Chapter 257: Ten Years of Cultivation

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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“Stop! The situation is over.”

The moment it came out of the spatial pocket, he urgently stopped the Black-Flame Boundary-Stone who was trying to burn the surroundings entirely.

Peek?

The phoenix, which closely looked around the valley where clear water flowed, the tile-roofed house, and the trees emitting pine fragrance, folded its wings.

Since the way it stared blankly at him felt like it was asking why he did not call it, he explained the matter of meeting Hwi-ryeong.

“So please guard me. Because I cannot view it as completely safe yet.”

Coorook.

Nodding its head, the phoenix raised its head high like an ostrich.

Leaving behind the fellow who was faithfully guarding the surroundings,

he made new bodies for the clones who lost their physical bodies while fighting the Asuras. After also ordering them to guard, he sat cross-legged.

‘First, let us change the Natal Cultivation Art.’

If the process of a cultivator’s cultivation was compared to a tree growing, the spiritual root…in other words, the first pillar grown from the root…was exactly the Natal Cultivation Art.

Since spells and other cultivation arts were like small branches connected to the pillar, he had to absolutely pay attention when replacing the Natal Cultivation Art.

A week later.

While soothing his exhausted mind and body from crossing the Bright Blood Great Valley, he employed his clones to install formations in the surroundings.

While preparing for a potential emergency, he began the work to change the Primordial One Qi Art into his Natal Cultivation Art.

However…

‘What is this?’

To the point where his worries were put to shame, the entire process ended smoothly.

There were no problems whatsoever.

As if cogwheels rotated in an exquisitely designed mechanical device, the Primordial One Qi Art neatly replaced the spot where the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art had been.

The work he had expected to take at least one or two months ended in an instant.

‘Why?’

It was not that there were no cases where the Natal Cultivation Art was easily replaced like this.

Cultivation arts of the same sect…in other words, cultivation arts derived from a single root…were highly compatible with each other.

It was because they were cultivation arts designed based on the same principles in the first place, assuming a situation where the Natal Cultivation Art had to be changed.

On the other hand, the Primordial One Qi Art and the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art were not cultivation arts of the same sect, and the principles they pursued were also different.

As he contemplated what on earth the reason was, the answer came out.

‘It is thanks to the proficiency system.’

The two cultivation arts looked to have no commonalities at all at a glance, but they were the same in that they were forged by the Supreme Great Ability.

As he realized the situation, regret surged in.

If he had known it would end this simply, he would have changed it much earlier.

‘Since I did not know, it cannot be helped.’

If he was surprise-attacked in the process of changing his Natal Cultivation Art, it would be hard to react properly. He could not change his Natal Cultivation Art in an unsettling place like the Bright Blood Great Valley.

‘It is fine since I changed it even now.’

Forgetting the past, he concentrated on accumulating spiritual power by operating the Primordial One Qi Art.

Since his Natal Cultivation Art was changed, he was curious about how much faster his cultivation speed would become.

‘About twenty percent? Not bad.’

He had expected twelve years until the late Soul Formation stage, but it seemed ten years would be enough.

Nodding in satisfaction, he deployed the Lightning Escape Art.

Pajijik…!

Becoming one with the lightning Qi, he gauged how much faster he became in the world that slowed down rapidly, and he felt roughly twenty percent faster than usual.

‘Good.’

The efficiency increased by about twenty percent in all parts related to spiritual Qi.

Twenty percent might look trivial, but at Jin So-myeong’s level, this degree of growth was a change as grand as the creation of heaven and earth.

Being even a speck faster than the opponent granted the freedom of advance and retreat. Twenty percent was truly an immense growth.

Furthermore, did he not spend almost no effort?

Because the result was extremely grand compared to the trouble, he was satisfied.

‘Now the Natal Cultivation Art is done.’

Next was the turn to organize his realizations on the Law Domain.

While fighting Void Refinement stage-level Asuras, he personally experienced various Law Domains.

There was a bizarre Law Domain where one was infected with deadly poison just by approaching, and there was also a Law Domain that drained energy like water-soaked cotton or caused a headache.

Among the Law Domains possessing various effects like this, the most threatening one was by far Ra-heuk’s Law Domain.

Ra-heuk’s Law Domain was like…

the feeling of all things in the world turning into rock.

