Chapter 236: Infiltration

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Staring at the completely frozen fortress, the expressionless face of the white-haired Asura, Ra-heuk, cracked for the first time as he narrowed his eyes.

Releasing a Unity stage-grade Divine Sense, he thoroughly searched the surrounding three thousand li, but there was no one.

The ferocious human Soul Formation stage swordsman had already left long ago, and there was not even a single survivor.

‘It was one-sided. They could not even resist properly.’

He closely examined the expressions of the Asuras who had become ice statues; from their wide-open mouths as if shouting and their glared eyes, it was clearly revealed that they were astonished after witnessing a shocking scene.

There were five Asuras guarding the fortress in total, and their dead appearances were all similar.

With their eyes glared, they were frozen in the exact posture of kicking off the ground and rushing toward someone.

“…”

Very slowly,

Ra-heuk, who was observing the pure white-dyed fortress, paused.

The fortress walls were too intact. Since Soul Formation stage cultivators collided, it should have been half-devastated normally, but there was almost no place collapsed.

It meant that the battle ended as soon as it started…

This was also extremely hard to believe.

Rather, it was a more rational judgment that a human Unity stage cultivator had infiltrated this place.

However, even though he searched all directions thoroughly, no trace of a Unity stage-grade existence exerting power was visible. The spiritual power fluctuations left on the battlefield also indicated that the ferocious beast was alone…

Although he could not believe it, the conclusion was one.

The five Asuras were defeated by a single Soul Formation stage swordsman without even being able to resist properly.

Literally beyond standard.

It was by no means a power that an early Soul Formation stage cultivator could possess.

“The grand plan spanning fifty thousand years has finally ripened just now. Yet there is still enough strength for such a mutant to appear… It is truly a persistent race.”

At the moment when he was muttering as if lamenting.

“Master… Ugh!”

The disciple who arrived late at the Silver Flow Fortress tried to approach but hastily backed away.

His fingertips were frozen before he knew it, because the cold qi remaining on the battlefield had seeped into his body.

“Tsk.”

Not being controlled by a master, yet they could not even withstand the energy left on the battlefield…

At the sight of the disciple urgently trying to shake off the cold qi, Ra-heuk frowned, and the moment he lightly tapped the empty air with his index finger.

All the cold qi sweeping through the fortress gathered to a single point.

Everything that was frozen melted in an instant and regained its original appearance, and the corpses whose breaths were already cut off collapsed with thuds.

It was a scene that would naturally draw attention, but Ra-heuk did not even care about the corpses of his subordinates.

He placed the cold qi gathered at a single point between both of his palms and recited a spell.

He displayed a secret technique to track the Soul Formation stage swordsman using the energy remaining on the battlefield.

How much time had passed?

Ra-heuk, who frowned as if he did not get the desired result, brushed away the cold qi and ordered the disciple.

“Immediately deploy the Heavenly Severance Wilderness Sealing Array. Make sure that everyone within a million li nearby, no one can escape.”

“To seal a million li, the consumption of Immortal Stones will be immense. Will you be fine?”

At the answer close to talking back, a cold gaze was driven in, but the disciple was not intimidated.

Because his role was to speak directly to his master so that he would think once more about important matters.

Even if he died after incurring his master’s anger in the process, it could not be helped. Because it was a role absolutely necessary for the better direction of the entire tribe.

Was it because of that? Ra-heuk, who was sending a cold gaze, remained silent for a moment and then continued his explanation.

“It does not matter how many Immortal Stones are consumed. Killing him is far more important than such things. If a mere Soul Formation stage cultivator is this strong, what will happen when he reaches the Unity stage?”

“…It will become a great calamity.”

“Did you say he fell here after being caught in the Nine Heavens Wild Wind? It has turned out to be heavenly luck for us. Now that he has entered the Red Lotus Realm is our opportunity, so we must kill him at all costs.”

“I understand. However, because the consumption of Immortal Stones for the Heavenly Severance Wilderness Sealing Array is too massive, it will not be able to last long.”

“It does not matter. Because I have a way to find him no matter where he is hiding. We only need to hold him so he cannot leave.”

“Yes. I receive your order.”

The bowing disciple burned hundreds of Voice Transmission Talismans. He had handed down the order without delay.

Ra-heuk, who was silently watching that scene, turned his gaze to the Bright Blood Grand Valley.

