Chapter 243: The Sacred Object Bloomed

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Was it because of the exhilaration of a crisis situation, or was it thanks to the rich environment where spiritual power accumulated just by breathing?

【Jin So-myeong】

【Lifespan】: 175 / 2,845

【Realm】: Soul Formation Stage 4th Layer

【Supreme Great Ability】: 1.9 billion / 4 billion

【Spiritual Power Amplification】: +70%

【Divine Abilities】: <Secret Realm of the Mind>, <Myriad Flows Restoration>

The wall of the minor realm that he had hammered at for several years crumbled all too easily.

The moment he realized he had crossed the wall and stepped onto the 4th layer of the Soul Formation stage.

He immediately threw the Fire Cleaving Great Saber into the sky to make it spew flames.

He covered the surroundings with a sea of fire to block their vision, and at the same time, calmed down the lightning Qi that had become unstable as his realm rose.

In a situation where those who were no different from enemies were watching, he did not want to easily give away the information that his natal cultivation art was of the lightning attribute.

He poured in 100 million points of his Supreme Great Ability to stabilize his churning dantian as quickly as possible.

‘It is done.’

He completely subdued the lightning Qi that seemed to want to devastate the surroundings as if expressing the joy of growth, and estimated what he had gained by breaking through the minor realm.

First of all, his Divine Sense became twice as strong, allowing him to examine a radius of 800 kilometers. It had reached a whopping two thousand li.

Jin So-myeong thought that with this level of Divine Sense, it was only slightly short of the Void Refinement stage level.

There was much else that had grown stronger besides his Divine Sense.

His spiritual power also became stronger, and the maximum limit of his Supreme Great Ability doubled to 4 billion.

If he waited for half a month to fully recover his Supreme Great Ability and combined his strength with Wugeuk, he would be able to register the Primordial One Qi Art into the proficiency system.

‘Good. It is smooth sailing.’

Mid-stage Soul Formation.

He achieved the first goal he had set out to obtain by participating in the Sacred War.

Now, all that remained was to take the Void Refinement spiritual object called the sacred object and escape from this place safely.

‘They said the sacred object would appear near the end of the Sacred War. Since there are about twenty days left… if things go well, the 5th layer of the Soul Formation stage might be possible too.’

Nodding his head, Jin So-myeong kicked off the ground.

Recalling the oppressive feeling of the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords who would be watching from the outside, there was no time to relax.

***

Except for Jin So-myeong, who ran wild from the start, the Sacred War, which had been going on relatively quietly, became more fierce as time flowed.

This was because those in the early and mid-stages of the Soul Formation stage, who still had room for growth, tried to raise their realms by even a speck by consuming ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs like Jin So-myeong.

Those in the late stage of the Soul Formation stage, who already possessed sufficiently high realms, did not stay still either.

Unwilling to tolerate their competitors for the sacred object becoming stronger, they set traps or openly ambushed them to disrupt their cultivation.

As expected of a bellicose race whose daily life was struggle, a chaotic battle where they killed each other continued endlessly.

Actually, surviving this kind of survival competition was simple. One only had to hide in a remote place secretly.

However, there was no Asura who actually hid.

Even if they took a short break due to injuries, they eventually charged toward danger on their own.

This was because the purpose of those participating in the Sacred War was not simply survival. If survival alone had been their goal, they would not have participated in the Sacred War where nine out of ten died in the first place.

There was only one purpose for them gathering here while prepared for death.

The 6th-rank Void Refinement stage.

To get closer to the 6th-rank by obtaining something in the Sacred War, they had to throw themselves into the endless struggle.

Moreover, would the race support a coward who spent his time hiding until the Sacred War ended? Far from regarding him as material to rise to the Void Refinement stage, they would treat him coldly, calling him a disgrace to the Asura race.

In this situation.

There was one person who was by far the most prominent, and that was Jin So-myeong.

It was because since the Sacred War began, he had moved continuously without resting even for a moment, and had sliced through anyone blocking his way without asking questions.

“Waaaah! Jin So-myeong! Jin So-myeong!”

“He is overwhelming!”

“It is only natural. Even Ta Mu-reuk, who is at the Great Circle of the Soul Formation stage, was defeated without being able to hold out for even a moment, so who could stop him?”

