Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 189
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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 189: Scale (5)
Cheon Woo-jin understood the situation.
He could tell that Tan Lan Gu Ma’s nascent soul was inside the puppet from seeing the status window displayed.
And he knew the puppet’s true identity was a self-destructing bomb prepared by North Palace Annihilation because he had seen it in the game.
‘In the end, North Palace Annihilation has decided to abandon Tan Lan Gu Ma.’
From the opposite passage, Baekwha-pa’s So Hyo-bu and Ju Yang were rushing in, but Seo Seol-ryeong was nowhere to be seen.
Seo Seol-ryeong was probably wandering somewhere else or had already been captured by North Palace Annihilation.
What North Palace Annihilation truly wanted was Seo Seol-ryeong.
Targeting Cheon Woo-jin was merely to move the other Wonnyeonggyeong Daoists.
Once she got her hands on Seo Seol-ryeong, it didn’t matter what happened to the others.
So she was putting Tan Lan Gu Ma inside the puppet and making him self-destruct to eliminate Cheon Woo-jin, So Hyo-bu, and the rest.
After sweeping away these troublesome ones, she could secure Seo Seol-ryeong.
‘Mujung Soma remains, but if only Mujung Soma is left alone, North Palace Annihilation should be able to handle him.’
She could become the final victor after all the schemes and betrayals.
North Palace Annihilation must have judged it so.
‘However.’
Cheon Woo-jin gripped tightly the black scale fragment in his hand.
It was originally an item stored in the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect’s Blood Marsh Secret Realm.
Cheon Woo-jin had once used it as an extreme yin resolution spirit object.
‘Now I have the divine artifact that Yowon Gyeon passed down to me… the scale fragment of Bukguk Jinmu Hyeoncheon-sangje.’
Bukguk Jinmu Hyeoncheon-sangje.
A divine beast combining snake and turtle, another name for Xuanwu.
Like Billion Sea Demon Venerable, it was a transcendent being of the Upper Realm.
The Shadow Scale Sunken Sect was a sect that prospered by utilizing this Xuanwu’s scale fragments.
But Yowon Gyeon had brought this divine artifact when ascending to the 7th Layer.
He must have planned to use it as a trump card in the battles that would unfold in Ghost Head City’s upper levels.
‘Although Yowon Gyeon couldn’t use it… he passed it to me at the last moment.’
Just before losing his personality, Yowon Gyeon had taken out treasures from his Sleeve Universe and given them away.
Among those treasures was also the Xuanwu’s scale fragment.
‘I’ve already communicated with this object when conducting the resolution ritual. So…’
Cheon Woo-jin closed both eyes.
And transformed the world with his mental image.
“Domain manifestation.”
Gooooooo.
With a low, resonating bass tone, a narrow space of about 1 zhang in radius distorted.
A domain that should normally be implemented by creating subspace was deployed within ordinary space.
Of course, this alone was nothing more than an empty, void space.
Only by implementing Cheon Woo-jin’s mental image there would it finally exert power.
But what Cheon Woo-jin was trying to implement wasn’t the power of Billion Sea Demon Venerable that he had used when defeating Snow Flower True Lord and others.
Implementing Billion Sea Demon Venerable’s power could summon massive tentacles and waves to utilize that tremendous mass, but it wasn’t suitable for blocking the self-destructing weapon North Palace Annihilation had prepared.
Instead, Cheon Woo-jin drew out a different world.
The scale of a transcendent being now gripped tightly in his hand.
Based on that, he created the absolute guardian deity of martial arts.
[Broad Cold Dark Realm manifestation]
[Pseudo-implementation: Bukguk Jinmu Hyeoncheon-sangje Xuanwu]
He had never directly faced Xuanwu.
But he could predict what its surface would be like based on the sensation felt in his grip.
Anyway, Cheon Woo-jin wasn’t trying to directly summon Xuanwu.
To implement the martial force that Xuanwu symbolized, he just needed to draw a virtual Xuanwu in his mind.
As his mental image became clearer, Cheon Woo-jin’s appearance also changed.
He began taking the most suitable form to control Xuanwu’s world.
As a result, jet-black scales sprouted all over his body.
It was an appearance similar to Yo Eun-hui, Yowon Gyeon’s daughter… like a mixed-blood with reptilian-type demons.
He suddenly recalled how Yowon Gyeon had wanted to make him his son-in-law.
If he had actually become a son-in-law and united with Yo Eun-hui or Yo Eun-hui’s daughter, their child would have possessed this kind of appearance.
