The Sand-Choked Despair
Rumble…
I gazed up at the dispersing clouds that had once covered the heavens.
'Even if my lifespan hasn't run out, if I try to claim a new one, will these clouds appear?'
I had never heard of or seen this phenomenon before, yet I knew what it meant.
'This must be tied to the Heavenly Tribulation phenomenon, too.'
Perhaps the heavens themselves wanted to interfere, given that I was about to descend a new lifespan.
But as I retrieved my Invisible Sword, I let out a small chuckle.
'Keep trying, then. I'll tear apart every lightning bolt and scatter every cloud, shattering the sky itself.'
Kugugugu―
Feeling the pure qi that had begun to flow within my body, I stood up from my spot.
"Hmm, so that's the Foundation Establishment cultivator, eh?"
Kim Young-hoon, who had been standing guard beside me, asked with a curious expression.
Half a year had passed since we fell into the Deungsunhyang forest.
Thanks to my guidance, he had already become a martial artist proficient in the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown realm.
Perhaps it would take only another two or three years following my map before he entered the Five Qi Consorting with the Origin realm.
"Yes. From now on, I'll be able to live another three hundred and fifty years."
"Incredible..."
He clicked his tongue and looked at me.
"You, your fellow direct disciples, everyone... seems to carry extraordinary talent."
"That's just words. If that demon fox's inner core hadn't fallen into my hands by chance, it would have taken me decades to reach the Foundation Establishment realm."
I lifted the Core Formation realm fox's inner core, its light already faded after I had lost all my spiritual energy.
It had surely been a Core Formation realm inner core, yet with only my current comprehension of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, I couldn't fully absorb the qi it contained.
'I purified the messy qi and could only choose to absorb the remaining pure energy, so my absorption rate was naturally low...'
But thanks to that fox's inner core, I had achieved the peak of the Eight Peak Entering Heaven with a Saber and ascended to the Foundation Establishment realm.
'From here, up to the second layer of Foundation Establishment, I'll advance smoothly using the insights from the Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean and the Yin Soul Ghost Curse from my past life.'
For the third layer, the Qiluo Weimo Pile of Characters, I had already received the blessing during the Seven-Star Ceremony, so my progress would be rapid.
'This time, whether I die or live, I can at least reach the late Foundation Establishment realm.'
'Well, maybe I can even aim for the Core Formation realm.'
Of course, there were still things I needed to do first.
"Then, Brother Kim, shall we finally leave the Deungsunhyang?"
"Oh, we're finally going? Good. At last, I want to see a human face!"
Hearing my words, Kim Young-hoon was overjoyed and excited.
I grinned and began preparing to leave the Deungsunhyang with him.
* * *
Whoosh...
I left the Deungsunhyang and fell into the Dabcheon Desert, racing across it using formations.
Kim Young-hoon gazed at the vast desert in wonder, and I, wielding the immense pure qi I had gained from ascending to the Foundation Establishment realm, headed toward Byeokra Kingdom at high speed.
'I should go see the castle where Won Rip is.'
Thinking about it, at this point where Heavenly Beings had only recently been defeated, he might have been around the Core Formation level.
'If he's Core Formation level, how could I possibly deal with him now that I've gained pure qi in the Foundation Establishment realm?'
After a moment of thought, I pressed my temples.
The inner world of my Upper Dantian still remained.
The Five Elements Blood Curse Flag was embedded there, and I could feel it.
'No matter what, this is Won Rip's supernatural technique. If I go there right now, I have no idea what will happen.'
Even if I went, it would be better to handle this Five Elements Blood Curse Flag first.
'Then this Five Elements Blood Curse Flag is, after all...'
My gaze turned southward, toward the Black Wind Sea.
'The remnant of a Heavenly Being... I should ask Song Jin about it.'
I made that decision and headed toward Byeokra Kingdom with Kim Young-hoon.
* * *
Whoosh...
Cough, cough...
"Damn it, Eun-hyun! How much farther is it?!"
"Almost... we're there!"
I frowned.
We had encountered a sandstorm and spent several days in it.
The sandstorm was finally subsiding, but we had consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy during that time.
As a result, I couldn't generate water at regular intervals using my spiritual energy anymore, and Kim Young-hoon and I had gone two full days without drinking.
'Our clothes are rags, and there's nothing left to eat or drink. Damn...'
