Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 153

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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 153: Heartless Laughing Demon (4)

 

The mask given by the Heartless Laughing Demon.

 

It is not simply a mask that merely covers one’s face.

 

When wearing this mask, one is treated as an ally of the Heartless Laughing Demon and a member of the Hundred Faces.

 

Just as possessing a magical treasure from the Yin Soul Ghost Bone Palace could nullify the authority of the Guardian Imperial Dragon Divine Army, one is excluded from the Heartless Laughing Demon’s attack targets.

 

That’s why the Heartless Laughing Demon instructed Cheon Woo-jin to wear the mask.

 

So he wouldn’t get caught up in its indiscriminate attacks.

 

[White Flower Thousand Petals]

 

Swish.

 

A small sound was heard.

 

A wistful sound, like flower petals falling from a flowering tree.

 

As they overlapped, it created the illusion of countless flower petals falling.

 

However, what unfolded before their eyes was not such a romantic scene.

 

Small blade fragments like flower petals.

 

Countless tiny blades, so small they could barely be seen, were generated and struck the bats flying around.

 

“…!”

 

Dan Woo-seong’s Night Rat Corpse Transformation Art that created the bats was also a considerable high-level magic art.

 

It possessed similar properties to the Blood Soul Curse Spirit Law of the Blood Soul Sect, so no matter how many bats were killed, their remains would gather again to form new bats.

 

Dealing with swarms of bats endlessly flying in from all directions was quite an arduous task.

 

Therefore, Dan Woo-seong thought he could buy enough time against the Heartless Laughing Demon.

 

But that was a grave miscalculation.

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon had already mastered White Flower Thousand Petals.

 

‘White Flower Thousand Petals is the most advanced technique the Heartless Laughing Demon can use at this point.’

 

The Ten Thousand White Blades that the Heartless Laughing Demon had shown last time was also a magic art that deployed numerous blades simultaneously.

 

However, Ten Thousand White Blades could be adequately countered if one possessed the skill to parry or dodge each individual blade.

 

For example, if it had been Black Spirit Sword Master Gwan Hwang, he could have parried all of Ten Thousand White Blades with his sword.

 

But this White Flower Thousand Petals cannot be parried even by Black Spirit Sword Master Gwan Hwang.

 

How could one parry with a sword the small petals fluttering through the air?

 

“Aaah…!”

 

White blade fragments fluttering like flower petals.

 

That wild dance ravaged the pitch-black bats.

 

The bats chopped into pieces by the blades tried to gather together again to take the form of bats.

 

But the speed at which the blade fragments danced was faster than the bats’ regeneration speed.

 

From a certain moment, the bat fragments could no longer gather in one place and only scattered.

 

And…

 

“Kugh…”

 

Dan Woo-seong was the same.

 

He was wearing armor-type Defensive Magical Tool, but it was useless.

 

The Dharma Artifact turned to powder in an instant, and Dan Woo-seong’s body was slashed from head to toe, becoming like minced meat.

 

He was originally a Core Formation Realm expert.

 

But he met a miserable death without even being able to properly leave his last words.

 

This was the power of the Heartless Laughing Demon, who was in the late Won Yeong-gyeong stage.

 

‘How terrifying.’

 

Meanwhile, Cheon Woo-jin was unharmed.

 

Thanks to the white mask he received from the Heartless Laughing Demon, he wasn’t attacked by the Hundred Flowers Thousand Leaves.

 

White petal-like blades also swirled around Cheon Woo-jin, but they didn’t even graze his clothes.

 

“You weren’t hurt, were you?”

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon spoke in a gentle voice.

 

“Once activated, it’s difficult to make detailed adjustments to the Spell Formation. The spell is configured to exclude only those wearing masks from the attack range.”

 

“What would happen if you cast Magic Arts while not wearing that mask?”

 

“That’s a secret.”

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon acted coy, placing a finger near the mouth of the mask.

 

Watching that sight, Cheon Woo-jin said a word.

 

“Still, this isn’t your maximum power, is it?”

 

“Haha, who knows.”

 

Although he had instantly turned a Core Formation Realm expert into minced meat, that was also the result of controlling his power.

 

If the Heartless Laughing Demon had unleashed Hundred Flowers Thousand Leaves with full power, everything around here would have collapsed.

 

“This doesn’t seem like a situation where we can afford to be leisurely. It looks like they were trying to buy time, so the Phantom Wing Daoist might be preparing something inside.”

 

“Hmm, that’s true as well.”

 

“He might be challenging the Nascent Soul Great Perfection after obtaining Nascent Soul spirit materials from the northern outer seas.”

 

“….”

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon fell silent for a moment.

 

“The Phantom Wing Daoist has already challenged the Nascent Soul Great Perfection once before and failed.”

 

“Then shouldn’t he have died from the Heavenly Tribulation?”

 

“Sometimes there are those lucky enough to survive. Though they lose much of their power.”

