Ominous Clouds over Heukgyodo
"Screeech!"
The moment the Fire Demon spotted Jekyeong, it bared its fangs and lunged. With its seven facial orifices melted shut and its body transformed in places into black, volcanic rock, it looked nothing like a normal living creature.
Jekyeong waited until the Fire Demon was close enough before reverting to his true form and snapping his jaws wide open. The creature's demonic flames might have been fatal to humans, but to Jekyeong, they were nothing more than a cute parlor trick. His massive body was far too resilient to be singed by such meager sparks. While the Yokai Fire he wielded might have been slightly inferior to demonic flames in terms of raw destructive power, the difference was negligible. And if compared to his Origin Earth Fire? It wasn't even worth mentioning.
Crunch!
He chewed the Fire Demon—which felt like a hard nut—a couple of times until it turned to mush, then swallowed it whole. The Fire Demon thrashed wildly, desperate to escape death, but its final struggle felt to Jekyeong like nothing more than swallowing a warm gulp of soup.
'Not bad.'
Once a cultivator fell and became a Demon Human, the very essence of their power and their cultivation system changed completely. The Fire Demon he had just swallowed was roughly equivalent to a human cultivator between the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment. It was too strong and mature to be called early-stage, yet fell quite short of the mid-stage. It was the perfect size for a light snack.
Rumble!
Jekyeong slithered away to find a suitable place to refine the Fire Demon's demonic qi. Moving in his massive true form, merely dragging his body across the flat earth carved deep ravines into the ground. But instead of water, these newly formed rivers ran with raging torrents of flame.
It took him five full days to complete the basic refinement, but Jekyeong's expression remained complicated, as did his feelings. If asked whether he was satisfied, he would say no. But if asked whether he was disappointed... that wasn't quite true either.
Over those five days, Jekyeong had utilized his superb digestive capabilities and his Origin Earth Fire to refine the demonic qi with all his might. He cleanly filtered out the sticky, corrupting demonic elements, gathered only the pure fire energy, and then extracted its absolute essence. The essence of fire energy he obtained in this manner smoothly integrated into his spirituality, slowly beginning to fill his 'vessel.' And by slowly, he meant in agonizingly minuscule increments.
'Demonic qi... this power is incredibly exclusive.'
He now understood why demonic cultivators were so heavily shunned. Their cruel methods were one thing, but the nature of this power itself played a massive role. He hadn't realized it when facing them as enemies, but now that he was trying to refine this energy himself, he truly grasped just how stubborn and toxic it was.
'It really is a mixed bag. It's certainly better than nothing, but...'
After contemplating for a long while, Jekyeong finally made up his mind.
'For now, I hunt. Rather than sitting idle and wasting time, it's better to keep moving, even if the gains are meager. Besides, there's no shortage of Fire Demons here.'
This would only be temporary. Once Myeong-ha's plan succeeded and threw Yangseo Lake into utter chaos, the major factions would have no room to worry about Jimagwon. When that happened, he could aim for much juicier prey. For the next month, his goal was simple: hunt as many Fire Demons as possible.
"Whew."
Reverting to his human form, Jekyeong patted the gourd at his waist. The desolate landscape of Jimagwon, baking under a murderous, scorching sun and filled with a sinister, violent aura, stretched out before him. Jekyeong, the Demon King of Muryangae—now acting as a lone hunter searching for prey—began his wanderings through Jimagwon.
Though he searched diligently all day and for several days after, Jekyeong did not spot a single human shadow. The humans had described Jimagwon as a barren wasteland, a land of death, and seeing it in person proved they were right. From a human perspective, Jimagwon had indeed become such a place.
Yet, looking past human standards, Jimagwon was actually teeming with its own strange vitality.
"Squeeeal!"
A beast with a long, serpentine body, the head of a wild boar, and ivory-like tusks spotted Jekyeong a moment too late. It scrambled frantically across the ground, fleeing so fast one might wonder if its belly was catching fire from the friction. Jekyeong effortlessly caught up to the panicked creature and examined it from head to toe as it froze under his gaze, stiff as a stone.
'I see.'
He had wondered if he was mistaken at first, but observing it this closely made it clear. This was no ordinary beast. Setting aside its bizarre appearance, he could sense a faint but stable trace of demonic qi circulating within its body.
'A demonic beast.'
Some might laugh at the idea of calling a tusked snake a demonic beast, but what else could one call a creature that possessed demonic qi?
'Even disorder has its own order.'
Now that the humans were gone, other things were gradually filling the void. These demonic beasts were one such example. Likely born under the influence of the world's murderous aura or the Fire Demons, they were slowly taking over the wilderness of Jimagwon. If decades or centuries passed like this, they might very well become the new masters of Jimagwon—at least, until the humans decided to swarm back in.
'The presence of a creature like this means there are no Fire Demons nearby.'
Fire Demons harbored hostility toward all living things, and would fight to the death even if they encountered their own kind. Thus, the fact that this demonic beast was wandering around so casually meant the immediate area was free of Fire Demons.
'It can't be helped.'
The demonic nature of the Fire Demons originated from the murderous intent of the Hwaryeong, and that intent was primarily directed at human cultivators. Consequently, they were instinctively drawn to humans. Jekyeong had been picking off isolated Fire Demons one by one, but that method had reached its limit. To hunt any more, he would have to venture closer to where the human sects and clans were stationed. Just as beasts gathered at the scent of blood, the remaining Fire Demons would naturally congregate around the regions occupied by human cultivators.
'This is enough.'
A significant amount of time had passed anyway, and he had already been thinking about heading back. Since he could leave without any lingering regrets, this was actually for the best.
Chomp!
