Chapter 106: Delicious Bait
The 4th Demon Realm truly being the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's prime granary region wasn't an exaggeration.
To reach the 4th Demon Realm, we had to pass through the mountain paths of the 3rd Demon Realm, and below us stretched an endless horizon. It was vast. On a continental scale, it was ridiculously expansive.
"The granary district of the 4th Demon Realm is said to be so wide that even galloping on horseback for two straight days wouldn't see its end."
I nodded at Sa Wol's explanation. It seemed plausible given the scale.
"And the direction we're headed is over there, then."
Far off at the rightmost edge of the 4th Demon Realm, white smoke rose from a certain area. Even from this distance, I could tell the farmlands had been reduced to ashes. If it looked this bad from afar, up close it must have been an inferno of unimaginable proportions.
"You don't need to go out of your way with a carriage on my account, heh heh."
Cheol Mu Geuk spoke with his signature chuckling laugh.
Any ordinary expert would have zipped there in moments using lightness skill, but our "Mu Geuk Expedition Team" was traveling by carriage. Naturally. Because I couldn't use lightness skill.
I'd tried to brush it off vaguely and just take the carriage, but Cheol Mu Geuk thought I was being considerate of him, a mere first-rate.
"It's not particularly for your sake."
"Then it must be thanks to Cho Ryang. Good job, Cho Ryang—now we get to ride in comfort."
"Hehe."
Sa Wol was inside the carriage too. Cheol So Pyeong, whose massive frame was far too big for it, was running alongside using lightness skill. He even insisted he'd stiffen up if he rode inside.
"That said, there's something a bit off."
"What's that?"
Cheol Mu Geuk asked with a kindly expression at Cho Ryang's words.
"It's about Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa. From what I know, it loves peace and nature, so it doesn't start fires recklessly."
"It's a bird made of fire—maybe it just naturally causes them?"
"They say the fires Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa starts only burn what it wants to burn."
"Fascinating. So that's what's strange?"
"Yes. When I got down from the carriage earlier to check, only specific areas were burning."
At Cho Ryang's words, I posed the question this time.
"If it's going to burn something, you'd think it'd torch everything or nothing at all. Burning only Jeok Yong Gye feels suspicious, right?"
"Exactly. Why single out Jeok Yong Gye?"
"Who knows..."
I didn't have any particular guesses. Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa didn't even appear in person in the original story, after all.
I should look into it.
There might be a separate reason for its behavior, and resolving it could make things easier than expected.
After another two hours or so in the carriage, we finally entered Jeok Yong Gye.
"...Grim."
Cheol Mu Geuk grimaced.
"So Pyeong and I are used to smoke, but you lot might want to cover your breathing. It's thick."
From afar, it had just looked like white smoke rising into the sky, but up close, it was fog-like haze so dense you could barely see ahead.
A handful of people—few enough to count on one hand—wandered the charred fields. They weren't cult martial artists but common folk. Their eyes held not a spark of life.
Eyes that had abandoned all hope.
Yet, perhaps mistaking our arriving carriage for something fearsome, they bowed toward us.
"Rise."
Even at my words, the commoners didn't budge. Looking closer, they were trembling in terror.
"Fear not. I am Sado Hwan, family head of Sado Ga."
Only then did they react. They'd probably thought we were just some high-and-mighty types, but hearing my identity changed their view. News of my mission to capture the fire bird must have spread across the cult.
That was when it happened.
"P-please, help us!"
The youngest-looking man among them rushed forward and knelt before me. The surrounding commoners startled, trying to pull him up.
"Aigoo, elder. Sorry about this. The boy's a bit simple."
"No matter. Tell me what happened."
"W-well..."
The man glanced around nervously. Up close, I saw bruising around his eyes. Had he been in a fight?
"Speak freely. No one here will harm you."
After hesitating, the commoner shared their plight.
The fire bird had appeared nearly a month ago, yet no one had come to resolve it. In that time, all the farmlands had burned, and now even their homes were catching fire, leaving them desperate.
"What of Jeok Yong Hyeok Ga's warriors?"
"Those... those bastards didn't help—they just oppressed us. Said we must've provoked the fire bird and ruined everything."
"You didn't, right?"
"Of course not. Never heard of a fire bird appearing in Jeok Yong Gye in my lifetime."
