Chapter 249: Occurring in the Midst of the Chase

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Jin So-myeong, who harvested a heap of red seaweed-like spiritual herbs, immediately headed north.

It was in order to cross the Bright Blood Great Valley and enter the human territory.

‘I do not know how much time it will take to cross here. Would two or three years be enough?’

Because the Bright Blood Great Valley was incredibly wide and full of dangerous areas, there were times when he had to bypass a long distance.

Traversing this place was not an easy task even for Jin So-myeong, who was as fast as a Void Refinement stage cultivator.

Furthermore, he was not going quietly alone, but had to carry trackers, did he not?

‘To be pursued for two or three years, I will suffer a bit.’

While flying diligently, he rolled his brain hard.

Since the Asuras did not seem like they would easily give up, he had to set a long-term plan.

‘First, once 5 billion points of the Supreme Great Ability are gathered, I must open Ra-heuk’s storage pouch.’

Was it not nominally the storage pouch of a Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lord? Precious treasures would be piled up like a mountain.

‘It would be good if there were at least twenty medium-grade Immortal Stones. Then, I would be able to strengthen the Secret Realm of the Mind.’

He also coveted a 6th-rank mobile-type Dharma Treasure.

If only he had a mount that could yield a Void Refinement stage-level speed, he could leave the piloting to his clone and rest or cultivate.

After imagining what would be inside Ra-heuk’s storage pouch, he returned to the main subject.

‘After opening the storage pouch, I must craft the Infinite Void Formless Robe properly to regain my invisibility ability.’

Although completing the Infinite Void Formless Robe properly would take close to a year, if he succeeded, the possibility of safely crossing the Bright Blood Great Valley would rapidly grow.

At that moment when he was having this and that worry.

‘Hmm?’

At the edge of his Divine Sense, he discovered an alligator as large as an island floating on the water.

Thousands of sharp thorns popped out along its spine, and its appearance was extremely threatening.

At the moment when he stopped flying and hid his presence.

The alligator’s gaze accurately pointed this way. Although it was a whopping 800 kilometers away, he was discovered immediately.

‘The demonic beasts residing in the Bright Blood Great Valley are basically sensitive…’

At that moment when he woke up his senses and prepared for the upcoming attack.

The alligator’s eyelids closed again, and it did not move as if it had fallen asleep.

Unexpectedly, unlike its vicious appearance, it seemed to possess a gentle personality.

‘How strange.’

Although it would be good to lure it to the Asuras and make them fight each other, since there was no need to overstrain himself and touch it, he bypassed it far away.

After that, it was relatively peaceful.

Except for small insects charging in, there was no ambush of any kind.

Naturally, he did not let go of the thread of tension.

Mending the injuries from the battle, he crossed the canyon that was complexly tangled like a spiderweb.

Exactly two days later.

In the middle of a canyon wider than an ordinary river, he encountered a demonic beast carrying a shell like a tortoise.

‘Is it that fellow again?’

It was of the same race as the tortoise demonic beast he had met a few days ago.

Roar!

Seeing that it charged as soon as their eyes met, it seemed its dirty personality was also the same.

‘I think it is indeed a Tyrant Armor Tortoise… This vicinity must have been its habitat.’

At first sight, he was not sure, but now it became certain.

That tortoise was an Ancient Ominous Beast called the Tyrant Armor Tortoise .

Even at just the 3rd-rank, it was a race with a lifespan long enough to live ten thousand years, but it was famous for possessing a dirty personality to the point where it would attack just by making eye contact.

Furthermore, because it possessed a hard hide that would not even get a scratch from an ordinary spell, it was an extremely troublesome demonic beast to deal with.

‘It is regrettable.’

The Tyrant Armor Tortoise was a dangerous demonic beast due to its vicious personality, but because its entire body was a heap of treasures, it also became an object of greed.

Particularly, a Tyrant Armor Tortoise that had risen to the Void Refinement stage was even more precious.

Its inner core was the core material for the 6th-rank Life-Prolonging Pill that increased lifespan, so it was worth whatever one asked for, and its shell was the highest-grade material for refining a defensive Dharma Treasure.

Although his heart wanted to hunt it, the current situation was not favorable.

‘I must come back later.’

Finding out that this vicinity was a Tyrant Armor Tortoise habitat was a great harvest. Promising to return when he had leisure later, he reversed his flying direction.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After launching the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palms toward the Tyrant Armor Tortoise that charged like crazy while shattering the earth,

He secretly dropped True Blood wrapped in the Infinite Void Formless Robe and returned in the direction he had come.

