I Possessed a Cultivator Destined to Die at the Hands of the Protagonist - Chapter 54

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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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54.
“What?! A Night Luminescence Pearl?! Then Baek Un-jin deceived us all!”
As Go Jin-am raised his voice, the elders who had known nothing exchanged flushed faces and nodded in agreement.
“That is not the case.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Jeongshim Stone is already inside your bodies.”
Go Jin-am glanced at the tea sitting before him, a terrible suspicion dawning.
Each of the other elders had tea placed at their seats as well.
“When you consume the powdered Jeongshim Stone, it will cause red blotches to appear across your entire body—but only once, when you tell a lie.”
“…!”
“Admittedly, it contains a mild toxin, so it is not the recommended method of use. For cultivators of your caliber, such a toxin holds no significance. I believe Elder Go, who manages the Jeongshim Stone, would be aware of this technique as well.”
Go Jin-am cleared his throat and nodded reluctantly.
“Hmph, what does that matter.”
“Did you not answer Elder Baek’s question truthfully?”
Go Jin-am recalled the question Baek Un-jin had posed moments before.
Baek Un-jin had accused Go Jin-am of being responsible for the cultivator’s transformation into Mano, and Go Jin-am had dismissed it as absurd.
He had spoken so loudly that no one in the hall could have missed their exchange.
“Stop this ridiculous farce! You think such a trivial matter condemns me? This is slander! It seems you are a spy for Paecheonmun!”
“Then how do you explain those hands of yours?”
At Yoon Hee-hyeon’s words, Go Jin-am looked down at his own hands.
His hands were stained black, and the tips were cracked as if petrification had begun to set in.
“How… this cannot be! What trickery is this?!”
“I mixed Cheongnyeon Water into the tea.”
Cheongnyeon Water was pure water from deep within Yeong Mountain.
Though drinking it merely restored a small amount of spiritual energy and was otherwise unremarkable, it possessed one crucial property: it could not coexist with demonic energy.
Had Elder Go Jin-am not cultivated demonic techniques, he would have passed through this ordeal unscathed.
“This is a trap! Cheong Woo Seon Mun orchestrated this to sow discord with Hyeonganmun and poison me to death!”
Go Jin-am screamed and rose from his seat, yet his body betrayed him with brutal honesty.
The demonic energy that collided with the Cheongnyeon Water reversed its flow, and the red blotches darkened to black, erupting grotesquely across his skin.
The air within Hwangryong Cheongjaejeon Hall grew deathly cold.
Jung Cheon slowly rose from his seat, his gaze bearing down upon Go Jin-am.
Within his pitch-black eyes burned a fury that transcended mere betrayal.
“Go Jin-am, do you have anything to say after witnessing your own hands?”
“Sect Leader! Do not be deceived! These wretches have orchestrated this deception!”
“Silence!”
Jung Cheon’s command shook the entire hall.
The floor trembled violently beneath his authority.
Go Jin-am lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.
“An elder entrusted with protecting Hyeonganmun’s secrets, yet you joined hands with traitors, dabbled in demonic techniques, and sold our sect’s confidences?”
“No! Please believe me….”
As Jung Cheon completed his seal and lowered his arm, a colossal golden stone formation crashed down from the ceiling, crushing Go Jin-am beneath its weight.
“Seize the traitor Go Jin-am at once!”
“Krraaagh! To suffer such a fate…!”
Go Jin-am glared at Yoon Hee-hyeon through tears of blood.
The elders then moved in unison, binding him with their combined seals.
“From this moment forward, Elder Go is stripped of his position, his dantian sealed, and all his cultivation severed. Furthermore, we shall expose every channel of his collusion with Paecheonmun.”
Jung Cheon’s voice carried the weight befitting the Hyeonganmun Sect Leader, and the elders bowed their heads in unison as though bound by oath.
Go Jin-am was dragged away, and Jung Cheon resumed his seat.
His gaze fell upon Baek Un-jin and me.
“We have witnessed a shameful spectacle within our own sect. I never imagined he was truly a traitor.”
Go Jin-am was the eldest among the elders.
Since he had held the position when Jung Cheon was still an inner disciple, the sense of betrayal cut all the deeper.
“When one covets power beyond their station, such is the consequence.”
“I am indebted to you. I shall repay this debt without fail.”
“It was not I, Sect Leader.”
“What do you mean?”
“Both the Jeongshim Stone and the Cheongyeon Water were suggestions put forth by Yeon-seo. The debt is owed to her, not to me.”
