Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 35

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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 35: Dharma Artifact (1)

 

 

What kind of dharma artifact do you want to make?

 

Upon receiving Song Pyo’s question, Cheon Woo-jin first put his hand into his storage bag.

 

“Let me show you the materials I’ll use first.”

“What?”

 

Thud!

A massive hook-like object and an iron plate-like object burst out, filling the entire room.

 

“How did you fit such huge objects in a storage bag… No, wait.”

 

Song Pyo’s eyes widened at the size of the objects Cheon Woo-jin had taken out, but he soon recognized what they were and his mouth fell wide open.

 

“Don’t tell me these are the Great King Centipede’s jaw and carapace?”

“From one that’s over a thousand years old.”

“A, a thousand years?”

 

Song Pyo’s voice began to tremble.

 

“A centipede demon that’s over a thousand years old means it’s at least Core Formation realm…”

 

Some demons have longer lifespans than humans, but if they don’t reach Core Formation realm, they die before living a thousand years.

Therefore, if something has the modifier “thousand years old,” it’s at least Core Formation realm.

This meant it was a spirit material that ordinary Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators could never dare to covet.

 

“Where on earth did you get this?”

“Do you need to know that much?”

 

At Cheon Woo-jin’s cold voice, Song Pyo looked at a loss for words.

Watching such Song Pyo, Cheon Woo-jin finally revealed what kind of dharma artifact he wanted to make.

 

“I’d like you to make a supreme-grade Flying Spirit with this.”

“Flying Spirit…!”

 

Flying Spirit refers to a combat auxiliary dharma artifact that flies through the air and moves autonomously.

There are Flying Spirits that automatically attack enemies, and there are Flying Spirits that automatically defend against enemy attacks.

Sometimes there are even integrated offense-defense Flying Spirits that perform both attack and defense simultaneously.

 

The advantage of Flying Spirits is that they automatically move while assisting in combat.

Since they attack or defend without needing individual control, they could greatly reduce Cheon Woo-jin’s burden.

 

With Cheon Woo-jin’s current Qi Refining realm abilities, doing both offense and defense simultaneously wasn’t easy.

For example, defending against enemy attacks with Silver Spirit Steel Defense while preparing powerful offensive magic arts was quite burdensome.

But if a Flying Spirit was deployed and automatically defending, Cheon Woo-jin could focus solely on attacking.

 

“Would it be possible?”

“That’s…”

 

Song Pyo fell into thought with a serious expression.

 

“Certainly… these are supreme-grade materials suitable for making a supreme-grade Flying Spirit.”

 

They were torn from the body of a Core Formation realm demon.

They were more than adequate as materials for a supreme-grade dharma artifact.

 

“But it’s impossible with just this one thing.”

 

However, Song Pyo spoke in a firm voice.

 

“To make a supreme-grade dharma artifact, it’s not enough for only the core material to be supreme-grade. All the other auxiliary materials must also be supreme-grade.”

“Auxiliary materials?”

“You need to have all of the Sovereign, Minister, Assistant, and Envoy complete.”

 

Saying this, Song Pyo held up four fingers.

 

“Originally, when making dharma artifacts or elixirs, you need to have all of these Sovereign, Minister, Assistant, and Envoy complete to get good results.”

 

Song Pyo explained while counting on his fingers one by one.

 

“Sovereign is like a monarch, so it refers to the material that becomes the core of the dharma artifact or elixir.”

 

“Minister is like a retainer, so it refers to the material that reinforces the core material.”

 

“Assistant is like an aide, so it refers to the material that prevents unwanted effects from occurring.”

 

“Envoy is like a messenger, so it refers to the material that allows all materials to communicate well and achieve harmony.”

 

After explaining this, Song Pyo turned his gaze back to the Dark Dew Great King Centipede’s jaw and carapace.

 

“This jaw and carapace can be considered materials corresponding to the ‘Sovereign’ of Sovereign, Minister, Assistant, and Envoy. But without the Minister, Assistant, and Envoy complete, a supreme-grade dharma artifact cannot be made.”

“…”

“Do you have supreme-grade materials that can serve as the Minister?”

 

Instead of answering, Cheon Woo-jin put his hand into his storage bag.

Then he took out a jar and showed its contents.

 

“Is this… bone marrow?”

“It’s Great Ape Spirit Marrow.”

“What…!”

 

It was the bone marrow of the Dim Curse Plague Great Ape obtained from the Dark Soul Secret Realm.

 

“T-this is Great Ape Spirit Marrow?”

 

Song Pyo leaned forward and peered into the jar.

