Chapter 189: Spreading Reputation
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read more at Nineheavens.org
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***
The sea called the Stormy Heaven Sea Region because harsh wind and rain did not cease for even a moment.
An abnormal phenomenon occurred in that place where the entrance to the Defeated Sage Dojo was located.
The heavy rain that had been pouring down as if a hole had formed in the sky stopped abruptly.
Did the rain simply stop and the sky clear up?
It was not so.
All the raindrops that should fall according to gravity stood still and were pointing towards the entrance of the Defeated Sage Dojo.
Looking closely, it was a goosebump-inducing sight.
Each and every raindrop was in a state of being sharply honed like a flying dagger. It was an appearance as if hundreds of millions of soldiers were pointing spears towards the entrance of the secret realm.
In the sight that felt as if the wind and rain storm was forcibly stopped,
One of the Nascent Soul stage cultivators who had escaped from the Defeated Sage Dojo.
Nam So-yeong, who became famous for reaching the late Nascent Soul stage in the status of a rogue cultivator, spoke while staring at the entrance of the Defeated Sage Dojo with an anxious expression.
“The Lord of the Divine Wood. No, is the Heavenly Venerable not coming?”
“…”
The Nascent Soul stage cultivator belonging to the Sacred City narrowed his brows without a word.
As he glanced as if asking for what reason she was asking about the Heavenly Venerable, Nam So-yeong quickly continued her words.
“It is because I am worried. No matter how powerful the Falling Rain Heavenly Sword Formation is, it will not be able to keep a Soul Formation stage cultivator imprisoned for long.”
“Do not worry. Because it is impossible for the Insect-Armor Race to come out of the Defeated Sage Dojo in the first place. My waiting here is to prepare for any unexpected mishap that might occur.”
“…By a one-in-a-million chance. What are you going to do if a Soul Formation-grade Insect-Armor Race member comes out?”
The old man, who stared intently at Nam So-yeong who was constantly anxious, smiled brightly.
“I must hold out. Until the Heavenly Venerable arrives. If we struggle desperately at the risk of our lives, wouldn’t it work out somehow?”
Just as she fell silent at the joke-like tone,
“You said a person named Jin So-myeong deflected a Soul Formation-grade blow.”
“Yes. To put it precisely, he deflected five out of ten pillars of light.”
The old man, who was lost in deep thought, spoke in a light tone as if passing by.
“Was there perhaps no unusual scene?”
“What kind of scene are you talking about…?”
“A scene where a brilliant radiance, to the extent of being difficult to look at with Divine Sense, wraps around, or where all defenses touched by the sword are dismantled even though no particularly robust energy is condensed, I mean.”
“Hmm… I saw wings that seemed to be made of blood unfold. Although it was brief, the energy was amplified dozens of times.”
The old man, who fell silent for a moment, nodded briefly and looked at the entrance to the Defeated Sage Dojo.
“Do you think Jin So-myeong will make it out alive?”
“Unless heaven’s luck follows, it is impossible. No matter how I looked at it, the entity that took over Mok Sa-heon’s body was not at the Nascent Soul stage level. If it was truly at the Soul Formation stage, it will be hard for Cultivator Jin to survive no matter how strong he is.”
“…I see.”
In the long-continuing silence, their gazes turned towards the entrance to the Defeated Sage Dojo.
***
At the same time,
Jin So-myeong, who had sucked up all the hot spring water and stored it in the gourd, paused.
On the floor of the hot spring revealed as all the water disappeared, there was a colorful coral, and mysteriously, it was constantly spewing spiritual Qi.
It felt as if a spiritual vein had been compressed and turned into the shape of coral.
‘If it’s coral that produces spiritual Qi… Jade Water Coral?’
A treasure difficult to obtain even if giving spirit stones piled up like mountains.
It seemed it would be perfect to transplant it to the Secret Realm of the Mind.
As he carefully reached out his hand, a transparent barrier was felt. Naturally, it was blocked by a restriction, causing him to agonize.
‘A rather sturdy restriction.’
Tapping the barrier to estimate its durability, it seemed he would have to push himself considerably to break it.
After a brief moment of agony. He detonated the spiritual power inside his heart.
He had spread the Blood Wings. Although his body, which had barely recovered thanks to the hot spring, would be ruined again, he decided to bear it.
Boom!
Using the amplified energy, he broke the restriction at once and swung his sword. Digging up the entire floor of the hot spring, he moved it to his sub-space.
