The First Flesh Gate
Jekyeong shifted his gaze toward the appetizing sight. Bigu had half his body buried in the flesh, chewing and swallowing repeatedly. Watching his gluttonous yet hearty eating, Jekyeong couldn't help but wonder if the creature was a turtle or a pig.
A short distance away, Hyeongu was tearing off bite-sized pieces of meat. Compared to Bigu, his pace was incredibly slow, resembling an old man struggling to swallow thin gruel.
"Lord Dragon. Did you hunt this Great Demon?"
"Yes."
"In that case... should we make a trip there?"
"No."
Hyeongu was truly a loyal and capable subordinate. It was rare to find someone who could think of work even while holding a mouth full of delicious meat.
"This fellow shared his territory with others. If you go poking around, you will surely catch the attention of the others."
This was why Jekyeong had left the scene without delay after finishing his hunt. He felt some regret, but it couldn't be helped. It was rare to find a Great Demon that occupied an entire territory to itself, or even one that dominated a vast area alone. At least, that was according to the information Jang Yeong had provided.
"Belch!"
After eating and eating for a long time, Bigu finally let out a long burp and sprawled out on his back. His body, which had already been excessively plump, was now bloated like a balloon. If one gave him a gentle nudge, he looked ready to roll away like a ball.
"Take the leftovers. Do as you wish with them—keep them for yourselves or distribute them to the others."
"Understood, Lord Dragon."
Hyeongu swept the remaining meat into his storage bag and walked over to Bigu.
"Get up this instant!"
"But Father, I can't move."
One only had to look at Hyeongu to understand what it meant to spit fire with one's eyes. His face was flushed red with embarrassment, and veins bulged as if embodying his rage. Glancing nervously at Jekyeong while repeatedly urging his son, Hyeongu finally lost his patience and kicked Bigu hard. It was a picture-perfect kick, hard to believe it had originated from such short legs.
As the ruling power of the Yao factions in Yangseo Lake, the Whale King Palace commanded authority and dignity recognized by all intelligent beasts. It had to be so. In the cultivation world, cultivation was the foundation and everything, and the Jansu Whale King was the sole Demon King of Yangseo Lake. Therefore, whether they liked it or not, the beasts of Yangseo Lake bowed before the Whale King Palace—even if they raised their heads and ran wild the moment his gaze drifted away.
"A Flood Dragon? A Black Jiao?"
A colossal figure stirred in the pitch-black depths of the water.
"Ah, I remember now. That fellow Makgye once mentioned a Flood Dragon with thin bloodline."
"It must be him."
Jang Yeong remained tense, wary of the massive tentacles—each larger than an ordinary human ship—thrashing irregularly around him, lest one should strike him. His father was an indifferent being, utterly lacking in self-awareness. He did not realize, nor did he care to know, that a casual gesture of his could be a natural disaster to others.
"And? Why are you bringing him up?"
"I have agreed to hunt with him."
"Hunting?"
"We plan to target the nearby rogue cultivators. We intend to handle it as quietly as possible, but... just in case."
"So you want me to watch your back?"
"It is not a difficult task, is it? And... it is merely a precaution."
At that moment, a wave of dizziness washed over him, as if space itself were warping. When Jang Yeong regained his senses and raised his head, he realized a colossal eye, large enough to swallow him whole, was staring at him from right in front of his face. Though he had experienced this multiple times, an instinctive, chilling dread washed over him—one he could never grow accustomed to.
"Insolent brat. You still think too much. But do you know? If you weren't my son, I would have sucked you dry to the marrow by now."
"I know."
"Hmph! Begone."
A violent current surged. Swept away like a fish caught in a wave, Jang Yeong was tossed around mindlessly until he found himself outside the Whale King Palace.
He has grown stronger.
Jang Yeong was certain his father's strength had deepened since their last meeting. Although his own cultivation was far too low to peer into the power of a Great Demon who had half a foot in the Yao King realm, the resonance through their bloodline revealed a great deal. His father had definitely grown stronger. It felt as though he could ascend to the Yao King realm this very moment without any issue. Yet, despite being able to, he did not. It even felt as if he were deliberately suppressing his breakthrough.
Me, thinking too much?
It was laughable. Who was saying that to whom? Jang Yeong wanted to scoff, but the memory of that giant eye staring at him instantly chilled his heart.
The Whale King Palace... the Whale King...
Dread crept in as he recalled things he shouldn't have. By the time his hazy eyes regained their focus, his complexion had turned dark.
Jekyeong expanded his Fleshy-Scaled Fish schools even further and began increasing his trade volume in earnest. He knew this might drive down the unit price, but he had no choice. The Fleshy-Scaled Fish, highly beneficial for nourishing qi and blood, had almost no effect on him. Wondering if it was a matter of quantity, he had once swallowed hundreds of them at once, but the effect remained negligible. It was far better to exchange them for spirit stones.
"Your business acumen is truly astonishing, Fellow Daoist."
When the trade volume suddenly increased by half, a startled Gwak Jeong-sin paid him a visit, showering him with praise. Though delivered in a serious tone, it was nothing short of flattery.
"There is no need to be so surprised. The Beast Race has its own advantages."
"Indeed, that is very true."
Increasing the trade of Fleshy-Scaled Fish was only the beginning. Jekyeong tenaciously devoted himself to earning spirit stones, and his business grew steadily. Consequently, the amount of spirit stones he consumed daily also rapidly increased. His efforts did not betray him.
Thump!
Sensing a powerful resonance deep within, Jekyeong wore a satisfied smile.
