Chapter 217: Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword Commentary
===================
Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
===================
“To think we are allowed to challenge the Soul Formation stage…”
Myo Seol, who had been blankly mumbling as if shocked, caught herself with a start and bowed her head.
“I will follow as you say. However, if you will not block the connection with the Upper Realm, what should we do with the Nine Heavens Divine Wood?”
“The Nine Heavens Divine Wood?”
“I am speaking of the divine wood that worldly people call the symbol of the Middle Province.”
Was there some connection between the Nine Heavens Divine Wood and the Upper Realm?
Listening to the explanation that followed, his doubt was naturally resolved.
“The Nine Heavens Divine Wood is currently absorbing the spiritual Qi and the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth across the entire Human Realm in order to block the connection with the Upper Realm.”
“…Was the reason the Middle Province is richer in spiritual Qi than other regions due to the Nine Heavens Divine Wood?”
“Yes. It is a phenomenon that occurred in the process of blocking the connection with the Upper Realm.”
To absorb spiritual Qi from the entire Human Realm, the divine wood was a far more powerful spiritual object than he had vaguely thought.
‘Perhaps it is Rank 6 or higher.’
The Nine Heavens, meaning the highest sky.
It was said to be a tree that could simultaneously take root in all worlds existing beneath it.
Jin So-myeong, who was inwardly admiring it, paused.
“Then what happens to the regions where spiritual Qi was absorbed? In cases like the outer areas far from the Middle Province?”
“The spiritual veins become unstable, repeating disappearing and appearing, and eventually turn into a wasteland where no spiritual veins exist.”
“···.”
Suddenly, Sky Island came to mind. To think the reason spiritual veins disappeared and reappeared in that strange sea was precisely due to the Nine Heavens Divine Wood…
Under the pretext of searching for the sword of humanity, they had truly caused harm to countless people.
It was hard to estimate what to say about the Star-Shattering True Monarch.
Letting out a soft sigh and shaking his head, Jin So-myeong said:
“What must be done to stop the Nine Heavens Divine Wood from absorbing spiritual Qi?”
“Using the Tree-Returning Art, the Nine Heavens Divine Wood can be returned to a sapling state.”
“Turn it into a sapling?”
“Yes. The Tree-Returning Art is originally a secret technique used when transplanting high-grade spiritual crops, but it can be used in this situation as well. If the Nine Heavens Divine Wood becomes a sapling, it will also stop absorbing spiritual Qi.”
A sapling that can be transplanted… the method itself was to his liking.
‘Should I copy one? I do not know if a tree as large as the divine wood can be planted in the Secret Realm of the Mind.’
Pondering for a moment, he asked what he was curious about.
“If the Nine Heavens Divine Wood is pulled out using the Tree-Returning Art, will it connect with the Upper Realm immediately?”
“No. It will be fine for at least several hundred years.”
“Several hundred years…”
“If someone ascends in the middle, it will connect faster, but without a Rank 6 Realm-Breaking Talisman, no matter if they are a Soul Formation cultivator, they will not be able to ascend to the Upper Realm.”
“I understand. Perform the Tree-Returning Art to make the Nine Heavens Divine Wood a sapling.”
“Yes.”
Myo Seol, who was withdrawing as if to leave, paused and continued:
“Now that you have become the Lord of the Divine Wood, what would you like to do about the inauguration ceremony?”
“Inauguration ceremony? There is no need for complicated preparations. Just announce that I have become the new Lord of the Divine Wood.”
“…I understand.”
Myo Seol, bowing as if to obey the command, left quietly.
Although he was worried about Hong Seol, who had vanished due to injuries, finding her was no easy task.
Even the Sacred City, which possessed all kinds of tracking means, could not find her.
‘Could she be hiding herself in a low-grade magic treasure, just like when she was sleeping in the Limitless Divine Sword long ago?’
Since she might reveal herself once the news that Jin So-myeong defeated the former Lord of the Divine Wood spread, he decided to leave her be for now rather than searching by force.
After thinking about various things, he headed to the treasury again.
Since he had handled all urgent business, he intended to calmly inspect what treasures were there.
*
“Haha.”
Jin So-myeong, who had been rummaging through the treasury all half-day, let out a hollow laugh.
Because there were too many treasures, he could not readily get a sense of where to start.
