WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Episode 18: Lesser Defeat Sword Cheongun (2)
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Ise planted the newly acquired spirit rice seeds and spiritual herbs in the Living-Spirit Cave Abode.
Ryu Seonghan helped with an expression of curiosity, then bowed to Ise.
“Then I'll head back.”
Before they parted, Ise asked one question.
“Is there any way to get information on Foundation Establishment demons or demonic cultivators?”
“Are you going demon-beast hunting?”
When Ise answered yes, Ryu thought for a moment before making a suggestion.
“If that's the case, why not go to the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains? It'll be easier to hunt there without worrying. As long as you don't go too deep, there shouldn't be much danger.”
“How far is it from here?”
“About five thousand li south.”
That was not as far as Ise had expected.
It would have taken a long time back when he traveled on foot, but he could get there quickly on the Dream-Saving Cloud.
“I suppose I should. Cultivate diligently. Send me a Message Talisman if anything happens.”
“Yes. Take care of yourself.”
Ise raised a hand in farewell, then retrieved the Secret-Realm Key and stored it in his Cosmos Pouch.
* * *
He passed the unfortunate Heavenly Ice Palace cultivators who were still manning the checkpoints, then rode the Dream-Saving Cloud south.
The scenery of the Heavenly Capital Realm gradually shrank and flowed beneath him.
Once he left its territory, the familiar snowfields returned.
Still, perhaps because this was the southernmost part of the Northern Continent, the cold was not too fierce.
The Dream-Saving Cloud flew swiftly.
The pure white ground gradually gave way to grayish-brown earth, while the coniferous forests became mixed woods dotted with broadleaf trees.
As the cold slowly faded and the rivers began to flow rather than remain frozen, a massive mountain range came into view.
‘That river and mountain range must be the border.’
Dark blue-black peaks formed an endless ridge, resembling a person's spine.
There was no wall.
Instead of building absurdly tall walls like the Zheng Empire, the people of the Northern Continent had settled in an environment so frigid that demons could not cross it.
The fact that not a single city existed between the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains and the Frozen Lands proved as much.
Humans truly were a species capable of surviving in any environment.
Ise came to a stop above the heart of the mountain range and used a Far-Sight Talisman.
Despite the imposing name of the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains, there were barely any demons near the Northern Continent.
It seemed he needed to go deeper.
He flew slowly at low altitude, searching for prey.
It was a calm search, like a hunter following a deer's tracks.
Bisang flew beside him, and Ise gave the creature an instruction.
“When I go down to hunt, keep watch from above. If anything approaches, don't engage it. Make noise and come down to me immediately.”
“Coo-roo-rook!”
Bisang bobbed its beak as if to say it understood.
At that moment, an unidentified Qi Condensation Realm demon beast entered his view.
Ise immediately descended.
He shot straight down as though falling, then swung his hatchet just before reaching the ground.
The target was split in two before it could even scream.
Ise immediately devoured its demonic qi, then stored the corpse, now missing its head and chest, in the Demon-Sealing Talisman Book.
For this hunt, he intended to skip the spirit-sending rite and focus solely on devouring demonic qi.
He had already established a self-sustaining supply of spiritual energy. What he needed now was demonic qi.
It bothered him that vengeful resentment could give rise to other demons, but he decided to make up for it with future hunts.
The sun gradually dipped westward, and the hunt continued.
After hunting nothing but Qi Condensation Realm demons, Ise was growing hungry when an early Foundation Establishment wooden humanoid demon pushed through the grass.
It stood far taller than a person, with limbs like thick vines and bluish-green leaves sprouting from them.
As soon as Ise descended toward it, dozens of vines lashed out from the creature's arms like whips.
Ise stopped in midair. Flames erupted from his body.
Before the thorn-covered vines could reach him, the flames surging from his body raced back along them like sparks falling into oil.
At the same time, he cast Firefall Art, forming a massive flaming meteor in the air.
The meteor fell toward the wooden humanoid, and a tremendous crash rang out.
Even as it burned, the wooden humanoid demon beast kept firing sharpened vines at him.
Yet a mass of primordial qi Ise released flew like a sickle, cutting through every vine it struck before splitting the wooden humanoid's body in half.
Blue sap flowed from the severed surface.
The demonic qi of the Foundation Establishment demon flowed into him.
Only then did he feel some of his thirst ease.
* * *
Once he went deeper, demons began appearing in numbers worthy of the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains.
They were everywhere.
Demon beasts steadily piled up inside the Beacon Fire Album.
He had sealed every demon beast worth eating, but the Beacon Fire Album seemed likely to run out of space. From then on, he stored only late Qi Condensation Realm demon beasts and stronger ones.
“Next. Where is it?”
Following Bisang's guidance, Ise chose his next direction.
Most were Qi Condensation Realm demons, though he occasionally hunted Foundation Establishment demons.
The amount of demonic qi he absorbed was small, but he kept forcing it in through sheer numbers and slowly moved closer to his goal.
‘Hunting Uin was a brilliant move.’
He had gained quite a bit of demonic qi by devouring Uin, a peak Foundation Establishment demon beast.
Otherwise, this hunt would have taken far longer.
When night fell, Ise left the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains.
Evil spirits appeared in dark places at night.
He had the Vajra, but a treasure artifact suited to the Qi Condensation Realm was hardly reassuring.
If possible, he did not want to deal with an evil spirit alone without a Shaman.
After spending the night in the sky outside the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains, he resumed hunting as soon as dawn broke.
