Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: First Foray into the Jianghu (4)
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Where would the Diamond Lake Toad's habitat be?
Naturally, upstream, against the current.
It was an aquatic creature that avoided humans.
It had surely traveled along the river.
But considering its nature of hating people, it wouldn't have come up from downstream, passed through the city, and settled upstream.
In that case, it must have come down from upstream, spotted humans, and stopped moving.
Seoran looked around from the sky.
Continuing upstream along the river, a lush forest untouched by human feet appeared.
A large lake lay a short distance from the riverbank.
Using her Spirit Vision Art, the depths of the lake shone brightly.
She wasn't sure what it was, but something was definitely there.
It possessed considerable spiritual energy.
It was a powerful being that had driven out the Diamond Lake Toad in a territorial dispute.
If it was a yokai, she had to exterminate it.
But if it was just an ordinary spirit beast, she planned to ignore it and continue her journey.
It was unfortunate for the Diamond Lake Toad to lose its home, but there was nothing she could do.
Seoran didn't have time to meddle in spirit beast territorial fights.
She needed to hurry to the capital and then go eat some o-ri.
But if it was a yokai, how should she exterminate it?
Seoran recalled the spells she had learned.
She had no suitable means to deal a fatal blow to a yokai.
Earth divine power seemed the most usable option.
Seoran tested it out.
Sand and rocks drawn by Pure Earth Spiritual Power floated into the air.
Concentrating a bit more, the rocks shattered into bead-like spheres.
In an instant, dozens of stone beads formed.
Seoran fired all the stone beads at a nearby tree.
The shotgun-like barrage of stone beads tore the great tree to pieces.
It was fairly powerful, but it probably wouldn't work on a yokai.
To kill a yokai, she needed an offensive spiritual tool or spell.
Seoran fell deep into thought.
Spiritual tools and spells were effective against yokai because of their spiritual power, right?
Then why not just attack directly with spiritual power?
Oh right, spiritual power evaporates in the air right away.
Was there no way to maintain it even briefly?
It just needed to not dissipate while flying toward the enemy.
Where could she store it temporarily?
Seoran looked down at the stone beads scattered on the ground.
Since it was Pure Earth Spiritual Power, maybe it got along well with stones?
She immediately levitated a stone bead and infused it with spiritual power.
The spiritual power still dispersed quickly.
But considering the flight speed, it was sufficient as an attack method.
Seoran packed a stone bead full of spiritual power and fired it at a tree.
The stone bead flew faster than sound and collided with the tree.
The impact shattered the bead, and the maximally compressed spiritual power burst forth.
The result was a massive explosion.
A deafening roar accompanied a shockwave that turned the surroundings into a wasteland.
Seoran hurriedly protected herself with a barrier spell.
Fragments flung by the explosion pelted her barrier like a downpour.
The blast center had become a large crater.
"Is this the power of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"
Seoran muttered blankly.
If she had been even a moment slower with the barrier spell, or if the explosion had been closer, she surely wouldn't have survived unscathed.
At this rate, she wondered why offensive spells were even necessary.
She even thought maybe this was why cultivators hated conflicts.
If you could one-shot me and I could one-shot you, it made sense to behave politely with each other.
The scene she had just witnessed was enough to evoke the concept of mutual assured destruction.
Of course, it was all Seoran's misconception.
The massive explosion had two causes.
The first was Seoran's enormous spiritual power, which had devoured the foundation pillar root of her sect.
Seoran had reached Foundation Establishment at sixteen.
The leadership, shocked by the unprecedented speed, naturally painted a hopeful future with their burning imaginations.
In the end, like gambling addicts betting their house deeds, they entered a state of extreme excitement and poured spirit stones into her.
The mountain of spirit stones melted away like snow.
Half a year later, Seoran's spiritual power reached saturation.
Not even a sip more could fit.
The second cause was Seoran's heaven-sent talent.
Compressing spiritual power and stuffing it into a fingernail-sized stone was never easy.
If you couldn't apply even pressure from all directions or maintain a steady influx of spiritual power, it would explode immediately.
In fact, there were countless cases of people dying or getting injured in similar experiments.
The greater the total amount of spiritual power being compressed, the exponentially more difficult and dangerous the process became.
What Seoran had done was no different from stacking eggs in a tower reaching the clouds.
It was a feat impossible without innate genius, concentration, and senses.
If anyone could do it, it wouldn't be an explosive.
