Chapter 229: The Deity Who Descended to the Desert (1)

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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“Lady So-yul? Have you by any chance come to your senses?”

Just as Ryeo-jeong’s voice trembled at the unusual change.

The woman, who had been staring into the empty air, closed her eyes tightly, then stood up immediately and bowed to Jin So-myeong and Ryeo-jeong in turn.

“I have received a truly great grace from both of you.”

Starry-eyed with tears at the deep bow performed even on her knees, Ryeo-jeong was startled out of her wits and tried to raise her up.

“Lady! How can you bow to someone who is merely a maid like me?”

“A maid? Not only are you the person who embraced and raised me since I was an infant, but since I have received such a great grace, I will serve you with all my heart like a parent from now on.”

“No…”

“It has already been a hundred years since our family fell. I am merely a rogue cultivator now, so I am in no position to be called lady. If you permit it, I shall call you mother from now on.”

The hesitating Ryeo-jeong bit her lip and nodded, and the softly smiling woman bowed again, this time toward Jin So-myeong.

“This junior, Baek So-yul, pays respects to the senior. Not only have I come to my senses thanks to you, but since my mother will no longer waste her life, I will surely repay this grace.”

“Repaying grace. Do as you please. For I merely helped a bit because it was pitiful to see Daoist Ryeo suffering.”

Up to now, there had been truly many people who said they would repay his grace, but there were few who actually achieved it.

It was not because they went back on their words, but simply because his cultivation realm rose too fast.

‘Well… one never knows the affairs of the world.’

Perhaps he did not know. Maybe the good will sown lightly like this would circulate and bring him something.

Just as he accepted the greeting with a smile.

A welcoming piece of news was delivered from the sound transmission talisman in his chest.

“Mmh… I am sorry, but an urgent matter has arisen, so I must go. If our paths cross someday, see you again.”

Ryeo-jeong, who had been sniffling while holding Baek So-yul’s hand tightly, paused.

“W-Wait a moment. Where should I go to find you if I want to repay the grace?”

“Coming to the Sacred City will do.”

Ending with a sudden farewell, Jin So-myeong turned into a flash of light and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Left in their spots, the two women looked at each other with bewildered expressions and mumbled.

“The Sacred City…?”

“Mother. Was Senior Jin belonging to the Sacred City? I heard that the Sacred City is the most powerful force in the Middle Province.”

Ryeo-jeong, who hesitated for a moment as if awkward using informal speech to her who had come to her senses, nodded her head.

“Come to think of it, Senior Jin was exceptionally strong ever since his Golden Core days. Hearing that he belongs to the Sacred City makes me understand a little.”

“They say the Sacred City is rich in resources and lacks nothing… I do not know how I should repay the grace.”

“Well. Will it not work out somehow?”

Ryeo-jeong, who spoke lightly like an optimistic person, scanned the surroundings slightly and whispered in her ear.

“If it really doesn’t work, I will even become Senior Jin’s concubine, so you don’t worry too much, So-yul.”

Baek So-yul’s jaw dropped. Staring with wide eyes as if doubting her own ears, she hastily changed the subject.

“Ah, anyway, what should we do now? Perhaps because I have only just come to my senses, I do not know what I should do.”

“Mmh… how about recovering your realm at a nearby spiritual vein and then crossing over to the Middle Province?”

“Sounds good. We should go to a big city to confirm what went on while we were in the mortal world.”

Having formulated a plan, they packed their bags. They left the mortal world where they had stayed for a long time and headed back to the cultivation world.

***

At the same time, arriving at a nearby large city, Jin So-myeong was in the middle of meeting a cultivator dispatched from the Sacred City.

“A Soul-Tracking Compass. Does it mean I can find master Hong Seol with just this?”

“It is hard to guarantee, but it is currently the method with the highest probability.”

The Soul-Tracking Compass was a Rank 5 Heavenly Spiritual Treasure recently developed in the Sacred City, and it was a dharma treasure that tracked the main body using the aura emitted by a piece of consciousness.

‘Utilizing Hong Seol’s consciousness contained in the Dream-Leaving Plaque, I can find out where she is now.’

Closely examining the Soul-Tracking Compass that looked similar to a compass, he infused Hong Seol’s consciousness and activated it.

Hum…!

