Chapter 132
“Who goes there!”
An angry roar erupted from the pitch-black darkness.
Clutching his abdomen, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator jumped around in a fit of rage.
Having his stomach suddenly pierced, he found it only natural to be furious.
“I’ll find you and give you a painful death!”
Even as he gathered his spiritual energy, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator extended his Divine Sense in all directions.
He scoured the pitch-black clouds, determined to find the one who had stabbed him.
Baek-Cheong held her breath, keeping her body hidden within the Stealth Formation.
The edges of the extended Divine Sense brushed past her surroundings.
Even so, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator failed to notice her position in the slightest.
“Searching like that is just a waste of effort.”
The previous strike had succeeded thanks to aiming for a blind spot.
Because there was a Great Realm Difference, she observed the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s movements without letting her guard down.
After rummaging around with his Divine Sense for a long while, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator finally stopped.
He seemed thoroughly provoked when nothing was caught no matter how much he extended his Divine Sense.
Eventually, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator clutched his abdomen and steadied his rough breathing.
The blood leaking through his fingers soaked his robe dark red.
The robe worn by the Foundation Establishment Cultivator was on a different level from ordinary items.
Even at a glance, it was a Dharma treasure capable of defending sufficiently against a 2nd-Tier Technique/Spell.
Yet the Ilseong Sword had pierced through that robe as easily as piercing tofu.
“You aren’t Cheong Un!”
It seemed to be something the Foundation Establishment Cultivator simply could not believe.
He seemed to think that anyone who could pierce his robe in a single strike had to be a Cultivator at least on par with himself.
Soon, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s eyes gleamed, as if he had realized something.
“There’s no way a lowly bastard like him could have pierced my robe.”
While tending to his abdomen, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked around.
Then, lowering his voice further, he continued as if to test the waters.
“Has the Sect Master’s Disciple stepped forward?”
At this sight, Baek-Cheong blinked.
She was neither Cheong Un nor the Sect Master’s Disciple, but merely a Qi Condensation Cultivator.
‘He’s barking up the wrong tree.’
Yet the Foundation Establishment Cultivator had arbitrarily pegged her as a great Expert.
From a single strike that pierced his robe, he was picturing a senior far above him.
Thanks to this, he mistakenly believed the Biun Sect was involved and couldn’t even use his Escape Jade Token recklessly.
‘Well, I’m thankful for that.’
Of course, she had absolutely no intention of opening her mouth to clear up the misunderstanding.
If she replied hastily, the prestige she had painstakingly inflated could be exposed in an instant.
Above all, she is not in a position to flap her lips leisurely right now.
“The more time drags on, the more advantageous it is for me.”
Baek-Cheong carefully flowed spiritual energy into the hand holding the Five Elements Banner.
The pitch-black clouds covering the area looked plausible, but they were empty on the inside.
It was nothing more than a 1st-tier Formation created by modifying the Unmihwanjin in her own way.
If the Foundation Establishment Cultivator made up his mind and dug into it, it could be shattered with ease.
“Perfectly.”
She focused on controlling the Formation so the dark clouds wouldn’t scatter.
When there was no response, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator raised his voice again.
“Show yourself fair and square!”
Along with his words, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator fiercely drew up his spiritual energy.
The gathered spiritual energy became a 2nd-Tier Technique/Spell and poured indiscriminately toward the dark clouds.
Wherever the spell touched, the surroundings were ruthlessly destroyed.
As a result, the dark clouds were torn apart in all directions.
However, new clouds relentlessly surged into the torn empty spaces.
The endless Cloud Sea filled the gaps and was dyed pitch-black once again.
It was thanks to Baek-Cheong’s natural manipulation of the surging Cloud Sea, making it appear as dark clouds.
Watching the situation unfold up to that point, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s complexion gradually stiffened.
The endlessly swarming clouds, even when scattered by his spell, were unusual.
To Baek-Cheong’s eyes, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator didn’t seem to suspect the dark clouds were an illusion.
He seemed to accept it as some sort of harmony orchestrated by the Cloud Sea, rather than a trick of an Illusion Formation.
‘I’ve succeeded in fooling him for now.’
Baek-Cheong let out a small sigh of relief inwardly.
The endless Cloud Sea had made her sloppy 1st-tier Formation look plausible.
