novelraw Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Episode 38: Obtaining the Water Spirit Orb
After traveling for quite some time, they came upon a place where water fell from the sky and mixed into the sea.
Everyone stared in bewilderment, but Jang So-cheon, who was using his special ability, could tell it was an illusion.
Once they passed through the massive waterfall, fish began flying through the sky.
It was impossible to tell whether they were in the air or underwater, but the area wasn’t very large.
A few of the sky fish fell into the flying magic device.
The group tossed the silver-winged fish back into the sea and soared once more into the high sky.
About half a shichen later—
“I think we’re almost there.”
As soon as the leader finished speaking, an island shaped like a star appeared in the distance.
At the center of the island was a massive lake, swirling rapidly in a spiral.
It was so deep, you couldn’t even see the bottom.
Makjang called out loudly so everyone could hear.
“Leader! Are you saying there’s a spirit herb called the Dragon Scale Leaf Herb in that lake?”
“To be precise, I heard the spirit herb is in the sea connected to the lake. If you dive into the lake, the current will sweep you into the deep sea. That’s where you’ll have to search for the spirit herb.”
“What do we do once we find it?”
“Once you find the spirit herb, just come up to the surface and send me a message talisman. As soon as one person finds it, we’ll return to Spirit Gathering Mountain.”
“And if we can’t find it?”
“Then we’ll come back to this island, rest, and try diving again. If we try a few times, at least once we’ll be sent to where the spirit herb is.”
“So there’s a trick like that. As expected, you’re clever, Leader.”
“Why aren’t you calling it cunning this time?”
“I just want to admit you’re smart. The real king of cunning is Elder Jang Mun of the Golden Palace, after all.”
“That’s oddly satisfying and disappointing at the same time.”
“Are you upset?”
“Not at all. Enough chatter—get ready!”
As the flying magic device descended into the depths of the whirlpool, Gwak Mu-jin gave instructions to the team.
“Let’s go!”
At the leader’s command, everyone dove into the swirling waters.
The leader shrank the flying magic device, stored it in the Heaven and Earth Pouch, and was the last to jump in.
Splash!
As Jang So-cheon entered the whirlpool, it felt as if the world was spinning around him.
Swept along by an irresistible current, his body was pulled somewhere unknown.
Suddenly, the pressure eased, and he found himself in an unfamiliar part of the sea.
The water was freezing, likely because of the depth.
Seaweed swayed on the ocean floor, and schools of unknown fish darted about.
Some were particularly aggressive, targeting Jang So-cheon as prey, but they ended up as offerings to the Primordial Divine Sword.
Just like in the deepest spiritual mountains, rare herbs and spirit herbs could be found even in these deep waters.
There were plenty of alchemy ingredients, as well as water spirit monsters and other creatures.
After nearly a shichen of searching, Jang So-cheon spotted a faint green glow.
A large underwater cave.
Just as he was about to enter, he was ambushed by a school of swordfish, each with a sharp blade on its snout.
Their blades were sharp and tough, but nothing compared to the Primordial Divine Sword.
This was the sword that had even sliced through the scales of a fierce flood dragon.
Slash!
He cut through the swordfish’s blade in a single strike as it lunged to stab him.
The real problem was their movement.
They were so agile and quick that even with the Primordial Divine Sword, they were hard to handle.
Clack!
Despite being underwater, Jang So-cheon equipped the Flying Divine Artifact.
The water pressure on the wings increased, but his speed didn’t drop much.
The advantage was that he could also use the wings to attack the swordfish.
Since it was a great help for defense, Jang So-cheon kept the Flying Divine Artifact on as he fought the swordfish.
He realized as he fought that there were simply too many of these fish.
There must have been thousands.
Fortunately, no more than ten could attack at once, so Jang So-cheon used the Carefree Sword Technique to cut them down, one after another.
Then, he tried using the Dragon Flying Peak Martial Art and noticed its power was strangely enhanced.
Swimming through the water while performing sword techniques was similar to flying through the air.
Excited, Jang So-cheon even tried using the Cloud Step Shoes.
They worked as well.
