Before Departure
Jin Somyeong pocketed a Lightning-Warding Pearl the size of his upper body.
He had only just entered the Thundercloud Sea, yet he had already obtained a lightning-attribute spiritual object.
Coming here was the right choice.
He nodded to himself, then suddenly turned his gaze beyond the horizon.
Rumble!
It was hard to tear his eyes away from the lightning pouring down like rain. This storm-ridden sea was one of the reasons the cultivators of Sky Island could not simply leave for other regions.
Even Jin Somyeong could move through it only because he cultivated the Cheonroedochegyeol. In truth, this sea was a Forbidden Zone dangerous even to Golden Core cultivators.
What lies beyond this sea?
He had no idea how long it would take, but he wanted to see with his own eyes what existed past the Thundercloud Sea.
After staring beyond the horizon for a long while, he shook his head.
Forget it. For now, I should mine as many Lightning-Warding Pearls as I can.
Crack!
Jin Somyeong shot into the sky with his lightning movement technique and realized one advantage of the Thundercloud Sea.
The entire sea is so loud that no one can even tell when I use lightning movement.
He gave a faint chuckle and slipped among the countless bolts of lightning.
He flew for some time before a stretch of sea appeared ahead, bubbling and boiling like a hot spring.
He examined it cautiously, but it did not seem to be caused by any living creature. It looked more like a natural phenomenon.
Should I take a look?
Strange terrain like this had a high chance of hiding treasure. Jin Somyeong wrapped his body in spiritual power like a protective barrier and dived into the scalding sea.
So it was a volcano.
Even underwater, flames roared and blazed, making him doubt his own eyes. As Jin Somyeong used his Divine Sense to search the surroundings in detail, his expression brightened.
Purple Crimson Crystal!
It was a third-rank mineral with effects similar to the Lightning-Warding Pearl, except that it emitted flames instead of lightning energy. Purple Crimson Crystal was highly useful, as it could be used to craft alchemy furnaces or fire-attribute Dharma treasures.
Good. Very good.
Smiling, Jin Somyeong hurriedly mined the Purple Crimson Crystal. In the darkness of the sea, his eyes shone with a vivid light.
Three years later, in the Thundercloud Sea.
The sky, dark and lightless where not even a single ray of sunlight entered, turned blue for one fleeting instant.
A single bolt of lightning had fallen from the heavens and illuminated the world.
Right beside that pillar of light, Jin Somyeong flew bare-bodied through the air and gave a bitter smile.
This is going to kill me.
When he lowered his gaze, he saw his Dharma robe had been scorched black as if burned by fire. He looked filthy, like someone who had been stranded at sea.
After entering the Thundercloud Sea, the first three months had passed without any trouble. He had simply been delighted whenever a lightning-attribute spiritual object appeared just as he was beginning to forget about them.
The problem had begun once he entered the deeper reaches of the Thundercloud Sea. The bolts falling from the sky had grown stronger and stronger until even the Cheonroedochegyeol became difficult to rely on.
He had retreated toward the outer region, but as time passed, lightning-attribute spiritual objects became harder and harder to find. In the end, he had no choice but to head back into the deep sea, which was why he now looked so wretched.
Still, I gathered all the Lightning-Warding Pearls I need.
Looking at the blue stones filling his subspace, he felt a swell of satisfaction.
He had collected a total of 107 Lightning-Warding Pearls the size of a human torso. As for the smaller ones, the size of a fist, there were too many to bother counting.
He had suffered quite a bit, but in any case, he had achieved his goal.
It’s about time I returned to Sky Island.
At first, he had considered cultivating in the Thundercloud Sea, but he soon realized that was impossible. Cultivation required rhythm—a push and pull. One had to concentrate to the limit, then have time to relax afterward, but in this sea, resting at ease was nearly impossible.
For that reason, he focused solely on obtaining lightning-attribute spiritual objects, and after three years, he had finally accomplished his objective.
All that remained now was to return to Sky Island and strengthen the Azurelight Spring in his Mental Secret Realm.
Two months later.
After returning to the eastern region of Sky Island, Jin Somyeong slept for three days straight.
Whew. Now I finally feel alive again.
After spending three full years in the Thundercloud Sea, he could still hear the rumble of lightning ringing in his ears like an auditory hallucination. Wandering through a place where lightning poured down every day was not something a person should do.
It’s so quiet here it almost feels strange...
Jin Somyeong looked over the tranquil eastern region and chuckled. In any case, the hardship was over. Now it was time to enjoy the sweet fruit of his labor.
Let’s begin right away.
He immediately entered the Mental Secret Realm.
