The Spreading Embers
His fist buried itself into Han Cheongyu's abdomen in an instant. Jekyeong grabbed the scruff of the limp man's neck and withdrew his true qi. Still uneasy, he thoroughly erased even the faintest traces of their presence before finally leaving the area.
"This is..." Around the time Jekyeong was hastily fleeing with the unconscious Han Cheongyu, several powerful figures in Jimagwon sensed a subtle yet colossal anomaly. What on earth is happening? The anomaly was invisible to the naked eye. It was a shift in heaven and earth, a corruption of the spiritual energy itself.
"All disciples, cease your cultivation immediately!" The thunderous commands of patriarchs echoed across the various great sects and clans of Jimagwon. Those who hadn't been cultivating, or those who stopped upon hearing the voice, merely blinked in confusion. But those who failed to hear the warning and continued their cultivation met with disaster. Yes, it was a disaster.
"Argh... Ugh!" Cultivators who had been sitting in tranquil meditation just moments ago, seemingly at one with the world, came rushing outside. Their bloodshot eyes held not a single shred of sanity.
"Seo-ho? What is wrong?" A cultivator approached him in panic. He was the uncle of the cultivator who had rushed out of the chamber, and their relationship was as close as father and son.
Slash! But when he approached out of worry for his nephew, what greeted him was a chilling gaze that looked at him as if he were mere prey, followed by a sharp flash of sword light that grazed his throat.
"Gurgle..." Clutching his throat, which was more than half severed, the cultivator stared at his nephew in utter disbelief. But the young man had already turned his head toward another prey.
"Seo-ho! What are you doing?!""He's lost his mind! Subdue him first!" The cultivators of the Seo Clan rushed forward, finally grasping the situation, but soon, individuals similar to 'Seo-ho' began appearing all over the Seo Clan's estate. Every single one of them had blood-red eyes, completely consumed by madness and murderous intent.
Such incidents erupted simultaneously all across Jimagwon. The disaster did not discriminate by status. Sect cultivators, clan cultivators, and rogue cultivators alike—anyone who had been routinely cultivating was swept up in madness, self-harming and attacking others. Some managed to retain a sliver of reason, while others lost their minds entirely.
"This is demonic corruption! A demonic aura has infested the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!" Cultivators in the Qi Condensation stage were swept away by the madness without any resistance, but Foundation Establishment cultivators were relatively less affected. Those who hadn't been circulating their qi were completely fine, and even those who had stopped mid-cultivation only looked slightly pale, retaining their sanity.
"How could this be? Has the Demon Race invaded?" "We must investigate that. But that can wait; our disciples come first. There is no saving those who have completely succumbed to the demonic path, but we can still rescue those who haven't!"
"Bring out all the Mind-Protecting Pills and Clear-Mind Elixirs from the medicine storehouse! Summon the alchemists!""All cultivation is forbidden for the time being! Spread the word to every disciple!"
While the humans of Jimagwon were thrown into utter chaos, Jekyeong, the catalyst of this entire catastrophe, was moving with Han Cheongyu, holding his breath. He deliberately avoided human cities, castles, and even small villages, yet he still crossed paths with human cultivators from time to time.
However, none of them were in their right minds. The way they charged ferociously without regard for their own safety made them look more like demonic beasts than actual beasts. Jekyeong knocked them all out with a single punch, retrieving their storage bags as a side benefit.
It was an unexpected windfall that practically delivered itself to him, but Jekyeong felt no joy. The possessions inside the storage bags of mere Qi Condensation cultivators were trivial anyway, and with his worst fears turning into reality, he couldn't bring himself to smile.
To think the influence of the Outer Demons has already spread this far. Even without actively circulating his qi, he could feel the malevolent energy permeating the spiritual energy. This ominous aura was growing denser by the minute. When Jekyeong briefly circulated his qi as a test, he immediately felt its effects.
This malevolent energy burrows into a cultivator's mind. As long as one absorbs spiritual energy, there is no way to block it. Jekyeong likened this energy to a poison. It was fatal to low-level cultivators who lacked resistance, but its impact on those at the Foundation Establishment stage and above was limited.
But that was only for now. If the seal hadn't completely collapsed yet, this poison would only grow stronger over time, and eventually, even Foundation Establishment cultivators might find themselves in danger.
Though for now, it's still negligible. The hot spiritual energy pouring in through his Thought-Burning Cultivation contained a significant amount of malevolent energy. However, it had little effect on him, which was related to his nature. Jekyeong was of the beast race, and his innate ferocity was not something a trivial malevolent energy could easily provoke.
Looking at it this way, does the beast race suffer relatively less from the influence of these Outer Demons? It wasn't certain, but it seemed highly likely. Black paper does not fear ink, but a single speck can ruin a white sheet.
By the way... I feel surprisingly indifferent. The seal he had broken had brought disaster upon the entirety of Jimagwon. There was no telling how many humans would lose their minds, killing and being killed. Jekyeong could envision it all, yet his heart remained completely untroubled.
He was so calm that he surprised himself. He had expected some sort of reaction, even if it wasn't outright guilt, but there was absolutely nothing. Even watching a fire across the river wouldn't feel this detached.
Have I changed, or... Jekyeong took a swig of spirit wine and stared blankly up at the sky. The sky always seemed the same, yet in truth, it was different every single moment. The only reason it felt unchanged was because the observer's mind remained the same.
