Chapter 192: True Realm of Illusory Dreams

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read more at Nineheavens.org
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Upon arriving at the teleportation array marked on the map, a two-story building constructed in the middle of a snowy mountain came into view.

Releasing his Divine Sense to inspect the inside, two Golden Core cultivators who looked like fur balls—no, who were wearing three layers of thick fur clothing—were shivering all over.

“Ugh… The cold of the Absolute Cold Ice Prison is really something I cannot get used to no matter how many times I experience it. It is too terrible.”

“Bear with it a little. Is the Sect Master not looking for a suitable spiritual vein? Once we settle down in the Middle Province, we will not have to stand guard here.”

“Sigh. I do not know when Fairy Jang will return.”

“Well… will she not return within one or two months at the latest?”

“Indeed. Even if she ascended to the Nascent Soul stage by following heavenly luck, it would be difficult to endure in the Absolute Cold Ice Prison for long.”

Whether to relieve their boredom and the cold, their shoulders flinched as they gossiped earnestly.

Startled upon seeing Jin So-myeong appear like a ghost, they bowed without anyone having to go first.

“Greetings, Senior!”

Despite the severe winter cold, Jin So-myeong, who wore only a single thin martial robe, nodded to receive their greeting.

“Are you disciples of the Snow Rosy Cloud Sect?”

“Yes. Do you perhaps need assistance? If you give us orders, we will follow them.”

“I heard that this teleportation array is connected to Changwon City of the Middle Province, is that correct?”

“Yes. The fee to use the teleportation array is originally one thousand top-grade spirit stones, but… if Senior is not offended, we will accept only eight hundred.”

“It is fine. I will pay the proper price, so activate it.”

“Understood!”

Perhaps because this was a remote region where someone could die without anyone knowing, the attitude of the Golden Cores was very submissive.

They silently activated the teleportation array without even verifying Jin So-myeong’s name. In a place like this, strength was status.

Flash—!

The moment Jin So-myeong vanished with the light emitted from the teleportation array.

The Golden Core cultivators, who had been extremely tense and unable to breathe properly, sighed in relief.

“Whew… For a Nascent Soul senior to suddenly appear. I thought my heart was going to drop.”

“Indeed. But I do not know how he came all the way here. There should be no other teleportation arrays nearby.”

“Could it be that he flew all the way here directly without even using a teleportation array?”

“No way, that cannot be. Even for a Nascent Soul senior, it is impossible to endure in the Absolute Cold Ice Prison for long.”

They, who were curious about Jin So-myeong, soon moved on to another topic.

To survive long in the cultivation world, it was best not to talk about seniors.

***

Changwon City, Northern Middle Province.

Arriving at the city built in a basin surrounded by several mountain ranges, Jin So-myeong secured lodging first.

‘Now I feel alive.’

As he soaked his body in hot spring water boiling hot thanks to the Extreme Fire Divine Light, his fatigue washed away completely.

Even when he was in the Absolute Cold Ice Prison, he had occasionally heated water to bathe, but it could not compare to this feeling at all.

Because it was too cold, the water cooled down quickly, and even when he was inside the hot water, the chill penetrated him so he could not rest comfortably.

‘It felt like it was growing colder and colder as time passed.’

One of the reasons he had rushed to the Middle Province was that he felt something would go wrong if he stayed in the Absolute Cold Ice Prison for too long.

Jin So-myeong, who was enjoying his first rest in a long time until his whole body felt listless, crossed his legs in the water.

Crackle…!

Stirring his lightning Qi, he pushed out the cold energy that had accumulated in his dantian and meridians over the past five years.

As the cold leaked out, the bath that had been boiling just a moment ago froze in an instant, but he did not stop.

‘Persistent…’

The cold energy embedded between his meridians was handled relatively easily, but the cold hiding deep within his dantian was the problem.

His current Five Elements Divine Thunder was powerful enough to instantly turn ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators to ashes, so he was dumbfounded to see the cold resisting even such lightning Qi.

‘This level of chill is almost at the level of poison.’

He felt he understood why the Absolute Cold Ice Prison was called one of the ten great forbidden areas.

Of course, since he had already left the Absolute Cold Ice Prison, there was no major issue. Since it was not an energy controlled with malice by someone, he could resolve it given enough time.

‘I should be able to deal with it in about a month.’

Checking his body’s condition, Jin So-myeong closed his eyes again.

While melting the cold using his lightning Qi, he deployed his clones.

‘Go around and buy some pills. Gather information too.’

His clones, whose numbers had surpassed twenty before he knew it, scattered throughout Changwon City.

They stopped by large shops or merchant groups to purchase medicinal pills in bulk.

In fact, Changwon City was quite a remote place in the context of the entire Middle Province. Therefore, he had worried that the quantity of pills might be insufficient, but fortunately, that was not the case.

