Chapter 221: Discovered in the Red Cloud Secret Realm

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Having forced open the formation and entered the Red Cloud Secret Realm, Jin So-myeong checked his physical condition first.

‘As expected, there are no issues.’

Because there was a restriction that suppressed cultivation realms in the Red Cloud Secret Realm, even if high-level cultivators above Foundation Establishment entered, they could only control energy at the level of the Qi Condensation stage.

Although it was a restriction powerful enough to work even on Nascent Soul stage cultivators, it was not enough to suppress a Soul Formation stage cultivator, who could seize control of the spiritual Qi in the atmosphere and wield it like magic power.

‘It is slightly hot, though…’

Perhaps because he had entered the secret realm abnormally, it was muggy, but that was all.

Having achieved the Soul Formation stage and trained in body tempering, this level of heat was not a problem at all for him.

He released his Divine Sense, which extended a thousand li…a radius of 400 kilometers…and grasped the surrounding terrain in an instant.

The moment he took a step.

He traversed the outskirts of the secret realm and reached right before the center.

‘It has been a while since I last saw this ice wall too.’

Standing in front of the ice barrier as thick as a fortress wall, he lifted his head, but the ice wall was so high that its top was invisible.

It was so large that capturing it in a single glance was impossible, but he could recognize its clear shape if he looked with his Divine Sense.

Should he call it the shape of a large cauldron?

It was an absurdly large ice cauldron with a radius reaching 50 kilometers.

Examining it with the Lightning-Awakened Clear-Discerning Dharma-Breaking Eye, he was able to identify the true identity of the ice cauldron.

‘It was a Rank 5 Dharma Treasure.’

In other words, a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure . A treasure rare to see in the Human Realm was situated here.

As he injected magic power and Divine Sense into the ice wall, various pieces of information floated into his mind as if he were reading a jade slip.

Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron .

It was said to be a cauldron specialized in extracting and refining the essence of various spiritual objects, such as herbs and minerals, and the longer it boiled, the fewer the impurities became, allowing one to obtain a more pure essence.

Looking quietly at the ice wall…no, the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron…he was honestly filled with admiration.

What kind of dharma treasure was this large?

A radius of 50 kilometers. It was a size that could absolutely not be taken lightly.

Would it give a sense of scale to say that there would still be room left even if one threw an entire average city into it?

Just lifting the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron and plunging it into the ground would cause immense destruction, as if a meteor had fallen.

‘It does not seem to be a combat dharma treasure, but it would certainly be powerful.’

Of course, he could not use it that way right now. For the current state of the cauldron was truly a mess.

Perhaps because it had been abandoned for too long, the strength of the ice wall had weakened tremendously. It was weak enough to be pierced even by the Qi Condensation cultivators who entered the Red Cloud Secret Realm, which said it all.

‘At least tens of thousands of years. Perhaps it has been neglected since ancient times.’

When he examined beyond the ice wall with his Divine Sense, a fierce firestorm was raging.

There were dozens of volcanoes in the heart of the Red Cloud Secret Realm, and the structure was such that the ice wall forcibly trapped the heat spewed from them.

‘It does not seem like it will hold out for long.’

A few hundred years at most? Probably after that, it would fail to endure and shatter.

He took his eyes off the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron that was on the verge of breaking down.

‘Let us leave it for now and go to the deepest part of the secret realm first.’

Although the ice cauldron was interesting, it was not his true purpose for coming here.

He lightly leaped over the fortress wall-like high ice barrier and turned into a streak of escaping light. He flew in a straight line all the way to the deepest part of the secret realm, which was blocked by a river of lava.

He broke through the path he had once risked his life to cross all too easily, and soon after, he was able to arrive at a gate so massive it reached the sky.

The gate was blocked by a formation as a matter of course, but he split it open with a single light wave of his hand.

‘It has been a while since I was here too.’

As he walked along the long corridor, a space worthy of being called an elixir refining room soon appeared.

In the center of the spacious room was a cozy furnace, and the quietly burning pure white flame captured his gaze.

‘As expected.’

The memory of almost dying because of this flame back during his past Qi Condensation days flashed by.

At that time, entranced by the intense vitality contained within the flame, he had absorbed it, and almost died from his entire body exploding due to the rampant vitality rampaging inside him.

Literally on the brink of death. Using the pure vitality, which was no different from his lifespan, as fuel, he made a wish and was able to escape the crisis by creating the proficiency system.

‘The proficiency system I made back then was used really usefully.’

That was why he had come back here.

For absorbing a flame that was practically lifespan itself would be of great help.

However…

Unfortunately, the size of the pure white flame was very small.

