Uninvited Guests
It was the same for the venomous thorns, let alone the teeth. Mokyo also possessed the ability to manipulate poison, giving it a formidable resistance to toxins. A mere handful of venom injected into its branches and roots could cause nothing more than a mild itch.
"Screeech!"
The thorny lizard, which had been pushed back the entire time, finally accepted that this monster tree was an opponent it could not defeat and resolved to flee. However, the moment it turned its head slightly to check its escape route, a massive serpent tail struck its head out of nowhere.
Boom!
The thorny lizard was sent flying like a kicked pebble. Even after taking a direct hit to the head, it somehow managed to keep its consciousness and tried to regain its balance as it fell, but the place it landed was a muddy ground no different from a swamp.
As soon as the thorny lizard's feet touched the ground, the mud rippled, and several small roots submerged beneath shot out to wrap around its legs. That was the end of it. The thorny lizard struggled to break free, but Mokyo had no intention of letting it go so easily. While it writhed in vain, Jekyeong quickly caught up and swung his tail once more.
I have to be careful.
In truth, Jekyeong had initially opened his maw out of habit, intending to bite the thorny lizard. However, realizing belatedly the obvious fact that there were no scales inside his mouth, he shut his jaws and swung his tail instead. Just as he had expected and hoped, the lizard's thorns could not pierce his scales.
On the other hand, the thorny lizard, having taken two solid blows to the head, staggered in a near-death state.
Woo-ooh!
Mokyo delivered the final blow. An exceptionally large root slammed down, striking the crown of the staggering lizard's head. With a heavy thud, the thorny lizard collapsed, unable to even let out a scream.
"Amazing! Amazing!"
As always, Cheongo, who had been watching the fight from the sky, enthusiastically showered them with subjectless praise, making its presence known. However, even amidst the clamor, Jekyeong's sharp eyes noticed that the fruit that should have been held in Cheongo's beak was gone.
What an easy guy to read.
He had no intention of scolding the bird. It wasn't his place to say anything anyway. If anyone were to complain, it should be Mokyo, but the tree didn't seem like the type to throw a tantrum over a single fruit.
In fact, Cheongo's contribution to this hunt was by no means small. Although the bird did nothing in the actual battle, it had to fly all the way to the thorny lizard's territory carrying Mokyo's fruit beforehand. Not only was it a hassle, but it also involved taking a significant risk.
Even without that, Cheongo's appearance and aura made it stand out, making it an easy target for other beasts. But this time, it had to fly a long distance carrying Mokyo's fruit. For land-bound beasts or Yo-beasts, it wouldn't have been an issue, but the sky was different. What if it had caught the eye of other birds, or even spiritual birds? It probably wouldn't have escaped unharmed.
Because Jekyeong understood the risks Cheongo had to take, he didn't want to scold the bird over a single fruit. As for what Mokyo thought... that was none of his business.
"Jekyeong amazing! Tree amazing!"
While Cheongo chattered away, Jekyeong wrapped his tail around the limp, dying thorny lizard. Though it was monstrously large for a lizard, Jekyeong's tail could easily wrap around it once.
Crack!
The body of the Yo-beast, whose Qi and Blood were already depleted and who had lost consciousness, became as weak as an ordinary beast. With just a slight squeeze, its entire body was crushed.
"We will divide it into five parts. I will take two, you will take two, and Cheongo will take one."
Neither Cheongo nor Mokyo objected to Jekyeong's distribution. Jekyeong, who had secretly worried that Mokyo might be stubborn, was satisfied with the smooth response and distributed the shares.
Jekyeong swallowed his share in one gulp. On the other hand, Cheongo flew off somewhere carrying a piece of meat larger than its own body, and Mokyo wrapped its roots around the remaining carcass and dragged it into the mud.
That Cheongo. He must have been in quite a hurry.
He had wanted to discuss the next hunting schedule, but without his translator, he couldn't do anything. In the end, Jekyeong exchanged brief, unintelligible greetings with Mokyo and parted ways.
The thorny lizard they hunted this time was stronger than the monkey Yo-beast and possessed more Qi and Blood, but since there was only one and he only claimed forty percent of it, swallowing it all at once didn't feel burdensome to his stomach.
That's true, but my vessel itself has grown.
He wasn't sure if "vessel" was the right word, but no other expression came to mind. He felt as though digestion would be complete within the day even without sleeping.
I wonder if it will take some time for Cheongo to return.
One of Mokyo's fruits that Cheongo had swallowed, along with the twenty percent of the thorny lizard's carcass, would be more than enough for it to become a Yo-beast. Jekyeong didn't worry about the bird leaving without a word after becoming a Yo-beast. It wasn't because he trusted Cheongo, but because he trusted the bird's greed.
He had been somewhat half-doubtful before, but seeing the bird unable to resist swallowing the fruit this time solidified his belief. Even among Yo-beasts, not all were equal. Unless they awakened a special ability, a Yo-beast's combat power was generally determined by its original species. Therefore, even if Cheongo, who was merely a slightly unusual crow, became a Yo-beast, its combat power would likely be mediocre.
Unless it planned to live on ordinary beasts even after becoming a Yo-beast, if it wanted to eat good things and dream bigger, Cheongo had no choice but to return to him. And Jekyeong believed Cheongo would return. The bird was clever, but even more than that, it was greedy.
It would be perfect to practice the Presence-Concealing Technique in the meantime.
When practicing alone, it had felt vague and elusive, but after using it once in actual combat, he finally got the hang of it.
