Chapter 109
Translator: penny
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Sacred Battle Secret Realm (5)
Clear Coffin Radiance.
It's one of the rare joint techniques that can be performed with just two people, the one my master found for me.
The moment I cast the spell, the Nascent Soul grandson didn't give a damn about what happened to his grandpa and tried to bolt from the spot. Even though I was facing him down, and I'm only at Core Formation.
Of course, he'd heard that I'd easily taken down a Nascent Soul cultivator. He must've realized my skills were way beyond Core Formation level.
That's why he begged his grandpa for help and came together.
"That bastard...!"
But still, a Core Formation cultivator is a Core Formation cultivator.
His grandpa was so stunned that his own grandson was running away in front of a Core Formation cultivator that his attention shifted here, and Saran didn't miss the opening.
Even after sealing herself away for hundreds of years to cultivate the Nether Descent Stasis Seal, she reacted sharply to the enemy's gap. Looks like her boasts about her Dao combat talent were true.
Leaving the Soul Transformation grandpa to Saran, I focused everything on the fleeing Nascent Soul grandson. Right after I cast the spell, the top and bottom wooden panels of a wooden coffin appeared around me.
'Maybe because Saran always trains inside the sealed coffin, it feels oddly familiar.'
Though it was wooden instead of the stone Yellow Springs Jade Sealing Coffin, the wooden coffin, reinforced by the joint technique and formed by my spell, exuded a terrifying aura.
The top and bottom panels that would become the coffin's lid and floor shot forward at high speed to cover the front and back of the Nascent Soul grandson, and at the same time, the four side panels emerged to enclose him inside the wooden coffin.
Kuuung!
The coffin trapping the grandson crashed heavily to the ground with a thud, and I clenched my spell-forming hand tight to seal it.
As you can see, Clear Coffin Radiance is a wood-element spell that summons a wooden coffin to trap and seal the enemy.
This coffin absorbs the enemy's vital energy to reinforce its own seal, so unless they can shatter it in one blow, there's no escape.
Kung! Kuuung!
The Nascent Soul grandson thrashed wildly inside the coffin trying to break it, but each time, it sucked in his vital energy to repair cracks and strengthen the seal.
If he stays like this, it'll drain all his vital energy and kill him.
"You scum!"
The Soul Transformation grandpa fighting Saran instantly recognized what Clear Coffin Radiance was, his face paling as he swung his spiritual power. A mere shockwave of spiritual power—not even a spell—neatly obliterated my Clear Coffin Radiance.
"Hoo."
Before it shattered, I'd released the spell seal and cut my connection to it, so I took no backlash from the Soul Transformation attack and immediately formed another hand seal.
"You little shit!"
Ignoring the enraged Nascent Soul grandson charging at me after nearly dying in the coffin, I completed the spell and recited its name inwardly.
'Water King High Tide Surge.'
This time, it was an illusion-element joint technique. It reverses the enemy's perception, making them act oppositely. It can swap allies and enemies, offense and defense, or even up, down, left, right.
Since I can reverse any desired perception the moment I cast it, it's theoretically a powerful illusion spell that can flip all perceptions.
This time, I reversed ally-enemy perception.
Making him see me and Saran as allies, and his grandpa as the enemy. Naturally, the Nascent Soul grandson who'd been charging at me unleashed his divine abilities and dharma treasures on his own grandfather.
"......!"
The Soul Transformation grandpa casually swept it aside, but it created another opening, and Saran's palm strike slammed into his side.
Woodduk!
"......Kuhk!"
Screaming from Saran's palm strike, the Soul Transformation grandpa hurriedly swallowed a pill and tried to move again, but clutched his side and dropped to one knee.
I couldn't make sense of the scene and asked Saran.
"He took a pill, so why's he still hurting?"
"Because he was hit by the Eternal Agony Endless Strike."
"......"
"It's a divine ability from the Nether Descent Stasis Seal. Along with the impact, it drives the nether stagnation energy deep into the soul, so he'll suffer nonstop until his soul recovers."
"Pain that pills can't heal, huh."
To recover the soul, you have to gather energy through cultivation to soothe it. You can't cultivate mid-battle, so anyone hit by Eternal Agony Endless Strike suffers eternally until the fight ends.
"First time fighting a Soul Transformation cultivator, but their divine abilities seem weaker than expected. Guess I need more real combat to refine it, not just cultivation..."
Saran quietly reflected on her fight with the Soul Transformation grandpa, lost in thought.
