Chapter 247: Escape
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Coming to a place as dangerous as the Sacred War, he could not help but contemplate a method of escape.
Naturally, Jin So-myeong had also thought of quite a few methods.
However, because an unexpected situation erupted, most of the methods lost their utility.
The Infinite Void Formless Robe was broken by the mysterious pillar of light, and ten… no, now nine Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords were watching, were they not?
In this situation, there were not that many methods he could use.
“Whew.”
With a brief deep breath, he composed the aftermath of the battle. Gathering the spiritual power that was right before exhaustion…
Boom!
Without any ceremony, he launched the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm toward the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords who were performing a mysterious ritual.
Although he did not know what kind of ritual that was, since it was an action of the enemy, it was only proper to disrupt it, was it not?
Immediately after squeezing out his remaining strength to pour out the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm.
Before even confirming what result the flying spell made with a sound of piercing the air, he concentrated his mind.
He harmonized with something that was at a distance too far to reach even with his Divine Sense.
At the moment when he gritted his teeth at the pain that felt as if his brow were being pierced with an awl.
Flash!
A whopping ten thousand li. When converted into kilometer units, he moved a distant distance reaching 4,000 kilometers in an instant.
He had teleported by utilizing the True Blood he had buried in the ground in advance before participating in the Sacred War.
‘I succeeded!’
As the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art reached Great Success, a single drop, drop by drop of his True Blood became like a Blood Spirit Clone, so it was a miracle that was possible.
Jin So-myeong, who moved ten thousand li in the blink of an eye, recovered the True Blood by utilizing his spatial pocket.
In other words, True Blood was the essence of one’s cultivation.
If it were seized by the enemy, it could be used for all sorts of tricks such as divination, tracking, or curses, so he must absolutely not leave even a single drop behind.
“Whew…”
Since he had moved ten thousand li in a split second, he gained a temporary moment of respite, but it was still too early to feel relieved.
To a Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lord, a distance like ten thousand li was merely a distance that could be pursued in an instant.
Therefore.
He concentrated his mind once again.
He harmonized with the second True Blood buried ten thousand li away from his current location, and
Flash!
He moved ten thousand li once again.
‘Except for the fact that I become extremely vulnerable when concentrating my mind, it is the best method of movement.’
In fact, there was a major disadvantage to moving through True Blood.
If he buried True Blood in advance, he could harmonize with it up to ten times the range of his Divine Sense and use it like a clone, but in the process of waking up the True Blood, a great burden was placed on his Divine Sense.
It meant that if he was ambushed while concentrating his mind, it would be extremely dangerous.
If he played this kind of trick in front of an expert like Ra-heuk, he would lose his life without even being able to react.
‘Well, since there is no one nearby right now, it does not matter.’
Jin So-myeong, who moved to the location where the second True Blood was planted, concentrated his mind again.
He recovered the True Blood and moved to the third True Blood…
Flash! Flash! Flash!
He repeated the same action for a whopping dozens of times.
By riding the True Blood planted consecutively every ten thousand li, he moved hundreds of thousands of li in one breath.
In fact, as he said earlier, as True Blood was called the essence of cultivation, drop by drop was extremely precious.
Burying dozens of drops of True Blood like this was an action that also placed a burden on Jin So-myeong.
Would it be understandable if he said he had poured in approximately 5 years worth of cultivation?
Before participating in the Sacred War, he had contemplated a bit.
Since he had not achieved the mid-stage of the Soul Formation stage anyway, should he accept the drop in his cultivation realm and bury several drops of True Blood to make an escape route surely?
Or should he just participate?
In the end, after contemplating, he made an escape route, and that was why it had taken a whole week until he became a mid-stage Soul Formation stage cultivator.
If he had not consumed his True Blood to make an escape route, he would have broken through the minor realm within a day or two after the Sacred War began.
‘Whew… By the way, this is also not easy.’
As he repeated waking up the True Blood ten thousand li away as a Blood Spirit Clone, his brow throbbed.
Furthermore, because he had just finished a battle, his physical condition was also a mess, but there was no time to show hesitation.
How fast a Void Refinement stage cultivator was, he had felt keenly while fighting directly. If he hesitated even for a moment, he would be caught up.
Dispelling his fatigue with a single breath, he continued to concentrate.
Harmonizing with and waking up the True Blood, and after swapping locations with the main body through the Blood Spirit Clone ability, the True Blood was recovered through his spatial pocket.
Although it was a considerably exhausting process to repeat dozens of times even if one or two times were fine, there was also good news.
