-myeong, who had come to the lake saying he would catch the Soul-Sucking Ghost Fish, the ancient ominous beast resembling an anglerfish.
Honestly, it was a disappointment.
There was nothing particularly problematic, but should he say he was ordinary?
It was different from what he had heard. Judging by rumors alone, he was a grand being no different from a fighting ghost or a fighting immortal crazy about battle.
The Jin So-myeong he saw in reality fell far short of that.
There was no overwhelming pressure to dominate the opponent by presence alone, and the sharp momentum shown by true swordsmen who polished their Sword Qi in life-and-death struggles was completely absent.
Was that all?
The robust energy flowing from a body tempering cultivator who had undergone harsh training was also absent.
Since only the free-spirited atmosphere unique to rogue cultivators was felt…
‘As expected, are rumors just rumors?’
Honestly, he felt a tiny bit of relief. A feeling like scratching an itchy spot thoroughly.
‘Ahem. How foolish of me.’
He realized belatedly why he suddenly felt this way.
The jealousy slowly blooming in his heart. Because the young Jin So-myeong was said to be strong, a sense of rebellion had arisen.
Since Mok Sa-heon, who was at the Great Circle of the Nascent Soul stage, insisted that they must wait, he thought there would be some extraordinary point.
‘It seems he learned the sword and body tempering clumsily… and his realm is the 5th layer of the Nascent Soul stage.’
He had no intention of unnecessarily touching a Nascent Soul rogue cultivator to make an enemy, but in his honest feelings, it seemed he could win if he pushed hard or launched a surprise attack.
Just as he was secretly comparing himself with Jin So-myeong.
Jin So-myeong, who was standing on the quiet water surface, opened his eyes.
Wheee…
A gust of wind rose. The wind that started as a gentle breeze at first became rougher than a typhoon in an instant.
The moment they touched the wind that raged before they could even dodge,
the spiritual power flowing along their meridians hardened rigidly.
‘What in the world.’
Ma Gyeon-seong stared with wide eyes.
Falling. The ground neared at a rapid pace.
He tried to move his spiritual power somehow, but it was not easy. It felt as if the constantly circulating spiritual power had turned to stone.
Surprised by the absurd divine ability, he hurriedly looked around and saw that the other Nascent Soul stage cultivators next to him were also falling in droves.
‘Ugh.’
He strained to move his spiritual power, but it was completely immovable.
It was the first time since ascending to the Nascent Soul stage that he was so helplessly defeated.
He had heard the warning that there was a dangerous ominous beast in the lake, but experiencing it in reality was several times worse.
While being shocked by the dreadfulness of the ancient ominous beast that he had only heard about,
he turned his gaze to Jin So-myeong and could not help but be even more shocked.
‘How is he so peaceful?’
Standing on the water surface in the middle of the raging gale, he did not seem to have any problem.
A feeling as if he were alone in another world.
To think he was fine while standing in the strange wind that disrupted spiritual power. He could not understand it at all.
Could it be that his spiritual power did not harden even within this bizarre divine ability?
‘No way.’
Just how outstanding was his control over spiritual power?
If he had not personally felt the divine ability of the Soul-Sucking Ghost Fish, he would have accepted it as such.
Because divine abilities that interfered with handling spiritual power were common enough to rot, and techniques to resist them also overflowed.
Even if bound with a tight rope, if the bound person’s technique was outstanding, could they not untie the rope and escape?
Such was the way of the world.
There was no absolute binding or sealing. Ultimately, it was a question of who possessed superior skill and power.
That was why he could not understand it even more.
Because the Soul-Sucking Ghost Fish’s divine ability to seal spiritual power was not of a commonplace level.
It was powerful enough to be counted on one’s fingers even based on the entire Middle Province.
As proof, Ma Gyeon-seong’s spiritual power hardened like stone and did not move even slightly.
‘Ugh.’
Just as he was gritting his teeth while plummeting towards the ground—no, the lake.
Chwaaaak!
The water surface surged, casting a massive shadow. The anglerfish of ferocious appearance that appeared inside the water column opened its mouth wide.
“To think it is the same trick that did not work in the past… you are indeed an unintelligent beast.”
The sword blade drawn smoothly drew an oblique line, and that was the end.