But we were almost at Byeokra Kingdom now.
Soon, Cheon-saek Castle would come into view.
Whoosh!
How far had we pushed through the sandwind using formations?
Far in the distance, Cheon-saek Castle appeared.
"Brother Kim, look! There's the castle!"
"Oh, ohh...! Hurry, let's get some water..."
'Even after crossing the Dabcheon Desert multiple times, it's always hard to cross...'
There had been times when I could endure it, but when sandstorms came often, we always arrived in this wretched state.
Crash!
Kim Young-hoon and I stopped in front of Cheon-saek Castle, and the guards approached us.
"Halt! Who are you?!"
Without a word, I stepped forward and floated a few formations in my palm for them to see.
"Eh... a cultivator?!"
Cheon-saek Castle, famous for its formations, attracted many cultivators looking to buy them, which meant ordinary people knew more about cultivators than in other regions.
"A cultivator from the desert tribe. Let us enter."
"Eh, which tribe are you from..."
"We are from the Jurip tribe."
"Ah, the largest tribe. Understood. Here is your travel permit."
It was a trick born from crossing Cheon-saek Castle several times in my past lives.
Of course, no cultivator from the Jurip tribe like me existed, but by the time they checked, I would probably no longer be here.
"A... a person..."
Kim Young-hoon, seeing people for the first time in half a year, looked around curiously with wide eyes despite not understanding Byeokra Kingdom's language.
He observed not only the people but also the countless streams of martial intent color that flowed from those at the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown realm.
'He'll probably reach the Five Qi Consorting with the Origin realm very soon.'
Seeing him enthusiastically absorb the colors of emotion, he would soon reach the conscious realm.
'By the way...'
I stood at the edge of the desert, breathing in the scorching air of Cheon-saek Castle as I looked around.
"Is there anywhere I can drink water..."
In truth, it had been nearly two hundred years since I first came to Cheon-saek Castle, so my memory of the wells was hazy.
It was then that a hundred-year-old woman approached me, a hopeful look on her face.
I, of course, and Kim Young-hoon beside me, nodded enthusiastically.
"Follow me. I'll give you some water at my shop."
"Ah, thank you, miss!"
We followed her.
Her shop, tucked away in a small alley of Cheon-saek Castle, was a formation artifact shop named 'White Lotus of Laws.'
Crack!
She scooped water from a wooden bucket in a corner of the shop and handed it to me.
"Drink this water, and the gentleman over there will get another bucket..."
But before she could fetch the new bucket, Kim Young-hoon used the Void Absorption to pull water straight into his mouth and began gulping it down like a madman.
"Ah, sorry. My companion's throat must be burning..."
"It's fine. There are always people like that in the desert."
"Then we'll drink gratefully."
I took the bucket she gave me and drank the water.
'It feels good.'
The water I created with my own spiritual energy only satisfied basic thirst when drunk; there was no sense of fulfillment.
It was as if I was putting back into my body something I had taken out of it.
But drinking external water made me feel refreshed.
"Haa... Thank you so much, miss. I've gone two days without water..."
"No, it's nothing. Before long we'll reach the place with the well in Cheon-saek Castle. By the way, judging by your spiritual energy, you seem to be a cultivator. Is that right?"
"Ah...!"
It was only then that I realized she was a cultivator too.
From the fluctuation of her spiritual energy, she appeared to be at around the eleventh layer of Qi Condensation.
And suddenly I remembered having seen her before.
"Oh, you..."
Yes.
A long time ago.
It was the cultivator who had given me water the first time I escaped Deungsunhyang on my own and crossed the Dabcheon Desert!
"Do you know me?"
A trace of caution appeared in her eyes.
'Hmm, is she misunderstanding something?'
"No misunderstanding, miss. Even in the past, I received water from you in Cheon-saek Castle and drank it, so I'm only remembering that kindness."
"Ah, that was it."
Only then did her caution ease.
"Some young masters from the Gongmyo Clan, the Byeok Clan, and the Cheongmun Clan come here occasionally to bother me, so I was a bit surprised. Good thing it was a kindness I gave you before; I'm relieved."
"Hehe, you must have given many such acts of kindness before."
"If I can help those wandering in the desert, that's only right, isn't it?"
"Your heart is kind too."
As I spoke, I looked around the shop.
'These are formations...'
Honestly, with my overwhelming advantage of the Invisible Sword, I hadn't even thought of using formations until now.