Presently, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked around, trying to figure out a way to escape.
Even as his eyes searched for a retreat path, his mouth continuously spouted words.
“Core Formation cultivators can’t enter the Cloud Sea Secret Realm anyway!”
The Foundation Establishment Cultivator continued in a voice full of composure.
“Because there is an agreement made with the Demon King who rules the Cloud Sea!”
Upon hearing this story for the first time, Baek-Cheong pricked up her ears.
She had certainly heard the rumors that fierce demonic beasts lurked deep within the Cloud Sea.
But she hadn’t known there was an agreement that prevented even Core Formation cultivators from setting foot inside.
‘So that’s why they only picked Young Prodigies to send in.’
Baek-Cheong organized her thoughts while recalling the stories she had picked up.
However, it wasn’t an important issue to think deeply about right now.
“So if I resolve myself to die, you won’t walk away unscathed either!”
Raising his voice, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator laid down a threat.
Hearing the threat, Baek-Cheong naturally frowned.
There was something unsettling about it, too unsettling to just brush it off as a bluff.
If the Foundation Establishment Cultivator attacked desperately at the last moment, things could get dangerous.
As a Qi Condensation Cultivator, facing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator head-on was no small burden.
“Still, if I do it right, I should be able to subdue him.”
However, she thought of it as an opportunity to draw out her opponent’s carelessness.
She deliberately loosened her control over the Formation, causing the dark clouds to scatter.
There was no way the Foundation Establishment Cultivator would miss the scattered opening.
“How stupid!”
Cheering in delight, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator gathered all his remaining spiritual energy.
Squeezing out his full power to open a retreat path, he unleashed a Second-Tier High-Grade Spell.
The fire energy extending from his fingertips burned away the dark clouds entirely.
The hot flames burned even the swarming clouds without leaving a trace.
Soon, the pitch-black clouds disappeared, and a bright path opened up.
As soon as the path opened, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator threw his body forward.
He didn’t even glance at the Qi Condensation Cultivator beside him.
Leaving the Qi Condensation Cultivator behind, he used an Escape Technique alone.
However, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who was using the Escape Technique, flinched and stiffened his body.
Cleaving through the clouds, a bluish sword was flying toward him.
The Ilseong Sword, which had been circling within the clouds all along, had ambushed the fleeing man from behind.
The Foundation Establishment Cultivator urgently pulled out a 2nd-tier Dharma treasure, the Hwarinseon, from his robes.
He spread the Hwarinseon wide and swung it fiercely toward the Flying Sword.
A hot wind imbued with flames swirled and poured out from the fan.
The hot wind, hotter than ordinary fire, raged as if to swallow the sword in a single breath.
Yet the sword dug in, paying no mind to the hot wind.
In the face of the Sword Intent imbued in the Ilseong Sword, even the fire energy of a 2nd-tier Dharma treasure was useless.
In the end, the sword slashed deeply past the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s shoulder blade.
“Keuhuk!”
During the successive attacks, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator swallowed a short scream.
Only after being struck by the sword twice in an instant did the Foundation Establishment Cultivator turn pale.
He finally seemed to accept the fact that his opponent was far above him.
Moreover, it couldn’t be a coincidence that the last strike had missed his vitals.
If there had been an intent to kill, his life would have been ended long ago.
Avoiding a fatal injury every time meant there was something to interrogate him about.
‘He’s quick on the uptake, at least.’
Baek-Cheong retrieved the Ilseong Sword and left it floating in the clouds again.
From the beginning, she hadn’t had even a sliver of intent to kill him.
It was better to keep him alive and well to interrogate him about the things she was curious about.
Sure enough, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator shouted urgently toward the newly formed dark clouds.
“I yield, so please stop!”
His momentum broken, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator raised both hands.
Outwardly, he pretended to concede cleanly, even bowing his head.
However, to Baek-Cheong’s eyes, there was something suspicious about it.
Even as he made a show of obediently kneeling, he was looking for an opening out of the corner of his eye.
His inner thoughts of looking for a chance to escape while pretending to concede were transparent.
‘Phew, he’s using petty tricks right to the end.’
Baek-Cheong clicked her tongue inwardly.
If she hadn’t succeeded in her ambush by inducing his carelessness, she would have had a high chance of failing to subdue him.
