Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 101
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 101: Flame Emperor Sect (2)
The Flame Emperor Sect that trampled the Golden Wing Sect is ascending to the 6th Floor.
In this situation, when Na Chwi-ryang asked what to do, Cheon Woo-jin opened his mouth while maintaining an indifferent expression.
“We’ll catch them on the 5th Layer.”
“Ooh….”
Na Chwi-ryang grinned, showing his teeth.
“I like how decisive you are. Is this for revenge against the Golden Wing Sect?”
“It has nothing to do with the Golden Wing Sect.”
Cheon Woo-jin answered coldly.
“I was planning to catch them in the 5th Layer Dense Forest anyway.”
The Dense Forest takes time to break through.
Unless you’re at the Nascent Soul realm or above who can transcend space, you have to wander around for a long time finding your way each time.
Wandering in the sweltering Dense Forest consumes energy and reduces concentration.
When the Flame Emperor Sect’s advance team, unfamiliar with Ghost Head City, is exhausted from breaking through the Dense Forest, they would launch a surprise attack.
Cheon Woo-jin had been thinking of such a strategy from the beginning.
“Good, then I should go with you too.”
“Is that okay?”
“We’re in the same boat anyway.”
Na Chwi-ryang grinned, showing his sharp teeth.
“Then let’s have a good fight together, just the two of us, like when we swept away the Iron Flower Sect, Cheon Woo-jin.”
“Na Chwi-ryang.”
In front of Na Chwi-ryang who spoke spiritedly, Cheon Woo-jin opened his mouth.
“We won’t be fighting just the two of us.”
“What?”
* * *
Before going down to the 5th Layer, Cheon Woo-jin stopped by Central Mirror Town to meet Seo Seol-ryeong.
“Fellow Daoist, the Flame Emperor Sect on the 4th Layer….”
“I already heard.”
Interrupting Seo Seol-ryeong’s words, Cheon Woo-jin took out the golden jade rice, fruits, and tea leaf containers he had harvested from the Cave Dwelling.
“Please take only what you can eat, and sell the rest to Wi Ju-seon.”
“Could you please not use my tea house as a direct farm produce market?”
Seo Seol-ryeong grumbled like that, but when she picked up a peach and smelled it, her expression changed.
“This is top quality. Let me buy about five of them. How much would that be?”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
“Pardon?”
“I said to take what you can eat.”
Understanding that he meant to give them for free, Seo Seol-ryeong hesitated.
“I can’t do that, Fellow Daoist.”
“Taking small change would just make calculations troublesome. Just keep them.”
“With the tea leaves last time and now this, if you keep showing such kindness….”
“In return.”
Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a calm voice.
“I’d like you to help me dispose of crops in the future too.”
“….”
The strength left Seo Seol-ryeong’s shoulders.
“So your plan was to use me as a sales agent.”
“Is it wrong to entrust mediation to a merchant?”
“Sigh… Fine. I’ll take care of the commission myself.”
Eventually, Seo Seol-ryeong nodded.
“If you need to dispose of farm produce in the future, just bring it to me. I’ll pass it on to someone who’ll give you a good price.”
“I’ll do that.”
“And….”
Seo Seol-ryeong held out a small wooden box.
“These are the Heaven Penetrating Pills that the Azure Preparation Hall brought.”
“They’re ready already?”
“It seems they brought the ones that were completed first.”
Inside the box were about ten dark blue medicinal pills.
If he took these, he would be able to clearly grasp the surrounding situation even in a dense forest.
“So you’re going down to the 5th Layer now?”
“I have to.”
He had already told Seo Seol-ryeong about his plan to ambush the Flame Emperor Sect’s advance team on the 5th Layer.
“That works out well. By now, those people should have almost all reached the 6th Floor. I think you’ll be able to meet them near the connecting passage.”
“That’s fortunate.”
As he had told Na Chwi-ryang, Cheon Woo-jin had no intention of fighting Na Chwi-ryang alone.
While experts like Guyang Hu could be defeated by sharing the burden with Na Chwi-ryang, they would need more hands to deal with all the remaining disciples.
During the last attack on the Iron Flower Sect, they had missed many small fry because only Na Chwi-ryang and he had gone together.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Yes, please take care.”
Seeing off by her calm voice, Cheon Woo-jin left Seo Seol-ryeong’s shop.
And headed toward the passage connecting to the 5th layer.
“Hey, Cheon Woo-jin!”
Near the entrance, Na Chwi-ryang was waiting.
“Are these the guys you mentioned?”
Na Chwi-ryang pointed at the two men who were with him.
They were hunching their shoulders in front of Na Chwi-ryang, but their expressions brightened when they saw Cheon Woo-jin.
“Cheon Daoist!”
“It’s been a while!”
“Thanks for coming, Jang Daoist, Won Daoist.”
They were Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so, whom he had traveled with before.
When fighting the Poison Sword Sect, Cheon Woo-jin had received their command, but when fighting the Ten Thousand Poison Six Death Gate, Cheon Woo-jin had led them.
