Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 32
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 32: Dark Soul Secret Realm (1)
Even seeing the Foundation Establishment centipede demon charging at him, Cheon Woo-jin did not lose his composure.
Though Cheon Woo-jin was exhausted to his limits, he had spread his spiritual power like a spider web around the area.
There were no other threats nearby, and it didn’t seem like the four brothers of the Yuk Family Head were escaping the cave and approaching.
While reconfirming the current situation, he stared at the Dark Dew Great King Centipede.
The Mad World Yin Spirit Sect probably knew that such a creature existed within this Secret Realm.
They would have heard all the information through the Dao Sect.
Still, they probably never thought to subjugate it directly.
Taking down a Foundation Establishment demon with one Qi Condensation cultivator and four Spiritual Energy cultivators was unrealistic.
While they had plans to hunt demons inside the Dark Soul Secret Realm, their policy would have been to avoid encountering the Dark Dew Great King Centipede as much as possible.
Even in the game, the Dark Dew Great King Centipede was an enemy that couldn’t be defeated through conventional methods.
It was more like a stage gimmick, you could say.
It wasn’t that there was no way to defeat the Dark Dew Great King Centipede, but the preparation process was so complex and difficult that it was basically a challenge for hardcore players.
‘However.’
Cheon Woo-jin stared at the Dark Dew Great King Centipede that had approached right before his nose.
Its body was so massive that just colliding with it seemed like it would crush his flesh.
Every time hundreds of legs moved alternately, the ground was carved and stones flew.
From its constantly moving massive jaws, he could feel the will to devour everything.
From its jaw legs dripping with murky poison liquid, chilling killing intent was revealed.
An ordinary cultivator would not even dare to flee and would have wet themselves on the spot.
But Cheon Woo-jin muttered in his mind without turning his eyes away.
‘Instant Kill.’
Thud!
The Dark Dew Great King Centipede that had been charging toward Cheon Woo-jin rolled on the ground.
The jaws that seemed capable of crushing everything went limp, and cracks appeared in its armor-like body, spewing out disgusting bodily fluids.
It was the moment when the hidden boss of the Dark Soul Secret Realm, which had possessed overwhelming presence, died instantly by Cheon Woo-jin’s authority.
‘In the game, it took over a year just to prepare to catch this thing.’
Staring at the giant centipede collapsed on the ground, Cheon Woo-jin felt a small sense of satisfaction.
But this wasn’t a situation to be leisurely about.
Once they realized the Dark Dew Great King Centipede had met its death, other demons would start rampaging.
He needed to take what he could before they showed themselves.
First, he reached his hand toward the Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s corpse.
He infiltrated spiritual power through the cracks in its body segments and examined the interior.
Then he could feel a heavy sensation around the middle of its torso.
‘This is it.’
Using spiritual power like a hook, he extracted an egg-sized object.
It was a Golden Core, the core spiritual organ newly generated within the body upon reaching Foundation Establishment.
‘The feeling is weaker than the Black Mist Dragon’s.’
When he first came to this world, Cheon Woo-jin had also killed the Black Mist Dragon instantly and harvested its Golden Core.
And by eating that Golden Core, he had acquired the Water Spirit Root and Manifest True Life Body.
But this time there was no need to eat the Golden Core.
Since Cheon Woo-jin already possessed spirit roots, eating the Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s Golden Core would be meaningless.
‘Instead…’
Cheon Woo-jin placed the Golden Core on his palm and examined it carefully.
When Instant Death Heaven Eye takes effect, the Golden Core also stops its activity.
But when Cheon Woo-jin gradually infused Water Spirit Energy, he felt a reaction from within.
‘With this, I can use it as a Water Attribute Foundation Spirit Material.’
There are conditions for spirit materials that can be used in Foundation Building Pills.
They must be beings that have steadily accumulated spiritual energy for long periods in closed spaces like Secret Realms, resulting in the establishment of spiritual structures within them for efficiently processing spiritual energy, only then can they become Foundation Spirit Materials.
This applies not only to spirit herbs but also to demons.
However, ordinary demons won’t do – only demons of Foundation Establishment or higher that have formed Golden Cores are possible.
This is because the spiritual structure for processing spiritual energy is formed within the Golden Core.
Also, like the Dark Dew Great King Centipede with Water Spirit Root, it must be a single spirit root without other attributes mixed in.
However, using a demon’s Golden Core as Foundation Spirit Material is not realistic.
