Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 264

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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 264
Jang I-cheong’s target was Seol Woon-hwi’s four limbs.
But.
Whatever it was, Jang I-cheong was one step too late.
The moment Seol Woon-hwi brought his sword down, the entire Secret Realm transformed into hell.
KRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGH-!!!
The Heavenly Extreme Ice Snow Technique was completely unleashed.
A colossal ice storm consumed everything in its path.
The cavern walls froze instantly and shattered into fragments. The ceiling collapsed entirely, and the ground split open.
Jang I-cheong’s Heavenly Demon Ultimate Slash collided head-on with the ice storm.
That was as far as it went.
The black energy froze and shattered, and Jang I-cheong’s sword was obliterated by the ice crystals.
“This… this cannot be…”
Jang I-cheong’s entire body began to freeze. Slowly from his feet, yet inexorably.
“AAAAAAHHHHH-!!!”
He screamed and wrung out his final strength. He detonated all the demonic energy in his body to shatter the ice, but it was futile.
The ice consumed his legs, his torso, and his arms completely.
Finally, even his neck.
“How… how is this…?”
Seol Woon-hwi sheathed his sword, staunched the wound on his flank, and slowly opened his mouth.
“About half a year ago, a Demon Realm appeared in Yang-ryeong.”
“…That was… taken by that Mu Myeong… surely not…?”
“Yes. I am that Mu Myeong. The Incantation Formula of the Demon Blood Heaven Gang Art that I obtained then was truly impressive.”
“…What… nonsense…”
“That martial art, which requires tempering the physical body and blood vessels to the point of complete reconstruction—if one truly understands its principles, one need not undergo such a process.”
Jang I-cheong swallowed hard. His expression suggested he had something to say, but Seol Woon-hwi was faster.
“I possess a spirit capable of withstanding, to some degree, the artificial demonic arts that emerge from places like the Demon Realm, and I have the ability to redirect them. However, it is impossible to redirect the demonic energy emanating from a Demonic Person of the Heaven-Human Realm.”
“…”
“But when I recite the Incantation Formula of the Demon Blood Heaven Gang Art, the direction becomes visible.”
Jang I-cheong could see it.
Black blood vessels creeping slowly up around Seol Woon-hwi’s eyes.
That demonic energy which had struck him moments ago was now extending toward Seol Woon-hwi’s spirit.
This made no sense.
So he had unleashed such a technique while harboring that demonic energy within his body?
This was someone who, until recently, was merely a martial artist of the Five Energy Harmonizing Origin?
This was on a different level entirely.
Even if he had been slaughtering the necks of Divine Transformation Realm martial artists, demonic energy fundamentally disrupts the body’s vital force. To overcome that and execute such a technique meant his genius transcended imagination.
Seol Woon-hwi’s brow furrowed slightly.
Quietly, his lips parted.
Demon Blood Heaven Piercing Heart Transformation Qi.
When the Demon Blood connects to the heavens, the mind grows strong.
A hundred evils cannot invade the blood vessels, which grow mighty.
All wickedness cannot breach them, and with blood vessels strengthened,
demonic energy enters the body and becomes one with heaven and earth.
Demonic energy flows through the body, merging with the cosmos itself.
Ten thousand laws cannot touch it—eternal and forever unharmed.
No technique in existence could breach it, and I would never suffer injury again.
The black blood vessels beneath my eyes vanished in an instant.
Immediately after, I lightly sliced my left index finger, and black droplets of blood fell from the wound.
Exactly four drops.
“The purity of the demonic energy is higher than I expected.”
My mouth fell open.
I was so dumbfounded that words wouldn’t come.
Was this creature truly human?
“…Truly… the Demon Blood Heaven Gang Art.”
“You seem to recognize it.”
“…Indeed, the Thousand Year Demon Cult once had several candidates for Heavenly Demon. All of them were disciples of Won Geuk-cheon and learned his martial arts. Yet not a single one ever became the Heavenly Demon.”
This was unexpected.
“Your knowledge is broader than I anticipated.”
“…I can tell you more if you’ll take my hand.”
Seol Woon-hwi laughed softly.
“I already know more than I don’t know. If there’s anything I’m ignorant of, I’ll seek that knowledge myself.”
“No… I will explain in detail what you don’t know. I know far more than you think. If you simply let me live, I will tell you everything.”
To reiterate, Seol Woon-hwi did not hold Jang I-cheong in high regard.
The worth a martial artist must uphold is ultimately determined by whether one can maintain dignity in the moment of breaking or being bent.
I had witnessed countless individuals like Jang I-cheong.
“Why didn’t you accept when I made the offer?”
“…W-wait…”
“Farewell.”
Nothing below the neck moved.
Not just the blood vessels—everything was frozen solid.
There was no way to resist.
It was beginning to appear before my eyes.
Inevitable death.
No, this cannot be.
“…Surely you don’t think I made no preparations.”
At the sudden words, Seol Woon-hwi stopped in place.
“Even if the probability of my death in this Secret Realm is very low, the Murim is full of unforeseen events. You think I would make no contingencies?!”
“Is that so?”
“I tell you with certainty. The moment you step outside this Secret Realm, you will die.”
Whether Jang I-cheong’s words were truth or falsehood mattered little.
The statement could be interpreted in two distinct ways.
First, if assassins planted by Jang I-cheong existed outside the Secret Realm.
And second, if his intention was to detain Seol Woon-hwi within this Secret Realm as long as possible.
“Who else is outside?”