I was caught off guard—I had not expected Baek Un-jin to mention this first.
As expected, the gazes of the Hyeonganmun elders fixed upon me in unison.
Naturally, not all of those gazes were favorable.
“Hmm, is not the wisdom of Elder Baek’s disciple a reflection of your own merit in nurturing her? Regardless, it seems unseemly for the Sect Leader to claim a debt to such a young junior….”
Though their words were roundabout, their meaning was clear—they sought to preserve their own dignity.
“I….”
As I opened my mouth to speak, Baek Un-jin stepped forward first, signaling me to remain silent.
‘Not even a moment’s hesitation.’
I found myself thinking anew that my master was truly a remarkable person.
“Ah, I see. Then I shall repay this debt directly to your disciple.”
“Sect Leader!”
“Why make such a fuss over trifles? It is of no consequence, so think nothing of it.”
As Jung Cheon drew the line, the elders fell silent in unison.
After the commotion subsided, the elders began revealing the locations of the Hyeonjinbi once more.
Two hours passed, and a map recording the locations of all the Hyeonjinbi was completed.
“Soon we shall share the locations of these Hyeonjinbi with the Jeongmun Paldae and utterly annihilate Paecheonmun.”
With Jung Cheon’s final words, the meeting concluded.
Baek Un-jin and I safely departed Hyeonganmun and returned to the Chingwoo Immortal Sect.
***
After revealing the location of Hyeonbaek, Hyeonganmun pressed Paecheonmun aggressively.
With no need to move inefficiently anymore, the other sects cooperated actively as well.
I myself went on personal missions several times to strengthen the protection of Hyeonbaek and the Dragon Vein.
Two years passed.
Kang Jin-heon reached the 10th stage of Yeon-gi, and Eun Hui-gyeom was also on the verge of reaching the 10th stage.
And I reached the 11th stage of Yeon-gi a few days ago.
“So, when are you going to hatch for me?”
An egg I had purchased from Hyeonbaek’s Auction House.
After continuously calling it “egg,” the name became so familiar that I unknowingly gave it the name “Ari.”
I tapped Ari, which I had placed on my desk.
When my finger touched it, it only wobbled slightly, and Ari showed no other response.
Worried it might never hatch, I infused it with my own spiritual energy, bathed it in spirit spring water, and even adorned it with flowers, but nothing seemed to work.
“Sigh, what am I even doing?”
Still, I had a vague sense that Ari hadn’t died.
“Sister, are you talking to the stone again?”
“Stone? It’s Ari. It will hatch someday.”
Though I had said it several times, Eun Hui-gyeom dismissed it as futile without much concern.
“But what’s the matter?”
“Ah, Master is looking for you. What was it… a gift came for you, sister?”
“A gift? For me?”
“That’s what he said.”
What kind of gift could it be?
I went to Seowun Pavilion with Eun Hui-gyeom.
“Master, what is this gift?”
“It’s not from me—it’s a gift sent by the sect leader of Hyeonganmun.”
At the mention of a gift from the sect leader of Hyeonganmun, Eun Hui-gyeom, who knew nothing of the circumstances, was startled.
To be honest, I had forgotten about it myself.
Before Baek Un-jin lay a box surrounded by golden cloth.
Baek Un-jin pushed the box toward me.
“Sister, what exactly have you been doing in secret all this time?”
“Ha, there was some business. But it was thanks to Master’s help.”
“I’m envious—open it quickly!”
At Eun Hui-gyeom’s urging, I unwrapped the cloth and opened the box.
“Since the sect leader sent it, I thought it would look more impressive somehow.”
“It’s the Hwangryong Divine Armor. The sect leader must have taken considerable care.”
“Hwangryong? What?”
Eun Hui-gyeom looked at Baek Un-jin, asking what that was.
“It’s a supreme-grade protective armor, ranked among the top ten in Hyeonganmun.”
“A-am I really supposed to receive something like this?”
“It came as a gift, so it’s yours.”
Following Baek Un-jin’s insistence, I fastened the protective armor beneath my winged garment.
Rather than true armor, it resembled ordinary underclothing—so remarkably light that I could scarcely feel its presence against my skin.
Yet the moment I channeled my spiritual energy into the Hwangryong Divine Armor, golden radiance enveloped my body and a protective barrier materialized.
“I… thank you so much.”
The sudden gift of such a supreme-grade protective garment left me in a daze.
Eun Hui-gyeom whined that he wanted to try it on as well.
Not a chance.
It’s mine!

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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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