WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Cultivating Underground ◈
Chapter 96
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“We’re heading back.”
The four cultivators standing on the flying boat looked up at the one-eyed elder’s words.
“Are we returning to Skull Island?”
“No, we’re going to a cultivator market. I’ll have to buy Tier 3 bone material.”
“Anything on the market is bound to be expensive.”
“What choice do we have?”
The flying boat riding the wind turned toward the coast to the east.
...
Two days later, at a cultivator market on the Gon Kingdom’s western coast.
The one-eyed elder sat across from a young man in plain gray robes at a table inside a shop that dealt in bone materials. The young man was an independent cultivator giving off the aura of Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.
Three thick vertebrae and two leg bones with a bluish sheen lay on the table. The fierce demonic power lingering on their surfaces alone made it clear that they had come from Tier 3 demonic beasts. The shopkeeper stood beside them, smiling as they watched the elder’s reaction.
“This customer happened to bring in some rare goods. Their properties are similar to what you were looking for, aren’t they, Elder?”
Instead of answering, the elder picked up a vertebra and examined its cut surface, then sent spiritual sense inside to check the structure around the marrow. It was in good condition.
The energy within the skeleton had not scattered when the demonic beast died, and the demonic power inside had been fully preserved during butchering. Even after hunting a beast personally, it would be difficult to strip its bones this cleanly without damage.
“How much?”
“Five hundred and sixty mid-grade spirit stones for all five.”
It was not cheap. Yet when the elder recalled the cost of operating the flying boat during four fruitless months, perhaps paying a premium from the start would have been better. That thought only soured his mood.
“The end of this leg bone is slightly damaged. Five hundred and thirty.”
“That part would be cut off during ritual refinement anyway, so I didn’t include that length in the price. I can make it five hundred and fifty.”
As the elder picked up the other leg bone while continuing to bargain, his heart suddenly lurched.
The spiritual sense sweeping through the bone caught on a tiny groove where the joints connected. A thin layer of membrane remained intact. Had the butcher scraped away even a little more flesh, it would certainly have been shaved off as well.
Showing nothing outwardly, the elder turned the bone to examine the cut below the joint. Most people cut at the end of the joint, but this bone had been severed about half a cun below it. A small section of bone had been left like a stopper to keep the demonic power flowing through the marrow from leaking out.
‘This is...!’
The bones had come from different demonic beasts, yet they shared the same features, from the direction in which the tendons had been cut to the placement of the remaining membrane and the angle of the cuts that sealed in the energy.
This was Skull Island’s method!
Different inheritances had different ways of preparing bone materials, but those differences were so slight that most cultivators could hardly tell them apart.
They could not fool a Golden Core elder who had spent a lifetime handling bones on Skull Island, however.
‘Did he prepare these himself? Or is he selling goods smuggled out of Skull Island...?’
The elder composed his expression and set the bone down.
“Let’s make it five hundred and forty. These are fine goods, so let’s do business again.”
“Agreed.”
The disguised Yi Hyeon readily nodded and put the spirit stones into his storage pouch. Even after the shop took its commission, it was a decent price.
Once the one-eyed elder who had inspected the goods so carefully left the shop with the juniors, Yi Hyeon also rose.
...
At a street corner about two alleys away from the shop, the one-eyed elder stopped.
“You two, stay behind and see where he goes. Don’t get close to him.”
“Was there something wrong with the bone materials?”
“The goods couldn’t be better. I won’t even need to prepare them myself. Did nothing occur to you when you saw those bones?”
When the juniors fell silent in confusion, the elder clicked his tongue.
Had the other party been an ordinary independent Foundation Establishment cultivator, the elder could have simply seized him by the neck. But he had offered five pieces of Tier 3 bone material, something even a Golden Core cultivator had struggled to obtain. Besides, the spiritual sense that had briefly met the elder’s during the exchange had been strangely calm.
If another expert was backing him, or if Skull Island’s inheritance had leaked outside, it would be too much for someone with the elder’s weak standing to handle alone.
“Perfected Eom is still staying at the market, isn’t he?”
“Yes. He’s aboard the flying boat at the eastern dock.”
Eom Mu-jin of the Yin Bird Sect’s main sect.
