The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 61

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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 61
[W-Wait, Elder!]
[Silence. Stay still.]
A colossal golden eye materialized, as though it would swallow the very sky itself.
The moment Jigang Apryong locked gazes with it, his entire body felt as though it would melt under the crushing pressure.
Crack—crack—!
He glanced around, spotted his trembling followers gasping for breath, gritted his teeth, and concealed both of them beneath his own body.
[Uuuugh….]
The outermost edge of Dongseung Divine State in the Upper Realm.
Jigang Apryong, the ruler of the Yeollyeom Jade River region, released pained groans as he curled himself as small as possible.
To protect his subordinates while ensuring his own survival, there was no other choice.
Crunch—crunch—crunch—
The golden eye suspended in the heavens.
Everyone present knew exactly who its owner was.
They all understood.
[Jecheon Daeseong Sun Wukong….]
The beings of Beyond Heaven, known to all demon immortals in the Upper Realm.
The Twelve Demon Sovereigns.
Among them, the owner of that eye ranked among the very foremost.
[For you to go so far for us, Elder!]
[Ah! How could we ever repay such boundless grace!]
Jigang Apryong turned away from his subordinates, who were gushing with gratitude and making a fuss.
He focused desperately on suppressing his presence, controlling his breathing.
To an absolute being who had ruled the Upper Realm for millennia, his body was nothing but insignificant.
Yet precisely because of that, he could be killed on a whim for amusement.
All he could do was strive not to displease this exalted one.
[Uuuugh… How much longer….]
Tears of blood streamed from the eye.
The scales covering his body naturally began to shed.
He was reaching his limit.
Just as Jigang Apryong’s breathing grew ragged and he seemed about to lose consciousness entirely—
The golden eye floating in the sky suddenly vanished without a trace.
Simultaneously, the overwhelming oppressive force that had been bearing down on him dissipated instantly.
[Gasp… Gasp! Retch—!]
[E-Elder, are you alright!]
Jigang Apryong lay sprawled on the ground, unable to control his body as he retched violently, struggling to steady his breathing.
He forced his unfocused eyes to focus and shook his head back and forth.
And then—
[W-We need to hurry.]
[Yes?]
[Grr… Move faster, you fools. We need to meet the True Immortal!]
Jigang Apryong couldn’t even compose himself properly.
He hurriedly began descending the half-shattered cliff.
* * *
[Jigang Apryong pays respects to the great True Immortal.]
Jigang Apryong was weaker than demon beasts of equal rank and somewhat timid by nature.
But he made up for it with sharp instincts.
Those golden eyes that had floated in the sky moments ago.
They were the Celestial Great Sage’s famous innate divine ability.
‘Fiery Eyes of Truth.’
Wasn’t it the legendary supernatural power said to pierce through all truths of this world itself?
And Jigang Apryong was certain that the appearance of this power was somehow connected to the human standing before him.
So he was groveling before the small human standing dazed in a clearing as if struck by a meteorite. In truth, Jigang Apryong’s mind had become remarkably flexible at this moment.
Until moments ago, his mindset had been to defeat anyone—whether it was Cheongpung Eung or that arrogant human.
But now it was different.
‘This might actually be a golden opportunity!’
I still didn’t fully understand what that human meant when he mentioned being a Franchise branch manager.
But since he said he’d let me do it, I was determined to give it my desperate best shot.
“You managed to survive.”
[Surely this is all thanks to the great True Immortal’s benevolence!]
Ilhyang’s head tilted for a moment, his expression asking why is he like this?
But he soon nodded while surveying the devastated surroundings.
‘It’s understandable to be frightened.’
Come to think of it, I was also terrified by those eyes floating in the sky moments ago.
It felt like every single muscle fiber of my body was being exposed in real time.
‘Besides, that wasn’t even something like a Mental World. The world itself was simply being compressed and synchronized to that monster’s will.’
The more I thought about it, the more extraordinary that creature was.
I wondered if this was what an earth spirit king becomes when it gains a physical form and achieves divinity.
“But…”
Even amid the devastation surrounding us,
I opened my mouth while gazing at the crystallized spirit stones in this region.
“Is this the 4th Realm Spirit Vein you all mentioned?”
[Yes, True Immortal. This region where Cheongpung Eung had established himself is indeed the 4th Realm Spirit Vein territory.]
A Spirit Vein.
Like the Magic Tower I was constructing in the Lower Realm, it was a special area that drew in surrounding spiritual energy.
Since Spirit Veins, unlike Magic Towers, existed only through natural occurrence, they held extremely rare value in this world.
So even in the Upper Realm, which overflowed with spiritual power, aside from 2nd Realm Spirit Veins,
Demon beasts competed fiercely to claim Spirit Veins of higher grades.
Crackle—
I gazed at Cheongpung Eung’s disintegrating corpse and
I gazed down at the traces of the new demon beasts that had filled Cheongpung Eung’s harem, then spoke to Jigang Apryong.
“From today onward, this land is yours.”
[R-really, sir!]
“Yes. Didn’t I tell you? You are the first branch manager of the Franchise I created.”
The human still emitted sounds I couldn’t understand, but Jigang Apryong nodded repeatedly and spoke.
[I shall simply follow the will of the great True Immortal.]
