WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 19: Essence-Absorbing Demon Valley (4)
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Ise waited tensely for Ryu Seonghan.
It would be nice to have the ability to read heavenly omens at a time like this.
But reading heavenly omens was only possible after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, so it remained far beyond him.
A short while later, Ryu Seonghan entered with a grim expression.
Ise immediately sensed that things had gone wrong.
Ryu Seonghan held out a small folded slip of paper.
- Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art, Lower Volume: Available in Library Pavilion C of the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley.
After reading it, Ise let out a sigh.
Somehow, he had felt that all these repeated entanglements would lead here.
In the cultivation world, becoming involved in small matters connected to a great event before it occurred was called an omen.
Ise felt that everything that had tied him to the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley until now had been an omen of his eventual entry into that place.
“What... are you going to do now?”
“Let’s ask Cheongun for advice first.”
Ise sent Cheongun a Message Talisman.
Half a day later, Cheongun came to Ise’s residence.
After greeting him with a brief nod, Cheongun checked Ise’s divine sense and gave a hollow laugh.
“You’ve already reached late Foundation Establishment. When did you cross the minor realm boundary?”
“Not long ago.”
“Incredible. Really... do you want me to call you senior?”
Until now, Cheongun had thought he could catch up soon enough, even if they were separated by a minor realm boundary.
But Ise’s advancement had gone far beyond his expectations, so he had to observe the proper order.
“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m fairly easygoing with close friends. You’ll reach the middle stage soon too.”
“...Thanks.”
Cheongun looked blank for a moment at the words close friends, then answered with his usual open laugh.
Ryu Seonghan merely stared at the two of them as if they were monsters.
“When I first met you, you were both in the Qi Condensation Realm. Now you’re already at late Foundation Establishment... I thought divine sense simply grew enormously once you reached the middle stage, but...”
“Be careful about judging someone’s realm by their divine sense. You might end up like Beom-su.”
“Yes, Senior. Ah!”
Ryu Seonghan suddenly clapped his hands.
“I have a good idea.”
“What is it?”
“Why not break through to the Nascent Soul Realm at top speed, conquer the Northern Continent, and then retrieve the cultivation manual?”
“...”
It was not worth answering, so Ise ignored him and turned to Cheongun.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Could you ask the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley for it?”
Cheongun shook his head.
“No. It might work elsewhere, but not with the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley. The moment we ask for it, they’d rather burn it to ash than hand it over willingly.”
“Then there’s no other choice. I’ll have to enter and find it myself.”
Both of them immediately stiffened and tried to stop Ise, nearly shouting.
“I’m against it. Those bastards are black-hearted monsters with bottomless appetites. It’s safer to keep watching them as we have been and wait for them to expose themselves.”
“Yes, I agree. Please enter the Heavenly Ice Palace, Senior. I’ll prove your identity with a letter of recommendation. The Sect Lord gives gifts to those who reach the Core Formation Realm, so why not make your request then?”
Ise shook his head.
Cheongun’s method was a gamble that relied on uncertainty.
Ryu Seonghan’s method seemed safe, but it could be even more dangerous for Ise.
Breaking through to the Core Formation Realm without the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art meant facing the heavenly tribulation head-on without any preparation, a tribulation that even Order Lord Haeil had called extraordinarily difficult.
There was still the risk of his physique being exposed.
Rather than concealing his demonic qi and entering the Heavenly Ice Palace, it would be safer to conceal his spiritual energy, pretend to be a demonic cultivator, and infiltrate the valley.
If one did not enter the tiger’s den, how could one catch its cub?
He only had to prepare as thoroughly as possible and find a way through, as he always had.
If there truly was no way, he could consider retreating and asking Hall Master Haeil for help. Still, using force against a Nascent Soul Realm clan would not be easy.
One wrong move could escalate into a war between continents.
It would only reveal the value of the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art to his enemies.
Having made his decision, Ise spoke to Cheongun.
“Let’s have the sparring match we promised in the contract. Now.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“Once I enter the valley, it’ll be hard for us to meet anyway. I don’t know how I’ll find the manual, so I might not have time afterward.”
