Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 260

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 260
The Unknown Man was quick to read the situation.
He instinctively understood that the “person who would emerge from this place” that Hwa Mu-nyeom spoke of was Seol Woon-hwi. He said,
“It seems you hold Seol Woon-hwi in quite high regard.”
“It’s not that I hold him in high regard—it’s that you and many others are underestimating him.”
“….”
“Watch carefully. If, though it’s unlikely, both of them emerge together, do not intervene. Simply observe until the final outcome.”
“I understand.”
“Let’s go.”
As Hwa Mu-nyeom turned to leave, the Unknown Man asked,
“Will you not inform the Leader?”
“Should I?”
“….”
“A matter of this scale is not something we can handle on our own. Informing him would only complicate things unnecessarily.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom asked the Unknown Man, who swallowed hard,
“Surely you don’t wish to escalate this situation.”
“…No. I misspoke.”
And then,
“Whether we inform him or not, he likely already knows.”
“…Understood.”
Hwa Mu-nyeom nodded and left the chamber.
* * *
The moment I crossed the threshold of the Secret Realm’s entrance, I stepped into an entirely different world.
Everything was bathed in crimson light.
The walls were a deep scarlet as if blood were flowing down them, and flames blazing from various points rapidly elevated the surrounding temperature.
The ceiling was impossibly high.
Several pillars, faintly visible through the darkness, supported a grand hall, and upon each pillar were carved the emblems of the Thousand Year Demon Cult.
Strange forms of dragons and serpents intertwined, inverted yin-yang symbols, and between them, the characters “Blood Flame Hall” were inscribed in crimson.
I extended my aura outward.
There was no trace of human presence. It appeared that Jang I-cheong had already advanced to the next trial.
As I stood there contemplating something for a moment before taking a slow step forward,
Boom——!
A spear composed of crimson flames erupted from the exact spot where my foot touched the ground.
I tilted my head to the side, and the spear grazed past my face.
That was merely a signal.
Tap, tap-tap, tap.
This time, poisoned needles shot forth from the walls in rapid succession. Hundreds of finger-sized black needles cut through the air toward me. I tilted my head slightly, stepped backward, and immediately spun my body.
The hundreds of poisoned needles severed only a few strands of my hair and grazed the edge of my robes as they passed.
It was an extraordinarily dangerous moment, yet my expression remained unchanged. I immediately left that spot.
Exactly five steps.
Seol Woon-hwi, who had created distance of five paces, glanced back over his shoulder. Behind him, over a dozen flame spears and poison needles were devastating the space.
Simultaneously, a heavy rumble echoed from the ceiling.
A massive stone block was plummeting toward Seol Woon-hwi’s head—a granite chunk the size of a man.
Seol Woon-hwi stepped forward with one stride.
Crash!
The stone block fell directly behind him, striking the ground with tremendous force. The entire hall trembled, but Seol Woon-hwi continued walking as though nothing had happened.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
This time, arrows erupted simultaneously from both walls—not ordinary arrows, but poison arrows with gleaming tips.
Identifying which poison they were wasn’t difficult.
Since the Secret Realm belonged to the Thousand Year Demon Cult, the probability that these were bone-dissolving poison mixed with life-draining toxin was extremely high.
The scent they carried confirmed it, as did the way they dissolved upon touching the wall.
Fundamentally, it was poison potent enough to force one to abandon exploration of the Secret Realm upon contact—and for it to appear from the very beginning meant something.
It suggested that anyone foolish enough to be struck by such crude tricks had no business venturing deeper inside.
Seol Woon-hwi brushed his hair back, his pupils gleaming with intensity.
Over a dozen arrows crisscrossed through the air, hurtling toward him.
Seol Woon-hwi’s hand touched the hilt of his sword.
With a soft whisper.
As he drew the blade, an immense wave of cold energy radiated outward.
The Absolute Ice Return to Void Sword.
Crack—!
All dozen arrows froze solid in mid-air, and the fifty-odd arrows that followed were caught by the currents created in the void, spiraling down to the ground.
Seol Woon-hwi resumed walking. It was exactly five paces later.
Rumble.
This time, the ground began to crack open. A deep chasm split open where Seol Woon-hwi had been standing, revealing endless darkness below, with sharp spikes jutting from the pit’s walls.
He lifted his gaze.
At some point, mist had enveloped everything—mist composed of Demonic Energy, unmistakably.
One could call it absurd.
Usually, by observing the structure of a Secret Realm, one could discern the nature of its creator.
It was like reading an opponent’s temperament from their moves in a game of Go.
This situation alone made it clear.
There would be a passage to the next trial somewhere at the bottom of this pit.
It was designed to lure him in this direction.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Seol Woon-hwi leaped lightly. The jutting spikes immediately began moving frantically, and poison needles poured forth from all directions.
He spun through the air, using the side of an extending spike as a foothold before pushing off.
Seol Woon-hwi’s body accelerated. Nothing—not the poison needles nor anything else—touched him.
Soon after, he rotated once in mid-air before landing on the ground.
Thud.
A human body had descended, yet only the sound of a feather falling echoed. It was a perfect landing, utterly silent.
He lifted his head.
A massive iron gate stood before me, and in front of it were a stone tablet and a glass bottle.
The inscription on the tablet caught my eye.
