The Chaotic Immortal Wood Sect: Immortal Cultivation War - Chapter 13
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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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13. A Dead Cultivator Makes a Request and Leaves a Reward
‘Soul Seizure?’
In this sudden situation, this was the first threat that came to Kang Hyeon’s mind.
Soul Seizure is a possession technique where a cultivator on the verge of death preserves their soul and transfers it to another body.
Through this, they obtain a new body and extend their lifespan, and it was said to be a commonly used technique in the Cultivation World.
However, while many attempts are made, wasn’t it a spell art that’s not easy to succeed at?
In moments when life hangs by a thread, or in situations where little lifespan remains, what cultivator who knows the method of Soul Seizure could turn away from it?
That’s why this final struggle of executing the Soul Seizure method in the last moment is said to be common.
However, in urgent situations, the preparations are often inadequate, so the success rate was said to be low.
But if one falls victim to a properly prepared Soul Seizure method, in most cases they would have their body stolen and enter reincarnation, or suffer damage to their soul and reach annihilation.
Generally, a cultivator of high realm performs Soul Seizure on a target of lower realm, so they cannot withstand it and fall victim.
‘But even if it’s Soul Seizure, this case was clearly performed hastily, so there’s a high possibility of overcoming it.’
Even in this urgent situation, Kang Hyeon didn’t scatter his mind and firmly strengthened his will.
Then an unfamiliar voice flowed into Kang Hyeon’s mind.
= I am called Yang Won Chil of the Broken Sword Sect. Whoever has discovered my remains, I ask that you listen to a small request in exchange for taking everything.
‘Phew, fortunately it doesn’t seem to be Soul Seizure.’
Kang Hyeon inwardly sighed in relief at the content transmitted into his mind.
However, he didn’t forget that even this could be a fake to make him lower his guard, and continued to maintain his vigilance.
= As a disciple of the Broken Sword Sect, I received countless support. Thus I finally had the Resolution Stage before my eyes. And I was confident that I could surely ascend to the Resolution Stage.
‘So he was a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Qi Accumulation realm? Yang Won Chil of the Broken Sword Sect.’
Kang Hyeon deeply memorized that name and realm.
= Finally, I chose an auspicious day and challenged realm advancement, but a disaster where heaven and earth overturned occurred, and ultimately, far from realm advancement, it became difficult to even preserve my life.
‘So things happened just as expected.’
Kang Hyeon realized that his and In Deok’s speculation had been correct and mourned the misfortune of the cultivator before him.
= What can I do? Heaven wishes to block my cultivation path here. I, Yang Won Chil, ultimately decided to comply with the Heaven and Earth Laws. Thus I willingly try to return to reincarnation, but there is something weighing on my heart, leaving me with lingering attachment.
Kang Hyeon tensed up sharply at the word “attachment” and again guarded against Soul Seizure.
But the words that followed were greatly different from Kang Hyeon’s worries.
= Though I received great grace as a disciple of the Broken Sword Sect, to die so futilely like this, how can I not be called ungrateful?
‘Is loyalty to The Sect the reason for his attachment?’
= Therefore, I place a thread of hope on an unknown fellow cultivator and wish to leave a request, so I hope you will deeply understand my wish.
‘Hmm, why should I?’
After all, it’s a request left by the dead, and if I guess, wouldn’t he be asking me to bring something to the Broken Sword Sect?
Then is there really a reason to listen to such a request?
Wouldn’t it be right to just take everything as my own?
Wouldn’t that be the proper way of the Cultivation World?
At least in the true face of the Cultivation World that Kang Hyeon knew, that was the norm.
= You will naturally think skeptically of my request.
It seemed Yang Won Chil’s perception was no different.
So Kang Hyeon was curious about what kind of reward he would try to use to make him listen to his request.
= But if you listen to my request, I promise that you will be able to receive sufficient compensation.
= This is a promise made as a disciple of the Broken Sword Sect, so The Sect will never abandon my promise.
‘I don’t know what confidence this is. I don’t think the Broken Sword Sect would think so highly of a promise from someone already dead.’
Kang Hyeon felt it wasn’t very trustworthy and continued to focus on Yang Won Chil’s words.
= As you collect my belongings, you will discover two precious things.
‘Precious things.’
= One is the Fertile Soil Secret Method.
‘Fertile Soil Secret Method?’
= This is a special secret method for cultivating Spirit Herbs, and I dare assert it has value equal to or greater than Resolution Stage techniques.
‘Equal to or greater than Resolution Stage techniques. Then it must be truly precious. What could it be?’
In Kang Hyeon’s pondering mind, the herb garden he had found in the antechamber of the cave dwelling came to mind.
He had found it strange to create an herb garden indoors rather than outdoors, and he thought it might have originated from the Fertile Soil Secret Method.
= But you may take this for yourself, and I also promise that if you collect it and then deliver it to The Sect, the compensation will certainly not be small.
