Chapter 188: Pouring Fortuitous Opportunities
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read more at Nineheavens.org
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‘The Body Tempering Pass.’
Confirming the three characters written on the entrance of the grand building, Jin So-myeong twisted his direction without even a need for agonizing.
Although the toxic smoke that infected one into the Insect-Armor Race was chasing right from behind, he could not miss such a fortuitous opportunity.
Unfolding the Lightning Escape Art, he traversed the sky.
While widening the distance from the toxic smoke as much as possible, he threw the Yin-Yang Great Hand Seal to the rear from time to time.
He had tried to push back the toxic smoke expanding with the momentum to fill the Defeated Sage Dojo, but it did not have any particular effect.
Because the expansion speed of the smoke was too fast and the range was also wide, it could not be blocked at all.
‘Could it be a poison that spreads riding on spiritual Qi?’
Normally, smoke is bound to thin in concentration as it spreads, but this toxic smoke remained as fierce as ever even though it had spread incredibly wide.
Perhaps because it was the self-detonation of an entity presumed to be at the Soul Formation stage, there was no sign of it stopping.
In the end, he focused on raising his speed to the maximum.
Fortunately, he was able to arrive at the entrance of the Body Tempering Pass before being caught up by the toxic smoke, but naturally, it was blocked by a barrier.
Steadying his breath, he gripped his sword.
Since the situation was what it was, rather than agonizing over how to open the barrier, he intended to just smash it and enter.
‘Wait a moment.’
Is not the Defeated Sage Dojo in the first place a space to select and train the person who will become the sword of humanity, which is to say, the inheritor?
If so, shouldn’t there be some benefit for him who passed the Inheritance Pass?
With a hopeful mind, he took out the Rank 6 Boundary-Breaking Talisman from his sub-space and waved it, and indeed.
‘Oh!’
As if confirming a key, the barrier slid open.
He was glad, yet at the same time, it was regrettable.
If not for the toxic smoke chasing from behind, he would have swept the entire Defeated Sage Dojo clean and obtained a truly great harvest.
He felt regretful, but shook it off soon.
Rather than lamenting over an unavoidable situation, moving diligently to obtain as much harvest as possible was more important.
Straightaway entering the Body Tempering Pass, he released his Divine Sense.
‘A transmission array… is not here.’
If so, he also had to search other buildings, so he must not waste much time here.
Iron blocks looking incredibly heavy, an endlessly continuing staircase, a quiet spring water where not even a gentle ripple rose, and so on.
Scanning various items, he packed them all as they came.
Whatever it was, he first tried to put it in his sub-space, and left it alone if it did not work.
‘Is there nothing more?’
Just as he was diligently packing this and that, the tree at the top of the staircase so long it reached the sky caught his eye.
Three milky-white fruits were hanging, which looked the most precious among those in the Body Tempering Pass at first glance.
‘Let’s pack only up to that.’
It looked like a reward that could be obtained when stepping on the stairs one by one to ascend to the end, but he had no intention of passing the trial faithfully.
Boom!
He kicked off the ground. Bouncing up like a cannonball, he dragged up his spiritual power. He intended to ignore the stairs and fly straight to the top at once.
The instant he cleanly passed one-third of the stairs,
gravity became rapidly stronger.
As if a whole rocky mountain was placed on his shoulders, it became difficult to even breathe under the heavy pressure.
Just as he was gritting his teeth to continue flying.
Along with the sensation of his hair standing on end, the ceiling of the Body Tempering Pass flashed brightly.
———!
A thick pillar of light struck down towards his crown.
It was a blow so fast that it was difficult to even perceive, but Jin So-myeong was in a state where his senses had become extremely acute while fighting the Insect-Armor Race member presumed to be at the Soul Formation stage just now.
He deflected the vertically falling pillar of light with the pure white light condensed on his sword, A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens.
‘Phew.’
Landing in the middle of the stairs, he examined the ceiling of the Body Tempering Pass closely; it looked as if it would pour out a second pillar of light at any moment.
The faint light shimmering was like a warning.
‘Is it a restriction that prevents flight?’
It felt as if he had cheated. Scratching his chin, Jin So-myeong examined the stairs.