But looking at the formations in the shop, even through my non-cultivator eyes, they seemed quite usable.
'The qi fluctuations coming from these formations are extremely stable.'
From my beast sense, they were wonderful works with naturally circulating qi.
"By the way, who made these formations? It seems Cheon-saek Castle is famous for formations, yet even someone with no knowledge of them like me can see how high their quality is."
"Aha..."
My words made the corners of her mouth lift slightly.
'Did she make them?'
It was then that I observed the golden-colored martial intent rising from her.
The woman, whose mouth had been twitching, let out a small cough and said,
"Your clothes seem a bit tattered, my guests. Would it be all right if I gave you some unused clothes from my house?"
"Ah, if that's the case, it's a great honor..."
"No need to refuse. These are clothes that have been lying unused and forgotten."
She spoke and glanced at Kim Young-hoon and me, then went inside the shop and returned with two sets of clothes.
They were a little worn, but cleaner than what we were wearing.
White robes like hers and yellow robes the color of the desert.
Two sets of travel robes.
"These were clothes that no one in the house wore and were just gathering dust. I thought they might be useful, so I brought them. Since I've already served you water, I'll serve you these clothes too."
"I'm too grateful to know what to do."
"Heh..."
Kim Young-hoon had already finished drinking his water, wiped his mouth, and approached.
He didn't understand Byeokra Kingdom's language, but upon hearing my explanation that she was offering clothes, he thanked her and chose one.
Kim Young-hoon took the yellow robe, I took the white one, and we changed into them in a secluded corner of the shop.
"Oh, you look much better now."
"Thank you for the good clothes. How can I repay this kindness..."
"If that's how you feel, consider it a debt to my Senior Brother at the Foundation Establishment stage."
She smiled brightly and accepted my thanks, then said I should come back to pay the clothes later before leaving the White Lotus of Laws shop.
* * *
Kim Young-hoon and I left Cheon-saek Castle and passed through several cities of Byeokra Kingdom, greeting Cheongmun Ryeong from afar.
We then returned to Yeon Kingdom, crossing the Jin Clan clan's formation to briefly see his disciples.
After that, we descended south from Yeon Kingdom and arrived at the Black Wind Sea.
"Hmm, so you were waiting for me here?"
"Yes, it won't take long."
"Good. Well, practice your martial arts while I'm gone."
I briefly set Kim Young-hoon aside and took out the Wave-Breaking Pearl and the Wind-Calling Responding Dragon Transformation manual Seo Hyoel had given me.
'Hmm, what should I do...'
In my past life, I had simply discarded the Wave-Breaking Pearl deep in the ocean.
But after a moment's thought, I decided not to discard it this time either.
'It's a self-detonating spatial formation...'
Later, if I needed to fight to the death, leaving it behind might be a good idea.
'This time, with Song Jin's remnant helping me deal with Seo Ran and obtain the coordinates of Bongmyeong Castle...'
Perhaps this time I could truly obtain the Longevity Fruit to give to Kim Young-hoon.
In my past life, I had remembered every detail of the formations Won Rip used.
The technique that had squeezed the life force out to rapidly accelerate the growth of the Longevity Fruit.
Of course, I didn't know every detail of that technique, but thanks to my solid foundation under my master's teachings, I understood its basic structure well.
'Perhaps, as long as I can implement it in a different way from forcibly stealing another's life force, maybe before Kim Young-hoon dies this life...'
He might even be able to extend his lifespan.
Crash...
I kicked off the empty space and headed toward Seo Ran's dwelling.
* * *
The story moved quickly.
I showed my power to Seo Ran, revealed the Wind-Calling Responding Dragon Transformation manual to win his trust, and together we went to the Seopmyeong Ship where Song Jin was, quietly dismantled the formation, and arrived at the lowest level of the ship.
Song Jin still remained in the form of a skull wrapped in dark ghost qi.
"Listen up, Elder Song Jin from the Black Ghost Valley."
[...Who are you.]
He scattered ominous ghost qi as he glared at me.
I ignored him and answered.
"Hand over the Seopmyeong Ship."
Kugugugu!
His ghost qi scattered in all directions, but I thought it was much weaker than the one Won Rip had used at the end of my past life.
I held my Invisible Sword and faced him directly.
Somehow, facing him this time didn't make me tremble as much as before.