Chapter 118: What You Trampled On / The Path You Have Tread (6)

Chapter 118: What You Trampled On / The Path You Have Tread (6)

Discord: /translatingnovice

Bang!

I immediately kick through the hall and rush out.

Pssht!

The blue arm that sprung from the book and had been holding me, now enveloped in a faint aura, scatters into the air.

However, the transformation happening throughout the Sea Dragon Palace does not cease.

The lingering will of the Sea Dragon King...!

In terms of power, its far less than the remnant soul of Song Jin, but its still the remnant consciousness of the Sea Dragon King.

Such an insignificant thing is now spreading throughout the Sea Dragon Palace, awakening the heaven and earth spiritual energy everywhere.

And then.

Boom, boom, boom!

The halls of the Sea Dragon Palace begin to burst open one by one.

Numerous artifacts and dharma treasures from inside the halls burst forth, shining in the air.

Flash!

In an instant, everything around is bathed in the light emitted by the countless treasures of the Sea Dragon Palace.

This is

Senior, whats happening here!

Seo Ran, transformed into a dragon, flies towards me.

I, sweating profusely, watch the unfolding events.

Daoist Seo

Yes, Senior.

Let's run.

Kugugugugu!

The blue water attribute dharma treasures gathered together, absorbing Seo Hweol's lingering consciousness.

The lights from the treasures flicker and form a giant blue dragon, resembling Seo Hweol.

Kwagwagwang!

The dragon, formed from the combined dharma treasures, begins to rampage.

This is madness

Kugugugugu!

The Sea Dragon Palace is swept away by the dragon's thrashing.

The power of the gathered dharma treasures, combined with the remnants of a Heavenly Beings consciousness, is far stronger than Song Jin without his dharma treasures.

Its power is immensely close to that of a Nascent Soul.

But the real problem isn't that.

Senior! Its coming!

Fweeing!

The dragon swings its tail towards us.

Kwagwagwa!

A tremendous trail of destruction is left, but the real danger comes afterwards.

Click!

From the scales of the dragons tail, one of the small dharma treasures remained even after the tail swung away.

Damn it!

Flash!

The treasure wrapped in blue light scatters brilliance

Kwaang!

The dharma treasure self-destructed!

I shield Seo Ran from the blast, pushing the explosion away.

My hands tingle.

My body's already in bad shape from using Endless Mountains Beyond Mountains to break the seal...

Each time I block a self-destructing dharma treasure, my arms tremble more.

We need to escape, but

Were surrounded

We are surrounded by the Dragon Palaces seal, and the hole we used to enter is now blocked by the dragon made of dharma treasures, making approach difficult.

As if this isnt annoying enough, the treasures are self-destructing one by one

Seeing that we were not visibly harmed, the dragon started to self-destruct more of its dharma treasures.

Cant we do something about those self-destructing treasures?

It's impossible. Besides

Seo Ran's face darkened.

The dragon, as it fights us, is drawing more power from the dharma treasures, turning brighter.

True to his words, the more the dragon fights us, the more the dharma treasures comprising its body glow with blue light.

When it becomes completely bright, the entire dragon will self-destruct.

Crunch

I grit my teeth at the absurd situation.

"Seo Hweol...!"

Whether his target is Seo Ran or not.

In any case, the plan to confront Yuan Li here and push forward with using dharma treasures has completely fallen apart.

Whoosh!

The figure of the Blue Dragon continues to brighten.

At this rate, its uncertain when it will suddenly explode...!

Just then.

Boom!

One side of the seal trembles, and the dark prow of a decayed ship emerges from beyond the formation.

Its the Nether Crossing Ship.

'Was it when he committed suicide using the space-breaking bead...?'

"I... don't know what my purpose in living is anymore."

I look at him with pained eyes.

In the past, I would have tried to comfort him or consider his feelings to lessen his pain.

But honestly, I don't feel much of anything now.

Only a slight sense of shared misery arose when he showed his painful thoughts.

'How did I used to comfort others...?'

I can't remember how to do anything with a warm heart.

I can't recall what my heart used to feel like.

Maybe, I did it like this.

But still, knowing that Seo Ran's suicide would make things even more depressing, I managed to recall enough to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Daoist Seo. You have... truly formed a master-disciple bond now, haven't you? There's still someone who cares about you, find your meaning in that..."

"...Is that so..."

My words seem to lift some of the shadows from Seo Ran's face.

"Thank you..."

I receive his thanks and look back at Song Jin with dull eyes.

In any case, we are back to square one.

"So... in the end we got nothing, but could you help me using my last favor?"

[Haaaaah....]

Song Jin sighs deeply.

[Alright. I didn't want to put my disciple in danger, but in 200 years... I'll make him reach Core Formation and help you. Of course, I'll help too.]

"...Thank you."

Thus, while we didn't gain much material aid from the Sea Dragon Palace, I obtained a lot of precious information and a firm promise of assistance from Song Jin.

After receiving his promise, I left the Black Wind Sea.

And then, 10 years passed.

In that time, with the Cheongmun Clan, I collected both the formation artifacts and the Longevity Fruits. Now, the day of the great conference with all the Core Formation cultivators of the continent gathering is approaching.

Swoosh!

I fly rapidly across the Northern Grasslands.

'It should be around here...'

Holding the invitation plaque, I sense the spiritual energy around me.

And then, after a while.

Whoosh!

I sense an area hidden behind a formation in the distance.

Thump!

Its a place covered by an illusion formation, invisible to the eye.

But when I bring the plaque near it, the formation shines, opening a path for me.

I enter through the path through the formation.

'This place is...'

True to the Northern Grasslands, there are numerous white tents set up inside formation

These tents, befitting cultivators, are adorned with many spell runes, and I can feel the presence of Core Formation cultivators inside.

"Ah, you've arrived, Cultivator Seo?"

From a distance, Cheongmun Jung-jin approaches me with a welcoming expression.

I nod in response.

"You're as you were."

"..."

He looks at my expression and his face turns bitter.

I can't help it.

I can't remember how to smile, and my eyes remain dull.

I have forgotten how to wear any expression other than this vacant one.

Just then, another person crosses over the formation.

An old man in gray robes.

Its Wolryang.

He, too, has the same face as 10 years ago, although different from mine.

A deeply angry expression.

We make eye contact and nod to each other in simple greetings.

As we are about to enter the largest tent, designated as the conference hall.

"Wait, you..."

Wolryang points at me and speaks.

His voice seems to tremble.

"That thing at your waist, why do you have it...?"

"...?"

I look at Hyang-hwas remnant at my waist, the jade norigae.

"It's the heirloom of my beloved."

"What...? That's... my great-grandson used to wear that..."

"Ah..."

I suddenly realize, absurdly, the fate of Buk Hyang-hwa.

Her fated partner was

Wolryang's great-grandson.

Already devoured by Yuan Li before my point of return.

***

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