The stairs were twisted round and round like a pretzel, so it seemed it would take too long to traverse if he stepped on them one by one.
Narrowing his eyes to glare at the ceiling, he steadied his breath.
Crackle…!
At the same time as transforming the spiritual power flowing along his meridians into lightning Qi,
he ran with all his might. He had leaped up while ignoring the pillars of light falling from the ceiling.
Flash!
As if it had been waiting, the pillar of light poured down, but he ignored it.
Only one thing. He focused solely on increasing his speed.
The moment he crossed between the stairs twisted like a pretzel and arrived at the top.
The pillar of light that chased after him with unrelenting precision tried to bash his back. He had tried to deflect it by condensing Blood Armor first, but it was impossible.
Clang!
The Blood Armor shattered in an instant, and he had no choice but to deflect it one by one with the sword where A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens condensed.
At the power far stronger than expected, cold sweat automatically broke out.
‘…In any case, I succeeded.’
He examined the ceiling carefully, but there was no sign of it attacking further.
Although there were some twists and turns, he still succeeded. He had traversed the stairs in an instant and arrived at the top.
While nodding his head in satisfaction, he paused.
Because A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, which had been fine even while fighting the Insect-Armor Race member presumed to be at the Soul Formation stage, had become dim before he knew it.
It gradually weakened as if its power source was cut.
‘What, why is it like this suddenly.’
Agonizing while frowning, the reason soon came to mind.
A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens is a secret transmission that can only be used when the subconscious and consciousness align.
To express this in a slightly different way,
it meant that A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens would not manifest unless it was a matter earnest enough to move the subconscious deep within the heart.
‘Did my subconscious judge that it is not a particularly urgent situation right now?’
The general direction seemed correct, but he was not completely convinced.
Because no matter how much he thought about it, he did not want to become the Insect-Armor Race. Right now, it was a highly troublesome situation without A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens.
‘…Could it be because of this?’
Suddenly, the Rank 6 Boundary-Breaking Talisman came to mind. Assuredly, if he used that, escaping from the Defeated Sage Dojo was a very simple matter.
But…
‘Absolutely not.’
The Rank 6 Boundary-Breaking Talisman was an item needed to ascend to the upper realm, so how could he use it in a place like this?
Telling himself repeatedly that it was an emergency situation, he tried to unfold A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, but it did not work well.
Controlling the subconscious was not something done by will.
And honestly speaking, he himself knew that there was a margin of ease.
‘Ah, whatever.’
He would agonize over A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens again later, and concentrated on the fruits at the top of the stairs.
[Congratulations on passing the Hundred Thousand Jin Strength Pass. This fruit is the Body-Cleansing Soul-Brightening Fruit, which possesses the effect of purifying the mind and body to improve the constitution.]
[You must consume it after achieving at least Rank 4 medium-grade body tempering to endure the medicinal efficacy…]
After quickly reading the phrase carved on the stone tablet next to the tree, he harvested all three of the milky-white fruits with careful gestures.
‘Should I pull up the tree too?’
He checked to see if it could be transplanted, but it seemed difficult since restrictions were installed.
Feeling that only the tree would be damaged if he pulled it by force, he just left it.
After checking if there was anything more to pack, just as he leaped down from the stairs,
Sssss…
the sound of wind leaking was heard, and then dark-green smoke seeped through the gaps in the walls and ceiling of the Body Tempering Pass.
The toxic smoke that twisted the race had spread all the way here before he knew it.
Leaving his regrets behind, he hastily departed from the Body Tempering Pass.
He touched the toxic smoke on the way out, but was able to resolve it thanks to A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, which was right before disappearing.
Hurriedly escaping the toxic smoke, he paused while choosing the next building to enter.
A half-collapsed building caught his eye, and through the punctured wall, dirt and piles of spiritual herbs were visible.
‘Spiritual herb field?’
Moreover, it was not a field ruined from being neglected for a long time.
Traces of raising spiritual herbs with devotion until recently were distinct. In all likelihood, it seemed to be a field that the Insect-Armor Race had managed diligently.
‘What a jackpot.’
Was there any reason not to pack them? Spiritual herbs had the same effect no matter who raised them.