He was a powerful late Golden Core cultivator who had recently been traveling along the Gon Kingdom’s coast under orders from the main sect.
Visiting him empty-handed after a failed hunt would have earned nothing but mockery. A matter involving their sect’s inheritance was another story.
...
A short while later, inside a cabin aboard the flying boat moored at the eastern dock.
Eom Mu-jin ran his hand over the bone materials on the table, then lightly flicked a vertebra with his finger. A clear yet eerie note lingered inside the cabin.
“A little old-fashioned, but... yes, this is our method. Who is he?”
“He appeared to be at Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, but he was remarkably composed. I suspect he’s either smuggling goods from our island or has someone backing him.”
The gap in strength between the one-eyed cultivator and Eom Mu-jin was so great that, despite both being Golden Core cultivators, the elder did not dare speak to him casually.
“So you brought this to me because an inheritance is involved, and you couldn’t afford to neglect it?”
The corner of Eom Mu-jin’s mouth lifted in a faint smirk as he stood.
“There’s no need to cause a disturbance inside the market. Let’s follow him once he leaves.”
* * *
That afternoon, Yi Hyeon left the market and headed north along the coast. After crossing several ridges, he quietly slowed down.
He could sense someone following at a fixed distance behind him.
‘The group from the shop?’
Yi Hyeon increased his speed to test them. He crossed two ridges in one go, yet the presence behind him did not fall any farther back. When he slowed again, they also slowed, keeping the same distance.
‘They won’t be easy to shake off. Should I hide underground?’
After a moment’s thought, Yi Hyeon shook his head.
He had yet to gather all the Tier 3 demonic cores he needed for his Gold-Condensing Pills.
He would have to keep traveling between this coast and the outer sea. Not knowing why he was being followed would make that inconvenient.
It would be better to confront them and deal with the cause.
If his pursuer was a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Earth Escape Spell would not let him escape easily anyway. If not, he could simply retreat underground when necessary.
Instead of continuing inland, Yi Hyeon turned toward the sea and headed for a barren rocky island well away from the shipping routes. It was uninhabited, with cliffs and rocky hills worn by fierce sea winds. A dry valley beyond the reach of seawater lay in its center.
Landing in the middle of the valley, Yi Hyeon lightly probed the earth veins beneath his feet. Below the thick bedrock, there were no unusual mineral veins or traces of formations that might interfere with his escape spell. If necessary, this bedrock would serve as his way out.
He turned and looked up. Before long, a medium-sized flying boat broke through the clouds above the island. On its deck stood the one-eyed elder he had seen earlier, four Foundation Establishment cultivators, and a middle-aged man in blue robes.
Yi Hyeon’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the middle-aged man. The waves of magical power flowing from him were as deep and heavy as the ocean depths.
‘Late Golden Core...’
While Yi Hyeon spread his spiritual sense in every direction to check for other ambushes, the blue-robed cultivator descended from the flying boat and stood at the valley’s entrance.
“You waited for us instead of running?”
“You’ve been following me all this time, so I thought I’d hear what you wanted.”
Yi Hyeon shifted his gaze to the one-eyed elder.
“Was there something wrong with the bone materials I sold you earlier?”
“The goods were excellent.”
The blue-robed cultivator stepped forward and answered for the elder. With a flick of his sleeve, one of the vertebrae traded earlier floated into the air.
“I am Eom Mu-jin of the Yin Bird Sect. The way this bone was prepared is identical to Skull Island’s secret method. Tell me who supplied these goods, or where you learned to prepare them.”
‘Ah... So that’s it.’
Yi Hyeon sighed inwardly as he looked at the floating bone.
“I merely sold my own goods for a fair price. Am I obliged to report where they came from as well?”
“If you won’t open your mouth, I’ll have to open it myself.”
A black feather fan marked with silver patterns appeared in Eom Mu-jin’s hand. The moment he opened it halfway, the valley’s temperature plunged, and bitterly cold yin energy rose, sharp enough to cut into flesh.
At the same time, the four Foundation Establishment cultivators jumped from the flying boat, scattered across the ridges around the valley, and planted gray formation flags. The one-eyed elder also descended and concealed his presence in the shadow of a boulder at the valley’s entrance.
Vmmmm.