‘Not to mention the surrounding air, even my spiritual power stiffly hardened.’

Expressing it differently, it was the feeling of forcing the phenomenon of heaviness on all existences within the domain.

Restricting the opponent’s movement and delivering a heavy blow, it was a Law Domain perfectly fitting a body tempering cultivator who trained his physical body.

The same went for the other Void Refinement stage cultivators.

It felt as if they each selected a Law Domain of a suitable effect according to the divine abilities they possessed.

‘No, cultivating it would be a more accurate expression. For the Law Domain to possess a specific ability.’

Heaviness, water, sharpness, rock, absolute hit, sun, stars, coolness…

Saying that they selected what they liked among characteristics or phenomena possessed by objects and realized it as a Law Domain was exactly correct.

Here, a single question arose.

According to what Jin So-myeong realized, the Law Domain was becoming a god within the domain one ruled.

Meaning that one could achieve whatever one wanted, was there a need to necessarily concentrate on a single phenomenon?

If one caused various phenomena depending on the situation, it would be much stronger. Even Ra-heuk could not show other abilities until right before his death.

‘It is probably because of efficiency.’

Omnipotence was like an infinite sea, so no matter how much effort was spent, it could not be filled.

If one tried to realize omnipotence with the Law Domain, it would have become something clumsy and extremely ambiguous in all aspects.

What would one call a person who regarded all things under heaven as home in other words? It was a wanderer who actually did not have his own home.

Since time and sincerity were limited resources, one had to choose and concentrate.

‘So that is why everyone concentrated on a single phenomenon.’

There was no need to try to make something perfect from the beginning.

After sufficiently cultivating a single phenomenon, he could contain other phenomena at that time.

Once his realm became high, he would eventually possess a divine power no different from omnipotence. Advancing step by step was sufficient.

‘Then what kind of phenomenon should I realize?’

The phenomena that could be crafted with the Law Domain were diverse.

He could see the sun and contain the heat melting the earth, or see water and obtain the penetrative power permeating all things.

‘I hope it will be helpful in battle.’

What kind of phenomenon would be used usefully in battle?

Strong physical strength, heaviness suppressing the opponent, extreme sharpness capable of cutting anything.

All were good, but…

if he had to choose only one, it was exactly this.

Speed.

Being faster than the opponent. Just with that alone, he could occupy an overwhelming advantage in a fight dividing life and death.

Just in case, he contemplated once more, but nothing was as appealing as speed.

‘Good.’

Since he made the decision, he did not hesitate.

He decided to contain the phenomenon of speed in the Law Domain-ified A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens.

Then, what was being fast?

He was at a loss for a moment, but fortunately, there were many things in the world to look at and learn.

The moment sunlight shone between the clouds.

The split second when water drops falling from a waterfall turned into mist.

The sparks leaping from a thunderbolt.

The light pushing away darkness. The shadow cast from it.

He watched and watched the split-second changes occurring beyond perception.

How many days had passed?

Jin So-myeong, who realized that the Supreme Great Ability was filled before he knew it, stopped his meditation.

‘Has time already become like this?’

Since the Supreme Great Ability did not recover beyond the maximum value, he had to consume it from time to time.

Opening his spatial pocket to take out a handful of cultivation elixirs, he then consumed a total of 4 billion points of the Supreme Great Ability to amplify the effect.

Usually, he would not use the Supreme Great Ability just to consume cultivation elixirs, but since he was currently in Hwi-ryeong’s domain and did not have a proper method to replenish elixirs, it could not be helped.

Under the current situation, to make his cultivation speed fast, he had to pull up the effect of each elixir as much as possible.

Swallowing twenty elixirs in one mouthful, Jin So-myeong closed his eyes and operated the Primordial One Qi Art.

Absorbing the medicine Qi that surged like an explosion with the Chaos Origin Wheel, he consumed the remaining half of the Supreme Great Ability to raise the digestion efficiency.

‘It is certainly comfortable since the Chaos Origin Wheel is here.’

Jin So-myeong had mastered the Immortal-Severing Earth Art, so he could consume elixirs sixteen times more frequently than others.

Although it was an immense advantage in cultivation speed, frankly, it was not comfortable.

Almost every day, consuming and digesting elixirs was work that required pouring in a lot of time and sincerity.

