Chapter 66
Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Caught the Tail (4)
The sect master calmly examined the scrap of cloth I'd handed him, then looked at me and smiled gently.
"You're really a lucky charm, aren't you."
"Pardon?"
What was that out of nowhere? From him, of all people.
The sect master held out the cloth scrap to the enforcement captain. The captain took it and scrutinized the inscription on it, his expression quickly hardening into a scowl.
"...Sea Severing Peak direct disciple Yong Yoo. You're saying a messenger from Gloom mist Valley had this on him?"
"Yes. Senior Sister Pyeong Yu-ran tore this marked section from the enemy's banner during combat to identify them."
"Pyeong Yu-ran... Yes... We'll have to reward her."
Wow, the best sect master ever.
Handing out rewards left and right.
But this didn't seem like something to take lightly. With the sect master and captain reacting that way, the elders' mood grew heavy as well.
The High Heaven Sect's Enforcement Corps, alongside the Guardian Hall, represented the sect's two major forces and handled most external operations.
While the Disciplinary Hall—also focused on external duties—was an elite unit tasked with tracking sect traitors and offenders, the Enforcement Corps was the force deployed during inter-sect wars.
Accordingly, the captain himself was a Soul Transformation Realm first layer powerhouse stronger than most elders, and several late Nascent Soul Realm disciples followed him, forgoing elder status to serve under him.
"Yong Yoo, you'll need an explanation too."
As the captain passed the cloth scrap to the other elders, the sect master spoke to me.
"The inscription on that cloth is from the Demonic Path Alliance that once raided our sect."
"Demonic Path Alliance."
"Yes. You know of them, right?"
"Yes..."
The chief steward had mentioned them before.
The Demonic Path Alliance had once used a former High Heaven Sect guardian disciple named Wi Hong-taek to sow chaos in the sect. Then, while our forces were drawn outward, they'd raided us.
Melting Dragon Sect, Falling Star Sect, Golden Threshold Sect.
Of those three, Melting Dragon and Falling Star had abandoned their sects and vanished without a trace, while Golden Threshold had been wiped out by High Heaven Sect.
"Judging by the inscription, it looks like Falling Star Sect."
One of the elders examining the cloth spoke up.
"Why do you say that?"
"They called it an alliance and even made an alliance insignia, but if you look closely, it's just a mashup of the three sects' insignias."
"Right."
"And when they carved their own versions, each emphasized their own sect's symbol more prominently."
"I see. But why are they still using the alliance insignia?"
"It was only a few hundred years ago. They might still have connections, so they keep it for networking."
A few elders dismissed that detail as irrelevant.
"More importantly! We've finally caught Falling Star Sect's tail!"
"Exactly. Who would've thought those rats were hiding in Gloom mist Valley."
"Gloom mist Valley spans the width of three massive rivers and has ocean-like depths. Without divine sense scans being feasible, an entire sect could easily hide there."
"Those powerful monsters that occasionally emerge from Gloom mist—could they have been cultivators? If we'd paid closer attention, we might've figured it out sooner."
"Fallen cultivators rarely retain human form, so it's understandable we missed it."
Before long, the sect master and elders had forgotten about me and continued their discussion among themselves.
As I sat there awkwardly, the chief steward noticed and quietly escorted me out.
"There will be separate rewards for this matter, so keep that in mind."
I bowed to the chief steward, left the main peak, and returned to the familiar eastern quarter of Sea Severing Peak.
Waiting for me there were Hyang Mae, Ahan, and Sohu.
I first handed the glowing floating platform to Hyang Mae.
"Here. It's a fortuitous encounter from the Ancient Relic Realm. It doesn't look that powerful at first glance, but cultivating on top of it boosts your training speed."
"It's amazing. What material is it made of? It feels weightless."
Hyang Mae stared at the glowing platform, entranced.
"If you put the Black Tortoise egg on it, it might hatch a bit faster. Feel free to use it while you train too."
"Thank you, Yoo Lang."
"No big deal. You helped me a ton back when I was in Refining Qi and Foundation Establishment. And you're helping with Ahan's training now too."
"What should we name the Black Tortoise?"
"Since Black Tortoises are said to embody both male and female, maybe we should give it both a boy's name and a girl's name?"
We chatted about the Black Tortoise for a bit before parting ways.
After learning the man who'd attacked them was from Falling Star Sect, Hyang Mae seemed to sense war brewing and burned with motivation to grow stronger.
