Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 12

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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 12: Persuasion (2)

 

 

This is definitely a Slave Contract.

 

However, in the game, accepting such Slave Contracts was actually a decent strategy.

You could enter the sect without being constrained by the timing of entrance exams, and there were events that only occurred when you joined through this method.

Since there were also events that allowed you to escape from such Slave Contract situations, it wasn’t a bad choice in the game.

 

‘Still, there’s no need to invite trouble unnecessarily.’

 

A game is a game.

Reality is reality.

He couldn’t think of a game character being exploited and himself being exploited on the same level.

 

However, directly expressing his refusal to Jin Cheong here would be dangerous.

Cultivators with strong pride like Jin Cheong would harbor resentment thinking ‘How dare you?’ when their proposals were rejected.

While he wouldn’t cause harm immediately, there was a risk he might trip up Cheon Woo-jin later.

 

“To give such an opportunity to a rootless mountain wanderer like me, I’m truly grateful.”

 

For now, Cheon Woo-jin clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully.

 

“However, before stamping the Blood Seal, there’s something I’d like to tell you.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“There’s a Stone Cave nearby that Ghost Shadow used to use.”

 

Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a cautious voice.

 

“And inside it, there was a strange ginseng root.”

“Ginseng?”

“It was shaped like a child crouching down, and strangely, it had an azure color.”

 

Azure color.

The moment he heard those words, Jin Cheong’s eyes widened greatly.

 

“Could it be Azure Child Scattered Ginseng?”

“I don’t know the name, but it seemed like a precious medicinal ingredient.”

 

After saying that.

Cheon Woo-jin deliberately pretended to read the situation and asked.

 

“If I offer that when joining Taeul Yeokri Gate, could I receive better treatment…?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

 

Jin Cheong couldn’t hide his excitement.

Making him stamp the Blood Seal on the Slave Contract had already disappeared from his mind.

 

“First, let me verify it. Where is that Stone Cave?”

“I’ll guide you there.”

 

As Cheon Woo-jin took the lead, Jin Cheong followed with excited steps.

 

* * *

 

Right now, Jin Cheong was overwhelmed with extreme excitement.

He was about to obtain Azure Child Scattered Ginseng from an unexpected place.

 

‘That Ghost Shadow bastard must have acquired the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng through the Won Family Clan. But he didn’t know how to use it, so he just kept it stored away.’

 

Azure Child Scattered Ginseng was a rare medicinal ingredient that Jin Cheong had been searching for a long time.

It wasn’t something Jin Cheong himself needed, but something he had to offer as tribute to an Elder of Taeul Yeokri Gate.

 

‘To whoever brings the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng, I’ll give a Foundation Building Pill… He definitely promised that!’

 

If there really was Azure Child Scattered Ginseng, there would be no need to investigate the Black Mist Dragon’s whereabouts anymore.

Just bringing and offering the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng would be enough to obtain the Foundation Building Pill.

 

‘In that case…’

 

Jin Cheong stared at the back of the head of the Junior Cultivator walking ahead.

 

‘It would be better to just kill this guy.’

 

Originally, Jin Cheong had planned to let this guy join Taeul Yeokri Gate.

But if this guy came forward claiming ownership of the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng, it would become troublesome.

 

It would be more convenient to just kill him here and steal the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng.

 

‘I need to receive the Foundation Building Pill to make greater contributions to the sect. It’s for the greater good, so please understand, junior.’

 

Rationalizing it that way, Jin Cheong entered the Stone Cave with the Junior Cultivator.

 

“Where is the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng?”

“It’s at the far end over there.”

 

Jin Cheong headed in the direction the Junior Cultivator pointed.

But no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t see the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng.

 

“Hey. Where exactly is it…”

 

The moment he tried to turn around to check again.

A voice was heard.

 

“Instant Kill.”

 

Instant Kill.

What could that sudden sound mean?

 

Suddenly, he recalled the Heart Instant Kill that martial artists spoke of.

They say that when you reach the pinnacle of Martial Arts, you can kill someone just by willing it.

But why would this bastard say such a thing?

 

“….”

 

Jin Cheong momentarily had such doubts.

But that was the end of it.

 

Jin Cheong’s body was already torn to shreds.

All organ functions, including his heart, had stopped.

No more spiritual energy flowed through his meridians.

 

Without even understanding what had happened to him, Jin Cheong met his death.

 

* * *

 

Thud.

Jin Cheong collapsed onto the Stone Cave floor.

 

‘He must have been planning to kill me and steal the Azure Child Scattered Ginseng.’

 

Cheon Woo-jin looked down at Jin Cheong’s corpse, lost in thought.

 

‘Because that’s the kind of person you are.’

 

Even if they were cultivators belonging to Orthodox Sects, they would readily betray others if they could gain significant benefits.