Ash-gray mist rose along the ridges, instantly cutting off sound and spiritual power fluctuations between the inside and outside of the valley. Yi Hyeon calmly watched the concealment formation take shape around him.
“Do you mean I should open my primordial spirit and submit to a soul search? What will you do if my primordial spirit is damaged?”
“That depends on how well you behave. If you resist, I’ll break your limbs first and drag it out!”
Before he had even finished speaking, Eom Mu-jin’s fan swept through the air.
Rrrrrumble!
As the magical power of a powerful late Golden Core cultivator erupted, the air above the entire valley warped.
The Nine Nether Yin Wind pouring from his fan instantly transformed into the talons of a monstrous bird, each as large as a house. Screaming through the air, they reached for Yi Hyeon’s head and both shoulders.
In that instant, primordial unity true qi surged from Yi Hyeon’s entire body like a tidal wave.
Vmm! Vmmmm!
Fifty shining Spiritlight Shields appeared in the blink of an eye.
Yet the moment the black talons, formed from concentrated late Golden Core magical power, touched them, more than thirty shields at the front shattered at once!
Baaang!
Yi Hyeon did not even blink as his shields broke. He tilted the fifteen or so remaining Spiritlight Shields to the side, deflecting the talons’ path. At the same time, he slid into the ground feetfirst with the Reclining Escape Art.
Kabooom!
The bedrock where he had stood caved in several jang deep, sending rock fragments flying like a heavy downpour.
Sliding out through the cloud of dust, Yi Hyeon fired a series of fireballs from both hands, each compressed until it was nearly white-hot.
‘A mere basic spell!’
Eom Mu-jin snorted and thickened his protective magical light. Ignoring the first fireball, he was about to swing his fan again.
Then his expression changed completely as he sensed the density of spiritual power inside the fireball right before his face.
Boom-boom-boom-booom!
A chain of explosions turned the entire valley into a crimson sea of fire. The flames themselves belonged to an ordinary Fireball Spell, but the amount of spiritual power crammed inside them defied common sense.
His protective magical light caved inward at once, and Eom Mu-jin was driven far backward.
He hurriedly swung his black fan, tearing apart the firestorm before him with a wall of yin wind. At that moment, beyond the flames, Yi Hyeon drew the Moon-Sinking Sword and traced a silver-gray arc.
Shweeeesh!
The Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Qi split into dozens of streams and surged through the exploding fireballs. While the flames disrupted sight and spiritual sense, two fireballs circled around to strike Eom Mu-jin’s flank. Streams of sword light followed right behind them, leaving him no opening.
A few seemed to miss their target, passing Eom Mu-jin and disappearing into the shadows of the valley’s rock walls.
Under the seamless chain of attacks that gave him no time to breathe, a blue jade pendant shot up from Eom Mu-jin’s waist.
Vmmm.
Bang! Krrrrrk!
Fireballs and sword qi struck the rippling blue barrier of light spread by the pendant without pause, sending violent waves across its surface.
The relaxed smile vanished completely from Eom Mu-jin’s face.
‘Is he really a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Just what is he?!’
His hands formed seals too quickly to see. From the speed at which he created Spiritlight Shields to the timing of his combined fireballs and sword qi, everything about him was extraordinary.
Above all, the sheer, absurd amount of spiritual power was staggering.
‘Trading attacks at a distance will get me nowhere.’
Eom Mu-jin struck the pouch at his waist with his left hand.
Rrrrrumble.
Pitch-black yin energy shot up like a pillar, and two enormous white bone monsters appeared in the middle of the valley at once.
One was a White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet twenty jang long, carved from the intact bones of a Tier 3 sea beast. The other was a Six-Armed White Bone Demon twice a person’s height, covered in formation inscriptions. Each of its six arms held a gleaming blue bone saber!
That was not all.
As Eom Mu-jin formed a hand seal with his left hand, terribly eerie pale flames burst from his palm and the mouths of both bone puppets at once.
Fwoooosh.
White Bone Yin Flame, which could easily melt even bones, rode the fan’s Nine Nether Yin Wind and spread throughout the valley. The Spiritlight Shields constantly forming around Yi Hyeon hissed and melted in an instant, like snowflakes touching boiling water.
