A Poisonous Shortcut

However, even the fearsome reputation of the Fire Demons paled in comparison to Jekyeong. Whether it was their reckless, unbridled fury or the flames they spewed by burning their very life force, none of it mattered to him.

‘They might be called demons, but in reality, they're nothing more than brainless beasts.’

If they lunged at him with suicidal intent, he gladly crushed them head-on. The fires they kindled by burning their lives could not even hold a candle to his Origin Earth Fire. Whether they were in the Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment realm, the Fire Demons posed no real threat to him. Consequently, Jekyeong found the current Jimagwon, overrun as it was by Fire Demons, to be far more comfortable than before. Thanks to the Fire Demons suppressing the activities of the human race, he could continue his hunting with much greater ease.

‘What a pity.’

If he had it his way, he would have hunted down every single sect and clan on U-jam's list. However, Jekyeong fought down his greedy impulses. He could not afford to be careless. If a tail is too long, it eventually gets stepped on. He had already run rampant for half a year; no matter how quietly he had disposed of his targets, rumors were bound to start spreading soon.

‘It's time to return.’

From the last sect he hunted, Jekyeong captured a relatively young Foundation Establishment cultivator alive. As per U-jam's request, he left the man's limbs completely intact and refrained from inflicting any severe wounds. Because of this, subduing him had been a bit of a hassle, but since it was a promise, he had done his best.

“Excellent. Excellent!”

U-jam was highly satisfied. He immediately changed into his new 'clothes.' Having acquired the body of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he appeared far more stable than before. No Ghost Qi leaked from him, nor did his eyes turn abnormally black. At least on the surface, he looked so natural that he was indistinguishable from an ordinary human.

“Your work is finished, and I have received what I wanted. With this, our transaction is complete.”

“Are you not returning?” Jekyeong asked.

U-jam smirked.

“I will, eventually. But not just yet. It would be a waste not to make use of such a fine body now that I finally have one.”

U-jam's confidence was not without merit.

“Just as you said, the killing intent in this place doesn't affect us much. It's a perfect environment for us to operate in. Didn't you set up your stage here precisely because you knew that?”

U-jam licked his lips, savoring the thought.

“Like I said, now that I've got a good body, I might as well have some fun. I think I'll set up a grand stage of my own.”

“Very well. Then this is goodbye.”

“Yeah. See you around.”

With that, Jekyeong parted ways with U-jam.

Though U-jam had departed, Ju-hyeong had joined him, meaning there were two on the way here and still two on the way back.

“So that is Yangseo Lake...”

Upon leaving Jimagwon and seeing the waters of Yangseo Lake for the first time, Ju-hyeong stood dazed, staring at the vast horizon as if possessed. It was a common reaction for those who had spent their entire lives in Jimagwon when they first laid eyes on Yangseo Lake.

“We still have a long way to go.”

Jekyeong brought Ju-hyeong along as he returned to the Heukgyo Water Territory. Perhaps because the war was still ongoing, the journey back was entirely uneventful. If there was any incident to speak of, it was merely that Ju-hyeong had fainted on the spot the moment he saw Jekyeong's true form.

‘What a weak-hearted fellow.’

Jekyeong clicked his tongue at the unconscious Ju-hyeong, but in truth, it wasn't entirely Ju-hyeong's fault. Jekyeong's true form was far too overwhelming a stimulus for most ordinary cultivators. Moreover, Ju-hyeong had been suddenly confronted with a Great Yao larger than a ship without any time to prepare himself mentally, so it was only natural that he had fainted.

“Let's go.”

Jekyeong traveled at maximum speed. Consequently, Ju-hyeong suffered from constant exhaustion and occasionally blacked out, but he did not utter a single complaint. His survival instincts, which had grown somewhat lax while they traveled together in Jimagwon, had flared back to life after witnessing Jekyeong's true form.

‘I must endure.’

The best way to avoid being abandoned was to increase one's own value. If that was impossible, one should at least avoid diminishing it.

‘I will not die. I absolutely will not die.’

Amidst the relentless, violent shaking, the pungent stench, and the terrifying demonic energy that froze both body and soul, Ju-hyeong made countless vows to himself, desperately clinging to his consciousness.

“We have arrived.”

As soon as Jekyeong arrived at Heukgyodo, he spat out Ju-hyeong, whom he had been carrying in his mouth. Ju-hyeong, limp as a corpse, sprawled on the ground and could not raise himself for quite some time.

“He is a new recruit. Train him yourself, without any special treatment.”

“Understood, Dragon Lord.”

Hyeongu observed Ju-hyeong, who was still feebly wriggling, with curious eyes. Is this a human or a bug? He looks like a human, but his behavior is the spitting image of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠caterpillar...

“Is there anything of note that occurred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while I was away?”

“Aside from the esteemed members of the Exchange Association growing anxious over your absence, Dragon Lord, nothing of particular note has occurred.”

“I see.”

He had expected the Great Yao of the Exchange Association to be anxious from the very beginning. Still, it was a relief that none of them had lost patience and deserted in the meantime.

“Inform them that I will attend the next gathering.”

“Yes, Dragon Lord.”

“How is the war progressing?”

“There has been no significant change since your departure, Dragon Lord. The only major event was two months ago, when the Jansu Whale King completely submerged an entire human city. I heard that even though there were three human Golden Core cultivators present, they were unable to stop the Jansu Whale King's divine ability.”

Submerging an entire city despite the presence of three Golden Core cultivators? Jekyeong once again felt the awe-inspiring majesty of the Yao King who had ruled the Yangseo Lake demon territory for ages.

‘A divine ability...’

