Chapter 322: By All Appearances, My Senses Seem Fine (1)
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Jin So-myeong, who studied the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph over a month, nodded his head.
‘I roughly understand.’
The Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph was a secret art that detonates the vital essence contained in the heart to leapingly pull up physical ability and blood energy for an instant.
Perhaps because he had mastered the Blood Wings, which was a similar divine ability, he was able to enter it far more easily than expected.
‘I should try unleashing it once.’
He closed his eyes. He consciously blocked his vision and concentrated on other senses.
Thump… Thump…
The source of life, the pulsating heart was felt.
Leaving behind his instinctive hesitation, he unleashed the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph.
Pop!
The moment he detonated his heart.
The blood fountain pouring out while piercing his chest stood still in the empty air, then reversed as if turning back time and covered his skin.
The red blood that completely covered his entire body in an instant drew a bizarre pattern.
The moment a dazzling brilliance was emitted from the blood.
‘Ah.’
His breath was hot.
It felt like a red-hot iron piece was stirring inside his body.
Following a scorching sensation as if his nerves were melting, a bizarre excitement awakened his mind and body.
The great strength that shot up explosively led his physical body to a new dimension, and all his senses and nerves were sharply honed.
And simultaneously.
Death that approached without sound licked his neck.
‘…It is damn painful.’
Perhaps because he detonated his heart which was trained with the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art, the amount of energy amplified was larger than expected.
‘Compared to the Blood Wings, is it about having undergone the third circulation.’
It was not bad.
Considering that he unleashed it in an immature state after just entering it, it was a considerably outstanding divine ability.
While measuring the power of the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph, he closed his eyes again and concentrated.
Sssss…
Absorbing the pattern covering his skin and the energy amplified by the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph, he guided them deep into his bones.
How much time had passed.
The sweat drops flowing down his forehead and cheeks formed at the tip of his chin.
‘Mmm.’
It was painful enough that his glabella frowned on its own.
Would it feel like placing a sharp chisel on a sensitive area like the solar plexus and striking it with a hammer.
It was not an extreme pain as if he would die right away, but it was annoying that it continued endlessly.
“Phew.”
Still, he endured. If it was to become stronger, he could sufficiently bear this much pain.
He just quietly operated the energy according to the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter formula.
Like that.
The energy amplified by the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph volatilized as time flowed, but a portion remained. It was engraved deep in his bones and did not disappear.
‘Done.’
Although it was a faint energy compared to the whole, it clearly remained and strengthened his physical body.
Crack!
He felt it as he clenched his fist. The strength emitted by his muscles, his grip strength, became stronger.
It was thanks to the increase in strength he could exert with the identical amount of blood energy.
He vaguely realized. If he steadily cultivated the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter, he would come to possess a physical body far stronger compared to the identical realm.
‘Decent. No, excellent.’
Although it was not dramatically strengthened, he was satisfied.
If he spent time to cultivate steadily, his physical body would enter a dimension different from before.
However, why did they not popularize such a good secret art on a large scale?
If all the Asura race mastered the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter, the capability of the race itself would differ…
Simultaneously with the doubt, the answer came out.
‘Indeed, cultivating it would be tricky.’
The Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph starts from detonating the heart.
Jin So-myeong unleashed it without much burden because he achieved the Undying Body, but this was a burdensome act even to the Asura race who possessed two hearts.
If they were surprise-attacked at the moment when their heart detonated and they became frail?
Without even being able to exert their real skill, they could die hollowly.
Popularizing the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter would pull up the capability of the entire Asura race, but they had to take a massive risk in the process.
While he was lost in thought.
The heart that was completely shattered and turned into blood water regenerated, and a sharp fatigue rushed in.
‘It is not that there is no burden at all.’
The blood energy consumed as his heart regenerated was quite large.
Even if he possessed the Undying Body, he could not completely escape from the side effects of the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph.
Scanning his body condition closely, cultivating the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter once every two years seemed appropriate.
Compared to the Asuras who had to concentrate on recovery for hundreds or thousands of years once they unleashed the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph, it was an absurdly fast speed, but…
‘Too slow.’
It was not to his liking.
What should he do to cultivate more rapidly? Fortunately, there was a solution that the Asuras had researched.
Heaven-Turning Reviving Pill .
