A Lingering Resentment
Regardless of his will, the beastly body he was born with constantly nudged him toward savagery. In most situations, however, a cold head was always superior. Jekyeong knew this all too well, which was why he strove to remain cautious in everything he did. This moment was no exception. Yet, because he had maintained his human transformation for too long, the instincts of a Great Yo-beast were stealthily trying to suppress the reason of his past life as a human.
"Then let us keep moving," Jekyeong said. "Whether they return or not, we must go our way."
Yang Yo-hyeon shook his head inwardly as he watched the nonchalant Jekyeong. Is he really that confident?
Many rumors circulated about the Black Flood Dragon of the Heukgyo Water Territory, but no one knew his exact cultivation realm. This was because the cultivation system of the Beast Race was not as clearly divided as that of the Human Race. Thus, one could only make rough estimates based on his past achievements—and even then, the accuracy was highly questionable, as a beast's combat power often defied their nominal realm.
Returning to the matter at hand, the Black Flood Dragon before him boasted quite a spectacular record. Every cultivator who had dared to linger around Heukgyo Island had either been slaughtered or driven away by him.
I just can't tell. He understood the facts intellectually, but they didn't quite feel real. It was likely due to Jekyeong's current appearance. The complete absence of any threatening aura or presence made it easy to forget that he was, in fact, a ferocious Great Demon.
Whether by stroke of luck or misfortune, the bandit cultivators did not return. Perhaps they had yet to capture the escapee, or perhaps they felt wary of the Yeongbu Merchant Guild's flag. Regardless of the reason, Yang Yo-hyeon let out a sigh of relief.
"This is far enough. I will take it from here," Jekyeong bid them farewell when the ship finally crossed into his water territory.
"Will you be alright?" Yang Yo-hyeon asked.
"Of course." Jekyeong leapt lightly from the bow. As his body suspended in midair, it instantly transformed into a massive serpentine shape. No, to the eyes of Yang Yo-hyeon and the other members of the Yeongbu Merchant Guild, it was not a mere serpent, but a majestic Flood Dragon.
Two massive horns. Pitch-black scales that looked as though they had been drenched in ink. A colossal body wrapped in those very scales.
Boom!
As his massive body, easily exceeding a hundred and fifty meters in length, plunged into the water, violent waves surged in every direction. The sheer momentum was so intense that Yang Yo-hyeon immediately ordered the activation of the ship-protecting formation.
"A Flood Dragon..." someone muttered in a daze.
But Yang Yo-hyeon did not mock the speaker's foolish tone. His own feelings were entirely the same.
To be honest, hearing titles like 'Flood Dragon' or 'Black Dragon' hadn't stirred much emotion in him before. He had merely thought of Jekyeong as some uniquely powerful Great Demon. But witnessing that majestic grandeur with his own eyes made the reality sink in. He finally understood why the guild valued this entity so highly, and why he had remained so utterly unbothered even when facing bandit cultivators that included a middle-stage Foundation Establishment master just days ago.
Not all Great Demons are created equal. Yang Yo-hyeon recalled the few Great Demons he had encountered in the past. Compared to the Black Flood Dragon currently parting the waves in the distance, none of them seemed worthy of even bearing the title.
Meanwhile, Jekyeong had no idea how chaotic Yang Yo-hyeon's thoughts were. He was too busy basking in the sweet sensation of liberation. Although his Transformation Art had reached a high level of mastery and he had grown accustomed to maintaining his human form, no amount of skill or familiarity could completely erase or suppress the innate biological rejection. Even when he maintained his composure and drank spirit wine, the underlying discomfort persisted.
He speculated that to fully overcome this rejection, he would have to reach the Yao King realm and formally undergo the Human Transformation Tribulation. But that was a story for a distant, uncertain future. For now, and for a long time to come, Jekyeong had no choice but to wrestle with this discomfort.
Whatever. Once I return this time, I won't be coming out for a while anyway. It wasn't just that he didn't want to leave his territory; even if he did, he had no reason to. The recent auction had completely drained the pockets he had spent ten years fattening up. What would he even do out here?
Crash!
Jekyeong slammed directly into an oblivious water beast that was lingering in his path. In truth, the creature hadn't been lingering on purpose; it was simply too slow to escape in time. Regardless, the poor water beast was launched out of the water, soaring high into the sky.
Having vented his frustration, the last remnants of his stifling irritation finally dissipated. Only then did the savagery fade from Jekyeong's eyes, replaced by his usual sharp intelligence.
Hmm? As Jekyeong sliced smoothly through the water, he suddenly narrowed his eyes, sensing a faint presence caught by his Divine Sense. The aura was incredibly weak—so faint that under normal circumstances, he would have ignored it and swam right past. However, Jekyeong felt a strange sense of familiarity from it, prompting him to focus his mind on the trace.
This is... Jekyeong soon realized that this faint aura belonged to someone he had encountered just a few days ago. Unless his senses were playing tricks on him, this presence undoubtedly belonged to the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had been fleeing from the bandit cultivators.
What happened to him? At the time, the man had already been gravely wounded, which had made his aura quite faint. But the presence he felt now... was beyond faint. It was so weak it seemed on the verge of vanishing entirely at any second. Jekyeong momentarily suspected that the man was either already dead or employing some advanced Presence-Concealing Technique.