When he absorbed it a hundred years ago, it was at least the level of a candle flame, but now it was a speck? Even that flickered precariously, as if it would vanish soon.

The vitality harbored by the flame was so weak that absorbing it would not even show a difference. If he calculated the extended lifespan in days, it would be roughly a week?

‘Is it because it has only been a hundred years since I absorbed it?’

It seemed like the flame grew as time passed, but the speed was too slow.

He had a bitter taste in his mouth, but since complaining was useless, he did not dwell on it any further.

Rather than that, since he had already come all this way, he focused on what he could obtain.

‘Let us see…’

The moment he examined the furnace with his divine ability, the Lightning-Awakened Clear-Discerning Dharma-Breaking Eye, which saw through all possibilities of all creation.

He saw a faint line connected to the pure white flame, a very minutely flowing energy.

When he tracked the faint flow that looked like it would break at any moment, it was heading underground.

This meant that something beneath the elixir refining room was supplying vitality to the pure white flame.

‘…I must dig it up.’

Clang!

When he flicked his finger to shoot out Sword Gang, the floor split like tofu.

Down the vertically dug hole he went for quite a while.

A fairly spacious cavern with a diameter of about a hundred meters appeared.

In the center of the formations installed so densely that they covered the entire floor, a single pure white pebble was placed, and that was indeed the source supplying vitality to the pure white flame.

‘That is…’

Recently, while settling in the Sacred City, he had read truly many jade slips.

This meant his knowledge regarding various rare spiritual objects had increased, and thanks to that, he was able to recognize what the pure white pebble was.

‘A Life-Prolonging Stone !’

Should he describe it as a vessel that holds lifespan?

It was an ore harboring a vitality so dense that there were rumors that simply possessing it would increase one’s lifespan.

Although it would depend on how it was used, it was a treasure that would prolong one’s lifespan just by absorbing the vitality condensed inside the stone.

It was a stone that countless people yearning for longevity had searched for but none had discovered, to think he would find it here.

‘The reason they installed the Red Cloud Secret Realm…no, the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron…here was to extract and refine vitality from the Life-Prolonging Stone.’

What became of the cauldron’s owner was obvious.

Probably, they had met with an unexpected accident and died without even having the chance to retrieve the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron and the Life-Prolonging Stone.

‘Having been abandoned for a long time, was it accidentally revealed to the world and came to be called by the name of the Red Cloud Secret Realm…’

Glancing around the cavern, he saw things like blackly burnt or broken pieces of dharma treasures strewn about.

Anyone could see these were traces of humans. This meant that quite a few people had reached this place.

However,

Because their cultivation was restricted to the Qi Condensation stage, they would not have been able to take the pure white flame, let alone the Life-Prolonging Stone. They must have left while swallowing their tears and promising themselves a future date.

‘No wonder. Something was indeed strange.’

Most of the barriers in the Red Cloud Secret Realm were weak enough to be pierced even by Qi Condensation cultivators, and that was because countless people had broken through the restrictions over a long period.

The collapsed formations would have recovered naturally as time passed, but even that had its limits. As time went on, the durability of the barriers would have grown weaker and weaker.

‘This one looks relatively intact at least.’

The final bastion guarding the Life-Prolonging Stone. He examined the formation installed in the cavern, then flicked his finger.

Swish!

A Sword Light resembling a crescent moon sliced through the air, and the shroud emitted by the formation split futilely.

The collapsed shroud attempted to rebuild itself and protect the Life-Prolonging Stone, but it was a meaningless struggle.

Sss!

Suppressed by Soul Formation-grade magic power, it merely vibrated violently and could no longer exert any strength.

As he lightly reached out his hand, the Life-Prolonging Stone floated up and flew toward him.

He closely examined the Life-Prolonging Stone obtained after subduing the formation, but its condition was much worse than expected.

‘It is completely empty.’

Is it because it has been abandoned for too long?

The surface of the pebble, which was only about the size of two fingers, was full of fine cracks, and the vitality that should have been full was on the verge of exhaustion.

At this rate, it could honestly be called a piece of junk.

With a lingering sense of regret, he looked it over, then tried unfolding the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability just in case.

The fine cracks on the outside vanished, very gradually but definitely.

‘It is being restored, but… it is only half-done.’

When he poured in a massive amount of the Supreme Great Ability, he could regenerate even non-living ore. It meant that if he spent time and care, he could make it perfectly fine.

However, the vitality inside the Life-Prolonging Stone did not fill back up.

Simply put, he felt he could somehow fix the vessel that could hold vitality, but filling the already depleted contents was a different matter.

‘Hmm… let us take it for now.’