As he recovered the buried True Blood, the essence of cultivation contained inside returned.
So, simply speaking…
It meant that every time he recovered the True Blood, his cultivation realm was rapidly rising.
It was merely that what was originally his own realm returned, but anyway, looking only at the result, it was so.
Like that.
【Jin So-myeong】
【Lifespan】: 175 / 2,017
【Realm】: Soul Formation Stage 6th Layer
【Supreme Great Ability】: 20,000 / 8 billion
【Spiritual Power Amplification】: +102%
【Divine Abilities】: <Secret Realm of the Mind>, <Myriad Flows Restoration>
In just a few seconds, his realm rose and he became a 6th layer Soul Formation stage cultivator.
Thanks to him diligently digging up and eating ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs in the Sacred War, he had reached right before the 6th layer, and just now, while recovering the True Blood, he filled the lacking part.
A chuckle naturally came out at the feat that occurred while fleeing to avoid the Void Refinement stage Asuras.
‘8 billion Supreme Great Abilities!’
Before participating in the Sacred War, the maximum limit was only 2 billion, but before he knew it, it had increased four times.
No matter how much the Supreme Great Ability was, it would be fully recovered in a month.
8.0 billion in a month meant that an immense amount reaching over 260 million would be recovered in a single day.
‘As for lifespan… was approximately 800 years consumed.’
Although it was a painful loss, it was already a past matter, and he had no regrets.
Did he not do his best? That was enough.
Furthermore, he was also comforted by the fact that the lifespan consumption was far less than expected.
Since he had overstrained himself considerably while defeating Ra-heuk, he had expected his lifespan to be consumed by at least 1,500 years, but to think it was 800 years.
When he contemplated the reason, there was something he guessed.
‘It seems the lifespan consumption decreased thanks to my realm rising, and on top of that, because I mastered the Primordial One Qi Art.’
It was a relief.
The time remaining until his lifespan ended was approximately 1,800 years. With this, he believed he could sufficiently reach the Void Refinement stage.
‘Since my lifespan will expand greatly once I rise to the Void Refinement stage. There will not be any big problem.’
Anyway, now was the time to put down what he had lost and focus on what he had gained.
‘The spiritual power amplification rate has become 102%.’
It meant that if the spiritual power accumulated in his dantian was 100, it would be increased to 202.
If he multiplied this by the 1.5 times to be amplified by the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art…
303.
Now, based on the same realm, he came to possess a spiritual power that was three times more outstanding.
Since spiritual power was the foundation of all divine abilities, the stronger it was, the better.
He was satisfied with the growth obtained thanks to establishing a system that grew permanently stronger every time he used the Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing.
‘Good.’
Roughly mending the spiritual power that had become unstable as his realm rose, he continued to move through the True Blood.
Even at this very moment, nine Void Refinement stage Asuras would be pursuing him. There was no time to rest leisurely.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Jin So-myeong, who moved another fifty thousand li in an instant, grabbed his throbbing brow.
‘I only need to go a little further…’
His Divine Sense, which had reached its limit, complained of fatigue.
If he overstrained himself further, it seemed permanent damage would occur to his Divine Sense, so he had no choice but to stop temporarily.
Of course, he did not just rest.
Taking out the Void Refinement stage-level storage pouch he had obtained after a life-and-death struggle, he examined it.
Although he did not know what would be inside this, whatever it was, it would be used very usefully.
‘Hmm… If I try to open it directly, I will suffer a bit.’
As observed by the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, true to its nature as a 6th-rank storage pouch, a complex restriction was cast on it.
It seemed he would have to study it over at least several years and consume an immense amount of spiritual power and Divine Sense to be able to open it.
Of course, since he possessed the Secret Realm of the Mind divine ability, he did not need to suffer that much.
He attempted to absorb the storage pouch in its entirety into his spatial pocket…
【You can preserve the contents if you consume 5 billion points of the Supreme Great Ability.】
He could not help but be startled.
‘To think 5 billion points of the Supreme Great Ability are needed just to open a single storage pouch?’
No matter how much of a Void Refinement stage-level storage pouch it was, was this not too severe?
Although he could not readily understand, since he had no time, he passed over it for now.
Since there were also many Soul Formation stage-level storage pouches he had obtained while fighting in the Sacred War, he had to check those as well.
‘Hey guys. Sort out the ones that are useful when fleeing first.’
After instructing his clones, who were organizing the mountains of treasures.
Ending his brief rest, he departed again.
After repeating harmonizing with the True Blood ten thousand li away and moving.
‘I have arrived.’