 

“Hmm, I can definitely feel dense spiritual power. This should be able to serve as the Minister role.”

 

Great Ape Spirit Marrow is used when crafting or enhancing magical artifacts, and can greatly improve the artifact’s performance.

It was a medicinal ingredient that would be more than sufficient to serve as the Minister role in the Sovereign-Minister-Assistant-Envoy theory.

 

“But we also need materials that can serve as the Assistant role and materials that can serve as the Envoy role…”

 

In the Sovereign-Minister-Assistant-Envoy theory, only the Sovereign and Minister were prepared, but the Assistant and Envoy were not.

In front of Song Pyo who was pointing out this issue, Cheon Woo-jin took out two pairs of mantis forelegs and five flowers.

 

“These mantis forelegs belong to the White Flower Mantis, a demon that uses hypnosis techniques. These human face-shaped flowers are Peaceful Face Flowers that bloomed in the Grudge Face Flower field.”

“…!”

“With these, we should be able to fulfill the Assistant and Envoy roles as well.”

 

Cheon Woo-jin was already well-versed in the Sovereign-Minister-Assistant-Envoy theory from the beginning.

Even in the game, when creating powerful magical artifacts or elixirs, you needed to combine at least four or more materials to create interactions for success.

 

“…”

 

Song Pyo had a speechless expression.

He looked at the materials Cheon Woo-jin had laid out, then looked at Cheon Woo-jin’s face.

After alternating his gaze like this several times… Song Pyo cautiously opened his mouth.

 

“Are you someone’s agent?”

“Agent?”

“Like a Daoist who doesn’t want to reveal his identity sent you on an errand…”

 

It was unnatural for a cultivator operating in the Ghost Beast Fortress Lower Levels to possess four such precious materials.

So perhaps he had come as someone’s errand boy.

That was his speculation when he asked.

 

“…”

 

It was a completely wrong guess, but Cheon Woo-jin didn’t feel the need to correct it.

There was no need to reveal his information just to clear up Song Pyo’s misunderstanding.

 

Rather, it would be more beneficial to let Song Pyo continue with that misunderstanding.

Sometimes it’s advantageous to make the other party underestimate you, but sometimes it’s more advantageous to make them evaluate you higher than reality and be on guard.

In a case like this, it was the latter.

 

“No, I won’t pry any further…”

 

When Cheon Woo-jin didn’t give any answer, Song Pyo sighed with a resigned expression.

 

“I’ve seen many people get hurt because of excessive curiosity. I’ll just do my job.”

“A commendable attitude.”

“With these materials, the Sovereign-Minister-Assistant-Envoy setup is definitely complete. I can make the supreme-grade Flying Spirit you want.”

 

Song Pyo, who had given up on hearing the story from Cheon Woo-jin, expressed his view as a refiner.

 

“With both jaws and four pieces of carapace, I can make two attack Flying Spirits and four defense Flying Spirits.”

“Even though the carapace is this large, you can only make four?”

“If you split one carapace to use it, the durability drops. You need to use one whole carapace per Flying Spirit.”

“I see.”

“And this size won’t be maintained as is. When made into Flying Spirits, these huge carapaces will shrink to palm size. Same goes for the jaws.”

 

Song Pyo gave several technical explanations like this.

 

“And the production cost will be… about this much.”

 

Song Pyo operated an abacus to calculate and show the production cost.

It was a large sum that would be difficult for an ordinary Qi Condensation Cultivator to handle.

 

“Quite a lot.”

“Making supreme-grade magical artifacts requires many spirit stones.”

 

Even from Cheon Woo-jin’s perspective, it wasn’t overpriced.

But there was no reason to meekly pay the full amount.

 

“I’ll pay half as a down payment. I’ll pay the remaining half when I receive the completed magical artifact.”

“W-wait a moment.”

 

Song Pyo’s face reddened.

 

“Didn’t I say that many spirit stones are needed?”

“Isn’t it sufficiently manageable with the spirit stones stored at Hwangju Refinery Pavilion?”

“That’s…”

 

Anyway, it was impossible for Cheon Woo-jin to pay the full amount with the spirit stones he currently had.

Although he had earned spirit stones here and there, it wasn’t enough to pay the full refining cost of a supreme-grade magical artifact in one lump sum.

 

“Then I’ll pay the down payment first.”

“Ah…”

 

Clatter.

Spirit stones poured out onto the table.

It was an amount corresponding to half the production cost.

 

This was almost all the spirit stones Cheon Woo-jin had in his possession.

