Chapter 31
Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao (5)
The moment Yong Yoo infused his divine sense into the mist spreading around him and took control of it, the wood dragon enveloping him crumbled into dust in an instant and vanished.
"Senior Brother's spell...!"
"What?!"
The Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao, simply put, was a spell that conjured the world's finest and sharpest water.
The water was so fine that it resembled mist, and that mist was so razor-sharp that it sliced all things in the world down to their smallest units, ultimately reducing them to smoke.
If Yong Yoo had to describe it, he would have called it a spell with the power to "slice and decompose the enemy down to the cellular level."
After dismantling the wood dragon in one go, Yong Yoo seized the moment when his foes recoiled in horror and directed the mist forward.
Pfshaaa!!
As Yong Yoo's divine sense touched it, the mist—which had been drifting harmlessly like ordinary water—bared its fangs and engulfed the three Falling Star Sect cultivators.
The black-robed man vanished first, dissolving into blood-red smoke. Immediately after, Yong Yoo's divine sense turned toward the blood-red robed man.
"...!!"
But perhaps it was only fitting for a Core Formation Realm perfection stage cultivator.
The blood-red robed man wrapped his spirit power around his entire body, blocking the mist from touching him, and shouted.
"Junior Sister! Protect your body with spirit power!"
At the blood-red robed man's words, the black-robed woman hurriedly cloaked herself in flame spirit power.
The Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao had to gnaw away at the vast surface area of spirit power, where no cellular gaps existed, so as long as they continuously renewed their spirit power coating, they could hold it off.
But.
"S-Senior Brother...! The spirit power consumption...!!"
The cost was an enormous drain on spirit power. The moment they let their guard down even slightly, the mist would pierce the gap and turn their bodies to smoke, forcing them to burn through vast amounts without rest.
The depletion of spirit power itself was a problem, but so was the oppressive pressure of the mist, the terror of facing its power head-on, and the shock of watching a fellow sect member dissolve into smoke in an instant.
This emotional turmoil rattled those confronting the Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao.
Yong Yoo glanced at Hou and the red-armored woman for a moment. They tried to move but froze whenever they sensed Yong Yoo's divine sense sweeping over them from within the thick fog.
This cultivator at the second layer of Foundation Establishment wielded an abnormal spell power far beyond his realm, even sacrificing a defensive treasure and a flying artifact to unleash it. No matter how they thought about it, it wasn't ordinary—they couldn't move recklessly.
While pinning down their movements like this, Yong Yoo moved the hand forming the incantation gesture.
If it could be blocked merely by wrapping the body in spirit power, the Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao would never have been called the strongest of Geum Yang-pyeong's secret arts.
The mist created by the Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao grew stronger the denser it became, and when fully concentrated—even someone ordinary like Yong Yoo or Mun Yoo could unleash power transcending major realms.
The instant Yong Yoo swung his hand, some of the mist scattered haphazardly around converged into a single point, forming a massive slashing blade of fog that swept over the two Falling Star Sect cultivators.
"...!!!"
The blood-red robed man sensed the unnatural movement in part of the mist and urgently leaped back. In that moment, the mist blade ravaged the spot where they had stood.
Pfshaaa!!
The black-robed woman was swept away along with the flame spirit power cloaking her body and vanished. The blood-red robed man, whose evasion was a beat too slow, lost both arms below the elbows to smoke as well.
"Gaaahhh!!"
Having lost both arms, the blood-red robed man screamed as blood poured from the stumps. Hearing the Core Formation Realm perfection cultivator's agonized cry, Hou and the red-armored woman grew even more tense.
With visibility blocked by the mist and divine sense barely functioning, they couldn't grasp the situation.
Tsking at his failure to kill the Core Formation Realm perfection cultivator, Yong Yoo took a swig of liquor.
'The spirit power drain is insane. I've only used it three times, and it's already bottomed out.'
It wouldn't have been an issue with plain Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao, but channeling it through the Combined Arts technique made the consumption go haywire.
Still, without the Combined Arts, he couldn't have pressured a Core Formation Realm perfection cultivator like this—it was an unavoidable choice.
After chugging two bottles of liquor in a row to hastily recover his spirit power, Yong Yoo claimed the one item he had deliberately left untouched when killing the black-robed man and woman: their storage pouches, which he hung from his waist.
Concealing his own spirit power depletion and the fact that he had only one bottle of liquor left, Yong Yoo bluffed boldly.
"Well? Do you still wish to fight me?"
The blood-red robed man glared at Yong Yoo with bloodshot eyes, but with the mist hiding him, there was no way to gauge his condition.
The man simply had to face the terrifying mist filling the warehouse, unsure when it would bare its fangs at him.
"...!!"
In the end, unable to withstand the pressure, the blood-red robed man chose flight, transforming into a cluster of leaves and fleeing the warehouse.
Confirming the blood-red robed man's departure, Yong Yoo sighed in relief and turned to Hou and the red-armored woman.
"You there, fellow Daoist—even from your storage pouch, I see you couldn't deploy your treasures properly. Will you face me?"
"...".
The red-armored woman weighed the gains from battling Yong Yoo against the risks she would face—and above all, pictured his face—before speaking.
"...My apologies. I was blinded by greed for a moment. I'll withdraw now. Before I go, might I know your name, fellow Daoist?"