 

“Then the Phantom Wing Daoist must have worked hard to recover his strength all this time.”

 

Cheon Woo-jin spoke as if he knew nothing.

 

“Wouldn’t he have returned to the Continent because he had gains from the northern outer seas?”

 

“….”

 

Even with those words, the Heartless Laughing Demon did not back down.

 

“Even if the Phantom Wing Daoist has already reached the Nascent Soul Great Perfection, I have no intention of retreating.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

Cheon Woo-jin asked again.

 

“Why would someone who is a White-Faced Horn Master of the Blood World Demon Sect try to cross such a dangerous bridge?”

 

“Didn’t I tell you? I have a grudge against the Phantom Wing Daoist.”

 

“No matter how much of a grudge you have, isn’t this too dangerous?”

 

If a late-stage Core Formation cultivator challenged a Core Formation Great Perfection cultivator, everyone would think it could be possible.

 

Even if their level as Core Formation cultivators might be low, the late-stage Core Formation cultivator could have superior combat ability.

 

But a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator challenging a Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivator required being prepared for death.

 

A Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivator was at a stage that had overcome countless restrictions and approached the very threshold of the Avatar Mirror.

 

“In the end, aren’t we all walking the path of cultivation to live long? Why are you trying to stick your head into mortal danger?”

 

“….”

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon did not answer and walked forward.

 

Stepping over Dan Woo-seong’s corpse, he headed toward the inner path.

 

“Actually, Fellow Daoist Cheon’s words are correct.”

 

As they passed through the dark corridor, the Heartless Laughing Demon spoke in a low voice.

 

“Everyone struggles in this Cultivation World to reach higher realms and enjoy eternal life. The cultivators who just fell by our hands also entered the fight because they expected to receive rewards later and raise their cultivation if they achieved merit here.”

 

Of course, such expectations are futile.

 

Originally, the Cultivation World has a structure where those above thoroughly exploit those below.

 

Still, everyone harbors expectations that sweet rewards will be given if they do as they’re told, and they enter dangerous fights.

 

But the Heartless Laughing Demon is different.

 

No one ordered him to, yet he’s trying to fight an enemy who might be at a higher level than himself.

 

That doesn’t mean he can gain great profit from this fight either.

 

It would be difficult for the Heartless Laughing Demon to benefit from defeating Jang Si-woo of the Phantom Wing Sect.

 

“I’m currently about to enter a dangerous fight purely because of personal emotions. It’s an act that goes against the common sense of the Cultivation World.”

 

After saying that.

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon glanced at Cheon Woo-jin with his masked face.

 

“Does Fellow Daoist Cheon think I look foolish?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.

 

“Rather, it’s good to see that you haven’t lost your humanity.”

 

“Humanity?”

 

“Many people lose their humanity while walking the path of cultivation.”

 

He spoke while recalling the conversation he had with Jo Hyu, the cave dwelling owner, on the 1st floor of Ghost Head City.

 

“We cultivate to reach higher realms. But when we pursue power without regard for means and methods, we end up throwing away even what our past selves valued.”

 

“….”

 

“If after living hundreds or thousands of years like that, you become a completely different being from your past self… would that be true eternal life?”

 

The current me.

 

The me thousands of years later.

 

If there’s a stark difference in personality between these two beings, can the current me and the me thousands of years later be considered the same person?

 

Isn’t it that a separate person, not the current me, is living in the future thousands of years later?

 

This was a problem that Cheon Woo-jin himself had thought about many times.

 

“So I don’t think it’s foolish to act based on human emotions.”

 

“….”

 

“Rather, I’d like to watch more closely. Whether you can continue to maintain such humanity.”

 

Since he wore a mask, it was impossible to know the Heartless Laughing Demon’s expression.

 

But just from his presence alone, one could tell he was lost in thought.

 

Thinking he wanted to give him time to think, Cheon Woo-jin walked forward shoulder to shoulder with the Heartless Laughing Demon.

 

* * *

 

‘What an interesting person.’

 

Walking through the dark corridor, the Heartless Laughing Demon was lost in thought.

 

‘He appears to be half my age… no, much younger than that, yet I can feel a maturity as if he has mastered all the joys and sorrows of the Cultivation World.’

 

Could it be that a master of the Avatar Mirror is hiding his power?

 

The story Cheon Woo-jin had shared resonated so deeply with the Heartless Laughing Demon that such thoughts crossed his mind.

 

‘What about me now?’

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon posed a question to himself.

 

‘Am I, the Heartless Laughing Demon… the same kind of person as Seong Mu-ryeong of the past?’

 

About 400 years ago from now.

 

In the Baekheun Gate in the south of Wei Jin Kingdom, there was a menial disciple named Seong Mu-ryeong.

 

At Baekheun Gate, menial disciples were essentially no different from slaves.

