Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 21

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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 21: Secret Realm (2)

 

 

Guyang Gyeol had no worries whatsoever.

 

He had already determined that his opponent was at the level of Spirit Condensation Great Perfection.

It was impossible for someone with the power of Spirit Condensation Great Perfection to oppose Guyang Gyeol, who was at Golden Core Middle Stage.

 

If they utilized special Magic Arts or Dharma Artifacts, it might be possible to inflict wounds.

However, minor injuries meant nothing to someone at the Golden Core stage.

 

Upon reaching the Golden Core stage, one could form a Golden Core, and as long as this Golden Core remained intact, a Golden Core cultivator would not die.

They could maintain life even if their heart was pierced or their neck was severed.

To kill a Golden Core cultivator, one had no choice but to destroy or neutralize the Golden Core itself.

And that was impossible with the power of the Spirit Condensation stage.

 

Knowing this, Guyang Gyeol was relaxed.

Cheon Woo-jin might attempt a final desperate struggle, but he could simply ignore it.

Rather, Guyang Gyeol hoped that Cheon Woo-jin would resist until the very end.

By observing what methods he used to struggle when cornered, he could obtain more information.

 

However…

 

‘What is that bastard thinking?’

 

Guyang Gyeol doubted his eyes.

 

The guy was in a defenseless state.

He showed no signs of deploying Magic Arts.

He wasn’t even holding the Five Thunder Heaven Piercing Sword in his hands.

 

Was he not going to resist at all?

Did he understand that he could no longer escape and was trying to surrender obediently?

 

If not that.

Did he possess some means to oppose a Golden Core cultivator?

 

‘Damn!’

 

Suddenly, his spine grew cold.

The instincts of a Golden Core cultivator who had experienced countless battles over hundreds of years were sending a warning.

Rushing in recklessly could be dangerous.

 

The moment he thought that, Guyang Gyeol drew Spiritual Power from his Golden Core.

If Cheon Woo-jin was going to make a final desperate attempt, Guyang Gyeol could detect it just before it happened.

Since there was a significant difference in the speed of using Spiritual Power between Spirit Condensation and Golden Core stages, he could stop it if he responded quickly.

 

‘Do you think I, a Golden Core cultivator, would fall to a mere Spirit Condensation stage!’

 

So Guyang Gyeol did not take his eyes off Cheon Woo-jin.

With his gaze fixed on those pupils, he tried to discern what approach he was planning to take.

 

That’s why he could clearly see those pupils shining with a golden light.

 

“Instant Kill.”

 

He thought he heard a voice.

But Guyang Gyeol felt no particular sensation.

 

What kind of Magic Arts had he deployed?

Guyang Gyeol felt puzzled and tried to examine the guy once more.

But strangely, there was nothing he could detect.

 

He couldn’t even see the guy’s figure.

Before his eyes, only infinite darkness spread out.

 

‘Ah…’

 

Only then did Guyang Gyeol recognize his own condition.

His heart had already stopped, and his entire body was torn to shreds with blood gushing out.

 

Even the Golden Core that allowed him to maintain life regardless of what injuries he sustained… had ceased to function.

 

He had fallen into an inescapable abyss of death.

The moment he recognized this, Guyang Gyeol felt pure terror.

 

‘S-save me!’

 

Guyang Gyeol screamed.

 

‘I was wrong! Please save me!’

 

Of course, no voice came out.

Guyang Gyeol’s body had already completely ceased all life activities.

 

‘I don’t want to die like this! I still want to live more!’

 

The reason his consciousness was still maintained was because Guyang Gyeol was a cultivator who had reached the Golden Core stage.

So there was a slight time gap between the death of the body and the death of the mind.

 

‘I must reach the Nascent Soul stage and gain a thousand years of lifespan! After that, I must ascend to the Soul Formation stage and gain two thousand years of lifespan!’

 

During that brief time, Guyang Gyeol screamed frantically.

 

‘Please save me…!’

 

But those screams reached no one.

 

Thus, Guyang Gyeol met a lonely death.

In the darkness where no one existed, gripped by extreme terror.

 

* * *

 

Thud!

Guyang Gyeol, who had fallen from the air, crashed into the ground.

Dark red blood spread across the frozen earth.

 

Watching this scene, Cheon Woo-jin let out a sigh of relief.

 

‘That was dangerous.’

 

The Instant Death Heaven Eye only activates when facing the opponent directly.

Since it cannot kill instantly by secretly hiding and watching, one must face the opponent head-on.

 

Therefore, if the opponent is unleashing attacks, it becomes difficult to use the Instant Death Heaven Eye.

One must either strike first before the opponent begins attacking, or aim for the moment when they briefly pause their assault.

