Ophidian of the Immortal World - Chapter 73

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: WeTried Translations

◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 73: Trap

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Two men and two women were aboard a small, fast boat.

They were a single family. The parents were both early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, while their two children were at the middle stage of Qi Refining.

“Father, we’ll reach Black Shark Island soon.”

The young man standing at the bow raised his voice slightly. The middle-aged man seated inside the cabin nodded.

“Taeyeom. Your mother and I will survey the situation from above. You and Sohwa follow behind and watch out for Water Demons.”

Seomuso, the middle-aged man, rose into the air on a Flying Sword alongside his wife, Yang Yuwan.

Even while they remained inside the cabin, they had spread their Divine Sense to watch the surroundings. Still, that could not compare to surveying the area from the sky.

Early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators did not possess enough Dharma Power to remain airborne for long, even with a flying Dharma Artifact.

More precisely, they could fly for that long, but no one did.

If a powerful enemy appeared after their Dharma Power had already been greatly depleted, they would struggle not only to fight, but even to flee.

“So that’s Black Shark Island.”

Seomuso murmured as he looked at Black Shark Island, which appeared no larger than a small dot in the distance.

Yang Yuwan, flying beside him, narrowed her eyes.

“Husband, should we go ahead and take a closer look? If Black Shark Island really is Gwak Jeongsin’s vault, there should be people guarding it. Wouldn’t it be best if we could deal with them beforehand?”

“You’re worried the children will be in danger?”

Yang Yuwan did not answer. Her silence was answer enough.

Seomuso seemed to hesitate for a moment before sighing.

“Wife, we can’t protect the children forever.”

“I know. But shouldn’t we do as much as we can?”

Yang Yuwan was resolute.

Seomuso sighed inwardly, but said nothing more.

The higher a cultivator’s realm, the harder it was to have children.

The couple were Foundation Establishment cultivators and had spent more than twenty years trying to have children.

Since they had only been blessed with twins after such difficulty, Seomuso naturally worried about them as well. Yet Yang Yuwan was far worse. She rarely allowed the children out of her sight.

This trip was no exception.

Seomuso had originally wanted to come with Yang Yuwan alone, but she insisted they could not leave the children behind and had to travel together.

He understood how she felt, but such thorough protection could become poison to the children instead.

Neither he nor Yang Yuwan was young, and their hope of advancing further along the Immortal Path was faint. Before long, the children would have to stand on their own, whether they wished to or not.

When that time came, Seomuso worried whether they would be able to endure.

‘Sigh. They’re still only at the middle stage of Qi Refining.’

Heaven had taken pity on the couple and granted them twins, but sadly, it had not granted them talent as well.

They had supported their children without holding back, providing cultivation methods and Medicinal Pills alike. Yet the children had still failed to break through the middle-stage Qi Refining bottleneck.

Perhaps because they had been raised too indulgently, even their temperaments had yet to harden. Seomuso worried that the moment they left his sight, they would fall into danger.

‘I can only hope this trip won’t be in vain.’

Seomuso steadied his heart as Black Shark Island drew nearer.

According to the information they had received, Black Shark Island concealed a secret belonging to Gwak Jeongsin of the Spirit Talisman Merchant Association.

Gwak Jeongsin had recently been rapidly expanding his position within the Spirit Talisman Merchant Association, and he had been able to do so because he possessed money and connections.

Yet he had only begun to rise in earnest recently. That money and those connections must have been acquired not long ago.

Seomuso had not even known that there was someone named Gwak Jeongsin in the Spirit Talisman Merchant Association until he learned of this matter by chance.

Gwak Jeongsin had obtained a Spirit Fruit Tree and profited greatly from the Spirit Fruit it produced.

The Black Sect Hall had originally discovered the Spirit Fruit Tree, but Gwak Jeongsin learned of it by chance and destroyed the Black Sect Hall to seize it.

He had intended to transplant the tree, but its roots had already grown too deeply into Black Shark Island, making that impossible.

So he spread rumors of a black jiao and tried to turn Black Shark Island into a forbidden place. That was the general story.

Seomuso had not believed it at first.

But when the Black Sect Hall truly fell, followed by rumors that a black jiao had appeared, he changed his mind.

‘Someone is making a move against Gwak Jeongsin.’

Seomuso was half convinced.

The fact that he and Yang Yuwan had received this information had to reflect someone’s intentions.

That person was likely trying to bring down Gwak Jeongsin, but for some reason could not act directly, so they had leaked the information instead.

Was there truly a Spirit Fruit Tree on Black Shark Island?

Perhaps there was. Perhaps there was not.

Still, Gwak Jeongsin must have had a reason to protect Black Shark Island even by spreading absurd rumors.

After considering that much, Seomuso and Yang Yuwan decided to take the risk.

It was unpleasant to move according to someone else’s intentions, but that was the life of a Rogue Cultivator.

Opportunity always came with danger, and the reverse was true as well. If they wanted a share of the profits, they had to be prepared to stake their lives.

Seomuso and Yang Yuwan were experienced Foundation Establishment cultivators. They understood that principle well, which was why they did not refuse this gamble.

“Husband, I’ll take a look first.”

Yang Yuwan inspected Black Shark Island with the Spirit Eye Technique.

