The Old Ancestor (2)
Something's off.
Sama Mun felt a sinister premonition.
By that point, he had already slipped into his spiritual domain.
As the speed of the material world and the speed of his mental world diverged, he secured the time needed to assess the situation.
Is this bastard trying to pull something?
He stared straight at the nameless Foundation Establishment cultivator before him.
There was no visible sign of him drawing up spiritual power.
No indication of moving to engage in close combat either — he simply sat there, perfectly still.
And yet… something about it felt strangely ominous.
Could he possess a power from a lineage I don't know about?
He wasn't preparing to cast a spell with spiritual energy, nor was he about to unleash a martial technique of the body arts.
But there was still the possibility that he intended to wield a power of a altogether different lineage from anything Sama Mun knew.
How amusing. Let's have a look, then.
Sama Mun was at ease.
Not because his opponent was merely Foundation Establishment.
It would have been the same even if the man were Core Formation.
No matter how desperately you struggle, harming me — a Nascent Soul cultivator — is impossible.
The Nascent Soul Realm referred to the stage of forming one's Nascent Soul.
At Core Formation, one had already condensed a Golden Core, but the Nascent Soul Realm meant going one step further and tempering a Nascent Soul from it.
The Nascent Soul was a second self, generated in the same position as the Golden Core.
It took the form of an infant, but unlike the Golden Core, it was not a material existence.
Because it was born from one's inner energy, it transcended the material domain and served as the cornerstone for walking the true path of an immortal.
A Core Formation cultivator died if their Golden Core was destroyed.
A Nascent Soul cultivator, however, did not die even if their Golden Core shattered.
With the power of the Nascent Soul, they could transcend the laws of the material world and regenerate the Golden Core.
Ultimately, killing a Nascent Soul cultivator required eliminating the Nascent Soul itself — but since the Nascent Soul was not a material existence, it could not be destroyed by material attacks.
Even channeling spiritual power could not so much as scratch the Nascent Soul unless it reached a certain threshold of intensity.
In the end, only a cultivator of the Nascent Soul Realm or higher could kill one of the Nascent Soul Realm.
Still, go on and thrash about for now. Who knows? Perhaps I'll let you live a little longer.
If the man truly possessed an unknown power, it would be worth studying.
Feeding him to the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom would have to wait, then.
Of course, if he turned out to be worthless, Sama Mun would make him food for the sword right away.
Now, come on. What are you hesitating for?
Just as he was addressing the man in his mind, Sama Mun felt a strange sense of wrongness.
At some point — he couldn't say when — he had stopped feeling the sensations of his own body.
Even… even his Golden Core.
What in the world—
There was no response whatsoever from his Golden Core.
Operating his spiritual power was impossible.
Don't tell me this is the work of your ability?
It was astonishing.
Disabling the Golden Core of a Nascent Soul Daoist — just how had he managed it?
Sama Mun felt a thrill of wonder.
This was worth researching. It might even aid him in reaching the Soul Formation Realm.
The Taiyi Inverse Principle Sect claimed they killed Heukha-ryong and devoured his Golden Core, but perhaps that was a lie. It's possible this fellow stole the Golden Core from Heukha-ryong himself.
Even with his Golden Core rendered inert, Sama Mun remained composed.
He believed he could simply restore it with the power of his Nascent Soul.
He could even abandon this body entirely and escape with his Nascent Soul alone.
Such was the nature of the Nascent Soul Realm: as long as the Nascent Soul remained intact, one could be reborn in a new body.
And so, there was truly nothing to worry abo—
Wait.
Then a single thought occurred to him.
If this bastard really did extract and devour the Golden Core from Heukha-ryong himself… how did he do it?
Heukha-ryong had not been Core Formation — he had been Nascent Soul.
Which meant that pulling the Golden Core out of Heukha-ryong implied he had neutralized the dragon's Nascent Soul as well.
How, exactly?
How could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, bound by the limits of the material world, possibly disable a Nascent Soul?
The moment that question surfaced, Sama Mun belatedly realized the truth.
Is my own Nascent Soul… already neutralized too?
It wasn't only his Golden Core that had gone silent.
His Nascent Soul gave no response either.
Restoring the Golden Core with the Nascent Soul's power was impossible — and so was escaping with the Nascent Soul alone.
The reason Sama Mun was only now comprehending this fact was that, within his spiritual domain, he had accelerated the speed of his mental activity and been idly lost in contemplation.
He had failed to pay proper attention to his own self, upon which an imminent death was closing in.
Part of it was surely due to his congenitally arrogant temperament.
He had never even imagined that such a thing could happen to him, and so his reaction had come too late.
Have I suffered not only a material death, but a spiritual one as well?
