I Possessed a Cultivator Destined to Die at the Hands of the Protagonist - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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38.
Continuing a ritual destined to fail was nothing but a waste of time.
I made my way to Bikyun Pavilion to meet Baek Un-jin.
“Say it again.”
“I wish to perform the Ritual of the Heavenly Thousand Silver Names. Please grant me permission.”
Bewilderment flickered across Baek Un-jin’s face—a man rarely caught off guard.
Eun Hui-gyeom, who had followed me, tilted his head in confusion.
“Sister, the Ritual of the Heavenly Thousand Silver Names is performed when advancing from the 9th to the 10th rank. You’re only at the 6th rank—how could you possibly perform it?”
Eun Hui-gyeom’s reasoning was sound: even if I performed the ritual, it would yield no effect whatsoever.
But my thoughts diverged from his.
“I intend to break through ranks seven through ten simultaneously.”
“That’s absolute nonsense.”
Eun Hui-gyeom shook his head firmly, insisting such a thing was impossible.
Yet I knew from the original work of someone who had succeeded in advancement using precisely this method.
Hyeon Cheon-myeong-nyeo.
A disciple of the Hyeon Cheon Monastery, she had experienced the same phenomenon of being denied advancement when ascending from the 6th to the 7th rank, just as I had.
The method she employed to break through that barrier was none other than the Ritual of the Heavenly Thousand Silver Names.
‘Master must have been considering it as well.’
From the moment my advancement was blocked, Baek Un-jin surely sensed something had gone wrong.
His silence on the matter stemmed from understanding just how reckless it would be to perform the Ritual of the Heavenly Thousand Silver Names at the 6th rank.
“I forbid it.”
“Why?”
“The Ritual of the Heavenly Thousand Silver Names is performed when advancing from the 9th to the 10th rank. You, who have not yet reached the 7th rank, are in no position to conduct it.”
“I believe it can be performed.”
“Where did you learn such a thing?”
“From ancient texts.”
I could not reveal that my knowledge came from the original work, so I offered a vague explanation about information obtained from the Cheonghua Library.
From the 9th to the 10th rank.
The advancement ritual that transformed a single digit into double digits differed fundamentally from all other advancement ceremonies.
Most advancement rituals involved making offerings to the heavens and receiving recognition of one’s qualifications.
But the Ritual of the Heavenly Thousand Silver Names was an entirely different affair—a ceremony of awakening to one’s own destiny, not the heavens’ approval.
“I believe someone is deliberately obstructing my advancement.”
“Such phenomena are extraordinarily rare, but they do occur, or so I’ve heard.”
Baek Un-jin’s expression turned bitter.
He had only heard of such things in legend; he had never imagined his own disciple would fall victim to such circumstances.
And the fates of those disciples whose advancement from the 6th to the 7th rank had been blocked were invariably the same.
They spent their entire lives trapped at the 6th rank, dying without ever breaking free.
The heavens themselves refused to acknowledge their ascension.
I clenched my fists and met Baek Un-jin’s gaze directly.
“I have no intention of surrendering here.”
Heaven? In the end, they’re merely monks who achieved ascension first, are they not?
I despise having my fate obstructed by their choices.
‘Whoever this person is, I will have my revenge later, without fail.’
I didn’t forget to sharpen my blade within my heart.
In any case, the Muchen Eunmyeong Ceremony was the only advancement ritual that no one could interfere with.
“It’s dangerous.”
“I know.”
“You don’t seem to understand. Why do you think there’s an order to advancement ceremonies?”
“….”
“Because those who covet power beyond their station will inevitably suffer harm.”
“Then you’re telling me to stop here?”
Baek Un-jin had no response to my rebuttal.
It was only much later that he opened his mouth again.
“Dangerous means that if you fail, you could cease to exist. And during the Muchen Eunmyeong Ceremony, no one can help you.”
“I understand.”
Because no one could intervene, it was a trial I had to overcome entirely by myself.
To be honest, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t afraid.
The thought of undergoing the Muchen Eunmyeong Ceremony had occurred to me earlier than this.
But because I didn’t want to, I underwent over one hundred advancement ceremonies.
Today made it abundantly clear.
‘He has no intention of promoting me by any means.’
He was drawing a line, saying that living as Yoo Yeon-seo, who should have died originally, was sufficient.
“Even if I were to cease to exist, my life is my own to decide. That is my path of cultivation.”
I utterly despised having my fate toyed with by another.
“So please grant me permission.”
I knelt and bowed my head.
I didn’t want to stop here.
“Raise your head.”
“….”