Trying to block White Bone Yin Flame fueled by late Golden Core magical power with a basic defensive spell was far too costly in spiritual power.
Shweeeesh!
Through a gap in the melting net of Spiritlight Shields, the Six-Armed White Bone Demon kicked off the ground and closed in right before Yi Hyeon’s face at a speed too fast to see.
Wrapped in White Bone Yin Flame, its six bone sabers crossed paths as they rained down toward his neck, chest, dantian, and limbs.
Behind it, the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet slammed its enormous tail against the ground, raising a tidal wave of shattered rock. Above, Eom Mu-jin slashed downward with his black fan, sending a Great Wind Blade dozens of jang long to cut off Yi Hyeon’s retreat!
Clatterrr!
The six plates of the Six-Leaf Shield interlocked and spun like gears, meeting Eom Mu-jin’s descending black Great Wind Blade at an angle.
Kabooooom!
With a deafening explosion, the force of the Great Wind Blade cut through the middle of the rocky hill behind the valley, sending it collapsing.
Lowering his body as he rode the tremendous shock wave, Yi Hyeon did not dodge the Six-Armed White Bone Demon’s six sabers right before him. Instead, he slipped half a step forward.
Fwoooosh!
Clear Yang Purifying Flame extended from both his hands and split into countless threads of fire, meeting the cold energy of the White Bone Yin Flame head-on and burning it away.
The golden hand of the Mount Sumeru Mountain-Suppressing Seal formed in his left hand, while his feet followed precise martial arts footwork.
Clang! Clang-clang!
The Moon-Sinking Sword in his right hand changed direction three times in an instant, following a martial arts grandmaster’s sword principles. It struck aside the first four bone sabers at strange angles.
As the deflected sabers collided with the Six-Armed White Bone Demon’s other arms and tangled their paths, Yi Hyeon twisted his left hand as though tearing at the air.
Vooom.
The Mount Sumeru Mountain-Suppressing Seal seized the Six-Armed White Bone Demon by the back of its neck and hurled its body straight into the path of the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet’s heavy, sweeping tail.
At the same time, an explosive burst of Earth-Origin Force pulled on the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet’s body!
Cr-r-runch!
The White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet’s tail collided head-on with the Six-Armed White Bone Demon in a thunderous crash.
Just as the startled Eom Mu-jin tried to control both puppets with his spiritual sense, Yi Hyeon shot through the dust, and another golden palm manifested from his left hand.
Kabooooom!
Layered golden palms struck straight down onto the head of the off-balance Six-Armed White Bone Demon. Its skull and breastbone, refined from Tier 3 bone materials, caved in at once. All six arms tore free in different directions, and its soul stone shattered!
“You bastard!”
Eom Mu-jin’s eyes widened almost to the point of splitting. A puppet that even an early Golden Core cultivator would struggle to destroy had been wrecked in just a few exchanges!
Pushing off the ground, Yi Hyeon slid away. Without even pausing to catch his breath, he wielded six yellow flying swords and the Moon-Sinking Sword at once. Dozens of streams of sword light and white-hot fireballs surged toward Eom Mu-jin again like driving rain.
...
Watching from behind a shattered boulder, the one-eyed elder’s lips had turned blue.
With spiritual power at Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, Yi Hyeon had endured a powerful late Golden Core cultivator’s magical treasure and White Bone Yin Flame, then smashed a Tier 3 bone puppet in an instant.
[Elder! Wouldn’t it be better to launch a surprise attack while he’s occupied with Perfected Eom and the remaining flood dragon puppet?]
The elder felt displeased, as though the junior were criticizing his inaction, but the suggestion itself was sound. If Eom Mu-jin lost, none of them would leave this island alive.
‘But even Perfected Eom is struggling with him... Is a surprise attack my only chance?’
The elder thought of the lifebound bone nail kept as a secret weapon. Holding his breath, he began pouring every bit of magical power into it.
At that very moment, Yi Hyeon slipped beneath the bedrock to avoid a beam of magical power spat out by the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet, then emerged on the other side. His head turned with an unnaturally smooth motion.
The instant he met Yi Hyeon’s cold gaze, a chill ran over the one-eyed elder’s skin.
Whooom.
An invisible force seized the elder’s chest and ruthlessly yanked him into the air.