‘Is it because it is connected to other cities via teleportation arrays?’

Perhaps because it was a well-connected place, the market was quite large.

After ordering his clones to purchase pills to be consumed over twenty years, he spent all his remaining spirit stones on buying materials for the Great Azure Spiritual Oil.

The Great Azure Spiritual Oil was a spiritual medicine he had obtained from Mok Ryu-jin, the young master of the Mok Clan, which could be made using the Rank 4 Spiritual Treasure, the Harmonizing Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Instead of requiring more materials than general cultivation pills, it was a high-grade spiritual medicine that allowed spiritual power to accumulate rapidly.

The Great Azure Spiritual Oil, the hot spring water, the Jade Water Coral planted in the Secret Realm of the Mind, and so on.

While planning his future cultivation steps by recalling the implements that accelerated cultivation speed, Jin So-myeong paused.

‘The name of the lotus I obtained is the Red Dust Heart Lotus?’

A rumor that Jin So-myeong had obtained the Soul Formation spiritual object, the Red Dust Heart Lotus, had spread throughout the Middle Province.

Red Dust .

It was a term that referred to the troublesome and secular world.

Recalling the lotus that caused worldly desires just by looking at it, the name Red Dust Heart Lotus suited it perfectly.

It was highly likely that this rumor was accurate information.

‘Ah, my. To think I would find out the name of the lotus this way.’

Although it was a somewhat absurd method, he obtained information on the Rank 5 spiritual herb thanks to the rumor spreading.

‘Since I know the name, I should be able to find out how to consume it too.’

One month later.

While he was dealing with the cold energy accumulated in his dantian, the clones who had busily roamed around investigated major events that had occurred in the Middle Province, and there was much interesting news.

“There have even been times when battles broke out inside a city.”

“Are you saying Nascent Soul cultivators fought inside a city?”

That was an act of breaking an implicit rule.

When powerhouses of the Nascent Soul stage engaged in battle, the surroundings would be devastated.

If a city collapsed, it was equivalent to the breaking of a ground that continuously produced cultivation resources. It was a rule formed because no one wished for such a disaster.

“Yuhua Immortal City was completely destroyed in a battle that broke out three years ago. Truly, countless people died unjustly.”

“Hah.”

Had public order broken down to the point where battles occurred inside cities…

“Of course, the end was not good. Perfected Bailiang, who had occupied Yuhua Immortal City through a surprise attack, had even his Nascent Soul extinguished by the joint attack of cultivators who had occupied neighboring cities.”

The cases of battles breaking out inside cities had almost vanished since then.

Jin So-myeong, who was gathering various pieces of news, nodded.

‘Since things have turned out like this, should I also obtain a decent spiritual vein?’

There was no need to take it by force either.

He just had to choose a favorite spot among the empty lands, occupy it, and declare it as his land.

Competitors who had been watching and eyeing the spiritual vein would challenge him, but he could simply deal with that.

As his realm rose, the existences that could threaten him had now become few enough to be counted on one hand.

Even looking across the entire cultivation world, it was the same.

‘Even if by some chance a Soul Formation cultivator comes, I should at least be able to escape.’

Right now, the most precious resource to Jin So-myeong was time.

Every time his realm rose by a step, his military strength would grow exponentially. Rather than slowing down his cultivation speed out of caution, it was better to grow quickly.

‘Good.’

He made his decision. To run as fast as possible until a problem arose.

He decided to occupy a decent spiritual vein and focus on cultivation.

Since he had to fill the proficiency of the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art following the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art, a considerable amount of time was needed.

‘How long will it take to reach the Nascent Soul Great Circle?’

At most, one hundred years?

Of course, since there were many ways to accelerate cultivation speed, it would not actually take one hundred years.

He pulled out a map of the Middle Province and scanned it.

He chose a city he wanted to have, feeling as if he were shopping.

‘Byeokhwa City? This place is decent.’

It was a place with a tiny Rank 4 high-grade spiritual vein, and though it was called tiny, it was a land wide enough to be more than enough for a single person to use.

Near the city, there were seas where lightning storms raged and volcanic regions, and it was surrounded by mountain ranges with abundant vegetation, making it a home for numerous rogue cultivators and herb gatherers.

‘Is it because transaction is active due to high floating population?’

This meant that if he settled in Byeokhwa City, he could receive a steady supply of cultivation pills.

If there was a disadvantage, it was that because it was a tiny spiritual vein, it could not support a sect of several hundred people.

‘I am alone anyway, so it does not matter.’

It suited his fancy in many ways. After examining it carefully, he chose Byeokhwa City and planned a route to get there.

‘Flying blindly will take too long…’

It seemed he would need to use teleportation arrays about four times along the way.

‘Let us set off immediately.’

Since he had completely resolved the cold energy accumulated in his dantian over a month, there was nothing holding him back.

First, to spare himself troublesome matters, he activated the Thousand Transformations Art.

