Chapter 306: Raid

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Jin So-myeong, who swallowed the Clear Soul Mind-Settling Pill, checked his Divine Sense, and his Divine Sense, which was originally eight thousand kilometers, had before long grown to eleven thousand kilometers.

It had surpassed ten thousand kilometers.

This meant that in terms of Divine Sense alone, he was not significantly lagging behind even when compared to an Unity stage Dao Sovereign.

Although it was a marvelous achievement, Jin So-myeong’s expression was calm.

‘This time, my Divine Sense did not grow much. Is this as far as my Divine Sense can be grown with the Clear Soul Mind-Settling Pill?’

In fact, this was not the first time he had consumed the Clear Soul Mind-Settling Pill.

He had taken the elixir in his spare time between researching formations over the past year, and it was already the seventh time.

He had been pleased that his Divine Sense grew stronger every time he took the Clear Soul Mind-Settling Pill, but the effect decreasing as the number of doses increased suggested it was now gradually reaching its limit.

‘Taking it about three or four more times in the future will probably be the end.’

Once his Divine Sense grew to twelve thousand kilometers, the Clear Soul Mind-Settling Pill seemed as though it would no longer have any effect.

He did not feel regretful. For the Clear Soul Mind-Settling Pill had sufficiently played its role.

Jin So-myeong, who was observing his Divine Sense that had entered the entrance of the Unity stage in name and reality, nodded.

‘Since my Divine Sense has become strong to this degree, I will not be one-sidedly overwhelmed even if I clash with Asura Unity stage experts.’

When high-realm cultivators fought each other, Divine Sense was more important than all five senses, including sight and hearing, combined.

If the gap in Divine Sense was overwhelming, one could not even perceive the opponent properly.

This meant that even if one simply walked openly and struck their neck, they could not respond, but now at least there was no such worry.

He could be viewed as having equipped himself with the minimum qualifications to fight an Unity stage Dao Sovereign.

‘My Divine Sense is good enough at this level.’

He had not researched strictly only formations over the past year.

Excluding the dharma power that automatically accumulated thanks to the Chaos Origin Wheel, he had made much progress.

【Spells】

Infinite Void Formless Robe (Mastery 10 million / 100 trillion)

First of all, the proficiency of the Infinite Void Formless Robe rose by one level, becoming the Mastery stage.

His ability to conceal his presence grew visibly stronger, but there was something else that pleased him more.

‘I have become able to move more freely in the Annihilation Slash state.’

The load imposed on his mind and body when moving in the Annihilation Slash state was reduced to one-fifth.

If in the past he swung his sword once and it ended, now he had become able to swing it up to five times.

And one more thing.

He had also not stopped physical tempering while researching formations, and thanks to that, his body tempering realm also grew rapidly.

He had passed the mid Rank 6 stage by far.

Before long, he seemed as though he would reach the high Rank 6, the late Void Refinement equivalent stage.

‘Not bad.’

Reflecting upon the achievements acquired recently, a smile slipped out on its own.

A mere single year.

For achievements accomplished in such a short period, each and every one was exceptionally grand.

Compared to when he had just escaped from the Limitless Pure Land, he could be viewed as being approximately one and a half times stronger.

‘Once I reach the late Void Refinement stage, I will become even stronger.’

Upon breaking through a minor boundary, almost all abilities possessed as a cultivator, not to mention Divine Sense and even dharma power, grow twice as strong.

Estimating probably, once he reached the late Void Refinement stage, he would be able to easily defeat even a strong enemy of Gwang-rim’s caliber.

In that case, how long would it take until he crossed the wall?

Gauging the speed of accumulating dharma power, a rough calculation was made.

‘It will take about nine years.’

Although there was a slightly stifling feeling, in truth, this was an incredibly fast speed.

Normally, by the time one reached the late Void Refinement stage, it was normal for growing one level to take at least several hundred years no matter how fast it was.

Even Jin So-myeong, who had raised his cultivation speed utilizing all sorts of opportunities, would have taken far longer if not for the highest-grade cultivation resources provided by the Taixu Sacred Venerable.

Therefore, nine years was a short time that could indeed be expressed as a mere instant.

‘Putting aside dharma power, as for body tempering cultivation, it seems I should be able to cross the wall in one or two years…’

Of course, an estimation was merely an estimation, and whether he could truly reach the high Rank 6 could only be known by trying.

‘Let us try for now.’

Nodding his head as he resolved to focus on body tempering cultivation for the time being.

“Mugeuk. Stop playing and return.”

“Hum!”

He tidied up the ruins devastated due to the Limitless Sword Heaven and returned to the Infinite Void Temple.

