Chapter 35: The Variable
"Mm, ugh..."
Sun Yuhan furrowed his brows as he opened his eyes.
Instantly, a searing pain washed over his entire body.
"Keuk! Keo-heuk..."
Three uses of Optical Evasion Art, two self-destructs, depletion of spiritual energy, internal and external injuries from spiritual arts, etc.
There wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't hurt.
Sun Yuhan immediately sat cross-legged.
He began to circulate his energy.
"Haaah, fuuuu..."
After some time had passed, Sun Yuhan managed to push himself up with great difficulty.
"...How many days have passed."
He muttered to himself as he took out an escape talisman.
Based on the amount of spiritual energy flowing on the surface of the talisman, it seemed two days had passed.
This escape talisman would lose its effect after fifteen days.
At any rate.
"What in the world is this place?"
Sun Yuhan looked around.
The place looked like a cave.
Sun Yuhan sent his spiritual energy upwards.
"It's blocked."
He didn't know the principle behind it, but this cave had a spiritual energy-repelling property.
Perhaps that was why it had remained undiscovered until now.
"Even Nascent Soul stage cultivators come to this mountain from time to time. Does this mean it can avoid the consciousness of a Nascent Soul cultivator?"
In many ways, it wasn't an ordinary place.
Feeling a deep sense of curiosity, Sun Yuhan moved towards the depths of the cave.
A short time later, he reached the end of the cave.
An altar?
A single step of stairs surrounded a huge, round stone slab.
It looked similar to the altars inside the pyramids he had seen on Earth.
Of course, it wasn't exactly the same.
Sun Yuhan examined the area around the altar.
"This is...!"
He soon discovered a rock with strange characters carved on it.
Sun Yuhan's eyes widened as he scanned the surface of the rock.
An ordinary cultivator wouldn't have been able to recognize these characters, but he could.
Because.
"Aren't these the language of the dwarf race...?"
Thanks to his memories, he could read the characters without any problem.
The contents of the stone slab could be summarized as follows:
[To my distant descendant, whom I meet in this vile land, prove that you are a craftsman.]
[This door will only open for a craftsman. If you are not, fleeing is your only way to survive.]
[Offer your finest work on the altar.]
[Then that work will be reborn as a new work.]
"My finest work?"
Sun Yuhan took out various spiritual tools from his storage bag and placed them on the altar.
However, even after placing all his works on it, the altar showed no reaction.
"...It must not be this."
Was he supposed to make a high-grade spiritual tool here?
That didn't seem to be the right answer either.
Sun Yuhan sat on the ground, lost in thought.
"My finest work..."
His mind raced.
"..."
In the dark cave.
Sun Yuhan stared at the altar, completely still.
After some time had passed, a strange light flashed in Sun Yuhan's eyes.
Don't tell me.
He thought it might be a very barbaric way, but then again...
Considering the habits of the dwarf race, this seemed to be the right answer.
Step— Step—
Sun Yuhan climbed onto the altar.
"..."
The altar remained silent.
Sun Yuhan took out a dagger and cut his palm.
Shk, drip— drip— drip— drip—
Drops of blood fell.
The altar remained silent.
"Hah. So you really want me to go all the way."
This time, Sun Yuhan took out a longsword.
He hesitated for a moment.
A moment later, his resolve firm, Sun Yuhan's shoulder moved in a flash.
Shiiiiiing—
"Kuaaaaaaaah!"
His entire left hand was cut off.
Sun Yuhan's body trembled violently.
It was one thing to be attacked by someone else, but cutting it off himself made the pain seem much more intense.
At that moment.
Flaaaaash—
The border of the altar turned red.
But only about half.
"...This crazy dwarf."
Sun Yuhan used his telekinesis to grab the sword.
Right after that, he cut off his right hand as well.
Shiiiing—
"Kuuuuugh!"
Flaaaaaaaaaash—
Only then did the entire border glow red.
At the same time, Sun Yuhan's vision distorted.
Spatial movement!
A moment later, Sun Yuhan's figure vanished from the altar without a trace.