“There’s no Formation Array, and I don’t sense any unusual flow of Spiritual Energy. There’s only one cultivator, and he’s at the middle stage of Qi Refining.”

“How could that be?”

“What’s going on? Gwak Jeongsin couldn’t have already acted, could he?”

Seomuso trusted Yang Yuwan’s skill.

Her Spirit Eye Technique had reached a high level. There was no chance she was mistaken.

“Let’s capture the one on the island and find out.”

Before accelerating, Seomuso spread his Divine Sense with all his strength, checking whether anyone might be hiding nearby.

Yang Yuwan joined the search.

A short while later, after confirming that nothing was amiss, they picked up speed and headed toward Black Shark Island.

“There’s a building.”

Once they had drawn close enough, the couple spotted a grandly constructed building.

The strange structure, utterly out of place amid the empty wilderness around it, stirred both their curiosity and caution.

“It’s an ordinary building.”

They inspected it repeatedly from a distance, but it did not seem to possess anything unusual.

They hesitated briefly, then followed their original plan and captured the island’s only cultivator.

The youth seemed barely twenty years old.

He had been using the Spirit Rain Technique on a Spirit Field. The moment the couple appeared, he was so startled that he collapsed where he stood.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“M-My name is Han Cheongyu. I... I manage the spirit rice fields.”

“Spirit rice?”

Seomuso glanced at the broad Spirit Field.

“Who ordered you to manage this Spirit Field?”

“E-Elder Gwak ordered me to.”

“Elder Gwak? You mean Gwak Jeongsin?”

“Y-Yes.”

The couple’s cold expressions eased slightly.

It seemed the information they had received was not entirely false after all.

“You can’t possibly manage such a large Spirit Field alone. Where did the others go?”

“They went to check on the Fleshscale Fish school the day before yesterday.”

“Fleshscale Fish...”

Seomuso and Yang Yuwan exchanged looks.

They still knew nothing about the Spirit Fruit Tree, but this place certainly seemed to be one of Gwak Jeongsin’s sources of wealth.

“Where is the Spirit Fruit Tree?”

“T-The Spirit Fruit Tree? What is that? I’ve never seen a tree on this island.”

Under the pressure of two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Han Cheongyu staggered as though he might suffocate and collapse at any moment.

Seomuso and Yang Yuwan watched his frightened eyes, trying to discern whether he was telling the truth.

It was quite troublesome.

If they possessed the Soul-Seeking Technique, they could search this youth’s soul at once and understand the situation. But as Rogue Cultivators, there was no chance they had such a method.

They could only intimidate and pressure him as they were doing now, closely observing his reaction.

After pushing Han Cheongyu to the brink of unconsciousness, they concluded that he was not lying.

In other words, there was no Spirit Fruit Tree on this island.

The couple could not hide their disappointment.

They had doubted the story from the beginning, but they could not help feeling deflated.

“...What is that building by the shore? What’s inside it?”

“It’s where Elder Cheongo stays. I don’t know what’s inside. We’re not allowed to enter.”

“Elder Cheongo? Who is that?”

“Uh... a crow Demon Beast. It can speak, even though it’s a Demon Beast...”

Seomuso and Yang Yuwan narrowed their eyes.

A crow Demon Beast? One that could speak?

It sounded far from ordinary.

They wondered whether it might be a Great Demon Beast, but from what this youth said, that did not seem to be the case.

Of course, his knowledge might simply be too limited for him to recognize a Great Demon Beast even when standing before one.

“Let’s go.”

They did not deliberate for long.

Whether that Demon Beast called Cheongo was a Great Demon Beast or not, it was not currently on the island.

They decided to inspect the building first.

If there was anything worthwhile on this island, it would surely be inside that building.

‘This is becoming troublesome.’

Seomuso was beginning to grow anxious.

They had come all this way. Surely they would not return empty-handed?

If they found nothing of value in this building either, should they at least seize the Fleshscale Fish?

A short while later, Seomuso arrived before the building and spoke to Yang Yuwan.

“I’ll go inside. Wife, remain outside and watch the area. That Demon Beast called Cheongo may return, and Gwak Jeongsin’s people may arrive as well. Do not lower your guard.”

“All right. You be careful too.”

“Mm.”

After watching Yang Yuwan rise into the air on her Dharma sword, Seomuso led Han Cheongyu, whose face had turned pale enough to make him seem ready to faint, into the building.

* * *

The inside of the building was pitch-black, without even a trace of light.

It posed no problem for a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Seomuso, but ordinary Qi Refining cultivators would likely struggle to see.

He could not help wondering why anyone would construct a building like this. At the same time, its abnormal structure gave Seomuso a faint sense of anticipation.

‘What exactly is this building for?’

From the outside, it had looked rather impressive. Once he entered, though, its interior was unimpressive.

It was only abnormally dark and unnecessarily spacious.

Seomuso proceeded cautiously, but eventually he could no longer restrain himself and turned toward Han Cheongyu.

“How much do you know about this building?”

“I... I...”

Just as Han Cheongyu began to stammer out an answer, a heavy tremor shook the building.

Boom!

Seomuso tensed and drew upon his Dharma Power, but he soon raised his head in alarm.

He could tell.

At that very moment, the entire island had been sealed off.

“This...”