I Possessed a Cultivator Destined to Die at the Hands of the Protagonist - Chapter 40

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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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40.
Those two had no idea that I had completed the Ritual of the Nameless Heavens, one of the ten-star advancement ceremonies, within Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong.
They believed I had emerged from closed-door cultivation after failing to advance to seven-star.
Since it had only been a week since leaving Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong, it wasn’t particularly strange that they still thought me to be six-star.
Kang Jin-heon and I simply ignored the two fools slandering us ahead.
Eun Hui-gyeom arrived last, apparently having been outside the Chingwoo Immortal Sect.
Beyond our group and Wi Tae-gang’s party, the Chingwoo Immortal Sect had dispatched over ten Yeon-gi-grade monks.
Following intelligence that there might be a branch of Paecheonmun, we moved toward Chim Cheon Mountain.
Chim Cheon Mountain was one of the sacred peaks managed by Hyeonganmun.
Many monks had gathered at the entrance to Chim Cheon Mountain.
Among them, I spotted a familiar face.
“Jin Seok-jun!”
Upon spotting Jin Seok-jun, I waved toward him.
Jin Seok-jun, having excused himself from the monks beside him, approached.
“Is that you, Seok-jun? I’ve been worried not seeing your face for so long.”
Jin Seok-jun, who had sensed Paecheonmun’s conspiracy earlier than anyone, had received his sect’s permission and was concentrating solely on eliminating Paecheonmun.
While I was in Man-nyeon-su-yeom-dong, it seemed he had undertaken several missions alongside Kang Jin-heon and Eun Hui-gyeom.
“Ha, there were some matters to attend to.”
“I heard from Eun Hui-gyeom that there was nothing serious, but seeing your face in person is different.”
“I’m glad to see you after so long too.”
I exchanged brief updates with Jin Seok-jun after our long separation.
Thanks to the Vitality Pills created by Eun Hui-gyeom, unlike the original timeline, we had managed to prevent the petrification plague from spreading into a large-scale epidemic.
However, with the method of gaining power through land contamination now blocked, Paecheonmun had become far more aggressive in targeting the Dragon Veins embedded with Hyeongan Stones.
“Then let us now eliminate the remnants of Paecheonmun! You subordinates must not cause trouble and follow my, Peng Seok-ho’s, orders!”
“Now listen here, Peng. What gives you the right to take command?”
“Hmph, isn’t it obvious? We came to assist Hyeonganmun, not to take orders. If Hyeonganmun had managed its disciples properly in the first place, a heretical sect like Paecheonmun wouldn’t have emerged at all.”
Peng Seok-ho was a ten-star Yeon-gi-grade monk of Chui Ok Gok Mun, called one of the Jeongmun Paldae alongside Hyeonganmun and the Chingwoo Immortal Sect.
As attention from those around focused on him, the monks of Hyeonganmun fell silent.
‘There they are again, no matter where you go.’
Under Peng Seok-ho’s leadership, the monks surrounded Chim Cheon Mountain and erected a massive barrier to prevent escape.
Afterward, the vanguard entered and discovered a cave presumed to be where Paecheonmun was located.
“Very well then, shall we make our entrance!”
Peng Seok-ho and his group all entered the cave presumed to be Paecheonmun’s hideout together.
“Wait, stop!”
Jin Seok-jun, who had been reading the terrain while leading at the front, halted his steps.
Placing both hands on the ground, he shook his head slowly.
“The flow of the earth’s meridians beyond this point is peculiar. There is a high likelihood that a formation trap has been set. We should find an alternate route.”
Jin Seok-jun suggested taking the path on the other side.
I subtly read the flow of spiritual energy coursing through the cave.
Indeed, the blocked qi gave the impression that something was definitely there.
Everyone nodded in agreement with Jin Seok-jun’s reasoning.
“Hmph, cowards, the lot of you. Are all the disciples of Hyeonganmun like you?”
“What if a formation array is already in place?”
“We destroy it and be done with it. Are we, disciples of Jeongmun Paldae, truly expected to take a detour around some formation array laid by the remnants of Paecheonmun?”
For Peng Seok-ho, who had ascended to the 10th stage of Yeonggi just before the Chim Cheon Mountain mission, this task was a golden opportunity to elevate his reputation.
“Senior Peng.”
“If you’re afraid, feel free to follow behind us!”
Peng Seok-ho paid no heed to Jin Seok-jun and the other disciples’ attempts to dissuade him.
Peng Seok-ho and the disciples of Chui Ok Gok Mun pushed past them and walked deeper into the cavern, maintaining their formation.
“Sister, is that really okay?”
