I Possessed a Cultivator Destined to Die at the Hands of the Protagonist - Chapter 39

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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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39.
A deep, resonant boom echoed through the cavern.
The entire cave trembled violently, as though struck by an earthquake.
Before my eyes, the fabric of reality tore open, and an abyss of absolute darkness rippled outward.
Beyond that darkness, a formless entity undulated—something whose true shape I could not perceive.
This being, which my station forbade me even to gaze upon, was the will of the Heavenly Dao itself, the force that barred Yoo Yeon-seo’s ascension.
“Ugh!”
As the entity exerted its power, black chains erupted from the void and coiled around me.
Chains of causality that strangled the spiritual core of a cultivator and severed the flow of the spiritual meridians.
As the chains burrowed into my body, the dharma power I had painstakingly accumulated began to crumble like dust.
“Ghhh!”
Blood trickled from between my clenched teeth.
The spiritual energy I had labored to build inverted violently, turning back to assault my dantian.
With each bite of the chains, the voice I had heard moments before echoed repeatedly through my mind.
I slowly released my right hand from where I knelt.
Then I drove my trembling fingertips into the cold stone floor of the cave.
The Demon-Subduing Earth-Touching Mudra.
The very seal the Buddha had manifested beneath the Bodhi tree when facing Mara’s interference during his meditation.
With the mudra complete, I smiled despite the blood flowing from my lips.
My body screamed in agony, yet my mind remained strangely lucid.
“An error? A calamity, you say?”
My voice resonated outward, reverberating through the entire cavern.
“If it is the Heavenly Dao’s error that I do not die where I should, then I shall live as that error! If the heaven you have ordained rejects me, then I shall establish my own heaven!”
I began to chant the incantation of the Unbound Celestial Illumination.
“I veil the eyes of the Heavenly Dao to sever causality, I seal the ears of the earth to hide my fate. I close the gates of the six unions to reject the logic of the outside world, so that only I may open my own universe. My breath becomes heaven itself. My dharma power becomes the foundation of the Dao.”
A surge of azure energy erupted from within my body, turning the tables as it ensnared the chains instead.
Simultaneously, I felt the six-star barrier that had bound me crumble.
[How dare this insignificant creature devour heavenly punishment! Your very soul shall be annihilated without a trace!]
The azure light completely engulfed the chains.
My rampaging dharma power severed the chains of causality one by one.
[Impossible! The chains of causality are breaking?!]
Ignoring the panicked voice, I continued my own ritual.
“I ask of my martial spirit and my soul: do I have the right to ascend to greater heights?”
As I slowly closed my eyes, I felt my soul sink into the ocean of consciousness.
Within the realm of consciousness, I felt no sensation of the pain my body endured.
In an endless expanse of darkness, a single heaven shone forth—solitary and radiant.
It was the path of martial cultivation I sought to reach, the celestial principle I had established for myself.
‘Therefore, my martial way is not to serve heaven.’
The moment that declaration touched my inner universe, the rampaging energy stilled as if it had never been.
‘I shall become my own heaven.’
A deafening boom echoed through the void.
The entire Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong was engulfed in brilliant white light.
The phantom of the Heavenly Dao shrieked and scattered like mist, and the chains of causality binding me shattered completely.
The violent tremors that had filled the cave and the suffocating killing intent dissipated as if they had never existed.
“….”
A silence so profound it was almost oppressive settled over everything.
I slowly lifted my hand from the ground and pushed myself upright.
I could feel the sheer volume of spiritual energy within my body had increased exponentially compared to when I was at the 6th Star.
***
The sky surrounding the cave darkened, then gradually returned to its normal hue.
Baek Un-jin had not moved from his post in front of Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong since Yoo Yeon-seo began her ritual of the Muchen Eunmyeong.
“Master.”
Eun Hui-gyeom approached Baek Un-jin after seeing that the energy had settled.
The tension in Baek Un-jin’s expression eased slightly.
“It seems she succeeded.”
“Sigh, Sister really does have a talent for dangerous stunts. She makes my heart race every single time.”
No matter how much the Heavens obstruct advancement, who in their right mind would attempt to leap from the 6th Star to the 10th Star all at once?
