Hooked Something Big
A furious roar exploded from within the pitch-black clouds. "Who the hell are you!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator clutched his stomach, unable to contain his rage as he thrashed about. Being suddenly stabbed in the gut was more than enough reason to lose his temper.
"I'll find you and make you die screaming!" Even as the Foundation Establishment cultivator gathered his spiritual energy, he spread his divine sense in every direction. He meticulously swept through the black clouds, determined to locate the one who had pierced him.
Baek Cheong remained perfectly still inside the concealment formation, holding her breath. The edge of the probing divine sense brushed right past her hiding spot. Yet the Foundation Establishment cultivator didn't detect her position at all.
Keep searching all you want. It's pointless.
The strike from earlier had only succeeded because she'd exploited a momentary opening. Given the massive gap in their realms, she hadn't let her guard down for even a second while observing his movements. After flailing his divine sense around for a long time, the Foundation Establishment cultivator finally stopped. Having caught nothing despite his efforts, he seemed thoroughly agitated.
Soon he was clutching his abdomen and breathing harshly. Blood seeped between his fingers, staining his robe a dark crimson. The robe he wore was no ordinary garment. A cursory glance revealed it was a dharma treasure capable of defending against second-rank spells. Yet the Ilseong Sword had pierced it as easily as stabbing through tofu.
"It can't be Cheon-un!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator seemed unable to believe what had happened. Whoever had pierced his robe in a single strike must be at least his equal, or so he assumed. His eyes soon gleamed as if he'd realized something.
"There's no way someone like him could pierce my robe." While tending to his wound, the Foundation Establishment cultivator scanned his surroundings. Then he lowered his voice, as if testing the waters. "Is this the work of the sect leader's disciple?!"
At this, Baek Cheong blinked. She was neither Cheon-un nor the sect leader's disciple—just a mere Qi Condensation cultivator.
He's really barking up the wrong tree.
Yet the Foundation Establishment cultivator had arbitrarily pegged her as some incredible expert. That single strike through the robe had made him imagine some lofty superior. Because of this misunderstanding, he believed the Biun Sect itself had intervened and couldn't recklessly use his escape talisman.
Well, thanks for that.
Of course, she had zero intention of opening her mouth to clear up the misunderstanding. Speaking up carelessly might instantly expose the exaggerated aura she'd carefully cultivated. Besides, she wasn't in any position to chat leisurely right now.
The longer I drag this out, the better for me.
Baek Cheong carefully channeled spiritual energy into the hand holding the Five Elements Tokens. The clouds covering the area looked impressive but were ultimately hollow. They were nothing more than a first-rank formation she'd modified from the Cloud Illusion Array to suit her own style. If the Foundation Establishment cultivator got serious and pushed through, it could collapse pathetically.
Perfectly.
She focused on controlling the formation so the clouds wouldn't disperse. When no presence responded, the Foundation Establishment cultivator raised his voice again.
"Show yourself fairly and squarely!" Along with his words, he violently drew up his spiritual energy. The condensed power transformed into a second-rank spell that poured indiscriminately toward the clouds. Everywhere the spell touched was mercilessly destroyed.
The black clouds were torn apart in all directions. Yet into the empty spaces where they'd been ripped away, new clouds relentlessly surged in. The endless sea of clouds filled every gap, turning pitch black once more. This was thanks to Baek Cheong using the incoming clouds to naturally make it look like the original ones.
Watching this unfold, the Foundation Establishment cultivator's expression gradually hardened. Even after scattering them with spells, the clouds kept surging back endlessly. It was far from ordinary. From Baek Cheong's perspective, he didn't seem to suspect the clouds were an illusion. He appeared to interpret it as some natural phenomenon created by the Cloud Sea itself rather than a formation's trickery.
At least the deception worked for now.
Baek Cheong let out a small sigh of relief internally. The crude first-rank formation looked convincing thanks to the endless sea of clouds. Soon the Foundation Establishment cultivator began looking around, searching for a way out. While his eyes scanned for an escape route, his mouth kept talking nonstop.
"After all, no Golden Core cultivators can enter the Cloud Sea Secret Realm!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator continued in a voice full of confidence. "There's an agreement with the Demon King who controls these clouds!"
At this unfamiliar information, Baek Cheong perked up her ears. She'd already heard rumors that a fierce yao beast lurked deep within the Cloud Sea. But she hadn't known there was an agreement that even Golden Core cultivators couldn't breach.
So that's why they only send in juniors.
Baek Cheong organized her thoughts while recalling what she'd picked up. However, this wasn't the most pressing issue to dwell on right now.
"Therefore, if I fight with the intent to die, you won't get away unscathed either!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator raised his voice in a threat.
Hearing the threat, Baek Cheong couldn't help but frown. It wasn't something she could dismiss as mere bluff—there was something unsettling about it. If he went all out in a desperate final struggle, things could get dangerous. As a Qi Condensation cultivator, facing a Foundation Establishment expert head-on carried considerable risk.
Still, I should be able to subdue him if I play it right.
She decided this was an opportunity to lure him into letting his guard down. She deliberately loosened her control over the formation, causing the clouds to waver and thin out. There was no way the Foundation Establishment cultivator would miss such an opening.
"Idiot!" Exclaiming in triumph, the Foundation Establishment cultivator gathered every last bit of his remaining spiritual energy. Desperate to carve an escape route, he squeezed out everything he had to unleash a second-rank offensive spell. Flames erupted from his fingertips and burned the clouds entirely.
The scorching blaze consumed even the clouds that had been surging in, leaving nothing behind. Soon the black clouds vanished, brightly opening up a path. The moment the way forward appeared, the Foundation Establishment cultivator launched himself toward it. He didn't spare a single glance at the Qi Condensation cultivator beside him. Abandoning his companion, he activated an escape technique alone.