The instant he recognized that fact —
Sama Mun was consumed by utter terror.
I-impossible! How can this be—?!
Sama Mun's soul was already dead.
He could still think, still feel emotion — but those were the workings of the leftover remnants of a soul that had already perished.
No! Not this! I refuse to die like this!
Ordinarily, all mental activity should have ceased in an instant.
But because Sama Mun had accelerated the speed of his consciousness with the power of a middle-stage Nascent Soul, considerable time still remained to him.
Which meant he still had a long, long stretch of time left to remain trapped in terror.
I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Uaaaaagh—!!
Not a trace remained of his usual arrogance.
There was only the remnant of a soul, howling in the depths of absolute terror within an empty, void universe.
Before long, even that remnant vanished completely, leaving nothing behind at all.
Thud.
Sama Mun collapsed.
The Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom, which he had been holding, clattered to the floor.
The body did not so much as twitch — yet even seeing this, Cheon Woo-jin waited a while longer.
Only after confirming that no change came no matter how long he waited did he exhale a sigh of relief.
So his Golden Core and his Nascent Soul are both dead.
Killing a Nascent Soul cultivator meant killing the Nascent Soul itself.
Even with Gi Shin-ryeo, who had been plunged into lava until his Golden Core melted away, he could have revived had his Nascent Soul remained intact.
That was why he had needed to verify that the Nascent Soul had truly been killed.
With my current abilities, I have no way of striking the Nascent Soul directly… but with the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye, I can neutralize it too.
The reason Cheon Woo-jin had been able to maintain his composure even while being dragged away by Sama Mun was precisely this plan — to bring him down with the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye.
That was also why he had not used the eye during his fight with Gi Shin-ryeo.
Because there was a chance Sama Mun would appear, he had needed to conserve it.
Thanks to preserving the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye in that way, he had been able to instantly kill this monster of the middle Nascent Soul Realm.
However… there was one thing that nagged at him slightly.
Even right after I used the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye, Sama Mun seemed to show some kind of reaction.
He hadn't confirmed it properly.
But that was the feeling he'd had.
Between the moment Cheon Woo-jin resolved to use the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye on Sama Mun and the moment Sama Mun actually reached complete death, there existed a very brief span of time during which Sama Mun's consciousness had likely remained active.
It seemed that time had been insufficient for any counterattack — but for a being of a higher realm than Sama Mun, killing Cheon Woo-jin within that short window would certainly be possible.
Up to the middle Nascent Soul stage, there seems to be no problem, but from the late Nascent Soul stage onward, it will be dangerous.
The late Nascent Soul stage was the level where one began to genuinely overcome the limits of time.
One could split time into fine slivers, think within those slivers, and even move within them.
This was a concept fundamentally different from simply thinking and acting quickly.
And so, attempting the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye against anyone of the late Nascent Soul Realm or above was dangerous at his current level.
There was a high chance of being counterattacked before the eye could kill them.
He would need to grow further and raise his realm before he could safely execute an instant death.
In any case, it's best to avoid crossing paths with beings of higher realms as much as possible.
Facing those kinds of monsters was a matter for after he had grown stronger.
And so…
Cheon Woo-jin turned his gaze to the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom lying on the ground.
I can't afford to let equipment this powerful slip away.
This, in fact, was the reason Cheon Woo-jin had not used the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye on Sama Mun immediately, and had waited as long as he did.
He had needed to kill Sama Mun only after the man drew out the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom.
Nascent Soul cultivators did not use Storage Pouches; they stored their belongings in the Universe in the Sleeve.
But the Universe in the Sleeve was not a Dharma Treasure — it was a Dharma Technique. If the cultivator died, the contents could not be retrieved.
There were methods, but none of them were as simple as rummaging through a Storage Pouch. At least, in his current state, Cheon Woo-jin had no way to acquire the items inside a Universe in the Sleeve.
Which was why Cheon Woo-jin could not simply kill Sama Mun on the spot.
He had needed to wait until Sama Mun triumphantly drew out the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom.
As a result, he had now obtained the sword.
Equipment that Sama Mun created by offering up even his sect's guardian dragon as a sacrifice, all in pursuit of the Soul Formation Realm…
Cheon Woo-jin grasped the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom.
But he immediately felt dizzy and lost his grip on it.
"Ugh…!"
The Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom was not a Dharma Treasure. It was a Dharma Artifact.
By rights, a Dharma Artifact could only be handled by those of Core Formation or above.
It was far too dangerous an object for Cheon Woo-jin, still a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to wield.
No, but still…
Cheon Woo-jin took a deep breath and grasped the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom again.
This time, he could feel a fierce energy boring in through the apertures of his palm.
The dizziness he'd felt moments ago had come from that energy surging up his meridians and stimulating his upper dantian.
