WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Episode 19: Essence-Absorbing Demon Valley (8)

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What greeted Ise when he entered the fortress was its owner's silence.

More than ten steel combat puppets surrounded him from every direction, but Wang Gyu, standing firm in the main residence, only glared at him without giving the order to attack.

As though Wang Gyu wanted to avoid a fight.

It did not suit someone who had been hurling curses so boldly.

“You don't look like you want to fight.”

They were both late Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. Neither could be sure of an easy victory.

When Ise spoke first, Wang Gyu ground their teeth.

“Trash like you can be crushed beneath my puppets. It's just that... it would be a waste to lose any of them!”

Wang Gyu hurriedly offered an excuse for their hesitation.

It must have taken a considerable number of Spiritual Stones and plenty of effort to make even one combat puppet.

Against someone of the same realm, Wang Gyu would have to sacrifice all that costly capital. Even if they won, they would not recoup the cost.

That worked out well for Ise.

“Then you could've politely opened the door. Why didn't you agree to the deal?”

“You lunatic! Who comes straight to someone else's home in Demon Valley City and asks to make a deal?”

Wang Gyu's face flushed red with anger.

“Get out now! You don't want to risk your life forcing a battle between cultivators of the same realm either!”

“No, I do want to force it. I'll give you one last chance. Let's make a deal. If you have a Heart Art manual, hand it over. I'll give you ten thousand Spiritual Stones.”

Only then did some of the redness fade from Wang Gyu's bloodshot eyes.

They had thought Ise was some lunatic who had come from nowhere, but it seemed his purpose truly was to trade.

“...I don't have one. If I did, I would've entered District 3 long ago.”

“Empty your storage pouch. I need to see for myself whether you really don't have it.”

Wang Gyu immediately revised that thought.

This bastard really was just a lunatic.

“You mad bastard, are you really asking for a fight?”

The moment the words left Wang Gyu's mouth, a combat puppet behind Ise swung a blade at the back of his head.

Starting a conversation while launching a surprise attack. Cowardly, just like a demonic cultivator.

Ise turned and brought the Black Phosphorus Axe down on the puppet's head.

Clang!

The sound of metal rang out, but the puppet was not scratched.

Its sharpened arms crossed as they struck for Ise's neck.

Ise barely blocked with the Black Phosphorus Axe reinforced by Adamantine Chain, but the impact sent him skidding backward.

The combat puppets charged one after another.

It felt as though his vision had gone black.

Each one possessed the durability and power of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

Judging from the force behind their attacks, they could probably cut through even a Foundation Establishment cultivator's body.

They were somewhat slow and unable to use spells, so individually, they were not particularly threatening.

The problem was that there were far too many of them.

Steel limbs rushed at him from every direction.

Ise swung the Black Phosphorus Axe, knocking away the puppets before him as he retreated.

Whenever he tried to destroy one, two more filled the gap.

Ise used Fire-Release Art, trying to melt the combat puppets in flame.

Yet their steel was apparently not ordinary. They charged through the blazing fire without a care.

Ise used the Levitation Art of the Wind-Shattering Qi Art to lift himself into the air, then fired Wind Blades in rapid succession.

The sharp winds scraped across the puppets' surfaces, leaving only small scratches.

“Bwahahaha! Die!”

Wang Gyu shouted with delight.

They only controlled the combat puppets with divine sense, as though watching a fire from across a river.

That alone seemed taxing enough, since Wang Gyu did not join the battle personally.

‘This is troublesome.’

There were too many enemies to use primordial qi, which required time both before and after. He also did not want to reveal it before subduing Wang Gyu.

It was a lesson he had learned from sparring with Cheongun.

A trump card had to remain hidden until the very end.

‘Should I cut off the divine sense?’

Ise stepped on the combat puppets and leaped into the air.

He enlarged the Black Phosphorus Axe with Giant Weapon Art, then used Divine-Sense Severing Art to cut every link between the puppets and Wang Gyu's divine sense at once.

