Chapter 235: Bright Blood Grand Valley
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Twitch!
The Asura, who was moving even after having its neck cut, was split vertically in the subsequent slashing strike.
The slash that was initially one divided into dozens and slashed its entire body, so it was of no use no matter how tough a life force it possessed.
Not to mention its meridians, even its dantian was shattered to pieces. It was killed cleanly without any margin of coming back to life.
‘They say the Asura Race has two hearts. It was indeed true.’
Inside the upper body split into several pieces by the slash, another heart was visible, which was a characteristic possessed by the Asura Race.
“Heavens! H-He really killed it.”
“Ugh… the Unity stage Celestial Lord will be furious, how on earth can we bear the consequences of this…”
The Nascent Soul stage cultivators who grasped the situation late turned pale to the point of crying.
Staring at those who were scared as if they had met a grim reaper, Jin So-myeong chuckled.
As soon as he ascended, he became enemies with a Rank 6 expert, but he had no regrets.
What could he do about what happened when he got caught in a strange wind that made his spiritual power run wild like crazy?
Moreover, the Asura he just killed was too combative.
Seeing the hostility harbored in its eyes, even if he had spared it, instead of saying thank you, it would surely run wild to seek revenge.
Rather than going through troublesome events down the line, it was much better to just kill it cleanly.
‘It is done.’
What was more important than what had already passed was what to do next.
First, he dealt with the combat traces and took the storage pouch hanging from the Asura’s waist.
“If you have a map, give it to me. If what you say is true, a Rank 6 expert will soon pursue us, so we must leave as quickly as possible.”
“Ah… that is right.”
One of the Nascent Soul stage cultivators who was lost in thought suddenly snapped back to his senses and offered a jade slip.
Scanning it with his Divine Sense, as expected, this place was a territory ruled by the Asura Race, just as he had guessed.
‘Red Lotus Realm.’
It was adjacent to the Stone Heart Realm, which was a land ruled by the human race, and could be called a kind of border region.
It was written that to cross from the Red Lotus Realm to the Stone Heart Realm where the human race lived, one had to cross a dangerous zone called the Bright Blood Grand Valley.
‘Fortunately, I dropped in a place close to the human race’s territory.’
However, one disappointing point was that the region recorded on the map was quite narrow.
Because it only contained parts of the Red Lotus Realm and the Stone Heart Realm, it was impossible to know what the entire upper realm looked like.
“Is there no map larger than this?”
When he asked just in case, the cultivator who offered the map wore a bitter smile.
“Senior. That is the best map among those we possess. As you know, are we not only Nascent Soul stage cultivators?”
“Hmm.”
He roughly understood what the man meant.
The region contained in this map was only parts of the Stone Heart Realm, the Red Lotus Realm, and the Bright Blood Grand Valley in between them, but even that was dozens of times wider than the Middle Province.
Since dozens of lands as large as the Middle Province had to gather to finally be called a ‘Realm’…
If it were the lower realm, even this map alone would have been an excessive item for a Nascent Soul stage cultivator to possess.
‘Anyway. Now that things have turned out like this, I must cross the Bright Blood Grand Valley as quickly as possible and go to the human race’s territory.’
At the moment when he was meticulously examining the map to plan a route.
“Ah, we were in such confusion until now that our greetings are late. Thank you for saving us. My name is Lee Hyeon-gang, and the brothers next to me are Lee Yeon-pung and Lee Chang-mu.”
Looking at the Nascent Soul stage cultivators bowing their waists deeply, a question suddenly arose in his mind.
“But why are you in the Asura Race’s territory?”
“Yes?”
“And you said the Asura I just killed was a direct descendant of the Unity stage Celestial Lord, so I am curious how you know the affairs of another race so well.”
“…”
“Because of you, did I not get caught in a troublesome matter? I think I can ask at least this much of a question.”
At the moment of frowning because they hesitated and could not answer, which was suspicious.
Lee Hyeon-gang spoke hastily.
“We are not trying to deceive you, Senior. It is just… because the work we do is not very honorable.”
“Hmm?”
“Do the spiritual beasts possessed by the Asura Race provide immense help in body tempering? So, only when guys like us do the legwork can the human body temperers grow stronger, right? Haha…”
Wielding an awkward smile, the excuse he spat out contained quite a lot of information.
‘Are they taking the cultivation resources possessed by the Asura Race and selling them to the human race? If this is not an honorable act, then the human race and the Asura Race must still be in a hostile relationship.’
In short, it meant that the Nascent Soul stage cultivators in front of him were smugglers.
“Um… if your questioning is finished, could we please leave now? We are afraid that the Unity stage Celestial Lord might catch up.”
Seeing them want to leave immediately because they were anxious was quite unexpected.