‘Aargh?!’
Horrified, the elder wrapped his whole body in protective magical light and used the Airborne Flight Spell, but could not stop being dragged forward.
Even as he sent fireballs and sword light toward Eom Mu-jin behind him, Yi Hyeon stepped toward the elder, now pulled right before his face.
Vmmmm.
The Mount Sumeru Mountain-Suppressing Seal rose from Yi Hyeon’s left hand, clenched into a fist, and struck the elder squarely in the face!
Bang!
“Urk!”
Without even getting the chance to launch the lifebound bone nail, the elder flew backward, vomiting blood, and crashed deep into the valley’s rock wall.
Yi Hyeon flicked a finger. A sharp streak of light flew through the falling dust and pierced the elder’s forehead and primordial spirit in a single strike.
...
A chill ran down Eom Mu-jin’s spine as he watched the one-eyed elder get dragged away and crushed within a single breath.
Even during that brief moment spent killing the elder, the barrage of sword light and fireballs flying toward him had not slackened in the slightest!
‘Damn it! One wrong move and I’ll die here today!’
Eom Mu-jin struck the pit of his stomach with his left hand and spat out a mouthful of bright red blood essence.
A magical treasure rose from his sleeve: the Ten Thousand Souls White Bone Banner, made of pitch-black silk on an eerie pole of joined human vertebrae. It absorbed every drop of blood essence.
Skreeeeee!
With the eardrum-splitting screams of thousands of vengeful spirits, black mist poured from the White Bone Banner like a waterfall and swallowed the entire valley in an instant.
Within the mist surging forward like waves, thousands of evil ghosts and the vengeful spirits of demonic beasts clung to Yi Hyeon’s Protective Spiritlight and tore away at his spiritual power. Ghostly wails spread in waves, shaking his primordial spirit and sea of consciousness.
The Origin-Protecting Seal in Yi Hyeon’s sea of consciousness vibrated without pause, consuming spiritual power at a frightening rate.
Amid it all, a strange transformation also took place in Eom Mu-jin’s body.
Cr-r-rack! Crunch!
Profound Yin White Bone Armor emerged through his skin and covered his entire body without a gap. Then nine blood-red bone spears rose from his back. Moving as one with the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet hidden in the mist, they closed in on Yi Hyeon from every side!
Nine Nether Yin Wind swept through the mist, which disabled both sight and spiritual sense.
“No matter how much spiritual power you have, you’re nothing but a lump of meat once you’re blind and deaf and your primordial spirit has rotted away.”
As Eom Mu-jin’s voice rang out beyond the mist, the nine white bone spears thrust toward Yi Hyeon’s blind spots.
At that very moment, however, a pure and majestic golden light, bright enough to sting the eyes, rose amid the waves of evil spirits.
Deep within Yi Hyeon’s sea of consciousness, the Vaisravana manifestation of his Mount Sumeru Visualization Scripture, which had reached Major Mastery, stood tall. It pushed back the incoming ghostly wails and the invasion of vengeful spirits, keeping his primordial spirit clear.
Then Buddha-Light True Qi burst brilliantly from Yi Hyeon’s hands.
He formed Demon-Subduing Seals one after another with his left hand and spread a net of flames with the Fire-Dividing Thread Spell in his right. Golden Buddhist seals and flames that purified vengeful spirits and ghostly creatures spun like a giant wheel, driving back the black mist on every side.
Skreeee!
The vengeful spirits that touched the Buddha-Light True Qi screamed and evaporated into smoke. The mist split violently to either side.
Spiritlight Shields imbued with Buddha-Light True Qi also bloomed again. This time, they did not melt when the White Bone Yin Flame touched them. They held firm, sending out golden ripples.
The Six-Leaf Shield and yellow flying swords circling Yi Hyeon struck the nine exposed spears like lightning.
Krrrrrk! Bang!
Riding the recoil from deflecting the white bone spears with his flying swords and shield plates, Yi Hyeon gracefully swung the Moon-Sinking Sword.
Vmmmm.
At that moment, dozens of silver lights awoke at once throughout the air and the shadows of the valley’s rock walls!
They were streams of Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Qi that Yi Hyeon had scattered throughout the valley while exchanging attacks with Eom Mu-jin, from the very first clash until now.