He was practically broke now, but Cheon Woo-jin maintained a cold attitude without showing this at all.

 

“When should I come to pick it up?”

“…”

 

Song Pyo sighed with a resigned expression.

 

“Ten days from now.”

 

Finally, Song Pyo raised the white flag.

Song Pyo’s words were equivalent to saying ‘I’ll make it the way you want.’

 

“It’s faster than I thought.”

“With my skills, it’s possible. Only incompetent refiners waste time unnecessarily.”

 

Song Pyo was a refiner acknowledged by Seo Seol-ryeong.

There was no need to doubt his abilities.

 

“Come back in ten days.”

“Don’t forget to bring the remaining payment.”

 

Cheon Woo-jin nodded and stood up from his seat.

 

After being escorted out of Hwangju Refinery Pavilion by the shop clerk, he stopped by other stores.

It was to sell some of the cultivation resources he had obtained from the Dark Soul Secret Realm.

It was more efficient to immediately sell off resources that weren’t needed right now.

 

Selling those resources brought in quite a lot of Spirit Stones.

He had been practically penniless after paying the down payment, but finally had some breathing room.

 

‘Though it’s nowhere near enough to pay the remaining balance.’

 

He needed to earn Spirit Stones equivalent to half the production cost within two weeks.

This wasn’t a problem that could be solved by completing one or two of Seo Seol-ryeong’s requests.

 

But he wasn’t feeling impatient.

 

If Cheon Woo-jin’s prediction was correct… a large sum would come rolling in soon.

 

* * *

 

After that, Cheon Woo-jin spent his time practicing alchemy and researching magic arts.

 

‘I suppose I’ve waited long enough.’

 

After five days passed, Cheon Woo-jin emerged from his cave dwelling.

While walking along the road, he briefly looked into Jo Hyu’s shop.

Whether he had accepted Cheon Woo-jin’s advice to lay low for a while, neither Jo Hyu nor his granddaughter were visible.

 

‘That’s for the best.’

 

Leaving Jo Hyu’s shop behind, Cheon Woo-jin headed toward the 2nd Layer.

But as he walked along the road, he could feel that the atmosphere was different from before.

 

‘Now even the cultivators of the 2nd Layer have started being wary of me.’

 

It hadn’t been like this until recently.

While everyone in the 1st Layer was wary of Cheon Woo-jin, the 2nd Layer cultivators showed no particular reaction even when they recognized him.

 

But now they were openly showing awareness of Cheon Woo-jin.

Some people watched Cheon Woo-jin while whispering to their companions.

There were even those who flinched in surprise and stepped back when they encountered Cheon Woo-jin on the road.

 

Leaving behind the gazes of many people, Cheon Woo-jin entered the back alley at the corner of the market.

As he entered the tent, Seo Seol-ryeong immediately spoke without any greeting.

 

“Didn’t you feel many people’s gazes on your way here?”

“I did.”

“There have been rumors going around lately.”

 

Seo Seol-ryeong spoke in a calm voice.

 

“That you single-handedly annihilated the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect’s Demonic Cultivators.”

“Everyone’s being swayed by inaccurate rumors.”

 

Cheon Woo-jin maintained a cold attitude as he replied.

But Seo Seol-ryeong didn’t mind at all and continued speaking.

 

“So, there’s a faction that wants to borrow your power.”

“Which one?”

“The Mad World Yin Spirit Sect.”

“….”

 

In front of the silent Cheon Woo-jin, Seo Seol-ryeong slowly explained.

 

“It seems they noticed that Yuk Family Manor brought in an outsider and conducted a separate background investigation. As a result, they appear to have taken an interest in you.”

“Is the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect also responsible for this rumor?”

“Yes, the rumors spread throughout the 2nd Layer because the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect went around asking questions everywhere.”

 

From the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect’s perspective, they had no choice but to pay attention to Cheon Woo-jin.

They had made thorough preparations and even sent in Yu Gi-ryeong, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, yet they were completely annihilated while only the Yuk Family Manor people survived.

It was natural to suspect Cheon Woo-jin, who had been Yuk Family Manor’s reinforcement.

 

“They don’t seem to have any intention of retaliating for what happened last time. Rather, they appear to be interested in Cheon Daoist’s abilities, having annihilated their subordinates.”

“….”

“Currently, the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect is trying to advance into Ghost Head City and expand their influence. Although the last incident caused a major setback, they probably think they could fully recover if they could recruit Cheon Daoist.”

 

That was a thoroughly cold and rational judgment.