Just as Jin So-myeong, who had become a young man with no distinct features, was about to leave his lodging.

‘Ju Gwang?’

A guest came looking for him.

The rogue cultivator belonging to the Myriad Cultivators Alliance who had come to guard Jin So-myeong when he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage in the past. The drunkard old man, whose nose was dyed red, appeared holding a gourd.

“…Are you Daoist Jin?”

“It has been a long time.”

He agreed after contemplating for a moment. He was curious about how Ju Gwang, whom he had parted with nearly thirty years ago, had found his way here.

“I came here half-believing and half-doubting, and fortunately, it was indeed you, Daoist Jin.”

“How did you know I was here and come looking for me?”

“Mmm. I will speak honestly as you might misunderstand. First of all, we believed you would be alive. Thus, we investigated the traces of all Nascent Soul cultivators in the Middle Province, and checked every single cultivator suspected to be you without exception.”

“…From the Myriad Cultivators Alliance?”

“Yes. And because a few of the merchant groups where you purchased pills are related to our Myriad Cultivators Alliance, we were able to react quickly. A fellow Daoist who purchases pills in such bulk like you is rare.”

He fell silent for a moment as he watched Ju Gwang continue his explanation in a calm tone.

Tracking the traces of all Nascent Soul rogue cultivators…

It was easy to say, but doing it in practice was extremely difficult.

How vast was the Middle Province? It was an act impossible for an ordinary power even if they wished to do so.

It seemed the Myriad Cultivators Alliance was a far larger power than he had vaguely guessed.

Of course, in a way, it was possible because Jin So-myeong had not hidden his identity properly.

If he had sincerely wished to hide his identity, he would not have bought pills to the extent of revealing his traces in the first place.

However, since that would mean wasting time that could be spent on cultivating, he simply had not poured his effort into minor worries.

“Ahem. My apologies if you felt offended. However, I had no choice because there was something I absolutely had to convey to you.”

“What is it that you say this?”

Ju Gwang, who released his spiritual power to create a temporary barrier, spoke as if whispering a secret.

“Our Myriad Cultivators Alliance found out with difficulty, but you are currently being tracked by the Sacred City.”

“The Sacred City?”

He had been the target of divination not long ago, could that have been the work of the Sacred City?

‘Is it because of the Soul Formation spiritual object obtained from the Defeated Sage Dojo? Or were those who tracked me from long ago from the Sacred City?’

Various possibilities flashed through his mind. Just as his eyes narrowed.

“Therefore, try not to use teleportation arrays if possible. Even if it is fine the first couple of times, if you keep riding them, you will find yourself surrounded by the Sacred City at some point.”

Observing Ju Gwang, who was advising him as if out of pure goodwill, he nodded.

“Thank you for letting me know. But did you really come looking for me just because of this?”

There was no way, as the Myriad Cultivators Alliance was not a charity organization with nothing to do.

When he stared silently, the old man coughed awkwardly.

“Ahem. How about going to a secret realm with me? If it is a secret realm, you can cultivate while avoiding the eyes of the Sacred City.”

Although the Defeated Sage Dojo could no longer be entered for a long time due to the complete spread of poison, several other secret realms could still be accessed.

“A secret realm… That is a decent method. I will think about it.”

When he acted lukewarm, Ju Gwang sighed and spoke as if giving in.

“Sigh, actually, I came looking for you because I need your help.”

Just as he thought the old man was finally revealing his true intentions and listened quietly.

“Do you remember the name Hong Seol?”

“…Hong Seol?”

An unexpected name came out.

He did not show it hastily, but he naturally remembered.

In the past, during the time when he had just established his foundation, there was a time when he was chased by the Thousand Corpses Sect, a demonic sect that controlled Jiangshi.

At that time, the sword cultivator who appeared from the Limitless Divine Sword and helped him was Hong Seol.

Since she had also given him teachings while in a sword state to awaken his Sword Qi, he inwardly regarded her as his master.

To think that her name, of whom he had not heard news for a long time, would appear here.

“Daoist Hong belongs to our Myriad Cultivators Alliance. She entered a secret realm to overcome a cultivation bottleneck, but she has still not emerged. The promised time has long passed, so in nine cases out of ten, a problem has definitely occurred.”

“…What is the name of the secret realm?”

“The True Realm of Illusory Dreams. It is a place known as a world born from a True Immortal’s dream.”

***

At the same time, the Sacred City.

Yeo Mu-rin, who was immersed in meditation on a mountaintop where spiritual energy flowed, twitched one of his eyebrows.

“Division Leader. We have discovered a person suspected to be Jin So-myeong.”

At the subordinate’s report, Yeo Mu-rin, who fell silent for quite a long time, turned his gaze. He let out a sigh as he looked up at the open sky.

“To think he would appear in the region I am in charge of, of all places…”

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