Chapter 47
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47
The moment he saw him, Ise knew. This was the Fierce Beast he’d been searching for.
There was no specific reason—just the sharply honed instinct of a ghost hunter.
Ise committed the cultivator’s appearance to memory, creating a mental wanted poster.
The man appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in an ordinary Daoist robe. His only distinct features were a slightly slanted gaze and a mole above his left lip.
He wore an amiable smile, but his lips were pressed together in a thin line. It was a painted-on expression.
And whether by conscious design or not, he wore not a single Dharma artifact. It was as if he were broadcasting to the world that he was utterly harmless.
The instant their eyes met, Ise swiftly gauged the man’s realm.
6-Star Qi Refining—the same as Ise himself. If it came to blows, they would be evenly matched.
This was the highest cultivation realm Ise had ever encountered among rogue cultivators. An uncommon level for one.
Most rogue cultivators who roamed the secular world were stuck in the early stages of Qi Refining. This man had likely never encountered a cultivator of a truly high realm. That was why he had been running wild, ignorant of true fear—daring to hunt and plunder fellow cultivators, even disciples of the Great Martial Dao.
However, an instinct was merely an instinct. To use force, he needed reasonable suspicion, if not concrete evidence.
Ise began his performance. He slipped into the role of an ordinary cultivator meeting an unfamiliar senior: suitably cautious, and suitably appetizing.
“Yes, that’s right… but how did you know?”
“Haha. No need to be on guard, Fellow Daoist. I simply wish to trade. You’ve been going around practically singing about needing a defensive Dharma artifact, so word naturally reached my ears.”
“Ah…”
Ise let his guard down a notch, replacing it with a faint glimmer of excitement.
“Senior… do you happen to possess a defensive Dharma artifact?”
“I do. Unfortunately, not on me. I came out today to buy, not to sell. My more valuable goods are stored at the Haeun Inn branch in Ajin County. Why don’t we go there together to make the trade?”
It was a blatant attempt to lure him into a trap. To make his act more convincing, Ise couldn’t take the bait too easily.
He put on a wary expression once more and hesitated.
“May I first ask what kind of artifact it is?”
“Fair enough. But I have three types of defensive Dharma artifacts. I need to know your budget to recommend the best fit, don’t you think?”
“Three defensive Dharma artifacts…?”
Ise let out a gasp of admiration, even as his suspicion deepened. The man was blatantly trying to gauge his wealth. He needed to know how much capital Ise had to determine if he was worth hunting.
“My budget is around three hundred spirit stones. If it’s a truly exceptional artifact, I’m prepared to pay more.”
Something glinted deep within the cultivator’s eyes. It was a momentary shift—so subtle it was hard to tell if it was greed, as the man was remarkably adept at maintaining his composure.
“Then the Golden Supreme Parasol would be perfect. Despite its name, it’s a shield-type artifact, not an umbrella. It’s sturdy enough to withstand an attack from an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. It usually trades for around three hundred fifty spirit stones, but I’ll let you have it for three hundred. It’s not often I meet a cultivator carrying enough spirit stones to afford it, so I’m giving you a discount.”
“Actually, a shield-type artifact is exactly what I needed…”
“Oh, really? Well, isn’t that splendid! It seems artifacts truly have their designated owners, after all.”
The rogue cultivator gave a friendly laugh, making a fuss about how this must be destiny.
He really did need a shield; he still hadn’t replaced the one he lost to the cultivator from the Cheolyang Lightning Sect. Had he not been on a mission, the offer would have been quite tempting. Given how fluently the man rattled off the details, the artifact likely existed. However, there was no telling whether he actually possessed it or was just using it as a plausible lure.
Since he remembers the faces of the initiate disciples, he might have also figured out my preferred equipment.
Before losing them to the Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator, Ise used to carry a small axe and a shield on either hip. The man might have remembered seeing them.
Ise feigned hesitation before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but following a senior I’ve only just met seems a bit…”
“My, you’re quite the cautious Fellow Daoist,” the cultivator laughed softly. “I understand. Caution is a necessary virtue. How about this, then? Let’s set a time tomorrow and meet inside Haeun Inn. If I recall, there should be a Great Martial Dao outpost nearby. That should ease your anxiety, wouldn’t it?”
As he spoke, he pointed a finger at Ise’s Great Martial Dao robe.
Mentioning the Great Martial Dao outpost was meant to put him at ease, but for Ise, it was the statement that turned his suspicion into conviction.
He even knows the location of the Outer Gate outpost.
Ise pretended to deliberate for a moment before answering with a look of firm resolve. “Very well. I will see you at Haeun Inn at the start of the Hour of the Monkey.”
“A wise decision. I’ll tell you now, I won’t discount it by a single coin more, so be sure to bring the agreed-upon amount of spirit stones.”
“Yes, of course.”
