Chapter 81
Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Mingchim Valley Battle (2)
When a mortal becomes a Refining Qi Realm cultivator, they acquire overwhelming abilities in every respect compared to ordinary people.
Physical prowess, lifespan, health, memory, thinking speed... The moment a cultivator reaches the Refining Qi Realm, they step into a domain that no ordinary person could ever hope to touch, no matter how much they trained over an entire lifetime.
And when such a cultivator advances to the Foundation Establishment Realm, spells enter their arsenal as weapons.
The spells usable by Refining Qi Realm cultivators are roughly one-tenth as powerful as those of Foundation Establishment cultivators—about ten times stronger, in other words.
When such a cultivator reaches the Core Formation Realm, they condense their spiritual root into a core and nurture a nascent soul within it.
Though it pales in comparison to the nascent soul's hatching, they begin to sense the principles of heaven and earth through their own body, if only faintly. This elevates their spell power while making their spiritual energy purer, denser, firmer, and stronger.
Upon reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, the nascent soul finally hatches, linking them to the principles of heaven and earth and granting access to divine abilities.
A cultivator's strength undergoes a fundamental shift with every major realm breakthrough.
It's not merely a matter of getting "stronger"—they become an entirely different creature. To put it simply, it's like a house cat transforming into a tiger, a tiger into a mountain leopard, and a mountain leopard into a white tiger.
That is why cultivators can never casually cross major realm boundaries.
This is precisely why Yong Yoo—who slew two Core Formation Perfected cultivators while merely at Foundation Establishment Perfection—earned the honorific title of "True Person" despite still being in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
"Useless!!"
Boom!!
Ye Ga-seok obliterated the brazen Core Formation cultivator and Core Formation-grade yokai lunging at him with nothing more than a fierce shout.
Yes. That was normal.
An ordinary Core Formation cultivator's spell crumbling before a single shout from a Nascent Soul cultivator was to be expected. In fact, no shout was even necessary—the sheer spiritual pressure or aura naturally emanating from a Nascent Soul expert should suffice to snuff out such spells.
Yet moments later, an orange blade sliced through the poison smoke blanketing the area, bearing down on Ye Ga-seok.
Even though it was a spell cast by another Core Formation cultivator, it ignored Ye Ga-seok's aura as if it were a completely alien attack, intent on claiming his life.
Clang!
Ye Ga-seok swiftly deflected the orange blade with his wooden spear, then scanned the poison smoke spreading around him.
'To blind my eyes, is it?'
With Mingchim Valley's energy permeating the surroundings, Ye Ga-seok's divine sense was equally obstructed.
Ye Ga-seok shot into the air, escaping the poison smoke's range. At the same time, the orange blade pursued relentlessly from behind.
'Whistling Blade.'
The Whistling Blade didn't draw on any specific elemental spiritual energy; it simply channeled the caster's own spiritual power directly.
This made it highly efficient in spiritual energy consumption, with solid base power to boot. But when Yong Yoo infused it with his single-element spiritual power blended with water spiritual energy, it transformed into a lethal weapon against Fallen Star Sect cultivators.
'Too late to block with a spiritual barrier!'
Ye Ga-seok swung his blood-red robe, from which the dharma treasure's power flowed out and clashed with the Whistling Blade.
Kaboom!!
The robe's power and the Whistling Blade mutually annihilated each other in a deafening explosion.
Ye Ga-seok followed up by firing sharp leaves and scattering small seeds in a barrage, but Yong Yoo dispelled them all with a single, larger Whistling Blade.
'Combat truly is the best teacher.'
So thought Yong Yoo.
There were many ways for a cultivator to build strength and solidify their foundations—training, drills, Dao Debates.
But Yong Yoo believed nothing accelerated his growth like real combat.
His spells formed more sharply, swiftly, and powerfully than before.
'The pagoda is lending its strength.'
To dispel the Mingchim Valley energy filling the air, the Eight Thousand Arms Dharmic Pagoda of Pure Lands emanated an auspicious glow, which bolstered Yong Yoo's own power.
Thanks to this, he could unleash spell power rivaling a Nascent Soul cultivator's without relying on the Crimson Immortal Harmony Art.
As Yong Yoo's spells accelerated and multiplied, Ye Ga-seok found himself with no room to deploy divine abilities, forced to counter purely with spells.
"Raaagh!!"
Soon, as Yong Yoo began hurling Whistling Blades from both hands without even forming hand seals, Ye Ga-seok poured even more spiritual energy into his own spells to match him.
At last, a massive wood dragon—the same one that had devoured the mountain—emerged, chomping and swallowing the Whistling Blades as it charged. Yong Yoo immediately formed the hand seals for the Crimson Immortal Harmony Art.
The wood dragon attacking him was enormous. From Ye Ga-seok's perspective, it was so huge that it completely obscured Yong Yoo.
'Which makes it perfect for a big strike.'
Crimson threads coiled around Yong Yoo's hands, while Do Mun-hyang bought him time by deploying a secret art she'd learned from Geum So-ryeo.
The giant water droplet that had once saved Do Mun-hyang, Wei A-han, and So Hu from being devoured by a wood dragon reappeared, blocking the beast's path.
However, while it could withstand the pressure after being swallowed, directly blocking a Nascent Soul cultivator's spell head-on was too much.
Crunch!
Do Mun-hyang's water droplet shattered in an instant. In that brief window it provided, Yong Yoo completed his hand seals and unleashed the spell.
The Severing Dragon Claw, empowered by the Crimson Immortal Harmony Art, manifested as a dragon's paw several times larger than before.
The Severing Dragon Claw rent the massive wood dragon asunder in one stroke, then hurtled toward Ye Ga-seok at terrifying speed, aiming for his throat.
