Chapter 108
Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Sacred Star Secret Realm (4)
At the northwestern edge of the Central Sujin Realm lay the Heavenly Severing Mountains.
These towering peaks split the heavens in two, earning them their name. Straddling the overlap of multiple Sujin Realms, they fostered a complex ecosystem that drew cultivators from neighboring realms in droves.
One could find spirit beasts unique to other realms here, as well as heavenly treasures born exclusively from the mountains' unique blend of environments—sights impossible anywhere else.
Deep within these mountains, shielded by layer upon layer of formations, the eastern grotto held nothing but a massive black cocoon.
The cocoon showed no signs of life except for occasional throbs, like a heartbeat. Yet each pulse radiated a chilling, repulsive aura that set one's skin crawling.
It felt as if all the sins a person accumulated in life had been gathered, condensed into one foul mass—instinctively revolting on a primal level.
Suddenly, the cocoon split open, and a pitch-black arm burst forth.
Tearing through the thick leathery shell emerged Mun Yoo—or rather, Mun Yoo having shed his twisted, monstrous form to reclaim a human guise.
More precisely, he had gained the ability to disguise his warped demon form as human.
"Haa... haa..."
Mun Yoo panted heavily, reflecting on his past.
In his rush for revenge, he had skyrocketed through the realms, only to succumb to the Dual Fate Scripture's karmic backlash. He lost himself, degenerating into a mere yao beast and rampaging until he awakened as a demon beast, regaining his sanity after wiping out several sect branches.
But his grotesquely twisted body was beyond repair. Branded a rare yao, he was hunted relentlessly by cultivators until he stumbled upon an ancient secret realm and hid there.
That realm housed the legendary divine beast Xuanwu—a supremely sacred site.
Sensing his karmic force surge wildly just from defiling it, Mun Yoo seized the opportunity. He stayed, cultivating all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Above all, the secret arts and treasures he found there let him masquerade as human and temporarily suppress the karmic backlash. It was a heaven-sent fortuitous encounter.
However, damaging the realm's formations exposed its location, drawing the attention of the Soul Transformation Realm cultivator Geum So-ryeo.
She paid little heed to disciples who fled without besting rivals or trials. But Mun Yoo had killed several fellow disciples while escaping his sect.
A frenzied Soul Transformation cultivator bent on his death was terror incarnate. Yet the influx of various cultivators to the realm let him use them as bait to flee from her.
Once free, Mun Yoo dodged the High Heaven Sect's enforcers by crossing into another Sujin Realm entirely.
Unlike the Central Sujin Realm, dominated by righteous sects that hunted demon and yao beasts on sight, this realm treated them as just another cultivator path.
In that tolerant atmosphere, Mun Yoo roamed cities openly, mingling with others.
His human-disguise art hid everything but his black skin. For the first time in ages, he felt a touch of emotion at being able to interact so freely.
Of course, the realm was strict with rampaging demon or yao beasts, so he was careful never to reveal his true form.
It was there he met Chohryeo.
In a realm that embraced demon and yao cultivators, pure human lineages were rare. Chohryeo was a survivor of one such esteemed human clan.
Survivor.
Her clan's progenitor, a Soul Transformation cultivator, had once dominated the region. But when he abandoned them for higher realms, rival clans and sects—long envious—exterminated them.
Mun Yoo met Chohryeo about a decade after her clan's fall.
She had spent those years evading relentless pursuers. Moved by her plight, he saved her.
Among her hunters was a strikingly handsome man. Seeing him chase her evoked memories of Yong Yoo oppressing and raping Do Mun-hyang to claim her—compelling him to intervene.
In truth, Yong Yoo had never forced Do Mun-hyang. But in Mun Yoo's mind, it was gospel.
He truly believed she had lost her chastity unwillingly and thus abandoned him for Yong Yoo. Otherwise, how could the woman destined to bear his children and grandchildren betray him?
Of course, his visions of marital bliss with her were pure delusion. But to him, they were absolute truth.
Chohryeo's progenitor. And Yong Yoo.
Both had lives ruined by powerful cultivators' whims. They bonded quickly, and since Mun Yoo sought vengeance on the High Heaven Sect and Yong Yoo, he gladly aided her revenge.
Traveling together, they grew close. After settling all scores, they became Dao companions.
Mun Yoo, scarred from losing Do Mun-hyang once, had pursued her fervently. He was content.
It eased the wound in his heart, if only a little.
"Has Chohryeo not returned yet?"
Scanning the surroundings, Mun Yoo gritted his teeth as the suppressed karmic backlash threatened to resurface.
"Ugh... argh..."
Overwhelmed by agony—like his body twisting and crushing inward—he collapsed.
"If I just... reach Integration Realm... krrgh..."
Leaning against the cave wall, he crawled back into the cocoon, muttering.
Integration Realm was impossibly distant for a Nascent Soul like him. But he ignored that.
He believed the Dual Fate Scripture would get him there. Reforging body and soul to match his karma would free him of all side effects.
"Just you wait... The day I reach Integration Realm... will be the end of the High Heaven Sect... and you."
Muttering thus, he curled up alone in the cocoon, waiting for his distant, toiling Dao companion.
Half a year had passed since entering the Sacred Star Secret Realm.
"...Saran."
I spoke to Saran, who lay naked beside me. She silently embraced me, opening her eyes slightly to gaze at me.
"Why?"
"Isn't it about time the underground levels open?"
"Yes. The faster ones have probably already unlocked."
"Good. Shall we move?"
Over the past half-year, I'd roamed the realm diligently, gathering materials to reforge the Sixfold Enlightenment Virtue Dragon alongside various heavenly treasures.
