A Bountiful Harvest and Quiet Observation
Originally, Jekyeong had been reluctant to share the spoils with Myeong-ha, but his mind changed after benefiting greatly from Myeong-ha's assistance at Cheonghajin. Myeong-ha's performance at Cheonghajin alone was more than enough to earn him a share. Of course, even though they were dividing the spoils, it was by no means an equal split. Myeong-ha did not dare to make such a demand. His attitude had grown considerably tamer after witnessing how Jekyeong utterly demolished Wonbojin. Perhaps that was why, when Jekyeong claimed a seventy percent share for himself, Myeong-ha accepted it without a single word of protest.
"Because we had our fun, the Court of Demons is going to have a rough time."
Originally, the four outposts, including Taesojin, had served as forward bases established by the Human Race in the south. Since Jekyeong had crushed those protruding corners, the Court of Demons would now have to strike much deeper to attack the humans. Pushing that deep would certainly present many opportunities for battle, but it would naturally carry far greater risks.
'None of my business.' Unlike Myeong-ha, who showed quite an interest, Jekyeong remained indifferent. Whether it was the Beast Race or the Human Race, the Court of Demons or Gyeongwang Palace, he no longer cared to concern himself with any of it. His plan now was to hole up on Heukgyodo and watch the situation unfold as quietly as a corpse. The war between the Beast Race and the Human Race had only just begun, but his own war was already over.
Although his collaboration with Choi Ju-tang had yielded a bountiful harvest, Jekyeong needed time to truly digest these gains. While Spirit Stones were a universal currency that could be spent anywhere at any time, things like elixirs, talismans, and spiritual tools had to be gradually liquidated into Spirit Stones through trade with the Human Race. Jekyeong briefly considered distributing them to the humans under his command, but ultimately decided against it. The reason was simple: he had already been generous enough; there was no need to be any more benevolent.
"Here." As soon as Jekyeong returned to Heukgyodo, he presented Muk-su with a gift. These were the corpses of human cultivators he had pocketed whenever the opportunity arose during the raids, all of whom had been at the late Qi Condensation stage.
"Mm. Not bad." Muk-su extended several roots, absorbing the corpses. The bodies, which had been kept relatively intact, withered into mummies in an instant, and Muk-su's already sleek body took on an even richer luster. To an uninformed observer, it would look less like a tree and more like an exquisitely crafted wooden sculpture.
"I have a good feeling. The fruit this time will taste even better." Saying it would "taste better" was Muk-su's unique, metaphorical way of expressing that the quality of the Spiritual Fruit would be superior.
"Good to hear. It would be even better if that taste could be maintained consistently."
"Yeah. If the food keeps coming, I think the taste will stay the same."
"...Right." Letting out a sigh, Jekyeong turned around. Then, he suddenly realized that the Spiritual Energy here was denser than at the Black Cult Palace. It wasn't a massive difference, but it was definitely noticeable.
'Come to think of it... it was like this before, too.' He had certainly felt that the Spiritual Energy here was thick in the past. At the time, he had brushed it off as a mere coincidence, but now, it seemed it was no coincidence at all.
Having discovered this new ability of Muk-su's, Jekyeong pondered how he might utilize it. While the ability to generate Spiritual Energy was impressive, it wasn't exceedingly rare. The Spiritual Soil Jekyeong had harvested from the depths of Yangseo Lake in the past possessed a similar effect. The only difference was that while the Spiritual Soil produced earth-attribute Qi, what Muk-su generated was pure, unbiased Spiritual Energy.
Looked at this way, Muk-su's ability seemed superior to the effects of the Spiritual Soil. Unfortunately, the amount of Spiritual Energy Muk-su generated was far too minuscule. It was nowhere near enough to aid in cultivation, though it might be of some help in cultivating spiritual plants...
'The problem is whether that fellow would even leave them alone.' Muk-su wasn't particularly greedy. However, even if Muk-su didn't intend it, any area where he took root naturally lost its vitality over time, so it was highly unlikely that even spiritual plants could survive there.