"My name? Why do you ask?"
Yong Yoo implied he suspected she might use it to harm him later, but the red-armored woman waved her hands frantically, denying it.
"No, no! I just... personally wish to build a good relationship with you, fellow Daoist."
"...I am Yong Yoo, an Inner Disciple of Sea Severing Peak in the High Heaven Sect."
"High Heaven Sect...!"
Yong Yoo figured she wasn't a demonic cultivator, so he deliberately revealed his sect's name.
And as Yong Yoo expected, upon learning he belonged to the High Heaven Sect, the red-armored woman's attitude became far more deferential.
Among cultivators, relationships were determined by realm and strength, but sometimes an immense backing took precedence over both.
"I am a wandering cultivator without affiliation, named Pyeong Yuran. I sincerely hope no grudge forms between us over this incident."
"It's fine. Fighting over heavenly treasures is commonplace among cultivators. I don't hold grudges over such things."
"Understood. I hope we meet again under different circumstances next time."
With those words, the woman vanished from the warehouse.
'It's rare to see a cultivator from the Central Domains wearing armor. She must belong to one side in the Qing Armor or Qing Yi Domains, where cultivators have formed armies amid constant wars from their split.'
Recalling how the force that conquered the Qing Armor and Qing Yi Domains to form the Taiyuan Domains then invaded the Central Domains to dominate other realms, Yong Yoo thought it wise to befriend Pyeong Yuran and forge ties with those two domains in advance.
With even Pyeong Yuran gone, Yong Yoo was left alone with Hou. He decided to pour all his remaining spirit power into the fight and downed another bottle of liquor.
Having maximally refilled the spirit power spent in the warehouse, and after clashing consecutively with the blood-red robed man and Pyeong Yuran, Yong Yoo concentrated every last wisp of the Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao's mist onto Hou.
Hou noticed the mist moving strangely and tried to escape the area.
No matter how long it had been trapped here, decaying and weakened, and even after battling two Core Formation Realm perfection cultivators in succession, the dragon-blooded beast moved with astonishing agility and ferocity.
But Yong Yoo could sense everything within the Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao, tracking Hou's movements effortlessly. Meanwhile, Hou spotted the mist thinning as it clumped in places, pinpointed Yong Yoo's position, and lunged to tear him apart.
Doooong!!
Just before Hou's fangs could rip into Yong Yoo's nape, the bell-like chime from Yong Yoo's clapping hands bound Hou in place.
At the same time, all the surrounding mist converged on Hou, beginning to dismantle his body. Hou screamed in agony as it ground him apart.
Yong Yoo gritted his teeth, focusing his mind even harder as he saw the mist scatter and dissipate with every thrash of Hou's body.
His potent divine sense, forged from dual spiritual roots, bolstered control over the mist. Yong Yoo shredded the scales and hide just below Hou's ribcage.
Exposed flesh gleamed as the concentrated mist stripped away scales and skin. Seizing the moment the encircling mist thinned again, Hou swung its forepaw to kill Yong Yoo once more.
In the end, unable to fully dodge, Yong Yoo was smashed into the ground at terrifying speed by Hou's forepaw.
Thud!!
In that instant, the silent Refined Flying Sword shot forth like an assassin's dagger, piercing the gash in Hou's flayed hide and thrusting a blade of nascent spirit power straight into its heart.
"Urk..."
Staggering to his feet, Yong Yoo wiped the blood streaming from his forehead and scanned his body with divine sense. It hurt all over, but miraculously, there wasn't a single bruise.
"Good thing I trusted the Wen Lake Water Robe."
Examining the robe, shredded miserably by Hou's claws, Yong Yoo looked down at Hou's corpse thudding heavily before him.
"Haa... Thought I was done for."
Geum So-ryeo had said the Drifting Smoke of the Fine Sand Dao would make it fine, so she sent him—but no matter how he thought about it, that wasn't true.
If Hou hadn't been worn down fighting those two Core Formation Realm perfection cultivators, Yong Yoo would have lost his life in the blink of an eye.
'Yeah, no way I'm trusting Geum So-ryeo next time.'
Praising himself for preparing an extra month just in case before coming here, Yong Yoo—his body exhausted from depleting all spirit power—trudged wearily before leaning against Hou's corpse.
Trembling uncontrollably like that, when he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried, Yong Yoo gave up and collapsed flat.
"...No good."
He wanted to move, but he had no strength left.
With great effort, Yong Yoo pulled out the Wood Branch Spirit Lotus Fruit from his storage pouch and stared at it.
'Carrying around a treasure like this feels risky. Might as well eat it now.' Closing his eyes tight, he popped the fruit into his mouth and swallowed.
The glass-like fruit melted smoothly in Yong Yoo's mouth, sliding down his throat. From there, the fruit's energy absorbed into his soul and raced toward his spirit roots.
'Ooooh!'
Yong Yoo closed his eyes and sat in meditation, observing the massive energy gathering toward his wood spirit root.
Thus, he could not see it.
Nascent soul energy leaking from Hou's fallen corpse behind him, riding the Wood Branch Spirit Lotus Fruit's energy into his body and being absorbed.
The decayed, weakened nascent soul offered no resistance to the immense energy flow. It fragmented into fine particles and vanished inside Yong Yoo.