The combat puppets froze for an instant.

Seizing that opening, Ise rushed at Wang Gyu like lightning.

Shk!

A burning pain shot through the sole of his foot.

A combat puppet hidden beneath the floorboards had thrust a blade upward.

The blade pierced through his sole and emerged from the top of his foot.

Wang Gyu was a shrewd schemer.

Ise kicked off the ground again to pull his impaled foot free.

Whatever had been done to the blade, a chunk of bone and flesh tore away the moment he pulled back.

Before the combat puppet could thrust its other blade at Ise, his hatchet severed Wang Gyu's divine sense first.

The puppets that had belatedly reconnected to Wang Gyu's divine sense rushed in and surrounded him.

‘What a nuisance.’

Wang Gyu was practically a one-person army.

If a mere Foundation Establishment Realm puppet master was this troublesome, what kind of monsters would those at higher realms be?

Ise made a fresh vow to avoid getting involved with puppet masters whenever possible.

He took the Twin-Curtain Spirit-Domain Sealing Banner from his robes and drove it into the ground.

As the demonic qi drifting through the space was sealed away, the combat puppets that had borrowed its power gradually slowed.

Sensing something was wrong, Wang Gyu hurriedly searched through their storage pouch.

Before Wang Gyu could find anything, Ise's Black Phosphorus Axe, enlarged by Giant Weapon Art, began spinning furiously like a top.

Gagagagak...!

The huge axe roared as it ground through the combat puppets.

One by one, the once-indestructible steel dolls became piles of scrap metal.

Wang Gyu's eyes bulged at the sight of the puppets being swept away like fallen leaves in an autumn wind.

Taking that chance, Ise sharpened his spiritual energy and closed the distance in long strides.

Wang Gyu tried to use a talisman pulled from their storage pouch, but they were a step too late.

Ise spread both hands and imbued their edges with Adamantine Chain.

The next moment, with a sharp slice, Wang Gyu's hands were severed at the wrists.

“Argh!”

Before the scream could fully escape, Ise tripped Wang Gyu, knocked them down, and planted a foot firmly on their chest.

He then recalled the Black Phosphorus Axe from the air.

“If you want to live, you'll stay still, right?”

With their demonic qi sealed, their wrists gone, and their body pinned to the ground, Wang Gyu looked up at Ise with a bloodless face.

“Spare me. I truly don't have a Heart Art manual. ...I'll give you the storage pouch. Just let me live...”

Ise answered Wang Gyu, who had acknowledged defeat and become polite, with a kindly expression.

“I heard Districts 4 and 5 have rulers. Tell me their names and locations.”

It was a question for cross-checking.

Wang Gyu answered readily, as if there was no longer any point in hiding anything.

There were five late Foundation Establishment Realm demonic cultivators in total.

Wang Gyu, the puppet master.

Gyeon Donu, known as Ox-Head of the Black Armband.

A master of the Blood Cultivation Art, known only as the Bloodsucking Maniac.

Cheon Uibaek, who hid in District 5.

And Jin Yeonhwa, a female demonic cultivator nicknamed the Flower-Midst Strategist.

“Gyeon Donu? What kind of person's name is dog, pig, and ox?”

Ise let out a hollow laugh at the names and nicknames that came from Wang Gyu's mouth.

Flower-Midst Strategist, rather than Flower-Midst Gentleman, was amusing enough, but dog, pig, and ox?

“Are you sure there are five?”

“Yes, yes...”

That was one more than the old woman had said.

Either she had hidden it deliberately, or she did not know.

He needed to find out.

“Have any new demonic cultivators risen recently?”

“No! They've all been around here for ages!”

She had hidden it deliberately.

A cold light entered Ise's eyes.

“I see. Thanks. You've been helpful.”

“Th-Then you'll let me live now?”

“Of course. You cooperated faithfully, so I'll spare your life. But you'll have to live as a mortal after I destroy your Dharma-Flower Dantian.”

