Chapter 93
Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Fortuitous Encounters Come with Dangers (4)
Watching the divine power flying toward us I recalled the information about Gyeol Ja-yeon that I'd heard from the courtesan at the auction house as I watched the divine ability flying toward us.
Age: Around eight hundred.
The most skilled escape artist among nearby cultivators.
Possessor of a powerful innate divine ability.
'So this is her innate divine ability!'
Gyeol Ja-yeon's innate divine ability summoned a dharma image in the form of a strikingly fierce and savage fish.
A massive flatfish-like creature, the size of a whale, charged at us, its head shaped just like a Dunkleosteus fossil—truly impressive.
Even as those thoughts crossed my mind, I immediately unleashed my Cloud Escape Art, while Hyang Mae and Pyeong Yur-an each dodged in their own ways.
"No! You can't evade Senior Gyeol's Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish Dharma Image like that!"
But Gong Ga-jin shouted as much and hurled his divine ability, and at the same moment, the flatfish gaped its maw wide, generating tremendous suction that began devouring the ambient spirit energy across heaven and earth, along with the clouds in the sky.
Kwaaaaaa!!
"Kyaaah!"
"Urgh...!"
The moment I judged the suction too strong to resist, I took another close look at the Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish Dharma Image.
Up close, its gaping mouth formed a massive cylinder, with its central body hollowed out. Everything it sucked in got pulverized into powder as it passed through and emerged from the other side.
Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish. "Leak-Void" referred to abnormal passages connecting bodily organs—fitting for this fish's form.
And "Cauldron-Fish"... like a fish in a cauldron? A fish trapped in a pot, unable to escape. But here, the fish was the cauldron itself, meaning an inescapable fish.
'It's a dharma image modeled after a spirit beast from the Golden Realm!'
Having guessed its origins from the name, I promptly activated my One Sun Jade Seal.
The tiny sun, which had been getting sucked in wildly, ballooned massively near the Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish's mouth and struck the creature. Seeing me use it, Pyeong Yur-an unleashed a sword divine ability harnessing the mutual generation of the five elements, forming a massive blade of roaring flames.
But my One Sun Jade Seal didn't last long before it was disintegrated. Gritting my teeth, I fired off several Refined Flying Swords.
In the midst of it all, Gong Ga-jin summoned multiple sword dharma treasures into the air and activated his divine ability. The five swords aligned in a row, then shot forward at terrifying speed, pummeling the Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish.
His strongest divine ability: Blazing Sword Thoroughfare.
Kuwooooong!!!
A massive shockwave erupted, sweeping away all the surrounding clouds in an instant. The Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish shuddered violently and fell back.
"Fire-based attacks were the right call! Once fire energy builds up in the Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish, its body softens, and it destroys itself with its own suction!"
Gong Ga-jin shouted as much and pulled out more dharma treasures to assault Gyeol Ja-yeon. She recalled the Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish to cool its body while ordering it to defend.
The dharma image enveloped Gyeol Ja-yeon, effortlessly blocking the dharma treasure strikes. Protected by it, she unilaterally bombarded us.
'She didn't flinch at all when we suddenly appeared, so she must have known we were here.'
Or maybe she saw us as mere bugs not worth her attention.
'She's still pursuing us, so the Sun Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture must still be with Gong Ga-jin. And our dharma wheel was in the sleeve of his right hand.'
Inside the Mustard Seed Sumeru Dharma Wheel were Ahan and So-hu, linked to me through soul resonance. Tracking those two revealed the wheel's location.
'He was holding the wheel in his right hand at first, but now it's in his left sleeve. That's to prevent us from snatching it and fleeing if things go south...'
One piece of good news: despite her superior escape arts, Gyeol Ja-yeon was still engaged in this chase.
'No big gap in combat prowess between Gyeol Ja-yeon and Gong Ga-jin. That's why even if she pulls ahead with her escapes, the fight doesn't end.'
Hence the prolonged pursuit over dozens of days. Though if it dragged on, Gong Ga-jin would likely lose to her eventually.
From what I could see, Gong Ga-jin was amplifying his Blazing Sword Thoroughfare with powerful sword dharma treasures. The Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish, struck by it, retreated with major damage without any extra aid from Gyeol Ja-yeon.
'That's why he told us to help.'
Gong Ga-jin seemed more exhausted than Gyeol Ja-yeon, so exploiting that could create an opening. I had no intention of getting dragged into these old monsters' schemes and dying pointlessly.
With those thoughts, I watched another clash between the Blazing Sword Thoroughfare and the Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish.
The moment the two divine abilities collided, the world shook. I felt like an insect toyed with by a mischievous child.
Like a frog crushed by a stone kids tossed laughing, heedless of its life—the mere aftermath of those two utterly ignoring me was chipping away at my life in real time.
'Whatever it takes. I need that dharma wheel! And if possible, next the Sun Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture! Grab those two and run!'
While I assessed the situation and set my plan, we fought Gyeol Ja-yeon alongside Gong Ga-jin. In truth, he and Pyeong Yur-an handled her; Hyang Mae and I were just like flies buzzing annoyingly.
"Hurry and use that dharma treasure!"
Gong Ga-jin occasionally demanded I use the Thunder Capturing Bolt.
"I lack thunder spirit root, so preparing to wield thunder spirit energy takes time!"
I stalled with that excuse. Right now, the Thunder Capturing Bolt was my only means of dealing meaningful damage to the enemy.
I turned my body to cloud with Cloud Escape Art, concealing my features, and tracked Gong Ga-jin visually without divine sense to evade attacks.
But even dodging, the Nascent Soul Realm old monsters' divine abilities and spells made heaven quake and earth tremble. No matter how diligently Hyang Mae and I evaded, we were soon battered.