Swish!
A cutting sound like paper being sliced.
The Soul-Sucking Ghost Fish that was thrusting its long and sharp fangs stopped abruptly, and a red line appeared along the trajectory drawn down by the sword.
And,
the spiderweb-shaped crosshatches spreading centered on the single oblique line caused the massive body to split into hundreds of pieces.
‘…Ha.’
Staring at the shattered Soul-Sucking Ghost Fish, he became dazed.
Was this truly the end? To think the renowned ancient ominous beast died like this?
Before he knew it, the spiritual power that had hardened like stone returned to its original state.
Ma Gyeon-seong, who barely avoided falling, broke out in a cold sweat.
Clack!
The sound of sheathing the sword, which he had heard at least tens of thousands of times in his life, was exceptionally goosebump-inducing today.
Because he had realized that the moment that sword was pointed at him, he would die without even being able to resist.
‘Crazy.’
It was an utter disaster. To think he had felt nothing while looking at a swordsman possessing such sharp intent.
Looking back, it was not that sharp intent was lacking.
Because it was perfectly reined in to the point that not a single strand of energy leaked out, nothing had been felt.
The cold sweat that ran down made his spine damp. He was glad he did not hastily show hostility or pick a fight.
Swish!
As Jin So-myeong lightly waved his hand, the flesh and blood of the Soul-Sucking Ghost Fish pouring towards the lake disappeared like an illusion.
With the massive ancient ominous beast suddenly gone, the sky became empty.
It seemed he had used a spatial-type divine ability, but it was completely impossible to discern exactly what he had done and how.
‘They said rumors are not to be trusted.’
Was this not a true fighting immortal? Just as he was blaming himself for lacking an eye for people.
“Since it is over, let’s go.”
At Jin So-myeong’s single sentence, the onlookers who had followed under the pretext of helping flinched.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Haha. You said it would be over quickly, and you truly finished it in an instant.”
No one knew who was first.
Smiles filled with goodwill formed on the lips of those who had been rigidly frozen like stone statues.
“Well now. We intended to help you at least a little, but it has become embarrassing. We never imagined you would finish off the ancient ominous beast so easily.”
The moment he swung the sword once, everyone became friendly as if cast under a spell.
“Let’s return quickly. Since Fellow Daoist Jin has come, those Insect-Armor Race bastards can also be easily dealt with.”
Everything from the way of speaking to the behavior.
They could not help but become implicitly polite as if treating a senior…
***
Rumble!
The lake floated into the air.
An immense amount of water, enough to submerge a great mountain completely, defied gravity and surged up.
The block of water, round as if scooped up with a transparent gourd, swirled and then was carved into the shape of a sailing ship.
In order to fly to the base of the Insect-Armor Race, it was a water-system spell unfolded by a certain Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
“Most of the bugs in the Defeated Sage Dojo seem to dislike water. Traveling on this will at least lessen annoying troubles, even if we cannot completely prevent attacks.”
“Excellent.”
The moment the Nascent Soul stage cultivators, including Jin So-myeong, boarded.
The sailing ship emitted blue light, and then became a streak of escape light and traversed the sky.
‘Is the speed at the level of early Nascent Soul? It’s a decent spell.’
It could not be called that fast, but this sailing ship was massive in scale.
Since there was plenty of room even for thousands of people to ride, it seemed convenient when an entire sect moved.
“Everyone, please rest. I will stand guard first.”
Looking here and there as if sightseeing, he saw fine vortexes rotating on the surface of the sailing ship.
Seeing the bugs that pounced during the flight get ground up with a crunching sound, he naturally nodded his head.
Jin So-myeong, who was nodding at the sight of it advancing refreshingly while crushing the bugs, turned his gaze.
Those who sat cross-legged and meditated, those who stared beyond the horizon with their hands clasped behind their backs, and so on.
He saw the Nascent Soul stage cultivators positioned in various places on the sailing ship.
‘Certainly… each and every person here is a superhuman.’
The feeling was slightly odd.
Right next to him, powerhouses who could destroy even a country with a few hand gestures were scattered around, but no pressure was felt.
Rather, it was puzzling because it felt like he could suppress them all too easily. He guarded against whether arrogance had sprouted in his mind, but the fact was so.
