Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Back to the Starting Point (3)
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Seoran first pieced together the shattered stone tablet.
She then meticulously copied the teleportation pattern onto a blank sheet of paper.
Just in case she might confuse it with something else.
Once the copying was perfectly complete, Seoran spoke up.
“Alright, everyone out.”
Afterward, Seoran and the five puppet sisters thoroughly searched the depths of the Great Forest.
Without ever letting their guard down, step by step.
Thoroughly handling the four-directional watch, concealment, and cover.
Always wary of yokai, whether asleep or awake.
This caution lasted exactly three days.
After that, it felt just like a stroll.
The yokai were simply too feeble; there was no helping it.
No one could stop Seoran and the five puppet sisters.
*****
The depths of the Great Forest were dangerous even for high-ranking cultivators.
Because flight was impossible in that region.
The modern cultivator's combat style was aerial warfare.
Riding flying magic tools through the skies, unleashing attack spells or attack magic tools—that was the standard.
Not for any other reason, but because it was the most efficient.
Thus, cultivators were vulnerable on the ground.
They lost mobility and could rarely bring even half their true strength to bear.
It was like a fighter jet battling a tank on the dirt.
But things had been different in the past.
In an era before the discipline of immortal arts existed, countless heroes with grand ambitions plunged into the chaotic world.
Followers captivated by their superhuman prowess begged for instruction.
They gathered in mountains and fields, honing their martial skills.
This was the well-known origin of the immortal sects.
In short, immortal arts fundamentally stemmed from martial dao.
The first techniques to emerge naturally focused on forging the body to peak robustness.
They tempered the practitioner's physique to its limits—body refinement techniques, though back then they were simply called techniques.
Surprisingly, the dominant martial arts of that time were bare-handed striking arts.
Immortal sects existed, but spells and magic tools had yet to be invented.
Weapons forged by worldly blacksmiths were useless.
The only way to shatter a body impervious to blades and swords was with the flesh of another cultivator who had reached a similar realm.
Even in the modern immortal world, where body refinement techniques had largely fallen into obscurity due to paradigm shifts, the influence of the past lingered strongly.
Examples included the martial training in the Qi Condensation stage or the Black Bamboo Sect's secret body-tempering methods.
All were remnants of the body refinement techniques that had once been mainstream.
Time passed, and the concept of spells emerged.
Once theories on the Five Elements attributes solidified, attribute-based techniques and spells proliferated like mushrooms after rain.
An era dawned where everyone fired off attack spells.
At that time, the most powerful techniques were earth-attribute ones.
Unbelievable by today's standards, but that's how it was.
In an age when all fought with feet planted on the ground, a single earth-attribute attack spell could devastate armies like cutting down weeds.
Countless yokai and cultivators had lost their lives to the earthquake spells that Seoran had dismissed as useless.
Of course, the glory of earth-attribute techniques didn't last forever.
Someone unwilling to tolerate the inconvenience invented the wondrous flying magic tool.
Thus, modern immortal combat's aerial warfare was born.
Fire and water attributes for attack spells, wood, metal, and earth for attack magic tools.
Without some revolutionary paradigm shift, it would remain the most efficient combat method indefinitely.
But simply changing one's perspective led to this conclusion:
If everyone fought with feet on the ground, earth-attribute techniques were still supreme.
An absurdly difficult condition, but in the vast human realm, there was exactly one such unique place.
The depths of the Great Forest, eroded by the underworld.
For Seoran, who had perfected the Giant Mountain Earth Finger Art, this place was no different from a playground.
*****
The monkey yokai fled in terror.
It had been an ordinary day of catching and killing weak yokai.
Yokai didn't need to eat, but tormenting others was just fun.
Monkey yokai were innately sadistic.
Then they spotted a group.
One small human and five large puppets.
The monkey yokai grinned wickedly.
They wanted to hear the clueless newcomers wailing.
That marked the beginning of their misfortune.
The ambush squad lurking in the trees leaped down.
Planning to crush them under sheer bulk and tear off limbs.
The human's small head drew closer.
“Ukki-ki!”
That cry became the monkey yokai's final words.
A stone harpoon erupted from the ground, impaling the airborne monkey yokai's torso.
The chain attached to the harpoon's other end yanked back at blinding speed.
The entire ambush squad was dragged into the earth.
Seoran hopped lightly in place.
Spiritual power flowed from her two soles into the ground.