Upon channeling energy into the Cloud Step Shoes, he found not only did his speed increase, but changing direction became much easier. With this, he began hunting the swordfish without hesitation.
It was like a fierce beast preying on a flock of sheep.
As Jang So-cheon’s momentum shifted, the swordfish gradually retreated.
Then, as if they’d never attacked, they all fled out of the cave at once.
Slash!
After disabling the last swordfish, Jang So-cheon spread the Flying Divine Artifact wide.
Carefully, he swam toward the source of the green glow.
“What’s that?”
Deep in the cave, Jang So-cheon saw a rare spirit herb known as the Millennium Coral Herb.
He’d heard that while it was a spirit herb, it could also be used as an alchemy ingredient.
However, none of the pill recipes he knew included the Millennium Coral Herb.
He was disappointed, but there was no reason not to collect it.
Since the Millennium Coral Herb’s roots were embedded in rock, he had to use the Primordial Divine Sword to harvest it.
Just as Jang So-cheon drew the sword to cut the rock—
Creeeak.
A large, elongated leg stretched out from deep within the cave, aiming for Jang So-cheon’s back.
Sensing something strange, he spun around and swung the Primordial Divine Sword.
Slash!
He felt something split, but it wasn’t cut clean in two.
Taking a few steps back, Jang So-cheon finally saw what he was up against—and his face twisted in shock.
A massive, thick leg.
The limb, covered in suction cups as big as pot lids, was the monster attacking him.
Though wounded by the Primordial Divine Sword, the leg didn’t care and kept attacking.
Startled, Jang So-cheon turned to escape toward the cave entrance.
But another leg had already blocked the exit.
At the same time, powerful suction erupted from the suction cups on the monster’s limb.
“Ugh!”
As his body was pulled toward the leg, Jang So-cheon spread the Flying Divine Artifact and shot upward.
Even then, he couldn’t overcome the suction, so he activated the Cloud Step Shoes as well.
Finally—
He barely managed to break free from the monster’s grip.
But the creature had more than one leg.
Creeeak.
As another leg approached from the darkness, Jang So-cheon changed tactics.
Instead of dodging, he charged straight at it.
As the suction tried to pull him in, Jang So-cheon flew directly toward the leg.
Then, from among the eighteen forms of the Dragon Flying Peak Martial Art, he unleashed the most versatile one—Eight-Directional Storm.
The original Dragon Flying Peak Martial Art didn’t have names for its forms.
So Jang So-cheon had named a few himself.
When he used Eight-Directional Storm, the part of the leg struck by the Primordial Divine Sword was shredded like a rag.
Even so, the monster kept swinging its legs at Jang So-cheon.
Thwack!
Using the Cloud Step Shoes to dash through the water, Jang So-cheon narrowly dodged the attack and infused spiritual energy into the Primordial Divine Sword.
The blade instantly grew two feet longer.
With the increased length, the sword’s power doubled.
With a single decisive slash, Jang So-cheon severed one of the monster’s legs.
Wriggle, wriggle.
The severed leg crawled along the cave floor, but its will was already gone.
After losing a leg, the monster’s ferocity exploded.
Now, swinging three legs at once—including the severed one—it attacked Jang So-cheon with savage fury.
Rumble.
Whoosh!
The water churned violently, the currents pulling and splitting, making it hard for Jang So-cheon to move.
Realizing this was a divine miracle from the monster’s suction cups, Jang So-cheon used the Cloud Step Shoes to dance through the currents.
If he couldn’t kill the monster, he’d never escape the cave.
With a do-or-die resolve, he swung the Primordial Divine Sword, and before long, managed to sever another leg.
Only then did the monster realize the sword Jang So-cheon wielded was no ordinary weapon.
If it kept attacking haphazardly, it might end up dead instead. Finally, the monster revealed its true form.
A giant octopus.
That was the monster’s identity.
The monstrous octopus attacked Jang So-cheon with all six remaining legs.
Its blood-red eyes flashed as it aimed its long, hideous beak at Jang So-cheon.
Feeling a chill, Jang So-cheon shot up toward the ceiling.
Then, he summoned White Horse, his water-element avatar.
Fwoosh!