He was probably telling the truth. I'd never heard of a divine beast causing trouble in the cult in the original either.
Still suspicious. Hyeok Mun talked like he cherished Jeok Yong Gye, but they just let it burn?
They're hiding something. Jeok Yong Hyeok Ga's tangled up with Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa.
Blocking others to cover their own mess.
They can just deny it—what can anyone do?
Classic cliché.
If we used the commoners' testimony, they'd rage, "You believe those lowly scum?!" Worst case, they might slaughter innocents to silence them.
"When and where does the fire bird appear? Any lair it sticks to?"
"It shows up out of nowhere, anytime. Vanishes at night, active only by day. Once it appears, it flies low, burning everything in sight."
"Any signs before it shows?"
"The temperature spikes like midsummer—kind of like right now...?"
The man shuddered mid-sentence, face paling.
The heat had indeed risen noticeably.
Almost simultaneously.
Piiiik—!
A shrill cry pierced my ears.
I looked up.
Far in the sky, a massive something appeared. It felt helicopter-sized from my modern memories, hurtling toward us at speed.
It was a truly enormous bird, falcon-like in form. True to its Zhuque lineage, its body was crimson, with flames trailing long from wingtips and tail feathers.
"Fire bird! The fire bird's here!"
The commoners fled in panic.
"Heh heh, perfect. Even if Jeok Yong Hyeok Ga's scheming, we just snag it right away."
"The question is whether it'll come our way."
Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa was a divine beast with spiritual intelligence.
If it truly had beef with Jeok Yong Hyeok Ga and was tormenting them for it, it had no reason to approach us.
In this world, the scariest combo was elders, women, and kids—this group had all three. Plus hulking, intimidating Cheol So Pyeong.
Even a divine beast wouldn't easily approach such a suspicious bunch.
That's why we need bait.
First, gauge its reaction.
And sure enough.
Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa lowered altitude but flew right over our heads.
In that instant, our eyes met. Its sharp, yellow, piercing raptor gaze fixed on us.
Snort—
Flames snorted from its nostrils.
That thing's mocking us.
Looks that way to me too.
Like it was declaring us beneath notice.
A bit irritating.
Divine beast or not, mocking folks just standing there?
"Cho Ryang."
"Yes."
"You said it likes pure fire energy, right?"
"Yes."
I turned to Cheol So Pyeong.
"Young Master Cheol. Care to channel your Ten Thousand Phenomena Sun Divine Art?"
Without question, he circulated his energy.
Though constantly nagged by his father, Cheol So Pyeong was Super Peak. As he fully powered up, his body swelled.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from him, and his simsang manifested.
A colossal flame giant overlapped his form like an illusion, towering some 50 feet high.
That moment.
Piiiik—!
Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa banked sharply, veering back toward us. Curiosity flickered in its previously indifferent eyes.
"I'll catch it now—!"
Cheol So Pyeong clapped his hands like a prayer seal. The giant mirrored him. For such a massive body, its speed was blinding—no sluggishness.
...Getting caught in that would leave no bones.
But Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa wouldn't go down easy. Flames on its tail blazed fiercely, accelerating explosively.
It slipped through the giant's grasp. Not just slipping—it bit a chunk from the arm as it passed, swallowing some flame.
Pik—!
Ptoo!
But it spat the fireball out, shaking its head like it tasted bad.
Crunch!
Cheol So Pyeong gnashed his teeth and swung again.
Piiiik—!
But Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa soared high out of reach. The giant was threatening but couldn't pursue. No real counter.
Cheol So Pyeong dispelled his simsang, looking glum.
"Not even satisfied with Super Peak pure yang energy."
"Family Head Cheol. Try your blue flame?"
At my words, Cheol Mu Geuk exhaled azure fire. Mu Geuk Cheon Hwa, high in the sky, dove like a bolt.
Pik! Pik!
Excited by the blue flame—the purest fire. Fitting for one that craved purity.
However.
It circled overhead without descending.
"It's wary."
I nodded at Cho Ryang.
"Any ideas?"
"We'll have to set a trap. Lure it with irresistible bait, then hide the rest."
"Irresistible bait?"
Cho Ryang's eyes slid to Cheol Mu Geuk.
"Yes! Delicious bait! Hehe."
Mad glint in Cho Ryang's eyes.
Acting as the Heavenly Demon