‘It’s fine to deliver it or not? Then the other one must be the precious treasure that needs to be delivered to The Sect.’
Kang Hyeon swallowed dry saliva, curious about what Yang Won Chil valued so highly that he would even give up the Fertile Soil Secret Method.
= You will see my sword. What I desire is for my sword to return to the Broken Sword Sect.
‘He wants me to deliver the sword? Is that sword so precious?’
= You will guess that there is a secret in the sword, but it cannot be unlocked without The Sect’s secret method, so please abandon your greed.
‘The seal can’t be broken without the Broken Sword Sect’s secret method? So ultimately, since it would be useless for me to keep it, it’s better to deliver it to the Broken Sword Sect and receive compensation.’
In the end, the conclusion is that listening to the request to receive compensation is the best option.
But Kang Hyeon inwardly shook his head.
‘Perhaps the Fertile Soil Secret Method might be more important. He might be sending me to the Broken Sword Sect to deliver that.’
The value of the Fertile Soil Secret Method would become clear upon examining it.
Then naturally, wouldn’t I secretly hide it and study it without revealing it?
Yang Won Chil might be concerned about this and trying to send whoever obtains the Fertile Soil Secret Method to the Broken Sword Sect by presenting the sword that symbolizes the Broken Sword Sect.
‘The sword might only contain brief instructions to retrieve the Fertile Soil Secret Method from whoever brings it. I can’t walk into the Broken Sword Sect myself without knowing what’s inside. Unfortunately, I cannot listen to Elder Yang’s request.’
= But there won’t be many who would readily listen to such a request of mine. So I took one measure with my last hope.
‘Hmm? What does he mean?’
Kang Hyeon felt an ominous feeling from Yang Won Chil’s following words and urgently drew up his spiritual energy to protect his mind and body while tensing up sharply.
= If it were a fellow cultivator of similar or higher realm than me, it would be useless, but if by any chance they are a trainee of the Great Unity Festival, they absolutely cannot escape my preparations.
“Damn it!”
Kang Hyeon desperately tried to pull his hand away from Yang Won Chil, but his body, which had been frozen solid from the moment their hands first touched, showed no sign of movement at all.
“Ugh!”
Swooooosh! Hissss!
In the midst of this, a strand of energy finally flowed from Yang Won Chil’s body and seeped into Kang Hyeon’s body.
And that energy moved around here and there before eventually reaching Kang Hyeon’s heart, binding it in the shape of a rope.
“What is this?”
= The energy that bound your heart is made from my True Blood, containing my will, though faintly. So the more your resolve hardens against delivering the sword to the sect, the greater the pressure on your heart will become.
“What kind of situation is this… Ugh!”
As Kang Hyeon grew angry at Yang Won Chil’s scheme and harbored resentment, the energy binding his heart truly tightened and strained his heart.
“This is unbelievable.”
Kang Hyeon let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
= If you simply resolve to deliver my sword to the sect, there will be no problem at all, so I hope fellow cultivator will withdraw your anger. And I will not speak of the secret contained in the sword, as I am concerned about fellow cultivator’s greed.
“Fine, I’ll deliver it someday. When I become strong enough not to be manipulated by the Broken Sword Sect, wouldn’t it be okay to deliver it then?”
Kang Hyeon quickly found the loophole in Yang Won Chil’s restriction.
As long as he maintained his resolve to deliver the sword, the restriction was as good as nonexistent.
Moreover, there were no other constraints on delivering the sword, so ultimately, wouldn’t it be fine to deliver it when Kang Hyeon no longer feared the Broken Sword Sect?
‘Hmm, perhaps Yang Won Chil anticipated this too. If so, he might have truly only wished for his sword to return to the Broken Sword Sect. Well, in any case, it’s fortunate that there’s no immediate urgency.’
Kang Hyeon let out a sigh of relief and carefully withdrew his hand that had been touching Yang Won Chil’s body.
The barrier that had been surrounding Kang Hyeon and Yang Won Chil was already dissipating.
“Kang Hyeon!”
In Deok smashed through the faintly remaining barrier and ran toward Kang Hyeon.
“Wait!”
Kang Hyeon quickly stopped In Deok and repeatedly clenched and opened the hand he had withdrawn from Yang Won Chil’s remains, checking his condition.
While he was actually performing the motion of clenching and opening his hand, what he was checking was his entire body, heart, and even his Mental Space thoroughly.
He was examining whether Yang Won Chil’s soul or thoughts had somehow transferred to him and were hiding.
Despite using all the means Kang Hyeon could employ, he could not detect anything like Yang Won Chil’s soul or thoughts.
There was only one newly formed strand of energy wrapped around his heart.
‘I should be able to find a way to resolve the heart restriction once I raise my cultivation level. Master Yang Won Chil also said that if someone had a similar or higher realm than his, his preparations would be meaningless.’