How many people here could withstand a single slash from Jin So-myeong?
Excluding Mok Sa-heon, who was at the Great Circle of the Nascent Soul stage, and a few late-stage cultivators, there were none. The thousand sparring matches experienced in the Inheritance Pass had made him like this.
Jin So-myeong, who sat cross-legged at a suitable place on the deck, looked down at his palm.
‘A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens.’
The entry requirement of the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword. It is the divine ability that can be called the first gateway.
According to what he had realized so far, A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens was deeply related to sincere belief and the subconscious.
What was the subconscious?
It could be called the shadow of the self sleeping below consciousness, literally located in a place where awareness did not reach.
It was said that when a person performs a hundred actions, consciousness interferes in only a tiny fraction of them, about five or six, while the rest follow the subconscious.
The power of the subconscious was that strong.
The subconscious, which is normally difficult even to perceive, and even more impossible to control at will.
Pouring out that immense power, which was dozens of times stronger compared to consciousness, solely towards a single goal was A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens.
When consciousness and the subconscious look in the same direction.
A cultivator who mastered the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword could exert a power so mighty that it even transcended their realm.
Gathering the Dao accumulated over a lifetime, all the essence, at a single point.
To put it bluntly, it could be called a divine skill that could produce a result of 100 with a power of 1.
‘He said it was the darling of the human cultivation civilization.’
It was worthy of being called so. Because as much as the conditions were demanding, it was absurdly powerful.
However, it was unstable.
If his inner heart was soaked in fear when fighting a powerful enemy at the risk of his life, A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens would not unfold. The same was true no matter how much courage he squeezed out.
It was not because he was a coward, but a natural thing as a living organism yearning for life.
Aligning the subconscious and consciousness was that difficult.
‘It is not a general cultivation method.’
Cultivators were beings who, rather than forcing themselves to exert a power of 100 with a strength of 1, simply strived to accumulate a power of 100 as quickly as possible.
Even if a Qi Condensation stage cultivator polished martial arts for a lifetime, that was all.
If they cultivated to reach Foundation Establishment during the time spent laboring to learn martial arts, they could kill a Qi Condensation cultivator with a single flick of a finger.
The majority of cultivation methods were designed with the direction of raising the realm as quickly as possible.
Although cultivation methods that paid attention to combat power certainly existed, the highest goal was ultimately the rise of the realm.
But the direction of the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword was slightly different.
It felt as if a Qi Condensation cultivator had somehow devised a way to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
‘The case where such an extreme cultivation method is needed is…’
When cultivation resources are scarce.
When raising the realm itself is difficult for whatever reason. It was in such a situation.
‘He said that the treatment of the human race in the upper realm is not good. Is that why they created this cultivation method?’
If not that,
there was also a possibility that the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword was a part of some divine skill. A cultivation method that could complement the drawback of instability existed separately.
Jin So-myeong, who recalled the gold-colored jade slip sleeping in his sub-space, cut off his thoughts.
The important thing was that the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword was powerful enough to bear all risks, and that was enough.
If A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens alone was this strong, what about the second divine ability?
Though the condition for use was demanding, it did not matter. Since he had the conviction that at least in front of an enemy he must kill, he would definitely be able to use it.
*
The base of the Insect-Armor Race was quite far, but the way there was not boring.
“Fellow Daoist Jin went to the Spiritual Power Pass. Haaa. I am truly envious.”
“What gate did Chief Administrator Du choose that you say so?”
“I went to the Elixir Refining Pass. I took the trial of making pills, but no matter how I look at it, it was half-baked. The space where the spiritual herb field should be was empty.”
“Heh. That must be regrettable.”
While talking with Myriad Treasures Tower’s Chief Administrator Du Geum-bo to share information on the Defeated Sage Dojo,
and whenever he had time, he reflected on the thousand sparring matches he had experienced in the Inheritance Pass.
Something realized in experience.
As he engraved those things that could be called combat skill into his body, mind, and instincts, time flowed quickly.
Then one day.
“Everyone, please prepare gradually. It is the base of the Insect-Armor Race soon.”
Beyond the horizon. At a place so far that his vision could not even reach and he could only examine with his Divine Sense.
He could face the sky dyed black with swarming bugs.
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