The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 113

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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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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 113
Fascinating.
This world seems almost custom-tailored to use every human as a resource, doesn’t it?
I’ve heard that in the Ancient Era, there were no such things as spirits or Jiangshi.
Then one day, suddenly.
As if by agreement, they appeared simultaneously in multiple locations.
“No one knows who created them first, Senior.”
Woo Ki-cheon, the Ghost Shadow Demon Lord who had mastered the art of Spirit Manipulation and reached the Wonyeonggi stage, answered without much concern.
“That’s strange. Something like this deserves a name attached to it. It’s quite the achievement, isn’t it?”
The Spirit Furnace, a mystical artifact, allows one to refine objects or complete formations using human souls as fuel.
With only souls, it becomes truly infinite power.
There’s no information whatsoever about the person who created such a revolutionary artifact?
Isn’t that odd?
“Hm? When you put it that way, I suppose it does seem strange.”
On the Seven Continents, scholars would scramble to register with the academic world even if the properties of magic within the same lineage changed only slightly.
Everyone strives to make their name known to the world.
This is the desire for glory that anyone possesses.
“Yet there’s no information at all about this.”
Did they wish to conceal their identity?
But simply thinking that way, the Spirit Furnace itself was certainly peculiar.
Because it was created in multiple places simultaneously.
Moreover, it’s an artifact that doesn’t exist on the Seven Continents.
I had thought magic was highly advanced there.
Yet to directly capture souls and extract power from them as energy?
This method was a concept no one on the Seven Continents, where Ilhyang resides, had ever conceived of.
“It’s certainly an interesting place, this one.”
Ilhyang brushed off his rear and rose to his feet.
Then, with light stretching, he returned the Black Blood Corpse Demon and the Dark Knight Mages to the Jeo-mul Platform.
Since he had recovered his body to a certain degree, he needed to move again now.
“Have you recovered already?”
“Not completely.”
Woo Ki-cheon spoke while gazing at Ilhyang with curiosity-filled eyes.
“I’ve felt it since before, but your cultivation method is quite peculiar, Senior.”
“It’s not common.”
Ilhyang did not reveal everything to Woo Ki-cheon.
Because I couldn’t yet control this creature perfectly.
Though if I ordered him to die, he’d likely put on a convincing performance of dying.
‘That’s a different matter from trust.’
Ilhyang spoke to Woo Ki-cheon with a faint smile.
“What about you?”
“Phew, becoming a Jiangshi certainly improved my recovery. I’m already fully healed.”
The creature’s purple eyes rolled about as it grinned wickedly alongside its answer.
Ilhyang nodded and determined their direction.
“We head to Gui Yi Continent as quickly as possible.”
“But… won’t we stop by the Taeul Sect Base, Senior?”
Now that I think about it, they’d mentioned storing resources there over time, hadn’t they?
Ilhyang extracted the Wonyeonggi specimens he’d been keeping confined in the Jeo-mul Platform and posed a question.
“Where is your base located?”
[I know the way, sir!]
[Allow me to guide you, sir!]
The creatures eagerly rushed forward, delighted to have escaped into the open air.
Thanks to their enthusiasm, Ilhyang effortlessly relocated to the Taeul Sect’s temporary outpost.
Upon arrival, Ilhyang surveyed the base and narrowed his eyes.
“There’s a formation array here. And quite a sophisticated one at that.”
[I-I know the entry incantation, sir!]
[I do as well!]
As it turned out, the formation array sprawling across this location was the handiwork of Yeon Heo-gi, a Water Cultivator Disciple, and the Cheong-un Merchant.
The creature was apparently a master of formation arrays.
The structure was remarkably solid and left no openings.
Breaking through it by force would require days, even for someone of Ilhyang’s caliber.
‘Of course, there’s no need for that.’
Knowing the entry incantation allowed anyone to pass through.
Alternatively, one could possess an official authorization token.
Ilhyang possessed both.
Thus, he entered the temporary outpost without encountering any resistance.
The moment he stepped inside, he encountered something utterly unexpected near the entrance.
“A fifth-tier Demon?”
[Hehe, indeed. We were in the process of brainwashing it for the Eosoo Order. Despite appearances, it’s one of the most expensive commodities available from the Deep Three Continents.]
An enormous beast cage constructed from iron bars.
Within it were six fifth-tier Demons—an impressive collection.
They all wore human forms through humanization techniques.
All of them stood atop specially crafted formation arrays, their eyes wide and vacant.
“How far along is the brainwashing process?”
[The oldest one has been here for roughly two months. It’s holding out rather well.]
Typically, brainwashing is completed within a month.
I’d heard that they become hollow puppets, ready to be placed within the Eosoo Order and carried about.
Thus they lose all reason completely, becoming mere shells—sturdy playthings for humans to manipulate.
The corners of Ilhyang’s mouth twitched slightly.
