Chapter 288: Father Heart Demon
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 288: Father Heart Demon
“Geeeek…”
I could finally cut off my tail.
The strongest tail I’d ever had, one that had been with me for so long it might have been the longest-lasting one yet.
Had my tail ever been this plump?
It was so luscious that I could understand why Tus gulped every time she saw it.
No, it wasn't just Tus.
My followers would make strange faces whenever they saw my increasingly plump tail.
It was treated as a holy relic of the Gaegaek Cult, and since everyone had tasted it once, they all knew the value my current tail held.
They drooled over it, but unfortunately, I couldn't share this tail.
This one was meant solely for my master.
A plump tail, tied with a red cloth, no less.
Cutting off such a tail felt both relieving and a little sad.
It was as if the tail was speaking to me.
Telling me it had enjoyed our time together.
Normally, I would have shed tears and begged it not to go, but I'm no ordinary lizard.
Without a moment's hesitation, I cut it off.
Because if I didn't, a catastrophe would occur.
Of course, there's a curious tale that lizards have not one, but two front tails.
So one might think it's fine to lose one, but it's a different story when you actually have them.
No matter how many you have, a precious front tail is something you can never afford to lose.
Besides, the problem was that if I delayed, it wouldn't end with just one front tail.
I'd heard the shocking news that the principles of the Sunflower Manual could transform my body into a female lizard. How could I possibly delay?
Anything but that.
I'm almost there.
Once I deal with Jin-ryong, there will be no one left to stand in my way.
From then on, I too will want a comfortable life, and my days will be filled with ‘gerorong kkerorong.’
Changing my gender in such a situation was out of the question.
So, in the end, I cut off the tail, and up to that moment, there were no problems.
But the moment my master touched it for a taste, the side effects hit.
Already in poor condition, I immediately fainted.
“Gerorong.”
When I came to, I was lying on my master's bed.
To exaggerate a little, that tail had accumulated more internal energy than all the elixirs I had ever eaten combined.
Since I cut off such a tail all at once, side effects were inevitable.
It would be a lie to say I didn't regret it, but it was okay.
Helping my master was the priority.
I considered the internal energy I lost as something that wasn't mine to begin with, and besides, I still had some amazing elixirs left in my nest.
The inner cores of Qiongqi and Bixi are being refined.
Each one will be an elixir with greater efficacy than my tail.
Of course, their restorative power will be far lower than my tail, which was custom-made for my master's recovery, but the amount of internal energy they contain will surely be higher.
After all, they were the inner cores of Profound Realm spirit beasts.
“Gerong…”
My master stroked my head with a single finger.
“It was an astonishingly clean and pure internal energy.”
That was to be expected.
My body had acted as a sort of filter, absorbing the negative components of the elixirs while concentrating all the good ones in my tail.
“Piercingly cold Yin energy, sun-like warm Yang energy, and countless other auras, all harmonized in one place.”
My master assessed my tail as if savoring a fine taste.
Hearing her say that made me feel a little proud.
“Huiya, my disciple. You've grown so strong.”
“Gekgek!”
My master extended the ring finger of her left hand to me.
What's this?
Does she want me to bite it?
Well, since she's offering, I'll do it.
Chomp.
Snap.
As soon as I bit her finger, she lifted me up as if she'd been waiting for it.
“Ge-ek.”
As I dangled there, she gently tickled my belly with her other hand.
“To think the little lizard I saw back then has already reached the Transformation Realm.”
“Gekgek.”
Yeah, time flies.
It feels like only yesterday I was giving my master a cupped-fist salute, and now I'm already at the Transformation Realm...
Wait, Transformation Realm?
Not the Peak Realm?
Seeing the look on my face, she nodded lightly as if to say, ‘I thought so.’
“Yes, it would not be an exaggeration to call you a master of the Transformation Realm now, not the Peak Realm.”
“Ge-ek?”
“Judging by your expression, you didn't know.”
I could understand if she meant I had the power of a Transformation Realm master.
My realm was Peak, but my actual martial prowess was stronger than most Transformation Realm masters.
But wasn't my master saying that my realm itself was now Transformation?
“There was something that bothered me. You seemed somewhat unstable. Your vessel has expanded to the level of the Transformation Realm, but you lack the enlightenment. It's a half-measure, but it's undeniable that you are in the Transformation Realm.”
My vessel has expanded to the Transformation Realm level?
But I haven't had any enlightenment.
And how long has it been since I reached the Peak Realm? How could I already be at the Transformation Realm?
Seeing my expression, my master chuckled.
“Try to manifest your Sword Flux.”
Right, the biggest difference between the Transformation Realm and the Peak Realm is the presence of Sword Flux.
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I raised my front paw.
Sword Aura flowed out naturally.
That Sword Aura gathered like threads into Sword Silk.
When those strands of Sword Silk merged into one, it became Sword Flux.
A blue aura with a distinct form coated my claws.
“Gekgek!”
“What did this lady tell you? Did I not say you had reached the Transformation Realm?”
Wait, am I really in the Transformation Realm?
Why?
…
Could it be...
That bastard, Heart Demon?
— Hmph. I expanded the body I'll be using as I saw fit. Do you have a problem with that?
A problem?
You should have said so sooner, Master Heart Demon.
Giving me two demonic arts, and now forcibly expanding my realm...
Maybe he's a better guy than I thought.
“Now that my disciple has entered a harmonious realm, I feel like I'd like to share a drink with you.”
My master, drinking?
I'd love to see her drunk.
…Though I doubt my master could ever get drunk.
And even if she did, it would be a disaster if she had any bad drinking habits.
If she had a habit of, say, hugging a perfectly fine lizard so tight it turned into a mummy, no one would be able to stop her.
