Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 33

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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 33: Dark Soul Secret Realm (2)

 

 

‘It’s huge.’

 

Cheon Woo-jin stared at the spine he had extracted from the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape’s corpse.

It was as massive as a thousand-year-old giant tree.

 

Naturally, he couldn’t carry the whole thing with him.

Such a large object couldn’t fit in his Storage Bag.

And if he just carried it out openly, the representatives of the Three Sects waiting outside would lose their minds.

 

‘I don’t need the entire spine anyway.’

 

Cheon Woo-jin closed his eyes.

He began creating a sword in his Spiritual Domain.

A very sturdy and heavy one… like an axe-sword.

 

“….”

 

After investing considerable time to create the Heart Sword, he manifested it with Sword Qi.

Then he brought it down toward the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape’s spine.

 

Crack!

The Dim Curse Plague Great Ape’s spine split apart.

Cheon Woo-jin continued swinging his Sword Qi, completely splitting the entire spine.

 

“Whew….”

 

He felt fatigue as if he had been chopping wood for a long time.

After wiping the sweat from his forehead and withdrawing his Sword Qi, he extended his Spiritual Power to extract the marrow from inside the spine.

 

The bone marrow of a powerful monkey demon like the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape is called Great Ape Spirit Marrow and holds great value.

It’s used when crafting or enhancing Dharma Artifacts, and can greatly improve their performance.

 

‘With this, I can create a decent Dharma Artifact.’

 

Cheon Woo-jin recalled the Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s exoskeleton stored in his Storage Bag.

If he combined it with the Great Ape Spirit Marrow to craft a Dharma Artifact, it would produce quite a good item.

 

‘Now, shall I move to a more relaxed area?’

 

After securing the Great Ape Spirit Marrow, he climbed to a high place and surveyed the surroundings.

Recalling his memories from playing the game, he found a place where he could easily gather useful Spirit Herbs.

 

‘I’ll spend the day collecting Spirit Herbs in that direction….’

 

Cheon Woo-jin used his Spiritual Power to take flight.

He flew over the bizarre landscape of the Dark Soul Secret Realm toward his destination.

 

‘After 24 hours pass, I’ll hunt one more boss-level demon.’

 

About three days remained.

There was still much work to be done.

 

* * *

 

After that.

Cheon Woo-jin wandered the Dark Soul Secret Realm alone and acquired many spoils of war.

 

Just as he had defeated the Dark Dew Great King Centipede on the first day and the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape on the second day, he defeated another powerful Foundation Establishment demon on the third day.

Though it was a demon he could have defeated if he had poured all his strength into it, he killed it instantly with Instant Death Heaven Eye.

If he spent too much stamina and time fighting strong enemies, it would interfere with exploring various parts of the Secret Realm and acquiring resources.

 

Just like in the game, strategic thinking was necessary when exploring time-limited Secret Realms like this.

 

‘Shall I head to Shadow Hiding Cave soon?’

 

Around noon on the fourth day.

Cheon Woo-jin headed to Shadow Hiding Cave, a safe zone.

The Yuk Family Head Four Brothers were hiding there obediently as Cheon Woo-jin had ordered.

 

“Ah, you’re finally here. Listen, we really should… Gasp!”

 

Yuk Baek-dal, the eldest brother, widened his eyes upon seeing Cheon Woo-jin’s appearance.

He was covered head to toe in foul-smelling liquid.

 

In fact, Cheon Woo-jin had just come from fighting various demons in the Swamp Area this morning.

Normally he would have created water with Water Spirit Energy to wash himself, but he came as he was because he needed to meet the Yuk Family Head Four Brothers.

 

“My goodness, what is this state?”

“Are you injured?”

“It seems you’ve had a hard time.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up first.”

 

The four brothers used Magic Arts to clean Cheon Woo-jin’s body.

 

“Is the situation outside very bad?”

“I’ve already dealt with four out of the five Demonic Cultivators.”

“…!”

 

All four brothers gulped in unison.

 

“Is, is that really true?”

 

Cheon Woo-jin took out the Storage Bag he had obtained on the first day and showed them the Demonic Path Pills.

 

“Hmm, this is definitely….”

“It does seem to be pills made by those Demonic Path bastards.”

 

The four brothers examined the elixir and nodded their heads.

 

“But the most dangerous Foundation Establishment demonic beast still remains.”

“…!”

“And the Dark Dew Great King Centipede is chasing after that Foundation Establishment demonic beast, turning the entire Secret Realm upside down. Other demons are also responding to that chaos and running wild.”

 

Of course, this was a lie.