After thoroughly scanning the surroundings of the hot spring for anything more to pack, he left the building.
‘It has arrived already.’
He widened the distance from the toxic smoke that had neared right before his eyes before he knew it.
Just as he was entering buildings as they caught his eye and looking for a transmission array,
‘Huh?’
He could not help but be flustered at the toxic smoke that suddenly appeared in front of him.
The smoke that was clearly chasing from behind appeared in the front. Hurriedly checking the rear, there was smoke on that side as well.
For a split second, he realized.
The fact that the Defeated Sage Dojo, which was originally a desert, was in a state where space was twisted here and there occurred to him belatedly.
He had thought the twisted space had unravelled as all the grains of sand disappeared and shockwaves raged during the battle, but it was not so.
His mouth dried up.
He moved urgently to avoid the toxic smoke approaching from both sides.
Boom!
Emitting the energy amplified by the Blood Wings in all directions, he broke the barriers of the buildings indiscriminately.
Through the gaps of the demolished walls, he only verified quickly whether there was a transmission array or not.
‘Not a single one is here?’
Just when he thought he might truly have to use the Rank 6 Boundary-Breaking Talisman,
Inside the building just covered by the toxic smoke, an intact transmission array was visible between the gaps of the collapsed wall.
‘…Let’s go.’
The hesitation was brief. Flying across the air while throwing the Yin-Yang Great Hand Seal with all his strength to push back the toxic smoke,
he poured out extreme-grade spirit stones in the middle of the toxic smoke so thick that he could not see an inch ahead.
Infusing power into the transmission array, he extended his palms towards the toxic smoke crowding from all directions.
Woooong!
At the same time as light surged from the transmission array, he realized that something had gone wrong.
The spiritual power amplified by the Blood Wings and become uncontrollable, the potent poison strong enough to contaminate spiritual Qi, the Yin-Yang Great Hand Seal unfolded with all his might,
all sorts of elements mixed complexly and interfered with the transmission array.
The split second in which he could not even blink an eye,
Pat—!
Jin So-myeong, swept away in an intense flash, disappeared beyond the twisted space.
***
Middle Province.
The true holy land of cultivation, the place no different from the center of the world, had become exceptionally noisy lately.
Ten years ago, the eight secret realms controlled by the Sacred City were opened suddenly, and numerous Nascent Soul stage cultivators yearning for the Soul Formation stage entered them.
As a result,
truly, a vast amount of blood flowed. To exaggerate slightly, only two out of ten survived.
“To think the survival rate is only twenty percent. Just how many died?”
“An absurd event has occurred.”
What kind of realm was the Nascent Soul stage? Excluding the Soul Formation stage, it is the strongest existence on the ground.
It meant they were giants who could rule a whole continent by themselves, but such monsters died countlessly.
“If so, is the Middle Province not as good as empty.”
“A wind of blood will blow.”
“A wind of blood?”
“Will they not fight each other to occupy the empty land.”
A powder keg right before exploding, literally. In the chaotic situation, there was a secret realm that stood out in particular…
Precisely, the Defeated Sage Dojo.
Compared to other secret realms, the survival rate was exceptionally high. Since more than half returned alive, everyone could not hide their surprise.
Was the Defeated Sage Dojo at a lower level of difficulty compared to other secret realms?
It was not so. All secret realms were different, but the level of danger was similar.
The difference was only one.
The presence of Jin So-myeong, who possessed an overwhelming might enough to turn the tide of battle alone.
“Jin So-myeong… to think he is that strong despite being at the mid Nascent Soul stage. It has become regrettable.”
“Regrettable?”
“Did he not die in the end? Since he still hasn’t come out of the Defeated Sage Dojo, it is obvious what happened. Tsk-tsk.”
“Still, you never know.”
“Haha. Survived against the Soul Formation stage? I declare that it is impossible.”
“…Indeed, even if only half the rumors about the Soul Formation stage are true, opposing them at the Nascent Soul stage level would be impossible. Probably even fleeing would be difficult.”
“But if, by a truly one-in-a-million chance, he survived… it would mean an absurd monster—no, a fighting immortal of legends has been born.”
A mythical existence that becomes endlessly stronger every time they fight, gains realization amidst struggle, and even breaks through major realms.
The cultivator, who recalled the fighting immortal, shook his head.
“I heard it from a fellow daoist who entered the Defeated Sage Dojo, it was not a situation to come out alive. Jin So-myeong is dead.”
