Chapter 446
Chapter 446
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 446
Chapter Title: The Yellow Dragon's Jewel (1)
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A shrine deep within a certain cave.
"The Repentance Cave isn't just a prison for locking up yokai who have committed crimes."
The woman with her long blue hair neatly tied up—the Azure Dragon—spoke softly as she slowly moved forward.
Trailing eagerly behind her was a small figure, a Horus, who kept whipping his head around to look at everything around them.
Gold cords and bells, mirrors and swords—various ritual implements were placed here and there.
Amid them, the spirit tablets asserted their subtle presence. The Azure Dragon, who had been leading the way, stopped in place and carefully pulled something out from her bosom.
-Taowu, One of the Four Evils.
She gazed for a moment at the spirit tablet emanating a strong aura from within, then gently set it down in an empty spot in the shrine.
And after a brief moment passed.
The newly prepared spot now looked no different from the others around it.
"Yokai are beings born with innate mysticism, using abilities as naturally as they breathe throughout their lives. Restraining them by force consumes an enormous amount of power. The more prisoners we hold, the greater the burden we have to bear."
"Heh—."
It was an utterly inefficient endeavor.
From the moment they broke the rules and ended up here, they had already caused significant harm to Golden Turtle Island. And now, maintaining the prison required even more expenditure.
Wouldn't it be far better to just cleanly execute them all?
'That way, we'd have an easier time procuring rare materials too.'
Of course, that would inevitably weaken the organization's cohesion.
Unless they had caused a massive incident that everyone acknowledged, it would be hard for members to feel loyalty toward an organization that slaughtered and butchered their own kin.
Fortunately, Golden Turtle Island—whose sorcery was unrivaled in the Strong Return World—had found a solution to that problem.
"The principle is simple. We don't use our own power; instead, we draw on the yokai prisoners' own yokai energy to restrain them."
The idea was to forcibly drain their energy, weakening them, and then use that energy to suppress the other yokai while powering the illusionary formation that served as their reeducation program.
So that every yokai sealed in the Repentance Cave became each other's shackles.
"And any excess power is stored away for use when needed?"
"As expected of Horus. Quite perceptive."
The Azure Dragon smiled warmly, patted his head, and fed him a candied fruit she produced from somewhere.
In other words, the Repentance Cave was a prison, a reeducation center, and a power plant all in one.
"And it's been incredibly helpful lately too. Maintaining the world's balance—on the verge of collapse—has consumed a massive amount of power."
In a situation where they couldn't easily trust those who had already caused trouble and been sealed away, this was the best option.
Most of the power sustaining the Immortal Realm came from here anyway.
"So, Horus? Why did you want to come here? There's nothing particularly interesting for you."
The administrator of the Repentance Cave, the Azure Dragon, looked down at Horus munching on the candied fruit with clear eyes.
Though she had readily agreed to his sudden request, she clearly wondered why he had made it.
"Munch munch— Ah, well, you see..."
He scratched the back of his head while looking around the desolate surroundings.
Truth be told, there wasn't any grand reason for wanting to check this place out himself.
He just wanted to confirm with his own eyes that there wouldn't be any variables interfering with his future plans.
'I never imagined the 'Yellow Dragon's Jewel' would be something like this.'
He recalled the prerequisites needed to activate the perk before choosing his words.
The usage, imprinted naturally in his mind along with the system message, was filled with all sorts of tricky conditions, but the most important ones boiled down to three.
First: Himself, the one who had achieved the feat of Savior of the Strong Return World and received the perk as the 'Last Yellow Dragon.'
Second: The enormous—almost absurdly so—energy he had just confirmed.
And finally...
"...Can you bring the Child of the Dragon to the Dragon God Temple?"
The Azure Dragon frowned slightly.
The Dragon God Temple was a holy site permitted only to dragons, one even the upper echelons of Golden Turtle Island couldn't enter without permission.
No matter that it was the 'Child of the Dragon,' suggesting they bring a human there was bound to provoke resistance, even from someone as gentle as her.
But Horus was confident.
Once she heard his explanation, she would have no choice but to comply.
And that conviction soon became reality.
"...Good heavens. I'll convene the Five Dragons meeting immediately."
The moment she heard the reason, she set everything aside and sprang into action, swiftly gathering all five dragons in one place.
Though they were all busy with their duties, they couldn't ignore her unusually insistent urging.
"What's this about, Azure? Why call us all here so urgently?"
The red short-haired woman grumbling peevishly—the Vermilion Dragon.
"A Five Dragons meeting at a time like this? Has something big happened?"
The white long-haired man, the eldest, speaking calmly—the White Dragon.
"Hi, Horus! I've been so busy I haven't seen you, but you're still as cute as ever?"
The girl with her black hair braided long, her eyes sparkling with curiosity—the Black Dragon.
But their varied reactions gradually converged as Horus explained.
Doubt, disbelief, shock.
And even a glimmer of hope.
"Then we're all in agreement."
Everyone nodded at the Azure Dragon's words.
Thus, mere minutes after the emergency Five Dragons meeting began.
The motion regarding Jegal Hye-mi's access to the Dragon God Temple passed unanimously.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hoo."
The tense Jegal Hye-mi slowly stepped forward.
She had no choice but to.
She had been separated from her companions and summoned alone into this unfamiliar environment called the Immortal Realm.