Knowing they were trustworthy people, he had promised to contact them first if he ever needed help with work again.
“Both of you look better. Did you have some achievements?”
“Haha, does it show?”
“You really have a good eye, Cheon Daoist.”
At Cheon Woo-jin’s words, Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so showed proud expressions.
[Jang Ryang ]
* Race: Human
* Age: 165 years
* Realm: Foundation Establishment Great Perfection
* Constitution: Earth Spiritual Root
* Faction: Neutral Path
* Affiliation: Ghost Head City
* Destiny: Self-Cultivation
[Won Pil-so ]
* Race: Human
* Age: 142 years
* Realm: Foundation Establishment Late Stage
* Constitution: Fire-Earth Spiritual Root
* Faction: Neutral Path
* Affiliation: Ghost Head City
* Destiny: Family Harmony
Jang Ryang had grown from Foundation Establishment late stage to great perfection, and Won Pil-so had advanced from middle stage to late stage.
They had each grown by one stage in just a few months.
“We used the payment we received from the Golden Bell as capital to start a business. It went well, so we were able to afford good elixirs.”
“A business?”
“Nothing too grand, we’re making and selling talismans.”
Come to think of it, Jang Ryang had talent in auxiliary arts like talismans and formations.
“I help senior brother by procuring necessary materials and such. We don’t mass-produce the same talismans, but take custom orders, so we sometimes need rare materials.”
“Looks like you succeeded by targeting a niche market.”
Ordinary talismans could be bought from places like the Yellow Pearl Spirit Gate.
But when custom talismans were needed, it might be better to entrust them to talisman masters who worked independently like this.
“Is it okay for you to come help like this when business must be busy?”
“No, we’ve actually been wanting to move up to the 6th layer anyway. We wanted to play in bigger waters.”
Jang Ryang smiled while looking at Cheon Woo-jin’s face.
“Actually, we’ve been thinking about it ever since we parted with you last time, Cheon Daoist. Starting the talisman business was also our way of exploring new paths.”
Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so had entered Ghost Head City with the goal of rebuilding their former sect.
But they hadn’t achieved much success and had been stagnating, going back and forth between the lower and middle layers of Ghost Head City.
They had been mocked by other cultivators for this… but the experience of fighting shoulder to shoulder with Cheon Woo-jin last time had been a great stimulus.
“We can’t advance with overwhelming force breaking through everything like you do, Cheon Daoist… but we also have aspirations for improvement in our hearts. That’s why we responded to this contact.”
“I see.”
Suddenly, Cheon Woo-jin thought it would be good if Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so could establish themselves on the 6th layer.
Since Jang Ryang’s talisman-making skills were far superior to Cheon Woo-jin’s, he could often receive help from him.
It would also be good to request help when needing assistance like this.
“I’ll mention to Seo Seol-ryeong later that you two are thinking this way.”
“Hmm? We’d be grateful if you did.”
Seo Seol-ryeong would be able to help the two establish themselves on the 6th layer.
“It’s fortunate that you seem to be getting along well with that person too. I was quite surprised when I heard that you had gone up to chase after that person who had gone missing last time.”
“There’s a bit of a misunderstanding in that expression…”
Then Na Chwi-ryang, who had been watching from the side, stroked his chin and spoke.
“Hmm, so the four of us will attack the Flame Emperor Gate’s advance team together?”
“That’s how it’ll be.”
“They don’t seem very reliable… Well, I suppose they can at least serve as meat shields.”
When Na Chwi-ryang grinned, showing his sharp teeth, Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so hunched their shoulders again.
In fact, in Na Chwi-ryang’s eyes, both Jang Ryang and Won Pil-so would just look like small fry.
“Cheon Woo-jin, let me tell you something – I won’t be moving according to your orders. I’ll move as I see fit, so you handle things your own way.”
“That’s fine.”
Na Chwi-ryang wasn’t the type to fight in coordination with others anyway.
There was no guarantee he’d follow Cheon Woo-jin’s orders even if given, so it was better to just let him fight as he pleased.
If Na Chwi-ryang ran wild to his heart’s content, it would make it easier for Cheon Woo-jin to move as intended.
“Ah, where should we meet once everything’s over?”
“In the 5th Layer dense forest, there’s a place where a great fire burned and all the vegetation was consumed.”
Cheon Woo-jin mentioned the traces from when he had burned down Jangrim Stronghold last time.
“The traces should still remain, so let’s meet there.”
* * *
“Hmm, these are traces of being burned by True Fire.”
Elder Guyang Hu of the Flame Emperor Sect touched the blackened soil.
There was a burned area in the dense forest region that looked like slash-and-burn farming, but upon examination, nothing special remained.
“Ordinary fire couldn’t create this. It seems skilled cultivators fought here.”
“It appears so.”
“Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be anything special here, so let’s move to another location.”
The Flame Emperor Sect’s advance team was currently wandering through the dense forest region for the fourth day.
They had thought lightly of it since Foundation Establishment Cultivators also passed through here, but it was harder than expected.
The tower leading to the 6th Layer was visible just by looking up.
However, the entrance to that place was hidden somewhere in the dense forest.