Jekyeong considered various possibilities, but he couldn't think of a way to utilize Muk-su's ability immediately. Still, seeing that the concentration of Spiritual Energy had increased compared to before, it seemed this ability had potential for growth. He resolved to keep a close eye on it.
Inside the Black Cult Palace. The mountain of Spirit Stones, which had already boasted a majestic presence, had now grown even more magnificent. To use a comparison, it was as if a local hill had been transformed into a grand, celebrated mountain. This newly reborn mountain of Spirit Stones was incomparably more splendid than Cheongo's tacky nest.
"Splendid? What's so splendid about it?" Cheongo scoffed, utterly unimpressed. The bird thought Jekyeong's mountain was quite an eyesore. It was large and shiny, but that was all. A pile of Spirit Stones heaped together haphazardly possessed absolutely no aesthetic value. On the other hand, while its own nest might be small, the beauty contained within it was incomparably superior to a mountain of Spirit Stones of that size.
"Just because it shines doesn't make it good! Pretty is what's good!" But Jekyeong didn't care in the slightest about whatever Cheongo babbled. He simply assumed Cheongo was jealous. That foolish crow knew nothing. The mountain itself wasn't what was important. It was the Spirit Stones piled up like a mountain that truly mattered.
Crunch! Jekyeong took a massive bite out of the mountain of Spirit Stones. Previously, taking such a large bite would leave a noticeable dent in the pile, but now, there was no sign of shrinkage at all. The mountain remained majestic, and the light of the Spirit Stones shone brilliantly.
'Myeong-ha is quick-witted, at least.' Jekyeong had poured all the Spirit Stones he acquired this time into his mountain. However, if he had given thirty percent of the Spirit Stones to Myeong-ha, the mountain's grandeur would not be what it was now. Fortunately, Myeong-ha had been quick to read the room. He had agreed to take a bit more of the elixirs and spiritual tools instead, leaving all the Spirit Stones to Jekyeong. Thanks to that, the mountain of Spirit Stones could reach its current magnificent scale.
'He is capable and quick-witted, making him the perfect business partner. If only he weren't a Qi-destined Child.' His status as a Qi-destined Child canceled out all his other merits. A being who brought disaster to others even if he didn't wish to—who would want to associate with such a walking harbinger of calamity? The fact that Myeong-ha had drifted into Yangseo Lake in the first place was undoubtedly related to the hardships he had suffered due to being a Qi-destined Child.
'I just need to keep my guard up. As long as I don't get swept up in his wake, it will be fine.' Having already tasted bitterness once, Jekyeong intended to avoid getting involved with Myeong-ha as much as possible, aside from their business on Haeyeon Island. This time had been an exception. He had judged that the benefits Myeong-ha's power could bring outweighed the unexpected risks of associating with him, which was why they had moved together.
But that was over now. He had no intention of interfering in the war between the Beast Race and the Human Race any further, and since he had fully repaid his debt of gratitude to Choi Ju-tang this time, he had nothing holding him back. From now on, Jekyeong planned to quietly observe the situation from afar, taking care to ensure no stray sparks flew his way.
'I really hate this feeling.' When he thought of the Heumwon Clan and the Gakchung Clan—those two colossal whales—and reminded himself of his own position, shivering as far away from them as possible, a sense of sorrow naturally welled up. They said that when whales fight, the shrimp's back gets crushed. But that saying was wrong. Even if the whales didn't fight, the shrimp's back would still get crushed. Just a single flick of their massive bodies, or a thoughtless splash of water, was enough to make a shrimp cross the threshold of death. Such was the sorrow of being small and weak.
Jekyeong had gradually forgotten that feeling after becoming a Great Yo-beast and being called the Black Flood Dragon. Yet, in front of these true 'whales,' he felt as though he had been dragged back to those days when he was small and insignificant. A time when he could do nothing but pray that he would not catch their eye.