Feeling himself transform into the appearance Yowon Gyeon might have dreamed of.
Cheon Woo-jin descended the guardian deity of scaled beings into this world.
[Mysterious Heaven Turtle Shell]
Guuuuung!
With a sound like a gong ringing, a massive turtle shell appeared.
The back part of Xuanwu… the turtle’s shell was implemented like a shield in front of Cheon Woo-jin.
It wasn’t the entire Xuanwu that was implemented, nor was it the actual Xuanwu’s shell.
It was merely implementing the mental image Cheon Woo-jin conceived with the scale fragment.
But if that mental image was something absolutely unshakeable and firm… it becomes an impenetrable shield that surpasses even this world’s physical laws.
[North Palace Annihilation! I will curse you…!]
The shield was created almost simultaneously with the explosion of the puppet that Tan Lan Gu Ma had possessed.
Tan Lan Gu Ma’s death cry echoed in his head, but an even louder roar shook the space around them.
The explosion created from a massive amount of spirit stones and a late-stage Nascent Soul contained heat that surpassed even the power of the True Fire that Cheon Woo-jin had been using until now.
However, that heat never directly struck Cheon Woo-jin.
This was because the Black Tortoise shell shield manifested through the Broad Cold Dark Realm was deployed in front of him.
“…!”
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Tremendous force burned everything around them.
Beyond the roar, he could hear So Hyo-bu and Ju Yang shouting something, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.
It was that tremendous of an explosion.
Cheon Woo-jin gritted his teeth behind the Black Tortoise shield.
Just manifesting the shell wasn’t the end of it.
If he couldn’t maintain the mental image of an absolutely impenetrable shield, he would instantly be swept up in the explosion and turned to ash.
“Kuk…!”
He concentrated all his consciousness on the Black Tortoise shield.
He tried to think of it as part of his own body.
Thinking that the turtle shell had become one with himself, he poured all his strength into it.
And when the lengthy explosion finally subsided.
Cheon Woo-jin was able to release the Broad Cold Dark Realm with his body completely unharmed.
“Kueuk….”
His body was unharmed, but the burden had been too great.
It was because he had manifested a new power too suddenly.
Moreover, Cheon Woo-jin had never directly contacted the Black Tortoise.
The Billion Sea Demon Venerable had been a shadow, but he had directly communicated with it and even absorbed its energy, but this time was different.
Because he had manifested it relying on just a single scale fragment that had fallen off long ago, too much mental power had been consumed.
‘Still… I endured it.’
If he had taken that explosion head-on, even Cheon Woo-jin would have suffered fatal injuries.
There was a high possibility that even his Golden Core would have burned and been damaged.
Then he would have had to abandon his physical body and find a new one.
For Cheon Woo-jin, who valued maintaining his own identity, this would have been unbearable.
Being able to prevent such a worst-case scenario was thanks to the divine artifact that Yowon Gyeon had left behind.
It was because the Black Tortoise scale fragment existed that he suffered no injuries even in that explosion.
‘It’s thanks to you, Yowon Gyeon.’
Expressing gratitude to Yowon Gyeon in his heart, Cheon Woo-jin touched the back of his neck.
The reptilian scales that had emerged earlier had already disappeared, but there was a faint sense of longing.
Cheon Woo-jin composed himself and turned his gaze forward.
Tan Lan Gu Ma’s status window was nowhere to be seen. Since not even fragments of the puppet remained, Tan Lan Gu Ma should be considered completely annihilated.
Though it was regrettable that he couldn’t finish him off directly, in any case, he had dealt with one of the two troublesome Old Monsters.
However… there was one problem.
It was So Hyo-bu and Ju Yang, who were collapsed beyond there.
‘They were caught in the explosion from too close.’
So Hyo-bu and Ju Yang had been charging toward Tan Lan Gu Ma.
They harbored resentment against Tan Lan Gu Ma, who had massacred the Bai Hua Sect disciples and fed them to dogs.
So as soon as they encountered Tan Lan Gu Ma, their eyes rolled back and they rushed at him.
Cheon Woo-jin hadn’t had time to stop the two of them either.
‘How unfortunate.’
Ju Yang had already become a gruesome corpse.
In the game, Ju Yang was a character who played the role of a good senior when starting as a female protagonist and progressing through the Bai Hua Sect route. Though he hadn’t built a deep friendship with her in this world, it was still regrettable.
“Ch, Cheon Woo-jin….”