Of course, since lives were on the line, she hadn’t approached it with a light heart.
Even so, since it was her first real battle, she couldn’t deny that she felt nervous.
‘Still, it seems he’s prepared to answer questions.’
Of course, she had absolutely no intention of revealing herself directly.
If she showed her face as a mere Qi Condensation Cultivator, the prestige she had inflated would shrink in an instant.
Instead, she stealthily called out the Five Elements Golems she had hidden within the Cloud Sea.
If she was going to throw her weight around, she had to do it plausibly until the end.
‘It’s probably better to use people from another Lower Realm.’
Baek-Cheong busily rummaged through her mind to overlay illusions onto the golems.
There were Picture Posts she had seen on the Nameless Forum at some point.
The Picture Posts uploaded by Dao Friends all contained extraordinary figures.
Their appearances and Attire were so peculiar that they were hard to forget once seen.
They were unusual enough to make even a stranger flinch and shrink back.
“This should do.”
Baek-Cheong selected figures from the Picture Posts and overlaid them onto each golem.
Heuk-Roe stepped out of the Cloud Sea, slowly walking forward in the guise of a certain figure.
Following that, the remaining golems also revealed themselves, each disguised as a different figure.
When extraordinary individuals suddenly emerged from the Cloud Sea in a line, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator flinched.
Since they all looked like unidentifiable cultivators, it was only natural for him to be intimidated.
“And now, the voice.”
Baek-Cheong controlled the golems with satisfaction.
On top of that, she pushed the Illusion Formation to its limits to create an Illusory Sound.
She generated the Illusory Sound to make it seem as if one of the golems was speaking.
Instead of her own voice, an unfamiliar, deep voice created by the Formation echoed out.
“How did you track the Cloud Spirit Pearl?”
She bluntly asked what she had been curious about all along.
At the sudden question, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator froze stiff.
Surrounded by unidentifiable cultivators, he was dazed for a while.
Belatedly coming to his senses, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator swallowed dryly.
“T-That guy knows.”
He then pointed to the Qi Condensation Cultivator he had abandoned beside him.
He sent a look, signaling him to answer directly.
At that, the Qi Condensation Cultivator stepped forward with a somewhat displeased expression.
He seemed unhappy about having to follow the orders of the person who had just abandoned him.
Nevertheless, the Qi Condensation Cultivator bowed his head extremely politely.
“I possess a Cloud Spirit Root.”
At the obediently confessed answer, Baek-Cheong tilted her head.
The Cloud Spirit Root was a Mutated Spirit Root that branched off from the Water Spirit Root.
It was a spirit root that could display considerable Talent when it came to matters involving clouds rather than water.
“Ah, since he handles clouds, he read the traces left by the Cloud Spirit Pearl.”
The mystery of the tracking that had been bothering her all along was finally solved.
It seemed he had tracked the traces left by the Cloud Spirit Pearl using his Cloud Spirit Root as it sucked in the clouds.
However, as she chewed over his words, something felt strange.
If he had a Cloud Spirit Root that was friendly to clouds, he would be a Talent the Biun Sect would welcome with open arms.
Yet it was odd that the person possessing the Cloud Spirit Root was not from the Biun Sect.
Borrowing the golem’s mouth, Baek-Cheong generated the Illusory Sound again.
“You possess a Cloud Spirit Root, yet you are not a Disciple of the Biun Sect?”
“T-That’s…”
At the question, the Qi Condensation Cultivator flinched and stuttered.
Hesitating over whether he should answer, he studied the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s reaction.
However, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator just kept his head bowed, pretending not to hear anything.
He shut his mouth, as if declaring he wouldn’t interfere with difficult questions.
Having lost his support, the Qi Condensation Cultivator finally swallowed a sigh.
Unable to do anything else, the Qi Condensation Cultivator had no choice but to open his mouth.
“…I am a Rogue Cultivator from the Eastern Continent.”
At the mention of the Eastern Continent, Baek-Cheong narrowed her eyes.
It was a place that had Great Sects but no Soul Transformation stage cultivators, yet had two Rogue Cultivators at the Soul Transformation stage.
But why was someone from the Eastern Continent rummaging through the Biun Sect’s Secret Realm?
“Did I… catch something bigger than I thought?”