Witnessing this, Ye Ga-seok swung his wooden spear, activating its power against the Severing Dragon Claw.
Kreeeeen!!!
The wooden spear and Severing Dragon Claw collided, sending razor-sharp shockwaves radiating outward.
Yong Yoo felt a twinge of puzzlement at the sight.
'Am I imagining things?'
It wasn't just the dharma treasure's raw power blocking the Severing Dragon Claw. The energy emanating from the spear seemed to repel it specifically, as if they were kindred forces clashing.
That explained the piercing clash of similar powers.
'I felt chills just looking at that dharma treasure before.'
Yong Yoo's instincts were spot on.
The material of Ye Ga-seok's pitch-black wooden spear was cursewood.
A tree grown using the vital essence and blood of living beings steeped in hatred and resentment toward others as fertilizer. Ye Ga-seok had shown captured cultivators images of Yong Yoo's face via divine sense while torturing them.
'It's this bastard's fault you were captured.'
'It's because of him that you're suffering!'
'So hate him! Curse him!!'
Blind and bombarded with Ye Ga-seok's venomous voice alongside visions of Yong Yoo's face and waves of agony, they came to genuinely loathe him. The cursewood greedily absorbed their essence blood laced with that hatred, growing strong.
Thus, Ye Ga-seok forged a dharma treasure born solely from animosity toward Yong Yoo—pure hatred, a curse incarnate, existing only to slay him.
That was how the cursewood spear so effortlessly withstood the Severing Dragon Claw, fueled by a massive gathering of Yong Yoo's spiritual energy.
Yet extreme, overwhelming power always demands a price.
The cursewood dharma treasure's power was finite, like a magic tool. Once depleted, it couldn't be used again until recharged with more essence blood.
'That clash just now consumed a third of its curse power.'
Ye Ga-seok narrowed his eyes, gauging the remaining curse power in the cursewood.
The Severing Dragon Claw Yong Yoo had unleashed was extraordinarily potent—even he, who had nurtured the treasure for over a decade, had to burn through a third of its power.
With both sides suffering heavy expenditure, they naturally fell into a stalemate once more, silently glaring at each other.
Yong Yoo, heavily drained of spiritual energy, panted for breath. Ye Ga-seok quietly regulated his breathing while eyeing him.
'Just how many exchanges was that?'
Counting from their initial clash, including minor spells—it came to about twenty-seven moves.
Absurd.
A fight between Core Formation and Nascent Soul realms usually ended in one blow if it didn't drag on; ten exchanges would be a miracle.
What in the world was this man?
Of course, Ye Ga-seok knew Yong Yoo possessed freakish power. Hadn't he himself lost both arms to this boy back when Yong Yoo was merely at the second layer of Foundation Establishment against his own Core Formation Perfection?
But now... matching a Nascent Soul cultivator like him with mid-Core Formation strength?
'Infuriating.'
Ye Ga-seok felt jealousy clouding his vision.
'How can someone have such talent? How can such a cultivator exist? Did Heaven truly permit this... this monstrosity?'
Heavenly Prodigy.
Child of Heaven and Earth.
One permitted by Heaven to act with arrogance.
Heaven's own masterpiece.
Ye Ga-seok glanced at Hong Elder. Out of nowhere, stunning women were coordinating with flawless synergy, pressing her hard.
'Damn it! That useless old hag!'
Ye Ga-seok had feared he might not handle Yong Yoo alone. That was why he'd asked for help from Hong Elder, a mid-Nascent Soul powerhouse!
Yet look at her now. Pinned down by two early Nascent Soul fledglings—mere green youths—unable to pierce their formation technique?
She, who had devoured countless handsome men's essence blood, boasting an aura rivaling late Nascent Soul!
'All those men I fed her were wasted!'
The irony? Both Hong Elder and the Young Master Yong Follower Squad were women drawn to Yong Yoo's face.
The difference: Hong Elder intended to ravish him, while the Follower Squad obeyed sect orders—and their own wills—to protect him.
Thus, it was only natural for Hong Elder to falter against the Follower Squad.
Why did orthodox cultivators hold such overwhelming dominance over demonic ones until the Karmic Cataclysm?
Because people instinctively chose the orthodox path over demonic, evil over good, wrong over right.
Before their humanity twisted as cultivators, they were ordinary folk—and more chose self-cultivation through effort over harming others.
Naturally, the demonic path was always outnumbered, unable to challenge the orthodox until the cataclysm arrived.
"We'll help!"
"Me too!"
Thus, High Heaven Sect cultivators who had defeated Fallen Star Sect foes began joining the fray one by one.
"I know this formation too! Let's cast it together!"
It was only natural that orthodox cultivators, superior in numbers, studied and practiced formation techniques more extensively than demonic ones. Failing to leverage their assets would be the real oddity.
Many orthodox cultivators thus mastered one or two sect formations for such occasions. As the Young Master Yong Follower Squad's numbers swelled, their formation grew ever stronger.
"Grrraaah! You bastards...!!"
Ye Ga-seok abandoned hopes of Hong Elder's aid, resolving to take Yong Yoo down solo.
"...It's all or nothing."
With things as they were, he abandoned leisurely torture for prolonged revenge. Better to kill Yong Yoo outright and end this grudge.
He doubted he could capture and torment Yong Yoo—the Unworldly True Person, that absurd Heavenly Prodigy—at his leisure.
'I'll feed you to the sect master's dharma treasure!'
A treasure that could easily handle three Soul Transformation cultivators. No one, not even Yong Yoo, could survive inside its maw.
Ye Ga-seok flashed a triumphant smirk and charged at Yong Yoo.