After she left, I spent some time helping with Ahan's training.
In the year I was away in seclusion, Ahan had diligently solidified her foundations, and her energy felt remarkably stable. Breakthrough to the next stage seemed imminent.
"I'll give you my training resources too. I don't need them anymore, so don't hold back."
"Thank you, Master!"
With that, Ahan could begin her training in luxury, stocked with ample Foundation Establishment resources allocated to me and Hyang Mae, the two direct disciples.
'With that much, and her talent being decent, she should break through to Core Formation within ten years at the latest.'
After wrapping up with Hyang Mae and Ahan, I turned to Sohu.
"Alright, let's talk."
"Very well, Master."
Sohu spoke in a surprisingly soft voice that didn't match her ferocious appearance—a dog's body topped with a dragon's head. I was taken aback.
"Oh, right—you're female."
I recalled Ahan checking between Sohu's legs once and confirming she was female.
"That's right, though?"
"I hadn't really thought about it until now. Anyway, yeah—you laid an egg before. Which I ate."
"It was unfertilized, so no need to worry, Master."
Sohu said it so casually, as if it truly didn't matter.
"Unfertilized?"
"Yes. As you've probably realized... I'm no ordinary hu. Even mating with a pan-world hu wouldn't produce a fertilized egg. Not that I'd ever consider it with those worms."
"Hmm. Alright. Tell me your story."
Sohu nodded and opened her mouth with a distant expression.
"...My mother was an Apex Dragon."
"Apex Dragon? What kind of dragon is that? There are so many types—Flood Dragons, Winged Dragons, Multi-Headed Dragons, and such."
"Don't compare those worms to an Apex Dragon!"
Sohu bellowed, clearly furious.
"The Apex Dragon is the pinnacle of dragons! It refers to a dragon that has ascended to the absolute zenith, beyond which no higher realm exists!"
Pinnacle? Did that mean a dragon that had reached the Great Luo Heaven in the immortal realm, the highest point imaginable?
I was a bit flustered as her origins proved far more extraordinary than I'd imagined.
"An Apex Dragon gives birth to nine offspring in her lifetime. The legend of the Dragon's Nine Offspring refers specifically to those of an Apex Dragon—not the nine from some mediocre dragon."
"...So you're one of that Apex Dragon's nine offspring?"
"...I was supposed to be. But when my mother was giving birth to me, she was attacked by a Garuda."
"Garuda."
"The bird that devours dragons. She had just laid four eggs and was weakened when it struck. She plummeted from the skies with the Garuda in pursuit."
I pictured a dragon and bird tearing through the clouds and crashing downward.
"That's when she gave birth to me. I fell from the immortal realm straight into this pan-world."
Sohu wore a sorrowful expression.
"A minor sect found me still in my egg and raised me as their guardian spirit beast."
"I see. So that's how it happened."
"Normally, I'd have been used for alchemy ingredients or fed to another spirit beast, so I intended to protect the sect in return. Well... that sect ended up buried underground and exterminated in a fight between Soul Transformation Realm cultivators."
"Can't be helped."
If Soul Transformation cultivators were involved, one sect getting wiped out was just par for the course.
Sohu and I nodded in mutual understanding.
"But why reveal your origins to me all of a sudden?"
I'd prompted her, but her willingness to spill everything so readily felt off.
"I'd planned to tell you after you emerged from seclusion. With your Dao combat talent, I figured you'd be a huge help to me."
"Me?"
"Don't you find it strange, Master? Why the nine offspring of an Apex Dragon are born not as dragons, but other creatures?"
"Ah. Yeah, that is odd."
"An Apex Dragon births Bixi, Chiwen, Pulao, Bian, Taotie, Gongfu, Yazi, Jinni, and Jiaotu. These nine are born as other creatures, each carrying the potential of an Apex Dragon."
I frowned at that.
"No hu among them?"
"I was meant to be the fifth, Taotie. But in this pan-world, I couldn't gather enough energy, so I was born as a hu instead. The others are similarly born weakened and in altered forms here, unlike in the immortal realm. That's why the lineup of Dragon's Nine Offspring varies by pan-world."
"So hu is like a premature Taotie? What's that legend about hu mating with dragons and giving birth, then? Just a story slapped on because of the looks?"
At my words, intense hatred and rage poured from Sohu.