He had dealt with both Yu Gi-ryeong and the Dark Dew Great King Centipede on the first day.

 

“I understand it’s a dangerous situation….”

 

Yuk Baek-dal spoke with a gloomy expression.

 

“But you see, we can’t stay here forever either.”

“….”

“We also entered the Secret Realm because we need something.”

 

The Six Merchant House Four Brothers had also entered the Dark Soul Secret Realm to grow as cultivators.

They couldn’t just keep hiding forever.

 

“Especially the Golden Moistening Flower, we absolutely must obtain it.”

 

Golden Moistening Flower.

It was a name he was hearing for the first time.

At least it was a spirit herb that didn’t exist in the game.

 

“What kind of spirit herb is it used for?”

“It’s a spirit herb absolutely necessary when cultivating the cultivation technique passed down through our family for generations. The details are secret, but….”

 

It seemed to be a spirit herb used only by the Yuk Family Manor.

If that was the case, it wasn’t particularly necessary cultivation resources for Cheon Woo-jin.

 

“Can you tell me roughly where it is?”

“Ah, then the map….”

 

Cheon Woo-jin took out the Secret Realm map he had received in advance.

Then Yuk Baek-dal marked it on the map for him.

 

“It grows well on this mountain slope.”

“Then I’ll go check if this area is safe. If it seems safe, we’ll all go together.”

“Wi-will that be alright?”

“There’s no choice.”

 

After leaving the cave with the farewell of the Six Merchant House Four Brothers, he flew up using magic arts.

There was no need to check the map. He had a rough idea of where it was.

 

“….”

 

After flying for about half a hour, he was able to reach his destination.

Looking carefully at the mountain slope, he could see flowers that glowed golden and emanated strong yin energy.

 

‘That must be the Golden Moistening Flower.’

 

Moistening means to replenish the body with yin fluid to make it moist.

Seeing the strong yin energy emanating from it, it seemed to be the Golden Moistening Flower.

 

Cheon Woo-jin observed the Golden Moistening Flower carefully for a while.

But he couldn’t think of any particular way to use it.

 

‘Still, just in case, maybe a few stalks….’

 

Just as he was thinking that and trying to harvest the Golden Moistening Flower.

He sensed a presence from behind.

 

“….”

 

It was a mantis demon reminiscent of an orchid mantis, with a petal-like appearance.

It had quite a beautiful exterior, but its body was as large as a house and its front legs had sharp spikes, making it quite threatening.

 

Moreover….

 

‘How dizzying.’

 

It was spinning its front legs round and round, and watching that motion made him feel dizzy.

It wasn’t simple dizziness. It was emitting some kind of wave with spiritual power, affecting Cheon Woo-jin’s sense of balance.

 

‘In the game, was it an accuracy debuff effect?’

 

Even in his dizziness, Cheon Woo-jin remained calm.

 

After all, Cheon Woo-jin had come to this place intending to meet this mantis demon from the beginning.

 

‘Instant Kill.’

 

Flinch.

The mantis that had been diligently waving its front legs stiffened its body.

And then it collapsed on the spot with a thud.

 

This White Flower Mantis was a demon with power around the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Fighting directly while accuracy was reduced due to dizziness would have been inefficient.

 

‘The White Flower Mantis’s front legs can be used when making dharma artifacts. They’d also fetch quite a bit of money if sold.’

 

Cheon Woo-jin created sword qi and severed the mantis demon’s front legs.

But when he tried to put them in his storage bag, they wouldn’t fit.

Even trying with other storage bags yielded the same result.

 

‘There’s no choice.’

 

He took out all the storage bags he was currently carrying and organized their contents.

He discarded items of lesser value while carefully organizing each storage bag to ensure no empty spaces remained.

By doing so, he was finally able to secure space to store the mantis demon’s front legs.

 

‘Is this really the limit now?’

 

Not only the storage bags, but even his chest and sleeves were packed full.

He had considered taking a few Golden Jade Flowers as a test, but decided it would be better to give up on that idea.

 

‘I’ll just tell the Six Merchant House brothers to handle the rest themselves.’

 

He had taken everything he could.

The Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s golden core and exoskeleton, the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape’s Great Ape Spirit Marrow, and now this mantis demon’s front legs… he had packed everything full with only expensive and valuable items.

Since he couldn’t take any more even if he tried, he could let the Six Merchant House Four Brothers handle the rest.

 

With that thought, Cheon Woo-jin headed back toward Silver Shadow Cave.

It was about time to free the Six Merchant House Four Brothers from the cave.