Praise ceaselessly poured out of the mouths of the watching audience.

“A great figure has appeared in our Asura race. It is hard to believe that he is in the same Soul Formation stage.”

“Hmm. But he is so strong, yet I do not know how his name has not been known until now.”

“I wonder…?”

Did he kill even all the witnesses every time he revealed his strength? Although it was not common, there were cases where those with cruel and meticulous personalities did so.

Honestly, it could not be seen as a proud act, but…

What did that matter? What was important was that Jin So-myeong was strong.

Strength was indeed the virtue.

The survival of the fittest was the only truth existing in the cultivation world.

All the Asuras went wild for the powerhouse who had appeared like a comet.

*

Amidst gazes mixed with admiration and doubt, half a month passed.

Jin So-myeong, who was moving busily without resting for even a moment, silently cheered.

‘It is done! They are finally all gathered.’

【Supreme Great Ability】: 4 billion / 4 billion

With his Supreme Great Ability recovered to the maximum limit, if he combined his strength with Wugeuk here, he could consume 5 billion points of his Supreme Great Ability at once.

It meant he could register the Primordial One Qi Art into the proficiency system.

‘Let us go right away.’

There was no hesitation.

Although he seemed to have everything going smoothly right now, in reality, he was in a very dangerous situation.

Weren’t ten Void Refinement stage Asuras watching him from a distance that was no different from right in front of him?

The moment his identity was discovered, he could be crushed to death without even being able to resist, so he had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

5.0 billion.

At the moment he consumed an immense amount of his Supreme Great Ability that was hard to even imagine when he had just started cultivating.

【Cultivation Arts】

Primordial One Qi Art (Entry 1 / 300 billion)

He mastered the highest-grade cultivation art, which would normally take decades of research to barely enter, in an instant.

‘Ah.’

Along with a thrilling sense of achievement, all the energies that had been asleep in his mind woke up and mixed together like a vortex.

The energies he had accumulated while cultivating for over 150 years.

The Five Elements Divine Thunder forged through the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art, the purple divine thunder born from enduring Lightning Tribulation, and the vital energy accumulated while cultivating body tempering arts.

Everything mixed together and became the Primordial One Qi.

‘…It is an incredibly pure energy.’

The Primordial One Qi he forged for the first time was pure enough to deeply convince his heart of its reputation as the energy of the beginning.

Of course, the Primordial One Qi currently held by Jin So-myeong was far, truly far short compared to the real energy of the beginning that was said to have existed before the universe was born.

The gap was as large as the sun lighting up heaven and earth and a firefly.

There was no way the Primordial One Qi, which had just taken its first step, could have that much majesty.

‘Still… at this level, it might even be able to replace life force.’

The Primordial One Qi was the most turbid energy in the world, while at the same time, the most pure energy.

Was it not the result of an ideal high enough to be arrogant, to recreate the single Qi of the beginning by merging all of the hundreds of millions of energies?

Theoretically, the Primordial One Qi could absorb any energy, and could also replace any energy.

In the distant future,

It meant that if the Primordial One Qi reached the extreme, it could be treated like lifespan to perform divine abilities like the Moon-Reflecting Blade Canon.

At the moment all the energies he previously possessed were fused into the Primordial One Qi.

A pitch-black black hole appeared deep in his dantian.

The black hole sucked in the surrounding energy like a whirlpool, which was a divine ability called the Chaos Origin Wheel that he obtained upon entering the Primordial One Qi Art.

‘Shall I test it?’

He took out five or six pills accumulated in his spatial pocket and swallowed them in one mouthful.

It was an action that was somewhat difficult to understand.

Even though he had mastered the art of immortal elixirs, he could not digest so many pills all at once.

Since he possessed a strong physical body, he would not suffer injuries, but he would waste most of the medicinal properties without being able to digest them.

That should be normal, but…

The energy guided to his dantian along his meridians was sucked into the Chaos Origin Wheel and became quiet without any disturbance.

‘Splendid.’

The ability of the Chaos Origin Wheel was simple but very powerful.

It sucked in all the miscellaneous energies that he would normally have failed to handle and let flow away, and then digested them slowly over time.

