I Possessed a Cultivator Destined to Die at the Hands of the Protagonist - Chapter 44

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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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44.
The talisman attached to Cheongun’s body was a curse seal that transformed humans into Mano.
Kang Jin-heon retrieved the curse seal that Eun Hui-gyeom had sealed away.
“I thought it was just an ordinary curse seal. But ever since the Chim Cheon Mountain incident, it’s been reacting continuously.”
It seemed he had come seeking answers, hoping that since Eun Hui-gyeom had sealed the curse seal, he might understand something about it.
Eun Hui-gyeom accepted the curse seal and examined it carefully from every angle.
“This is….”
“What’s wrong?”
“The seal itself seems fine, but the curse seal itself appears to be resonating.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, I don’t fully understand it myself, but curses tend to be more organic than expected. When a problem occurs on one side, it often triggers a reaction on the other side.”
He explained that using multiple curses bound together in a complex manner was more powerful than a single curse.
“But this curse seal is sealed and torn, isn’t it? Rather than functioning properly, it might just be resonating without any real effect….”
Eun Hui-gyeom offered his cautious assessment.
I added a thought, synthesizing his words.
“So you’re saying someone might be scheming something using the curse seal that creates Mano?”
“I don’t know where or what they’re doing, but probably.”
It hadn’t been long since the Chim Cheon Mountain mission ended, and now this was happening.
I pondered briefly before speaking.
“What about asking Jin Seok-jun? He might know something.”
Hyeonganmun was currently engaged in the fiercest fighting against Paecheonmun on the front lines.
We immediately sent a spiritual message to Jin Seok-jun.
His reply arrived within half a day, suggesting he wasn’t far away.
Since he wanted to examine it in detail in person, we met Jin Seok-jun at Cheongyul, not far from Cheong Woo Seon Mun.
“I heard the talisman that you carry has an unusual condition.”
“That’s right. Can you take a look?”
In just a single day, the curse seal’s resonance had intensified, beginning to affect the seal itself.
Jin Seok-jun accepted the talisman and examined it thoroughly.
“Has anything similar happened with other curse seals?”
“I haven’t heard of such cases yet. Hmm, this appears to be a sympathetic resonance phenomenon, just as my junior suggested.”
“So that means another curse seal is being activated somewhere?”
“Rather than activated, it seems more like something is drawing it in. This is a talisman that was attached to the criminal’s body after they transformed into Mano.”
Summarizing Jin Seok-jun’s words, it could mean that the Mano bearing the curse seals were gathering in one location.
The Mano are beings that move under the direction of Paecheonmun’s sorcerers.
If such Mano were moving all at once, it could only mean that Paecheonmun was hastily scheming something.
“Why don’t we try breaking the seal?”
“Breaking the seal?”
“Yes. If it’s resonating, the talisman will try to move somewhere. If we follow it, we might discover something.”
“That’s certainly…. But would it be alright for us to act on our own like this?”
“Ah, well….”
Eun Hui-gyeom scratched his head, admitting he hadn’t thought that far ahead either.
I was deliberating whether to report this to Baek Un-jin or the Seonmun when he spoke.
“Truth be told, Paecheonmun’s movements have grown increasingly active since the Chim Cheon Mountain incident, and we’ve been suffering damages in various places. While resonance with a curse talisman is possible, the Seonmun wouldn’t make an issue of something so trivial.”
Compared to the numerous incidents Paecheonmun was orchestrating, we simply didn’t have the luxury to worry about a single curse talisman resonating.
“If anything does happen, having me—someone affiliated with Hyeonganmun—accompany you should prevent any major complications.”
“You’ll come with us?”
“I have no active assignments at the moment, and since it’s a Paecheonmun curse talisman, I’d like to investigate it myself.”
“Thank you.”
We decided to depart immediately without wasting time.
“Then I’ll unseal it?”
Eun Hui-gyeom held the curse talisman and formed a hand seal.
The moment his fingertips touched the talisman, the spiritual energy enveloping it gradually weakened.
A sharp whooshing sound pierced the air.
As the spiritual energy dissipated, a faint crimson light emanated from the curse inscriptions on the talisman, and it began resonating more vividly.
Eun Hui-gyeom firmly grasped the curse talisman as it tried to fly away on its own.
“Ugh, what do we do with this?”