*****
Calming her startled heart, Seoran soon grew arrogant.
Now, she feared no yokai.
One rock bomb would turn them to dust.
Mounting her Stone Lotus, Seoran dove straight down.
At depths untouched by sunlight, something came into view.
Two gleaming eyes stared at Seoran.
The one who had seized the lake from the Diamond Lake Toad was a Hundred-Armed Octopus yokai.
A massive octopus yokai with a hundred arms and two eyes.
Not only did it eat people, it polluted water sources, so it had to be killed on sight.
Seoran fired a rock bomb at the octopus yokai.
The stone bead sped through the water but soon lost momentum and sank.
Only then did she recall that YouTube video experiment on "shooting guns underwater."
Bullets barely travel a few meters in water.
The rock bomb operated on a principle similar to an impact fuse.
In short, it had to hit the target to detonate.
If it missed, it was just a stone.
Sensing the attack, the yokai approached at tremendous speed.
Then, with its hundred tentacles, it wrapped Seoran tightly.
As the massive suckers tore at her, Seoran discovered the second flaw of the rock bomb.
Like all explosives, the rock bomb didn't distinguish between enemy and ally.
In this close range, not only the yokai but Seoran would be caught in the blast.
Moreover, she had no way to use a barrier spell now.
She couldn't chant spells underwater.
Likewise, with her body bound tight by sucker tentacles, she couldn't form hand seals.
The constricting force grew stronger by the moment.
She would either be crushed to death or drown from lack of air.
In that instant, Seoran found a solution.
First, she infused the Stone Lotus with a massive amount of spiritual power.
She and the octopus yokai shot toward the surface at incredible speed.
The Hundred-Armed Octopus typically inhabited lakes.
It polluted the water with a unique oil from its body, and when the lake grew too filthy, it moved to another lake over land.
Naturally, walking on land posed no problem.
But it was a yokai without flight capability.
Once out of the water, Seoran quickly chanted the spell.
The barrier spell activated, and a spherical barrier pushed back the octopus yokai's tentacles.
With sufficient distance created, she immediately dispelled the barrier.
The octopus yokai flailed to grab Seoran but began plummeting toward the surface.
Then, a supersonic rock bomb embedded itself in the yokai's forehead.
The explosion over the lake tore the massive yokai to shreds.
Yokai flesh rained down like a storm over the violently churning waters.
Having finished the grueling battle, Seoran collected the tip of a tentacle that still retained some shape.
It was time to return the Diamond Lake Toad to its home.
The Diamond Lake Toad was right where she had seen it earlier.
Limply sagging as if awaiting death tomorrow, it stared vacantly at the flowing river.
It didn't even react to Seoran's approach.
"Ahem, ahem!"
With a deliberate cough to get its attention, it finally turned slowly.
Seoran revealed the tentacle piece she had hidden behind her back.
The Diamond Lake Toad's mouth gaped wide in shock.
Flicking its tongue like a snake and cautiously sniffing, the Diamond Lake Toad suddenly sprang up.
It seemed to have confirmed through some means that the Hundred-Armed Octopus was dead.
Full of vigor, perhaps eager to return home, it brimmed with life.
The Diamond Lake Toad peeled off several palm-sized scales from its side and offered them to Seoran.
"What, are these for me?"
Flustered, Seoran accepted the scales reflexively.
Without a backward glance, the Diamond Lake Toad plunged into the river.
It swam upstream in an instant.
And so, the Diamond Lake Toad departed.
Seoran examined the lizard's parting gift.
The scales shimmered iridescently in the sunlight.
By feel, they didn't seem to be diamond stone.
Seoran carefully stowed the scales in her storage pouch.
She wasn't sure if they'd be useful, but she decided to keep them as souvenirs.
Burying the tentacles in the sand, Seoran mounted her Stone Lotus.
Then, she flew toward the capital.
Various things happened along the way.
In one city holding a festival, she sneaked in and had a blast.
She exchanged greetings with Black Bamboo Sect cultivators returning to their sect after finishing duties.
She excitedly dug up a spirit herb rich in spiritual energy at the base of a cliff.
Enjoying her travels, Seoran finally arrived at the capital.
Looking down from the sky, she understood why Ho Hye-mun had said one must see it at least once in life.
Buildings and people filled the vast plain stretching to the horizon.
It was the capital of Liang Nation, the kingdom of mortals.