“I haven’t failed to consider that method myself, but it’s far too dangerous.”
“That is….”
“Still, if you must go, then that too is fate. Sometimes in the pursuit of cultivation, there comes a point where one cannot turn back. Wait one month.”
“One month?”
“How could I simply allow my disciple to risk their life for advancement without preparation?”
“Thank you!”
“There will be much to prepare, so you must move diligently.”
Eun Hui-gyeom’s eyes widened in surprise—he hadn’t expected Baek Un-jin to consent so readily.
Though Eun Hui-gyeom harbored doubts, there was nothing he could do once Baek Un-jin had given his approval.
Eun Hui-gyeom volunteered to help prepare for the Muchen Eunmyeong Ceremony.
“You don’t need to involve yourself either.”
“That’s absurd! Your life is on the line.”
“You’re busy with missions too.”
Ever since Eun Hui-gyeom had ascended to the Seventh Celestial Rank and word spread that he was the master of the Hyeonsu Nakwol Blade, numerous missions had begun arriving at his doorstep.
“Such trivial missions pale in comparison to your life. Besides, nothing catastrophic will happen simply because I decline to go.”
“Thank you.”
When we first met, I had taken him for an ill-mannered youth, yet in recent times he had blossomed into someone genuinely trustworthy.
‘He reached the Seventh Celestial Rank before me, and still calls me sister.’
In the monastic world where strength was everything, it was not uncommon for juniors who surpassed their seniors in power to treat them with disdain.
Yet Eun Hui-gyeom remained unwavering even after his ascension.
Exactly one month later.
The date for my Muchen Eunmyeong Ritual had been set.
Before dawn broke, while twilight still lingered in the air, we made our way to the Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong, the deepest cavern within Seonmun.
It was a place Baek Un-jin had specially arranged for me to use through his authority as an elder.
“Yeon-seo, the Muchen Eunmyeong Ritual is not a ceremony of supplication to others. It is a rite in which you commune with yourself—awakening the sacred essence within the microcosm of your path, your will, and your flesh.”
A ceremony where one questions oneself.
For this reason, even the heavens themselves could never intervene in this ritual.
“Take this.”
“What is it?”
“A Taeul Elixir Pill.”
While not quite equivalent to the Twelve Great Elixir Pills, it was an extraordinarily precious elixir.
“Is it truly acceptable to give something so rare?”
“What good is a rare elixir compared to your life? The pill’s essence will replenish whatever deficiency remains in your cultivation.”
“I am grateful.”
“Save such words for when you emerge safely.”
“Yes.”
Within the cavern, a Guguk Chacheon Grand Formation had been meticulously constructed beforehand.
I settled into the center of it, crossing my legs in meditation.
“I wish you fortune in your ascension.”
Eun Hui-gyeom offered those brief words before departing the Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong alongside Baek Un-jin.
Not long after they left, the cavern’s entrance sealed completely shut.
As darkness enveloped the space, luminescent pearls embedded in the walls began to glow, casting a soft radiance throughout the cavern.
During the month that Baek Un-jin and Eun Hui-gyeom had spent preparing, I had practiced the Muchen Eunmyeong Ritual countless times.
When one forced an advancement in this manner, there was only a single opportunity.
‘There is no second chance.’
The thought that failure would erase everything I had accomplished thus far kindled a faint tremor of fear within me.
I shook my head and straightened my posture, dispelling the distraction.
‘I can do this. No—I must do this.’
Was I not already a body that had once defied fate itself?
If I had done it once, there was no reason I could not do it again.
After settling my mind into the stillness of a tranquil lake, I placed the Taeul Elixir Pill that Baek Un-jin had given me into my mouth and swallowed.
An enormous amount of dharmic energy from the Tae-eul Seal seeped into my body.
‘First, I’ll break through to the 9th Star in one go using the Tae-eul Seal’s dharmic power!’
As I began reciting the incantation I had memorized dozens of times over, the Gugeuk Chacheon Great Formation began to emit light.
Along with it, the spiritual essence I had accumulated over the past month spread throughout my entire body, beginning to elevate the grade of my soul.
Rummmmmble.
The entire Cave trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck.
Black energy rippled before my eyes, and an incomprehensible form revealed itself.
[Insane. You’re insane.]
For the first time, its voice properly flowed into my mind.
[A lowly life that should have perished long ago—how dare you defy the will of heaven and covet the celestial path? Your existence is an error of the heavenly way. Before your deformed immortal cultivation grows further and becomes a true calamity, I shall bind your spiritual roots with chains and condemn you to live as a cripple at the 6th Star of Cultivation for all your days!]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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