Of course, since the restriction had already been activated, the situation might be different, but for now Kang Hyeon chose to have positive expectations.
“Are you okay?”
In Deok finally couldn’t hold back and asked Kang Hyeon.
He had noticed that Kang Hyeon had finished his examination and had somewhat regained his senses.
“Yeah, for now.”
Kang Hyeon answered that way, but since In Deok kept pressing him about what had happened, he had no choice but to tell the detailed story of his entanglement with Yang Won Chil.
And only after finishing that story could they begin to properly examine Yang Won Chil’s cave dwelling.
***
“Wow! Wow! Wow! In your words, Kang Hyeon, this is amazing! Right?”
“From our position as mere Mid Qi Refinement Stage cultivators, anything belonging to a Great Perfection Foundation Establishment master would be incredible no matter what it is.”
“Right? Look at this. All the magical instruments are high-grade too. And this seems to be a low-grade Dharma Treasure?”
“Yeah, since I can’t appraise it either, it’s likely a Dharma Treasure.”
Magical instruments refer to spiritual qi artifacts with specific effects.
These are made through methods like Refining Arts or Artifact Crafting among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, and there are countless types of such crafted items.
Among these, items mainly used from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment stages are called Dharma Techniques, while those suitable for higher realms are classified as Dharma Treasures.
Right now, Kang Hyeon and In Deok had found a treasure expected to be a Dharma Treasure in Yang Won Chil’s Storage Pouch.
“It’s a mysterious orb. Look, it’s like there are clouds inside it.”
In Deok held the artifact presumed to be a Dharma Treasure in his hand, examining it from all angles, unable to hide his excitement.
It was an orb small enough to fit in his palm, and its material was unidentifiable.
Perhaps, as In Deok said, it really might have been made by condensing clouds into an orb.
“You keep that one. Clouds seem to suit you better than me.”
“No, I’m not clouds, I’m lightning.”
“I told you that lightning occurs when wind is added to clouds, right? So keep it for now. Though we can’t even use it anyway.”
“Mmm, okay. I’ll do that then.”
“Instead, I’ll take this.”
Kang Hyeon held out the jade slip of the Fertile Soil Secret Method found in the Storage Pouch to In Deok.
“That’s natural. That’s a secret method for creating herb gardens, right?”
In Deok glanced at the jade slip as if he had no interest in it, then returned his gaze to the orb Dharma Treasure.
“I’ll learn it first, then teach it to you too, so don’t think about avoiding it.”
“Huh? I have to learn it too?”
“Among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, pill refining, talisman making, and artifact refining are things you must learn. And this Fertile Soil Secret Method will be a great help for pill refining, so naturally you need to learn it.”
Growing herbs for use in pill refining was a field that most cultivators had to master the basics of.
So Kang Hyeon planned to force In Deok to learn it even if it didn’t suit his temperament.
“Mmm. Okay.”
“And put that away for now and let’s organize the other things. No matter how precious that is, these things are much more valuable than something we can’t use right now.”
Kang Hyeon said this while thoroughly emptying Yang Won Chil’s Storage Pouch.
Then an enormous amount of cultivation resources poured out from the Storage Pouch, enough to fill half the Cultivation Chamber.
The two had to spend more than ten days just appraising and categorizing them.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Precious resources were scattered throughout the Cave Dwelling, and the Indoor Herb Garden with the Fertile Soil Secret Method applied also took a long time to organize before they could finish.
“Wow, we’re rich.”
After all the work was done, In Deok expressed the joy after hardship with those words.
This time, Kang Hyeon also followed In Deok’s lead and smiled brightly.
They had truly obtained precious things that Spiritual Energy Technique practitioners couldn’t even dream of, to an excessive degree.
It was literally a windfall.
“What are we going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“With just what we got this time, wouldn’t there be no problem reaching Foundation Establishment? At least in terms of cultivation resources.”
“Hmm, we have plenty of Spirit Stones, and more than enough Talismans and Magical Instruments to study. Besides that, we won’t lack Bamboo Slips, Paper Books, and Jade Slips with Cultivation Methods and Spell Arts written on them.”
“Then…”
“Why are you hesitating? If you have something to say, say it.”
“Can’t we not go looking for that monster?”
At Kang Hyeon’s urging, In Deok finally brought up the words he had been keeping in his heart.
The place Kang Hyeon and In Deok were currently heading toward was the direction where the monster with Wood-attribute Spiritual Energy was fighting the monster with Fire-attribute Spiritual Energy.
In that process, they had luckily discovered Yang Won Chil’s Cave Dwelling, and now that they had finished their business at the Cave Dwelling, wouldn’t they continue on their original path?
So In Deok expressed his wish to avoid danger and go to a safe place instead.
“Hmm.”
Kang Hyeon wore a troubled expression at In Deok’s words and fell into thought.
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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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