Let's bring this under control.
Cheon Woo-jin had already used his Water Spiritual Root energy to subdue the volcano's Fire spiritual qi once before.
Drawing on that experience, he wrestled the sword's energy under his command, then slowly expelled it with each exhale.
As a result, he was able to hold the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom without feeling dizzy.
To think I can wield a Dharma Artifact with a Foundation Establishment body.
This had been impossible even in the game.
It was blocked at the system level — the equipment simply could not be used.
All this while, Cheon Woo-jin had grown by leveraging his knowledge of the game.
But at some point, he had begun showing growth that transcended even the game's limitations.
The fact that he could now hold a Dharma Artifact was proof of it.
Sama Mun tried to use this Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom to steal the power of my Body of the Dark True Abyss.
The Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom possessed the property of absorbing the powers of special constitutions.
Feed it a Body of the Dark True Abyss, and it would acquire some of that body's traits.
The demonic path had always abounded in such methods — techniques for growing stronger by stealing the power of others.
Sama Mun had obtained one such method and put it to use in crafting Dharma Artifacts.
Sama Mun must have felt the limits of his Five Elements Spiritual Root. Using all five elements let him wield a wide variety of powers unbound by any single attribute, but that alone had its ceiling.
A power specialized in something.
He must have wanted to obtain it, to overcome the weakness of his Five Elements Spiritual Root.
The Five Elements Spiritual Root was a talent of all trades — but viewed from another angle, that also meant it had nothing in which it truly excelled.
But from my standpoint, the Five Elements Spiritual Root is precisely the key to overcoming my own weakness.
The Five Elements Spiritual Root — a talent of all trades.
If he could acquire even a fraction of that power, Cheon Woo-jin could overcome the limitations of his single-attribute Spiritual Root, which was specialized in one element alone.
He had temporarily overcome that limitation earlier by harnessing the volcano's Fire spiritual qi — but he couldn't rely on such circumstances every time.
To wield diverse powers unbound by his environment, he needed a separate supplementary means.
Cheon Woo-jin pressed the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom against Sama Mun's lower abdomen.
Then he could sense the presence of the Golden Core within the dantian.
Sama Mun's Golden Core was already dead — but it was merely deactivated, suffering no actual damage.
If a rootless commoner devoured this Golden Core, they would obtain a Five Elements Spiritual Root.
And Cheon Woo-jin… could use the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom to steal that power.
Shunk!
The Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom, driven into Sama Mun's dantian, pierced straight through the Golden Core.
The moment it did, he felt something fierce being drawn out.
Writhe… writhe.
The blade of the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom squirmed as if it were alive.
It was said to be a Dharma Artifact made from the poison dragon Gal Roe, offered up as a sacrifice. Perhaps the blade itself was the dragon's body.
Though it evoked a snake more than a dragon. Like a serpent attempting to swallow its prey whole, one might say.
Then, upon the writhing surface of the blade, five small beads emerged.
At first they were transparent, but color gradually filled each one.
Blue, red, yellow, white, black… the colors of the five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
Just as he was trying to grasp what this signified, a stir of movement came from the direction of the hermitage.
Skitter, skitter.
A scorpion the size of a house.
Its body was a pale yellow, sandy in color, and its tail was disproportionately thick for its size.
They say scorpions that live in dry lands have large tails and potent venom.
This was the chamber of Sama Mun, former sect master of the Myriad Poison Six Evils Sect.
He had surely kept a number of venomous insects here.
Had it survived by absorbing the island's spiritual qi even after Sama Mun left this chamber, growing to that enormous size?
While Sama Mun was here, it must have hidden in fear — but sensing his presence vanish, has it come out to hunt?
Ssswish!
The house-sized scorpion lunged at Cheon Woo-jin.
Alternating its eight legs, it charged at a terrifying speed.
This was a creature Sama Mun had raised — one sting from its barb would be anything but harmless.
And its exoskeleton looked thick, so ordinary attacks would hardly leave a mark.
Meanwhile, Cheon Woo-jin had not yet fully recovered the strength he had expended fighting Gi Shin-ryeo.
There was only one way to handle this.
Cheon Woo-jin gripped the Tamryeong Yeonhonggeom with both hands.
Enduring the energy that burrowed through the apertures of his palms and gouged out his meridians, he drew forth a power that his own level would never have sanctioned.
In that instant, a headache struck as if the blood vessels in his brain were bursting.
But it lasted only a moment.
The miracle needed to transcend one's limits would lie beyond that instant.
The venomous scorpion charged, its colossal tail raised high with its barb poised to strike.
Glaring at that fearsome sight, Cheon Woo-jin at last unleashed the power of the Dharma Artifact.