WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: WeTried Translations
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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈
Chapter 106: Formation Array Master
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The old cultivator's calculations were reasonable.
The world of cultivators resembled that of wild beasts. Even if one could kill another, there was no point if one suffered severe injuries in return. A serious injury made one easy prey for others, and if it damaged one's foundation and cut off the path ahead, there would be no use crying out to the heavens.
Unless they were certain of great gains or bore an irreconcilable grudge, cultivators rarely fought to the bitter end.
The old cultivator believed that, since both they and their opponent were Foundation Establishment cultivators, each would have some reservations. That was why they intended to seize the initiative with a Formation Array, pressure their opponent, and force a concession.
They had even prepared to give up every Spirit Stone in their possession if their opponent proved stubborn. Of course, they had no intention of yielding that much unless the other side truly intended for both of them to die. It was only a contingency for the worst possible situation.
“Fortune favored me today. Since the situation is against you, there is no shame in making a small concession.”
The old cultivator had a persuasive way with words. Pressuring an opponent while preserving their dignity was a skill arrogant cultivators drunk on their own greatness could never possess.
Having said this much, the old cultivator believed their opponent would understand. The other's calm demeanor bothered them, but the Formation Array had already trapped him. He would have no choice but to submit.
“You speak rather amusingly. Is a concession forced by another still a concession?”
“...Will you refuse the wine offered in courtesy and choose the punishment wine instead?”
“Who knows? Let us see.”
With those mocking words, the opponent vanished.
The next instant, he had already reached the boundary of the Formation Array.
The old cultivator's eyes widened. They had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of Dharma Power.
Yet such speed?
No spell, not even a Divine ability, could be activated without Dharma Power. That left only one possibility.
“A Body Cultivator?!”
The opponent drove a fist into the translucent barrier.
Bang!
* * *
The Formation Array shook from a single punch.
‘Not quite enough.’
In his human form, his strength was reduced enough to feel weak. Even so, that diminished strength matched or surpassed that of Human Race Body Cultivators who specialized in body cultivation.
That one punch contained all of that strength, yet it was still not enough to break the Formation Array.
Jegyeong was not disappointed. This was normal.
Breaking a Formation Array deployed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator with one Foundation Establishment-level punch? If Formation Arrays were that fragile, how could they be considered one of the Human Race's greatest inheritances?
“Hm.”
Jegyeong let out a low sound and stepped back slightly, as though he had suffered from the Formation Array's recoil.
It was not entirely an act. There had been recoil, though it had only made his fist tingle a little.
“A Body Cultivator. I underestimated you!”
The old cultivator's expression darkened as they quickly took out several flags and scattered them.
Jegyeong immediately recognized them as formation flags. If he allowed them to settle into position, another Formation Array would be deployed.
‘This old cultivator truly is a pure Formation Array Master.’
Instead of attacking the opponent they had already trapped, they were setting up another Formation Array? Should this be called cautious, or cowardly?
‘Could this Formation Array only trap people?’
Normally, a Binding Formation Array restricted its target's movements while allowing attacks to be launched from outside. As long as the opponent could not break the formation, it removed even their chance to retaliate. That was the purpose of a Binding Formation Array.
Yet judging from the old cultivator's movements, the Formation Array trapping him did not seem to be that kind.
‘It was too quiet, after all.’
Powerful Formation Arrays came with obvious signs. That was a truth, or perhaps a rule, Jegyeong had learned while studying Formation Arrays.
The world was vast, so there might be exceptions, but Jegyeong did not believe a Formation Array Master at the Foundation Establishment Stage could wield such an exceptional Formation Array.
Until this Formation Array trapped him, Jegyeong had sensed no sign of it at all. That meant the Formation Array enclosing him now prioritized concealment and speed over power.
‘Interesting.’
It had sacrificed power, yet it had still barely endured his punch. Was that due to the Formation Array's unique nature, or to some special formation artifact hidden beneath the water?
‘I’ll find out.’
Jegyeong hurled himself toward the translucent barrier again.
“Urgh!”
The old cultivator's expression stiffened, and their movements as they placed the formation flags grew more urgent.
Jegyeong felt the old cultivator's Dharma Power connect with four formation flags. Once the connection was made, it was like boarding a moving carriage. They could not get off until it stopped.
If they forcibly broke the connection, their Dharma Power would flow in reverse and shake their Spirit and Flesh.
Seeing that the old cultivator had fallen deeply for his shallow trick, Jegyeong smiled.
Bang!
His fist struck the barrier.
Once again, the barrier only shook violently. It did not crack.
But...
Bang!
If one blow was not enough, he could strike twice, or three times.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jegyeong stood rooted before the barrier and threw punch after punch. His arm tingled all the way past his fist from the unceasing barrage, but he did not find it particularly painful.
“How...!”
The old cultivator trembled in shock. They instinctively realized they had fallen into a trap, but it was already too late.
They had two choices: complete the Formation Array, or endure internal injuries and sever their connection to the Dharma Power.
In that unforeseen crisis, the old cultivator's eyes widened with resolve. Their experience and Heart State, built through centuries of struggle as a cultivator, gave them the answer most suited to this moment.
