I Possessed a Cultivator Destined to Die at the Hands of the Protagonist - Chapter 88

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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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88.
Im So-ha glanced toward Baek Un-jin before speaking.
“Are you saying that Nok-myeong Jeonja was killed by a woman named Yeon-poong?”
“I am not a disciple of Chui-ok Valley Sect, so I wouldn’t know.”
Baek Un-jin chose his words carefully.
Yet his answer made it clear to anyone listening that he knew something.
Only then did Im So-ha understand why the elders and those within Chui-ok Valley Sect were keeping this matter hushed.
If it were true, it would be an ancient shame upon the sect.
“I won’t stop you two from investigating what happened at Unbyek Rim. But do you understand what it means to involve disciples in this?”
“M-Master…”
As I stepped forward, Eun Hui-gyeom seized my wrist and shook his head.
It was a signal to stay silent for now.
Im So-ha remained quiet for roughly half an hour.
During that silence, she gazed at Ha Gyeong-un’s face several times before exhaling a long sigh.
She opened her mouth again only after another half hour had passed.
“Yoo Susa was the only member of the expedition to Unbyek Rim who actually met Yeon-poong. We need her help.”
“Despite my warning.”
“If anything happens to Yoo Susa, I will take full responsibility.”
“Responsibility only becomes possible when it holds value.”
….
“Do you truly believe that the life of a Gyeoldan-gi disciple from another sect holds more value to me than the safety of my own students?”
Baek Un-jin’s words were undeniably sound.
He had become a Grand Master at the mere age of eighty, having already reached the realm of Won-young-gi.
That had been more than fifty years ago.
Few knew what level of cultivation Baek Un-jin had attained by now.
“What do you desire?”
“Do you believe you could give me what I desire?”
“No. But if needed, I am willing to repay the debt throughout my lifetime.”
Im So-ha bowed once more toward Baek Un-jin.
“Your matter is one between master and disciple, yet it also awakens an ancient scandal of Chui-ok Valley Sect.”
“I understand. But that is not reason enough to withdraw.”
“Why is that?”
“If such a massacre occurred within a sect, it is not something to be ashamed of in silence. It is something the sect must face and take responsibility for. It should not remain sealed and forgotten for a thousand years alone….”
Im So-ha believed that Yeon-poong’s sealing and the sect’s forgetting of her was also Chui-ok Valley Sect’s fault.
At her words, the cold aura surrounding Baek Un-jin subsided slightly.
“Yet it remains true that interfering in another sect’s affairs without justification would be disagreeable to Chui-ok Valley Sect as well.”
“I will find a way to——!”
“I will accompany you.”
“I’ll do my best——. Pardon?”
Im So-ha’s eyes widened in astonishment.
It was the most shocked expression I had ever seen on anyone’s face.
“The Great Susa is speaking directly?”
“If it’s said that I’ve stepped forward personally to resolve this matter since my disciples are entangled in the affairs of Unbyek Rim, then any future issues regarding justification can be resolved.”
There were few who could speak against Baek Un-jin, an elder of the Jeongmun Paldae and Great Susa Won-young-gi, stepping forward for his disciples.
Im So-ha’s mouth hung half-open, motionless.
At Baek Un-jin’s response, Eun Hui-gyeom, who had been holding my wrist, quietly released his grip.
“Then… what about everything you said to me just moments ago?”
“That Yeon-poong is undoubtedly a disgrace to the Chui-ok Valley Sect. If you’re going to involve a monastery from another sect in such matters, shouldn’t you be prepared accordingly?”
Baek Un-jin laughed softly as he looked at Im So-ha.
The cold aura that had surrounded him moments before had vanished entirely.
Im So-ha’s face grew increasingly flushed.
It was impossible to tell whether she was embarrassed or relieved.
“It was a test, then.”
“There’s no need to call it that.”
“No, Great Susa. I’m truly grateful.”
Im So-ha rose from her seat, performed a respectful bow with her fists clasped, and lowered her head once more.
“When are you thinking of departing?”
“My teacher’s condition is deteriorating, so I’m considering two days from now.”
“Then I’ll see you then.”
“Thank you.”
Baek Un-jin simply smiled gently and offered no further response.
***
Two days later.
We set out toward Unbyek Rim.
Kang Jin-heon had met us at Unbyek Rim due to his duties.
Beside him stood another familiar face—a man I recognized.
It was Baek Ri-myeong, a practitioner of the Baekryeong Bong Mun.