 

That’s why Cheon Woo-jin had lured Guyang Gyeol to this place.

He acted as if he was desperately fleeing and cornered in a dead end, making Guyang Gyeol let his guard down.

He had planned to use the Instant Death Heaven Eye at the moment when Guyang Gyeol would leisurely approach without attacking anymore.

 

However, Guyang Gyeol seemed to have sensed something midway.

Cheon Woo-jin could see his expression change just before using the Instant Death Heaven Eye.

If Guyang Gyeol had immediately unleashed an attack spell at that moment, he might have been able to kill Cheon Woo-jin faster than the Instant Death Heaven Eye could activate.

 

‘It was good that I revealed the Manifest True Life Body.’

 

Cheon Woo-jin had deliberately revealed that he was using the power of the Manifest True Life Body in front of Guyang Gyeol.

Normally, he would refine his spiritual power once before using it to avoid revealing his special qualities, but this time he used his raw power as it was.

He thought that Guyang Gyeol would be able to detect the Manifest True Life Body.

 

Since Guyang Gyeol also knew that the Black Mist Dragon of Goeyu Mountain had been killed by someone, he couldn’t help but show interest in Cheon Woo-jin, who had inherited the Black Mist Dragon’s Manifest True Life Body.

Moreover, since Guyang Gyeol had single water attribute spiritual roots and had learned the Six Extreme Yin Spirit True Formula, a Yin Water cultivation method, he would surely covet the Manifest True Life Body specialized in water attributes.

So he had no choice but to try to capture Cheon Woo-jin alive rather than kill him.

 

In the end, this difference determined the outcome.

Guyang Gyeol didn’t think he absolutely had to kill Cheon Woo-jin here.

Cheon Woo-jin thought he absolutely had to kill Guyang Gyeol here.

This difference determined the victor and the defeated.

 

Cheon Woo-jin had won victory in this life-or-death gamble.

Now it was time to sweep up all the winnings.

 

“….”

 

Cheon Woo-jin reached out his hand toward Guyang Gyeol’s corpse.

Then he felt a response from Guyang Gyeol’s lower abdomen.

 

The Lower Dantian is also called the Sea of Qi.

He could feel a small star floating leisurely in the vast sea of vital energy.

 

He grasped that star with his spiritual power and pulled it toward him.

Then a translucent sphere passed through the skin and emerged outside the body.

 

‘Is this Guyang Gyeol’s Golden Core?’

 

It was different from the Black Mist Dragon’s Golden Core.

It was a translucent sphere with a subtle golden glow.

 

Originally, this Golden Core contained everything that was Guyang Gyeol.

This Golden Core was the mass formed when Guyang Gyeol reached the Core Formation stage and condensed his life, spiritual power, and soul into one.

 

But now, no life force could be felt from the Golden Core.

This was because the Instant Death Heaven Eye had worked, killing even Guyang Gyeol’s Golden Core.

If only the Golden Core had remained intact, Guyang Gyeol might have been able to preserve his life, but since even the Golden Core had died like this, he could never be revived.

 

“….”

 

Cheon Woo-jin placed the Golden Core on his palm and extended his spiritual power.

Then the Golden Core gradually decomposed, releasing all kinds of energies stored within it.

 

Various energies including Guyang Gyeol’s innate true qi were mixed together, but Cheon Woo-jin selected only the refined Water Spirit Energy.

And he accepted it into his inner self.

He could feel the Water Spirit Energy flowing into the vast sea that was his Manifest True Life Body.

 

“….”

 

Of course, he couldn’t make all of Guyang Gyeol’s spiritual energy his own.

But it was possible to accumulate spiritual energy up to the limit of the Qi Refining stage’s great completion.

 

‘This should be sufficient to challenge the Foundation Building stage.’

 

Originally, to challenge the Foundation Building stage, one needs not only Foundation Building Pills but also spiritual power befitting the Foundation Building stage.

To acquire that spiritual power, many cultivators spend decades practicing cultivation methods and receive elixirs by showing loyalty to their sects.

 

But Cheon Woo-jin didn’t need to go through such processes.

Just by absorbing spiritual energy with his Manifest True Life Body, he could secure spiritual power befitting the Foundation Building stage.

 

‘If I can secure the materials to make Foundation Building Pills and Spirit Stones… I can challenge the Foundation Building stage.’

 

A realm that others find difficult to even approach the threshold of, even after investing decades.

The preparations to challenge the Foundation Building stage were proceeding steadily.

 

Next, Cheon Woo-jin examined Guyang Gyeol’s storage bag.

It contained many high-grade elixirs and quite a lot of Spirit Stones.