“Give it to me. I have an idea.”
Kang Jin-heon took the curse talisman and employed a simple technique.
Magical force flowed from his fingertips, mingling with the demonic energy leaking from the curse inscription.
A faint wind began swirling around the curse inscription.
“I’ve infused wind into the curse inscription. This way, we should be able to read the direction the talisman is pointing toward.”
“Let’s go.”
Kang Jin-heon took the lead, and we followed behind him.
Instead of my flying sword, I unfurled the Silver River Feather widely and ascended onto it.
It was far broader than the flying sword and easier to maneuver, making it ideal for stable flight through the sky.
After roughly an hour of flight, we arrived at Hwangsa Valley, located on the outskirts of Yeonsu Province.
Hwangsa Valley was once a mining district long ago.
Since minerals were now scarce, abandoned mines were easily spotted scattered throughout the area.
“It seems we’ll need to venture in that direction.”
“Ugh, caves again? I’m sick of caves.”
Eun Hui-gyeom frowned, likely haunted by memories of nearly being buried alive on Chim Cheon Mountain.
“There’s no helping it.”
“I don’t understand why those Paecheonmun bastards always hide so grimly in caves.”
We ventured deeper into the abandoned mine, following the direction the curse talisman indicated.
Kang Jin-heon, who had been using detection techniques at maximum range, came to a halt.
“I sense presences in the distance.”
At his words, Eun Hui-gyeom quickly twisted his fingers, dimming the ambient light around us.
“Curse practitioners?”
“I can’t say for certain. But it doesn’t seem to be just one or two.”
“Then I’ll take the lead.”
Jin Seok-jun formed a seal and pressed his hand against the wall.
The wall bulged outward, and several small clay figurines rose up onto his palm.
“Didn’t those get caught last time?”
“Hmm, they won’t be detected this time.”
Looking closely, the tiny clay figurines were camouflaging themselves by draping the moss that clung to the cave wall over their bodies.
The sight was rather endearing.
As Jin Seok-jun set the clay figurines on the ground, they scurried downward into the depths of the abandoned mine.
Sharing the figurines’ vision, Jin Seok-jun surveyed the surroundings.
“The culprits?”
“What?”
“It doesn’t seem like just one or two….”
Sensing the unease, Jin Seok-jun opened his eyes.
“What is it? What did you see?”
“There appear to be hundreds of culprits down below.”
“This is an abandoned mine. They couldn’t have walked in here on their own….”
That meant they were likely kidnapped and brought here.
“The real problem lies elsewhere. It appears that curse masters capable of creating Mano are attached to their bodies. The resonance of the curse seal suggests they were planning to conduct a ritual of considerable scale, using the culprits as sacrifices.”
I opened my eyes wide in disbelief.
In the original work, Paecheonmun never engaged in human sacrifice to such an extreme degree.
“I suspect their original plan—to gradually pollute the earth vein using petrification disease—fell through, which is why they’ve resorted to this.”
….
“It’s merely speculation, but I believe there’s a Hyeonjin Stele somewhere here as well.”
“Damn it, can’t the location of the Hyeonjin Stele be made public?”
Eun Hui-gyeom grumbled in irritation.
The Hyeonjin Stele was embedded where the earth vein ran wild, and even within Hyeonganmun, its exact location remained undisclosed.
“It’s not as simple as it sounds.”
“Why not?”
“Paecheonmun is targeting only the locations where the earth vein exists. That means there’s a traitor among the monastery’s monks who knows the Hyeonjin Stele’s location.”
….
“If we revealed all the Hyeonjin Stele locations, finding the traitor would become even more difficult.”
After hearing the explanation, it seemed Hyeonganmun was also grappling with considerable difficulties.
“Well, if that’s the case, we can’t help it. Sister, let’s return to the main temple and request reinforcements…. Sister?”
“How long do you think that large-scale ritual will take?”
“There are several sorcerers guarding it, so we can’t get much closer, but from what I could tell, it seems like it will start soon.”
“Will it be too late if we go back to the main temple?”
Jin Seok-jun, contemplating the possibility for a moment, nodded.
“They don’t know we’re here yet. So they’ll remain as they are, but I can’t guarantee the culprits will still be alive.”
“Hui-gyeom, let’s do this ourselves.”

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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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