It was in order to present the Tyrant Armor Tortoise as a gift to the Asuras who would be pursuing.

Roar!

While parrying the attacks flying in between with the sword holding A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, he flew ten thousand li, in other words, 4,000 kilometers.

‘I must go back soon.’

Teleportation through True Blood was possible up to ten times his Divine Sense.

Currently, Jin So-myeong’s Divine Sense was 800 kilometers. As he became a mid-stage Soul Formation stage cultivator, it doubled to two thousand li.

It meant that if he overstrained himself a bit, he could move up to twenty thousand li, but he had no intention of doing so.

To cross the Bright Blood Great Valley, it would take at least two or three years. To strike the gap of the Asuras, he had to make them misjudge the limit of his ability.

Unless it was a truly important moment, he would not show the fact that he could teleport up to twenty thousand li.

‘Although I do not know if it will be meaningful, there is nothing bad about making them mistake my limit.’

However, there was a problem.

If he returned to the place where he buried his True Blood now, it did not seem the Tyrant Armor Tortoise and the Asuras would collide.

‘It seems I need to fly at least two thousand li more.’

Gauging the distance between the Tyrant Armor Tortoise and the Asuras, he opened his spatial pocket.

Taking out five of the puppets he had prepared in advance, he gave instructions.

‘Fly toward that direction as fast as possible.’

Although he did not know if the Soul Formation stage puppets could fly two thousand li while avoiding the Tyrant Armor Tortoise, since there was no major loss, he made them do it for now.

And taking out 5th-rank talismans containing offensive spells as they came to hand, he scattered them toward the pursuing Tyrant Armor Tortoise.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Although the flames and thunderbolts pouring from the talismans also flew toward this side, he ignored them.

Anyway, since they were merely Soul Formation stage-level spells, he roughly blocked them with the Blood Armor, and concentrated on harmonizing with the True Blood ten thousand li away.

Flash!

The surrounding scenery inverted in an instant, and he let out a sigh of relief.

‘I was not hurt this time.’

Was it thanks to scattering talismans to draw attention?

Fortunately, while concentrating his mind, he succeeded in moving without being attacked.

At that moment when he recovered the True Blood and continued to fly toward the north.

Rumble!

A smile formed at the explosive sound heard faintly.

What would be the reason for a sudden loud roar to ring out? It meant the Asuras and the Tyrant Armor Tortoise had collided.

‘Fortunately, the puppet thrown as bait worked.’

Although it was a joyful thing, he did not become careless.

Since the method of throwing a Void Refinement stage-level demonic beast as bait would not continue to work, he had to think of other methods to delay the pursuit.

However, no matter what ingenious trick he played, in the end, it was a temporary expedient.

‘Ultimately, raising my own strength is the fundamental solution.’

He had to be able to face a Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lord head-on without the Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing, and to do that, he had to defeat the Law Domain.

‘Would it work if I fight from a long distance where the Law Domain does not reach?’

According to what he had found out so far, the size of the Law Domain seized by an early-stage Void Refinement stage cultivator was approximately a radius of one hundred li.

The reason Jin So-myeong could easily shake off the Tyrant Armor Tortoise was because, in the first place, he did not enter the Law Domain seized by the Tyrant Armor Tortoise.

‘The problem is that if I am separated that far, my attack will also not work.’

To slash an expert who rose to the Void Refinement stage, all strength had to be concentrated on a single blade.

Even if he launched a sword slash from a long distance, the opponent would probably laugh and ignore it.

To seize a slim chance of victory, this side also had to risk danger and enter the Law Domain.

‘In the end, it means I must awaken A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens into a Law Domain without the Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing.’

He had to fully comprehend the Law Domain, which could be called the authority of the 6th-rank, and be able to freely unfold supreme techniques like Yin-Yang Reversal.

He pondered the moment of fighting Ra-heuk.

In that moment when life and death went back and forth. To recreate the moment when A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens awakened into a Law Domain, he searched for his blurred sensation.

Ah, of course, flying toward the north must also not be forgotten.

While studying A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens in his head, he flew diligently.

Around the time the pure blue sky was dyed by a golden sunset.

‘…!’

At the sensation that made his spine chill, reflexively he swung his sword, and

Clang!

His wrist throbbed at the heavy repulsive force. The moment he parried something that struck down toward the crown of his head.

Before even having the gap to confirm what flew in, he launched the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm with his left hand.