 

After protecting them for the remaining time, his mission would be complete once he helped them escape from this secret realm tomorrow at noon.

As reward, he would receive Fire and Earth attribute Foundation Spirit Beasts.

 

Then Cheon Woo-jin would possess five out of the six Foundation Spirit Beasts.

 

He would be just one step away from the Foundation Establishment stage.

 

* * *

 

The fifth day.

Around the entrance to the Dark Soul Secret Realm, Core Formation Cultivators from the Six Merchant House, Dragon Domination Society, and Doyomun were waiting.

They were waiting for the Qi Refining Cultivators from their respective sects to emerge.

 

Of course, what Doyomun Sect Master Gwak Yu, who had come from Doyomun, was waiting for were the Demonic Cultivators from the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect.

Gwak Yu had offered the entire Doyomun to the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect, sending in Demonic Cultivators instead of the disciples who were originally scheduled to enter the Dark Soul Secret Realm this year.

In exchange, it was a contract to receive powerful Demonic Cultivation Methods and elixirs from Jeok Ya-wol, the leader of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect.

 

‘Qi Refining disciples are nothing more than expendable resources anyway! My advancement to the Nascent Soul stage takes priority!’

 

While Gwak Yu was lost in such thoughts, crackling sounds began to emerge from the crack in the ground.

Hearing that sound, the Core Formation Cultivators from the Six Merchant House and Dragon Domination Society rose to their feet.

 

“It’s about time for them to come out.”

 

Gwak Yu also stood up from his seat.

As the three chanted incantations together and deployed their spiritual power, the Gate of Space and Time began to open within the crack in the ground.

 

While some places like the small secret realms recently discovered in the 1st Layer could be entered and exited at will, secret realms with restrictions like this could only be entered at designated times and exited at designated times.

If one failed to match the time when the exit opened, they couldn’t escape.

They would be trapped inside the Dark Soul Secret Realm until it reopened again in 20 years.

 

“Hmm…!”

 

Shortly after, a group of cultivators appeared through the Gate of Space and Time.

However, Gwak Yu gaped in shock.

 

‘What happened?’

 

They were cultivators from the Six Merchant House.

Though they looked disheveled here and there, all five had emerged alive and well.

 

But this was strange.

The Mad World Yin Spirit Sect had said they would kill all the cultivators from the Six Merchant House and Dragon Domination Society.

For that purpose, Yu Gi-ryeong, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, had entered while concealing his cultivation level…

 

‘Did they fail?’

 

While Doyomun Sect Master Gwak Yu was seized by bewilderment, the atmosphere on the Six Merchant House side was nothing short of festive.

 

“Haha, this is truly cause for celebration! For all of you to return safely, I’m proud of you!”

 

They were laughing heartily while checking the cultivation resources they had brought out from the secret realm.

Watching this scene, the Core Formation Cultivator from the Dragon Domination Society spoke up.

 

“What happened to our people? Why haven’t they come out yet?”

“Ah, about that…”

 

Yuk Baek-dal, the eldest son of the Yuk Family Head, turned his head slightly.

After gauging the reactions of the cultivators who had emerged with him, he carefully spoke.

 

“It seems all the other cultivators lost their lives.”

“What…!”

 

The Core Formation Cultivator from the Dragon Domination Society widened his eyes.

 

“Are you saying all our people died? Even Jin Cheol-wook?”

“That’s correct.”

“What exactly happened?”

“Well…”

 

Yuk Baek-dal directed his gaze toward Gwak Yu.

Understanding the implication, the Dragon Domination Society cultivator glared at Gwak Yu with a menacing expression.

 

However, he didn’t directly protest or complain.

Fighting over cultivation resources during secret realm exploration was a common occurrence after all.

Since investigating the scene and determining right from wrong was impossible, it was common sense in the Cultivation World not to make an issue of what happened inside secret realms.

 

“W-wait a moment.”

 

Gwak Yu spoke up urgently.

 

“Then what happened to the cultivators who entered from our side?”

“They all lost their lives as well.”

“What?!”

 

At Yuk Baek-dal’s answer, Gwak Yu doubted his ears.

 

Yu Gi-ryeong who had gone in this time was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He possessed the power to single-handedly annihilate all the Qi Refining Cultivators of the Dragon Domination Society and Yuk Family Manor.

 

With such a skilled expert present, how on earth did they all die while only the Yuk Family Manor bastards survived?

 

“What happened! Just what could have occurred…!”

 

Right at that moment.

Behind the Six Merchant House Four Brothers, he could see an unknown cultivator keeping his mouth shut.

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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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