Crunch! Jekyeong mindlessly took another bite of the mountain of Spirit Stones. Having barely finished digesting the stones he had swallowed moments ago, his spiritual body was once again thoroughly drenched in a vast amount of Spiritual Energy. Under normal circumstances, he would have avoided such binge-eating out of concern for spiritual indigestion, but not today. Although he knew that mindlessly stuffing himself with Spirit Stones wasn't a solution, he needed to soothe his frustrated mind in any way he could.
Whoosh! The moment Jekyeong's emotions stirred, his Origin Earth Fire—the literal manifestation of the word 'flame'—appeared before his eyes. That brilliant yet intense fire drew in the fear, anger, and impatience within his heart, gradually burning them away.
Jekyeong holed himself up inside the Black Cult Palace and did not budge. However, that did not mean he had closed his eyes and ears to the world. He gathered information whenever he could—from the Great Yo-beasts at the exchange meets, and from Choi Ju-tang in Bul-mang-won. The information obtained this way was extremely limited, and some of it might even be far from the truth, but it was still better than nothing. At the very least, it allowed him to deduce the general flow of events.
'The war is still in a stalemate.' The Beast Race attacked, and the Human Race defended. Choi Ju-tang mentioned that the atmosphere on the human side was steadily deteriorating, but he didn't say they had suffered any major defeats either. Jekyeong surmised that both sides were engaged in a war of attrition. They might be testing each other's strength, or perhaps the Human Race was using this opportunity to cull their bloated numbers. Although their ranks had thinned significantly during the previous war, the number of cultivators who had fled from Jimagwon was still substantial, and it had even been steadily increasing until recently.
'Either way is fine. Whether it's the Beast Race or the Human Race, the more of them that die, the longer things will remain quiet.' If the true protagonists of this war were indeed the Heumwon Clan and the Gakchung Clan, then no matter how the war ended, the victor would not truly be a victor, and the loser would not truly be a loser. Therefore, once the war concluded, the cultivation world of Yangseo Lake would fall silent for a long time. The more blood they spilled of each other, the longer that silence would last.
"Lord Dragon, the item has arrived."
"Very well." Jekyeong's eyes gleamed as he looked at the storage ring Hyeongu had brought. Inside the plain storage ring was nothing but a single small jade bottle. However, the moment he saw that jade bottle—or more precisely, the moment he caught the faint scent of blood wafting from it—Jekyeong felt the blood in his own body run hot.
'Essence Blood.' Inside that small jade bottle was the Essence Blood of an unnamed Great Yo-beast. Jekyeong had paid an exorbitant price to acquire it when it appeared at the auction on Haeyeon Island.
"I will enter secluded cultivation for at least a month. Handle any matters that arise on your own, and if it is something you cannot resolve, inform me through Cheongo."
"Understood." Once Hyeongu withdrew and the gates of the Black Cult Palace closed, Jekyeong began to refine the Essence Blood contained in the jade bottle. Since this was not his first time refining Essence Blood, and because his spiritual body had grown much stronger than before, refining another drop this time was far smoother than his previous attempts.
Thump! The beating of his heart resounded as loud as thunder. A pulsating energy of life wrapped around his entire body, starting from his heart. The flow was as majestic and unstoppable as a flooding river.
'The third drop.' The single drop Jekyeong had condensed himself, the drop he had refined previously, and now, yet another drop. In terms of quantity, it was a fifty percent increase, but the change was not quite as dramatic. It could not compare to when Jekyeong had first condensed his own Essence Blood, and it was somewhat underwhelming compared to when he had refined Essence Blood for the first time. Even so, Jekyeong could feel his physical body taking another qualitative leap forward. His bones hardened, his muscles grew stronger, and his flesh became tougher.
Crack! Crackle! Having finished refining the Essence Blood, Jekyeong stretched his body, which had been frozen like a stone statue for over ten days. As he mindlessly straightened himself, he realized the ceiling was far too close and hastily hunched back down.
'It's gotten cramped again.'