The arrow-shaped needle vibrated and kept spinning round and round, but no matter how he looked at it, it was not pointing anywhere.

“It means Senior Hong does not exist within the vicinity of a hundred thousand li.”

“Mmh… I will have to move around here and there and activate it.”

He got a grasp of how to use the Soul-Tracking Compass.

He had to visit places where Hong Seol was suspected to be and check each one.

Although he would suffer a bit since he had to rummage in all directions, it was enough that a way to search had appeared.

‘Since I cannot rashly entrust something as important as consciousness to someone else, I must move around personally.’

Since he could also amplify the output of the Soul-Tracking Compass using the Supreme Great Ability, it would not take very long.

Just as he nodded his head.

The cultivator who had transported the newly developed Soul-Tracking Compass all the way here presented a jade slip.

Looking at it using his Divine Sense, dozens of unfamiliar region names were listed in a row.

“The day the former Lord of the Divine Wood and Senior Hong clashed. These are the regions where meteorological anomalies such as meteors falling from the sky occurred. There is a high probability that Senior Hong is in these places.”

“Meteor? What does that have to do with master?”

“If Senior Hong’s injuries were severe, she would not have been able to support her body, so a large commotion would have occurred as she crashed to the ground. If you go to those regions and activate the Soul-Tracking Compass, there might be results.”

“Indeed… that makes sense. Good. You worked hard to investigate up to here.”

Meticulously checking the jade slip again, truly diverse regions were written.

A virgin forest dangerous enough to be called a forbidden land, the sea, a desert where only ordinary people lived because there was no spiritual vein, canyons…

Comparing the list written in the jade slip with the map to draw up the optimal route, he flew to the region he had to go to first.

***

A clay cave in a certain desert.

“Water… wa-ter…”

Waking up at the weakly mumbling sound, Mak-ran hurriedly rose and approached her older sister.

Lips dry and cracked from lack of moisture, short and rough breathing.

Looking at her older sister who had been unable to rise since collapsing from dehydration a few days ago, her heart broke.

“Wait just a moment.”

As she carefully fed the water contained in the leather skin, the rough breathing became a tiny bit easier.

The older sister, who opened her eyes with difficulty, mumbled so softly it was barely audible.

“I am sorry, this water was supposed to be sold…”

“No. Are you not hungry?”

“…Yes. I am fine.”

She was so worried because her older sister, who had never complained once until now, could not easily regain her energy.

Mak-ran, who secretly bit her lip, spoke with a forced smile.

“If it is hard, sleep more.”

“I am sorry… I will get up soon…”

Watching her older sister who fell asleep as if fainting, Mak-ran exited the clay cave.

Although it would not be easy, she intended to obtain food somehow.

‘Should I sell the sword in the rock cave…?’

The treasure discovered during her childhood.

If it was that sword, sharp enough to be suspected of being a deity’s sword, she might be able to buy food.

Her gaze, which was troubled while knitting her brow, turned to the lake in the center of the village.

No, in fact, it could not even be called a lake anymore.

Because all the water had dried up due to the long drought, and only the cracked bottom existed.

The lake that used to be dyed golden when the sunset fell was gone.

Just as she let out a sigh with all the strength drained from her shoulders.

“Those motherfuckers!”

A middle-aged man with a haggard impression sputtered while spitting out curses, which was bewildering since he was usually calm and benevolent.

“Uncle, why are you doing that?”

“The Blood Wind Band. Those damn bastards have come again.”

“Pardon? Again?”

Her panic was brief. From far away in the village, sounds like screams, shouts, and giggles were heard.

Mak-ran, who hesitated for a moment, headed to the place where the shouts were heard, and when she threaded through the villagers who were gritting their teeth in anger, a spacious open lot appeared.

In the center of the open lot, there were as many as three carriages pulled by camels, and jars filled with sloshing water and dried date palms were piled up in heaps.

The twenty robust men surrounding the carriages as if guarding them snorted while looking at the villagers who gathered in droves.

“Humph. Like bugs. As expected, you were hiding food.”

Bam!

Breaking through the creaking doors, the robust men turned the houses into shambles.

Dried meat, water hidden in the underground storage…

Anything that was even slightly useful was completely plundered.

“Ah…!”

The homeowner trembled in anger but did not dare to resist.