In this way, the three characters of Jin So-myeong’s name were engraved in the minds of numerous people.
The reactions were diverse.
“Jin So-myeong obtained the Red Dust Heart Lotus? Is that not a Soul Formation spiritual object.”
“…I hope he is alive.”
“Even if he escaped the secret realm by heaven’s luck, it will be a problem. He obtained a Soul Formation spiritual object, so would the Sacred City leave him be? He would be eliminated without a sound or rumor.”
“Well. Jin So-myeong isn’t the only one who obtained a Soul Formation spiritual object. I heard the Myriad Cultivators Alliance also obtained one?”
“I am truly envious… Had I known it would be like this, I would have entered the secret realm too.”
“Haha. Do you say such things even after seeing the countlessly died fellow daoists? Who laughs in the end is something that can only be known as time flows.”
“By the way, a chaotic mess will be displayed, and I do not know how the Sacred City will handle it. It will be a bit of a headache.”
There were those who revealed greed beyond simple interest, and
“Do not give up and continue to search. If we join forces with Cultivator Jin, establishing a super-large sect is not a dream either.”
“Yes.”
There were also those who seriously pondered what kind of influence a powerhouse like Jin So-myeong would exert in the current situation where more than half of those who ruled the Middle Province had died.
***
A certain snowy mountain.
In the place where a blizzard so fierce that it was difficult to simply open eyes raged,
Boom!
something wrapped in a dazzling radiance fell.
Had a meteor fallen, by any chance?
“Ugh…”
In that place where even an avalanche occurred because of the impact, a human voice echoed.
The youth who popped out after being buried in snow so thick that even a whale would be submerged, how high it was piled. Jin So-myeong narrowed his eyes.
‘Where is this place again.’
Looking around, the entire world was white. The only thing visible was snow.
And also, it was strangely cold.
Do they call it a flesh-carving cold? Under the severe cold digging even into his nerves, his fingertips were on the verge of turning numb.
Because he had mastered body tempering, most heat or cold was merely recognized as information and was not painful, but this place was different.
If he let his guard down, it seemed he would truly freeze to death.
‘It’s a dangerous place.’
To think he fell in such a snowy mountain when the outside of the Defeated Sage Dojo was a stormy sea; in all likelihood, it seemed he was caught in the transmission array accident he had only heard about.
He examined the surroundings using his Divine Sense, but there were no living creatures.
‘Let’s recover my body first.’
Digging into the ground—no, the piled-up snow, he made a temporary cave dwelling and sat cross-legged.
Utilizing recovery pills and the hot spring water obtained recently, he gathered himself over the span of a full week.
Waking to the blizzard welcoming him after recovering his accumulated fatigue and ruined physical body, he stepped outside.
Wheeeee!
He walked around while pushing through the snow wind that beat against his skin like an ice-attribute spell, but no matter where he went, the scenery was the same.
Only large and small snowy mountains and plains covered in snow stretched endlessly.
‘If it’s this kind of terrain… I think I’ve heard of it somewhere.’
In the severe cold that felt like it would freeze even his soul, the region called the Extreme Cold Ice Prison suddenly occurred to him.
He did not know in detail, but he knew it was a snowy field located in the north of the Middle Province.
Due to the bitter cold and various dangers, it was a region called one of the Ten Great Forbidden Areas.
‘Does it mean that if I go south, the Middle Province will appear.’
It was a relief at least.
Because whichever the case, it meant that if he continued to fly in one direction, he would someday be able to go to a place where people lived.
Just as he was flying blindly towards the south,
‘A Rank 4 spiritual vein?’
He discovered a rather decent land.
Judging by the concentration of spiritual Qi, he could tell it was a Rank 4 high-grade spiritual vein, but only traces of someone living there long ago remained faintly, and there was no owner.
‘Did they leave because they could not endure because it was too cold?’
Looking around the spiritual vein once, it was satisfying in its own way.
Although it was a bit too cold and it was regrettable that there was no market nearby to buy cultivation resources, everything else was fine.
Since its grade was higher than the cave dwelling leased in Cloud Dragon Immortal City, it was sufficient to cultivate for the time being at least.
‘Fine. I should organize what I obtained from the Defeated Sage Dojo here before going.’
Clang!
Drawing his sword, he swung it. Digging into the mountain covered in snow, he created a flat room.
He had created a training room and a bedroom to stay for a while.
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