The Life-Prolonging Stone was a treasure among treasures, and even the environment in which it formed remained unrevealed.

Although it was an empty shell, since he did not know how it might be used, he stored it in his sub-space.

‘Should I suggest to Mu-geuk to try absorbing it after I fix it?’

He did not know if it would go well, but if Mu-geuk gained the ability to store vitality, he might be able to use him like a reservoir for the Supreme Great Ability.

While thinking of this and that,

he exited the underground cavern and stood before the pure white flame burning in the furnace.

‘If it is a flame originating from a Life-Prolonging Stone, is this the Life-Generating Fire that I have only heard of?’

It was a Rank 5 flame also called a pure crystal of vitality, and although absorbing it was somewhat tricky, it was a very precious treasure that would increase one’s lifespan if successful.

He closely examined it to see if he could copy it or revive the flame, but he could not see an answer.

Perhaps because it was a flame related to lifespan, he could not revive the flame even by using Myriad Flows Restoration.

Looking at the Life-Generating Fire that was burning dimly, as if it might go out, he put it along with the furnace into his sub-space.

He planned to take some time to examine it again later.

‘What else is here…’

Wondering if there was anything else worth taking, he scanned his surroundings.

He also visited the spiritual herb field, which he had not been able to examine properly because he was chased by a Foundation Establishment cultivator during his past visit to the Red Cloud Secret Realm, but perhaps because countless people had passed through, there were only low-grade spiritual herbs.

Since the most precious among them was at best at the level of a Foundation Establishment spiritual object, it was no different from weeds to him, a Soul Formation stage cultivator.

‘Let us just leave this.’

He pulled out only one or two stalks for copying purposes and left the rest for someone who would come next.

Next, he left the deepest part and returned to the ice wall where the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron was located.

‘How should I take this too?’

Looking at the giant ice barrier that was like a fortress wall, he could not readily get a sense of how to do it.

After worrying for a moment, he placed his palm against the ice wall and infused his Divine Sense and magic power. Because no matter what method he used, completely dominating the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron had to come first.

One month later.

Jin So-myeong, who had been holding only his palm against the ice wall without moving like a stone statue, snapped his eyes open.

Rumble…!

The giant ice cauldron trembled, then began to float up into the air.

‘Urgh.’

How heavy would the soil contained within a cauldron with a radius of 50 kilometers be? No, how heavy would more than ten volcanoes be?

As he tried to lift the entire ground as a whole, veins bulged on his forehead.

For a moment, his magic power backflowed, causing pain as if his meridians were tearing, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

Mobilizing even the surrounding spiritual Qi, he floated the cauldron into the air,

and manipulated the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron, which he had completely dominated over the course of a month, to shrink its size.

While setting aside for a moment the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron, which had shrunk rapidly to the size of a house.

Thud!

He put the ground he had been floating in the air back down in its exact original place.

‘Phew, it is done.’

He felt momentarily dizzy from exerting brute force, but at any rate, it was resolved well.

Just as he satisfiedly gazed at the ice cauldron, the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron, which he had obtained with difficulty, and stored it in his sub-space.

Whoosh!

A hot gust of wind swept past his cheek.

Following the raging firestorm, he turned his gaze, and the entire Red Cloud Secret Realm had turned into a fiery hell in an instant.

‘Hmm.’

It was because the heat trapped by the ice wall had burst out, and he felt slightly guilty.

Since things had turned out this way, the Red Cloud Secret Realm that would open seven years later would probably be very different from how it had been until now. If things went slightly wrong, countless Qi Condensation cultivators could die.

‘I should call a few formation masters from the Sacred City to fix it.’

Since it weighed on his mind to just ignore it, he decided to remodel it into a secret realm where Foundation Establishment spiritual objects could be obtained periodically.

There was nothing difficult about it, as he could just copy a few Rank 5 spiritual objects and give them to the formation masters who would suffer.

*

Having finished his business, Jin So-myeong tore through the void to exit the secret realm, cast a final glance at Red Yang Market, and quietly departed.

‘Before returning to the Sacred City… shall I meet up with Wu Yeong-jin after all this time?’

The son of Perfected Wuyang, the Nascent Soul cultivator he had met in the Seven-Colored Treasure Pagoda in the past.

They had become close while making the Soul Condensing Pill, the pill required to become a Nascent Soul cultivator, together, and he was curious about how he was doing.

Since he was already in the Southern Province, he decided to meet him; if there were problems, he would help, and if not, they would share a light chat.

‘Alright.’

Nodding his head, Jin So-myeong was enveloped in lightning and disappeared beyond the horizon before one could even blink.

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