Since becoming a Great Demon, Jekyeong had no reason to eat ordinary beast meat. He took a bite of the demonic beast out of curiosity to see if it tasted any different, but aside from the meat being slightly chewier, he couldn't tell any real difference. Then again, having recently devoured dozens of Fire Demons alive, it would have been more surprising if a weak demonic beast like this could offer him any culinary satisfaction.
'Time to head back.'
Finishing his brief meal, Jekyeong assumed his human form and washed down his palate with two sips of Spirit Wine. In the distance, he could sense the presence of other beasts prowling around. They were likely drawn by the scent of the demonic beast's blood.
'Not bad at all.'
As he always felt, Jimagwon was a remarkably pleasant place. Moreover, it seemed to improve with every visit. Without humans around, it was quiet, and he had nothing to worry about, which put his mind at ease. Even the murderous aura fused into the world's spiritual energy wasn't much of a problem as long as he kept his wits about him. While humans viewed Jimagwon as a forbidden land of death, to Jekyeong, it was practically a peaceful resort where he could relax without a care in the world. Though he wished he could stay a bit longer and enjoy the leisure, time, unfortunately, waited for no one. It was time to return.
His harvest from Jimagwon was far from meager. Jekyeong had hunted Fire Demons with absolute ferocity, repeatedly devouring them while putting off the refinement process. As a result, he suffered from indigestion for a while after returning to Heukgyodo, but it was no major issue. His vessel was robust enough that a little time would easily resolve this minor bout of dyspepsia.
"Grrr..."
As Jekyeong began the serious work of purifying the demonic qi and refining the fire energy, dark storm clouds rolled in, blanketing Heukgyodo and eventually the entire Heukgyo Water Territory. While these were fundamentally fire clouds, they were laced with a trace of demonic qi unlike before. These tainted fire clouds were far more ominous and sinister than usual, causing every living creature in the Heukgyo Water Territory to cower in sheer terror.
"I have no idea what's about to happen."
"It must be something related to the Dragon Lord."
"Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen."
The humans living in the Heukgyo Water Territory grew anxious as they watched the violently churning sky. They stood still, staring up at the heavens, shut themselves inside their homes, or even closed their eyes in prayer to soothe their uneasy minds.
"May the Dragon Lord protect us."
Even cultivators were human in the end. Cultivators with narrow horizons were no different from ordinary mortals. In fact, because they knew of the existence of transcendent, god-like beings, it was even easier for them to fall into faith. To them, a dragon that ruled the waters and controlled the weather was indistinguishable from a god. Furthermore, this god had previously liberated them from the oppression of their own kind, and had never exploited them since, instead bestowing favor upon them. Viewed in that light, it was not strange at all that they fashioned crude shrines of the dragon and bowed before them.
Meanwhile, Jekyeong had no idea what the humans were whispering about him, nor did he care. He was too busy endlessly purifying the bloated demonic qi and refining the fire energy, feeling his spirituality gradually expand and grow richer, leaving him with no attention to spare for anything else.
'Good.'
The refinement was about two-thirds complete. The bloated feeling had vanished, and even if he didn't actively focus on purifying the remaining demonic qi, it would naturally dissipate over time. Of course, Jekyeong had no intention of putting off what he could finish right now. Since he had started, wasn't it better to see it through to the end?
"Fellow Daoist."
But just as he was about to purify the rest of the demonic qi, Myeong-ha sent a Lost-Soul Puppet to seek him out.
"I have succeeded."
Jekyeong had felt a surge of irritation at being interrupted mid-cultivation, but those words from Myeong-ha washed his annoyance away instantly.
"Elaborate."
Was it the disruption in the Human Territory that succeeded, or the plot in Muryangae?
"The matter in Muryangae. They reacted far more violently than expected."
Jekyeong unconsciously straightened his posture.
"And the Heumwon Clan? Do they know?"
"Not yet. But they likely will soon."
"Likely?"
"Initially, I planned to intervene directly, but on second thought, a natural progression seemed better than an artificial one. Besides, the outcome would be the same whether I lent a hand or not. The Heumwon Clan surely keeps their eyes and ears on Muryangae anyway."
"True enough."
While there was a common prejudice that the Beast Race was ignorant and reckless—which held some truth—the Heumwon Clan was not of that sort. Had they been, they would have buried their bones in Muryangae in the first place rather than fleeing all the way to Yangseo Lake.
"It seems the holy war held immense significance for that Demon King. Moreover, a faction like the Heumwon Clan is quite a catch among sacrifices, so he wouldn't want to let them slip away."
"Do you think that Demon King will personally make a move?"
"I cannot say for certain... but I estimate the probability to be over seventy percent."
Seventy percent. That was more than enough to proceed with the next phase of their plans.
"If the Demon King of Muryangae comes, won't our plans in the Human Territory be affected as well?"
"Of course. It will have a significant impact."
No one could deny that the Heumwon Clan was currently the backbone of the Beast Race in Yangseo Lake. They were already one of the pillars of order in the lake, so if they were shaken, the delicately balanced equilibrium of Yangseo Lake would inevitably collapse along with them. If that Demon King from Muryangae set foot in Yangseo Lake, the Gakchung Clan might remain unaffected, but the humans would undoubtedly feel the massive tremors.
"In any case, our only goal is to muddy the waters. Whether we throw mud or spill blood... it makes no difference to us."
"Do not be overconfident. The opponent is formidable. In your attempt to muddy the waters, you might end up vaporizing the entire pond."
"I am well aware. That is why I will guide things as carefully as possible to ensure that doesn't happen."
Myeong-ha spoke with confidence, yet he did not lose his characteristic caution. Jekyeong stared at the expressionless face of the Lost-Soul Puppet for a long moment before nodding silently.