 

Yu Gi-ryeong, whom Cheon Woo-jin had killed in the Dark Soul Secret Realm, was the right-hand man of Jeok Ya-wol, the leader of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect.

But Jeok Ya-wol would never try to avenge Yu Gi-ryeong.

There would be no benefit whatsoever in killing Cheon Woo-jin to avenge him.

 

Rather, it would be more beneficial to bring Cheon Woo-jin, who was a step above Yu Gi-ryeong, to their side.

 

“But here’s the thing.”

 

Seo Seol-ryeong raised one finger.

 

“There’s one more faction that wants to borrow Cheon Daoist’s power.”

“Which one is that?”

“Don’t be surprised.”

 

Seo Seol-ryeong began with those words, lowering her voice as she spoke.

 

“It’s the Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate.”

“….”

 

Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate.

One of the most powerful forces in Ghost Head City, a massive sect with incomparable strength to the likes of Yuk Family Manor.

Though belonging to the Orthodox Sect camp, they maintain distance from the Taeul Yeokri Gate and have wielded great influence over the Orthodox Sect cultivators within Ghost Head City.

 

“Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate is a sect that takes maintaining order and balance throughout Ghost Head City as their creed.”

“For such a sect, they don’t intervene at all in the chaos of Ghost Head City’s lower levels.”

“That’s because their perspective is that the Ghost Head City lower levels are desirable in their current state.”

 

The Ghost Head City lower levels are far from order and balance.

But Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate leaves the lower levels to maintain that state.

Because they believe that’s what creates order and balance throughout Ghost Head City as a whole.

 

“It seems even such a Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate cannot overlook Mad World Yin Spirit Sect’s advance into Ghost Head City.”

“They can’t just leave Mad World Yin Spirit Sect to spread demonic cultivation methods and elixirs while growing their power in the lower levels.”

 

Moreover, there are suspicions that Mad World Yin Spirit Sect is a subordinate organization of Blood World Demon Sect.

From Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate’s standpoint, they couldn’t just leave Mad World Yin Spirit Sect’s advance into Ghost Head City alone.

 

“So it seems Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate has decided to dispatch one True Transmission Disciple.”

“A True Transmission Disciple….”

 

True Transmission Disciple refers to the upper-tier disciples of a sect.

As the name ‘disciple who transmits the true teachings’ suggests, they are disciples who receive the sect’s core teachings.

Depending on the sect, they might be called Personal Transmission Disciples, Direct Transmission Disciples, or Legitimate Transmission Disciples – the nuances differ slightly, but in any case, they are disciples the sect pours its heart into nurturing.

 

While Outer Sect Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples are merely expendable resources exploited by the sect, True Transmission Disciples are different.

Because they are talents nurtured by concentrating cultivation resources like Foundation Building Pills, sects give True Transmission Disciples special management and continuous investment.

 

“Still, subjugating Mad World Yin Spirit Sect with just one True Transmission Disciple won’t be easy.”

“That’s right.”

 

This matter is ultimately something happening in Ghost Head City’s lower levels.

There’s no way an upper-tier sect like Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate would deploy multiple True Transmission Disciples.

 

But Mad World Yin Spirit Sect isn’t such a pathetic opponent that they can be subjugated by just one True Transmission Disciple.

 

“They say they’ll mobilize about a hundred Inner Sect Disciples for now, but just having numbers won’t be enough to face Mad World Yin Spirit Sect.”

 

Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate is a powerful Orthodox Sect, but that doesn’t mean even their low-ranking disciples are skilled in combat.

Cultivators from the Demonic Path or Black Gate with extensive real combat experience would be more advantageous.

 

“So they want to get my help.”

“Yes, especially since rumors are circulating that you annihilated Mad World Yin Spirit Sect’s Demonic Cultivators.”

 

A mercenary who knows how to slaughter demonic bastards.

From Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate’s side, he’s a force worth requesting cooperation from.

 

“Coincidentally, I’ve received attention from two forces that will become enemies of each other.”

“Yes, quite coincidentally.”

“This makes it possible to drive up my price between the two forces.”

 

A smile appeared on Seo Seol-ryeong’s lips.

This situation was welcome from Seo Seol-ryeong’s standpoint as a broker.

 

“Which side would Cheon Daoist like to join?”

“….”

 

Sacred Enlightenment Origin Gate and Mad World Yin Spirit Sect.

Cheon Woo-jin had to choose which side to join.

 

Would he cooperate with the Orthodox Sect to expel the Demonic Path?

Or would he collude with the Demonic Path to repel the Orthodox Sect?

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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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