“…Spare my life, and I shall tell you.”
“How utterly pathetic.”
A sneer crossed my face as Jang I-cheong’s true nature erupted in his final moments.
“I shall handle this myself.”
With those words, Jang I-cheong understood the truth.
That I would kill him.
“P…please….”
His words never finished. The instant my slowly extended index finger touched his forehead, a sharp crystalline sound rang out as Jang I-cheong’s body froze completely solid.
He had become a statue.
Frozen with an expression of disbelief, he seemed unable to accept his own death even in this moment.
Five moves.
That was all it took to subdue a master of the Heaven-Human Realm.
Soon after, I pushed Jang I-cheong away.
The frozen form shattered with a thunderous crash.
* * *
The Divine Three Realm.
I had conceived it in my mind, perfected the theory through experience, and now executed it directly.
Once, in the Secret Realm of Mount Hua Sect that I had entered with Sim Mun-ryong, I had faced a Thought Entity of the Heaven-Human Realm.
Then, I had wagered everything, never missing a single movement, and fought with absolute commitment.
Without exaggeration, I had moved with the resolve to forfeit my life, and fortunately managed to sever one of its arms—now I could contend with masters of the Heaven-Human Realm.
This alone was a tremendous achievement.
This realm would now be classified as belonging to the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth, yet distinct from it.
Advancement to the Five Realms of Martial God, the stage beyond the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth, presented no obstacle.
Ultimately, the essence of the Five Realms of Martial God lay in becoming one with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, yet the Jindan Field and Upper Dantian alone had limitations in accepting such energy.
But the Divine Three Realm was different.
The Jindan Field, Upper Dantian, and the Ice Heart Dantian between them formed a triangular structure, creating a perfect circulatory system.
The greatest obstacle martial artists of the ordinary Heaven-Human Realm faced when advancing to the Five Realms of Martial God was the shock from accepting Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
When No Cheon-myeong first began wielding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, he felt great discomfort; when he fought the martial artists of the Blood Cult and gained enlightenment, using true Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy—ascending to the Five Realms of Martial God was a continuous sequence of realizations at every moment.
From the start, the Upper Dantian and Jindan Field alone could scarcely bear such immense energy.
This was why enlightenment was necessary, and No Cheon-myeong had awakened remarkably swiftly.
Though records existed of some who, after ascending to Heaven-Human Unity, wandered for years before properly ascending to true Heaven-Human Unity.
Yet the Divine Three Realm was different.
The Ice Heart Dantian between the Jindan Field and Upper Dantian served as a buffer.
When Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy entered, the Ice Heart Dantian received it first, then distributed it appropriately to the Jindan Field and Upper Dantian, enabling stable absorption.
Moreover, the triangular structure itself made the flow of energy more fluid, so rejection would be minimal during fusion with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, allowing advancement to the Five Realms of Martial God far more smoothly than the conventional path.
From that point onward, I would need to cultivate in a way that naturally absorbed the Icy Heart Dantian into the Jindan Field, but that was a concern for later.
For now, I needed to handle what was directly in front of me.
I had to clear the Secret Realm as quickly as possible and leave.
What happened outside started from my hands, so it was only right that I end it with my own hands as well.
There were a total of four Secret Manuals stored in the Storage Bag.
Considering there were ten stone tablets, there must have been ten Secret Manuals in total.
Jang I-cheong had definitely taken six of them, but from the looks of it, they wouldn’t be recovered.
Those thin scraps of paper scattered across the floor were probably the Secret Manuals.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and turned my head.
About twenty paces ahead, space was rippling.
Judging from the pattern of progression, this wasn’t the final gate.
The final gate lay beyond this.
I took a moment to assess my physical condition.
My side ached, and my Dantian’s Internal Energy was depleted, but the advantage of the Divine Three Realm was rapid recovery.
I could at least go all out one more time.
I pulled out two Divine Ginseng Pills from the Storage Bag and consumed them, then performed a light Energy Circulation before pushing my body through the space.
* * *
The moment I pierced through the space, what entered my vision was a colossal stone Altar.
At its center, which stood easily over ten paces high, was embedded a black crystal that pulsed slowly like a living heart.
I wasn’t surprised.
Even if the entire surroundings had been saturated with Demonic Energy, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
I took a quiet step forward.
-Hehehehe… A human. A human, indeed.
A voice both frivolous and heavy, extraordinarily strange, echoed from all directions.
-I waited for over seven hundred years. Despite the warning at the first gate, you entered anyway, and above all, reaching this final place means you’re more than adequate as ‘my new vessel’. Descendant, distant descendant. Won’t you offer your body to your heavenly Senior?
My expression didn’t change.
Before entering this Secret Realm, I had used Cheon In-gyeong once.
I needed to understand what kind of structure this place had.
But as I mentioned before, Cheon In-gyeong wasn’t perfect.
It only showed the most ‘essential’ aspects of the Secret Realm, like in the case of Shaolin Temple.
What I had seen was a crystal that leaked Demonic Energy with each pulse while absorbing the surrounding Demonic Energy.
Yes. That thing right in front of me.
That was all I saw.
I hadn’t even seen what was in the first and second gates.
Yeom Wang Hwa Mu-nyeom had told me to enter this Secret Realm and bring out the reward from the final gate, but it didn’t seem like he was referring to the Secret Manual from the second gate.
Then could that crystal be it?
I didn’t know.
I needed information.
“Who are you?”
-Hehehehe… Try to match it.

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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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