*

Before knew it, another two years passed.

He had become familiar with the newly devised sword array, the Limitless Sword Heaven, allowing him to unleash it with a few hand gestures at any time, and had also achieved significant results in body tempering cultivation.

Right on the verge of the high Rank 6.

In other words, the absolute edge of the mid stage.

If there was only an opportunity, he had become capable of reaching the late Void Refinement equivalent stage this very day.

Although only good things were plentiful in many ways, he could feel that his growth rate was gradually bending down.

One could say it was a feeling of reaching a limit reachable through stable cultivation. If he continued focusing only on cultivation in this manner, it seemed there would be no great growth for the next few years.

‘In times like this, actual combat is perfect.’

He had focused on cultivation for a while because the movements of the Asura Unity stage experts were suspicious, but how was it now?

He stepped out of his cave dwelling to find out about the war situation.

“I pay respects to Senior Jin!”

“It has been a long time. Have you been well?”

“Except for being slightly busy due to the war, I have been relatively well.”

He visited the Infinite Void Temple disciple with whom he had become familiar through several meetings and asked about the outside news, and there was strictly only one piece of information worth paying close attention to.

“The Asura Dao Sovereigns are periodically revealing themselves?”

“Yes. The sight of them patrolling Manmok City, Yellow Cloud Immortal City, and Yuheo Valley was witnessed several times.”

He pulled out the map jade slip and injected his Divine Sense.

He checked the cities where the Asura Unity stage experts were reportedly witnessed, and the commonality was distinct.

‘They are regions where it is tricky to install teleportation arrays because the spiritual Qi or space is unstable.’

They were literally areas where transportation was inconvenient, so if one was there, it was difficult to respond swiftly when a problem arose.

Which meant they were intentionally revealing gaps…

‘Why? Could they be trying to lure me?’

Did they grow impatient because he had focused on cultivation for a while? At any rate, it was fine.

If he moved when the locations of the Asura Dao Sovereigns were certain, at least he would not be tag-teamed by two Dao Sovereigns.

‘If it is a single Unity stage Dao Sovereign, can I win?’

He estimated the chances of victory, but an answer did not come readily.

Although he had achieved much growth during that time, the Unity stage Dao Sovereigns were also monster-like strong.

If Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords were called transcendents, Unity stage Dao Sovereigns were worshipped as mythical existences.

Including the True Spirit Gon-ak and the Taixu Sacred Venerable, he had met Dao Sovereigns many times, but how strong they were remained an unknown.

It felt as if they were in a realm that could never be reached no matter how much one stretched out their hand.

He pondered deeply, but the conclusion did not change.

‘I do not know.’

The competitive spirit he had suppressed by force abruptly reared its head.

‘Should I simply clash lightly just once?’

He had to experience how far the enemy was to make the path forward clear.

An enemy he had to clash with at least once eventually. He needed to drag down the Unity stage expert existing in the unknown realm.

‘Alright. Let us go.’

Surely I would not die.

It was difficult to be confident that he could defeat an Unity stage expert, but it did not seem like he would be easily taken down either.

While also injecting elasticity into the cultivation whose growth rate was gradually bending, he decided to personally experience how strong an Unity stage Dao Sovereign was.

***

One day, as time flowed.

Flash! Light erupted from the teleportation array of a Rank 6 Immortal City called Cheonbi City.

“I pay respects to Senior!”

“Hmm.”

The sword cultivator who appeared as the light died down, Jin So-myeong, discharged his Divine Sense to sweep Cheonbi City.

‘The morale is decent here.’

Should one say it was fitting for a fortress that had already withstood the Asura offensive for five years?

Including the cultivators standing on the city walls or watchtowers to guard the surroundings, he could feel that most of those defending the city were fully alert.

Since it was the absolute front line that clashed with the Asuras quite frequently, it was not an atmosphere overflowing with vitality, but at least it was not lazy or loose.

Jin So-myeong, who was sweeping the city, nodded.

‘As expected, not everyone is drunk on peace just because they are humans.’

The reason he specifically visited Cheonbi City, which was holding out relatively well, was because a large-scale station where Void Refinement stage late equivalent Asuras resided was located just three or four hours’ flight from here.

To speak more accurately, there were three late equivalent Void Refinement stage ones and one mid stage one, and if he handled all of them, the contribution points were a whopping sixty-five billion.

To acquire the Void Wilderness Grass, a spiritual object that tempered the Law Domain, one hundred billion points of contribution were required.

If he was going to engage in actual combat anyway, a place like this where there was much to gain was good.

Moreover, the mid Void Refinement stage Asura staying at the station was one of those who had pursued him in the Bright Blood Great Valley in the past.

