A Fight to the Death
Above the volcanic wastes, where ash laced with poison hung thick in the air, Jin Somyeong drove his sword toward the old Foundation Establishment monster.
Boom!
The blade, wreathed in a golden haze, clashed again and again against the shield without pause.
"Kgh!"
He pursued the retreating old cultivator relentlessly, giving him not so much as a heartbeat's opening as he pressed the assault.
"Ahahahaha!"
The poison and curse hurt badly enough to kill him, and yet when he saw the enemy's distorted expression, laughter burst from his throat. To the thunderous beat of his own heart, Jin Somyeong kept charging in, refusing to yield even a single step.
Instinct told him that if he let this chance slip, it would all be over.
"You wretch!"
The old monster, his complexion turning blackish from the poison-laden ash he had inhaled, roared in fury. Vast spiritual energy surged around him in a violent storm. Unable to shake Jin Somyeong off any other way, he had finally lost patience and detonated his energy outward to force distance between them.
In that instant, Jin Somyeong's eyes flashed.
An opening!
This was a secret realm. An attack covering such a wide area would consume an enormous amount of spiritual energy. Even if the old monster was originally Foundation Establishment, he had been restricted to the level of Qi Refining here; he could not have much spiritual energy left.
Jin Somyeong gathered the Cloud-Splitting Sword Qi, a sword qi specialized in twisting the flow of energy, at the tip of his blade. Within the spiritual energy tangled into the old man's roar, there existed a gap. He thrust his sword qi into that gap and—
Shing!
He twisted aside the violently surging energy and hurled his body through it. Far from retreating, he took another step forward and swung the Boundless Divine Sword.
Claaang!
The shield artifact reacted swiftly and blocked him, but that did not matter. If once was not enough, then twice. He would keep trying until it worked.
"You—!"
What followed was a vicious struggle between Jin Somyeong and the old monster, who was desperate to shake him loose.
A war of attrition.
The one whose spiritual energy ran out first would die.
Of course, Jin Somyeong did not know who would win. His opponent's cultivation was restricted to Qi Refining, but he had originally been Foundation Establishment. Even under every limitation imposed on him, the old man still possessed at least twice as much spiritual energy as Jin Somyeong.
It doesn't matter.
Jin Somyeong had something he trusted as well: the spiritual energy flowing in from the Mental Secret Realm, which was connected to the depths of his soul. Thanks to it, his recovery speed was faster than others'.
He resisted the curse that gnawed at him from within with his tenacious body and swung his sword like a madman.
"You tenacious bastard! Why won't you die?!"
He coughed, hacking up blood.
He had already vomited blood countless times. His front was dyed red, but he no longer cared. He ignored even the agony of his flesh rotting away and fixed his eyes on one thing alone: his opponent.
Gathering sword qi that threatened to scatter, he stabbed and slashed along the path guided by the Boundless Divine Sword. The point he had once thought was his limit had been crossed long ago.
Then, in a strike born unconsciously from the full force of his being, his blade met the shield.
Crunch!
The sword punched through the shield and pierced the old man's heart.
"You..."
The black-clad man spewed a mouthful of blood and tried to shout something, only to stop short. With a hollow expression, he looked up at the sky.
"Damn it. To think a place this remote would have someone like you."
His eyes, staring resentfully into empty air, split apart. A long red line had opened diagonally across him, cleaving him in two.
Thud.
As the corpse collapsed, Jin Somyeong staggered and shook his head. He forced his body, which felt ready to fall at any moment, to remain upright.
With the tip of his sword, he prodded the enemy several times. He needed to confirm whether the man was truly dead, or whether it might be some kind of clone.
...He's real.
The moment he became certain, after several tests, that the powerful enemy had died, every pain he had been suppressing came crashing in at once.
His entire body was a wreck. The greatest problem was the curse and poison destroying him from the inside.
Crunch.
He shoved every pill and antidote he could grab into his mouth and sank to the ground. Clutching spirit stones, he focused on his breathing.
Wuuung.
As soon as spiritual energy filled his dantian, he poured it into his Five Viscera and converted it into blood vitality. He had to heal a body torn to rags.
After a short while—just long enough to recover enough to breathe properly—Jin Somyeong rose to his feet.
This was the most dangerous deepest region of the secret realm. He could not afford to sit idly in a place like this.
"Hoo."
Forcing his exhausted body to move, Jin Somyeong glanced down. He saw the corpse split diagonally in two. The dead man's eyes still seemed to glare at him, sending a chill up his spine. Of all the enemies he had faced so far, this one had been the strongest.
...Still, I won.
He had wagered everything he had built up and emerged victorious. That was enough.
Out of habit, he stroked his sword, then frowned. His senses, sharpened to the extreme by a battle where his life had hung by a thread, had caught a faint whisper.