Fortunately, not long after starting, he managed to hunt a mid Foundation Establishment demon beast.
‘Only a few more remain.’
It would be perfect if a late Foundation Establishment demon appeared around now.
That was when it happened.
Flames suddenly descended from the sky.
A scarlet pillar of light connecting heaven and earth.
“...?”
For a moment, Ise doubted his own eyes.
A pillar of fire from a clear sky?
The flames were so enormous that he could see them clearly from a considerable distance.
Their scale was terrifying at a glance.
As Ise stared blankly at the flames, one thought flashed through his mind.
Heavenly tribulation.
That was a fire tribulation, one kind of heavenly tribulation.
Most heavenly tribulations were lightning tribulations, where bolts descended from the sky. Yet he had heard that they could also manifest in many forms, including fire tribulations and wind tribulations.
In other words, one of the demons was attempting to break through to the Core Formation Realm.
Interest glinted in Ise's eyes.
A breakthrough into the Core Formation Realm required complete preparation, such as setting up a warding barrier and appointing guardians.
Yet the demons of the Heaven-Demon Great Mountains could not have prepared properly in such an environment.
If things went well... this might be a chance to hunt a demon at Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Realm without effort.
Even if he could not hunt it, he would have to face heavenly tribulation himself one day. Watching it now would still be valuable experience.
Immortal cultivation was like walking a tightrope.
Every cultivator was destined to balance the danger of taking on challenges against the safety of avoiding them.
Choose safety alone, and one could not grow. Choose challenges alone, and one would struggle to survive.
When an opportunity came within reach, seize it.
When an unbeatable crisis came, avoid it.
The important thing was to find the right balance through accurate judgment.
Ise put Bisang into the Spirit Beast Carrier, then used a Spirit-Veiling Talisman and a Concealment Talisman before slowly heading toward the breakthrough site.
Once he drew close, he descended to the ground and moved while concealing even his presence.
The pillar of fire still raged from the sky, and flaming meteors crashed into the ground between its bursts.
At the center of the heavenly tribulation stood a flower.
More precisely, a demon shaped like a flower.
Its upper body resembled that of a person, though its pale pink skin looked as though it had been formed from layers of delicate flower petals.
Lush petals flowed from its head in place of hair.
Where legs should have been, there were only pale green stems rising from the soil.
Below the knees, they swayed like ghosts as they pressed against the earth.
Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be a strange transformed demon that had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Similar Qi Condensation Realm and Foundation Establishment demons were spread throughout the area, standing guard.
They were likely its subordinates.
‘I can't attack while the heavenly tribulation is underway.’
If someone attacked or helped the target during a heavenly tribulation, they would be caught up in it as well.
That meant those mad flames would turn on him.
No matter how he looked at it, the fire did not seem like something water-aspect spells could extinguish.
‘Could I handle it if I wait for the heavenly tribulation to end, then ambush it just after it forms its Golden Core?’
His thoughts deepened.
After breaking through a major realm boundary, one needed time to adapt to the changes.
Even so, fighting across realms carried great risk.
If he were at late Foundation Establishment, perhaps. At his current stage, it was too soon.
His gaze shifted to the demons standing guard.
If he attacked them, would that not shake the flower demon's state of mind?
Just knowing there was a threat nearby during a heavenly tribulation would surely disrupt its focus.
If its mind wavered and it failed the breakthrough, he would devour it.
If its will proved strong enough to succeed anyway, he would retreat before then.
Ise made his decision, gathered primordial qi, and cut down a nearby flower demon in a surprise attack.
A strange rattling cry rang out, and the surrounding demons rushed at him all at once.
As expected, the flower demon undergoing tribulation seemed to lose focus, and flames began spreading over its body.
‘Good. Keep wavering.’
Ise began hunting the charging flower demons one by one.
He burrowed into the earth with Earth-Escape Art, burned their roots, then sprang out in sudden attacks and swung primordial qi.
The paralyzing poison they scattered in madness spread everywhere, but Ise was immune to all poisons.
Pollen could not affect his body in the slightest.
Their thorn-sharp vines, however, were somewhat threatening.
They could scratch even his body after he cast Hardening Art.
Ise raised the Yellow Great Parasol to protect his head, then calmly hunted the demons standing guard.
Once every guardian had fallen, the flames covering the tribulation-struck demon's body intensified.
It was definitely wavering.
Even that was not enough for Ise. He formed a Fireball.
He made it larger and larger, threatening the demon as though he could throw it at any moment.
Of course, he did not throw it.
He merely disturbed its mind and threatened it.
Still, the creature was no ordinary demon. The heavenly tribulation gradually began to subside.
Despite the vicious interference, it had endured the heavenly tribulation to the end and successfully refined its demon core into a Golden Core.
‘What a shame.’
It was truly regrettable.
If he had hunted it, he would not have needed to worry about demonic qi for some time.
But he could not take that risk.
The aura of a demon nearing the Core Formation Realm was threatening even at a glance.
As soon as the heavenly tribulation ended, the creature spread its divine sense widely, as though seeking revenge on Ise.
‘That won't do.’
He had already achieved his goal.
Thanks to the creature gathering its subordinates together so neatly, Ise had saved himself the trouble of searching for prey.
He immediately mounted the Dream-Saving Cloud and sped away.
The flower demon let out strange, furious shrieks, but it would be difficult for it to pursue him at once while dealing with the aftereffects of its breakthrough.
Instead, it opened its mouth and fired a pillar of light that glittered like flower pollen.
‘You're overextending yourself.’
Footnotes:
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