“What!”

To destroy a demonic cultivator's Dharma-Flower Dantian was to inflict suffering worse than death.

What demonic cultivator living in this place did not have at least one irreconcilable blood feud?

“How can you do this? What grudge do you have against me?”

“You should've taken your chance when I gave it to you. I don't kill those who don't attack first. But there are exceptions. I kill every demonic cultivator I see whenever possible. That's my principle.”

“You bastard!”

Pinned beneath Ise's foot, Wang Gyu gritted their teeth and tried to rise.

Ise's hand was faster.

The Great Exorcist Order's most reliable secret art for finishing off a fully subdued demonic cultivator.

The Root-Severing, Meridian-Cutting Art.

When Ise pressed his palm against Wang Gyu's forehead, their Dharma-Flower Dantian burst and shattered.

The path of cultivation Wang Gyu had built over an entire lifetime was ruthlessly cut apart beneath that palm.

“Urgh, aaaargh...!”

Tears and snot streamed down Wang Gyu's face as they thrashed in agony.

‘I’d like to get rid of them cleanly to prevent future trouble, but... rules are rules.’

The law of District 4, where killing was forbidden.

It was practically the same as killing Wang Gyu, but he had technically followed the rule.

Ise left Wang Gyu unconscious from the shock and checked their storage pouch.

There was no Heart Art manual. He let out a disappointed sigh, but found two cultivation manuals related to puppet arts instead.

One was a puppet artifact-crafting manual close to the righteous path, while the other was a modified version that Wang Gyu had remade into demonic arts after falling to corruption.

There was also a whole pile of spirit artifacts used to control combat puppets.

‘I'll give these to Seolryeong.’

Ise stored Wang Gyu's storage pouch in one corner of the Cosmos Pouch.

Seolryeong was weak, so they would be a great help.

He searched the main residence thoroughly as well and found a full twenty thousand Spiritual Stones.

Wang Gyu was wealthier than most city lords of Foundation Establishment cities.

After finishing with the spoils, Ise looked around the fortress, where a formation had already been deployed.

‘This place looks good.’

It was reasonably large and spacious, a Formation Plate was already installed, and since it had belonged to a district ruler, random people would not dare target it carelessly.

Ise decided to make this his new temporary residence.

His gaze settled on Wang Gyu.

Wang Gyu was a demonic cultivator who deserved death, but Ise had promised to spare their life, so he intended to show at least the minimum courtesy.

Instead of using a Regeneration Pellet, he placed a cheaper Restoration Pellet into Wang Gyu's mouth and slowly regrew their arms.

He shaved off all their hair, leaving them bald, and shaved off their eyebrows as well.

Then he pressed their cheekbones and jawbone, changing the shape of their face. The change was so drastic that Wang Gyu looked like an entirely different person.

Using a Forgetfulness Talisman he had bought in the Heavenly Capital Realm to prepare for infiltrating Demon Valley City, Ise erased all of Wang Gyu's memories, then slapped their cheek to wake them.

“Hey. You shouldn't sleep in someone else's home.”

Wang Gyu was driven out of their own home with a bewildered expression.

* * *

After pouring cultivation power into the Formation Plate and changing the owner of the warding barrier, Ise headed straight for the Village of the Corrupted.

He intended to investigate the old woman who had deceived him.

The old woman looked at Ise with a tense expression, and he immediately used Mind-Reading Art.

But it did not work.

‘Mind-Reading Art doesn't work on an ordinary mortal?’

This place was certainly suspicious.

Still, he had to proceed carefully.

He did not know who might be connected to whom.

“Wang Gyu didn't have the Heart Art. Tell me every remaining target. Going back and forth is inconvenient.”

“As I told you...”

“If you don't tell me, you die. Not just you, everyone here.”

It was mostly an empty threat, but if necessary, he was prepared to make an example of one or two crippled demonic cultivators.

Under Ise's emotionless gaze, the old woman slowly lowered her head.

Footnotes:

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