He drew together every scrap of spiritual energy he had just recovered and strengthened his hearing.
"I think it's this way."
"But are we really sure we should go? It seems dangerous."
"If you're scared, back out. Why do you think they were fighting that violently? It's obviously because of treasure."
The distant murmuring reached him as clearly as if they were speaking right beside him. Awakening his Divine Sense had strengthened even his five senses.
Tsk.
He had expected jackals hoping to profit from someone else's fight to appear, but not this quickly. He did not even have time to quietly savor his victory.
Still, I need to take what I can.
After a victory this hard-won, he absolutely had to claim the spoils. Once he had taken everything, including the Foundation Establishment master's storage pouch, he pulled a Concealment Talisman from his subspace and burned it.
Whether it was fortune or misfortune, hiding himself came easily. The spiritual energy he had temporarily stabilized had been fully refined in the midst of that extreme battle.
Whoosh!
Using the talisman's power, he hurried away. As he left, he faintly heard someone click their tongue.
"What? He's already dead."
"Tsk. We were one step too late."
The regretful voices were followed by another.
"W-wait. I think I've seen this person somewhere before..."
"Haah. Who is he, for you to be that shocked?"
"Ugh! Fo-Foundation Establishment! A Foundation Establishment master died inside the secret realm!"
"What...? That's impossible!"
"I'm sure of it! This man is definitely from the White Demon Sect—"
The stunned cultivators began making a commotion, but Jin Somyeong could no longer hear them. He had already gone too far away.
I'm tired.
He needed a safe place to rest. Right now, he was not even curious about what was inside the storage pouch he had just obtained. He only wanted to sleep deeply.
Dragging his heavy steps along, Jin Somyeong frowned. He had found a cave that looked relatively safe, but some demonic beast was sleeping inside.
Frrrr... Fwooo...
It was a wolf about three to four meters long, and its fur was as sharp as blades. One glance was enough to tell it had a vicious temperament. Perhaps because this was the most dangerous deepest region of the secret realm, finding a safe place was not easy.
Ugh.
In his current disastrous condition, he could not even defeat a single beast like that. He pressed at his throbbing forehead, thinking over what to do, when the Red Sun Sect identity plaque suddenly came to mind. He took it from his subspace.
...I might as well check, just in case.
If he could receive help from the Red Sun Sect disciples, resting for a while would not be difficult. First, he checked Beom Chang's location, and the result surprised him. The man was quite close.
When Jin Somyeong saw that Beom Chang was near the entrance of the pill-refining chamber where the pillar of light had risen, his brow furrowed.
He's alive?
He had clearly ordered Beom Chang to obstruct anyone else from approaching. Yet not only Cheong Hwa-ran, but even the old Foundation Establishment monster had entered the pill-refining chamber. That meant Beom Chang had failed to stop them.
Cheong Hwa-ran entered fairly quickly, so I can assume Beom Chang arrived late. But what happened with that old Foundation Establishment monster?
Of course, he had never thought Beom Chang would be able to stop a Foundation Establishment monster. But if Beom Chang had gotten in the way of a ruthless old fiend like that and still survived unharmed...
Something is strange.
Lost in thought, Jin Somyeong burned another Concealment Talisman and cautiously approached the location indicated by the Red Sun Sect plaque.
When he climbed to the top of a forty-meter tree and enhanced his vision, he saw Beom Chang pacing anxiously in a gorge near the pillar of light.
It really is him.
There was no doubt. It was not someone else disguising themselves after picking up the plaque. Jin Somyeong even used Divine Sense to study him carefully.
Beom Chang was covered in dirt, as though he had suffered through something quite troublesome. About a dozen Red Sun Sect disciples were with him, and they were in terrible shape as well. Their clothes were filthy, as if they had rolled across the ground, and torn in places, with blood dripping here and there.
Were they attacked by that old Foundation Establishment monster?
Stroking his chin, Jin Somyeong made his decision. He used a Cleansing Talisman to make his disheveled appearance look as presentable as possible, then took out a Sound Transmission Talisman and sent a message to Beom Chang.
Brother. I've just arrived. I'd like to speak with you alone for a moment.
The Sound Transmission Talisman flew off and reached Beom Chang, whose expression instantly brightened.
He gave some order to the surrounding Red Sun Sect disciples, then came toward Jin Somyeong alone.
"Little brother! You're finally here!"
"Don't even ask. On the way here, I got trapped in some restriction and barely escaped after going through hell."
When Jin Somyeong spoke in a weary tone, Beom Chang froze. Looking slightly frightened, he glanced around.
"Uh, little brother. There's only the two of us here, so why are you suddenly speaking so politely? You're making me nervous."
"...Hm."
Jin Somyeong carefully studied the shrinking Beom Chang, then nodded.
"I was just checking, in case something was off. What the hell happened to leave you looking like that?"