It was said that he had reached the mid stage over the span of a hundred-odd years, and it seemed he could handle him on this occasion.

By the way…

How could a front line where three late Void Refinement equivalent Asuras were stationed be maintained for five years?

If it were such an important battlefield, could an Unity stage expert not step forward personally to handle it?

No matter how solid the defense of a Rank 6 Immortal City was, if an Unity stage Dao Sovereign stepped forward, they could collapse it in a single breath.

It could seem incomprehensible at a glance that a single front line was maintained for five years, but in fact, this was due to an implicit rule.

If an Asura Unity stage expert stepped forward and collapsed a Rank 6 Immortal City, the humans would retaliate in the exact same manner.

Once the unleashed Unity stage Dao Sovereigns began to run amok properly… the end was obvious. Both races would suffer blows no different from destruction.

Therefore, Unity stage Dao Sovereigns did not enter the opponent’s territory rashly.

Which meant that being in a city occupied by humans was relatively safe…

‘I must not let my guard down relying strictly on that.’

Rules were merely an unstable balance that could be broken at any time according to benefits.

Just as he was about to set off toward the Asura station, putting aside the thoughts that had occurred to him.

Boom! A middle-aged man who flew generating a sonic boom saw him and frowned.

He had a somewhat thin build, and uniquely, his pupils were pure white, making them hard to distinguish from the whites of his eyes.

Seeing his realm, which was the late Void Refinement stage, and his unique appearance, he seemed to know who it was.

‘He is the Supreme Elder of the Dark Soul Demonic Sect.’

Since Cheonbi City was an Immortal City under the management of the Dark Soul Demonic Sect, it was not particularly surprising.

“Jin So-myeong? Why did you come here?”

“Because I have business nearby.”

As he responded in informal speech, one of the Supreme Elder’s eyebrows twitched.

“Business… Sigh. This is a rather dangerous place to travel alone, will you be alright?”

“Thank you for worrying.”

When he answered with a smirk at the subtly sharp tone, he clicked his tongue.

“I do not know what relationship you have with the Taixu Sacred Venerable, but since he asked us to forget the grudge, I shall no longer mention your slaying of Elder Eum.”

“Hmm.”

“However, do not bring threat to Cheonbi City by doing unnecessary things in vain.”

The Supreme Elder, who spoke sharply, departed while exaggeratingly waving his sleeves.

Expressing dissatisfaction openly, it seemed he did not know that he had slain Gwang-rim. Or he might have heard it in rumors but did not believe it.

‘Well, it is not important.’

Since he had no intention of sharing friendship with the Dark Soul Demonic Sect, it did not matter what the Supreme Elder’s attitude was.

Rumble! Jin So-myeong, enveloped in lightning, soared into the sky and left the city as he was.

Traversing the empty sky like a stream of meteor for a long time, stopping briefly in a deserted plain, he squeezed out a drop of True Blood.

Splat…!

He enveloped the True Blood, which had gathered like a bead, with the Infinite Void Formless Robe, and buried it in the ground as it was.

If he left True Blood in this manner, he could teleport to this location in the worst-case scenario.

Since the possibility of clashing with an Unity stage Dao Sovereign in the near future was exceptionally high, it was right to mobilize all means.

In that manner, occasionally burying True Blood, how long did he fly?

A giant structure built on a desolate rocky terrain entered his view.

The number of warships drifting around a fence as large as a city wall was easily over ten thousand.

A structure far more massive than an ordinary Rank 6 Immortal City. That place was precisely the station of the Asuras.

Standing higher than the clouds to look down upon the station for only a brief moment, ‘Let us go.’

There was no hesitation.

While causing the Blood Wings, which had undergone the fifth circulation and was stored in Mugeuk, to flow in his meridians.

Crackle…! As he opened his sub-space, a giant lightning sword with a length reaching several kilometers popped out and floated in the empty sky.

The instant he stepped upon and mounted the sword surface, which was wider than an ordinary open lot, rumble!

The lightning sword that soared above the station descended vertically.

“Raid!”

Even before someone’s cry could finish, clang! Clang! Clang! Urgent bell sounds rang frantically, and the giant sword driving down like a meteorite collided with the station’s array.

As a result, clang! The array shattered easily to the point of futility, and someone who urgently blocked the path…a late Void Refinement equivalent Asura…was also split vertically.

Due to the overwhelming power contained in the lightning sword, he had been split from the crown of his head to his crotch.

Just as others who reacted late opened their eyes wide, kaboom!!

The lightning sword piercing the earth. And Jin So-myeong, standing upon the sword, stood tall right in the midst of the Asuras.