He rushed to the Azurelight Spring he often used and poured out more than a hundred Lightning-Warding Pearls all at once. There were so many that the water overflowed, but he ignored it for now.
Rumble...
The faint thunder grew louder as time passed. The threads of lightning flowing across the water’s surface thickened in an instant, twining together until they formed the shape of a lightning dragon.
“Oh?”
The blue lightning dragon, born from condensed lightning energy, glared at Jin Somyeong.
It acted as if it were the master of the Azurelight Spring, flaunting its might. Yet rather than feeling displeased, Jin Somyeong was delighted. The stronger its lightning energy and spirituality were, the better it was for him, who would absorb them.
Crack!
As the energy continued to strengthen without end, the tub holding the Azurelight Spring began to split with sharp cracks. The tub, made from a second-rank mineral with high resistance to lightning, was on the verge of bursting.
The meaning was clear. The Azurelight Spring had reached the third rank.
I was worried it might not be enough, but this is fortunate.
Now he could use the Azurelight Spring even at the Golden Core realm.
Crack!
Looking at the tub, which was on the brink of shattering, Jin Somyeong raised his spiritual power. He lifted the entire body of water, including the Lightning-Warding Pearls, then took out a boulder the size of a house from his subspace.
This boulder was a piece he had cut from one of the rocky islets scattered throughout the Thundercloud Sea. He had brought it back after seeing that it maintained its form even in places battered by lightning.
Whoosh!
Sharp Sword Qi flashed back and forth through the air several times, and the crude boulder was carved into the shape of a tub.
Boom!
The new tub, ten times larger than the old one, sank into the ground. At the same moment, all the water suspended in the air was drawn into it. Since the enlarged vessel left the water level low, he filled the rest with spiritual water he had purchased from the market.
Roaaar!
The blue lightning dragon, being moved around by his spiritual power, roared in fury. Watching it bellow as if in rebellion, Jin Somyeong laughed softly.
If such a creature appeared in a city of ordinary people, it would be powerful enough to become a disaster...
But right now, you’re my meal.
Splash!
The instant he immersed himself in the new tub—
Crack!
The lightning dragon lunged at him as if it had been waiting, trying to burn his entire body, only to be suppressed instead.
Through the Cheonroedochegyeol, it became nothing more than a single meal.
A short while later, Jin Somyeong measured the spiritual power accumulated in his dantian and murmured inwardly.
At this rate, I’ll reach the second layer of Golden Core in about five years.
It was slightly disappointing, but for a Golden Core cultivator, that was an extremely fast pace. Many people ended their entire lives without ever escaping the early Golden Core stage.
Still, I’d like it to be faster.
As he considered possible methods, he headed toward the spiritual herb field. After looking over the various spiritual plants arranged in orderly rows, he reached out.
Snap.
He plucked a green stem tinged with reddish light and chewed it like a squid tentacle.
Bitter.
The spiritual plant he was chewing was a third-rank vine called Windblood Wisteria, a body-refining spiritual medicine that increased the circulation speed of blood energy. It was better to refine it into a pill than eat it raw, but that was difficult for Jin Somyeong, who did not know alchemy.
Alchemy... I should start learning it little by little, even now.
Flash!
Jin Somyeong left the Mental Secret Realm and immediately departed the eastern region. He went to visit Daoist Hyeonjin, the formation master in charge of managing the Spirit Cleansing Pool, and handed over treasures.
From among the natural treasures he had obtained while wandering the Thundercloud Sea for three years, he selected those he had no use for and gave him a generous amount. Coral that emitted cold energy, wood that tempered the spiritual soul, and more—each was considered a treasure at the Foundation Establishment level.
“On behalf of Sky Island, I thank you. It has truly been a long time since new treasures were added to the Spirit Cleansing Pool.”
Daoist Hyeonjin smiled in satisfaction, then spoke as if something had suddenly come to mind.
“Fellow Daoist Jin, do you happen to remember the False Golden Core cultivator who once grew Tong-eo grass?”
“Of course.”
False Golden Core cultivator Hyeok Cheon-ung had been the first Golden Core-level opponent Jin Somyeong had ever defeated.
The third-rank spiritual planting art he had obtained back then was still useful even now. Of course he remembered.
“Recently, we discovered what we believe to be an ultra-long-distance teleportation formation used by that man. However, we have no way of knowing where it is connected, so for now we have sealed it.”
A teleportation formation. For Jin Somyeong, who was searching for a way to leave this region, it was welcome news.
However, Hyeok Cheon-ung had treated this sea as a remote backwater. That meant he had come from a place far more developed than Sky Island, and the fact that they did not know where the formation led bothered Jin Somyeong.