[Hehe, that one there is a member of the legendary Turtle Dragon clan. If we cultivate it properly and summon its true form periodically, we can recoup our investment many times over simply by harvesting bits of its shell. And that one over there is an exceptionally rare Ivory Elephant. Similarly, by periodically manifesting its true form and harvesting its tusks and horns, we could become quite wealthy, sir….]
Screeeech—
Ilhyang burned Won-young’s left leg while he was excitedly chattering away.
[Kgh, kghaaaah! Master, why would you….]
“Just felt like it. No particular reason.”
I already disliked the forced brainwashing process.
But watching this creature chatter away in excitement irritated me even more.
To Ilhyang, demons were a kind of spirit.
Seeing such precious spirits confined and treated in that manner twisted my insides.
[I, I beg your pardon, Master.]
Ilhyang stared blankly at the creature who apologized unconditionally without even understanding what he’d done wrong, then turned his gaze toward the demon cage.
“Which one among them has been subjected to the brainwashing process the longest?”
[It, it’s the noble dragon clan I mentioned at first. That creature seems to be something special even among the noble dragons—so stubborn it’s like a steel wire….]
Crackle―
[Kghaaaah! Master! This one was wrong! Please show mercy!]
Whether the three Won-young brothers trembled in fear without properly understanding the reason for their punishment was irrelevant to Ilhyang.
He slowly approached the iron cage and forcefully pried it open from both sides.
Or rather, he tried to.
Crackle crackle―
“Hmm?”
Had the powerful aura of the sixth-tier lightning barrier not resisted Ilhyang’s strength, he would have torn the iron cage apart completely.
[A sixth-tier protective formation is in place.]
One of the Won-young brothers, who had somehow ended up being tortured without understanding why, answered in a crawling voice, and Ilhyang nodded, gripping the iron cage.
Then the three Won-young brothers of the Taeul Sect spoke with faces full of fear.
[That… the Taiyi Pure Lightning Formation created by the Cheong-un Merchant operates by strongly repelling external forces….]
Crackle crackle― Crunch crunch―!
The creature fell silent mid-explanation.
After all, he could see right before his eyes how the iron pillars embedded in the ground and the iron cage itself were being torn out wholesale.
The entire structure was being ripped away.
“Creating something this pathetic and acting so arrogant about it is meaningless.”
[Y, yes, Master!]
[Y, you are truly magnificent!]
[To break a sixth-tier formation with bare hands!]
The creatures were spewing flattery like spinal reflexes, but in truth, more than half of it was sincere.
The sight of a sixth-tier formation shattering in an instant before their eyes was certainly shocking.
Woo Ki-cheon was equally astonished.
By his understanding, such a thing shouldn’t have been possible.
‘It’s definitely strange.’
This master who had turned him into a Jiangshi certainly employed a method of cultivation entirely different from anything that existed before.
He had been examining several things called “magic” that were forcibly implanted in his mind whenever he had the chance, but he still couldn’t understand how to use them at all.
‘It’s strange that they activate properly even when the user doesn’t understand them.’
In any case, watching Ilhyang casually tear apart a sixth-tier protective formation before his eyes, Woo Ki-cheon harbored feelings of equal parts curiosity and fear.
In truth, Woo Ki-cheon had initially intended to pledge his loyalty to Ilhyang merely for being spared. Yet once he obtained power far exceeding his expectations, his resolve wavered.
Half a day prior, when Ilhyang had carelessly slumped to the ground claiming to recover.
How intensely had he wrestled with temptation then?
‘Had I struck at that moment, could I have killed him?’
Woo Ki-cheon immediately purged the question from his mind.
No—he had to purge it.
Harboring such treacherous thoughts summoned unbearable agony throughout his entire body.
‘Damn it.’
This accursed restriction.
To think such torment could be inflicted upon a Jiangshi’s form.
He couldn’t even fathom what technique had been used.
‘An opportunity will come eventually.’
Woo Ki-cheon composed his expression, suppressed the pain, and flashed a bright smile toward Ilhyang.
For now, observation was the prudent course.
Besides, there was a certain entertainment value in watching.
‘I’ll absorb every technique this monster possesses.’
From the spell-casting mechanisms forcibly implanted in his mind to their applications and beyond.
He would learn everything available to him.
Through such covert observation, perhaps he might discover a way to break free from the restriction now embedded within his body.
‘Hehehehe, you’ll come to regret leaving me alive without any constraints!’
Woo Ki-cheon watched Ilhyang examining the demon within the shattered iron cage, his smile taking on a sinister edge.
Yet Woo Ki-cheon remained ignorant of one truth.
His every thought was displaying in real-time as text at the corner of Ilhyang’s vision.
Ilhyang methodically dismantled the brainwashing technique ensnaring the unconscious demon’s consciousness, then let out a quiet chuckle.
‘Did you truly believe I wouldn’t install such safeguards?’
Ilhyang was no fool.

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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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