Among the practitioners who had been at Heugam Jae, Baek Ri-myeong had held the highest rank, and he had since become a 5-star practitioner of the Chukgi-gi.
His demeanor had changed considerably in the time since we last met.
When Baek Ri-myeong caught sight of Baek Un-jin, he started in surprise and greeted him first.
“It is an honor to meet you, Great Susa. I am Baek Ri-myeong of the Baekryeong Bong Mun.”
“Indeed.”
Baek Un-jin merely nodded curtly.
Eun Hui-gyeom and I bowed respectfully from Baek Un-jin’s side, while Kang Jin-heon clasped his fists in salute and offered our formal greeting.
After receiving our salutations, Baek Ri-myeong approached Im So-ha and spoke to her.
“Wait, how did this happen? I heard that practitioners from the Cheong Woo Seon Mun were coming, but no one mentioned that the Great Susa himself would be here.”
“…It just turned out this way.”
“Hell, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”
It seemed that bonds had formed among the Chukgi-gi practitioners who had fought together since the Jayangheol incident.
Baek Ri-myeong had come to Unbyek Rim at Im So-ha’s request.
Im So-ha glanced toward me, smiled faintly, and answered Baek Ri-myeong.
“I didn’t expect it either.”
“Of all people, the Great Susa Baek.”
Since becoming a Chukgi-gi practitioner, Baek Ri-myeong had risen to quite a high position within the Seonmun.
Though his duties often brought him face to face with the Wonryeonggi practitioners of the Baekryeong Bong Mun, Baek Un-jin was different.
“There’s no need to be so tense.”
“Ah, yes!”
Having heard the exchange, Baek Un-jin lightened the atmosphere with ease.
“Let’s go inside.”
We entered deeper into Unbyek Rim once more.
As we ventured past the entrance and into the depths of the forest, we could not help but be taken aback.
“What is this…?”
“Was the forest always like this?”
“It couldn’t have been this way originally.”
The landscape of Unbyek Rim was nothing like what I had witnessed last year.
The leaves still hung thick and layered, blocking out the sky, yet their color had faded.
Among the verdant hues, yellowed and withered leaves were interspersed, and sunlight seeped through the gaps.
The air itself was different from before.
The stench of rotting wood and decaying grass assailed my nostrils.
“When I visited last month, it wasn’t nearly this bad.”
If Im So-ha’s words were true, the forest’s condition had deteriorated dramatically in the span of merely one month.
‘This Unbyek Rim is a mirror image.’
A mirror reflecting the true Unbyek Rim.
That meant something had gone wrong with the Unbyek Rim that Yeon-poong carried within her.
Kang Jin-heon unfurled his steel threads with practiced ease and plucked them lightly.
A gust of wind swirled around him.
‘Hmm? Just now….’
Was it my imagination? Part of the wind that should have circled Kang Jin-heon as usual seemed to have separated and seeped into him instead.
When I blinked again, the wind was already circling Kang Jin-heon normally.
“Did something get in your eye?”
“No, no. Are you alright, Kang Susa?”
When I asked just to be sure, Kang Jin-heon looked down at his steel threads and nodded.
“The wind seems to have weakened considerably.”
“Really?”
“Well, of course it would be, given the state of the forest!”
That wasn’t the answer I was expecting.
Eun Hui-gyeom actually scolded him for stating the obvious.
‘It must have been my imagination.’
I glanced at Baek Un-jin just to be sure.
Since Baek Un-jin showed no particular reaction either, it seemed I had truly misread the situation.
There was still quite a distance to the Stone Chamber.
We ventured deeper into Unbyek Rim.
Midway through, Ha Gyeong-un’s condition deteriorated, so Im So-ha and Eun Hui-gyeom used healing techniques to aid him.
“Are you sure you’re not overexerting yourself….”
“I’m fine.”
He said so, but his complexion had turned ashen.
Baek Un-jin smoothed a faded leaf.
“…The seal is weakening.”
It was at that very moment.
A surge of energy rose from the forest.
I reflexively turned my body.
Eun Hui-gyeom placed his hand on his sword hilt, and Baek Ri-myeong had already drawn his blade.
All eyes converged on a single point.
From beyond the shadow of the trees, a monk slowly emerged.
A deep black robe with a hint of yellow, a long sword at his waist.
Light filtering through the leaves illuminated his face.
“Yang Ja-han?”
It had been years since I last saw him after Heugam Jae.
Yang Ja-han walked toward us.
In his hand, he carried multiple jade tokens of the Chui-ok Valley Sect.

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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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