So Hyo-bu was still alive, but she had suffered severe injuries.
Because she had moved faster than Ju Yang and approached right up to Tan Lan Gu Ma’s nose, she had taken the full heat of the explosion.
Half her body was blown away, and it seemed her Golden Core was also damaged.
“Tan Lan Gu Ma is….”
Even in that state, So Hyo-bu searched for Tan Lan Gu Ma.
Cheon Woo-jin bent down and answered her.
“Completely annihilated.”
“Ah….”
Complex emotions appeared on So Hyo-bu’s face.
While it was good that Tan Lan Gu Ma, the enemy of her disciples, had been annihilated, it was regrettable that she couldn’t avenge them with her own hands.
“I let Tan Lan Gu Ma escape even at Hwang Ryeol Bi Yeol Island… and in the end, I achieved nothing here either.”
“Please don’t think that way, Elder.”
Cheon Woo-jin comforted So Hyo-bu.
“Being able to drive Tan Lan Gu Ma to this point was because the Bai Hua Sect was here. If the Bai Hua Sect hadn’t come, Tan Lan Gu Ma would still be running rampant in Ghost Head City.”
“Thank you for saying that….”
So Hyo-bu sighed and pressed various pressure points on her body with her remaining hand.
Doing so made her complexion much more comfortable.
“Cheon Woo-jin, I’m sorry, but I need to rest here. My Golden Core is also damaged, and in this state, it’s difficult to fight.”
“Understood. Please recover your strength.”
“And….”
So Hyo-bu picked up the precious sword she had tried to stab Tan Lan Gu Ma with earlier.
Despite being caught in the explosion, the precious sword had no damage whatsoever.
“This is the Seonghua Bongcheon Sword , a treasure of Baekwha-pa. I’ll lend it to you.”
“…!”
The Seonghua Bongcheon Sword was a magical treasure with very powerful strength.
It possessed the authority of Break Evil Reveal Truth that drives away evil forces, and boasted the highest level of performance among similar magical treasures existing in the Lower Realm.
“Tan Lan Gu Ma has been destroyed, but this fight won’t end unless North Palace Annihilation is defeated. Originally I should help you, but my current body isn’t up to it, so I’ll lend you the Seonghua Bongcheon Sword.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
Since it wasn’t a situation to decline, he accepted it immediately.
Seeing this, So Hyo-bu smiled bitterly.
“That power that defended against the explosion earlier… did you manifest the power of the Upper Realm through a Domain?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You’ve mastered tremendous power. Still, North Palace Annihilation is no easy opponent, so be careful.”
So Hyo-bu offered advice to Cheon Woo-jin.
“If the stories I’ve heard are true… North Palace Annihilation seems to even possess an Immortal Treasure.”
* * *
“Excellent, Seo Seol-ryeong.”
North Palace Annihilation muttered with her hands clasped behind her back.
“To resist me, who is in the late Won Yeong-gyeong stage, with the body of a Gyeoldan-gyeong disciple.”
Right now, North Palace Annihilation was confronting Seo Seol-ryeong in a corner of the ruins.
Using traps prepared in advance, she had isolated Seo Seol-ryeong and driven her into a dead end.
Though North Palace Annihilation had personally stepped forward to capture Seo Seol-ryeong directly, Seo Seol-ryeong was not easy to handle.
She resisted North Palace Annihilation using various magic arts, magical treasures, talismans, and more.
So North Palace Annihilation had not yet been able to subdue Seo Seol-ryeong.
“It’s because you’re being careful not to injure my body, isn’t it, North Palace Annihilation.”
Seo Seol-ryeong shot back while deploying two defensive magical treasures simultaneously.
“You think not even a single wound can appear on this body, don’t you?”
“That’s right. I want to secure you in perfect condition, after all.”
Saying this, North Palace Annihilation was about to launch her next attack.
But then Seo Seol-ryeong said something.
“I understand that feeling.”
“You understand?”
North Palace Annihilation stopped her attack and tilted her head.
“Are you saying you’ve also tried to escape death before?”
“Ah, that’s not what I meant.”
In a light tone as if making casual conversation.
Seo Seol-ryeong delivered ice-cold harsh words.
“I meant I understand the psychology of being restless about failing Ascension again and clinging to me as your last hope. As a descendant of incompetent dropouts who walked the wrong path and were abandoned by their sect, you must be obsessed with the compulsion to resolve your ancestors’ resentment.”
“…!”
At the naked mockery, North Palace Annihilation’s eyes rolled back.
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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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