It could be called a warehouse to accumulate energy, as well as a divine ability that automatically refined energy and converted it into spiritual power.

‘It matches exceptionally well with the art of immortal elixirs.’

With the Chaos Origin Wheel, he could accumulate spiritual power as if he were taking pills and cultivating all day long, even when sleeping or resting.

Of course, since he could accumulate spiritual power faster by directly operating his cultivation art to cultivate, there was no reason to be lazy.

‘It is also possible to use the Lightning Escape Art… Not bad. It is an excellent cultivation art.’

He tried converting some of the Primordial One Qi flowing along his meridians into lightning Qi, and succeeded cleanly.

The Purple Lightning Escape Art, which could be called the enhanced version of the Lightning Escape Art, was also no problem.

Above all, the compatibility of the Primordial One Qi Art was extremely good.

All the various divine abilities he previously possessed could be performed with the Primordial One Qi.

‘I like it.’

He did not regret consuming 5 billion points of his Supreme Great Ability at all.

Although he liked it so much that he wanted to make it his natal cultivation art instead of the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art right now, changing one’s natal cultivation art was not something that could be finished in a day or two, so he promised to do it after the Sacred War ended.

Stroking his chin while grasping the Primordial One Qi Art, Jin So-myeong thought.

‘If things go well, I might become a 5th layer Soul Formation stage cultivator before the Sacred War ends.’

With the creation of the Chaos Origin Wheel, the time required to digest spiritual herbs was drastically reduced.

He only had to swallow it, and that was it.

He could leave the job of converting the medicinal effects into spiritual power to the Chaos Origin Wheel to do on its own.

Of course, directly operating his cultivation art would allow him to accumulate spiritual power faster, but in a special situation like now, it was better to gather as many ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs as possible.

‘How much time is left? A week?’

To think that the Sacred War, which had barely started, was already entering its final stage.

The participants, who numbered around one thousand two hundred, had also drastically decreased to less than half. Even at this very moment, they were killing each other.

Leaving his regrets behind, he kicked off the ground.

To raise his realm before the Sacred War ended, he had to hurry.

As a result of moving diligently while even secretly using the Lightning Escape Art.

He gathered as many as 50 ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, and the spiritual power steadily accumulated did not stop at crossing the 5th layer of the Soul Formation stage but reached right before the 6th layer.

【Supreme Great Ability】: 700 million / 6 billion

His spiritual power and Supreme Great Ability, which had grown 1.5 times stronger, were all too sweet.

‘Good. Before leaving this place, I must obtain as many ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs as possible.’

Like that, when exactly 3 days were left until the Sacred War ended.

Suddenly, his goosebumps rose.

At some moment. Without any forewarning, the air completely changed.

‘What.’

His five senses ran wild on their own.

His tongue shriveled as if he had chewed an astringent persimmon, and his ears became muffled, leaving only the thumping sound of his heart to be heard.

The air filling his lungs smelled of sparks flying when swords and spears clashed…

All his senses cried out.

That some anomaly had occurred here right now.

Jin So-myeong was not the only one who felt the disparity. Everyone participating in the Sacred War instinctively knew.

“This…”

“The sacred object has awakened.”

The Asuras, who had been fighting fiercely while killing each other, stopped abruptly and all looked in the same direction.

The very center of Horyong Province.

In the middle of a lake made of black water that looked like ink had been poured into it.

The sacred object, or the Void Refinement spiritual object.

Or else, the Crimson Heart Lotus. The thing everyone intensely yearned for suddenly appeared.

True to its name as the Crimson Heart Lotus, it was a lotus possessing a red color like lava, and its petals stretched straight toward the sky, looking as if a torch were burning.

‘Beautiful.’

The Crimson Heart Lotus, which was said to bloom by feeding on the spirit of struggle, had completely opened.

There were no exceptions.

Everyone who felt the anomaly flew high into the sky. They stared as if possessed at the lotus with petals as sharp as blades.

Even before they could realize that the sacred object had bloomed three days earlier because the Sacred War was more intense than expected.

Boom!

There was someone who charged toward the Crimson Heart Lotus faster than anyone else, without a single moment of hesitation, and that was Jin So-myeong.

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