The sword qi, which had completely concealed their presence, answered one another the instant the mist parted. The entire valley became an enormous prison of swords!
Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper, Thirty-Fourth Form: Sword Net.
‘Buddhist magical power, and a sword formation too?!’
Horrified, Eom Mu-jin shook the Ten Thousand Souls White Bone Banner, trying to tear apart the sword formation. But dozens of streams of sword light rained down from every direction, combining with fireballs that blazed golden and white-hot with Buddha-Light True Qi. Together, they shredded the banner’s silk!
Boom-boom-boom-booom!
The Ten Thousand Souls White Bone Banner screamed and shattered. The backlash sent blood spraying from Eom Mu-jin’s mouth.
He hurriedly charged toward one wall of the sword formation, using his spears and the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet as shields.
Krrrrrrrk!
Several streams of sword light were ground apart by bone and yin wind. Yet just before a gap opened, fresh sword qi poured from Yi Hyeon’s Moon-Sinking Sword and instantly filled the empty spaces.
Earth-Origin Force constantly seized Eom Mu-jin’s ankles and shoulders, twisting his course. Whenever he faltered, fireballs and sword light struck from every side.
‘Hold on! If he uses Buddhist techniques, a sword formation, and that unknown pulling force at the same time, his spiritual power has to run out.’
Gritting his teeth, Eom Mu-jin poured magical power into the Profound Yin White Bone Armor covering his body and the blue jade pendant.
Yet even after dozens of breaths, Yi Hyeon’s assault showed no sign of weakening. Instead, the sword light filling the valley grew denser with every passing moment.
Amid it all, screams broke out one after another along the ridges outside the valley.
“Aaargh!”
“Help...!”
Even while operating the sword formation, Yi Hyeon occasionally flicked out streams of sword qi. The four terrified Foundation Establishment cultivators had abandoned their formation flags and tried to flee, but their Protective Spiritlight was pierced, and they fell like autumn leaves in the wind.
Eom Mu-jin’s eyelids trembled.
Operating the Nine Nether Yin Wind Fan, the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet, the nine bone spears, and the blue jade pendant to their limits had already consumed more than half the magical power in his golden core.
Meanwhile, the young man standing beyond the sword formation continued drawing endlessly from a depth of spiritual power Eom Mu-jin could not fathom.
‘I’ll die at this rate!’
Faced with life or death, Eom Mu-jin burned his blood essence without hesitation.
Kabooom!
He detonated all nine remaining spears against the top of the sword formation at once, forcibly tearing open its ceiling.
At the same time, his body collapsed as though exploding into blood-red mist, then split into three streams that shot into the sky in different directions!
‘A Blood Escape Spell? And it splits into three...?’
The sophisticated technique startled Yi Hyeon for a moment, but he used his Qi-Observing Spell and Farsight Spell, both honed to a transcendent level of proficiency, to see through all three streams of blood-red light at once.
‘The middle one!’
Yi Hyeon clenched his left hand as though crushing the air.
Vooooom.
An Earth-Origin Force anchor, carrying all the primordial unity true qi he could draw from his body without holding back, seized the middle stream of blood-red light squarely in midair!
The momentum carrying the blood-red light out of the sword formation collided head-on with the immense force pulling it downward, distorting the red shape in the air.
“Aaaaaargh!”
The two false blood shadows on either side scattered helplessly. Caught in the pulling force, Eom Mu-jin’s true body was forcibly revealed in midair as he vomited blood!
During that instant of delay, the sword formation above him closed tightly again, completely sealing off his escape into the sky.
With even his Blood Escape Spell blocked, the madness of a cornered beast entered Eom Mu-jin’s eyes.
“Then die with me, you monster!”
He squeezed out his magical power and blood essence, pouring them into the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet and his fan.
Having swallowed the blood essence, the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet roared loudly enough to shake the valley and charged at Yi Hyeon as though bent on self-destruction. Eom Mu-jin’s white bone armor flashed as he, too, slashed his fan downward, unleashing a pitch-black tempest that seemed capable of splitting the valley in half.
Once again, a brilliant golden sun rose from Yi Hyeon’s left hand.
No fewer than three Mount Sumeru Mountain-Suppressing Seals appeared, blotting out the sky!