A bit unexpected. Given her boasts about Dao combat talent, I thought she'd be a battle maniac like Pyong Yu-ran, but Saran fought with surprising professionalism.
While Pyong Yu-ran gets lost in the enlightenment from battles with other cultivators, Saran seems intoxicated by the 'talent' she discovers in herself through combat.
For her, battle is merely secondary—to prove her Dao combat aptitude. That's why she stays detached, maintaining a calm mind and fighting methodically to clearly observe and feel her own talents, without getting immersed.
'What an unusual person.'
With that thought, I refocused on the Nascent Soul grandson.
Maybe illusion spells just don't suit me? After attacking his grandpa, he snapped out of it instantly and now glared at me, grinding his teeth.
"You little shit!"
Seeing the Nascent Soul cultivator preparing a divine ability, I readied my final spell. My master prepared four joint techniques, but one wasn't for combat.
Golden Crow Falling Ruin.
The Golden Crow is the sun's crow—not just symbolizing the sun, but the sun itself, depicted as a three-legged crow.
One of the pinnacle spirit beasts among birds, this spell named after it has a simple effect.
Shiiiiiik!
Form a fiery spiritual power crystal high in the sky and drop it on the enemy at terrifying speed. In simple terms, summon and drop a small meteor.
Kwaaaaaang!!!!
The moment Golden Crow Falling Ruin hit the ground, the Nascent Soul grandson preparing his divine ability had his limbs torn off, engulfed in flames, screaming in agony.
"Uwaaaak! Aaaaah! My arms! My legs! Aaaaak!!"
The meteor of Golden Crow Falling Ruin is so fast and destructive that as long as you cast it, it always hits—unless the enemy is beyond Soul Transformation or has peerless evasion like some unique Nascent Soul cultivator.
I silenced the screaming Nascent Soul grandson by severing his head with my Severing Sword, then watched Saran's fight.
Saran wielded the Yellow Springs Jade Sealing Coffin fluidly and dazzlingly with red ropes that extended and contracted freely, pressing the Soul Transformation grandpa hard.
The grandpa knew close combat with a flexible fighter was disadvantageous, so he tried to flee and keep distance, but Saran used a bizarre evasion technique turning her body semi-transparent like a ghost, closing the gap instantly.
'Just like dual body flexibility.'
Nether stagnation energy inherently corrupts spiritual power and weakens a cultivator's control over it, like a curse.
She launches it from her nails like slashes, shoots it from fists like spell bullets, swings it widely to create waves of nether stagnation energy, or erects barriers made of it.
Keep distance, and nether stagnation waves crash down; close in, and her sturdy nether adept body overwhelms—flawless combat prowess.
For a pure flexible cultivator to fight like dual body flexibility was astonishing.
No wonder she remodeled herself into a jiangshi, sealed in the Yellow Springs Jade Sealing Coffin to cultivate the Nether Descent Stasis Seal.
Even I'd choose that path if mastering one flexible technique granted dual body flexibility power.
'Pyong Yu-ran has dual body flexibility but bases it on sword divine abilities, emphasizing flexible style more strongly. Yet pure flexible Saran blends spells and flexibility so masterfully she's even more dual-like.'
Without other dharma treasures besides the Yellow Springs Jade Sealing Coffin, Saran showed no combat shortcomings.
She used its durability as an unbreakable shield or all-crushing flail, controlled distance at close, mid, and long range with adjustable-length ropes, and sometimes threw the coffin far then reeled it in swiftly for evasion and mobility.
When nether stagnation energy ran low, she'd open the lid to absorb more from inside for recovery, and repair her body with it when damaged—using it like a top-tier recovery treasure for both spiritual power and flesh.
'No nether adept who doesn't recover and empower themselves with nether stagnation energy could use that coffin so fully.'
Others would just get corrupted and rot from proximity.
Even someone like me with pure, abundant spirit energy who can withstand it could only possess and touch it, not draw out its performance.
'A dharma treasure solely for nether adepts. With it, a nether adept can do everything. Is that why Saran made it her core dharma treasure?'
Why did Yeom seal a part of the underworld in a coffin?
'In the original story, underworld stuff only came up when Mun Yoo was wreaking havoc.'
To give fallen Dao companions or those at end of lifespan better lives, and torment his enemies worse, Mun Yoo periodically invaded the underworld, beating and harassing the reincarnation overseer.
'Yeom wasn't mentioned there.'
There was a being thought to be a nether adept. Description of a bluish-skinned race.