The place where he had buried his last True Blood, and at the same time, the boundary dividing the humans and the Asuras.
He was able to arrive at the Bright Blood Great Valley .
‘I only need to cross here somehow. No matter how much of Asuras they are, they will not be able to pursue all the way to the human territory.’
Living for 5 years in the Red Lotus Realm, the territory ruled by the Asuras, he had not merely cultivated.
He had also investigated a lot in his spare time.
In particular, he had focused a lot of interest on the method to go to the human territory, and he had even obtained a proper map of the Bright Blood Great Valley by paying a huge sum of money.
Rumble!
Jin So-myeong, who stared at the canyon where silver water looking like mercury poured violently, nodded his head.
‘Let us go.’
His heart’s preparation was already finished.
Even though it was the Bright Blood Great Valley, which was dangerous enough that even a Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lord could lose his life if he slipped up, he stepped forward without hesitation.
***
How much time had passed.
In the canyon that had regained its tranquility after Jin So-myeong left, the Asuras arrived one after another.
“That guy has already entered the Bright Blood Great Valley? So fast?”
“It is certain.”
“Heh, at this point, it is to the point of being dumbfounded.”
A complex emotion brushed through the eyes of the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords, which had been filled only with anger and murderous intent.
Putting aside friend or foe, it was an ability that could not help but elicit admiration.
“For a Soul Formation stage cultivator to move this kind of distance in an instant… I do not know what kind of spatial divine ability he mastered.”
“Although it is true that he is great, there will surely be restrictions. There is no way there is no price for this kind of absurd divine ability. Anyway, let us continue the pursuit.”
“Yes. Please wait for a moment.”
At that moment when the Asura skilled in tracking gathered the remaining Qi around and unfolded a secret technique.
The woman with violet skin frowned.
“However, I do not know how a person possessing such a powerful divine ability was nameless. How on earth did he hide his strength that was strong enough to slaughter a Void Refinement stage expert?”
They said a talent would eventually reveal itself.
A sharp needle, no matter how much one tried to hide it, was bound to be revealed in the end.
With a talent of Jin So-myeong’s level, even if the race was different, it was normal to have heard of him at least once.
“Could he be a decisive battle weapon secretly raised by a human Unity stage Dao Lord?”
“…Even so, it does not make sense. Jin So-myeong is clearly someone who has experienced countless real battles. If he had only cultivated in a safe environment, even if he received direct teachings from a Unity stage Dao Lord, he could not be that strong.”
“Indeed. That statement is correct.”
To think that while possessing overwhelming talent and clearly having fought countless real battles, his name was actually not known.
The more they thought, the more the front and back did not match.
Just what kind of fortuitous opportunity did Jin So-myeong obtain to be so strong?
At that moment when the silence continued due to guessing.
“Surely…”
Very rarely.
There were those who were born in a lower realm that was nothing but barren, and after breaking through countless adversities, succeeded even in Ascension.
“To think he was a cultivator who had just ascended from a lower realm?”
If so, all the doubts were resolved.
It was also natural that his strength and reputation were imbalanced.
The lower realms connected to the Upper Realm numbered over hundreds of thousands. If he ascended from one of them, who would know?
“…Ra-heuk’s judgment was correct. Jin So-myeong is a person who must not be left alive.”
Since the resources in the lower realms were barren, compared to the Upper Realm, the level of cultivation arts also dropped. Yet, Jin So-myeong was strong.
Could he have created the cultivation art himself?
To think he was this strong even though he had just ascended and lacked the time to accept Upper Realm culture.
He was a monster that had to be killed by any means.
“I found it. It is that way.”
“Let us go immediately.”
Right on time, the result of the tracking art came out, and the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords, whose complexions hardened, headed toward the Bright Blood Great Valley.
For them, it was equivalent to heading to a dangerous place, but there was no one who hesitated.
***
Meanwhile.
Jin So-myeong, who entered the Bright Blood Great Valley, glanced back.
‘They will probably continue to pursue.’
If they were humans, they would have been reluctant to pursue at this point.
Since the strength Jin So-myeong possessed was also not to be underestimated, and the Bright Blood Great Valley was also a dangerous place.
Pursuing a prey that could be killed unilaterally and pursuing an enemy who could also kill oneself had completely different risk levels.
There would not be many Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords who would risk a danger that could cost their lives to kill a single Soul Formation stage cultivator.
However, since the Asuras were extremely bellicose, he expected that they would not give up at just this degree of difficulty.
‘In order to safely go to the human territory…’
Recalling his goal and drawing up a plan, Jin So-myeong began to move in earnest.
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