The three golden palms mercilessly crushed the charging White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet. It shattered and slammed into the ground.
Eom Mu-jin’s Great Wind Blade flew through its wreckage and swept toward Yi Hyeon’s face.
Cr-r-rack!
The Spiritlight Shields he spread in succession shattered, while the Six-Leaf Shield spun at an angle and deflected most of the impact.
The black blade that slipped past tore through Yi Hyeon’s Protective Spiritlight. Just as it was about to bite into his left shoulder, the first spirit molt sprang from the Three-Molt Silkworm Robe beneath his outer robe and caught the blade.
As Yi Hyeon swung the Moon-Sinking Sword, a yellow flying sword silently rose at the lower left of Eom Mu-jin’s vision.
Eom Mu-jin turned the blue jade pendant’s barrier toward it and was about to attack Yi Hyeon with his remaining strength. At that moment, the energy carried by the yellow flying sword changed to something on an entirely different level!
‘Wh-what is this?!’
Eom Mu-jin’s primordial spirit froze as though struck by lightning, and the circulation of his magical power stopped for an instant.
As the blue barrier flickered faintly without its master’s control, the sword light closing in from every direction poured into a single point, caving the barrier inward.
Krrrrrrrk.
Eom Mu-jin snapped back to his senses and hurriedly tried to retreat, but a brilliant point of light stabbed into his vision.
Crunch!
The flying sword pierced the buckled barrier, then drove straight through the Profound Yin White Bone Armor covering Eom Mu-jin’s neck and sank deep into his upper chest!
The sword qi and vow power that erupted next tore through the organs and meridians inside his chest.
Eom Mu-jin’s mouth fell open helplessly, and the strength drained from the hand holding his fan.
Without withdrawing the flying sword, Yi Hyeon drove the spiritual sense and vow power carried by its sword qi all the way in, scattering every last trace of Eom Mu-jin’s struggling primordial spirit.
Thud!
Together with the now-lightless blue jade pendant, the corpse of the powerful late Golden Core cultivator fell onto the shattered bedrock.
The black yin wind that had howled as though it would swallow the valley also died down as if it had never existed.
...
Yi Hyeon stood still for a while, thoroughly searching the island and its surroundings with his spiritual sense. Only after confirming there were no other presences did he disperse the sword qi hanging in the air as part of his sword formation.
One spirit molt of the Three-Molt Silkworm Robe had been damaged, but it would regrow with time and gentle warming. His yellow flying swords, Moon-Sinking Sword, and Six-Leaf Shield were all intact.
This time, he had relied on sheer numbers of Spiritlight Shields to avoid damaging the Six-Leaf Shield. Against White Bone Yin Flame, the shields had been inefficient for the spiritual power they consumed. After he mixed in Buddha-Light True Qi, however, they had proven quite useful despite being a basic spell.
‘Late Golden Core cultivators really are strong, with plenty of tricks.’
Facing a single late Golden Core cultivator had been more difficult than dealing with several of the early or middle Golden Core cultivators or demonic beasts he had fought before.
If he encountered someone at Great Perfection of Golden Core who was particularly skilled in magical combat, he probably could not afford to let his guard down either.
He had more spiritual power, but he also consumed more of it when clashing with magical power. His advantage in quantity was not as all-powerful as he had imagined.
At least this time, Buddha-Light True Qi had been a favorable match, allowing him to respond well. An unfavorable match would have been more tiring.
After lightly catching his breath, Yi Hyeon began clearing the battlefield.
He picked out fragments of Tier 3 bone suitable for research from the wreckage of the White Bone Flood Dragon Puppet and Six-Armed White Bone Demon, along with fragments of the broken bone spears. He also carefully collected the magical implements, storage pouches, and formation flags scattered around the area.
While taking the one-eyed elder’s storage pouch, Yi Hyeon felt strange when he found all five pieces of bone material he had sold earlier, completely intact.
‘This makes it look as though I scammed them...’
* * *
Ten days later, in a cave beneath a deserted coastal cliff.
Yi Hyeon’s eyes shone as he lowered a jade slip from his forehead. It had come from the late Golden Core cultivator’s storage pouch.
It was the Golden Core Section of the Profound Yin White Bone True Scripture!
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