"Ugh..." Knocking out the groaning, twitching Han Cheongyu with another punch, Jekyeong drained the rest of his spirit wine in one gulp. Of course, his legs never stopped moving. For the past few days, his feet had not rested once, except for the brief moments he clashed with the maddened human cultivators.
"Ugh!" Han Cheongyu woke up, his entire body wracked with pain. It was a natural reaction. He had been knocked unconscious so many times that even Jekyeong, who had delivered the blows, had lost count. No matter how carefully Jekyeong had controlled his strength, repeatedly forcing someone into unconsciousness for such a long period was bound to take a toll on the body.
"How is your body?"
"I-I do not... cough!" Barely pushing himself up, Han Cheongyu spat out a mouthful of dark, clotted blood.
"Do not circulate your cultivation technique. We have crossed the border, but just in case."
Han Cheongyu had no idea why, but as always, he nodded obediently.
"My Lord. Where are we..."
"The Chillyeong River."
The Chillyeong River was a massive waterway that marked the northeastern border of Jimagwon. Jekyeong and Han Cheongyu had previously crossed this very river to enter Jimagwon.
"Are we heading back?"
"Yes."
From Han Cheongyu's perspective, this trip to Jimagwon had been nothing but suffering. He had blindly followed Jekyeong without knowing why, only to be caught in the influence of the Outer Demons, and subsequently knocked out repeatedly, carried around like a piece of luggage.
"You have worked hard." Seeing Han Cheongyu, whose body and mind were reduced to tatters, Jekyeong couldn't help but offer a few words of comfort.
"I only apologize for being a burden."
"It is not your fault. The plan went awry due to an unexpected accident."
While Han Cheongyu took some healing pills to recover, Jekyeong finally checked the harvest of this journey. He had been constantly putting it off due to a lack of leeway, despite his burning curiosity, but now that he could catch his breath, it was time to open his treasured chest.
"..." Jekyeong closed his eyes and focused on his spiritual soul. In the void of his vigorously burning spiritual soul, a tiny spark floated in isolation, unable to merge with the rest.
If his spiritual soul's flame was an elephant, this tiny spark was an ant—no, something even smaller. Yet, despite its insignificance in size, its essence was far superior to the spiritual flames Jekyeong had refined through consuming countless spiritual herbs and diligently practicing his cultivation techniques.
The difference was greater than that between a Qi Condensation cultivator and a Foundation Establishment cultivator, or a demon beast and a Great Demon. It was, quite literally, a difference in dimension.
Jekyeong carefully guided the tiny but intense spark toward his spiritual soul. The process was not easy. Guiding the spark was difficult, and keeping his impatience at bay was equally challenging.
How long did this sluggish tug-of-war continue? Eventually, the spark touched his spiritual soul and was enveloped by its surging flames. But that was all. It neither mixed nor dissolved.
This is enough for now. Let's not rush. This was not an effort to force himself to be patient. Jekyeong was genuinely satisfied. He could feel that his spiritual soul had begun to fundamentally transform just from the brief contact with the spark of the Sacred Fire.
"Whew." Jekyeong opened his eyes. As his casually exhaled breath brushed against the Chillyeong River, the gently flowing water began to boil furiously, sending up a thick shroud of mist.
"Let's go." Jekyeong stood up and began to walk. Han Cheongyu, his complexion looking much better, followed closely behind.
The Spreading Embers
Once they crossed the border of Jimagwon, the return journey was swift. They traveled by a normal boat through the Human Territory until they reached the beast territory. Once there, Jekyeong transformed into his true form, carrying Han Cheongyu in his mouth.
It was similar to when he had carried Hyeongu in his mouth, but since Han Cheongyu could not breathe underwater, he had to keep his head above water for most of the journey. It was troublesome for Jekyeong, and it was certainly not a comfortable experience for Han Cheongyu either.
Whenever Jekyeong had to dive deep to avoid drawing attention, Han Cheongyu had no choice but to hold his breath until he was on the verge of passing out. Even without that, staying inside the mouth of a Great Demon for days was a form of torture in itself. If Hyeongu, a turtle demon, had found it difficult, it was needless to say how grueling it was for a human like Han Cheongyu.
In any case, thanks to enduring such an unpleasant journey, they arrived at the Heukgyo water region much faster than originally anticipated. Han Cheongyu immediately shut himself in his humble home to recuperate, while Jekyeong headed to the Black Cult Palace to hear updates from Cheongo, who had been guarding Heukgyodo in his absence.
"Nothing out of the ordinary happened?"
"Nope. But Octopus Legs came by."
'Octopus Legs' referred to Jang Yeong. Even though Cheongo knew his actual name, the bird insisted on calling him Octopus Legs, claiming it rolled off the tongue better.
"And?"
"I told him you were sleeping. So he just went back!"
Jekyeong smacked his lips, speechless. If Cheongo was going to make up an excuse, couldn't it have been something slightly more plausible? At least it was a relief that Jang Yeong had left without making a fuss.
In any case, it had been a short trip, and Jekyeong had made sure to show his face before leaving, so he had assumed everything would be fine. What could have made Jang Yeong so impatient that he came looking for him in person? He was curious, but decided to wait. If Jang Yeong had gone as far as visiting Heukgyodo, it was certainly no ordinary matter—most likely, it was related to Gyeongwang Palace. If that was the case, the octopus would surely come rushing back on his own out of sheer urgency, so there was no need for Jekyeong to seek him out first.