It was fury toward the Garuda that had attacked precisely during her birth, forcing her into hu form instead of Taotie. And rage at her cruel fate—plummeting to this pan-world, trapped in this pathetic body without the immense power she should have wielded.
Sohu spent a long while growling to vent her anger before continuing.
"The Dragon's Nine Offspring grow by devouring each other to become Apex Dragons."
"Hmm."
"Legends of spirit beasts devouring dragons abound, as do tales of dragons eating various spirit beasts. Those are all myths born from mortals witnessing the Nine Offspring hunting one another, ignorant of the truth."
"There's even a legend about hu eating Flood Dragons."
"A Nine Offspring who hasn't devoured even one is called a Latent Dragon. If they live 10,000 years that way, they forfeit the chance to become an Apex Dragon and live out their days in their birth form."
"Got it."
"Devouring even one elevates them to Flying Dragon, the gateway to becoming an Apex Dragon."
Flying Dragon. A dragon taking to the skies.
"With each ascension through the gateway, they shed their form step by step, drawing closer to a true dragon's shape. Devour all eight others, and their inner core transforms into a Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, allowing them to finally become an Apex Dragon."
"Sounds easy enough from the description."
Sohu gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
"Each gateway requires devouring another offspring of equal rank. The risk to one's life skyrockets, and finding targets isn't easy either. Most give up before reaching the top."
"..."
"Those who halt midway become the dragons like Flood Dragons and Multi-Headed Dragons."
I nodded in understanding.
"So, Sohu, you're saying I'd be a big help in hunting the other Nine Offspring together?"
Sohu, unaccustomed to asking for help, had been beating around the bush, spilling info without a direct request. When I pointed it out, she gaped in surprise.
As she flapped her jaws, perhaps fearing I'd refuse, she grew urgent and started listing the benefits for me.
"I-It wouldn't be bad for you either, Master! Every time I grow stronger, the spirit within you strengthens too! Right now it only affects your spells, but if I get even stronger, it'll influence your body—shedding that mortal frame for immortal bones! Of course, I'll fight and train alongside you! Isn't that great for you?!"
"Hmm. Not bad at all. Sure, I'm in."
It was a fantastic deal.
Sohu's origins exceeded my expectations, her potential boundless enough to reach Great Luo Heaven. All of it satisfied me completely.
Her presence rivaled the supreme immortal treasure within me as a fortuitous encounter.
"But... to ascend the gateway, don't you need to become Taotie first? Is there a way to revert from hu to Taotie? Does hu molting lead to Taotie?"
"...No. Hu molting leads to something like Soaring Hu or Ferocious Hu."
"Meaning?"
"...As a hu now, I must first ascend once to gain a Taotie body. Then molt again in the immortal realm to become an Apex Dragon."
"So that's sixteen offspring you need to eat?"
If true, that sounded insanely tough.
Hunting down the other offspring who coincidentally fell into pan-worlds and feeding them to Sohu one by one?
With countless pan-worlds out there, could we even find the others like Sohu?
As I seriously weighed the odds of success, Sohu—perhaps reading my thoughts—spoke up in a panic.
"B-But in pan-worlds, eating exceptionally strong spirit beasts or monsters works just fine instead! It won't be hard!"
"Ah, that's a relief then."
I readjusted my thoughts with the modified conditions.
The biggest issue with this gateway wasn't like the Eighty Thousand Minor Cave Scripture Pagoda, where strength drew encounters passively. This required actively seeking out other offspring, picking fights, making enemies, and accumulating grudges.
I preferred avoiding fights and grudges where possible, but offspring at that level would have powerful factions or allies, right?
Everyone would desperately try to nurture their allied offspring into Apex Dragons. Even scraps would be massive gains.
'Still... once Sohu becomes Taotie, I'd gain a much stronger spirit than this hu form. That's appealing.'
Above all, Sohu was currently consumed by deep-seated hatred and rage over her unfair circumstances.
If unresolved, that fury dwelling in my spirit would keep affecting me, inevitably growing into an ever-deeper, stronger heart demon... So helping her was the right call regardless.
Just reaching Taotie should greatly diminish that rage. Even dispelling the heart demon alone would benefit me hugely.
"Alright. I'll help. Let's work hard together."
As I extended my hand, Sohu beamed and leaped at me.
She licked my cheek wildly and thrashed her tail in manic joy.
"Heavy! You're too heavy! Ughhh!"