Instant-Death Cultivation: Surviving in an Immortal World with Instant Kill - Chapter 96
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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 96: Shadow Scale Sunken Sect (3)
Yo Eun-hee’s expression froze.
The killing intent directed at Cheon Woo-jin also disappeared in an instant.
[Cheon Woo-jin, don’t tell me you heard it from Na Chwi-ryang?]
[Na Chwi-ryang didn’t say anything. He seemed to know nothing from the beginning.]
In front of Yo Eun-hee, who was speaking through telepathy again, Cheon Woo-jin explained with a calm attitude.
[When the Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon passed over our heads in the snow mountain region, Na Chwi-ryang just treated it as a crazy lesser dragon.]
After hearing Cheon Woo-jin’s words, Yo Eun-hee sat back down and sighed.
[You really know everything. Our Shadow Scale Sunken Sect’s shame, that is.]
[It’s not something that should be called a shame, Sect Master.]
Cheon Woo-jin sent his telepathy with a calm attitude.
[The fact that the sect’s founder became like that is just a sad matter.]
[Cheon Woo-jin…]
Tears welled up in Yo Eun-hee’s eyes.
[Yes, the mad lesser dragon Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon is our Shadow Scale Sunken Sect’s founder.]
The lesser dragon wandering above the snow mountain region, Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon.
He was the founder of the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect.
Originally, a flood dragon refers to a large snake that lives in water.
The Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon was also originally a snake demon born in this wetland region.
[Have you heard the story that a flood dragon can become a dragon through a thousand years of cultivation?]
[I know it. I heard that a water snake becomes a flood dragon after five hundred years of cultivation, and a flood dragon becomes a dragon after a thousand years of cultivation.]
[You’re even knowledgeable.]
.
A water viper, that is, a water snake becomes a flood dragon after five hundred years, and a flood dragon becomes a dragon after a thousand years.
This is a saying from ancient literature.
Actually, there are more evolutionary stages after this, but let’s skip them for now.
In the first place, this is just a legend, and it doesn’t match up so perfectly.
[The founder was originally a snake demon living in this wetland. But he came into contact with fragments of the Arctic True Martial Dark Heaven Emperor that had sunk in the swamp and became a flood dragon.]
After that, the Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon created the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect using the scale fragments of the Black Tortoise as a divine artifact.
And he grew it into a powerful sect worthy of being counted among the Three Major Powers of the 6th Floor.
[After creating the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect, the founder began cultivation to become a dragon. Believing in the legend that a flood dragon becomes a dragon after a thousand years of cultivation.]
[However, that was only a legend after all.]
[Yes, in the end the founder failed. He went mad due to wrong cultivation methods.]
The mad Nascent Soul lesser dragon Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon was born like that.
The Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon forgot even his own sect and came to wander above the snow mountain region.
[The founder is suffering. We have been looking for a way to end that suffering for a long time.]
The Shadow Scale Sunken Sect’s long-cherished wish.
That was to give eternal rest to their founder, the Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon.
[If it were up to our hearts alone, we would want to personally end the founder’s life. But… including myself, most of the demon cultivators of the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect cannot attack the founder.]
A flood dragon is the ruler of creatures that live in water.
The snake demons belonging to the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect also fall under this category.
It was difficult for the ruled to attack the ruler.
[My father, the Former Sect Master, is the same…]
The only one who could catch the Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon, a Nascent Soul lesser dragon, would be Yo Won-gyeon, who is also at the Nascent Soul stage.
But since Yo Won-gyeon is also a snake demon, it’s difficult for him to attack the Wandering Ghost Flood Dragon.
[We couldn’t entrust it to someone outside the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect either. As I said, this is our sect’s shame…]
[That role.]
Cheon Woo-jin made eye contact with Yo Eun-hee and conveyed his intention.
[I will do it.]
A moment of silence flowed.
Yo Eun-hee stared at Cheon Woo-jin for a while.
[How do you plan to do it?]
[I cannot tell you that much. But I will handle it quietly without telling anyone.]
After hearing Cheon Woo-jin’s telepathy, Yo Eun-hee sighed.
[Honestly, it’s hard to believe. But if you can really fulfill that role…]
Yo Eun-hee put her hand to her forehead and sent a telepathy.
[I can permit you to use the fragments of the Arctic True Martial Dark Heaven Emperor.]
[Good.]
Cheon Woo-jin stood up from his seat.