“Cough!”
Blood seeped from the old cultivator's seven apertures. At the same time, the four flags stood firm in the air as though they had been driven into the ground.
Hum!
The formation flags shook violently, and brilliant formation patterns spread across the sky.
At that very moment, Jegyeong finally shattered the Formation Array binding him and burst out.
“Die!”
A furious roar erupted from the old cultivator's blood-soaked mouth.
Dozens, then hundreds, of formation patterns released powerful Dharma Power at once, warping the surroundings. It was as though invisible waves were pressing space itself inward.
“Hup!”
Having just broken free of the Formation Array, Jegyeong immediately sensed the terrifying pressure rushing toward him.
This force was far beyond what he could withstand.
Though he was on the receiving end of it, he could not help admiring the Formation Array's terrifying power. The massive signs had appeared with strange speed, then vanished even faster.
Jegyeong did not understand at first. Then he saw the old cultivator's near-death state and understood at once.
‘They burned their Origin.’
The Human Race possessed extreme secret arts that sacrificed one's own vitality to seek a path to survival.
Such secret arts were difficult to obtain, difficult to cultivate, and difficult to use because they required tremendous courage. They were rarely seen. Using one to preserve one's life was all well and good, but if it went wrong, it could damage one's foundation.
Jegyeong had not expected that this old cultivator possessed such a dangerous secret art, much less that they would use it so quickly.
At this rate, his entire body would be crushed without even a scrap of flesh left.
“Ha!”
Jegyeong watched the old cultivator, who was repeatedly coughing blood yet wore a grave expression devoid of any triumph.
That decisiveness and caution.
Perhaps it was fitting for someone of their age. Either way, Jegyeong had no choice but to admit that he had underestimated his opponent.
“Grrr.”
He had wanted to gain combat experience in this body if possible, but it seemed there was no helping it.
What could not be done could not be done. Jegyeong had no intention of indulging in pointless stubbornness. If he was seriously injured in his human form, his true body would be affected as well. He could not shed blood just for a little amusement.
The human form vanished, replaced by a gigantic snake.
As the snake, coiled tightly like a ball, began to uncoil, the compressed space burst and expanded once more.
“D-Demon Race!”
The old cultivator shouted as they coughed up blood.
Their eyes, filled with shock and disbelief, reflected the Great Demon Beast growing larger and larger.
“Demon Race!”
The dense Demon Energy that suddenly filled the surroundings horrified them, and they bit their tongue at the Great Demon Beast's endlessly expanding body.
“You... are a black jiao!”
When the Great Demon Beast finally stopped growing, the old cultivator recognized his opponent at last.
There was no way they could fail to recognize him.
An overwhelming majesty that made one shrink back simply by facing him. Suffocating Demon Energy that naturally flowed from him without any effort. And the two somewhat vicious-looking horns atop his head.
Was this not the master of the Black Jiao Waters, whom they had only heard of through rumors?
“Was it a trap? Did you cast a line and wait for a fool like me to bite the bait?”
“Hup!”
Jegyeong did not answer.
He simply tensed his entire body and shattered the pressure that was still trying to crush him. Then he breathed fire, sweeping over the formation flags that were already swaying precariously.
‘Hm?’
Jegyeong narrowed his eyes.
Though the formation flags remained engulfed in flame and were damaged here and there, they still retained the shape of flags. The Formation Array's power had weakened greatly, but it still functioned.
‘They aren’t ordinary formation flags.’
It did not matter.
The moment he revealed his true body, this Formation Array had ceased to be a threat. His fire had only been a small act of irritation.
“Roaaar!”
A fierce roar filled with demon power burst forth, and an invisible shockwave swept away the remaining pressure without resistance.
“Cough!”
The old cultivator watched in grief as the Formation Array broke apart and the formation flags were flung away.
Anger, despair, and sorrow passed through their eyes in turn, but in the end, only resignation remained.
“Have you given up?”
“Even if I cannot be your opponent... I will not become your plaything.”
“Oh.”
Jegyeong watched the calm old cultivator with interest.
This old cultivator had truly surprised him several times.
“Do you not want to live?”
“My Immortal Path has been cut off. What use is prolonging my life?”
“You are extreme.”
“As a cultivator, I have pursued only the Immortal Path my entire life. A life where I cannot pursue the Great Dao and can only helplessly wait for death is not a life at all.”
Until now, Jegyeong had held some prejudice against Calamity Cultivators.
In truth, it was not even much of a prejudice. Every Calamity Cultivator he had encountered until now had been pathetic.
But this old cultivator was different.
Their Dao-Seeking Heart was firm.
How had someone like this become a Calamity Cultivator? Or perhaps it was because their Dao Heart was so steadfast that they had not cared what methods they used?
“Please end this.”
Having said that, the old cultivator closed their eyes with a detached expression.
Watching them, Jegyeong felt both admiration and amusement.
“Whether I end this is not for you to decide.”
The old cultivator's eyes twitched at the taunting words.
Before they could open their eyes in displeasure, a crow's cry with an oddly frivolous quality pierced their ears.
Footnotes:
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