‘I thought they would ask me to go with them to the human territory.’
Were they trying not to cause any more nuisance?
Or were they going to disperse because they would surely be caught up by the Unity stage expert on the way?
“You have also become enemies with the Unity stage Celestial Lord, so what are you planning to do?”
“Uhm… we plan to hide for about ten years in the deep sea where there are no spiritual veins.”
Would hiding in a remote deep sea really be safe?
In any case, from Jin So-myeong’s perspective as well, going alone was much faster and more convenient, but it was also slightly disappointing.
This was because there were so many things he wanted to ask, such as what the agreement reached between the human race and the Asura Race was, what kind of realm existed beyond the Rank 6 Unity stage and the 7th Tier, and what situation the human race was currently placed in.
However, since asking openly might reveal that he had just ascended, he held his tongue.
“If you have a jade slip containing information such as sects or clans possessing great influence nearby, the culture possessed by the Asura Race, and things to watch out for when crossing the Bright Blood Grand Valley, give it to me.”
“Yes?”
“I was in a very distant place and dropped here due to an unintended accident. The common sense possessed by you and my common sense will be quite different. So I want to know the culture of this place before making a mistake.”
“Ah…”
“Since I saved your lives, this much of a request should not be difficult.”
“O-Of course. A jade slip is nothing, so we will give you all of them.”
The three men surnamed Lee emptied their storage pouches and poured out a pile of jade slips.
Roughly scanning them, he was pleased as they contained various information about the upper realm. What Jin So-myeong needed most right now was this kind of common sense.
“Good. Although I do not know how things will turn out, I hope you will be safe too.”
“We say it again, but thank you very much. Our three brothers will surely repay this grace!”
Leaving behind the three brothers who deep-bowed their waists and shouted, he traversed the sky.
According to the map, to go to the human territory, he had to cross the Bright Blood Grand Valley.
However, because the Bright Blood Grand Valley was filled with bizarre poisons and ancient ferocious beasts that had settled there since millions of years ago, it was a canyon dangerous even for Unity stage cultivators.
To cross such a grim place safely, one had to move along a relatively safe path, and from that perspective, he was lucky.
‘To think the Nascent Soul stage cultivators I met by chance were smugglers.’
The path marked on the map was exactly the route they usually smuggled through. Since they, who were Nascent Soul stage cultivators, crossed it safely, it would be even safer for Jin So-myeong, who was a Soul Formation stage cultivator.
One worry was the pursuit of the Unity stage expert, but for this, he had no choice but to move as fast as possible.
‘If it really does not work… I just have to fight a battle.’
Forty years had passed since he fought Star-Shattering True Monarch. How much progress had he achieved during that time? It was hard to list them one by one.
He believed that even if he could not win against a Rank 6 Unity stage expert, he would at least be able to escape.
‘Come to think of it, there was also a jade slip that I was told to check after ascending to the upper realm.’
Among the rewards he received after defeating the wooden dummy in the Defeated Sage Dojo, which was a secret realm he visited during his Nascent Soul stage days, was a gold-colored jade slip.
‘It definitely said that some cultivation method was contained in it.’
How powerful would a cultivation method left behind for an inheritor be? He wanted to check it right away but held back.
He decided to focus on moving as fast as possible for now and look into the jade slip later when he had some leisure.
Folding away all the idle thoughts passing through his mind, he increased his speed.
Flying with all his strength by even displaying the Lightning Escape Art for a long time.
Rumble!
The rough sound of water heard when a waterfall falls echoed, and before long, he arrived at a canyon where a silver torrent poured down.
‘So this is why it is called the Bright Blood Grand Valley.’
A valley where bright blood flows.
According to legend, that silver water resembling mercury is said to be the blood of some demonic beast that possessed an incredibly high realm.
Of course, it was impossible to know if it was true.
The water diluted over endless years was merely a glittering poisonous liquid, and was not particularly useful. In many ways, it was difficult to consider it the blood of a high-tier demonic beast.
Anyway,
What was important right now was not the legend, but finding a safe path to cross over to the human territory.
At the moment when he was comparing the surrounding terrain with the map in his head.
‘Hmm…?’
Something felt strange.
Although he could not know the exact reason, it bothered him somehow to look at the canyon where the silver torrent flowed.
Since there was no reason to ignore the warning of his instincts honed through actual combat, he displayed the Heavenly Thunder Eye of Clear Observation.
At the moment when he was closely observing the entrance area of the Bright Blood Grand Valley.
He discovered a fine distortion in the foam generated as the rough water collided with the rocks and shattered to pieces.
Something transparent wavered between the scenery.
It was an extremely fine mismatch that could not be perceived by ordinary senses, but it could not escape the Heavenly Thunder Eye of Clear Observation.
Crackle!
