Thunder Dragon and Storm Tiger
The thunderous BOOM shook the heavens.
A massive dragon formed from the raised hand and the lightning crashing down from above. At the same time, the dark clouds that gathered drew every eye in the area.
The moment he pointed with that same raised hand, a colossal spear of lightning slammed down in a blinding flash, turning a vast stretch of ground into a thunderous hell.
- KUUUUUOOOOH…!!
With the thunder dragon roaring nearby, he summoned the Wind-Cloud Spirit Tiger.
A tiger born of rapidly condensed clouds and storm winds from a single exhaled breath let out a deafening roar the instant it materialized. Every yao below the Demonic Soul stage staggered violently. The weakest among them had their heads explode outright or collapsed with blood pouring from their ears.
And so it began.
With a thunder dragon and a storm tiger guarding him like loyal escorts, Han Yujin started slaughtering every yao in sight.
Those at a distance were sniped with Pure Yang Extreme Flame Bullet Thread. Those who drew close were crushed or squeezed to pulp by Origin Power Great Hand. It was a terrifying sight.
Even amid the chaos, the Six Paths of Reincarnation divine ability continued radiating behind him like a halo, making it nearly impossible for enemies to look directly at him. Anyone who tried was instantly swept away by an overwhelming storm of emotions that was almost impossible to endure.
- Enough—!!
Of course, such overwhelming presence was bound to draw attention. Finally, a Dharma Soul stage yao landed on the ramparts and blocked his path.
It resembled an enormous toad. The small, ornate palace of gold and jade resting on its back was both bizarre and alarming. It was clearly the creature’s dharma treasure.
More importantly, the aura it emitted was that of a fully matured mid-stage Dharma Soul practitioner. In human cultivation terms, that meant mid-stage Core Formation.
- A Core Formation expert, yet you dare bully your juniors?!
“Was there ever such a rule in this war? All I saw were Demonic Soul yao devouring Initiation stage human cultivators left and right.”
As he spoke, Han Yujin continued observing the creature. Despite the Six Paths of Reincarnation still being active, it seemed largely unaffected—most likely thanks to the glowing aura emitted by the miniature palace on its back.
Right then—
- Wait… Now that I look closer, you’re not Core Formation at all!
The toad had finally sensed Han Yujin’s true level and, for some reason, flew into a rage.
- A mere Dharma Soul insect dares to mock me?!
“You’re the one who assumed wrong and now you’re calling it mockery? Is your head missing a few screws?”
He didn’t get the chance to taunt it further. The toad’s demonic power exploded across its body, and its tongue shot forward at terrifying speed.
CRACKLE—!
Han Yujin dodged using Thunder Escape Technique accompanied by a burst of lightning, but the tongue twisted as if it had anticipated the move and chased after him. At the same time, toad-headed demonic soldiers formed of golden and green light began pouring out from the palace dharma treasure on its back.
- I’ll mince you into pieces—!!
The intensity of its mental voice was almost enough to cause dizziness.
The swarm of toad-headed soldiers fired arrows at high speed or charged with spears held forward in suicidal assaults. Individually their attacks weren’t particularly strong, but their sheer numbers made them overwhelming.
THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD—!!
“Aaaargh…!”
“Ugh!”
The human cultivators below Dharma Soul stage who happened to be standing where Han Yujin had just dodged were riddled with arrows or killed outright. Unfortunately, he had no time to worry about them.
Dodging the rain of arrows and the charging spearmen, deflecting and blocking them with Origin Power Great Hand already took everything he had. If he stayed purely on the defensive, he would eventually be worn down to nothing. He needed to look for an opening, which left him with even less breathing room.
- Slippery little bastard!
On top of that, the toad yao itself began casting spells.
Arrows steeped in a chillingly toxic aura flew toward him, each one manifesting eerie, ghostly faces. They clearly possessed considerable spiritual intelligence, for they chased Han Yujin relentlessly no matter how many times he used Thunder Escape Technique.
In the end, he had no choice but to intercept them with Pure Yang Extreme Flame Bullet Thread. He also tried to burn away the toad’s persistently pursuing tongue, but even a direct hit only managed to force it back slightly.