"Well... I tried to stop other people from reaching the pillar of light, just like you ordered, little brother. But then I ran into some monster of a man and almost died."
"A monster? Explain in detail."
"Uh, as soon as I received your order, I gathered every Red Sun Sect disciple nearby and rushed to the pillar of light. When we arrived, there was some kind of formation."
"And?"
"At first, nothing much happened. We waited for you while testing whether we could break through the formation. A few small-fry tried to rush us, but we stopped them without much trouble."
"Was that when the monster appeared?"
"Yes. He was incredibly strong. He waved his hand a few times, and every Red Sun Sect disciple we had went down. When I came to, I had already been knocked unconscious and woken up again."
Listening intently, Jin Somyeong narrowed his eyes.
It was as he had expected. Precisely because of that, however, the situation puzzled him even more.
"Were there any deaths?"
"No. Everyone got hurt, but they're alive."
"Why would someone that strong spare you?"
"Uh... I'm not sure. Maybe he didn't want to make an enemy of the Red Sun Sect?"
"Ha."
The strength went out of him.
Hearing that ridiculous nonsense made him realize Beom Chang knew absolutely nothing.
Jin Somyeong had not forgotten the thick reek of blood that had come from the black-clad man. That old monster was someone for whom slaughter was routine.
Why did he spare them? Does he have some connection to the Red Sun Sect?
Suddenly, Jin Somyeong remembered that the utterly chaotic Red Sun Sect had still won a fierce competition and come to rule the market. He began pondering out of habit, then stopped.
What did it matter what secrets the Red Sun Sect had? It no longer had anything to do with him.
"Little brother, don't be too angry. It wasn't that I disobeyed your order. I was just too weak, so I had no choice but to—"
"Enough. If someone that powerful is near the pillar of light, it's better to give up on it."
In any case, he no longer had a Restriction-Breaking Talisman, so it would be difficult to go back in. More so because the cultivators who had arrived late would be swarming around the entrance.
"Is there anywhere we can rest?"
"Ah! I made a pretty decent tunnel. Let's go there."
A few days later.
"Junior Brother Jin. Are you really going to travel alone?"
"Yes. Moving together would be safer, but it would make obtaining Foundation Establishment spiritual objects even harder. Even if we somehow found a few, we'd have to split them."
"...That's true. All right. We'll see you outside."
Thanks to his powerful recovery, Jin Somyeong had returned to normal in just a few days and left the Red Sun Sect disciples behind. When he glanced back, he saw his senior brothers and sisters waving farewell, with Beom Chang among them.
I wonder if I'll ever see them again.
For some reason, he felt lighter.
As he headed toward the most secluded place he could find, Jin Somyeong took a jade box from his robes. Beom Chang had secretly come to him right before he left and given it to him.
Click.
When he opened it, he saw a familiar red flower and let out a hollow laugh.
He offered me a Foundation Establishment spiritual object without me even ordering him to. Is this a bribe asking me to look after him from now on?
Whatever the reason, it was good. Thanks to this, the number of Foundation Establishment spiritual objects he had rose to five in total. If he exchanged them with the Giant Sword Sect, it would be enough to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill for certain.
What remained was simple.
Until the exit opened, he would gather as many treasures as he could, then leave Jeokyang Market.
Oh, right!
Jin Somyeong stopped and felt along his waist. He took out the storage pouch he had earned by risking his life against the old Foundation Establishment monster.
How much wealth would a Foundation Establishment master who could live for over two hundred years have amassed? Filled with anticipation, he turned the pouch over in his hands.
Hm?
When he injected spiritual energy, it was repelled. This was somehow different from the storage pouches used by Qi Refining cultivators.
It was tightly sealed, and he could not open it at all. He examined it with Divine Sense, but all he could sense was a complicated restriction.
Tsk. It might take months to open this.
It was a restriction combining formations and Divine Sense, so he had no idea where to begin unraveling it. The first method that came to mind was to hone his Divine Sense like a blade and scrape it away little by little.
It would be difficult and exhausting, but it was a reliable solution.
...Wait. What would happen to the contents if I absorbed the entire storage pouch into my subspace?
Since the thought had occurred to him, he checked immediately. He used one of the Boundless Great Ability beads that had recovered while he spent the past few days resting.
You can preserve the contents by consuming 10 Boundless Great Ability beads.
Jin Somyeong's expression brightened at once.
In the past, that number would have been quite a burden, but things were different now. After reaching the eighth layer of Qi Refining, his stock of Boundless Great Ability beads had increased to 190.
It would only take two days to gather ten.
Of course, I can do it right now too.
Counting the golden beads he had accumulated, Jin Somyeong's eyes gleamed.
The Mental Secret Realm never disappointed him. Without spending months struggling, he could fully obtain a Foundation Establishment-grade storage pouch.