His opponent was playing his part to the hilt, despite having no intention of selling anything. He was shockingly meticulous—just like Ise himself. No wonder the cultivators of the Great Martial Dao had found him so difficult to deal with.
Ise added a bit of flattery to stroke the man’s ego. “Thanks to you, Senior, a heavy burden has been lifted from my shoulders. Thank you.”
He then extended his hand as if to seal the deal with a handshake.
“It’s a good thing for me, too, being able to pass on a cherished artifact for its proper value. I quite like your straightforward nature. If we meet again, let’s build a good relationship.”
The cultivator clasped his hand.
In that instant, the Lingering Scent Powder Ise had already applied to his own palm transferred onto the man’s. The man, none the wiser, patted Ise on the shoulder. The powder transferred so easily because Ise had already warmed it with his body heat.
“See you tomorrow.”
Only after the rogue cultivator turned and walked away did Ise slowly move off, melting back into the crowd.
He had confirmed the man’s appearance and realm. Now, all that remained was to figure out how to hunt the bastard down—and how to turn reasonable suspicion into solid proof.
Ise recalled the details of the case.
The Fierce Beast was well-versed in the habits of the Great Martial Dao's initiate disciples. They rarely left the training center except for missions—specifically, right at the start of one. The bodies had all been found just beyond the Great Martial Dao's territory, after the disciples had descended from Cheongsan.
In short, he stayed in Cheongsangyeong to gather advance intelligence on his targets. Then, on market days, he would select a suitable initiate disciple who was leaving on a mission. Finally, he would secretly stalk them beyond the Great Martial Dao’s territory and murder them.
It was a hunt.
The bastard was hunting the Great Martial Dao’s initiate disciples using a method much like their own.
He’ll try to ambush me the moment I step outside Cheongsan.
He's a rogue cultivator with multiple Dharma artifacts. He'll be more dangerous than his realm suggests.
However, as long as I have the Twin Sickle Spirit Domain Uprising, I'm unlikely to lose in a direct battle.
What I need to be wary of is poison or other artifacts that can disable the body or mind.
I need to make him want to conserve his resources. If I appear completely defenseless, he’ll judge me as easy prey and think a simple ambush is enough.
In that single moment, I will turn the tables and hunt him.
He felt no eyes on him. The crowd made it difficult to pinpoint the rogue cultivator's presence. Yet he was surely being followed. It was a deduction bordering on absolute certainty.
Without relaxing his guard, Ise stepped into a nearby tavern, throwing in a bit of acting by glancing nervously at his surroundings. As soon as he entered his room, he unstoppered the vial of Scent-Tracking Water. He had to test the performance of the Lingering Scent Powder and Scent-Tracking Water before the bastard got too far.
The grayish-white liquid sloshed inside the small vial, emitting a floral fragrance.
He took a sip. A cool energy seeped down his throat, followed by a sweet taste. Immediately after, a sweet fragrance began to waft into his senses—the exact same floral scent as the Scent-Tracking Water he had just swallowed. It was a remarkable item that allowed him to gauge direction and distance by smell alone.
Confirming that the Dharma artifact worked as intended, Ise tried to familiarize himself with the sensation of scent-tracking.
At that moment, however, goosebumps erupted across his skin.
The scent was pointing to three distinct locations.
One was outside the tavern, a fair distance away in the direction he had come from—the Fierce Beast’s location.
Another was on his right palm—the residue left from transferring the Lingering Scent Powder to the Fierce Beast.
And the last one… was right on his own shoulder.
Why was there Lingering Scent Powder here?
Ise recalled the moment before they parted, when the rogue cultivator had patted his shoulder.
To his dismay, they had simultaneously applied Lingering Scent Powder to each other.
…He has the same Dharma artifact.
This was how the Fierce Beast had tracked the initiate disciples. If the merchant who sold him the Lingering Scent Powder and Scent-Tracking Water restocked the same inventory every market day, it wouldn’t have been difficult for the Fierce Beast to procure it as well.
The problem is whether the bastard has realized it.
His original plan was likely to follow the scent of the Lingering Scent Powder and ambush Ise as soon as he left Cheongsangyeong. However, the moment he realized Ise had also smeared Lingering Scent Powder on him, a sense of unease would creep in.
Why did a 6-Star Qi Refining kid smear Lingering Scent Powder on me?
Is it a trap?
Did he approach me on purpose?
He would inevitably have such doubts. The man was a cautious hunter. It was far too optimistic to hope he would naively assume, ‘He must have just had some on his hand when we shook.’
He would definitely become suspicious and pull back.
As he sorted through his thoughts, Ise kicked open the door. At that very moment, the scent of the Lingering Scent Powder, which had been holding at a fixed distance, began to recede rapidly.
The bastard had realized.
Executing Dokkaebi Footwork, Ise sprinted after him at full speed.