“I’d be glad to, but if you don’t want to, we can act as though it never happened. We can simply revise the contract.”
“No. A promise is a promise. It would also be good to sharpen my senses before entering enemy territory.”
“Then I’ll gratefully accept. I really do like how straightforward you are.”
Unable to hide his delight, Cheongun led the way.
The two faced each other in a private sparring hall while Ryu Seonghan stood watch at the entrance for anyone spying on them.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“Go easy on me.”
“That’s what I should be saying.”
Cheongun steadied his breathing for a moment, then rested a hand on his sword.
Ise hardened his body with the Hardening Art and watched Cheongun’s hand.
Spiritual energy was flowing into the sword.
‘An invisible strike. Can I dodge it?’
Dodging after seeing it would be difficult. He had to predict it and move first.
The instant the spiritual energy stopped flowing into Cheongun’s sword, Ise activated Tailwind Step and slid sharply to the left.
Even so, his upper left arm split open, blood seeping from the wound. Only then did Cheongun finish drawing his sword.
He had reacted, but he had not dodged it.
Still, the strike had not been powerful enough to inflict a fatal wound.
As soon as Ise used the Vital Wood Art, the injury closed as though it had never existed.
“You reacted to that?”
Cheongun exclaimed in admiration as he approached Ise.
This time, the sword strikes were visible through divine sense, but much faster and sharper.
Realizing that the Hardening Art alone could not block them, Ise activated the Golden-Needle Ring.
A translucent qi field spread out and blocked the sword strikes.
‘He’s fast.’
Cheongun’s Body Tempering had improved even more since Ise had last seen it.
Unlike a practitioner of Dual Cultivation of Dharma and Body, Cheongun was a pure body-tempering cultivator who sought to defy heaven with nothing but his sword and physical body. He had even surpassed the limits of ordinary cultivators.
It would be difficult to gain the advantage in speed.
Buzz. Whoosh.
The sharp sound of sword strikes slicing through the wind swept threateningly past Ise.
Knowing Ise’s spellcasting speed well, Cheongun pressed him with almost mindless aggression, refusing to give him any opening.
Even so, Ise’s spells occasionally forced their way out between the sword strikes.
One scratch after another appeared on Cheongun’s sturdy body.
Between spells, Ise poured primordial qi into his attack and swung at the arm holding Cheongun’s sword.
The threat of a single mistake allowing a sword strike to cleave through his body outweighed his desire to prolong the match.
‘...’
But Ise’s attack cut through empty air.
Cheongun had deflected every attack until now, yet he reacted violently to the primordial qi-laced strike and leaped backward.
It was the first time a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early or middle stage had seen through his primordial qi, and Ise could not hide his surprise.
Cheongun had not seen it. His divine sense could not perceive it.
Ise asked Cheongun from afar.
“How did you dodge it?”
“I can’t tell you that. The sparring match isn’t over yet.”
Had he dodged it on instinct?
He really was an interesting person.
Cheongun immediately closed the distance again, and his sword collided with Ise’s hatchet.
Ise’s hand was knocked violently backward.
Cheongun’s continuous sword strikes flowed smoothly toward his body.
Once more, the Golden-Needle Ring blocked the attack.
“You have a truly troublesome spirit artifact.”
Cheongun cut apart the Dokkaebi Flame Art rising from Ise’s hand, then began pouring spiritual energy into his sword at close range.
A considerable amount of spiritual energy converted into cultivation power and gathered within the blade.
Continuous strikes and quick attacks had failed, so Cheongun intended to break through the qi field with one overwhelming blow.
Sensing that this would not be an ordinary strike, Ise poured as much spiritual energy as he could into the Golden-Needle Ring.
A pale blue radiance burst from the sword blade and slammed heavily into the qi field.
Cheongun’s sword strike pierced the barrier, tore through the Hardening Art Ise had cast too late, and severed the arm Ise had raised with his hatchet to block it.
The severed arm fell onto the dirt floor.
‘What absurd power.’