However, thanks to the birth of the Chaos Origin Wheel divine ability that piled up energy like a warehouse and automatically converted it into spiritual power, he became able to consume one or two months’ worth of elixirs at once.

In other words, it considerably reduced the trouble spent on accumulating spiritual power, and thanks to it, he became able to cultivate sword or body tempering utilizing the remaining time.

‘Ah right. I should tell my clones to try making elixirs.’

He had obtained many Soul Formation stage-grade storage pouches in the Sacred War.

Since the ingredients piled in his spatial pocket were considerable, if made into elixirs, it would be helpful in filling the lacking cultivation resources.

***

Three years later.

Amidst the repeated cultivation, glad tidings arrived.

The proficiency of the Primordial One Qi Art rose from Initiate to Apprentice, and the efficiency increased by about twenty percent in all parts related to spiritual Qi.

It was a splendid achievement obtained thanks to absorbing the energy gifted by the Void Refinement stage Asuras with the Chaos Origin Wheel.

The feeling of growing stronger day by day was very thrilling.

It was felt through his skin that the day he would surpass the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords was not far.

‘Good. Let us continue.’

Jin So-myeong, who fully enjoyed the sense of achievement, immersed himself in cultivation again.

When things went well, he had to run with full force without losing momentum.

Excluding times when Hwi-ryeong occasionally came to chat or play Go, he poured all his sincerity into cultivation.

Ah, for reference, Hwi-ryeong was very bad at Go.

She was to the point of losing even to Jin So-myeong, who had almost never played Go.

In any case,

five more years passed, and Jin So-myeong faced another upheaval.

【Jin So-myeong】

【Lifespan】 : 185 / 2017

【Realm】 : Soul Formation Stage 7th Layer

【Supreme Great Ability】 : 1.1 billion / 16 billion

【Spiritual Power Amplification】 : +102%

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

“Haha.”

He could not tolerate the laughter leaking out foolishly.

He became a late Soul Formation stage cultivator when he was not even 200 years old.

It was a growth fast enough for anyone to ignore as nonsense if they knew.

As much as he broke through a minor realm, he achieved rapid growth in all aspects, and in particular, his Divine Sense became distinctly strong.

From 800 kilometers to 1,600 kilometers.

He became able to examine an absurd range from where he sat.

‘At this degree, it can be viewed that I surpassed the level of the early Void Refinement stage.’

According to what he experienced so far, the range that the early Void Refinement stage could examine was roughly 1,000 kilometers.

To think he possessed a Divine Sense fifty percent stronger than a Void Refinement stage cultivator when he was still in the Soul Formation stage…

“Whew.”

Enjoying his joy, he took his eyes off the status window and gauged the spiritual power flowing in his body.

The spiritual power amplified every time he deployed the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art and the Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing, and so on.

Thanks to several divine abilities, before he knew it, even if he purely counted only the quantity of spiritual power, it came to rival the Void Refinement stage level.

He had grown strong enough to not be unilaterally pushed back even if they engaged in an ignorant fight of strength from the front.

‘Now I can leave slowly.’

This place, which was Hwi-ryeong’s domain, was perfect to cultivate quietly, but his mind was not comfortable to continue staying.

Should he call it the feeling of living under someone else’s roof?

Furthermore, no matter how good the 6th-rank spiritual vein was, if he cultivated without elixirs, the speed of accumulating spiritual power could not help but be drastically reduced.

Since the elixirs piled in his spatial pocket were running dry, whether he liked it or not, the time to leave arrived.

Since he achieved the late Soul Formation stage which was his goal anyway, there was nothing to regret.

‘Hmm… Leaving immediately is a bit awkward. Shall I fill exactly ten years as originally planned and then leave?’

Reckoning the elixirs remaining in his spatial pocket, it was roughly five or six years’ worth.

Since it would take several years to arrive at a city where humans lived, he also had to think of elixirs to consume on the way, so leaving exactly two years later seemed appropriate.

*

Two years later.

Jin So-myeong, who reinforced the Infinite Void Formless Robe by investing 300 billion points out of the Supreme Great Ability that recovered by 16 billion every month and raised his body tempering realm up to Rank 5 high-grade, went to find Hwi-ryeong.

The preparation was finished.

Now it was time to depart for the human territory.

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