To cross from the Red Lotus Realm to the human territory, one had to cross this canyon.

Of course, that was not an easy matter.

The Bright Blood Grand Valley was an extremely dangerous place that even Unity stage cultivators could not cross recklessly.

For a Soul Formation stage cultivator to cross the Bright Blood Grand Valley, they had no choice but to follow the path called the trade route, where safety had been secured over a long time.

Under the current circumstances, the only way for the human Soul Formation stage swordsman to survive was to break through the trade route at once and flee to the human territory.

However… this method was also close to impossible.

Would the Asura Race leave the only path through which one could cross the Bright Blood Grand Valley neglected? Of course not.

There were dozens of fortresses installed throughout the trade route, and at the most important border region bordering the human race, even a Unity stage cultivator was staying.

It was safe to assume that there was no possibility for an unauthorized human Soul Formation stage swordsman to pass through the trade route safely.

Nonetheless.

Ra-heuk headed to the Bright Blood Grand Valley without hesitation.

Because he did not want to tolerate even a one-in-a-million possibility, he intended to follow the trade route and sweep it clean without letting a single rat escape.

***

At the same time.

Jin So-myeong was traversing a grassland where green grass stretched endlessly, and he was in the middle of marveling as he looked at the fist-sized ice cauldron placed on his palm.

The name of this ice cauldron was the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron.

It was an adaptation of the cauldron obtained in the Red Cloud Secret Realm, which the best artisans of the lower realm had worked together to modify for combat.

‘To think it froze five Soul Formation stage cultivators simultaneously.’

It was the first time he had used it in actual combat, but he liked it because it was much more powerful than expected.

Jin So-myeong, who was pleased looking at the ice cauldron where faint lightning qi shimmered, focused on flying again, but the direction was strange.

This was a grassland full of grass, and no matter how one looked at it, it was not the Bright Blood Grand Valley.

At a time when he should be leaving the Red Lotus Realm as quickly as possible and going to the region where humans lived, where on earth was he going?

If someone had seen him, they would have tilted their head at that moment.

Jin So-myeong, who stopped abruptly in the empty air, scanned the horizon and then his eyes shone.

‘Found them.’

He closely observed the Asuras possessing the Foundation Establishment stage realm flying over the grassland and hunting spiritual beasts.

Although the sight of them boldly rushing in and brandishing their fists against a house-sized spiritual beast resembling an elephant looked truly brave, it was not his concern right now.

‘Except for having two horns on their temples, their appearances are diverse for each individual.’

He closely examined the appearance of the Asura Race; except for the horns, some looked just like humans, and some had reddish skin.

Jin So-myeong, who wandered here and there on the grassland and meticulously grasped the characteristics of the Asura Race, nodded his head.

‘This much is enough.’

At the same time as he judged that he definitely knew what the Asura Race looked like.

Crack!

A bone sound echoed, and cone-shaped horns grew from his temples.

Finger-sized horns that slightly protruded and then bent vertically to grow toward the crown of his head, and once he changed his face shape appropriately, he became a perfect Asura whom anyone would look at.

Jin So-myeong, who had completely changed his race itself by displaying the Thousand Transformations Art that had reached Grand Success, immediately traversed the grassland.

‘Just in case, let’s prepare an escape route.’

After wandering all directions to find remote places and burying a few drops of his true blood.

He controlled the spiritual power flowing through his meridians to only reveal the Golden Core stage level.

And…

‘They called it Jade Water City.’

He flew openly toward the city where the Asuras lived.

When he passed through the city gate, a Golden Core stage gatekeeper glanced at him but did not say anything.

‘Easy.’

Like that. Too simply, he entered the city where the Asuras lived.

However, to think he would conversely dig into the middle of the enemy camp in a situation where he should flee immediately…

Why on earth?

‘To cultivate.’

That was right. The reason he infiltrated the Asura city was to settle down and cultivate here altogether.

The reason he made this choice, which seemed reckless at first glance, was simple.

‘How can I trust the map given by a betrayer?’

He had no intention of trusting a map that did not even mark important information like the fortress occupied by the Asura Race and crossing the Bright Blood Grand Valley.

Although the Bright Blood Grand Valley might not be a dangerous area… thinking about it closely, the possibility of that was thin.

Would a canyon dividing the territories of the human race and the Asura Race, which were in a hostile relationship, be ordinary?

There was a high probability that the Bright Blood Grand Valley was truly dangerous.