At the same time he lightly flicked and shot a lightning qi compressed in the shape of a bead.
“Huh. You noticed this?”
A hazy wavering spread in all directions centering on the empty air where the lightning qi collided, and a fortress so huge it was hard to contain in a single glance suddenly appeared.
On top of the suddenly popped-out fortress wall, five Soul Formation stage cultivators were standing, and all of them were Asuras.
‘Have they already pursued me all the way here?’
It was an astonishingly fast reaction.
However, there was one strange thing. According to the map he had received from the three brothers of the Lee family, there was no fortress here.
How did this happen?
At the moment of narrowing his eyes as he met the cold gazes of the Asuras.
“I do not know how a Soul Formation stage cultivator pierced through the Silver Flow Fortress’s array.”
“Don’t tell me those guys from the Lee family leaked the information?”
“If they did, they would not have come all the way here. Unless they were crazy to die.”
Listening quietly to the arrogant chatter as if the situation were already completely finished, he cut in.
“Wait. Did you just say those Lee guys?”
“Yes. The one who killed the young patriarch would head here, so they told us to make sure to catch you.”
“Ha…”
“Do you know now? They sold you out to beg for their wretched lives.”
Looking at the sneer full of ridicule, he really felt like slapping his forehead.
‘To think I was betrayed like this?’
He wondered why they did not go to the human territory together, and only now did he understand.
Probably, as soon as they parted with him, they would have contacted the Asura Race, with whom they had connections through smuggling.
In order to offer him as a sacrifice to the Unity stage Celestial Lord who would be furious at losing his child.
‘Absurd.’
He was glad to meet humans in the upper realm and let down his guard because their realms were low at the Nascent Soul stage.
“Foolish. That is what happens when you trust rats who only do smuggling.”
Was it because it was too absurd?
Even though he had fallen into a trap, a laugh came out somehow.
“This is also quite a fun place. I like it.”
As he was giggling to suppress the laughter trying to burst out, the eyes of the Asuras turned strange.
Frowning, they looked at each other, displaying expressions that doubted whether he had gone mad.
“Have you gone crazy from the feeling of betrayal?”
“What feeling of betrayal between those who met for the first time? They will have to pay the price for this matter.”
“…You are a guy with amazing confidence. Do not kill him. The patriarch will have to vent his anger.”
Crunch!
At the moment when the Soul Formation stage-grade Divine Senses collided and the empty air distorted.
Jin So-myeong, who smiled so brightly that his teeth were visible, pointed to the sky, and
The surroundings were dyed in darkness.
“Yes. I was just curious. How far my power would reach.”
At the same time as his voice, which was completely cleared of laughter and became calm.
A super-large ice cauldron that appeared while blocking the sun fell vertically toward the fortress. Just like a meteorite.
***
A certain quiet bamboo forest.
In that place where no movement existed except for the wind brushing between the bamboos.
Someone approached a white-haired Asura who was sitting cross-legged like a stone statue.
“Master. A problem has occurred.”
There was no response or even a movement, but the disciple did not hesitate.
“The young patriarch was killed by a human Soul Formation stage swordsman.”
Spitting out the shocking news in a tone that was neither slow nor fast, he continued to speak.
“According to the human smugglers who provided the information, that swordsman got swept by the Nine Heavens Wild Wind, fell by chance into the Red Lotus Realm, and collided with the young patriarch.”
“…”
“Five Soul Formation stage cultivators working at the Silver Flow Fortress tried to suppress him, but it seems they failed.”
In the silence, how much time had passed?
From the white-haired Asura who slowly opened his eyes, a dry voice flowed out.
“Are you saying that five of them fought one person and were defeated instead?”
Was that more important than his own child being dead? It was a question that was cold to the extreme, but the disciple was also calm.
“I am judging it so. Since the contact saying that a human swordsman appeared at the Silver Flow Fortress, there has been no news.”
“His realm?”
“Early Soul Formation stage.”
The realms of those working at the fortress were one late Soul Formation stage and four mid Soul Formation stage. Yet they were all defeated by a single early Soul Formation stage swordsman…
It was something hard to accept by common sense.
The white-haired Asura, who was silently lost in thought, stood up without saying this or that.
At the moment when he, who possessed the Rank 6 Unity stage realm, took a step.
The empty air folded.
Traversing the distant distance in an instant, he arrived at the Silver Flow Fortress, and for the first time, a crack appeared on his emotionless face.
“…”
Ever since arriving at the fortress,
Everything that came into his sight was pure white.
Not to mention the fortress walls engraved with arrays, the five Asura Soul Formation stage cultivators who guarded the fortress, and even the rough water that flowed in the canyon.
There was not a single exception.
Everything was frozen solid.
Within a thousand-li radius, the only thing that existed was ice.
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