'Maybe visit the underworld later.'
As I pondered, Saran had cornered the Soul Transformation grandpa, and finally, her extended nails pierced the grandpa's body.
The moment Saran tried to extract his nascent soul.
Puuuung!!
The Soul Transformation grandpa's body exploded.
Sacrificing his body to free his nascent soul from Saran's grasp, he hastily grabbed his fallen storage pouch from the ground, absorbed the pills inside, and regenerated instantly.
"Kuhk...! Wasting precious pills here!"
I laughed at the sight.
"Serves you right for chasing a genius treasure beyond your station! Did changing your grandson's diapers get shit in your brain and make you dumb? Impressive you reached Soul Transformation with that head! Among Soul Transformation cultivators I know, none are as stupid and inept as you! You're barely Soul Transformation on the outside, Core Formation inside—worse than me. Wanna call me senior?"
Who could endure hearing that from a lower-realm cultivator, let alone their family's enemy? No one.
I prefer firing one more spell over trash-talking in battle, but I know wielding the tongue is crucial.
Like dual cultivation. To enjoy it happily with a loved one, don't just thrust—use your tongue well too.
To torment and crush foes, spells alone aren't enough; wield the tongue sharply.
Like how I shattered Han Chun-oh's Dao heart with words.
"Uwaaaak! You arrogant shit! Get off my grandson's corpse!"
"Oops."
I kicked away the Nascent Soul grandson's corpse I'd been stepping on and wiped my foot with a handkerchief.
As if it'd touched the world's filthiest thing.
"Kraaaah!! I must kill you at least!!"
The Soul Transformation grandpa roared and charged me, while Saran grabbed the Yellow Springs Jade Sealing Coffin with both hands and swung it full force.
Kuuuuwuuung!!!!
Before the flexible Soul Transformation cultivator's all-out strike, the ground rippled like waves, dust soaring sky-high.
The earth cracked wide from the impact, and the Sacred Battle Secret Realm's night sky warped unstably from the shockwave.
I was fine, protected by Saran earlier, but the Nascent Soul cultivators peeking from afar weren't.
"Kuhk!"
"Kuluk!!"
Nascent Soul cultivators hit by the aftershocks knelt vomiting blood. Weaker ones died outright, showing how terrifying a true Soul Transformation cultivator's power is.
"Hoo."
Moments later, Saran crawled from the deep crater, her body dyed in nether stagnation energy, looking like a crude black mass imitating a human.
I channeled spirit energy to purge the clinging nether stagnation from around her. As it dispersed, Saran snapped out of her dazed, drooling stupor.
"Uh, oo, ah, uuu."
"At it again."
Having seen her like this after overtraining before, I brushed it off and pointed around.
"Low on vitality? Plenty of food nearby—help yourself."
Pointing at nearby Nascent Soul cultivators, Saran quadrupedally lunged like a beast, draining their vitality.
Life-Stealing Nether Adept Jiangshi, true to its name—Saran steals others' lives to extend her own and recover energy.
Especially when her reason collapses like this, she recovers faster with lots of life force.
"Oh, storage pouch."
While Saran massacred Nascent Souls, I pocketed the Soul Transformation grandpa's storage pouch, humming.
"Nice, huh."
"......Not nice."
Saran, having slain all the Nascent Souls in that short time and clutching their storage pouches, approached glumly.
"Pushing nether stagnation energy to the limit made my reason crumble again... Proof the technique is imperfect. Or my talent insufficient to master it."
She was probably gloomier over her own talent than the technique's imperfection. So I steered toward the latter.
"A technique even Soul Transformation can't perfect—what the hell is it?"
Pleased I'd questioned the technique over her talent, Saran perked up and replied calmly.
"No idea. But even sealed for millennia, it seems impossible to perfect."
"What now?"
"Halt cultivation for a while, reflect on the technique, stabilize my state. Can't be a Soul Transformation unable to handle her own power."
I nodded at Saran's words.
"One escaped. Couldn't act while regaining my senses—sorry."
"Nah, it's fine. Disassemble this Soul Transformation storage pouch instead. I can't; only up to Nascent Soul."
"Got it."
I stored Saran, pouch in hand, in my soul space and flew toward the underground entrance.
Flying, I vowed firmly inwardly.
'Next time... I'll take down a Soul Transformation with my own power, no Saran. Definitely.'
Couldn't even think of using spells before a Soul Transformation, just flapping my mouth—it stung my pride.