If not for the thunder dragon and storm tiger circling him protectively, he wouldn’t have even had this much leeway.
The desperate defensive battle continued for a while longer.
GRRRROOOAAAR—!!
The Wind-Cloud Spirit Tiger detonated the very power that formed its body, creating a momentary gap in the downpour of attacks.
Han Yujin seized that instant of open space, channeling the thunder dragon’s power as he unleashed a rapid series of Thunder Escape Techniques to burst through. Immediately afterward, he swung Origin Power Great Hand toward the toad yao.
Into that massive hand he poured the power of Extreme Cold Profound Ice Water and the thunder dragon. A blinding flash erupted alongside an overwhelming sense of crushing weight.
What appeared to block it was an illusory palace rampart.
CRAAAAAASH—!!!
A deafening roar swallowed every other sound in the area.
An invisible shockwave spread outward in a sphere, carving wide cracks across the rampart floor where they stood and completely repelling the weaker combatants and the aftershocks of various spells nearby.
Yet despite being partially damaged, the translucent palace wall did not shatter.
- You…! That power isn’t from Dharma Soul! You’re Core Formation! How dare you mock me?!
There was no time to mock the creature for once again jumping to the wrong conclusion and throwing a tantrum.
Its tongue shot forward again with a mental shout, and the demonic energy pouring from its body grew even denser. A terrifying dark-green toxic swamp began spreading outward.
The moment the Golden Light Radiance he had deployed collided with the tongue, instead of the expected impact, an absurd adhesive force locked his body in place.
Every attempt to use escape techniques failed completely against the unnatural stickiness of that tongue. In that brief window, he was swallowed by the spreading swamp of dark-green poison.
KRRRRR—!!
The Golden Light Radiance reinforced with Dharma-Breaking Thunder Wall roared continuously, fiercely burning away the poison. However, the demonic soldiers empowered by the toxic swamp focused their attacks on him, draining his dharma power at a terrifying rate.
It was fortunate that his defense hadn’t been breached in a single blow, but if he couldn’t escape, death was inevitable.
At that moment, Han Yujin suddenly remembered the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle. He pulled it out and aimed it forward.
◈ Absorbs the blood essence of enemies
◈ Converts it into spiritual power
SSSSSSSSHT—!
The instant he aimed it, countless black threads shot straight out of the bottle. They mercilessly pierced the toad yao’s tongue and burrowed in every direction.
GUUUUOOOOOOH…!!
Instead of a mental shout, the toad let out a heavy, pain-filled cry. It hurriedly retracted its tongue. The black threads of the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle clung stubbornly, forcing the creature to stop spreading its poison. It leaped backward, putting a considerable distance between them.
- You were hiding such a vicious dharma treasure!
‘This thing… its power is…?!’
Han Yujin was just as shocked as the toad yao. After all, even Pure Yang Extreme Flame Bullet Thread had failed to do anything to its tongue earlier.
At the same time, he naturally came to a realization.
The Five Elements Ring was no longer sufficient to support his power now that he could display Core Formation level strength. No matter how high-grade it was, it was still only a dharma tool.
Once he truly reached Core Formation, this “lack of proper equipment” problem would only grow worse.
CLINK—!
While dodging the continued barrage from the demonic soldiers using escape techniques, he felt a considerable amount of liquid sloshing inside the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle. It seemed the short exchange had already drained a fair amount of blood essence from the mid-stage Dharma Soul yao.
He continued dodging what he could and blocking what he must while aiming the bottle at the swarm of soldiers.
SSSSHT—!
The countless black threads shot out and in an instant pierced and tore apart dozens of demonic soldiers. This was no mere destruction—it even absorbed the spiritual essence that formed them.
It was overwhelmingly easier and more effective than dealing with enemies using mid-grade Five Elements spells!
‘So this is why cultivators stake their lives on dharma treasures!’
It looked like he would need to seriously reconsider what kind of dharma treasure he would create once he reached Core Formation.
Just as he thought he was finally turning the tide with the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle—
- That doesn’t look like an ordinary dharma treasure, does it?
A sly-sounding mental voice came from behind, accompanied by a murderous aura exploding at his back.