But just as he executed the technique, the Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly froze. A bluish sword was flying toward him, slicing through the clouds. The Ilseong Sword, which had been circling within the clouds all along, had struck the fleeing man from behind.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator urgently pulled out his second-rank dharma treasure, the Fire Scale Fan. He unfurled it fully and swung it fiercely at the incoming sword. A heatwave carrying flames spiraled out from the fan. The scorching gale, hotter than ordinary fire, surged forward as if to swallow the sword in one go.
Yet the sword paid the heatwave no mind and pierced straight through. In the face of the sword intent dwelling within the Ilseong Sword, even the flames of a second-rank dharma treasure were useless. In the end, the blade sliced deep into the Foundation Establishment cultivator's shoulder.
"Guh!" The successive attacks made the Foundation Establishment cultivator swallow a short scream. Only after being struck by the sword twice in an instant did his face turn deathly pale. He finally seemed to accept that his opponent was far above him. Moreover, the fact that the last strike had deliberately avoided his vital points couldn't be a coincidence. If the attacker had wanted to kill him, they could have taken his life long ago.
The repeated avoidance of fatal blows meant they had questions to ask.
He's quick on the uptake, at least.
Baek Cheong retrieved the Ilseong Sword and let it float within the clouds once more. She had never intended to kill him in the first place. If she wanted to extract information, it was better to keep him alive and intact.
As expected, the Foundation Establishment cultivator urgently shouted toward the newly formed black clouds.
"I admit defeat, so please stop!" Having lost his momentum, the Foundation Establishment cultivator raised both hands. On the surface he acted as if he'd cleanly surrendered, even bowing his head. But to Baek Cheong, something felt off. While pretending to submit, he was secretly glancing around for any openings. His true intention of looking for a chance to escape while feigning compliance was blatantly obvious.
Sigh, scheming right to the very end.
Baek Cheong clicked her tongue internally. If she hadn't induced carelessness and succeeded in the surprise attack, subduing him would have been highly unlikely. Of course, since her life was on the line, she hadn't taken things lightly. Still, this was her first real combat experience, so her heart couldn't help but race with nerves.
At least he seems ready to answer questions.
Naturally, she had no intention of revealing herself directly. If a mere Qi Condensation cultivator showed her face, the inflated reputation she'd built would collapse instantly. Instead, she subtly summoned the Five Elements puppets she'd hidden within the Cloud Sea. If she was going to project power, she might as well do it convincingly until the end.
Otherworldly figures from the lower realms would be best.
Baek Cheong diligently searched her memories for suitable illusions to cast over the puppets. She recalled some illustrations she'd seen on Mumeongbang before. The pictures posted by the users were all filled with extraordinary individuals. Their appearances and attire were so distinctive that once seen, they were hard to forget. They were so unusual that even strangers would flinch at the sight.
This should do.
Baek Cheong selected figures from those illustrations and overlaid them onto each puppet. As the black puppet emerged from the Cloud Sea, it slowly walked forward in the form of one such figure. The remaining puppets followed, each transformed into different extraordinary individuals.
The sudden appearance of these mysterious experts emerging one after another from the Cloud Sea made the Foundation Establishment cultivator flinch. Since they all looked like unknown cultivators, it was natural for him to feel overwhelmed.
Now for the voices too.
Baek Cheong controlled the puppets with satisfaction. She pushed the illusion formation to its limit to create auditory hallucinations. She generated phantom sounds as if one of the puppets was speaking. Instead of her own voice, a deep, unfamiliar tone created by the formation resonated powerfully.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator froze solid at the abrupt question. Surrounded by these unknown experts, he'd been stunned into silence for a while. Regaining his senses belatedly, he swallowed dryly.
"Th-that guy knows." He pointed at the Qi Condensation cultivator he'd abandoned earlier. With a meaningful glance, he signaled for the other to answer directly.
The Qi Condensation cultivator stepped forward with a somewhat displeased expression. He clearly didn't like having to follow the orders of someone who had just abandoned him. Nevertheless, he bowed his head with extreme politeness.
"This junior is Yun Yeong-geun."
At the straightforward answer, Baek Cheong tilted her head. Yun Yeong-geun was a mutated spiritual root derived from the Water Spirit Root. It was a spiritual root with considerable talent for matters involving clouds rather than water.
Ah, so that's how they tracked the traces left by the Cloud Spiritual Pearl.
The puzzle of the unsettling pursuit that had bothered her finally made sense. It seemed they'd used this cloud-affinity spiritual root to follow the traces left behind as the Cloud Spiritual Pearl absorbed the clouds. But something felt strange when she mulled over his words. A cultivator with a cloud-affinity spiritual root should have been someone the Biun Sect would eagerly recruit with open arms. It was peculiar that someone possessing such a root wasn't actually from the Biun Sect.
Baek Cheong used the puppet's mouth to generate another phantom voice.
"Th-that's..." The Qi Condensation cultivator flinched and stammered at the question. He glanced at the Foundation Establishment cultivator, hesitating over whether he should answer. However, the Foundation Establishment cultivator kept his head bowed as if he hadn't heard anything. He had completely shut his mouth, as though refusing to get involved in troublesome questions.
Having lost his support, the Qi Condensation cultivator finally swallowed a sigh. Left with no other choice, he opened his mouth.
"...We are from the Eastern Continent's Sansu Alliance."
At the mention of the Eastern Continent, Baek Cheong narrowed her eyes. It was a place with a major sect but no Soul Formation cultivators, yet somehow the Sansu Alliance there had two. But why would someone from the Eastern Continent be stirring up trouble in the Biun Sect's secret realm?
This... did I just hook something bigger than expected?