The Tale of Cultivation and Demon Extermination - Chapter 115

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Episode 16: Chance, Fate, and Destiny (8)

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After putting as much distance as possible between themselves and Pungnyu City, Ise settled in a spot with plenty of cover.

He laid Ryu Seonghan down and slipped a Regeneration Pellet into his mouth.

Ordinarily, a cultivator needed to circulate qi to absorb a Regeneration Pellet's spiritual energy, but Ryu Seonghan showed no sign of waking.

Still, given his realm, a mere Regeneration Pellet would not make his spiritual meridians burst.

Ise washed Ryu Seonghan with the Jet Stream Art, then dried him with the Fire-Release Art.

The problem would come after Ryu Seonghan woke.

It was hard to predict how the sole survivor of a fallen clan and city would react.

If Ryu Seonghan demanded that Ise hand over Ise's own bundle, or demanded to know why Ise had saved him at all... then their connection would end here.

Ise had no intention of keeping company with someone who could not tell what mattered or recognize a debt of gratitude.

As if reflecting his complicated feelings, an untimely snowstorm swept in, and thick flakes began to fall.

Ryu Seonghan woke a short while later.

He abruptly sat up, saw Ise before him, then looked around.

The speed at which he turned his head gradually slowed.

Beneath the falling snow, his face began to flush with a tide of emotion.

The color of his stricken face stood in stark contrast to the white snowfield.

Ryu Seonghan looked up at Ise through half-lidded eyes.

“What happened to Pungnyu City?”

“It fell.”

“Ah...”

A sob escaped Ryu Seonghan's lips.

His facial muscles contorted violently before he began to howl like a beast.

Ise waited in silence for him to calm down.

After weeping bitterly for a long time, Ryu Seonghan slowly rose and bowed to Ise.

“Thank you... for saving me... I owe you my life.”

Fortunately, Ryu Seonghan was not the sort of shameless person who forgot a favor.

“There was a guard on the city wall.”

Rather than taking credit, Ise told Ryu Seonghan what he had heard about the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley's involvement.

After listening to the explanation, Ryu Seonghan burst out in outrage, as though he had expected as much.

“The Yun Clan could never have done this alone. Those filthy demonic cultivators... Even tearing them apart and killing them would not be enough...!”

Ise agreed. There was not a single wrong word in that statement.

“After killing every cultivator in the Ryu Clan, the Yun Clan will take the resources while the valley takes all the people. They carved up Pungnyu City and divided it between themselves, like butchering livestock...”

“Do you think the Heavenly Ice Palace was involved?”

“No. The Heavenly Ice Palace strictly forbids higher powers from interfering in the affairs of lower powers. But what can they do? If they attack first, obtain approval afterward, then declare war, the truth will never come out if no survivors remain.”

So that was why they had handed out valuable talismans and stationed guards on the walls.

Ise understood the situation.

“Who knows how many cities they have destroyed this way... Only now do I understand the unease Senior mentioned. The Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley has been joining hands with certain clans, devouring one city whenever their number increases.”

Ryu Seonghan explained the unease that had come too late. The Yun Clan's rise had simply been too rapid to be natural.

“What will you do now? My offer still stands.”

Ryu Seonghan met Ise's gaze.

Without hesitation, he knelt in the snow with a resolute expression.

“Beyond the soul-binding contract, I pledge my loyalty to you, Senior. Please guide me so that I may gain the strength to take my revenge...”

Whoosh.

A biting wind laden with snow tore through them.

Ise looked down at Ryu Seonghan impassively, then let out a quiet sigh.

“Take your revenge with your own strength.”

“...”

“Revenge entrusted to someone else is not revenge.”

“Yes. I know. I don't wish to entrust vengeance for my family to another either. Even if it takes decades or centuries.”

If he made up his mind, Ise could easily storm the Yun Clan and deal with a few Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

But there was no reason to do so, and he should not.

“Right. We made a promise, and I keep my promises. That's all. Still, if you insist on pledging your loyalty of your own accord, I won't reject it.”

“How could it be loyalty if I expected something in return? I will simply repay the debt of being saved for as long as my strength allows. But please understand that revenge will come first.”

Ise silently watched Ryu Seonghan.

The usual lightness and slyness were gone. Frustration, rage, sorrow, and countless other emotions swirled through his mind like a storm.

It was obvious that Ryu Seonghan was being shaken by a heart demon.

Ise spoke aloud the advice of the dokkaebi great cultivator that remained etched in his heart.

“Keep your center. A cultivator must do that to cultivate. Do not lose yourself to the grief of losing your clan and city, or to the desire for revenge against your enemies.”

“...”

“Return to your normal life. Laugh, talk, and make the same pointless jokes you always did, even if you have to force yourself. That's how you avoid falling into a heart demon tribulation.”

Ryu Seonghan looked at Ise.

Ise had said he reached the Foundation Establishment Realm in seven years.

Judging from his appearance and realm, he could not have been older than his thirties.

Yet Ise possessed such depth of mind.

It felt as though Ryu Seonghan were receiving the advice of an aged cultivator, and a chill ran down his spine.

Ise continued.

“When you advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm, a heart demon will inevitably come and show you your clan and city collapsing. Get used to it now. Imagine that moment every day, and fight it in your mind until you can endure it without being shaken.”

“I will remember it.”

Ise passed on the Dao heart his seniors had taught him to a junior who was older than he was.

It was consideration and mercy offered to someone who had pledged loyalty to him and suffered the same pain.

