Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 100
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 100: Flame Emperor Gate (1)
“The air in Ghost Head City is truly filthy.”
Ghost Head City Lower Levels, 3rd Layer.
Walking through the streets there, a white-haired Old Man frowned.
Then the disciples walking with him spoke apologetically.
“But they say the air becomes clean once you go up to the 4th Layer.”
“They say only the Lower Levels have such thick miasma energy.”
“Please bear with it just a little longer, Elder Guyang.”
Elder of the Flame Emperor Gate, Guyang Hu.
This was the Old Man’s identity.
A figure who had served as a pillar of the Flame Emperor Gate for many years, he was a master who had reached the Great Perfection stage of the Core Formation Realm.
In the Flame Emperor Gate, only two people had reached Great Perfection of Core Formation: Sect Master Jin Si-hyeok and Guyang Hu.
Since the Flame Emperor Gate, a branch faction of the Taeul Yeokri Gate, had no Elder Ancestors above the Nascent Soul realm, Guyang Hu could be called the second-in-command of the Flame Emperor Gate.
“I was thinking of setting up lodging around here so the Sect Master could also tour the Lower Levels of Ghost Head City, but it seems that won’t work. The environment is too harsh to host the Sect Master.”
The reason Guyang Hu had entered Ghost Head City now was to make preparations in advance before Sect Master Jin Si-hyeok’s visit.
Jin Si-hyeok wasn’t simply coming to Ghost Head City to retrieve the Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Robe.
He had plans to use this opportunity to widely spread his name throughout Ghost Head City.
That’s why Guyang Hu had entered Ghost Head City first as an advance party.
He needed to make preliminary preparations before Jin Si-hyeok’s arrival.
Finding lodging was one of those preparations.
Since Jin Si-hyeok absolutely could not tolerate shabby or dirty accommodations, Guyang Hu had to inspect them personally.
If there were no decent lodgings, he was even considering building an entire building before Jin Si-hyeok’s arrival… but if the air itself was this filthy, even that would become difficult.
“When the Sect Master arrives, we’ll have to guide him straight to the 4th Layer… Hmm?”
At that moment, Guyang Hu’s eyes caught sight of a group wearing golden Daoist robes.
They were dressed much more luxuriously than the other Cultivators wandering around.
“What Cultivators are those?”
“If they’re wearing golden robes… they seem to be from Golden Bell, which has its Main Hall on the 4th Layer.”
At his disciple’s answer, Guyang Hu stroked his chin.
“I’ve heard of them. They’re said to be the most prosperous sect on the 4th Layer?”
“They recently suffered heavy losses fighting a war against the Black Gate forces, but they still achieved victory. Lately, they’ve been recruiting new disciples to replenish their human resources.”
“That sturdy Man in the center seems to have quite high cultivation. I should go exchange greetings.”
Guyang Hu headed toward the Golden Bell Cultivators with his Subordinates.
Then they took a wary attitude.
“You seem to be people we haven’t seen before. Where are you from?”
“We are people from the Flame Emperor Gate.”
“Flame Emperor Gate?”
The name of the Flame Emperor Gate, a branch faction of the Taeul Yeokri Gate, was known even in Ghost Head City.
The sturdy Man with thick eyebrows hastily clasped his hands together.
“I was rude. We are disciples of Golden Bell.”
“I know. What is your name?”
“I am called Gwak Gyeong-in.”
Hearing the other party’s name, Guyang Hu nodded.
“Cultivator Gwak, we are currently looking for a place to stay.”
“Are you looking for lodging for yourself, Elder Daoist?”
“No, not for me, but to host someone else.”
Hearing Guyang Hu’s words, Gwak Gyeong-in was startled.
Hearing that someone important from the Flame Emperor Gate was coming, he had a suspicion.
“If that’s the case, how about staying at our Golden Bell? We will take responsibility and host you properly.”
“Haha, would that be alright?”
Actually, Guyang Hu had been expecting Golden Bell to react this way.
He thought that Golden Bell, being the most prosperous sect on the 4th Layer, would be able to provide lodging that would satisfy Jin Si-hyeok.
“It seems like we’d be causing too much trouble…”
“Not at all, being able to host the renowned Daoists of the Flame Emperor Gate would be Golden Bell’s honor.”
Gwak Gyeong-in was enthusiastic.
“If you need any other help, please say anything. We’ll help as much as possible.”
“Hmm, if you put it that way…”
Guyang Hu spoke with a satisfied smile.
“Actually, we came to find someone.”
“Someone?”
“There are those who intercepted items that should have come to us, so we came to punish them.”
“My, there are such wicked fellows. Then our Golden Bell will also cooperate.”
Things seem to be going well.
Thinking this, Guyang Hu smiled.
“There are two of them. One is a demon cultivator named Na Chwi-ryang who belongs to the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect…”
He mentioned the names he had heard before, one by one.
“The other is a rootless Mercenary, said to be named Cheon Woo-jin.”
At that moment.
Gwak Gyeong-in’s expression changed drastically.
“Is that really true?”
“It is.”
“….”
Gwak Gyeong-in exchanged serious glances with the surrounding cultivators.