'Can't exchange ideas since Gong Ga-jin monitors us with divine sense. Tough.'
As I thought that, Gyeol Ja-yeon suddenly shoved her Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish at Gong Ga-jin and targeted Pyeong Yur-an.
Using some inscrutable escape art, she instantly flanked Pyeong Yur-an and was about to gesture at her when I desperately Cloud Escaped nearby, unleashing every defense I had: Subduing Tiger Divine Light, Seven Lotus Partial Bell, Tiger Dragon Stormwind Armor cloud, Drunken Immortal Pine Tribute, and all else.
Thanks to my pure water spirit energy, the dharma treasures performed at max. Pyeong Yur-an added her own defenses, blocking the attack.
"Krahk!"
"Cough...!"
We suffered serious wounds but barely survived.
"Hoh."
Surprised we'd withstood her strike, interest flickered on Gyeol Ja-yeon's face.
"Such pure spirit energy! I like it! I'll use you for my technique!"
Ah, no—not like that.
Gyeol Ja-yeon had simply found a suitable sex slave for the Sun Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture and was in high spirits.
Her divine sense swept the area, shoving Pyeong Yur-an far away while clamping my body tight, immobilizing me.
"Urk...!"
"Not a bad face either."
She drew me close to inspect my face.
At that moment, Hyang Mae's sharp water jet sliced between us.
"Hmm."
"Put Yoo Lang down!"
"Your dao companion? Heh. I had one once too. She tried grinding me into a pill, so I turned her into one instead. Used it to break through to Nascent Soul."
As she spoke, Gyeol Ja-yeon pulled out a talisman scrawled with strange script and tossed it at me. It wrapped around, and I felt my divine sense and spirit energy sinking, slowly sealed.
But.
Puuung!
"What?!"
The instant the talisman tried interfering with my soul to seal it, the pagoda unleashed power, shredding the talisman.
Simultaneously, immense force from the pagoda attacked Gyeol Ja-yeon, who was trying to seal me.
"Guhk?!"
Gyeol Ja-yeon, struck by backlash from the Eighty Thousand Dharma Verses Pagoda, couldn't withstand that unprecedented power and vomited blood.
"Hahaha! Well done!!"
Sensing her weakness, Gong Ga-jin shouted at me and struck the Leak-Void Cauldron-Fish with Blazing Sword Thoroughfare again.
The dharma image, directly linked to Gyeol Ja-yeon via innate divine ability, had already cracked the moment she suffered backlash. Gong Ga-jin's attack shattered it completely.
"......!!"
With her innate divine ability destroyed, Gyeol Ja-yeon, hit by further backlash, rolled her eyes back in a silent scream. Sensing her vulnerability, Gong Ga-jin saw his chance and moved to kill her.
And I saw my opportunity.
'Snag all the storage pouches!'
Kwarung!!
With thunder spirit energy prepped for Thunder Capturing Bolt anytime, I crammed it into the dharma treasure and maxed its power, hurling it at Gong Ga-jin's waist. Simultaneously, I transformed into a bolt of lightning, riding the Thunder Capturing Bolt's arc.
In that instant, I streaked past Gong Ga-jin's side as lightning across the sky and snatched two of his storage pouches in that brief moment.
"......You bastard!!"
Oh, did I pick right?
Confirming the pouches I'd taken, Gong Ga-jin's eyes bulged as he roared and tried to pursue. I rode the fading bolt away, shouting,
"It's in the left sleeve!"
I hoped he'd get it.
I rode the lightning until the Thunder Capturing Bolt's power ebbed, then switched to Cloud Escape Art, hopping cloud to cloud to flee.
Once enough thunder spirit energy gathered, I'd use Thunder Capturing Bolt again, repeating to distance myself from the battle.
Fortunately, Pyeong Yur-an understood my words. She exploited Gong Ga-jin's focus on me to swing her Great Freedom Heaven Sword.
Slicing his sleeve, she deftly flicked her blade tip to snatch the dharma wheel, then seamlessly hurled it toward Do Mun-hyang mid-swing. She caught it nimbly and fled on a high-grade flying dharma treasure.
"......!"
Gong Ga-jin, robbed of storage pouches and now the dharma wheel, swung at Pyeong Yur-an to kill her, but she detonated the potential of her black robe, blocking it.
Sacrificing the dharma treasure to escape his grasp, she fled adeptly, true to her Qing Subduing Mechanism cultivator roots.
All three of us naturally scattered in different directions, leaving Gong Ga-jin unable to pursue, staring helplessly after us.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
Exploding in rage, Gong Ga-jin decided to chase me first to reclaim the all-important Sun Moon Star Formation Great Harmony Scripture. He fed Gyeol Ja-yeon a pill to heal her incomplete backlash recovery and said,
"Gyeol True Person! Get up quickly! Let's join hands just until we retrieve the technique!"
No hesitation in healing or politely allying with his foe of moments ago.
Likewise, Gyeol Ja-yeon swiftly regained her senses thanks to the potent pill and unhesitatingly allied with him. The two peak Nascent Soul old monsters pursued Yong Yoo's trail.
"Hahahahaha!!"
Mak Ho-gan, hidden and watching the chaos, eyes sparkling at Yong Yoo seizing everything in that brief gap.
His original goal of gauging Low Realm cultivators' prowess no longer mattered.
"An interesting fellow. Hmm. Old man Wi Hong-taek won't catch up for a while yet."
Pondering briefly, Mak Ho-gan moved opposite Gong Ga-jin and Gyeol Ja-yeon—to pursue Do Mun-hyang.
"Shall I make his life even more entertaining?"
A sadistic grin spread across Mak Ho-gan's face as he muttered.