It's still a bit clumsy. Being able to use it well this time was just good luck. That lizard was dull, and the situation was chaotic.
The core of the Presence-Concealing Technique is ultimately developing the ability to control one's presence.
Then, what was presence? It was neither the power of Qi and Blood nor the power of spiritual energy. Jekyeong understood it as a kind of existence, or to put it another way, the weight a being occupied in this world.
This understanding stemmed from a brief story he had heard in Bul-mang-won. According to the kind seniors of Bul-mang-won, the level of presence was related to a cultivator's realm, but it was not absolute. For instance, the Emperor of Seonjo often had a lower realm than his ministers, yet his presence was strong enough to overwhelm those of higher realms.
Why was this? It was because of the position of the Emperor of Seonjo and the symbolism of that status. Because the weight he occupied in this world as the Emperor of Seonjo was high, his presence was strong even if his personal realm was low.
But what is the use of this presence?
Qi and Blood and spiritual energy were practical forces. On the other hand, it was hard to tell what use presence had. Even the senior cultivators of Bul-mang-won did not know, nor did they wonder about it. To them, the existence of presence seemed to be regarded as just one of the natural phenomena of the cultivation world.
Jekyeong wondered if he too would become so indifferent one day, but for now, he had to focus on this thing called presence.
First, I need to find a place to stay.
The cave he originally used was now too cramped to be of much use. He could have forced it open to widen it, but judging by the cave's condition, he feared it would collapse if he applied too much force, so he gave up.
In the end, Jekyeong found a spot with decent shade and lay down. The sense of exposure from being open on all sides still made him feel anxious, even now that he had become a Yo-beast, but since he had no proper place to settle, he had no choice.
Still, since Jekyeong's mind state had hardened significantly after becoming a Yo-beast, it did not take long to calm his anxious heart. Soon, his calm breathing leaked out faintly like an auditory hallucination, and the massive serpent's presence melted into the shade.
"Jekyeong. How do I look?"
Cheongo did not fly in shouting his name noisily as usual. It simply approached with the sound of powerful wingbeats, showing off its changed appearance.
"..."
Since the fatigue from practicing the Presence-Concealing Technique had not yet fully lifted, Jekyeong looked at Cheongo with half-closed eyes. Though it tried to act casual, its inability to hide its triumph was certainly a stark contrast to before.
For starters, its size had nearly doubled. The reason Yo-beasts were larger than ordinary beasts was due to their explosively increasing Qi and Blood. To handle the increased Qi and Blood, their physical bodies naturally had to grow larger.
"You look cool."
He didn't mean it. Looking strictly at appearances, Jekyeong thought the previous look was much more elegant. Although the current Cheongo was larger and looked more like a Yo-beast, the mystery it once held had vanished. This was because the faint blue light that used to flow around its body had disappeared.
But well, since the party involved seemed satisfied with the change, why not offer a few sweet words of flattery?
"Right? Right?"
Jekyeong casually chimed in, offering a few more compliments. At this, Cheongo's mood soared to the heavens, and it began to babble on about its experience of becoming a Yo-beast, completely forgetting that the giant serpent before it had undergone the exact same experience much earlier.
"But Jekyeong. I saw humans on my way here."
"Humans?"
Jekyeong, who had been feeling beyond bored and downright tormented by Cheongo's endless chatter, snapped his eyes open. "Are you sure?"
"Positive! I saw them. I was hiding secretly, but they can't fool my eyes!" Cheongo said confidently, clacking its beak.
"How many were there? Were they strong?"
Knowing that Cheongo wouldn't be able to answer if he asked about their cultivation realms, Jekyeong asked vaguely.
"There were six. And, well... they were strong, but I don't think they were that strong."
"Are you saying they were weaker than me?"
"Yeah. But two of them were pretty strong. I think they were slightly weaker than you, Jekyeong."
A group of disciples and two leaders? Could he interpret it that way? Jekyeong narrowed his eyes, lost in thought. Six Qi Refining cultivators. Are they from the same sect as the ones I saw last time? Or are they rogue cultivators?
Whatever the case, it wasn't good. Jekyeong, who had been somewhat loosely relaxed, straightened his body in tension. "Where did you see them?"
"Over there. The direction we came from. It was two days' travel away. I don't know where they are now."
Two days' travel was based on the speed they had traveled together. They had moved diligently to get here, but they hadn't rushed excessively, so if they were two days' travel away...
We might cross paths.
An unprecedented sense of crisis surged. Jekyeong was about to ask Cheongo again—which direction they were moving, what they looked like, and so on.
Woo-ooh-ooh-ooh!
However, at that moment, Mokyo's roar, filled with rage, echoed through the area, causing Jekyeong to swallow his words.
"Senior Brother! It's a Mokyo! Look at those branches!"
"It's Spiritual Fruit!"
A group of cultivators could not hide their excitement as they looked at the massive Mokyo, which resembled a thousand-year-old giant tree. Their eyes shone as they spotted the Spiritual Fruits hanging from Mokyo's branches, but instead of rushing forward blindly, they looked at the two leading the group.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister. What should we do?"
The man and woman at the front seemed to ponder for a moment, but soon smiled and nodded. "Isn't finding this kind of fortuitous opportunity exactly why we came out to this distant place? That monster doesn't look ordinary, but since we have the numbers, we should be able to defeat it without much difficulty."
Having said that, the man took a step forward. "I will attack the beast first with Junior Sister. Once the monster's attention is drawn to us, you all support us. If it gets too noisy, other monsters nearby might be drawn here, so let's finish this as quickly as possible."