“Hmm? Do you perhaps know something?”
“I’m sorry about this, Elder Daoist.”
Gwak Gyeong-in spoke in a stiff voice in response to Guyang Hu’s question.
“I want to cancel our agreement to provide you with lodging.”
“What, what did you say?”
Guyang Hu’s eyes widened at the sudden change in attitude.
“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“The demon cultivators of the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect are none of our concern, but….”
Gwak Gyeong-in spoke with a resolute expression.
“We cannot provide aid to someone who antagonizes Cheon Daoist. Know that this is not just my opinion, but represents the unanimous will of our entire Golden Bell Sect.”
“…!”
After making such a bold declaration, Gwak Gyeong-in immediately left with the other cultivators.
Guyang Hu could only stand there dumbfounded.
“What exactly is Cheon Woo-jin that they act like this…?”
In Guyang Hu’s nearly 400 years of life, this was the first time he had seen such behavior over a mere mercenary.
* * *
Ghost Head City, 6th Floor, Central Mirror Town.
Alchemists at the Blue Emperor Workshop, which specialized in elixirs, cheered with joy.
“Thank you so much! I don’t know how many decades it’s been since I’ve seen Black Wolf Spiders in such perfect condition!”
The alchemists were cheering because of the Black Wolf Spiders that Cheon Woo-jin had personally brought them.
There were five Black Wolf Spiders in total, and they were all in excellent condition.
“Will this help with creating the Heaven Sense Pills?”
“Of course! We’ll be able to make large quantities of the highest quality Heaven Sense Pills!”
Hearing the response, Cheon Woo-jin also felt satisfied.
It had been worth using ice attribute magic arts to capture them with minimal damage.
“Then….”
“Don’t worry! We’ll give you a quarter of the completed Heaven Sense Pills!”
This time he had agreed to receive Heaven Sense Pills as payment.
Heaven Sense Pills enhanced the user’s senses to the extreme.
Just like the Black Wolf Spiders that could detect approaching prey or predators like ghosts.
Cheon Woo-jin had long been extending his spiritual energy in all directions like a spider web to expand his senses.
What would happen if he took Heaven Sense Pills on top of that to make his senses even sharper?
He would have to test it directly to know the exact effects, but it would certainly be a great help in his fight against the Flame Emperor Sect.
“We’ll send them to you as soon as the Heaven Sense Pills are completed. Just wait a few days!”
“Understood.”
After finishing his visit to the Blue Emperor Workshop, Cheon Woo-jin entered the Eastern Section of Taixu Cave Heaven.
In the spirit fields, the Golden Jade Rice had already fully grown.
Being able to harvest much faster than ordinary rice was one of the advantages of spirit rice.
‘Should I start harvesting?’
Swoosh!
Cheon Woo-jin’s sword qi cut down the rice stalks all at once.
He used spiritual power to move all the harvested stalks to where the pill furnace was located.
Tap tap tap!
He threshed the rice by shaking it with spiritual power over the pill furnace.
This filled the pill furnace with unhusked grains.
Clank.
With the furnace lid closed, he lit a fire and began manipulating the Eight Trigrams.
‘I need to mix well with Xun like the wind and polish well with Dui like a rippling lake.’
Swish swish swish.
The sound of grains mixing and rubbing against each other could be heard from inside the pill furnace.
This friction separated the bran layer surrounding the rice.
‘This will take some time, so I should pick fruit in the meantime.’
The fruit trees Cheon Woo-jin had planted on the back mountain were peaches and plums.
Peaches and plums were originally difficult fruits to cultivate, but here they were actually easier to grow since he didn’t have to worry about pests, diseases, or storms.
When he picked a peach and took a bite, sweet juice filled his mouth.
‘Why is this so delicious?’
It was much more delicious than expected, making him marvel.
Do the people of Golden Wing Sect always live eating such fruits?
‘No, the low-ranking disciples probably can’t eat them freely. Only high-ranking people like Gwak Gyeong-in would be able to eat them daily.’
With such thoughts, Cheon Woo-jin finished eating an entire peach on the spot.
Then he felt cool spiritual energy, like peach juice, gently spreading throughout his body.
As can be seen from the legend of the heavenly peaches that grant immortality, peaches were originally the representative of mystical fruits.
In this world too, peaches were the most popular spirit fruit.
‘I’ll set aside what I need to eat and what I’ll give to Seo Seol-ryeong… I should sell the rest to Wi Ju-seon.’
But how much should he sell them for?
He wasn’t sure since he had never bought such high-grade fruits at the market before.
‘Should I ask the Golden Wing Sect people?’
After harvesting all the peaches and plums and checking the pill furnace again, the milling was complete.
Golden Jade Rice that emitted a brilliant light close to gold filled the pill furnace.
Cheon Woo-jin picked up a few grains as a test and chewed them in his mouth with a crunching sound.
He could feel the rich spiritual energy contained within.
‘If I polish off more of the outer layer here, it would become white rice that’s easy to eat, but then it would lose the meaning of Golden Jade Rice.’
After processing it by removing dust and drying out moisture, he put it into a prepared sack.