Drip, drip—
On the silent altar, blood flowed from two wrists—gush, gush.
Flaaash—
"Hah!"
Sun Yuhan's eyes flew open as he gasped.
He had arrived in an enclosed room, about three zhang long and wide.
Where on earth...
Sun Yuhan struck the wall with his elbow—thump, thump.
It was very hard. It seemed difficult for him to break through with his current level of cultivation.
Sun Yuhan turned his head.
In a corner of the enclosed room, a single storage bag lay.
Sun Yuhan used his telekinesis to bring the storage bag to him.
"...What!"
The next moment, Sun Yuhan was stunned after checking the contents of the storage bag.
Startled, Sun Yuhan poured out all the items from inside the storage bag.
Rumble—
Five strangely shaped medicinal herbs, a pill, and an old book rolled out.
"Five Foundation Establishment spirit elements!"
To his surprise, all the herbs were Foundation Establishment spirit elements.
And two of them were even Foundation Establishment spirit elements from the primordial era!
They surely possessed incredible effects.
The pill and the old book also looked exceptionally unfamiliar.
Since he couldn't tell the pill's use right away, Sun Yuhan checked the book first.
Swish, swish—
A gust of wind constantly flipped the pages.
"Supreme Refining Style...?"
It had a similar name to the technique he was currently practicing.
Feeling a strange sense of unease, Sun Yuhan read the entire book.
Thud—
Closing the book, Sun Yuhan muttered with a surprised look:
"This is... the origin of the Absolute Martial Arts."
The descriptions up to the Qi Refining stage were identical to the Absolute Martial Arts.
However, the Supreme Refining Style contained descriptions up to the Nascent Soul stage.
The only disappointing thing was...
"It's missing alchemy, formation arts, and talisman arts."
It wasn't clear if they were originally non-existent or if they had been lost.
However, the technique was useful enough with just the refining arts.
In fact, among the four cultivation arts, refining was his specialty.
At that moment, Sun Yuhan's eyes widened as he checked the back of the book.
[Take the Legendary Reinforcement Elixir in the storage bag.]
"Legendary Reinforcement Elixir!"
Sun Yuhan's head snapped around.
He stared intently at the mysterious pill.
"This is the Legendary Reinforcement Elixir...?"
Legendary Reinforcement Elixir.
It was a legendary elixir in the world of the dwarf race.
It was said to greatly enhance the user's dexterity.
How wonderful were its effects to be named a legend?
At that moment, Sun Yuhan blinked and looked at his wrists.
"...But I don't have any hands."
At that moment.
[Then that work will be reborn as a new work.]
That phrase flashed through his mind.
Could it be...?
Making up his mind, Sun Yuhan used his telekinesis to lift the pill and swallowed it.
Sizzzzle—
A burning sensation seared his esophagus.
The heat instantly transferred to his wrists.
Writhe, writhe—
"Kuaaaaaaaaargh!"
The wounds writhed strangely, and in an instant, two hands grew out.
Sun Yuhan rolled on the ground from the excruciating pain.
At that moment, his vision distorted.
Foundation Establishment spirit elements!
Sun Yuhan instinctively threw the Foundation Establishment spirit elements into his storage bag.
Flaaaaaaaaaash—
Right after that, a light swallowed his body.
Fwoosh—
A moment later, Sun Yuhan appeared in a dense forest.
He grimaced at his wrists, which were still throbbing with pain.
I almost failed to grab the Foundation Establishment spirit elements.
Thinking that, Sun Yuhan scanned his surroundings.
It was an unfamiliar place.
At least, it wasn't land his feet had stepped on during this competition.
That's a relief.
He immediately used a stealth talisman to hide his presence.
Four days remaining.
Since he hadn't been able to hunt for two days, he needed to work even harder.
Still, I got five Foundation Establishment spirit elements, so if I just get two more, I'll have eight.
With eight Foundation Establishment spirit elements, he could even attempt the Eight Trigrams Foundation Establishment, also known as the Perfect Foundation Establishment.