Still, reaching the Transformation Realm so suddenly...
It's a novel feeling.
At the same time, it feels a bit anticlimactic.
It wasn't something I achieved with my own power, but something that happened while the Heart Demon briefly possessed my body.
“Your realm was not accompanied by natural enlightenment. At first, it may not seem different from a typical Transformation Realm master, but the stronger you get, the more unbalanced you will become.”
I see, so that's how it is.
That makes sense.
If it were this easy to reach the Transformation Realm, it would be unfair to all the other masters.
“Conversely, it means that if you can attain natural enlightenment, you can become even stronger than you are now.”
“Gek!”
So I have to gain enlightenment after already reaching the Transformation Realm?
Is it like a ‘buy now, pay later’ kind of deal?
“Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit. If three yang energies bloom in your upper dantian like three flower buds, then perhaps you might even reach my level.”
Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit!
I've heard about this from Chodo, too.
Though I didn't fully understand it.
“We've come to this place, and Huiya needs to treat his internal injuries. What better time could there be?”
Right, right.
My whole body is aching, so I need to heal my internal injuries.
And I think the hot spring Baek Seol-hwa mentioned is nearby.
In that case, naturally…
“Kkerong, kkerororong.”
Hehehe…
I let out a laugh worthy of a Unicorn.
I really didn't want to be like this, but the world won't leave me alone.
Master, come here!
“Get into position. I will guide you myself.”
…Huh?
“Geeeeek?”
“What's with that expression? You look like a lizard that just had its meat stolen.”
So it wasn't ‘gerorong kkerorong’ time?
But I'm injured!
“All the more reason to devote yourself to training.”
“Gegegegek!”
Forget ‘Master, come here!’ I was trapped in my master's hand, unable to move a muscle.
Kuaaak!
I'm Hui, a master of the Transformation Realm!
*
Bixi and Qiongqi had not returned.
The fact that two Profound Realm spirit beasts had gone silent was bound to be disconcerting even for Jin-ryong.
Of course, he wasn't underestimating the power of the 100,000 Great Mountains.
They weren't united, but the forces of each individual spirit beast were not to be trifled with.
Furthermore, the leader of the group known as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was strong enough to leave an indelible scar on Jin-ryong himself, and the Heavenly Fox, said to be on par with a god, was a formidable opponent in her own right.
Besides them, there were many other powerful beings.
That was why Jin-ryong had considered the possibility of defeat when he sent Qiongqi and Bixi.
However, their defeat was one thing; their silence was another matter entirely.
Qiongqi was understandable.
He was a powerful spirit beast, but he hadn't followed Jin-ryong with true loyalty.
If he met a being who could grant him the death he desired, he would charge in without a second thought for the consequences.
That was why Jin-ryong had chosen him.
To inflict devastating damage on the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and, at the same time, gain a justification for war.
But Bixi was different.
Wasn't he the eldest of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, a being worthy of the name 'dragon'?
Moreover, unlike Qiongqi, he was a spirit beast with strong defensive capabilities.
For such a being to die without even a chance to send word back?
It made no sense.
Let's assume there was a being capable of silencing Bixi in a single blow.
Even so, some word should have gotten back.
If the spirit beast was that powerful, Bixi would have sent a message before even confronting it.
That was the kind of spirit beast Bixi was.
One who would complete his mission even in the face of death.
Yet, there was no word from even him.
This meant it wasn't just about strength; there was something else, something special.
For example, a being that possessed something capable of shaking Bixi's immovable mind.
But could such a spirit beast exist in this world?
A spirit beast with the strength to overwhelm both Bixi and Qiongqi, and possessing something so special that it would make Bixi not even dare to report back?
Not in this generation, at least.
…But perhaps in a previous generation.
If one included the ancient spirit beasts, there were beings capable of such a feat.
A certain being flashed through Jin-ryong's mind.
Old Death with a Tail.
The dragon of the earth who could stand against Jin-ryong, a ferocious beast that could be called death itself.
It was said that Jin-ryong had defeated him in the final moment, but the reality was different.
The moment the claws of Gomodo, the slaughterer of thousands of spirit beasts, finally reached Jin-ryong's neck, the fight ended.
Gomodo vanished without a trace.
As if he had never existed in this world to begin with.
Others who witnessed the scene from afar claimed that Jin-ryong had killed Gomodo, but Jin-ryong knew.
Gomodo had not died.
He was alive, and one day, he would return.
Knowing this, Jin-ryong had been unable to make any rash moves during Gomodo's absence.
“…Why have you returned, brother?”
Jin-ryong murmured, gazing into the empty air.
His massive white body began to stir slowly.
Gomodo had returned.
Extreme evil, extreme poison, extreme yin.
The energies from the wound he received that day began to amplify.
A searing pain.
The indelible mark of death, carved into Jin-ryong's body.
Jin-ryong looked to the sky and let out a great roar.
A true dragon.
The dragon of the sky who could oppose Gomodo, a divine spirit beast that could be called life itself.
“Send word to the Central Plains.”
Realizing that Gomodo had returned, he decided to use everything he had prepared.
“The time has come to form the Murim Alliance.”
The martial artists of Murim had been brainwashed by him for a long time.
This brainwashing was nothing grand or elaborate.
He had simply defined the being known as Gomodo as evil and had them accept Jin-ryong as an ally of humanity.
From the humans' perspective, Gomodo would be seen as nothing more than a ferocious beast to be vanquished.
So, the spirit beasts of Kunlun and the martial artists of the Central Plains.
Jin-ryong's plan was to combine these two forces, advance on the 100,000 Great Mountains, and annihilate not only Gomodo but also the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which had long been a thorn in his side.