This Cultivation World was a place where someone who had promised to repay a favor just moments ago could unhesitatingly raise the sword of betrayal.

 

Cheon Woo-jin already knew that Jin Cheong was searching for Azure Child Scattered Ginseng.

He had known from the beginning that Jin Cheong was the type who would kill him to steal it.

 

The reason Cheon Woo-jin had deliberately lured Jin Cheong into the Stone Cave was because he wanted to avoid killing him with Instant Death Heaven Eye in an open area.

If any nearby cultivators noticed the disturbance and flew over, he could find himself in a troublesome situation.

 

‘Now then….’

 

Cheon Woo-jin reached toward Jin Cheong’s corpse.

He needed to check for loot before disposing of the body.

 

However, all that was in Jin Cheong’s robes was a single leather pouch.

 

‘This isn’t an ordinary pouch. It’s a Storage Bag.’

 

A Storage Bag was a tool that served as an ‘inventory’ in the martial world.

While it looked like an ordinary pouch on the outside, it could hold a massive amount of items inside.

 

Without a Storage Bag, one would always have to carry around large amounts of luggage.

Not only was it inconvenient, but it also looked unseemly.

To roam the Continent as a cultivator, one needed to have a Storage Bag.

 

When he had searched Gal Sa-ryang’s corpse last time, there was no Storage Bag.

It seemed to have been lost when his torso was pierced by Black Death Dragon’s attack.

But since Jin Cheong’s body was only torn to shreds, Cheon Woo-jin was able to retrieve the Storage Bag.

 

‘I wonder what’s inside.’

 

Cheon Woo-jin put his hand into the Storage Bag’s opening.

When he closed his eyes and concentrated his mind, what items were stored inside the Storage Bag naturally came to mind.

 

‘There are various Medicinal Pills and Talismans… and all sorts of miscellaneous tools needed for cultivator life.’

 

Unfortunately, there were no special Dharma Artifacts or anything like that.

But it was still too early to be disappointed.

 

‘There are large quantities of Spirit Stones.’

 

Spirit Stones were stones formed by the condensation of spiritual energy.

They were used for various purposes in the Cultivation World, and also served as a form of currency.

 

Inside Jin Cheong’s Storage Bag, hundreds of Spirit Stones were stored.

With this much, he wouldn’t have to worry about funds for quite a while.

 

‘Yes, with this many Spirit Stones….’

 

Cheon Woo-jin felt satisfied.

With this, the conditions for departing on his journey were met.

 

‘I can establish myself as a cultivator even without a Sect’s protection.’

 

That’s right.

From the beginning, Cheon Woo-jin had no intention of joining a Sect.

While typical Spirit Refinement cultivators tried to join Sects to obtain Foundation Building Pills, Cheon Woo-jin planned to walk the path of a wandering cultivator as he was.

 

Whether by taking tests to gain entry, or receiving recommendations from seniors like Jin Cheong… joining a Sect would only lead to exploitation.

 

‘Originally, Capital Sects are structured so that superiors exploit subordinates.’

 

The essence of Capital Sects was like multi-level marketing companies.

The harder newly admitted Junior Cultivators worked themselves to the bone, the more the senior Elders who had established themselves long ago would benefit.

 

Why do Capital Sects accept all Spirit Refinement cultivators regardless of talent, teaching them techniques and providing Elixir support?

Because they can gain even greater benefits by working them to the bone and thoroughly exploiting them.

They dispatch low-ranking disciples to various places to collect cultivation resources, then exploit those resources to use them for advancing the upper echelons of the Sect.

And they work them to death while saying, ‘If you work harder, you too can reach higher realms.’

 

The reason they don’t admit old people like Ghost Shadow is ultimately related to this structure.

Since they’ll die soon anyway upon reaching their lifespan, it’s difficult to recover the initial investment costs.

 

‘Among Spirit Refinement cultivators who join Capital Sects, less than 1 in 100 can attempt Foundation Building. The rest just get exploited until they die.’

 

Jin Cheong was ultimately destined to die that way too.

Unless a player deliberately gifted Foundation Building Pills to Jin Cheong, Jin Cheong would only be used by the upper echelons of Taeul Yeokri Gate before dying.

Though Jin Cheong had tried to exploit Cheon Woo-jin, Jin Cheong was also just one of the disciples being exploited by his superiors.

 

Of course, in the game, the system was designed so that one could grow steadily by breaking through odds of less than 1 in 100.

If Cheon Woo-jin set his mind to it, he could distinguish himself within the sect like in the game and reach the Foundation Building stage.

 

But… there was no need to deliberately seek out such hardships.

 

‘There’s no reason to live being exploited after coming this far.’

 

If he entered the sect, he would also suffer from all kinds of interference.

Every time Cheon Woo-jin showed outstanding performance, his seniors would surely be jealous and hold him back.

Sometimes there would even be those who would try to devour Cheon Woo-jin entirely.