‘Hmm… let’s deal with the lightning-attribute spiritual objects first.’
Rumble!
He headed toward the pile emitting dazzling lightning.
Ore swirling with reddish-brown lightning energy, dark storm clouds dense enough to feel their texture when touched, ropes made of twisted lightning, and so on.
These, piled dozens of meters high to look like a shining mountain at first glance, were all lightning-attribute spiritual objects.
What was there to hesitate for?
After putting them all in his sub-space, he headed to the Jade Light Spring in the Secret Realm of the Mind.
“Peep, peep.”
He saw Geum-cheong, who was doing something diligently without even knowing he had arrived.
She was pecking alternately at a vine flowing with lightning energy and a blue pebble with her beak, extracting the essence of lightning energy and transplanting it into the Jade Thunder Pearl, which could be called the source of the Jade Light Spring.
‘How diligent.’
The moment he slightly made his presence known while watching Geum-cheong cultivate the Jade Light Spring she regarded as her nest.
“Peep? You are here!”
Geum-cheong, who snapped her head around, flung away the Jade Thunder Pearl she had been pecking so diligently until just now, and spread her wings.
“Hmm…?”
In an instant, deep blue lightning scattered in all directions, and a line was drawn in the empty air.
It was fast enough to leave an afterimage.
Seeing Geum-cheong fly over in an instant and land lightly on his shoulder, he could not help but be surprised.
“When did you become this fast?”
“You are speaking of strange things. I was originally fast.”
“Is that so?”
He chuckled as he watched the fellow spread her wings made of lightning crystals wide, as if showing off that she had grown taller.
‘She is certainly fast.’
Should he say it felt like the lightning energy shimmering on her feathers was aiding her movement?
Although the method differed from the Lightning Escape Art which became one with lightning entirely, the result of being fast was the same.
‘If flying up lightly after staying still is to that extent… she will do incredibly well at escaping alone.’
Her grade was still Rank 3, but she was fast enough that even a Nascent Soul cultivator might lose her if they let their guard down for a moment.
Admiring the flight ability worthy of a spiritual beast born with lightning, he recalled the purpose of his coming here.
Rumble!
As he poured out all kinds of treasures brought in his sub-space, various lightning-attribute spiritual objects began to pile up like a mountain.
“…Peep?”
A quantity so vast that just by pouring it, the lake would be filled.
Geum-cheong, who had been boasting her dignified wings, gaped her beak wide. Freezing stiff like a stone statue, she blinked her black bean-like eyes several times.
She looked alternately at the mountain of treasures and Jin So-myeong, as if asking if he was really giving this to her.
Chuckling at her earnestly staring gaze, he nodded, and she flew like an arrow and pecked with her beak.
“Peep, peep, peep! All of them are extremely good!”
Geum-cheong, who was shouting in excitement, paused.
Suddenly examining the treasures intently, she mumbled suspiciously:
“Could these perhaps be fakes like last time?”
In fact, when they were in the True Realm of Illusory Dreams, there were quite a few lightning-attribute spiritual objects Geum-cheong had diligently gathered while roaming the Sacred City.
Of course… they all vanished the moment Jin So-myeong left the secret realm.
At that time, Geum-cheong was shocked enough to fall into despair; perhaps due to that memory, she could not purely rejoice even with the treasures in front of her.
“They are all real.”
“Meaning they will not disappear?”
“Yeah. They won’t disappear. They will remain as they are even after time passes, so do not worry.”
Giving a firm answer to the suspicious fellow, she nodded her head as if satisfied.
“Master. You only play every day, yet you have finally brought something helpful to our nest! Very well done!”
Only playing… a bitter smile emerged of its own accord, but he just laughed it off.
From the perspective of the fellow who only cared about cultivating the nest, the Jade Light Spring, she could indeed feel that way.
Geum-cheong, peeping joyfully, closely examined the lightning-attribute spiritual objects, and picking up a reddish-brown pebble with her beak, she threw it.
Splash!
She began to toss several spiritual objects into the Jade Light Spring, all of which were highly compatible with the Jade Thunder Pearl, the core of the Jade Light Spring.
‘I can trust her and leave the cultivation of the Jade Light Spring to her.’
There is a saying that a person follows their name, but does the same apply to spiritual beasts?