With a thunderous roar, the earthquake spell activated.
An immense shockwave shattered every great tree within a certain radius.
The ambush squad, buried and struck head-on by the shockwave, met a clear end before her eyes.
The monkey yokai clinging to nearby trees perished in a single blow as well.
The survivors, spared by distance, had no time to feel relief before terror overtook them.
They had locked eyes with the culprit behind the carnage.
Seoran shouted in fury.
“Those monkeys from back then! You've really done it now!”
The grudge from those who had relentlessly tormented her upon her arrival in this unfamiliar place—Seoran hadn't forgotten.
At first, they pressed her without respite using sheer numbers.
When they kept losing, they switched tactics later on.
The monkey yokai scraped at her nerves with every bizarre method imaginable.
Hurling filth from who-knows-where.
Luring nearby yokai to fight her.
Endless noise pollution battering her eardrums all day.
Days spent with the monkey yokai had nearly driven her mad.
Chase them, and they'd scatter and flee nimbly.
Then return shortly after to resume the harassment.
She could catch them if she pursued in earnest, but Seoran tearfully gave up.
Her top priority had been escaping the jungle to reach human lands.
But now, the situation was vastly different.
Seoran shouted.
“Everyone, scatter and pursue!”
The five puppet sisters dispersed in all directions at her command.
The five puppet sisters could wield earth-attribute spells.
And as long as they didn't stray too far from their master, they could even draw spiritual power wirelessly.
The five puppet sisters unleashed earthquake spells relentlessly, turning the monkey yokai habitats upside down.
The endless cycle of pursuit and extermination.
The breathless chase between Seoran, the five puppet sisters, and the monkey yokai dragged on for over ten full days.
In the end, Seoran's tenacity prevailed.
The sole survivor wailed.
“Ukki-ki! Ukki!”
The monkey yokai's desperate final plea.
But the judge remained utterly unmoved.
She didn't understand monkey language to begin with.
Seoran delivered merciless judgment.
“Execution!”
The earthquake spell activated immediately.
The monkey yokai exploded along with the ground.
The yokai race, boasting overwhelming numbers, was exterminated in just ten days over past grievances.
Seoran felt like a decade-old lump in her chest had finally dissolved.
Now it was time to return to being explorers.
*****
A warm afternoon bathed in sunlight.
Seoran sat on a stone chair and said.
“Ohoh, my fruit juice drink.”
The cute puppet, Ohoh, poured the fruit juice into a stone cup and gently set it on the stone table.
Seoran lifted the cup and inhaled its aroma.
The sweet fruit scent delighted her nose.
Now it was time to delight her tongue.
Seoran snapped her fingers.
Naturally, no sound came out.
But her capable subordinates understood their master's intent even from the silent finger snap.
The composed puppet, Sahoh, promptly activated the built-in recorder and began playing music.
“Hm, no. Next one. Next. Yes, this one right here.”
After fussily selecting the music, Seoran took a satisfied sip of the citrus drink.
The rich, worldly flavor was truly sweet.
The cup emptied in no time.
Seoran, eyes closed in savoring, held out the cup.
“One more, please.”
But the weight in her hand didn't change.
Wondering if it was a glitch, Seoran opened her eyes.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—it wasn't.
Ohoh ostentatiously shook the empty wooden barrel.
“What? You mean it's all gone already?”
To soothe her regret, Seoran reached into the sack of dried fruits.
But her hand grasped nothing.
She had checked yesterday, and it had been full—truly bizarre.
Seoran shoved her head into the sack.
“What? No holes or anything...”
Pulling her head out, Seoran looked around.
Far off, a single dried grape lay dropped.
There were animal footprints too.
“Oh, don't tell me...”
Seoran activated her Spirit Eye Technique.
Suddenly, what had been invisible came into view.
A rabbit, mouth stuffed full of dried fruits, fleeing.
It had used illusion to hide while stealing.
Seoran called out to the rabbit.
“Hey, rabbit.”
The rabbit shuddered and slowly turned its head.
Eyes on both sides, plus one more on its forehead.
The three pupils of the Three-Eyed Rabbit trembled violently.
Seoran nodded and said.
“Good, you're under arres—”
Just before the verdict, the Three-Eyed Rabbit urgently opened its mouth.
“W-Wait a moment! I can explain everything!”
Thanks to that, the dried fruits inside came tumbling out.
The afternoon sunlight remained as warm as ever.