About half of this would also be handed over to Wi Ju-seon.
‘Wait, couldn’t I ask Seo Seol-ryeong to sell this too?’
Originally, traveling merchants mainly mediate commercial transactions.
Couldn’t Seo Seol-ryeong also help sell the crops Cheon Woo-jin cultivated to good places?
With such thoughts, Cheon Woo-jin cooked rice with the freshly milled Golden Jade Rice and had his meal.
Though he didn’t have proper side dishes, the rice went down smoothly with just the savory taste of the Golden Jade Rice itself.
‘I need to replenish grain energy as well as spiritual energy.’
After finishing his meal, Cheon Woo-jin cleaned up and left the cave dwelling.
Then he moved to the wetland region and entered the Blood Marsh Secret Realm.
In the secret realm, he first performed qi circulation cultivation while absorbing the abundant spiritual energy.
Thanks to eating good spirit fruits and spirit rice, the efficiency of qi circulation cultivation was better than usual.
After finishing qi circulation cultivation, he began training the Six Extremes Heaven Steel Divine Art.
Perhaps thanks to Na Chwi-ryang teaching him the basics well, his progress was fast.
‘Now I’ve become accustomed to concentrating steel energy in various parts of the body.’
This didn’t mean things like channeling steel energy into fists to unleash fist force, or channeling steel energy into legs to maximize kicking power.
It meant he had become able to concentrate steel energy wherever he wanted inside the human body.
He had even become able to gather steel energy in places like the Triple Heater, which has no physical form.
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin closed his eyes and drew down the fire energy of his heart while drawing up the water energy of his kidneys.
The grain energy from the Golden Jade Rice he had eaten earlier was activating the functions of his heart and kidneys more than usual.
At the same time, he concentrated steel energy in the Triple Heater.
The Triple Heater is an intangible circulation pathway responsible for upper and lower communication in the human body, and it’s also where the fire energy of the heart and water energy of the kidneys collide.
By strengthening this Triple Heater, it was possible to cause even stronger collisions than before.
“Hissss!”
Strange crying sounds were heard.
They were the snake demons that had been targeting Cheon Woo-jin from earlier.
Seeing Cheon Woo-jin’s defenseless appearance with both eyes closed, they seemed to think it was a golden opportunity.
They were moving like sliding over the wetland, approaching Cheon Woo-jin.
All of them were house-sized, so they could probably swallow someone like Cheon Woo-jin in one gulp.
Even knowing this, Cheon Woo-jin remained unperturbed.
He was feeling more powerful lightning energy being generated than ever before as fire energy and water energy collided in the Triple Heater strengthened by steel energy.
[Black Lightning Annihilation]
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
A storm of intense black lightning energy burst forth.
Countless lightning blades like pitch-black darkness poured down to engulf them, beginning to grind their bodies with overwhelming power.
Cheon Woo-jin’s idea of using steel energy to enhance physical strength and unleash stronger magic arts.
It had properly shown its effect.
But this was only at the testing stage.
Cheon Woo-jin’s goal was to unleash high-level magic arts at a level absolutely impossible with his current body.
He still needed more training.
Before Cheon Woo-jin who thought this way, the snake demons were being ground away, leaving only black ash-like remains.
* * *
After finishing his training for now, Cheon Woo-jin came out of the Blood Marsh Secret Realm.
Then he encountered Na Chwi-ryang, who had been waiting outside.
“Perfect timing. Let me return what I borrowed.”
Cheon Woo-jin tried to return the Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Robe, but Na Chwi-ryang raised his hand to stop him.
“Before that, there’s something I need to tell you first, Cheon Woo-jin.”
“What’s this?”
Na Chwi-ryang said with his arms crossed.
“It seems the Flame Emperor Sect had quite a confrontation with the Golden Wing Sect on the 4th Layer.”
“Golden Wing Sect?”
Why would the Flame Emperor Sect mess with the Golden Wing Sect?
“They went to the Golden Wing Sect and caused trouble, demanding they spill information about Cheon Woo-jin.”
“….”
“They say no one died. But the Golden Wing Sect Master was defeated by an Elder from the Flame Emperor Sect and lost face.”
Lee Seon-gyeong, the Sect Master of the Golden Wing Sect, had been severely injured by Gi Sin-ryeo of the Ten Thousand Poison Six Evil Sect.
Since it was poison damage, he probably hadn’t fully recovered yet.
In that condition, there was no way he could face Guyang Hu, the second-in-command of the Flame Emperor Sect.
“It seems Gwak Gyeong-in and other key disciples were also quite injured.”
“….”
He remembered Gwak Gyeong-in’s face when he had tried to hold a grand funeral for Cheon Woo-jin.
The crops that Cheon Woo-jin was currently growing in his Cave Dwelling were all things that man had taken care of.
“After that, the Flame Emperor Sect bastards headed to the 5th Layer. They’re probably passing through the Dense Forest area right about now to ascend to the 6th Floor.”
After saying that, Na Chwi-ryang looked at Cheon Woo-jin’s face and asked.
“What are you going to do, Cheon Woo-jin?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
