Chapter 19

Translator: penny

Chapter: 19

Chapter Title: Sect Mission (3)

The moment the Wood Fiend Queen appeared, the Wood Fiends that had been disguised as trees all around us rose up, baring their ferocious teeth and wildly swinging their branch-like limbs.

The sight was like the entire forest charging at us, naturally shrinking our resolve.

I steadied my wavering heart, infused the Refined Flying Sword with the auspicious energy of the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art, and sent it flying. The sword, forming a blade of golden light, zipped through the air at terrifying speed, attacking the Wood Fiends.

Kiiiii!!!

As the Wood Fiends were sliced, thick plumes of black energy billowed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up, accompanied by screams like tearing flesh. The pure energy of a Buddhist technique repelled all evil, making it naturally effective against yokai, demonic beasts, or demonic cultivators.

While I handled some of the Wood Fiends with the Refined Flying Sword, the other cultivators dealt with them in their own ways. Jo Jeong-deok, who had said he'd protect us and to fall back anytime, was busy only looking after the Bear Embrace Peak Inner Disciples.

"Jo Senior Brother! Jo Senior Brother!"

The female cultivator called out to Jo Jeong-deok desperately, but he didn't even glance our way, focusing solely on the Bear Embrace Peak disciples. In response, the female cultivator, abandoned alongside me, spat out her fury.

"Muscle-brained idiot, down to his spiritual roots!"

"He'll hear you."

"Let him!"

I recoiled in shock at the female cultivator throwing a tantrum after I'd given her my hard-earned advice.

"At least the Wood Fiends are smart."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't their attacks on us gotten weaker since earlier? They must know Jo Senior Brother is the biggest threat and are focusing their full power on him."

"Ah!"

While explaining this to the flustered female cultivator whose judgment had clouded, I calmly thinned the Wood Fiends' numbers with the Water Essence Bullet Art and Refined Flying Sword.

The Water Essence Bullet Art from earlier... honestly, I'd overdone it. With twenty of them, I'd planned to take them all out at once, but it had dealt quite a blow to the spirit herb growth area.

'Might be an issue for the mission evaluation.'

Fine. I'd make up for it by harvesting plenty of Essence Roots to exchange for spirit stones.

The recovered female cultivator promptly unleashed wind-based spells to aid my fight, and together we safely took down about seven Wood Fiends.

"Easier to kill than expected."

"It's breeding season. During breeding, all Wood Fiends' power concentrates on the Wood Fiend Queen. The males weaken to early Foundation Establishment level, but in exchange, the Queen grows as strong as the combined might and number of those males. Records say she can even match Nascent Soul Realm."

"What?! Nascent Soul?!"

If that was true, it was extremely dangerous.

"This is bad."

"Yes. We need to hurry and help. But..."

"But?"

The female cultivator, who had urged rushing to help, grinned slyly at the fallen Wood Fiends.

"But the sect mission is important too, so maybe we should prioritize collecting Essence Roots as per the assignment. Jo Senior Brother told us to trust him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when things got tough, so let's trust him and focus on the mission here."

With that chilling smile, she leisurely began rummaging through the Wood Fiend corpses. Needing spirit stones myself, I joined in harvesting the Essence Roots without complaint.

After spending about an incense stick's time carefully collecting them, we even checked the corpses swept up by my initial Water Essence Bullet Art and extracted their Essence Roots too.

"Must be because they've grown enough to breed; every one has an Essence Root."

"What does the sect plan to do with these Essence Roots?"

"If you bring them to the herb department, they can raise Wood Fiends from them. Wood Fiends are vicious yokai that devour spirit herbs' potency, but used right, they can nurture medicinal plants too. Probably planning to raise them in the inner sect's Spirit Fields."

"I see."

I quietly decided to pocket one Essence Root. If it had that effect, keeping it near my own Spirit Field might be good. Even if not, it'd make fine soaking liquor material. Great for wood spiritual power.

By the time we two dawdlers reached the source of the commotion, Jo Jeong-deok was battling the Wood Fiend Queen alongside two Bear Embrace Peak disciples.

'They've taken out all the other Wood Fiends.'

As I scanned the surroundings, Senior Brother Jin yelled at me.

"Why are you only showing up now?!"

"We've got two early Foundation Establishment cultivators here! If anything, shouldn't the Bear Embrace Peak folks have wrapped this up quick and come help us?!"

The female cultivator barked back at Senior Brother Jin, who was scolding us, seizing the moral high ground. Thanks to her, our late arrival was glossed over.

I leisurely watched Jo Jeong-deok and the Bear Embrace Peak disciples fight.

Having felled ten Wood Fiends, the three had Jo Jeong-deok blocking the Queen's attacks while the other two struck at her. Unfortunately, Foundation Establishment spells couldn't wound the Queen.

"Jo Senior Brother, how strong has the Wood Fiend Queen gotten?"

"Seems like early Core Formation, but her relentless, flowing attacks make it hard to shift from defense to offense."

Jo Jeong-deok apparently couldn't aggressively engage lest the Queen target the two Bear Embrace Peak disciples.

"Don't the two Bear Embrace Peak seniors have any magic tools or treasures? Why stick to spells and mundane weapons...?"

"You think we're Sea Severing Peak?!"