With Saran's guidance from her two prior visits, my haul exceeded expectations.
I secured upgrades for my Dragon Tiger Stormwind Armor and materials for a new defensive treasure. I even stockpiled gifts for Hyang-mae, Ahan, and Pyong Yu-ran.
Stars being tied to formations, feng shui, and astrology, the realm's treasures were a boon for formation masters and feng shui experts.
True enough, many such specialists had entered. I'd scavenged fine gifts for Ahan from their storage pouches.
The biggest win? Materials for pills to aid Nascent Soul breakthroughs.
"How's our Eight Trigrams Grass faring?"
I dressed and checked the heavenly treasures planted along the nearby spirit vein.
The Eight Trigrams Grass, with its eight-colored leaves, was the core ingredient for Hatching Aid Pills—vital for Nascent Soul breakthroughs.
Not as potent as Tribulation Avoidance Pills, which nullified heavenly tribulations outright, but it stimulated the nascent soul within the golden core, hastening its emergence.
Everything else was procurable outside, so I'd gathered just enough Eight Trigrams Grass and planted it in the 13th layer's spirit vein to cultivate.
This place was ideal.
Saran and her husband, the Falling Star Sect Lord, had discovered it by chance and used it as a hideout. Brimming with spirit energy, it let me cultivate freely under her guard. Both my golden cores reached the 7th layer of the Core Formation Realm.
The surge in pure vital energy had muddied again upon breakthrough, forcing me to dual cultivate with Saran via the Sun-Moon Star Grand Harmony Canon to purify it in my spare time. Still, a bountiful half-year.
"So, snag the Fire Realm Layer Core Crystal and the Heart-Purifying Soul Stone you mentioned, reforge the Sixfold Enlightenment Virtue Dragon, and we're done. But is this Heart-Purifying Soul Stone really essential?"
"It's not strictly required for Hatching Aid Pills, but it enhances their efficacy and clears heart demons and impurities during breakthrough."
"Oh ho."
"Above all, it's invaluable for early Nascent Soul cultivation. Freshly formed nascent souls are fragile, easily tainted by heart demons. The stone sweeps them away, aiding training immensely."
"Is that so?"
I recalled early Nascent Soul cultivators I knew.
Pyong Yu-ran, suddenly offering her body for a 'new bond.' Ye Ga-seok, whose frenzy provoked the High Heaven Sect, dooming her Falling Star Sect.
"...Yeah, plenty act strangely in early Nascent Soul."
Saran nodded in agreement.
"My husband did too. When I was away on missions, he'd craft puppets resembling me to soothe his loneliness at night."
I didn't need to hear that nightmare.
"The Heart-Purifying Soul Stone fixes such issues?"
"Yes. Tragic to form a nascent soul only to die from heart-demon folly."
"Right. Very tragic."
Heart-Purifying Soul Stone, huh. I'd hoard as much as possible.
As I stepped from Saran's hideout, an old man sat meditating at the entrance, as if waiting.
"Greetings, Daoist."
"..."
"I hear you possess the Breastmilk Thunder Palace of the An-gang Starfish, ideal for crafting dragon bait. Is that true?"
"...Yes, Senior. I have it."
I answered, noting a young cultivator resembling the elder behind him.
"My grandson needs it. Yield it, and I'll ensure your safe exit from this realm. What say you?"
I smiled at his words.
"A Soul Transformation expert reduced to changing his Nascent Soul grandson's diapers—quite the pitiful life, Senior."
"..."
Their faces soured instantly.
"Life's like that. Few live as they wish. That's why we cultivate—to sever mortal ties and ascend as free immortals."
I sat down.
"Sadly, even at Soul Transformation, you failed to sever yours fully. Transcendence seems a pipe dream... Why not hand your heavenly treasures to me instead? Help me ascend—that'd make your life worthwhile."
"Insolent whelp with a foul mouth. Time for a lesson."
The Soul Transformation cultivator reached for me with a menacing growl. I grinned.
"Saran. Time to work. We've hooked a big one."
Why else flaunt solo travel without deploying Saran's mighty treasures?
To lure Core Formation fools eyeing my gains. When numbers or strength overwhelmed me, she'd loot their pouches.
I was bait; she, the angler. Profitable so far.
Never dreamed we'd hook a Soul Transformation.
"I'll teach you: a cultivator's first rule for longevity—watch your tongue."
As he snarled, a massive black stone coffin from behind me slammed into him.
He erected a barrier instantly, but the Yellow Springs Glass Sealing Coffin—imprisoning a slice of the underworld—shattered it effortlessly.
The red cords binding the coffin loosened one strand. Saran yanked it, rocketing forward to boot the coffin downward.
BOOM!!!
Her devastating strike buried it deep. Ominous black netherworld qi erupted, fouling the air.
"Finally hooked a Soul Transformation."
"S-Soul Transformation! A Soul Transformation cultivator! How?!"
Saran beamed at the sight. The elder shoved the coffin aside, climbing from the pit.
His Nascent Soul grandson recoiled in horror. I approached him, patting Saran's shoulder.
"Saran, he's yours."
"Yes!"
Leaving the elder to her, I formed seals for the Dark Union Art, then an unfamiliar spell.
Underground awaited fiercer foes and treasures. No room for weakness.
These spells were long studied but sealed during dual cultivation, untested in battle—unreliable in a pinch.
Just a few trial runs in the realm so far.
But my master found them for me with great effort. Can't neglect them. Fine-tune the feel in this fight.
"Celestial Clarity Sight."
So thinking, I quietly intoned the spell's name.