Since the drinking table was ruined anyway, there was no need to sit here any longer.
[Then I’ll go handle it now and return.]
[Now?]
Yo Eun-hee’s eyes widened.
[Is that really true?]
[Originally I had a promise with Na Chwi-ryang, but since he’s still being punished, I’ll postpone it for later.]
Currently, Na Chwi-ryang was in the middle of being punished by Yo Eun-hee.
He had planned to wait until the punishment was over, but given the circumstances, it would be better to postpone it to a later date.
[Cheon Woo-jin, what exactly are you….]
[Then I’ll be going.]
Saying that, Cheon Woo-jin turned his back on Yo Eun-hee.
The demon cultivators around them, including the frog demons, could only blink their eyes, not understanding what was happening.
“Cheon Woo-jin!”
At that moment, Yo Eun-hee called out to Cheon Woo-jin in a loud voice.
“If you can really accomplish that task… you will be a benefactor of the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect.”
Yo Eun-hee bowed her body toward Cheon Woo-jin.
The demon cultivators stirred at the sight of the Sect Master taking such an attitude toward a mere mercenary.
“I’m counting on you.”
“I’ll be back.”
Leaving those brief words, Cheon Woo-jin left the Shadow Scale Sunken Sect behind.
* * *
Since this matter had to be handled secretly, he couldn’t inform Seo Seol-ryeong and the others.
Cheon Woo-jin moved alone toward the snow mountain region.
At first, he took the same path he had walked with Na Chwi-ryang last time, but changed direction midway.
‘Looking at the terrain… it should be that mountain path over there.’
He started walking west from near the location where he had discovered the Wandering Ghost Sect last time.
As he climbed the mountain through the endlessly falling snow, he began to sense a presence ahead.
But it wasn’t the presence of the Wandering Ghost Sect.
It was a much more insignificant… yet definitely not to be underestimated demon.
‘A Frost Dragon?’
The Frost Dragon was a bird-type demon that inhabited cold regions.
Though it had the name Frost Dragon due to its dragon-like appearance, upon closer inspection, it was indeed a bird with a pair of wings and legs.
Characterized by its blue body and red beak, it launched ice attribute attacks that released powerful cold energy.
Right now, one Frost Dragon was devouring a wolf ahead.
The Frost Dragon had a body about three times larger than the wolf, making him wonder if that would even fill its stomach.
“Kie…?”
Sure enough.
It had noticed prey that could provide a more substantial meal.
The Frost Dragon raised its head and stared at Cheon Woo-jin.
“Kieee!”
As the Frost Dragon let out a bizarre cry, intense cold energy burst forth.
A wide-range preemptive attack he had experienced many times in the game.
To defend against it, Cheon Woo-jin drew upon water attribute defensive magic.
[Water Heaven Circle Formation Technique]
A spherical barrier that defended in all directions enveloped Cheon Woo-jin.
The cold energy didn’t reach Cheon Woo-jin, but instead the barrier froze solid in an instant.
“Kekekek!”
Making what seemed like a mocking cry, the Frost Dragon flapped its wings in place.
It looked down on Cheon Woo-jin, thinking a barrier that would freeze from one blast of cold energy was nothing special.
But that carelessness created an opening for the Frost Dragon.
Swoosh.
A shadow that stretched along the ground reached right under the Frost Dragon’s feet.
[Black Shadow Thorn Spike]
Thunk! Crack crack crack!
Black blades that erupted from the shadow pierced the Frost Dragon’s body.
Then countless thorns extended out, ravaging the Frost Dragon’s insides.
“Keeeeeeek!”
The Frost Dragon screamed in agony.
Watching this, Cheon Woo-jin amplified his spiritual energy with the Thunder Ring.
[Lightning Flash]
Crash!
He shattered the frozen barrier and instantly closed the distance.
He drove lightning energy into the Frost Dragon fixed in place by Black Shadow Thorn Spike at close range.
[Lightning Flash Pierce]
Crash crash crash!
Cheon Woo-jin slid past the Frost Dragon’s side like a blur.
A high-speed attack technique devised while facing Jeong Cheol of the Iron Calamity Group.
Moving back and forth while changing directions multiple times puts a great burden on the body, but it’s sufficient for approaching in one breath and driving lightning energy at close range.
“Kieee…”
When Cheon Woo-jin turned his head, he saw the Fierce Dragon, having lost most of its body, collapsing weakly onto the snow.