So, folding away his thoughts of crossing the Bright Blood Grand Valley in a hurry, what he came up with after contemplating was to dig deep into the enemy camp.

‘Probably a net of encirclement has already been constructed.’

He judged that if he blindly departed to escape immediate danger, he would fall into even greater danger.

Is there not also a saying that the foot of the lamp is dark?

Since things had turned out like this, he intended to infiltrate a city where the Asuras lived, gain information about the upper realm, and if possible, cultivate.

Of course, hiding in an Asura city could not be considered a fundamental solution.

Since a net of encirclement was bound to tighten eventually, he would be discovered someday. Strictly speaking, the choice he made now was nothing but buying time.

‘Buying time. That is enough.’

Jin So-myeong was confident in becoming rapidly stronger with just that little bit of time.

If he could just surpass the minor realm and reach the mid Soul Formation stage, he would be twice as strong as now.

If so, the problem now was whether he could settle in the city without being discovered by a Unity stage cultivator, but he was somewhat confident in that.

Stroking the back of his hand, a thin, transparent shroud was felt.

The name of this shroud draped like a coat was the Great Emptiness Formless Robe.

It was a stealth spell he created himself, into which really massive effort had been poured.

To gather the best stealth techniques in the lower realm, he even offered a 5th-rank spiritual vein as a reward, and in the process of registering it in the proficiency system, as many as three billion Supreme Great Abilities were consumed.

[Spell]
Great Emptiness Formless Robe (Proficiency 63 million / 1 trillion)

The ability obtained thereby was only one.

A powerful stealth ability enough to not be discovered even by higher-realm, high-tier existences.

‘Seeing that they still have not found me, it seems to work at least up to the Unity stage.’

He was naturally pleased that the stealth technique he had gone through hardships to create worked well.

Jin So-myeong, who was playing with the Great Emptiness Formless Robe covering his entire body, wore a smile.

‘It was worth consuming the Supreme Great Abilities.’

As could be known from the name, the Great Emptiness Formless Robe was a robe.

It meant that although it was basically a spell, in a way it was also a spiritual tool, which was a similar method to the blood armor.

It was a method of making a robe possessing a stealth effect in advance by consuming Supreme Great Abilities, storing it in his mind, and draping it when needed.

It had infinite potential as he could also strengthen the effect by adding various materials specialized in stealth.

The disadvantage was the same as the blood armor.

If a problem arose and the Great Emptiness Formless Robe was destroyed, he had to consume Supreme Great Abilities to make it again.

‘Since it took five years to make this robe… I must use it carefully.’

Not to mention various treasures, Supreme Great Abilities were also consumed in a really massive amount. He poured in a huge amount of over fifty billion in total, ten billion every month.

If he added the Thousand Transformations Art to the Great Emptiness Formless Robe created with such devotion, settling down in the Asura city was a piece of cake.

What if a problem arose contrary to expectations and he was discovered?

What could he do.

He would try to run away first, and if it really did not work, he just had to risk his life and fight a battle.

Anyway…

While doing an act that would have made anyone grab the back of their neck as if it were nothing,

Jin So-myeong, who scanned the Jade Water City he had just entered, was truly deeply moved.

‘Just how rich is the spiritual qi…’

From the moment he stepped into the city gate, dense spiritual qi was felt with every breath.

Surprisingly, the concentration of spiritual qi flowing on an empty street was at the level of a 3rd-rank medium-grade spiritual vein.

The Sky Island where Jin So-myeong stayed during his Foundation Establishment days did not hesitate to go to war with demonic beasts to occupy a 3rd-rank spiritual vein.

Yet the spiritual vein present on a mere street here was a 3rd-rank medium-grade.

Through this single experience, he could feel in his bones how abundant the resources of the upper realm were compared to the lower realm.

‘Let’s look around the city first and get a lodging.’

After that, he only needed to grasp the information about the upper realm, accept the upper realm culture, and pull up his combat power in a short period.

The preparations were already sufficient.

Six storage pouches left by the Asura Soul Formation stage cultivators with whom he collided as soon as he arrived in the upper realm, and the gold-colored jade slip obtained in the Defeated Sage Dojo.

He also could not omit the Immortal Stones piled up like a mountain here.

‘I must also look around the market. I will be busy for a while.’

He was looking forward to what resources would exist in the city where the Asuras lived.

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