Jekyeong named the cultivation stages of his body tempering—specifically, the bottlenecks in his progress—the Flesh Gate. While human Body Cultivators might have their own distinct realm classifications, Jekyeong's cultivation was different from theirs. Since he had passed the first Flesh Gate, could his progress be equated to the mid-stage of Qi Condensation? Absolutely not. Judging solely by the increase in his strength, Jekyeong estimated that his body-tempering cultivation was already superior to a human's mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
"Whew."
After completing another shedding, Jekyeong recalled the second Flesh Gate he had briefly sensed. Shedding was like a qualitative leap. It was a sudden jump, a sublimation of his very existence. In those moments of leaping, he could perceive things he normally wouldn't even know existed, if only for a fleeting second. As his perspective elevated during that brief ascent, he naturally saw more. A momentary experience, but it was enough. Cultivation was an endless walk in the dark; even a single speck of light was sufficient to illuminate the path. At the very least, it was enough to dispel the uncertainty and set a direction.
Empty again.
He tried to console himself, repeating that money—or rather, spirit stones—came and went, and that converting them into cultivation was always a net gain. Yet, looking at his storage bag, which was now completely deflated compared to its plump, prosperous days, he couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness.
The Fleshy-Scaled Fish will take at least four months, and Muksu's spiritual fruits... that will take another month.
Two years had already passed since Muksu evolved into a Great Demon. Thanks to the constant supply of expensive food, the beast began producing spiritual fruits again much faster than Jekyeong had feared. He had worried that the fruits' properties might shift into something less profitable, but that turned out to be groundless. According to Gwak Jeong-sin's tests, the new spiritual fruits purified a cultivator's spiritual nature and partially strengthened their mind, making them highly effective for expanding and tempering one's divine sense.
Spiritual items of this kind were inherently rare, and those that provided meaningful benefits to Foundation Establishment cultivators were rarer still. Consequently, the price had more than doubled compared to before. Even then, that was only the starting price; the actual selling price fluctuated depending on the auction's progress. To a merchant, a premium product was like a weapon. Armed with this new and powerful weapon, Gwak Jeong-sin did not spare his spirit stones. He demonstrated his sincerity with wealth, and a satisfied Jekyeong caught a Great Demon and tossed it to Muksu. This time, the meat was juicy and tender, with none of its blood drained. Thanks to this, Muksu didn't put on any airs and happily extended its roots into the prey.
"Got it? All you have to do is eat plenty and bear lots of fruit without a single worry. I guarantee you, no other beast in the world has it as easy as you do."
Jekyeong tossed four or five more water beasts to Muksu as he began his lecture. While it was an effort to minimize the creature's complaints about its food, it wasn't a lie. He truly believed no other beast cultivated as easily as Muksu. Sitting quietly in one spot, enjoying the warm sunlight and cool breeze without a care in the world, while food literally fell right in front of its face—where else could one find a beast with such a blessed life? To compete with this creature's luck, one would probably have to be born into some prestigious, silver-spoon beast lineage.
"Is Cheongo... still sleeping?"
Several long lines appeared on Muksu's trunk, and one of them began moving up and down. A clumsy, slow, yet clearly meaningful voice reached Jekyeong's ears.
Whether they were demon beasts, monsters, or any other race, reaching the Great Yao stage brought about a massive evolution as a living being. It was no exaggeration to say they became entirely different creatures. This was true for Muksu as well. Now, if it wished, it could live underwater, and as long as there was ambient spiritual energy in heaven and earth, it could survive until the end of its natural lifespan without consuming anything. Its signature weapon, the colorless and odorless poison mist, could now blanket the entirety of Black Jiao Island. It even claimed—though Jekyeong couldn't tell if it was a bluff—that it could maintain that state for several days. Compared to these grand evolutions, the ability to communicate directly through a voice might seem trivial, but Jekyeong preferred this small convenience. Thanks to it, he no longer had to frustratingly guess what the creature was trying to say.
"Yes."
"Sleeping... a lot."
Sleeping a lot? The situation had long passed the point where it could be described so mildly. If Jekyeong hadn't been certain that the bird's transformation was positive, he would have long since asked Gwak Jeong-sin to bring a veterinarian—or rather, a spiritual beast doctor. Cheongo now spent the vast majority of the day asleep. Nevertheless, Jekyeong concluded that its condition was fine because he noticed the sleeping bird was constantly drawing in and absorbing spiritual energy. The absorbed energy was gradually transforming Cheongo. The vitality felt in its steady breathing grew richer, and its physical body was also growing larger.
The only problem was that its weight was dropping rapidly in proportion to its growth, which was why Cheongo occasionally opened its eyes. For the past few months, it had become a habit for the bird to whine about being hungry the moment it opened its hazy eyes. Jekyeong had suddenly found himself acting as Cheongo's nanny, piling fresh water beast meat in front of it every day. Of course, he didn't hunt them himself; he ordered Hyeongu to do it, who in turn likely delegated the task to his subordinates. At any rate, fresh water beast meat was piled before Cheongo daily. The bird would briefly open its eyes, whine, fill its belly, and close its eyes again. Months passed by in this manner.
Meanwhile, Jekyeong consumed spirit stones without hesitation whenever he acquired them, dedicating his usual hours to accumulating monster power. Whenever Hyeongu requested it, he patrolled the waters to manage his territory. He also went hunting with Jang Yeong from time to time. Although they had already hunted more than five Great Demons, they unfortunately had yet to lay eyes on any Essence Blood. This was despite the fact that those five had been carefully selected from among those known for their sturdy bodies and physical strength. At this point, Jekyeong began to suspect that beasts below a certain cultivation level simply could not form Essence Blood, no matter how sturdy or strong they were. Jekyeong had been using himself as the standard, but he was no ordinary Great Demon or Great Yo-beast.