 

Fighting against such interference while bound by the sect’s contract would be inefficient.

 

‘So, this playthrough will be a wandering cultivator play.’

 

Wandering cultivator play.

Among Immortal Path users, this was a widely known playstyle abbreviated as ‘wandering play.’

It meant abandoning the orthodox path of entering a capital sect and instead advancing one’s cultivation realm as an unaffiliated wandering cultivator.

 

One had to give up the cultivation manuals and training resources provided by sects, but in return could be free from troublesome missions and promotion procedures.

It was a playstyle that maximized this secured freedom by traveling across the continent and monopolizing resources.

 

This was a cultivation method that could only work because it was a game.

An ordinary Qi Refining stage disciple attempting to cultivate as a wandering cultivator would likely end up dying miserably without achieving anything, like Ghost Shadow.

But if one proceeded with knowledge of information obtainable in the game… one could challenge the Foundation Building stage even as a wandering cultivator.

 

At a much faster pace than growing by entering a sect and following procedures.

 

* * *

 

Cheon Woo-jin burned Jin Cheong’s corpse with a Flame Talisman.

Later, disciples from Taeul Yeokri Gate might come to investigate the traces, but it would be impossible to find out who the culprit was.

After all, Cheon Woo-jin was a person who hadn’t existed in this world.

Even investigating Ghost Shadow’s activities or wiping out the Won Family Clan wouldn’t yield any information about Cheon Woo-jin.

 

Next, Cheon Woo-jin also burned the corpses of the Won Family Clan warriors.

He set fire to Ghost Shadow’s hermitage and stone cave as well.

 

‘Farewell, Goeyu Mountain.’

 

Goeyu Mountain, standing tall with its eternally unchanging appearance.

For about 8 months since last summer, Cheon Woo-jin had cultivated while gazing at that Goeyu Mountain.

Now it was time to leave.

 

Cheon Woo-jin used Light Flight Art to head toward the nearest city.

He had already figured out where to go.

 

“Advanced Teleportation Array.”

 

When he spoke to an old man sitting in a shabby inn, the old man replied with an indifferent attitude.

 

“500 Spirit Stones.”

“500?”

 

Cheon Woo-jin’s brow twitched at the price higher than expected.

Even in the game, prices varied according to market rates, but 500 was too expensive.

 

However, he had no intention of bargaining here.

He wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

 

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out 500 Spirit Stones to hand over.

The old man expressionlessly collected the Spirit Stones, then pulled out a talisman from his bosom.

 

“Second floor, last room.”

 

Cheon Woo-jin took the talisman without reply.

Then he went up to the second floor via the stairs.

 

Upon entering the room at the very end, he felt an eerie sensation.

Complex diagrams were carved into the room’s floor, with each line containing tremendous spiritual energy.

 

Then he sensed a commotion from downstairs.

Warriors had entered the inn and were speaking to the old man.

 

“Master, we are from the Won Family Clan’s Patrol Inspection Hall. Have you perhaps seen any suspicious individuals around here?”

 

One step too late, you fools.

Cheon Woo-jin listened to the sounds coming from below and infused spiritual energy into the talisman.

Immediately after, the teleportation array on the floor responded, producing a metallic resonance.

 

Soon nothing could be seen around him.

Instead, countless streams of light crossing through dark space filled his vision.

 

Within that, Cheon Woo-jin murmured quietly.

 

“Ghost Head City.”

 

The moment the image that arose in Cheon Woo-jin’s mind synchronized with the countless streams of light.

All sounds around him disappeared.

After a dizzying sensation as if his heart had stopped, a new landscape unfolded before his eyes.

 

An endlessly stretching Black Mountain Range.

In its center stood a bizarre fortress towering high.

 

But that fortress was not a building erected by human strength.

It was a treasure created by the Dharma Power of a cultivator who transcended the human realm… an Immortal Treasure.

 

Blue lights could be seen flickering throughout the fortress.

But those weren’t lanterns. They weren’t lights created by Magic Arts either.

They were Ghost Fire originating from the souls of cultivators who had met their deaths here.

 

Gazing at those lights, Cheon Woo-jin took a deep breath.

Despite the considerable distance, damp and gloomy energy seeped into his lungs.

At the same time, he could sense the acrid smell of incense, the nauseating stench of blood, and even the killing intent of those who had lived guarding against each other for ages.

 

‘Finally, I can set foot in this place.’

 

The first place one must visit when doing a free-roam playthrough in Spirit Path Immortal Chronicles.

At the same time, the location that had most captivated Cheon Woo-jin in the world of Spirit Path Immortal Chronicles.

 

The legacy of the Yin Soul Ghost Bone Palace, an entire sect that had ascended and left the Lower Realm in ancient times, and the Demon Subjugation Hall where countless cultivators flowed in to engage in fierce competition.

Cheon Woo-jin walked into those dark shadows.

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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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