It was a supplementary medicinal pill for cultivating the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter, and simultaneously, the crystal of research to escape from the side effects of the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph.
The effect was simple yet powerful.
It was a medicinal pill that temporarily pulled up physical regenerative power to the extreme, letting one possess recovery power comparable to the Undying Body.
‘Although I have already achieved the Undying Body, it will still be helpful.’
As the Heaven-Turning Reviving Pill was a 7th-rank medicinal pill, many ingredients were needed, but fortunately, the Asura race’s Dao Sovereigns had gathered most of them.
‘Except for exactly one.’
One of the spiritual objects he requested Yul-cheong to find a while ago, the Golden Blood Wood fruit, was the ingredient for the Heaven-Turning Reviving Pill.
Although it would be naturally good if she obtained the Golden Blood Wood fruit, he had no intention of relying only on that.
‘Should I register it in the status window’s proficiency system? Then the side effects will decrease.’
Since a typical dharmic art fell short of a single swing of his sword, he did not bother to register them, but he liked the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter quite a bit.
After contemplating for a moment, he made a decision.
Pouring all the Supreme Great Ability he gathered for a month, he hoped that the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter would be improved.
The moment trillions of the Supreme Great Ability were consumed.
The Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter formula in his head was scattered in all directions, then rearranged.
Something more complete. His joy of drawing closer to the ideal was also brief.
‘Mmm…?’
He realized that the change that occurred in the Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter was different from his expectation.
He registered it hoping he could reduce the side effects, but the direction of the change was quite a bit different.
The side effects did not decrease, but it was clearly improved in a different direction.
How should he express this change…
The Blood Glyph Bone Engraving Chapter. To speak more accurately, the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph merged into one with the Blood Wings.
It became possible to amplify energy by detonating the five viscera, including the heart, in a chain reaction. The spleen, lungs, kidneys, and liver.
The limit of the power that the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph could exert rose distantly.
“Heh.”
Although it was a joyful matter, far from decreasing, the side effects rather became larger.
Why did such a change occur?
By all appearances, deep in his heart, he seemed to have felt that the power of the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph was lacking.
***
Around the time the sailing vessel carrying the pioneering team entered the Ancient Wilderness.
Jin So-myeong finished his two years of closed-door cultivation.
【Dharmic Arts】
Mind-Splitting Art (Great Success 1 / ∞)
Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm (Great Success 1 / ∞)
Both dharmic arts he set as goals cleanly rose to the Great Success stage.
What changed.
Various changes, large if large and small if small, occurred.
First, the Mind-Splitting Art.
They said if one achieves Great Success in this dharmic art, one becomes able to handle a hundred battlefields alone, but was that truly so?
If someone asked that, he would answer yes.
Because it was the intact truth without a single shred of exaggeration.
“Baek Gwang-il.”
When he called the clone he made at the very beginning, the guy who appeared with a blunt expression stared intently as if asking why he called.
Scanning the guy who possessed a combat strength at the level of the late Soul Formation stage, he gestured lightly.
“Try making a few clones.”
The moment Baek Gwang-il nodded his head.
A light mass flared, and about ten more Baek Gwang-ils appeared and lined up in front of his eyes.
“As expected…”
A clone made clones.
Originally, it was not an easy matter. Because to make a clone, one had to divide the mind, which was an act that inflicted a considerable blow on the divine soul.
However, as he achieved Great Success in the Mind-Splitting Art, that disadvantage disappeared.
The process of dividing and merging the mind became as natural as breathing. He became able to make thousands of clones at the speed of thought.
So, to speak once again,
it meant that now each clone had become like an army.
Of course, this characteristic was not very helpful when fighting a true powerhouse.
What would be the use of forming an army exceeding tens of thousands. They would be swept away in a single gesture.
The Mind-Splitting Art was a divine ability useful for typical cultivation rather than combat.
‘I became able to accumulate dharmic power with my clones.’
Although it was a matter possible even when the Mind-Splitting Art was at Minor Success, at that time, it felt like his concentration was dispersed, so it was worse than cultivating alone.
However, as it reached Great Success this time, the efficiency sharply increased.
Compared to the existing cultivation speed, it became about 1.2 times faster, but this figure was not fixed.
It was proportional to the realm and scale of the clones.