It was impossible to judge the true force behind Cheongun’s attacks.
Were all sword cultivators like this?
Ise replaced his lost arm with the Metal Body Art, then retrieved the Black Phosphorus Axe from the ground with the Telekinesis Art.
Cheongun had poured a great deal of spiritual energy into his last strike. Exhaustion was clear on his face, and even his sword strikes had slowed.
They exchanged blows, both instinctively knowing that the next strike would be their last.
In the end, Ise’s hatchet, imbued with primordial qi, cut off Cheongun’s hand.
His right hand rose into the air, still gripping his sword.
“I lost. You really are strong.”
“You too. You’re the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator I’ve met.”
“What exactly is that energy?”
“This? Primordial qi.”
Ise answered without holding anything back.
He had something he wanted to ask Cheongun as well.
“Primordial qi? The power used by Core Formation great cultivators?”
Ise nodded.
“Have you reached the Core Formation Realm already?”
“No. I had a fortuitous encounter, so I can use it, though it’s incomplete. Let me ask one thing. How did you dodge the first primordial qi attack? You shouldn’t have been able to see it.”
“That was only possible because I knew you had an invisible attack. Whenever you swing your hatchet, you always use Adamantine Chain. But when you use primordial qi, you swing your weapon without using any spells.”
“...I see. Since the attack contained no other energy, it seemed suspicious instead.”
“I couldn’t predict the primordial qi in your last attack because of the Metal Body Art. I didn’t have the strength left to block it anyway.”
He would probably never need to fight someone who knew his abilities, but discovering one of his own habits was still useful.
Ise thought Cheongun was a sword cultivator with exceptional combat instincts and tried to offer him a Regeneration Pellet.
“Use mine. I insisted on this sparring match. I can’t let you waste your resources because of it.”
Regeneration Pellets were quite valuable in the Northern Continent, but Ise did not refuse.
Cheongun was the young master of a wealthy family, after all.
“Now that I’ve faced you directly, I feel completely refreshed. It’s like having an aching tooth pulled. Primordial qi... when we both reach the Core Formation Realm, fight me again.”
“We’ll see. I don’t much like losing.”
“What? Hahahaha!”
Cheongun laughed for a long while.
After laughing hard enough for tears to gather in his eyes, he flicked a finger and handed Ise a jade slip.
“It contains the information I’ve gathered about the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley.”
Ise opened the jade slip, but it was empty.
“There’s nothing in it.”
“Do people in the Eastern Continent write letters directly on jade slips? Pour spiritual energy into it.”
When Ise sent spiritual energy into the jade slip, the information naturally entered his mind.
He studied the jade slip with fascination as he memorized its contents.
“One unusual thing is that things were quiet for a while, but recently there have been an unusual number of wars between cities. Enough to stand out. If this is also their doing, there must be a reason they’re pushing themselves so hard.”
“Could someone be about to break through? For example, what if the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley’s Sect Lord is at middle Nascent Soul but has concealed their realm and is about to enter the late stage? That would explain taking some risks.”
“Impossible. The Heavenly Ice Palace watches the realms of Nascent Soul cultivators more carefully than anything else. If they had concealed their realm, they would never have survived.”
Cheongun answered firmly, then added, “Still, the assumption that the Sect Lord is about to break through sounds plausible. If they can surpass the Tyrant Sword Sect’s Sect Lord in realm, the valley’s greatest threat will disappear.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
Ise used the Voice-Transmission Art to call Ryu Seonghan, who had been standing watch outside.
“You two should send me information without taking unnecessary risks. I’ll find a way to infiltrate the valley.”
“Senior, there are Foundation Establishment missions where one serves as a special envoy, checking whether the reports from each sect match the actual situation. I’ll offer bribes to the great cultivator I serve, if I must, and try to get assigned to the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Ise agreed with Ryu Seonghan.
After sharing what might be their last meal together, Ise tidied his residence and rose.
He had never imagined that he would one day enter a territory ruled by demonic cultivators.
Even imagining himself walking into a tiger’s jaws made his skin prickle with tension.
Footnotes:
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