"You think our Bear Embrace Peak, where Master just trains endlessly, is like Sea Severing Peak, where the Elder scrapes together every damn thing nonstop?!"

Hm.

I slowly backed away from the two whose eyes had rolled back in rage. Scary. Really scary.

Excluding the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle and Refined Flying Sword I'd personally acquired, my magic tools were a silk cloth, hair tie, destroyed Storage Pouch, and a bronze vessel snatched from that lightning root guy.

I'd thought this was normal, but apparently Sea Severing Peak's stock of magic tools and treasures was abnormally high.

Probably because former Direct Disciples—and current ones—had passed down unused ones from Geum So-ryeo to their juniors, boosting Sea Severing Peak disciples' holdings over other peaks.

My own wrecked Storage Pouch was one she'd given me because she had so many extras she didn't use.

'Tch. Can't rely on original knowledge alone.'

In the original, Mun Yoo had a split spiritual root and wielded unique merit and karmic forces.

Geum So-ryeo had struggled to secure his fortuitous encounters, but since standard magic tools, treasures, techniques, or spells weren't suited for him, few of her preparations went to Mun Yoo.

Instead, he'd gotten a flood of special, unique encounters—but judging Sea Severing Peak Direct Disciples by Mun Yoo's case was wrong.

'No detailed descriptions of other Direct Disciples' encounters, so I didn't know...'

No. Wasn't it that readers complained Master gave too conveniently, so she gave fewer?

Thinking that, I swiftly formed the Water Shield Box, enveloping the female cultivator and me. The tree limb flying at us shattered the shield but veered off, missing us.

"Th-thank you! Junior Brother Yong!"

"No problem."

That jerk Jo Jeong-deok was only half-ass blocking attacks headed our way.

Fine. Then I'll do as I please. Mission pay might get docked a bit... but I'd already wrecked things once with the Water Essence Bullet Art. Time to test the combined technique's power.

I altered the Water Shield Box's hand seals, forming new ones.

There are two types of combined techniques.

One assumes cultivators combine strength from the start.

The other lets cultivators merge power to amplify spells or divine abilities like a combined technique.

Having formed seals to merge my dragon spiritual root and metal spiritual root powers for the combined technique, I quietly extended both palms toward the Wood Fiend Queen.

'Blazing Palm Seal.'

Unlike previous casual alignments, this true combined Blazing Palm Seal unleashed a chillingly immense force from my palms, sweeping the Wood Fiend Queen and the entire forest behind her in one go.

Boooom!!!!

Ordinary trees in the forest vaporized instantly, leaving only charred black scars on the ground. The Queen, struck dead-center, shrieked.

Kiiiiieeee!!!

Her body ablaze, black malevolent energy roiling up and fading, the Wood Fiend Queen was visibly suffering mortal wounds.

"How?!"

"Impossible!"

Ignoring the surrounding cultivators' shock, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I swiftly formed new seals and unleashed another combined technique.

This one amplified a treasure's power through merged cultivator strength.

The amplified Refined Flying Sword formed a fiery blade over ten times its usual size and slashed mercilessly at the panicking Wood Fiend Queen caught off-guard by the fire spiritual power assault.

"......"

I silently watched the Queen's corpse crash down with a heavy thud, then recalled the Refined Flying Sword into my sleeve.

As I grinned contentedly at the Queen's body, I felt awestruck stares from around me.

Yeah. Unbelievable, right?

An early Foundation Establishment cultivator slicing a Core Formation-level yokai with one spell and one treasure.

Until now, casually using dual roots, I'd only cast unusually potent spells for my realm.

But mastering true combined techniques had dramatically boosted my spells' and treasures' destructive power, letting me surpass major realm gaps.

Jo Jeong-deok stared at me, about to speak, then shut his mouth at the mangled Queen. He fidgeted with his lips before saying,

"I'd heard rumors that some special disciples personally taken by Elder Geum So-ryeo can produce power transcending major realms... but I never thought I'd witness it myself."

At his words, everyone's gazes toward me shifted.

I quietly stowed the Refined Flying Sword, approached the Queen's corpse, and searched for her Essence Root.

As the most vital organ for Wood Fiends, it had to still be intact. Sure enough, amid countless roots, I found one pulsing with exceptionally strong energy.

"All Wood Fiends down. Time to head back."

Lacking spiritual power for Water Escape Art, I tossed the bronze vessel from my waist.

It expanded abruptly to seat three comfortably. I hopped on and took off; Jo Jeong-deok, snapping out of his daze, nodded.

"Right! Right... Everyone, let's go. Junior Brother Jin, mind handling the corpse cleanup?"

"Got it, Jo Senior Brother!"

Senior Brother Jin gathered the dead inspectors' bodies, then Jo Jeong-deok boarded a massive flying carpet-like treasure, with the Bear Embrace Peak disciples and female cultivator piling on.

I followed silently behind the group—who said nothing despite my pocketing the Queen's Essence Root—smirking to myself.

In the cultivation world, if trouble arises, reflect on whether your strength or realm is lacking.

Most problems solve by raising your realm, and most by growing stronger.

'Once Master Geum So-ryeo returns, I'll contact her for the Direct Disciple exam.'

Unintentionally testing combined techniques on the Wood Fiend Queen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had convinced me: Mun Yoo was no longer an issue.