Jekyeong had also heard of the Jansu Whale King's divine ability before. Was it the power to summon colossal tidal waves? While raising waves was something most Great Yao in Yangseo Lake could do, the Jansu Whale King's divine ability was said to be incomparably more powerful.

This incident alone proved it. If three Golden Core cultivators could not stop it, just how devastating was its power?

‘He is certainly strong. Even among Yao Kings, there must be tiers.’

Compared to the Jansu Whale King, who had established yet another glorious feat, the Simjeon Demon King seemed severely lacking. Although one had to consider that he had only recently ascended to the Yao King realm, the gap was still far too vast.

‘It's just a single minor realm, but the difference of that one step seems even greater than it was in the Great Yao realm.’

Jekyeong brushed the thoughts aside. What was the point of him pondering such things when he had not even reached the late stage of the Great Yao realm, let alone the Yao King realm?

Jekyeong meticulously examined the pill recipes he had acquired from Jimagwon one by one. Among the recipes he had obtained, quite a few possessed strange and extraordinary effects, but one recipe in particular caught his eye.

‘Chugeundan...’

It was an elixir so extreme that it was hard to imagine anything more drastic. No sane cultivator would ever spare such a pill a second glance. Only those whose lifespans were nearing their end or who had entirely lost hope of breaking through would ever consider it, but even then, such individuals lacked the latent potential to trigger its effects properly. Thus, this Chugeundan was, in many ways, a useless white elephant.

However, Jekyeong felt a strong interest in this pill. There were more than a few under his command who had a use for such an elixir. Even for the most ruthless cultivators, accepting a poison as extreme as Chugeundan was no easy feat. The more determined a cultivator's heart, the stronger their obsession with the path of immortality. Only when driven into an absolute dead end with no other options left would they finally begin to consider such a choice.

‘It is truly perfect.’

The moment Jekyeong saw the recipe for Chugeundan, he immediately thought of the Spirit Artisans under his command. Those who practiced auxiliary cultivation arts like blacksmithing and refining inevitably progressed slowly in their cultivation. No matter how many pills they were fed or how excellent the cultivation methods they practiced, there was a limit. Currently, most of the Spirit Artisans under him had their cultivation stalled at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation. Could they ever reach the late stage of Qi Condensation? Jekyeong was pessimistic. Perhaps it was possible, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but even if it were, it would likely take decades. Of course, to a Great Yao like him, several decades was not a particularly long time, but if there was a shortcut, there was no need to take the slow route. In his eyes, this Chugeundan was that very shortcut. Though the Chugeundan would sever their path to immortality, the threshold of Foundation Establishment was already so high that ordinary cultivators could not even dare to look up at it anyway.

‘With Chugeundan, I can mass-produce late-stage Qi Condensation Spirit Artisans. If that happens, the forging of my scales can be accomplished much faster.’

After weighing the options from various angles, Jekyeong completely made up his mind to refine Chugeundan. No matter how much he thought about it, there was no reason not to do it.

‘The problem is the ingredients.’

Almost all the ingredients required to refine Chugeundan could only be found in Jimagwon. In the past, he could have easily procured them through human merchants, but now it was difficult. With Jimagwon suffering from the demonic disaster and Yangseo Lake plagued by war, it was safe to say that all the mediocre merchant groups had vanished. Only a few large-scale chambers of commerce with deep foundations managed to continue trading, and even their frequency and volume had drastically decreased. The herbs needed to refine Chugeundan were not of high value, but because they were rarely used, even specialized herb merchants seldom carried them. Therefore, to obtain these materials, one had to place a custom order or personally seek out their natural habitats to harvest them. Although some of the herbs he had obtained while hunting in Jimagwon were ingredients for Chugeundan, it was far from enough.

‘It can't be helped.’

Jekyeong decided to procure the ingredients for Chugeundan through merchants traveling between Yangseo Lake and Jimagwon, even if it meant paying a premium. He was willingly letting himself be ripped off, but he didn't feel it was a waste. What he was buying was not herbs, but time.

Jekyeong proceeded with the purchase of the herbs through Choi Ju-tang. Although Choi Ju-tang's status as a consecrated expert wasn't something he could proudly boast about everywhere, he was still undeniably an influential figure within the Yeongbu Chamber of Commerce, so procuring a few herbs was child's play for him.

Because he had to pay a premium for the materials and also provide Choi Ju-tang with a commission, the expenses were larger than expected. Furthermore, it took a considerable amount of time for the merchants to travel to Jimagwon and retrieve the ingredients, so it was only after a full four months had passed that Jekyeong finally laid hands on the goods.

“I am entering pill refinement. During this time, I will receive no visitors.”

“Understood.”

Refining Chugeundan was not difficult. It was not a pill with a high difficulty of refinement to begin with, and since Jekyeong's alchemy skills were well above the average of an ordinary alchemist, the success rate of his very first refinement exceeded forty percent.

‘Good.’

Jekyeong retrieved the completed pills, thoroughly cleaned the inside of the cauldron, and immediately rode the momentum to begin another round of refinement.

Whoosh!

The Origin Earth Fire, which had now become more familiar to him than his own limbs, heated the cauldron according to his will.

‘Is the fire still a bit weak? No, this is enough. I felt it was insufficient earlier as well, but in truth, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't. If I increase the heat any further, the herbs inside the cauldron won't be able to withstand it.’

Jekyeong carefully extended his Divine Sense to inspect the situation inside the cauldron. Thoroughly heated by the intensity of the Origin Earth Fire, the cauldron transferred heat stably, and the herbs inside were gradually melting and blending together.

‘That's it. This is more than enough.’

Confirming that the herbs were blending harmoniously, Jekyeong immediately withdrew his Divine Sense. Peering into the cauldron with Divine Sense was a delicate task that had to be done with extreme caution, depending on the circumstances.