Since no map existed for this place, they had no choice but to wander around and search thoroughly.
“I thought the dense forest inside the fortress was just an imitation, but it’s completely different. This is like a Secret Realm.”
“It seems to be artificially generating heat pathogen, and without firmly protecting oneself with spiritual power in the defensive qi, one would get heat stroke.”
“What if those ant-like monsters appear again? For insects, they were far too well-coordinated.”
Hearing the disciples murmuring behind him, Guyang Hu walked through the underbrush.
Though he was keeping his body comfortable with spiritual power, wandering through the dense forest for four days was very bothersome.
“The Sect Master will be quite angry when he passes through this place.”
They had thought too lightly of Ghost Head City.
If they had known it would be this harsh a place, they would have prepared more thoroughly.
“If I had known this would happen, I should have hired cultivators familiar with dense forest exploration from the 4th Layer.”
After the conflict with the Golden Bell Sect, everyone seemed to keep their distance from the Flame Emperor Sect.
Still, if they offered a large sum, someone would surely have taken on the guidance job.
“Should I have thoroughly subjugated those Golden Bell Sect bastards first and then made them guide us?”
Muttering to himself like this, Guyang Hu clicked his tongue.
“We couldn’t even get proper information about that Cheon Woo-jin bastard… just wasted our strength.”
Guyang Hu had stormed the Golden Bell Sect Main Hall to learn about Cheon Woo-jin.
But even after subjugating the Golden Bell Sect Master and beating up Gwak Gyeong-in and others, he couldn’t obtain much useful information.
If it were up to his feelings, he wanted to kill about half the disciples and then threaten them saying ‘Spit out everything before I kill the other half too.’
However, since the Golden Bell Sect was also a fairly renowned Orthodox Sect, he couldn’t do that.
To cause a blood calamity against a fellow Orthodox Sect required proper justification.
“What on earth did that Cheon Woo-jin do to capture the Golden Bell Sect’s hearts…”
While muttering to himself and pushing through the underbrush.
Guyang Hu felt something was wrong.
The footsteps of the disciples following behind.
Their number had somehow decreased.
“What’s going on?”
“Pardon?”
The disciples’ eyes widened at Guyang Hu’s urgent expression as he turned around.
But Guyang Hu witnessed a shocking scene over the disciples’ shoulders.
One disciple was suspended in mid-air with his head and torso separated, dripping blood.
Something invisible had ripped off that disciple’s head.
“Celestial Silkworm Shadow Cloak…!”
“Keke, I’ve been discovered.”
Swoosh.
A lizard monster that revealed itself from what seemed like empty air threw the disciple’s corpse left and right.
“Na Chwi-ryang!”
No doubt about it.
This was the monster cultivator Na Chwi-ryang, presumed to have taken the Celestial Silkworm Shadow Cloak along with Cheon Woo-jin.
That bastard had approached wearing the Celestial Silkworm Shadow Cloak and killed the disciple.
“Capture him!”
“Yes, Elder!”
The disciples rushed toward Na Chwi-ryang.
“He might hide his body with the Celestial Silkworm Shadow Cloak and escape! Don’t give him time to put on the Celestial Silkworm Shadow Cloak!”
“Kahaha! Useless worry!”
Na Chwi-ryang roared as he inflated his body using the Soft Body Technique.
“You’re the ones who shouldn’t run away! I’ll tear you all to pieces!”
“How vulgar…”
Guyang-hu frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Is it because he’s a lizard that he lacks intelligence? Well, seeing how he charges in alone relying only on the Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Cloak, he does seem like a stupid bastard.”
He already knew that Na Chwi-ryang was a skilled member of the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect.
But among the disciples Guyang-hu had brought, there were several True Transmission Disciples who had reached the Core Formation Realm.
If by any chance their power wasn’t enough to subdue Na Chwi-ryang, Guyang-hu could step in directly.
The Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Cloak was certainly an impressive Dharma Artifact, but it was effective for stealthy surprise attacks or assassinations, not meaningful in group battles like this.
Even if Na Chwi-ryang succeeded in putting on the Heavenly Silkworm Shadow Cloak again, if they surrounded him and trapped him in a formation, escaping secretly would be impossible.
So capturing Na Chwi-ryang here wasn’t a difficult task.
Originally, he planned to capture him after Sect Master Jin Si-hyeok arrived, but since that bastard attacked first, there was no choice.
First, they’d capture Na Chwi-ryang here, and deal with Cheon Woo-jin after Jin Si-hyeok arrived…
“Charging in alone?”
At that moment, Na Chwi-ryang burst into laughter as he smashed the head of one True Transmission Disciple.
“As expected, these so-called prestigious Orthodox Sect bastards have such peaceful minds! How do you survive in this harsh Cultivation World being so naive!”
“What did you say…?”
The moment Guyang-hu’s eyes widened at Na Chwi-ryang’s unexpected statement.
[Black Lightning Descent Strike]
Without warning, an enormous black lightning bolt struck down upon Guyang-hu’s head with a devastating roar.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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