His heart pounded wildly in his chest.
Perfect Foundation Establishment!
Wasn't that the foundation establishment that all Qi Refining stage cultivators dreamed of?
I just need to get into the top one hundred.
His figure stretched and shot forward.
Three days passed.
"Hup!"
A sword blade shot forward.
Stab—!
A tiger-shaped beast cried out piteously as it died.
Its corpse was sucked into his storage bag.
Booooom!
Sun Yuhan immediately kicked off the ground and left the spot.
He recalled the last strike and muttered:
"I never thought increasing dexterity meant this."
His ability to handle the sword had become much more precise.
The range of what "dexterity" affected was wider than he had thought.
Feeling the satisfying grip of the sword hilt, Sun Yuhan raced through the forest.
Tat-tat-tat—
After some time had passed, an unfamiliar sound reached Sun Yuhan's ears.
Someone's fighting.
He focused his senses.
From the sounds, it wasn't Chun Mu-jin.
Sun Yuhan made a decision.
Let's go and check it out.
He might be able to take advantage of the situation.
He changed his direction.
Fwoosh—
A short time later, he spotted a familiar face at the source of the sound.
That person is...
It was the middle-aged man from the talisman shop who had explained the Optical Evasion Art to him.
The man was fighting fiercely with an unknown cultivator.
Woooooosh— Kaboom!
"How dare a filthy wandering cultivator like you think of defeating me!"
"Keuk!"
Sun Yuhan hid in the nearby bushes and watched the fight.
He's going to lose.
The man was being pushed back very slowly.
The difference was so small that with a little help, the middle-aged man would likely win.
...Should I help him?
It wasn't just because of the explanation at the talisman shop.
If he helped the man, he could also take the opponent's storage bag.
Only one day left. I need to earn as much as I can.
Sun Yuhan finished his thoughts.
Help the man, defeat the opposing cultivator, and then take the storage bag.
He could repay a debt and increase his hunting points.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Fwoosh—
His figure stretched and shot forward.
"...Ht!"
The opposing cultivator's eyes widened as he pushed a defensive spiritual tool forward.
Sun Yuhan's brow twitched.
His reaction is fast.
But that's fine.
Claaaaaaang
The sword and the defensive spiritual tool clashed.
"Brother Han! Now!"
With all eyes on Sun Yuhan, the defense against the middle-aged man naturally weakened.
Sure enough, the man immediately formed a hand seal.
"...Brother Sun? My thanks to you!"
The man wore a surprised expression as he unleashed his spiritual arts.
Swooooosh—
A steel spear shot forward in a straight line.
It was a beautiful trajectory.
There was just one problem.
"...!"
The spear's trajectory was aimed at Sun Yuhan.
Sun Yuhan quickly took out a defensive spiritual tool.
Thwaaaaang!!
"What the.......! Don't tell me!"
Sun Yuhan finally understood the whole situation.
"You two were together from the beginning!"
His expression twisted fiercely.
Seeing Sun Yuhan's face, the man quickly shouted:
"Kill him!"
"You don't need to tell me! I was planning to!"
The cultivator who was blocking Sun Yuhan's sword pushed with his palm.
Wooooosh—
Fierce flames raged towards Sun Yuhan.
Sun Yuhan urgently kicked off the ground and threw himself back.
At that moment.
"Heh, to think Brother Han's acquaintances would fall into the trap."
Along with a high-pitched voice, spiritual arts flew from both sides.
There are two more!
Sun Yuhan summoned two new defensive spiritual tools.
He had lost a few in the fight with Beom Jin-woo and the other cultivators, but he still had a good number.
Claaang!!
"Ugh! Three defensive spiritual tools?"
"And all high-grade!"
They were flustered for a moment.
At the same time, Sun Yuhan's eyes flashed.
Self-destruct.
His only remaining shoe turned red.
Kabooom!!
In an instant, Sun Yuhan appeared right in front of the unknown cultivator.
"...Huh?"
Slaaaice—
The cultivator's head flew into the air.
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