At that moment—
A torrent of black ink spewed from the octopus’s long beak, aimed right at Jang So-cheon.
Sensing danger, Jang So-cheon sent a mental command to White Horse to shield him.
He then used the Cloud Step Shoes to dart aside three times, barely dodging the ink.
Ugh!
His side twinged a bit, but it was hardly a real wound.
The cave, now filled with ink, was pitch black.
He couldn’t even see his own hand in front of his face.
But with his special ability, Jang So-cheon could still make out faint shapes.
“Hm.”
Catching a faint scent, he detected poison in the ink and ordered White Horse to keep even a single drop of water from touching him.
Suppressing his presence, he crept toward the Poisonous Octopus.
The Poisonous Octopus was immune to its own venom.
But it couldn’t do anything about being blinded.
Thinking humans couldn’t see either, the Poisonous Octopus thrashed its six legs wildly through the cave.
Then—
Whoosh!
Something shot through the water and struck the octopus right in the eye.
Screeeee!
The Poisonous Octopus screamed as one of its eyes burst.
Now it realized it might have been wrong about its assumptions.
But there was no turning back.
Fwoosh!
Another jet of ink sprayed from the octopus’s long beak.
Jang So-cheon was thoroughly impressed by the performance of the Harpoon Talisman Makjang had given him.
He’d been hesitant to get close to the octopus, but the Harpoon Talisman could be fired from a distance.
After bursting one of the monster’s eyes, Jang So-cheon decided to use the chaos to escape the cave.
But then—
A blue glow appeared behind the monster’s head.
A treasure.
Judging by its brightness, it was likely on par with the Wood Spirit Pill.
As he hesitated over what to do, another wave of black ink spread from the Poisonous Octopus’s beak.
It seemed determined to poison him to death.
With the darkness in the cave growing thicker, Jang So-cheon actually felt relieved.
Now, the octopus was no different from a blind beast.
Rumble.
Whoosh!
The octopus’s legs sliced through the water, attacking menacingly, but Jang So-cheon could track their trajectory with his special ability.
Using the Cloud Step Shoes, he slipped between the legs and fired two more Harpoon Talismans into the monster’s remaining eye.
Screeeee!
With its last eye destroyed, the Poisonous Octopus screamed in madness.
It fled deeper into the cave, spraying ink everywhere and thrashing its six legs wildly.
Slash!
Jang So-cheon severed another leg and clung flat to the cave ceiling.
He waited for the octopus to pass below, then gripped the Primordial Divine Sword in reverse and leapt down.
Thud!
The Primordial Divine Sword plunged into the Poisonous Octopus’s head, and Jang So-cheon channeled spiritual energy into the blade.
Energy surged from the tip, blasting the octopus’s brain into mush.
Even then, the Poisonous Octopus refused to die.
Ssssss!
It sprayed ink from its beak and flailed its legs, trying to strike Jang So-cheon above its head.
But with its brain destroyed, its aim was off, and it kept hitting the wrong spots.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Jang So-cheon leapt into the cave where the octopus had emerged.
Sure enough.
Behind the monster’s lair, a pearl radiating blue light awaited.
“The Water Spirit Orb!”
The moment he saw it, Jang So-cheon knew it was the Water Spirit Orb.
It was his first time seeing one in person.
But the powerful water-element spiritual energy pouring from the orb left no doubt.
Pause.
Just as Jang So-cheon was about to store the Water Spirit Orb in the Heaven and Earth Pouch, his hand stopped.
The aura from White Horse, his water-element avatar, and the Water Spirit Orb were strangely in sync.
Recently, Jang So-cheon had been refining his mind with the Nameless Manual of Intent.
Thanks to that, his thoughts had become clearer and more expansive.
Thud!
Jang So-cheon pressed the Water Spirit Orb into White Horse’s head.
When he pulled his hand back, it was empty.
As soon as he placed the Water Spirit Orb inside White Horse, an astonishing change occurred.
A dazzling light burst from White Horse’s body, purifying all the black ink in the area.
Flash!
White Horse’s eyes glowed blue, and it unleashed a tremendous surge of water-element energy.
White Horse had gained an innate spirit.