After confirming the Fierce Dragon had completely fallen silent, he collected the red beak from its corpse.
It was a beak that naturally generated yang energy so it could easily melt and consume even frozen prey.
Ground into powder and mixed with other materials, it would make excellent fertilizer to sprinkle on spirit fields.
‘I was just about to start cultivating Spirit Rice, so I’ve obtained good fertilizer.’
The various seeds and saplings obtained from Golden Wing Sect were growing well in the eastern section of Taixu Cave Heaven.
However, he hadn’t yet attempted crops known for their high cultivation difficulty, but he was planning to start Spirit Rice cultivation soon.
Spirit Rice, rice imbued with spiritual energy, was practically the staple food of cultivators, but creating good quality Spirit Rice was no easy task.
There were quite a few farmer cultivators who devoted entire days solely to tending Spirit Rice.
Fortunately, unlike ordinary rice, it didn’t need to be cultivated across multiple seasons.
Depending on the seeds and cultivation method, it could generally be harvested in one to two months, and in fast cases, harvesting was possible within ten days.
This time, Cheon Woo-jin planned to cultivate Golden Jade Rice, Golden Wing Sect’s highest quality Spirit Rice.
Golden Jade Rice contained refined Five Elements spiritual energy in perfect balance, greatly aiding cultivation, and was evaluated as premium Spirit Rice for its excellent taste as well.
‘Once harvested, I should share some with Seo Seol-ryeong and others too.’
Cheon Woo-jin put the Fierce Dragon’s beak into his storage bag and began walking the path again.
The terrain became increasingly treacherous as he went, so he climbed the snowy mountain while being careful not to slip.
Eventually, Cheon Woo-jin found a cave hidden deep within the snowy mountain.
‘The surrounding terrain is exactly the same as in the game. This must be the right place.’
This was precisely the nest of the Wandering Ghost Serpent.
Though the Wandering Ghost Serpent roamed the skies above this area daily, it didn’t fly around for a full 24 hours.
After making one circuit of this area, it would enter the cave to rest and fall asleep.
And when it awakened, it would go back outside and begin flying through the sky again.
In the game, it was common to use this place as the battlefield when fighting the Wandering Ghost Serpent.
Fighting when the Wandering Ghost Serpent was flying through the sky presented many difficulties.
Of course, since the Wandering Ghost Serpent was a Nascent Soul stage imugi, player characters also needed to reach Nascent Soul stage to have a fighting chance.
But if one had reached Nascent Soul stage, there would be no reason to be hunting here in the first place… so most players just left the Wandering Ghost Serpent alone and progressed through the game.
Cheon Woo-jin had only fought the Wandering Ghost Serpent two or three times himself.
‘It’s coming soon.’
As he hid near the cave entrance and waited, he could see an imugi flying through the clouds from far away.
At first glance it didn’t look much different from a dragon, but looking closely, its head was smooth like a snake.
It was an appearance indicating a creature in the stage of evolving from snake to dragon.
[Ah ah ah ah.]
As the Wandering Ghost Serpent approached the cave, its thought waves gradually began to be heard.
Even without attempting telepathy, the voice of the Wandering Ghost Serpent’s inner anguish was being transmitted.
[It hurts, it hurts.]
[It hurts too much.]
[End everything.]
[Someone kill me.]
Agonizing thoughts.
The Wandering Ghost Serpent was living each day in extreme pain.
But it was also in a state where taking its own life was impossible.
[Please kill me.]
Screaming through its thoughts, the Wandering Ghost Serpent entered the cave.
After confirming even its tail had disappeared into the cave, Cheon Woo-jin, who had been hiding beside the entrance, slowly rose to his feet.
“…”
Preparing for any contingency, he deployed a lightning energy shield with his Lightning Ring System.
And carefully walked into the cave.
The Wandering Ghost Serpent was coiled up in the dark cave, trying to sleep.
But sensing the uninvited guest who had entered the cave, it opened both eyes.
[Ah ah ah ah.]
[Ah ah ah ah.]
Just moments ago it had been crying out to be killed.
But the moment it recognized Cheon Woo-jin, intense killing intent surged from its entire body.
[I will kill you.]
The imugi dominated by madness raised its head to kill Cheon Woo-jin.
But Cheon Woo-jin didn’t retreat and spoke in his mind.
‘I’ll give you peace.’
Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes glowed with an eerie golden light.
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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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