Perhaps because he gave her the nickname Dol-soe, she was truly diligent even without being told.
Watching Geum-cheong move diligently, he slipped back to the treasury.
Pondering what to do next, he took out the pill he had kept in his sub-space.
‘Should I try consuming this?’
It was something he had found while rummaging through the treasury, a pill with an effect so outstanding that a cheer burst out the moment he discovered it.
Observing the surface of the pill, where golden root-like thread-lines were complexly entangled, with the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, he nodded.
‘It is indeed the Rank 5 Lifespan-Extending Pill. Certain.’
A heaven-defying elixir that extends lifespan.
Actually, even a normal Rank 5 Lifespan-Extending Pill was an immense treasure, but the Rank 5 Lifespan-Extending Pill prepared by the Star-Shattering True Monarch was of such outstanding quality that it could be called top-grade.
‘It is a pity that it is effective only a single time.’
The moment he tossed the golden pill into his mouth after examining it here and there.
An intense vitality that could be called the source of life surged.
“Mmm…”
He was ecstatic to the point of being dazed for an instant, but quickly pulled himself together.
Since the vitality felt now was no different from lifespan itself, he must not waste even a single handful.
As a result of focusing his entire mind to absorb the medicine’s effect.
【Lifespan】 : 131 / 2,845
The increased lifespan was exactly 635 years.
His lifespan, which was previously 2,210 years, expanded sharply to 2,845 years.
‘Awesome.’
If it were an ordinary Rank 5 Lifespan-Extending Pill, it would have only risen by about 500 years, but it increased by over 600 years.
The smile formed at the corners of his mouth would not go away.
Perhaps because his lifespan had drawn close to three thousand years, his mind felt at ease.
‘With this, it is almost similar to ordinary Soul Formation cultivators.’
2,700 years.
Counting the remaining lifespan, he suddenly thought it was absurd.
It was a truly distant and long time.
Even for any rich and powerful empire, enduring for over a thousand years is difficult.
It meant the power carried by time was that strong, yet when trying to unleash the Burning Moon Crossing the Realm with this, it was far too insufficient.
Was it that difficult for a Soul Formation cultivator to mimic the power of Rank 6?
‘If only the lifespan consumed when unleashing the Burning Moon Crossing the Realm could be reduced.’
Pondering for a moment, the method that could be called the most righteous path came to mind.
‘I just need to raise my realm.’
Thinking logically made it easy to understand.
An early Soul Formation stage approaching Rank 6 and a Great Circle Soul Formation stage approaching Rank 6 were in different dimensions in terms of difficulty.
If he reached the Great Circle and unleashed the Burning Moon Crossing the Realm, the lifespan consumption amount might be significantly lower than expected.
Alternatively, using the Burning Moon Crossing the Realm extremely frequently was also one of the methods.
Efficiency was bound to increase when repeating anything.
As he became proficient in the Burning Moon Crossing the Realm, the lifespan consumption amount would decrease.
‘Of course, the probability of dying before that is far greater.’
Pondering deeply, a fundamental question suddenly occurred to him.
‘Why must I use lifespan in the first place? Can I not unleash the Burning Moon Crossing the Realm without any lifespan consumption at all?’
[Burning the Dao established by oneself to cross the boundary, this is called the Burning Moon Crossing the Realm.]
Burning Moon.
He had interpreted this word, meaning to burn the moon, as burning his life.
However, the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword spoke of burning the Dao.
Since he regarded life and the Dao as one, he had not thought it strange, but was it truly so?
If not, he might be able to burn something else instead of lifespan to cross the boundary.
“···”
As he was chewing over the Dharma text of the Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword due to the thoughts that suddenly visited, the topic naturally shifted to A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens.
‘A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens unleashed by the Star-Shattering True Monarch was definitely somewhat different.’
It lightly deflected the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration that went through four circulations. He had almost died from the absurd miracle performed under the extreme situation.
‘Just how did he do it?’
Although he had already reviewed the situation at the time several times, he still did not understand it.
Just as he was pondering deeply, the jade slips piled like mountains caught his eye.
Rummaging through the hundreds of thousands of jade slips just in case, sure enough.
Light-Moon Silent-Life Sword Commentary: A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens Chapter.
He was able to discover the interpretation written down by the Star-Shattering True Monarch.
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