It was undoubtedly a mad scheme that no one but Yoo Yeon-seo would ever dare attempt.
The heavy stone door creaked open.
Yoo Yeon-seo emerged from within Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong, stepping into the light.
The youthful innocence had completely vanished from her face, replaced by the dignified bearing of a true practitioner.
Yoo Yeon-seo approached and performed a respectful bow with clasped fists.
“Your disciple Yoo Yeon-seo has completed the ritual of the Muchen Eunmyeong and has returned.”
“Welcome back.”
Baek Un-jin, meeting her gaze directly, relaxed his shoulders and responded with a noticeably lighter tone.
After leaving Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong, Baek Un-jin returned to his quarters in Bikyun Pavilion.
In the meantime, I learned from Eun Hui-gyeom what had transpired during my time within Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong.
“What? Three years? You’re joking.”
“I’m not joking.”
“But it felt like I was only in there for less than a day.”
I had heard that in the ritual of the Muchen Eunmyeong, which one performs for oneself, it is common to lose track of time when entering a state of complete transcendence.
In my case, with the Heavens’ interference as well, it must have been even more pronounced.
“It was probably the longest three years of my life. Did you know? Ever since Sister entered Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong, Master hasn’t left that spot even once.”
Even Eun Hui-gyeom seemed surprised that Baek Un-jin would go to such lengths.
Eun Hui-gyeom had frequently taken his place, running errands and handling the incoming missions that arrived.
Though not to the extent of Baek Un-jin, Eun Hui-gyeom himself had scarcely left the vicinity of Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong.
Had anyone ever worried about me like this before?
The thought alone made my eyes grow warm.
“Thank you. I mean it sincerely.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you at all while you risked your life for this advancement.”
“This was my trial to overcome, so it’s only right that I face it head-on.”
“But why did the heavens block your advancement in the first place? I’m just glad it worked out in the end.”
Eun Hui-gyeom had apparently searched through related cases out of curiosity while I was inside Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong.
However, no matter how much he dug, he could only find vague mentions of such occurrences, and the exact cause was never revealed.
“I don’t know either. Like you said, I advanced anyway, so don’t worry too much about it. Ah, nothing else happened while I was gone?”
“Nothing much… though I’m not sure if this counts as something, but the Jeongmun Paldae decided to recognize Paecheonmun as Idosimun.”
The decision had been made because the damage caused by Paecheonmun was growing worse with each passing day.
‘That’s a bit earlier than the original timeline.’
Thanks to the Nakryeong City incident becoming known quickly, Paecheonmun was branded as Idosimun much sooner than in the original story.
“So we’ve been receiving frequent missions. It seems they often target the areas where Hyeonganmun manages the Hyunjin Stones.”
The exact number and locations of the Hyunjin Stones were classified as top secret even within Hyeonganmun.
So most of the monastery disciples who received these missions didn’t even know the Hyunjin Stones existed until they arrived at the designated locations.
Some sects had expressed dissatisfaction and demanded that all locations of the Hyunjin Stones be made public, but the proposal was rejected due to fierce opposition from within Hyeonganmun.
“Did you participate in those missions too?”
“I went twice. Once was already too late, so I wondered if it even mattered.”
About a week after Eun Hui-gyeom told me about the joint missions regarding Paecheonmun, I received a mission of my own.
While I was resting in my room, a blue bird flew in and perched on my shoulder.
The blue bird’s proper name was Cheong-jo, one of the spirit creatures raised by the Chingwoo Immortal Sect.
Spirit creatures like Cheong-jo helped facilitate simple communication by delivering letters and the like.
I headed to the Mission Hall to prepare for the mission.
“It’s been a while.”
It seemed Kang Jin-heon had received the same mission assignment, as I encountered him there.
Since time had passed so quickly in Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong, seeing his face after three years didn’t feel particularly strange.
“Did you come because of the mission too?”
“Yeah.”
While I had advanced to the 10th tier, Kang Jin-heon had apparently reached the 9th tier.
I was waiting with Kang Jin-heon for Eun Hui-gyeom to arrive.
“Hmph, having to go on a mission with these kinds of people. Just how low-level is this assignment?”
“Right? And one of them hasn’t even managed to advance past the 7th tier in years—what a waste.”

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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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