 

Seong Mu-ryeong was assigned to the Spirit Fields, where he had to work the fields to the bone every day without properly learning even a single cultivation technique.

 

However, one Inner Sect Disciple who noticed his occasional displays of cleverness took Seong Mu-ryeong as his personal errand boy.

 

Even under the Inner Sect Disciple, Seong Mu-ryeong had to work like a slave.

 

But as the saying goes, one learns through constant exposure.

 

By watching the Inner Sect Disciples and overhearing their conversations, he was able to understand many things before he knew it.

 

Seong Mu-ryeong, who achieved success through mere eavesdropping, showed remarkable results in the promotion exam and became an Inner Sect Disciple in one leap.

 

Now I can finally walk the path of cultivation in earnest.

 

Seong Mu-ryeong held great expectations.

 

But Baekheun Gate assigned Seong Mu-ryeong a strange mission.

 

A mission to stay by some woman’s side and act as her bodyguard.

 

It turned out that woman was the sect master’s daughter.

 

However, she was an illegitimate child born from another woman’s womb, not his wife’s, so she couldn’t be brought into Baekheun Gate.

 

That’s why he had dispatched Seong Mu-ryeong to take charge of her protection.

 

Though Seong Mu-ryeong had initially felt dissatisfied, it turned out to be unexpectedly good.

 

She was also a person with spiritual roots, and was cultivating techniques secretly passed down by the sect master.

 

Through spending time with her, Seong Mu-ryeong gained many insights, and thanks to her consideration in sharing cultivation resources, he was able to grow to the level of a Chukgi Order member.

 

Eventually, love blossomed between Seong Mu-ryeong and her.

 

The two promised to form a dao partnership, and decided to report this fact to Baekhyeon Gate as well.

 

But that was too naive a thought.

 

While they hadn’t even allowed her to set foot inside the sect, Baekhyeon Gate was trying to use her as a tool for political marriage.

 

The partner was the second son of a family famous for alchemy, with a large age gap, and she would even be a concubine rather than the main wife.

 

Seeing her lamenting her circumstances, Seong Mu-ryeong decided to run away with her.

 

Fortunately evading Baekhyeon Gate, Seong Mu-ryeong began living with her in the quiet mountains.

 

That period was truly.

 

The most beautiful days in Seong Mu-ryeong’s life.

 

“Urgh…”

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon, who had been reminiscing about the past, felt pain in his chest.

 

It was a sensation more painful than having his flesh pierced by enemy magic arts.

 

With this kind of pain, he couldn’t concentrate on the fight.

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon decided to empty his mind for now.

 

‘I’ll think about it later. Right now…’

 

An intense aura was being felt from the front.

 

Examining that aura, which had become more sinister than fifty years ago, the Heartless Laughing Demon bit his lips.

 

‘It’s time to become cold-hearted to kill that evil spirit.’

 

After erasing the topic Cheon Woo-jin had brought up from his mind.

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon took a large step forward.

 

And he discovered a man sitting cross-legged on a space drawn with complex patterns.

 

A monster whose entire body was covered in jet-black fur, with large bat wings folded on his back.

 

It was Phantom Wing Immortal Jang Si-woo.

 

“Phantom Wing Immortal.”

 

“…”

 

While suppressing the emotions surging within him.

 

The Heartless Laughing Demon called out to his enemy.

 

“I have come.”

 

Then he slowly opened his eyes.

 

Maintaining his cross-legged position, he gazed at the Heartless Laughing Demon with yellow eyes.

 

“It’s been a long time, Heartless Laughing Demon.”

 

The moment he heard that voice, the Heartless Laughing Demon felt his heart ache once again.

 

This wouldn’t do.

 

To face that bastard, he had to maintain his composure.

 

He must not repeat the mistake from fifty years ago.

 

As the Heartless Laughing Demon was steadying his breathing with such thoughts.

 

“Have you come to reclaim your wife again this time? What remarkable devotion.”

 

A mocking voice reached his ears.

 

“Very well, I’ll return your wife to you. I’ve possessed her for four hundred years now, so it might be time to give her back.”

 

“What…”

 

“But what should I do.”

 

Flap.

 

The bat monster spread his folded wings.

 

Inside those pitch-black wings hung dozens of skulls.

 

They were skulls with dark red stains below their eye sockets, like traces of bloody tears.

 

Clatter!

 

Dropping them all to the floor, the monster cackled with laughter.

 

“I can’t remember which one was your wife. Go ahead and take whichever you want.”

 

When facing this monster, he had to remain as composed as possible.

 

He should have known that well.

 

But the Heartless Laughing Demon could not abandon his humanity.

 

“Aaaaaahhhhh…!”

 

Even knowing this was a trap set by Phantom Wing Ship’s Jang Si-woo, the Heartless Laughing Demon screamed and charged forward.

 

Shedding hot tears of blood beneath the white mask.

—————
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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