Needing Foundation Spirit Materials means being a Qi Condensation cultivator, but it’s impossible for a Qi Condensation cultivator to kill a Foundation Establishment demon and obtain its Golden Core.
What made this impossible task possible was precisely… Cheon Woo-jin’s Instant Death Heaven Eye.
‘With this, I’ve secured Foundation Spirit Materials of three attributes.’
Following the Metal Attribute White Leaf Autumn Spirit Grass and Wood Attribute Blue Tear Spring Leaf Grass, he had now secured a Water Attribute Foundation Spirit Material too.
Now if he received Fire Attribute and Earth Attribute Foundation Spirit Materials from the Yuk Family Head, he would have all Five Elements materials.
If he secured just one more Foundation Spirit Material, he would be able to make Foundation Building Pills.
Ordinary cultivators devote decades of loyalty to their sects to obtain a single Foundation Building Pill.
But Cheon Woo-jin was utilizing the characteristics of a mercenary who could act freely to gather Foundation Building Pill materials in a short period.
‘Shall I gather the rest too?’
Cheon Woo-jin dismantled the Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s body.
First he tore off the massive jaws, and also tore off and collected several pieces of carapace from the back.
He would have liked to tear off everything if he could, but due to his Storage Bag’s capacity, he couldn’t be more greedy.
And he squeezed the poison gland inside the jaw legs to extract the poison liquid as well.
‘This can also be used when making antidotes.’
It was the principle of Using Poison to Control Poison.
When combined with other spirit herbs in a pill furnace, he could create a medicine that was harmless to the human body while removing other poisons.
“Grrrr….”
“Shaaa…!”
But then he began to sense ominous presences from the surroundings.
Demonic beasts that had sensed the Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s death were gathering.
Cheon Woo-jin decided it was time to leave this place.
The Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s corpse remained, but he didn’t need to worry about it.
The demonic beasts would tear it apart and devour it until no trace remained, so there would be no evidence that Cheon Woo-jin had defeated the Dark Dew Great King Centipede.
* * *
Cheon Woo-jin headed toward Shadow Hiding Cave where he had hidden the Six Merchant House Four Brothers.
Checking the talismans he had installed at the entrance beforehand, it seemed they had stayed obediently inside the cave without trying to come out.
“Y-you’re finally here!”
As he entered Shadow Hiding Cave, Yuk Baek-dal, the eldest brother, rushed toward him along with his younger brothers.
“What’s happening outside right now? Do we have to keep staying here?”
“Outside has become even more dangerous.”
“What?”
Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a serious voice.
“A giant dark purple centipede appeared. It seemed to be at the Foundation Establishment stage.”
“Gasp…!”
All four brothers gasped simultaneously.
“Th-that’s the Dark Dew Great King Centipede!”
“It showed itself after 60 years!”
“Whether responding to that centipede or not, other demonic beasts are also running wild… Thanks to that, even the Demonic Cultivators seemed busy fleeing.”
To the frightened-looking Yuk brothers, Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a serious voice.
“So stay hidden a little longer. I’ll call for you again when it seems safe.”
“L-look here! Are you alright? Looking at you now, you seem quite exhausted, and if the situation is that dangerous, wouldn’t it be better for all of us to hide together in this cave….”
“My mission is to help you safely complete your Secret Realm exploration.”
Cheon Woo-jin maintained a cold attitude.
“So don’t worry about me. I’ll eliminate the dangerous elements and secure safety before coming back for you.”
“…!”
After speaking as if he would take advantage of this chaos to eliminate the Demonic Cultivators, Cheon Woo-jin left the cave.
And he attached several more talismans to the entrance to reinforce the seal.
This was to prevent the four brothers from rushing out with unnecessary heroic impulses.
After handling that, Cheon Woo-jin headed to another Shadow Hiding Cave that existed in the Dark Soul Secret Realm.
In the secured location, he organized his spoils of war once more, then closed his eyes and rested.
‘I need to fully recover my strength.’
After getting a good night’s sleep, Cheon Woo-jin went outside Shadow Hiding Cave.
Outside was still gloomy.
Lightning occasionally flashed between the pitch-black clouds.
Being careful not to get struck by that lightning, he flew up high.
His destination was the massive mountain visible in the distance.
Upon reaching the mountain, he could see various kinds of flowers blooming abundantly.
But looking at those flowers up close, one could see they resembled human faces.
Faces twisted in agony, no less.
These were Grudge Face Flowers that were said to bloom from the souls of those who died unjust deaths.