Hurriedly flying over, he pulled up spiritual herbs indiscriminately and threw them into his sub-space.
He would verify later whether there were problems with the spiritual herbs or not. For now, he focused on packing them.
‘Dan-il, take the kids and try transplanting these in the spiritual herb field, and if it doesn’t work, seal them in jade boxes. So that the medicinal properties do not dissipate.’
Sometimes there were spiritual herbs that turned to powder as soon as they were pulled, and he put such things into his sub-space after sealing them by consuming his Supreme Great Ability.
He strived to transplant them as much as possible.
Although the majority failed, there were occasionally those that successfully landed on the Secret Realm of the Mind’s spiritual field.
A short time.
The spiritual herb field that someone had raised with devotion was devastated.
After cleaning out the spiritual herb field before the toxic smoke approached, he left without lingering regrets.
‘Not much Supreme Great Ability is left, either…’
When he stopped the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability to save the Supreme Great Ability that was on the verge of running out, the suppressed pain rushed in all at once.
Suppressing the groan that tried to escape on its own, he entered any building as his steps reached.
‘Is it the Formation Pass?’
Entering the entrance, dozens of formations were complexly intertwined.
It looked like a puzzle, but since he had no intention of solving it himself, he only scanned near the entrance.
‘Oh!’
He discovered a transmission array, but his joy did not last long.
Examining it closely, it was in a state gnawed by something. Judging from the millet-sized bugs lying dead right next to it, it was the work of the Insect-Armor Race.
‘Damn bastards.’
He did not know how on earth they had infiltrated bugs inside the building protected by a barrier.
Clicking his tongue, he scanned the surroundings thoroughly.
Although the Formation Pass also seemed to have much to obtain like other passes, because his formation level was lacking, he could not break through it in a short time.
In the end, he packed only a few jade slips placed near the entrance and left.
‘Should I release my clones?’
If he utilized the Blood Spirit Clone Technique divine ability, he could explore much faster.
However, the realm of the clones was much lower compared to the main body. It meant their poison resistance was also low, so he worried they might be contaminated by the Insect-Armor Race for nothing.
Although the blood spirit clones would not exert a bad influence on the main body even if they died, he was reluctant because he did not want to become the Insect-Armor Race even by a one-in-a-million chance.
‘Hmm?’
Just as he was widening the distance from the toxic smoke amidst these various worries,
a uniquely shaped building caught his eye. Should he call it a dome shape? It was an appearance like a round gourd turned upside down.
Entering to see if there was an intact transmission array…
‘Hot springs?’
A warm bath in which pure white steam rose in clouds came out.
Since spiritual Qi thick enough to make him daze in an instant rose, it was a miraculous hot spring at first glance.
After examining it with the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye,
Splash!
the moment he realized there was no problem, he leaped in.
“Hueee.”
His fatigue dissolved completely. It was a feeling of laying his body under warm sunlight.
The wounds filled all over his body recovered rapidly. The hot yet cool heat permeated to his bones, gently soothing his internal injuries.
‘Is it water made by spiritual Qi condensing?’
It was spiritual water that pure spiritual Qi accumulated and accumulated to change completely like a liquid. Such water had many uses in various fields.
If he immersed his body like now, his wounds were healed, and it was also useful for elixir refining or cultivation.
“Well, really.”
As his body and mind, which were in a tense state, relaxed, laughter suddenly burst out.
It was absurd that he was soaking his body in hot springs while the terrible toxic smoke that twisted the race was chasing.
‘It is good, though.’
How should he express his current feelings? Immersing his body in a hot spring after a hard battle, he was on the verge of ecstasy.
‘To think they prepared even a place like this.’
He felt dimly what the feelings of the cultivators who built the Defeated Sage Dojo in the past must have been.
For the inheritor who would visit someday, did they not have the goal of creating the best training ground?
“…”
About ten seconds.
Jin So-myeong, who had been blankly soaking in the hot spring, suddenly snapped out of it.
Leaving his regrets behind, he raised his body that was trying to droop.
He took out a gourd that could store a hundred thousand jin of water from his sub-space and filled it with the hot spring water.
In his heart, he wanted to immerse his body for several hours, but there was no time.
He had to pack only what could be packed quickly and leave soon.
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