Unfortunately, there were no cultivation manuals or such inside… but he could salvage other items.

 

It was a palm-sized silver metal plate, shaped like a shield.

 

‘This is…’

 

Cheon Woo-jin grasped the metal plate with his hand and thrust it forward.

The moment he injected spiritual power, the metal plate instantly expanded to become a massive shield.

Not only that, but a hemispherical barrier was also generated, completely protecting Cheon Woo-jin’s front.

 

‘It’s the Silver Spirit Steel Guardian Shield!

 

It was a defensive dharma artifact that appeared in the game.

While it served as a powerful shield on its own, it also had the function of forming a barrier to protect a considerably wide area.

 

With Cheon Woo-jin’s spiritual power, he couldn’t draw out its maximum performance, but it should still be able to block attacks from Foundation Establishment cultivators.

 

‘This is a supreme-grade dharma artifact that can be used continuously not only during Foundation Establishment but even after reaching Core Formation. I’ve obtained good equipment.’

 

Following the offensive dharma artifact Five Thunder Heaven Piercing Sword, he had now obtained the defensive dharma artifact Silver Spirit Steel Guardian Shield.

As Cheon Woo-jin had hoped, powerful dharma artifacts were falling into his hands naturally without having to scour black markets one by one.

 

‘Then…’

 

After burning Guyang Gyeol’s corpse to eliminate traces, Cheon Woo-jin turned his head.

As he directed his gaze toward the highest peak in the Secret Realm, he could see something descending through the clouds.

 

‘They’re finally coming out.’

 

Slither.

Large white snakes were crawling down.

It wasn’t just one or two. There appeared to be at least ten or more.

 

A Secret Realm is not a rice field where one can harvest spirit herbs without any danger.

Inside Secret Realms, all kinds of dangers that threaten cultivators’ lives lurk everywhere.

Only by risking one’s life to enter and thoroughly search the Secret Realm can one finally obtain cultivation resources.

 

That’s why Secret Realms are often treated like training grounds for sects.

It’s an incredibly harsh training ground where if ten people enter, even five would struggle to survive.

 

“Shaaaaa!”

 

Over ten White Spirit Snakes charged at Cheon Woo-jin.

They had been hiding when Core Formation cultivator Guyang Gyeol was present, but revealed themselves upon sensing Guyang Gyeol’s presence disappear.

 

In other words, they were looking down on Cheon Woo-jin.

 

[Black Lightning]

 

Crackle!

Pitch-black lightning energy surged from the Five Thunder Heaven Piercing Sword that Cheon Woo-jin drew.

 

Though he had used much spiritual power earlier when killing Dan Mok-ryeong and fleeing from Guyang Gyeol, he had already recovered thanks to the energy absorbed from Guyang Gyeol’s golden core.

Cheon Woo-jin soared into the sky while striking down pitch-black lightning.

 

Boom boom boom!

The black lightning that fell with a thunderous roar like collapsing mountains turned the White Spirit Snakes to powder.

Merciless lightning energy writhing like black snakes ravaged the white snakes.

 

The power was much stronger than when he had killed Dan Mok-ryeong earlier.

This wasn’t simply because he had absorbed spiritual energy from Guyang Gyeol.

 

When he attacked Dan Mok-ryeong, it was his first attempt.

This time was his second attempt.

It was natural for the second attempt to be more skillful than the first.

 

Cheon Woo-jin continued soaring while striking down black lightning.

He flew through the clouds, heading toward the tip of the peak that rose as if to pierce the heavens.

While it would be an arduous climbing route for the lowest disciples of the Solitary Sword Sect, Cheon Woo-jin could reach near the summit in an instant.

 

“Shaaaaaaa!”

 

At the summit where mysterious spirit herbs were growing.

A massive snake coiled there raised its head.

It was the White Spirit Great Snake, which could be called the boss of this Secret Realm.

 

The spiritual power emanating from it was incomparable to the White Spirit Snakes he had faced below.

Originally, it was a boss that couldn’t be defeated by a single Qi Condensation cultivator.

Even the Solitary Sword Sect would have planned to form a unit under Dan Mok-ryeong’s command to subjugate it.

 

However, Cheon Woo-jin maintained a calm expression while drawing up his spiritual power.

He recalled the sensation from when he had just struck the small fry with black lightning.

Crackle, crackle. Lightning energy sparked within the spiritual meridians throughout his body.

 

‘Now I’m gradually understanding the principle.’

 

The moment the massive White Spirit Great Snake released tremendous spiritual power and soared upward.

 

He extended the lightning energy pulsing from deep within his body.

With an explosive roar, Cheon Woo-jin’s black lightning energy, which continued to grow even at this very moment, poured down.

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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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