Currently, the clones staying in the Secret Realm of the Mind numbered about 200, and most of them were doing the work of managing the spiritual plant fields or mining immortal stones.
Until now, there was no need to grow the scale, so he left it be, but now, the circumstances changed.
Since he became able to accumulate dharmic power through his clones, a need arose to sharply grow the scale.
‘I should make a group that specializes purely in cultivation. The leader can be Baek Gwang-il.’
Nodding his head, Jin So-myeong checked the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm this time.
This divine ability was, what should he say. It was a divine ability perfectly good for checking.
It was fast enough to be unleashed at the speed of thought, and the power was not bad, so it was useful in a frantic melee.
What changed as he achieved Great Success in the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm.
First, the destructive power, dharmic power efficiency, and activation speed all became more than twice as good.
A dharmic art that worked even against Unity stage powerhouses became more than twice as strong? In fact, this alone was an outstanding achievement.
However, here was one more. An extremely useful effect arose.
‘I became able to load the energy stored in the Chaos Origin Wheel into the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm.’
It meant he became able to utilize the energy he could not digest and only stored as a bomb…
Depending on how it was used, it was a characteristic useful enough to turn the tide of battle.
Just when he was about to try unleashing the Chaos Sky Shattering Annihilation Palm as practice.
Yul-cheong, who came outside the cabin, bowed her waist politely and spoke in a low voice.
“Senior Jin. It is your turn to stand guard, so I came to guide you.”
“I understand. I will go immediately.”
Since they entered the Ancient Wilderness, he could not just cultivate comfortably.
Because they did not know what kind of danger would suddenly approach, from now on, Void Refinement stage cultivators had to take turns standing guard for a month.
As it was a detail he had known since joining the pioneering team, he did not refuse.
When he went out to the deck, more than twenty Void Refinement stage cultivators were standing, and there were also familiar faces.
‘Tae-ok?’
Just when he was pausing while looking at the Wa-oh Race cultivator resembling a frog, Tae-ok.
“Everyone has gathered. These twenty-four individuals are one group. After you work for a month, the next group will stand guard in succession.”
A Golden Rune Fox Clan male who seemed to be about thirty years old appeared and spoke.
“Since there are array cores in the eight directions of the sailing vessel, you just have to scatter in threes and stand guard. Any questions?”
“…”
“Since we have entered the Ancient Wilderness, minor problems will continue to arise. Please resolve them directly if possible, but if it is judged to be a problem you cannot handle, report immediately. The Patriarch will resolve it.”
When the guidance of the Golden Rune Fox Clan ended, the Void Refinement stage cultivators who listened silently looked at each other.
An awkward silence was also brief.
Tae-ok stepped forward and spoke.
“Since we do not know in which direction a problem will arise, let’s match the strength of each group as closely as possible.”
“What do you mean by those words?”
“It seems good to form groups so that a late, mid, and early Void Refinement stage are included in each, how about it?”
“That is a decent method. Let’s do so.”
Everyone naturally followed Tae-ok’s proposal, and Jin So-myeong formed a group with two nameless Void Refinement stage cultivators.
Jin So-myeong, who took position at the left front, glanced askance.
Tae-ok’s group took charge of the bow side which was right next, and he thought this was good timing.
He had been curious how strong the Wa-oh Race, which possessed thirty Unity stage Dao Sovereigns, would be, and it seemed he could resolve his curiosity on this opportunity.
His anticipation was also brief.
Even after half a month passed, nothing happened.
Because it was not that every area was dangerous just because it was unpioneered land.
Just when he was inwardly feeling regretful.
‘Here it comes.’
Five times the Divine Sense that reached the Unity stage.
The Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, which could scan up to 120,000 km, discovered a sky dyed black.
At a place distantly far beyond the horizon, a swarm of countlessly many strange birds was flying toward this direction.
‘They are strange-looking birds.’
Their forehead and wing bones were protruding externally, and seeing their ferocious gaze, they seemed to have a bellicose personality.
Most were at the level of the Nascent Soul stage or below, but the number was massive.
At least tens of millions. Scanning the swarm of strange birds as numerous as the grains of sand on the beach, he turned his gaze.
He was checking whether Tae-ok, who was at the late Void Refinement stage, detected the swarm of strange birds…
‘Mmm.’
Tae-ok showed no reaction whatsoever.