‘Are these the faces of cultivators who lost their lives exploring this Secret Realm, or the faces of people sacrificed by the Yin Soul Ghost Bone Palace that created this Secret Realm?’
Walking through the horrific flower field, Cheon Woo-jin extended his spiritual power in all directions.
He searched for places that responded within his spiritual power spread out as intricately as a spider web.
‘There it is.’
What Cheon Woo-jin found was a Peaceful Face Flower, the only one among the Grudge Face Flowers that had a serene expression.
While Grudge Face Flowers were harmful to the human body, these Peaceful Face Flowers did the opposite and boosted human vitality.
This was because the Grudge Face Flowers absorbed all the toxic energy from the surroundings, leaving only the beneficial energy for the Peaceful Face Flowers to absorb.
‘A spirit herb that can be used widely when making elixirs. It can also be utilized in Dharma Artifact creation.’
Cheon Woo-jin harvested the Peaceful Face Flower and put it in his Storage Bag, then continued walking through the flower field.
By deploying his spiritual power web while exploring, he was able to find several more Peaceful Face Flowers.
Just as he thought this was enough and was about to leave, he sensed a sinister presence from behind.
“Kkeek!”
“Kkegeek!”
Monkeys about the size of small children were staring intently at Cheon Woo-jin.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary monkeys, but their red eyes gleamed with greed as they licked their lips.
“Kkeek!”
As the monkeys shrieked and raised their arms, purple energy burst forth.
It was a poison that would cause fever like malaria even with just a small inhalation.
‘They were Curse Plague Monkeys.’
Cheon Woo-jin used magic arts to fly up and escape from the poison’s range of influence.
Then he created black sword qi in mid-air and launched it toward the monkeys.
“Kiiiek!”
“Kieeek!”
The monkeys’ bodies were torn apart by the sword qi pouring down like a torrential rain.
They desperately spewed poison into the air, but it was a futile effort.
Beyond the meaninglessly scattering poison, Cheon Woo-jin generated a massive sword qi.
And he swung it widely, crushing all the remaining monkeys.
“….”
The remains of the monkeys scattered over the Grudge Face Flower field.
But Cheon Woo-jin didn’t even glance at them.
He had sensed a presence approaching.
“Uoooo!”
Thump, thump!
Making the ground tremble, a giant monster monkey was approaching.
Upon confirming its massive form, Cheon Woo-jin immediately checked the status window.
[Dim Curse Plague Great Ape]
* Race: Ape Clan
* Age: 189 years
* Realm: Foundation Establishment Great Perfection
* Constitution: Earth Spirit Root
* Faction: Neutral Path
* Affiliation: Dark Soul Secret Realm
* Destiny: Self-Interest
In terms of realm alone, it was Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, the same level as Yu Gi-ryeong.
But its body was tremendously large, and it was spewing mist-like purple poison from its entire body.
Moreover, as if it had devoured the Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s corpse, the fur around its mouth was stained with dark purple liquid.
“Uooooo!”
The monster monkey tried to charge at Cheon Woo-jin.
Cheon Woo-jin stared directly at it.
He wondered if it was trying to avenge the other monkeys, but seeing it drooling with its mouth open, it seemed to have nothing but thoughts of devouring Cheon Woo-jin.
‘Instant Kill.’
Thud!
The monster monkey that had been charging toward Cheon Woo-jin collapsed on the spot.
Red blood flowed from its body as it fell face-first into the mountain slope, dyeing the Grudge Face Flower field red.
Twenty-four hours had passed since he had instantly killed the Dark Dew Great King Centipede.
So he was able to use Instant Death Heaven Eye again.
‘Now I’ll be able to use it once more after another twenty-four hours pass.’
As he extended his spiritual power to dismember the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape’s corpse, Cheon Woo-jin calculated the remaining time.
The Dark Soul Secret Realm exploration would end around noon on the fifth day.
Since it was now the afternoon of the second day, he could use Instant Death Heaven Eye about two more times.
This meant he could hunt two more boss-level demons.
The Mad World Yin Spirit Sect had planned to sweep away all the cultivation resources of this Dark Soul Secret Realm.
If they eliminated the other cultivators and had Yu Gi-ryeong lead the subjugation of demons, they could monopolize the precious cultivation resources.
However, that plan now belonged to Cheon Woo-jin.
‘I’ll gather as many resources as possible until there’s no more space left in my Storage Bag.’
Crack!
The spine was extracted from inside the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape’s body.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————