If he used the teleportation formation and ended up face-to-face with some Nascent Soul old monster, it would be disastrous.
I’ll have to look for another method.
After considering it, Jin Somyeong thanked Daoist Hyeonjin and parted ways with him.
Now that he had replenished the Spirit Cleansing Pool with treasures, it was time to hunt demon kings.
An unnamed island somewhere in the Demon Cry Sea.
Four demon kings had gathered there, their faces grave as they looked at one another.
“Haah. Not long ago, another demon king fell to that damned human, Jin Somyeong.”
“This is driving me mad.”
Their faces crumpled.
Because of Jin Somyeong, who had not even been in the Golden Core realm for long, the dignity of demon kings had been dragged through the mud. The problem was the terrifying divine ability he possessed.
The moment one of them encountered Jin Somyeong alone, it was no different from death. They could no longer move around at ease.
After a stretch of silence, their gazes turned toward the one-armed ape demon king.
“Golden-furred Sacred Ape. Do you have any good ideas? If we can’t deal with Jin Somyeong, who’s running wild like some reckless thunder brat, then all of us will die eventually.”
“We lure him in and trap him.”
“A trap?”
When curiosity flickered in the demon kings’ eyes, the Golden-furred Sacred Ape ground his teeth and spoke.
“Sky Island isn’t the only place humans live. If we go to the Gwangwon Sea, there are many small islands.”
“Small islands?”
“Yes. Places where Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment humans live. We attack them and wipe them out.”
“...That might feel satisfying, but what meaning would it have?”
Many humans would die, but in practical terms, the damage would be minimal. The power that sustained Sky Island ultimately came from Golden Core masters.
“Besides, do you think the Sky Island bastards will just sit still? In retaliation, they’ll massacre our low-rank demon beasts.”
The Golden-furred Sacred Ape’s expression turned vicious.
He clutched the shoulder that had still not recovered after being struck by Condensing Light to Extinguish Dust and growled.
“Hmph. What do a few dead beasts without awakened spirituality have to do with us?”
The Golden-furred Sacred Ape’s voice was filled with nothing but madness and rage. Ever since he had lost an arm, his patience had long since vanished.
“And you say it has no meaning? If we attack persistently enough, do you think the Sky Island bastards can stay still? They’ll definitely come to stop us.”
“Hmm...”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s not Jin Somyeong and some other human gets caught. We can use them as a hostage.”
The other demon kings frowned.
“A hostage? You want us to stoop to the kind of vile tricks humans use?”
“Ha. You still have room to act proud, do you? Then will you simply let yourselves be hunted down one by one?”
“Grr...”
The demon kings wavered in uncomfortable silence.
And then—
“There’s no need to think about it. All of you will die here.”
Before they could even react properly—
The Golden-furred Sacred Ape and the demon king beside him were swallowed by light.
“Ah?”
The dazzling radiance that filled their vision soon scattered, but the Golden-furred Sacred Ape and the demon king consumed by that light did not return.
In the blink of an eye, the ones they had been speaking with moments ago were dead.
The two survivors snapped back to their senses.
“Jin Somyeong!”
He had approached with a concealment art, then launched a surprise attack with that terrifying divine ability.
He should be exhausted now. They had to find him and kill him immediately.
Their Divine Sense swept in all directions. Soon, they found Jin Somyeong in the shadows, his fist extended.
“You bastard!”
Just as all manner of spells poured down like rain, gold-and-silver Sword Qi rose before Jin Somyeong. Mugeuk, his Birth Dharma Treasure, moved on its own and blocked the spells.
The demon kings gritted their teeth and drew up their demonic energy to the limit.
Boom!
Jin Somyeong, riding a black boat, shot into the sky.
The demon kings hurriedly pursued him as he vanished into the distance in an instant. They chased him for quite some time, but the gap did not easily close.
“Damn it! What kind of Dharma treasure is that, for it to be so fast?”
“I can sense the aura of a Black Night Hawk...”
In the end, the demon kings gave up the pursuit and could only curse in frustration.
They stopped in midair, lamenting their failure, but their expressions soon stiffened.
Jin Somyeong, who had only been fleeing, had turned in the exact opposite direction and was charging toward them.
“He’s recovered already?”
Terrified, the demon kings scattered to either side as if by mutual agreement.
Crack!
Hearing the sound of lightning movement behind them, the demon kings fleeing for their lives instinctively understood.
Soon, one of them would be caught and killed. The other would meet a similar end.
If they had known this would happen, they would have fled the instant they were ambushed without ever looking back.
But regret had come far too late.