* * *

The two continued toward the Heavenly Ice Palace.

There had been a great disturbance, but their goal had not changed. They would have Ryu Seonghan infiltrate the Heavenly Ice Palace and find the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art.

The only new factor was Ryu Seonghan's clear, overwhelming purpose of advancing his realm for revenge.

Ryu Seonghan spoke far less than before.

Still, Ise could feel him struggling desperately to control his heart demon.

The Heavenly Ice Palace was quite far away.

They had traveled for around fifteen days and had not even covered a tenth of the distance.

The land truly was vast.

“Someone's coming.”

Ryu Seonghan looked up at Ise's words.

“A cultivator at the tenth star of the Qi Condensation Realm. They're heading straight for us.”

The person had known their location and approached them before Ise's enhanced vision could even make them out.

They likely possessed a spirit artifact that could detect nearby cultivators.

“Could they be from the Yun Clan?”

“We've come quite far for them to have tracked us here. It's unlikely.”

The possibility was low, but Ise did not rule out the chance that the approaching person was connected to the attack on Pungnyu City.

When rescuing Ryu Seonghan, Ise had confirmed with divine sense that there were no witnesses.

Yet the guard had possessed a Spirit-Veiling Talisman that obscured even divine sense.

Nothing could be certain.

‘What if we were tracked?’

Looking at it positively, perhaps they would not care that one or two Qi Condensation Realm cultivators had escaped.

No one would believe Ryu Seonghan no matter how loudly he spoke. They would dismiss it as the denunciation of a defeated survivor.

Looking at it negatively, they might pursue him to the end and try to kill him.

If the person approaching was an operative of the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley, Ise would kill them and withdraw.

There would be no great problem with abandoning the mission, raising their realms further, and resuming it later.

They would only waste some time. At least they now had an idea where to begin looking.

When Ise had gone to report the start of the mission to Haeil, Haeil had said that the teleportation formation needed roughly ten years before it could be used again.

An awkwardly long time.

Even so, safety came first, and the mission came second.

If necessary, Ise would live off the land and cultivate nearby while waiting for the teleportation formation to recharge, even if it meant crossing back to the Eastern Continent afterward.

Ise had set his priorities clearly.

‘This was why I didn't want to get involved.’

Still, Ise decided to think positively.

Rather than wandering around carelessly, it was better for both cultivation and the mission to keep that tension honed sharp.

Sloth was evil, while arrogance and carelessness were enemies that threatened one's life.

“Should I strike first?”

Ryu Seonghan asked Ise, a sharp aura rising around him.

Ise shook his head.

“Act naturally for now. There are three rules when you travel with me, so remember them. First, we don't harm those who don't attack first, and we don't leave those who attack alive. Second, the spoils belong to whoever ends the enemy's life. Third, we don't hunt spirit beasts.”

“Yes. I will remember.”

“If we fight, can you handle them alone?”

“...The tenth star is a higher realm than mine.”

“You should be able to win fights within the same minor realm boundary. Think of it as training. Keep acting naturally until I run a hand through my hair. Then launch a surprise attack.”

“Yes.”

A wandering cultivator appeared shortly afterward.

They approached the two resting on a felled conifer trunk with a friendly smile.

“To think I would find wandering cultivators in a place like this. Fellow Daoist, if you do not mind, may I join you for a while?”

The wandering cultivator did not even glance at Ise and addressed Ryu Seonghan directly.

Ise quietly used the Mind-Reading Art before asking, “How did you know we were here? Did you deliberately come after seeing us?”

The wandering cultivator frowned.

“Junior, forgive me, but I did not give you permission to speak to me. And how could I have found you precisely in this vast snowfield? Everything is chance, guided by the Heavenly Dao.”

A lie.

This bastard had come for them.

When Ise ran a hand through his hair, Ryu Seonghan immediately sent out a Wind Blade.

“What! You attack without warning? Such savage people!”

The wandering cultivator leaped aside in a hurry, but the Wind Blade sliced across their buttocks.

A fierce spell duel between Qi Condensation Realm cultivators erupted at once.

Ise sat on the log and quietly watched their battle.

The wandering cultivator was a three-spiritual-root bearer of fire, wood, and earth. Their spellwork was quite refined, testament to a long life of wandering.

Ryu Seonghan seemed to be pushed back at first, but soon began driving the wandering cultivator back by using his distinctive footwork and Clone Art at just the right moments.

Small wounds appeared on both sides, but Ryu Seonghan fought with greater desperation.

In the end, the wandering cultivator threw a poison pellet and a Smoke Bomb, then fled.

The wandering cultivator ignored Ise and tried to pass by, but Ise caught their ankle with the Earth Shadow Snare, pressed them down with spiritual pressure, then struck all four limbs with the Black Phosphorus Axe and brought them down.

“...”

Watching the opponent he had fought desperately get subdued in a single blow, Ryu Seonghan slumped down as though all strength had left him.

“I caught this one.”

It was a declaration of ownership over the spoils.

Ryu Seonghan could only think that Ise was nothing if not consistent.

Ignoring that, Ise immediately used the Mind-Reading Art on the screaming cultivator and confirmed their identity.

Fortunately, they were an ordinary bandit cultivator with no connection to the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley.

“Why is a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator wandering around? Find a place to settle and prepare to break through the major realm boundary.”

“I wander because I am at Great Completion. Foundation Establishment cities do not welcome new Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.”

“What a pity.”

Ise decided to give the cultivator one last chance.

“You. What were you planning to do to us? Were you going to kill us?”