–
I do not know who you are. But whatever you have endured to reach this point is nothing more than a drop of blood compared to the trial that awaits beyond this gate.
Inevitably, you will perish.
So I offer you a choice.
This glass bottle before the tablet contains the Bone-Dissolving Scattered Power Poison—unrefined, in its purest form.
The poison in its most potent, undiluted state.
If you have not reached the Five Realms of Martial God, consume it now.
It may cause some pain, but it will be far less agonizing than what awaits beyond this gate.
If you believe you can endure what lies ahead, then pass through the door.
–
Curiosity stirred within me.
Who in the world had created this Secret Realm?
And what treasures lay hidden within?
Seol Woon-hwi did not hesitate for even a moment. I pushed the iron gate open.
The interior, shrouded in darkness, was revealed.
I paused as I moved toward it.
Then, as if remembering something I’d forgotten, I turned back and picked up the glass bottle from the ground.
Though I was not particularly fond of using poison, this was unrefined Bone-Dissolving Scattered Power Poison.
Its potency was lethal even to masters of the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth.
It was only prudent to take it with me.
I entered the darkness immediately.
* * *
At the moment Seol Woon-hwi and Jang I-cheong vanished into the Secret Realm, a great wind of change began to sweep across Seongchakju.
The Ihwa Alliance—the massive force that Jang I-cheong had ambitiously established—was now about to reveal its true purpose.
There was only one objective.
The complete annihilation of the Seongchak Alliance that dominated Seongchakju.
The plan for this had been prepared for over two weeks.
In Bogae County, controlled by the Heavenly Sound Sword Sect, numerous minor sects including Myeongwol Dojang, Cheolhyeol Bang, Hyeonmu Dan, and Jangwol School were all mobilized.
These had long since become obedient subordinates who responded instantly to the commands of Jin So-cheon, the Cheonsu of Bogae County.
Juksan County, where the Azure Cloud Sword Sect was established, was no different, though its scale far exceeded that of Bogae County.
This was fertile plains territory, and thanks to its developed commerce, it possessed abundant financial resources.
Hang Ryeo of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect had mobilized over a dozen large and small military organizations including Eunwol Palace, Chupung Geom Gak, and Baegun Bang, with the number of martial artists reaching as many as two hundred.
The Heavenly Demon Yin Spirit Gate, one of the Four Demonic Outer Sects that had newly joined the Ihwa Alliance, was no exception.
It was clear they viewed this opportunity as their chance.
Ten sects from Balwha County, led by So Ryeong-hwa, were mobilized, and even the martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Yin Spirit Gate were deployed.
Three Cheonsu, along with the martial artists mobilized from the regions they controlled and those they had brought with them.
The total number reached as many as seven hundred.
Rarely in the history of the Murim had such a colossal alliance moved all at once.
Moreover, what they were about to do was the complete annihilation of the Seongchak Alliance that dominated Seongchakju—so by any measure, success was assured.
Where Seongchakju and Cheon Hae met, there existed a place called Cheongpa Port.
Since ancient times, it had been a harbor city where commerce and fishing flourished, creating a complex terrain with broad docks, countless warehouses, and narrow alleys winding between them like a labyrinth.
The martial artists of the Seongchak Alliance stationed here stared ahead with rigid expressions.
Their numbers were merely around two hundred.
Due to the purge of the Seongchak Alliance that had occurred not long ago, two sects had been eliminated and numerous martial artists had lost their heads, so the elite forces they could muster were at best this many.
Even combining the thirty elite members who came from Cheon Rak-bu, it amounted to only about two hundred thirty.
It was desperate.
The numerical disparity was nearly threefold.
“…This doesn’t seem like it will work….”
One of the Seongchak Alliance’s martial artists muttered. Despair was evident on his face.
“…We’re simply no match for them.”
“Even if Pung the Great Hero is in the Divine Transformation Realm, how can he handle those numbers….”
That was when it happened.
“Silence.”
It was Pung Mu-hwi.
As a master of the Divine Transformation Realm and as the martial artist who had taken the Green King’s head, he radiated overwhelming pressure from his entire being.
Behind him stood the elite of Cheon Rak-bu in a single line, and in the eyes of every one of them burned the resolve to fear no death.
Pung Mu-hwi spoke slowly.
“Numbers are not what matters.”
“….”
“What matters is what you fight for.”
His gaze turned toward the distant expanse beyond Cheon Hae—the direction where Seol Woon-hwi had vanished.
“We have a reason to protect. And this is our land, is it not?”
Everyone looked toward Pung Mu-hwi.
“Do not entertain thoughts of defeat. The very act of fighting to uphold your worth as a martial artist carries meaning in itself.”
Pung Mu-hwi drew his sword.
“I shall lead the way. Follow only in my footsteps.”
Everyone cried out in unison.
“”Yes, sir!””
Three men and women watched the Seongchak Alliance steeling their resolve with quiet intensity.
They belonged to the Ihwa Alliance—Jin So-cheon and Hang Ryeo, who held Jang I-cheong’s hand, and So Ryeong-hwa.
These three harbored no doubt of victory. After all, there were three masters of the Divine Transformation Realm.
Losing would be the strange thing.
“But….”
Jin So-cheon muttered.
“Where is Hwa Mu-ryeong?”
“Indeed, that is the question.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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