He amplified the Golden Light Radiance and Dharma-Breaking Thunder Wall, used Thunder Escape Technique, and took evasive action—doing everything he possibly could. But from the moment the voice had spoken, the enemy had already seized an opportunity that would not be missed. If that hadn’t been the case, it would never have revealed its presence.
An attack completely different in nature from the toad yao’s—focused into a single lethal instant rather than an endless barrage—pierced Han Yujin’s back and exploded his heart.
- Ha…! So you really weren’t Core Formation after all?
Along with the attacker’s bewildered mental voice, Han Yujin vomited blood and died.
In the next instant.
His form scattered into violet dreamlight, then reappeared a short distance away completely unharmed, once again aiming the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle.
The enemy was a bat-like yao whose body was more than half submerged in flowing shadows.
- What…?
The creature seemed momentarily stunned to see its supposedly dead target revive perfectly. However, it melted into the shadows faster than the black threads could reach and vanished.
‘Where the hell are our Core Formation cultivators?! What are they doing?!’
Having failed to counterattack, Han Yujin inwardly cursed as he dodged the renewed assault from the toad-headed soldiers.
It felt incredibly unfair. A mere Dharma Soul cultivator was being double-teamed by two mid-stage-or-higher Dharma Soul yao with no support whatsoever.
The combination was extremely difficult to handle. One kept him distracted with an endless barrage of attacks, while the other hid in the shadows waiting for a single lethal strike.
- Hehehe…! Not Core Formation, you say? Yet you fight this well? Are you perhaps a true transmission disciple of Taeqing Palace?
The toad yao’s mental voice was thick with greed. It was clearly coveting the spoils that would naturally come from killing an unusual opponent.
- That red bottle is mine!
- …Fine. In exchange, his flesh and soul belong to me!
- We’ll look over the rest and divide it fairly. Kihihihik…!
- Hehehehehe…!
The fact that they showed no concern about intervention from human Core Formation cultivators meant there had to be a reason. Han Yujin sighed inwardly.
It seemed the experience of slaying a mid-stage Dharma Soul yao would have to wait for another day.
There was a limit to how many times he could resurrect using the Monghwan Yusim divine ability. The limit became even stricter once the opponent had already witnessed the method.
The dharma power consumption was enormous, and it required a cooldown period of sorts. If he was attacked continuously, he would eventually be overwhelmed.
After selecting his spoils in the waiting space and waking up in reality, he calmly organized the results of this consecutive visit to the Heavenly Origin Star.
He had recovered the Okro Wine Bottle that had been consumed as material for the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle. He had learned the basics of linked techniques and talisman arts. He had confirmed the current extent of his power and properly experienced the might of the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle.
Reaffirming the importance and necessity of dharma treasures was also a valuable gain.
Jjik! Jjik—!
Mu-yong, who had been sleeping beside him, woke up and made her presence known. He reflexively pulled her into his arms and stroked her as he continued thinking.
The benefits of animal therapy made his mind feel remarkably clearer.
‘If it had stayed one-on-one, I might have won.’
At the very least, the possibility had existed. Even if he had lost, it wouldn’t have been an easy defeat.
Not against a fully matured mid-stage Dharma Soul yao that possessed a dharma treasure.
Which meant…
‘There’s a good chance I can defeat that bear cub from the Primordial Forest.’
Although it had emitted an aura at late-stage Core Formation level, the creature could only wield power similar to divine abilities. It possessed neither dharma treasures nor the ability to use proper spells.
If he found it first and began the fight with a surprise attack, his odds of victory would rise even higher. The same would likely apply to the pterosaur.
‘And since I have plenty of Karma, I won’t need to leave any of the spoils behind.’
The more he thought about it, the more perfectly all the conditions aligned.
Perhaps because of the recent defeat.
He now felt an intensely powerful urge to reach Core Formation, and since there seemed to be no reason he couldn’t, it became even harder to hold back.
He had already used his awakening ability twice in a row, but so what?
He would simply sleep the entire day away.
“Let’s go, Mu-yong.”
It was time to reach Core Formation.
Despite having just woken up, he lay back down on the bed.