BOOM!

At the moment when he retreated as if bouncing by utilizing the explosion that occurred right in front of his nose as a stepping stone.

Boom!

An Asura popped out from the shockwave created by the explosion of the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm.

‘They pursued already?’

There was no time to be surprised while looking at the Asura who delivered a fist without a single word.

Right behind.

At a distance close enough to touch if he merely stretched his hand, another Asura tried to pierce his spine.

Did they leave the Tyrant Armor Tortoise to their comrades and only a part of them tracked first?

At the moment when he vaguely realized what the situation was.

His pupils dilated and his goosebumps rose.

All his senses woke up fully in an instant. In the sudden crisis, his concentration reached its extreme.

‘Wugeuk.’

Summoning Wugeuk who was recovering in the Secret Realm of the Mind and asking it to block the surprise attack flying from behind, at the same time.

He triggered the spiritual power inside his heart.

Spreading his Blood Wings, he thrust his sword with all his strength.

At the moment when the straight fist that charged openly as if daring him to block and the sword tip met.

Yin-Yang Reversal .

Did they say that when A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens reached the realm, it pierced the Law ?

Using the blade as a brush, he twisted the principles.

He tried to return the strike of the Void Refinement stage cultivator in its entirety to launch a counterattack, but soon realized it was impossible.

‘Strong.’

Unable to bear the formidable power contained in the fist, A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens was about to collapse in real-time.

And,

Wugeuk, which had transformed into a sword shape to block the strike flying from behind, was shattered into pieces.

Although Wugeuk was a sword forged by the Supreme Great Ability, it was still 5th-rank. Facing a Void Refinement stage cultivator alone was impossible.

Wugeuk, which could not even maintain its sword shape and scattered into pieces of sword Qi, complained of pain, but looking at that sight, he felt regret and relief simultaneously.

Because anyway, it meant it was still alive…

A split second.

He threw away the greed to launch a counterattack.

From returning the enemy’s strike in its entirety to inflict a fatal wound, he changed his purpose to deflecting the fist’s trajectory.

The moment he twisted the space seized by A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens as if laying tracks to guide a path.

The fist that had tried to pierce his heart from the front stretched out and drew a semicircle, then skipped him and flew toward the rear.

Boom…!

While being bounced away by the shockwave striking his entire body, he realized he had succeeded.

Through Yin-Yang Reversal, he had deflected the Void Refinement stage-level strike to make the two enemies attack each other.

While falling like a thread-lost kite swept by the shockwave, he stretched his hand toward the empty air.

Hum!

Gathering Wugeuk which had scattered into pieces of sword Qi, he condensed it back into a sword shape.

‘Its condition is not good.’

The sharp Qi Wugeuk possessed was visibly weakened, and the sword surface was full of fine cracks.

Thinking that it would break again if left alone, he took measures immediately.

Consuming 500 million of the Supreme Great Ability recovered over two days, he unfolded the Myriad Flows Restoration divine ability.

Although it was originally saved to open the Void Refinement stage-level storage pouch, now was not the time to pay attention to such a thing.

At the moment when he mended Wugeuk’s condition by pouring in the Supreme Great Ability.

Splash!

A giant something popped out from the water pillar that erupted like an explosion, then opened its mouth wide.

‘This fellow is…’

The alligator he had seen two days ago. Before he knew it, the fellow who pursued had opened its mouth bristling with sharp fangs, trying to swallow him.

He tried to kick off the empty air to avoid immediately, but a bizarre suction force hindered his movement.

Creeeak…

In the slowly flowing world, the giant snout was about to close.

Right before being chewed and eaten by the alligator.

Crackle!

Becoming one with the violet lightning, the purple divine thunder, he shook off the restriction and traversed the empty air.

He had pierced the bizarre suction force by adding the Purple Lightning Escape Art to the Blood Wings that had entered the second circulation.

Growl…

The alligator which bit only the empty air smacked its chops as if it was regrettable, then tried to submerge back into the water.

‘Who said you could.’

There was no reason to send the enemy who ambushed back nicely.

Since it had come, should they not play together.

Rumble!

Becoming a streak of lightning, he pursued the alligator right before it disappeared into the water and struck down his sword.

Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration: Slash .

The slash amplified while undergoing two circulations sliced through the alligator’s shoulder, and

Roar!

Along with a monster cry shaking heaven and earth, blood drops pouring like a waterfall dyed the silver canyon red.

Veritably, it was the start of a mess.

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