For the robust men were the Blood Wind Band, a group of horse bandits notorious for being vicious. If they resisted even slightly, they would have to pay a larger price.

Just as they were only glaring with bloodshot eyes.

“If you take everything like this, just what are we supposed to eat and live on!”

The bandits who had been strolling through the village as if it were their own home and plundering all kinds of assets froze.

“Who was that just now? Which son of a bitch babbled!”

A cold silence followed the voice that sounded like a beast growling.

Amidst the flustered villagers stepping back hesitantly, a young man stepped forward alone.

“I said it.”

At the sight of the young man standing while clutching his trembling fists, a bandit with a scar on his face strode over and poked his forehead repeatedly.

“Ha! Say it again.”

Although it would be terrifying with the menacing man glaring right in front of his nose, the young man did not back down.

“If you take everything like that, our village will starve to death. You must leave at least a little…”

Slap!

A palm as large as a pot lid slapped the cheekbone, and blood flowed from the ear of the young man whose face instantly swelled up.

The young man, who could not even stand properly perhaps because his eardrum was damaged, shook his head to regain his senses and gritted his teeth.

“You must open up at least a path to live! If it is like this, we have no choice but to resist!”

“Huh.”

Had he admired the courage of the young man who finished what he wanted to say despite staggering?

The bandit, who even clapped his hands and nodded his head, suddenly curled up one corner of his mouth.

Whack!

He slapped the cheek without mercy. Forcibly raising the staggering young man, he struck him again and again.

“An insignificant bastard dares! Do you think anything will change because bastards like you resist? Go ahead and try!”

Slap! Slap!

As the young man who turned into a bloody mess in an instant finally collapsed, this time he began to stomp him with his feet.

“Risking your life over merely a single word? Ignorant bastard! Just die!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Just as the one-sided assault continued.

“Stop it! He will die at this rate!”

Mak-ran, who was watching while hiding among the villagers, could not endure it and stepped forward.

“Which bitch is it again…!”

The face of the bandit, which had been distorted like a terrifying demon, opened up wide.

“Hoh, I wondered what kind of bitch it was, and she is quite pretty. Fine. I shall accept you as a brother of our Blood Wind Band. Consider it a grace, as you will at least not starve. Hehe.”

At the fishy voice, the bandits watching with crossed arms giggled.

“Is it not siblings rather than brothers?”

“Khehe. What does it matter whether it is siblings or sisters.”

Striding over, he grabbed her wrist firmly and tried to load her onto the carriage.

The panicked Mak-ran flailed, but she could not overcome the brute grip.

“Aaargh! Let go of me!”

She resisted violently while being dragged along, and the bandit, whose eyes grew fierce, slapped her cheek.

“Like a dog of a bitch. You only listen when you are beaten.”

Mak-ran, whose cheek was swollen, glared without losing her spirit. To her, who had suffered all kinds of hardships since childhood, a slap or two was nothing.

Just as she was about to bite his forearm.

“Urgh!?”

A sharp blade poked out from the bandit’s chest.

The young man, who had been beaten one-sidedly while crouching, had risen secretly and stabbed his back with a sword.

“Kehuu-uk! H-Help… urgh! Keck!”

Having his lung penetrated between the ribs, he could not even breathe properly. Flailing his arms and making strange noises, he collapsed with a thud.

The moment everyone watching was shocked.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The bandits sitting on the carriages and giggling snapped their eyes open and drew their broadswords.

“How dare you!”

“I shall carve your flesh!”

Just as they rushed in droves toward the young man who could not even stand properly from being beaten too much.

Thud!

A stone flying with a whirring sound slapped the temple, and one bandit who was shouting triumphantly collapsed.

“…!”

The bandits, coming to a halt, scanned the surroundings with panicked eyes, and the villagers who had only been watching were glaring while holding stones and such.

“Y-You bastards. Have you gone mad collectively?”

What was contained in the faintly trembling voice was not anger, but fear.

“If you touch us, our angered chieftain will appear leading over five hundred brothers! The village will turn into ashes!”

“Aaargh, what does the future matter! We will starve to death anyway if we leave you bastards alone!”

Simultaneously with someone’s resentful shout,

Thud! Thud! Thud!

fist-sized stones began to pour down like rain.

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