“An excellent attitude indeed.”
He was somewhat dim-witted, but his instincts were sharp.
I gazed at the yellow lizard, as thick as a forearm, prostrating itself nearly to the ground before me.
Then I fixed my eyes on the two palm-sized red lizards similarly sprawled beside it and spoke.
“First, I have somewhere to visit, so you must guard this place. Can you manage that?”
I needed to descend to the Lower Realm and execute a new plan.
I gathered the spirit stones scattered haphazardly across the ground into my storage pouch while observing Jigang Apryong.
At that, Jigang Apryong swallowed hard and bowed his head.
[I shall do my utmost to protect it, True Immortal!]
Yet the expression on Jigang Apryong’s face as he answered was somewhat conflicted.
Could he truly defend a 4th Realm Spirit Vein?
‘Honestly, even if I obtained such a treasure, I lack the strength to protect it.’
But he had no confidence whatsoever in refusing the commands of this mysterious human before him.
He could only obey, even unto death.
Just as he hung his head helplessly like that.
One of the red lizards beside him trembled violently before opening its mouth.
[T-True Immortal! Forgive this humble one for daring to speak!]
“Speak.”
[The grace you have bestowed upon our lord is truly as vast as the Deep Sea itself, but to speak honestly, one must be of Demon King caliber to use this 4th Realm Spirit Vein as a base. Should another Demon King-tier beast attack, we would lack the strength to defend it.]
Jigang Apryong trembled violently, yet a surge of emotion welled up within him as he watched his subordinate step forward in his stead.
‘You fool! To go this far!’
The red lizard gazed at Jigang Apryong with eyes prepared for death and nodded.
‘My lord! My life belongs to you!’
I glanced at the two beasts exchanging that fervent gaze, then spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Did I seem to demand something so unreasonable? I suppose I was unclear in my words.”
[I-if you wish…]
“Simply hold this position, and if something stronger arrives, just flee.”
[…Pardon?]
Flee from a 4th Realm Spirit Vein?
What an enormous resource this was!
In the Upper Realm, those unable to claim a 4th Realm Spirit Vein
remained stuck with the inferior 3rd Realm Spirit Veins—countless Demon Kings among them.
Should any of those constantly eyeing the 4th Realm Spirit Vein arrive, Jigang Apryong would have no choice but to flee with all haste.
“Simply remember well the appearance of any Demon Kings who come. This place is merely good bait, after all.”
To Ilhyang, this place was an excellent fishing ground.
Demons practically delivered their inner cores to him without lifting a finger.
What could be better than this?
“So from now on, your task is simple.”
Rumors needed to spread.
That a 3rd Realm demon beast dared to occupy a 4th Realm Spirit Vein.
As Jigang Apryong listened to Ilhyang’s instructions, he reconsidered once more.
‘Is he truly insane?’
Jigang Apryong felt as though every shred of common sense he possessed about humans was being obliterated.
* * *
After providing Jigang Apryong with simple precautions and various assistance,
Ilhyang immediately opened the Door and descended to the Lower Realm, slowly surveying his surroundings.
“Hmm, I can’t freely control my landing position.”
Unfortunately, this wasn’t Sungwha Island.
Still, seeing the Great River in the distance suggested I’d landed roughly near my intended location.
But that was all.
To enter and exit at a more precise location, I’d need to establish a portal.
Opening and closing the Door consumed far too much mana.
“Ugh, and my mana recovery is sluggish too.”
After spending only a few days in the Demon Immortal Realm before descending to the Lower Realm, the surroundings felt painfully arid.
It made sense—I’d been submerged in that vast ocean of mana,
only to suddenly plummet into a barren desert corner.
The sense of omnipotence vanished.
A profound emptiness flooded my entire being.
“I’ll adapt.”
I’d recklessly charged at a Demon King without preparation and nearly died.
Honestly, I’d thought hunting Demon Kings would be straightforward. That was remarkably arrogant.
“Still, using Descent Technique to summon a superior existence was cheating.”
It was an unlucky situation, certainly.
Would such incidents occur again in the future?
There was no harm in being more cautious.
I’d already deployed my trump card, [Special-Grade Calamity Reversal].
From now on, I needed to focus entirely on thorough preparation for a while.
Speaking of which,
“Jecheon Daeseong Sun Wukong…”
What exactly was that creature?
According to Jigang Apryong, even in the Upper Realm—famous for its abundance of monsters—that being stood uniquely apart.
Yet it helped me and then vanished abruptly.
“If I miss it, it’ll appear again.”
If it was such an existence, the moment I set foot in the Upper Realm again,
There was no way I could overlook such a presence.
I moved toward the location of the Great River, conversing as I went, with Geumok draped around my neck like a scarf, breathing quietly against my nape.
“Don’t you regret it, though? You could have met your Blood Clan’s master.”
[Since I didn’t formally pledge myself, he probably would have scolded me if we’d met.]
“I see.”
To be honest, Geumok had deliberately avoided the meeting because she feared that Cheonho, who viewed humans merely as sustenance, might make a move against me.
She didn’t want me to die.
“But… what is that?”
As I approached the riverbank, I tilted my head in confusion.
An enormous number of people were standing in confrontation before the Ferry Dock.

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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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