Well, it doesn't matter either way. His curiosity was piqued. He scanned the area to see if the bandit cultivators were nearby, but even when he expanded his Divine Sense to its absolute limit, he couldn't detect their presence. Confirming that there were no immediate threats around, Jekyeong immediately swam toward the faint aura. The signal was coming from far below, nearly touching the very bottom of the lake bed.
Is he hiding? Or is he truly dead? The water in this region was exceptionally deep. Even with Jekyeong moving at his maximum speed, it took him quite some time to descend.
There he is. Jekyeong spotted a rocky terrain that resembled an underwater mountain range. The faint aura was emanating from deep within those crags. Having pinpointed the target's location, Jekyeong activated his Presence-Concealing Technique and approached slowly and cautiously, without stirring a single ripple in the water.
That is... Jekyeong soon found what he was looking for. It was indeed the fugitive he had seen a few days ago. However, his current state was far worse than before. Had Jekyeong not noticed the slow, faint rise and fall of the man's chest, he would have assumed he was already a corpse.
Yet, what truly caught Jekyeong's attention was not the man's wretched condition, but the large water droplet enclosing him. No, to be precise, it was a jellyfish-like creature shaped like a giant bubble.
An aquatic monster? Or is it a Dharma Treasure? To call it a demon beast, it lacked any demonic energy, let alone any discernible aura. Yet to call it a Dharma Treasure, its rhythmic, breath-like expanding and contracting was highly suspect. One thing was certain, however: whatever this strange entity was, it was keeping the dying fugitive alive.
Intriguing. With his eyes gleaming, Jekyeong slowly drew closer. Even when he was right in front of it, the bubble-like entity showed no reaction whatsoever.
It's alive. Definitely. He couldn't be sure from a distance, but observing it closely made it clear. This bubble-like thing was undoubtedly a living organism. Whether it was a demon beast or something else entirely, he couldn't tell.
Hmm. As Jekyeong circled the bubble-like creature, the man inside, who had been barely clinging to life, suddenly shuddered as if sensing something. The moment he forced his eyes open, he was met with a vertical pupil larger than his entire torso.
"Gah...!" His barely opened eyes rolled back, and a torrent of blood erupted from his mouth, which had gaped open in sheer terror. At that exact moment, his fragile thread of breath snapped entirely.
Beast-Controlling Bag, Vicious Beast
"Mmm..." Jekyeong let out a low groan as he stared at the former fugitive, who had turned into a corpse in an instant. It wasn't out of pity, but rather because of the residual thoughts the man had released the moment his eyes rolled back and he drew his final breath. The lingering Dharma Power dispersing into the water was heavily saturated with his intense feelings of injustice and rage.
Normally, such residual thoughts would have little to no effect on a cultivator of the same level. Even when Jekyeong had devoured Gong Byeok-un, the leader of the Black Flood Dragon Gang, whole, the explosion of the man's dying thoughts had done nothing more than cause a temporary fluctuation in Jekyeong's mood. But this time was different. The impact of these residual thoughts was substantial. A sudden surge of rage and aimless resentment boiled within him, mirroring the suffocating irritation and anger he felt when his beastly instincts pushed his human mind to its absolute limits during his human transformation.
"Whew. Whew."
His heavy, ragged breaths were practically massive, raging torrents of flame. The fire energy originating from his spiritual nature had already taken deep root throughout his entire soul and body; it was no exaggeration to say he was now a fire-attribute demon beast. A single drop of his blood was hotter than boiling water, and his mere breath was potent enough to instantly cook ordinary creatures alive.
Jekyeong backed away from the bizarre bubble-like creature to calm his emotions. Whether it was a living organism or an object, it was clearly extraordinary. If he could claim it, he fully intended to do so.
Just how deeply resentful were you? After taking a moment to compose his emotions, Jekyeong looked at the corpse inside the bubble with a different gaze. The man had only been in the early stage of Foundation Establishment—lower in cultivation than Gong Byeok-un. Yet, the sheer intensity of the emotions he harbored right before his death surpassed anyone Jekyeong had ever seen. He couldn't tell where such venomous feelings originated. It could have been resentment toward the bandit cultivators pursuing him, regret over his unfulfilled path to immortality, or perhaps something else entirely.
And this thing... Jekyeong examined the bubble-like creature once more. It's not a demon beast. He reached this conclusion because the creature showed absolutely no reaction even with him standing right before it. If it were a demon beast, there was no way it would remain completely indifferent in the presence of a Great Demon. In fact, the same would apply to almost any ordinary living creature.
Half-doubting, Jekyeong opened his storage bag. If this thing wasn't a living creature, it would easily fit inside, so he decided to give it a try. However, his storage bag—which could effortlessly store spirit stones and even boulders as large as a grown man—remained completely unresponsive.
It is indeed a living creature, Jekyeong concluded. But it doesn't seem to possess any Spiritual Intelligence. In terms of intellect, it seems inferior to even an ordinary beast.
Although Jekyeong was highly intrigued by this bizarre creature, he did not lose sight of his priorities. The deceased man had been pursued by three bandit cultivators. Had he managed to completely shake them off? Perhaps, or perhaps not. But if the man had made it all the way here, wouldn't the bandit cultivators be capable of doing the same? Jekyeong doubted they could descend to such extreme depths, but one could never be too sure. They, too, might possess some extraordinary means—much like this peculiar creature.