“It’s not going to be.”
I hadn’t advanced to the 10th stage through normal means.
Because of that, my spiritual power and energy were far denser and more potent than those of other 10th stage cultivators.
Unlike Jin Seok-jun, I couldn’t read the terrain’s spiritual patterns, but sensing the flow of spiritual energy within the cavern, it was unmistakably a trap.
“Shouldn’t we try to stop them?”
“If he were the type to listen, he wouldn’t have come this far.”
Forgive me for saying so, but I had no energy to spare stopping someone determined to walk into danger of their own volition.
We followed from as far back as possible to minimize casualties and observe the situation.
Peng Seok-ho and the disciples of Chui Ok Gok Mun, glancing back at us occasionally, seemed to think we were cowards, snickering among themselves.
Following the path, a vast underground cavern came into view.
In the center of the cavern stood an oddly shaped stone that was clearly artificially raised.
Seeing it, Peng Seok-ho let out a scoff.
“You think a mere rock like that can stop me?”
Peng Seok-ho drew up his spiritual power and channeled it into his feet.
The moment he stepped forward, a powerful wind erupted beneath him, and he shot forward rapidly.
The razor-sharp wind mercilessly shattered the stone monument in the center, reducing it to dust.
The instant the monument crumbled, the cavern floor trembled violently.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
“What, what is this?! An earthquake?”
“It’s just a crude trap! Don’t be afraid!”
Blood-red stalactites hanging from the ceiling swayed and fell down.
Between the shattered monument fragments, a crimson aura surged up like a fountain.
Whoooosh.
The formation array patterns carved into the wide cavern floor lit up in red, revealing themselves.
It was the Blood Stone Formation—a formation array that Paecheonmun had prepared by sacrificing the life force of dozens of living people.
“Ahhhhh! My, my legs!”
The red aura faded, and gray viscous liquid rose from the ground.
The skin where the liquid touched instantly hardened like stone.
“Damn it, petrification! Everyone, run!”
Several disciples unfurled their flying swords and soared into the air, but it was futile.
The mucus crawling up the wall stretched long and was dropping the cultivators suspended in mid-air.
Peng Seok-ho unfurled a spell technique alongside his senior brothers, blocking the mucus.
But the formation, once broken, did not return to its original state.
“I knew this would happen.”
Eun Hui-gyeom clicked his tongue and swiftly wove the hand seals of Hyeonsu Cheonbaek Technique with one hand.
The jade-shaped dharma treasure in his hand then emitted a blue light.
A semicircular barrier of water materialized, protecting the cultivators from the mucus.
One could certainly see that Eun Hui-gyeom’s abilities had improved considerably compared to before.
But what caught my eye more was the dharma treasure on Eun Hui-gyeom’s wrist.
“What is that?”
“Oh, this? It’s the Changhai Byeoksu Orb. Elder Jin gave it to me.”
Normally it took the form of a bracelet, but when channeling spiritual power, it would glow blue and orbit around Eun Hui-gyeom, serving to assist his spell techniques.
After Nakryeong City, Eun Hui-gyeom had caught the eye of Elder Jin Su-ryeon.
Though not formally his disciple, the elder seemed to frequently offer him guidance on various matters.
‘If he’s gifting dharma treasures, he must have taken quite a liking to him.’
Watching Eun Hui-gyeom flourish like this, when in the original story he had died without ever truly blossoming, filled me with a sense of pride.
“Damn it! How dare a third-rate formation like this! Hey, you lot over there! Stop gawking and help!”
Peng Seok-ho swung his sword desperately in resistance.
Several cultivators’ bodies stiffened and collapsed, and one of Peng Seok-ho’s legs had also stopped responding.
“We probably need to resolve this.”
Kang Jin-heon, who had been watching, reluctantly pitched in.
Honestly, seeing Peng Seok-ho’s state made me want to leave him to his fate, but there was no choice.
“I’ll handle it.”
The Yuun Eunha Rung draped over my shoulder stretched long and rippled translucently around me as my center.
The moment I stepped outside the range of Hyeonsu Cheonbaek Technique, the mucus surged toward me.
After repelling the mucus with spiritual power, I immediately wove the hand seals of Chilseong Inbong.
Pap pap pap pat.
Seven blue pillars materialized in mid-air and plunged toward the ground.
They connected as one, radiating blue light and powerfully crushed the formations creating the petrifying mucus.
Boom.
Soon, unable to withstand the force, the formation shattered from within.
As the formation burst apart, dust scattered in all directions.
As the petrifying mucus dissolved away, the cultivators’ gazes turned toward me.
“Ah, um.”
Did I overdo it?

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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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