'And it's a world teeming with yokai...'
But she wasn't overly frightened.
After taking a deep breath, she strode forward without hesitation.
She had an unwavering belief that even if danger befell her, someone would definitely come to save her.
Just as they always had.
"Over here! This way!"
As she advanced without pause, a childish voice called from the end of the passage.
Looking there, she saw a little boy who seemed only seven or eight years old waving his hand at her enthusiastically.
'A child?'
He had radiant golden hair and golden eyes—rare sights in the Central Plains—and was as pretty as a doll.
"Ahem."
The boy lifted his chin arrogantly and puffed out his chest.
His cuteness was so overwhelming it made her mind go blank for a moment, but as the Child of the Dragon, she could keenly sense his presence and instinctively realized the truth.
About the true nature of this child disguised in such an adorable form.
Surprisingly, it wasn't their first meeting.
"Yellow Dragon...? Are you the Yellow Dragon?"
The one who, during the war with the Demonic Cult, had obliterated all of Beijing with a single attack.
The very same Yellow Dragon who had later presided over the ritual for her and the other Children of the Dragon.
"Mm! You recognized me? From now on, I'll guide you, so follow quietly!"
That was the identity of the boy now shrugging his small shoulders and walking ahead.
She followed silently behind him, too stunned to even ask questions.
'...This can't be real.'
She swallowed hard and clenched her twitching hands.
Then she squeezed her eyes shut and snapped them open, fixing her gaze on her guide.
'That terrifying Yellow Dragon is this cute?!'
She couldn't help but smile as she watched him toddle along with his tiny feet moving busily.
As if she had been enchanted by some wicked yokai.
The passage they walked through was lined with beautiful artworks, but none of that registered in her eyes right now.
'Ah, I want to pet his head.'
His skin was as white and smooth as glutinous rice cake, his hair swayed softly like golden thread.
His little head bobbed side to side, his limbs moved energetically.
He even seemed to give off a warm, sunny scent.
'So children are naturally this lovable.'
Having spent her life secluded deep within her clan, she had never had the chance to interact with children.
After regaining her health, she had only encountered the dark sides of the world.
That was why Horus—who exuded a solar warmth simply by existing—left such a strong impression on her.
'If I have a child someday... will they be just as cute?'
A wish she had thought impossible until recently.
But now, it was no longer just a dream—it was a reality within reach.
'Yes, my child will surely be lovable too. I'm not bad-looking myself, after all. And as for the father...'
Perhaps because of the recent kidnapping incident.
All sorts of fantasies raced through her mind.
She even imagined mixing their features in various ways to picture their second child, nodding in satisfaction with flushed cheeks.
'Yes, any combination turns out beautiful. Oh, right—what about names? Should I start thinking of one boy and one girl name now? Haha! What if they're twins?!'
Jegal Hye-mi began groaning and pondering, her face red.
Horus, who had been guiding her while giving prior explanations, turned back and blinked.
"So, there's no need to worry too much... Hm? You okay? Are you hurt somewhere?"
At his call, she snapped out of her reverie and jerked her head up.
Of course, she hadn't heard a word he said.
"S-Sorry. Could you say that again? I was lost in thought for a moment..."
"Mm! It's fine! It happens when you're nervous."
The boy nodded maturely—far beyond his appearance—and crossed his arms, flashing a bright smile at her.
"Well, skipping the complicated stuff and getting to the point."
He spread one hand wide and continued in an energetic tone.
"We're going to make a baby from now on!"
"Whaaaat—?!"
Horus tilted his head at her unexpectedly intense reaction.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The confusion lasted only a moment.
After Horus's detailed explanation, she understood the context and regained her composure, sinking into thought.
'A new Yellow Dragon.'
A baby.
It referred to a dragon hatchling.
In simple terms, it was a project to resurrect a true, proper Yellow Dragon in this Strong Return World—not a fake like Horus.
"Here you go, Horus. I searched everywhere, and this is all we have right now—just two. There might be more intact ones somewhere in the Central Plains, but..."
"This is good enough for now! We can't hatch them all at once anyway! We can search calmly and add more one by one."
"...We'll have to put everything into recovery efforts."
The Dragon God Temple.
It was at the heart of a stone mountain shaped like a coiled dragon.
Horus, leading Jegal Hye-mi inside, took the item from the White Dragon and his eyes gleamed.
A spherical orb glowing blue, as if capturing a clear sky.
Within it, a vivid golden radiance flickered like flames or rippling waves, exuding a clear presence and mystical beauty.
'The Yellow Dragon's Cintamani.'
This was a relic from a dragon lost to an unforeseen disaster.
And now, it would serve as the medium to incubate new life—an 'egg.'
'I knew the 'Yellow Dragon's Jewel' was connected to the Cintamani, but I didn't expect it to be so literal.'
Then again, considering the Dragon God's involvement in this perk, it made sense.
With the Yellow Dragon absent, it was hard to say the world had fully returned to normal.
'Not bad at all. I can't keep worrying about the Strong Return World forever. Leaving behind a solid solution will make parting cleanly.'
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
After all, the 'Yellow Dragon's Jewel' was his perk, so success would bring no small merits.
"Preparations are complete. Let's begin the ritual. I leave it to you."
The White Dragon spoke to Horus and Jegal Hye-mi, then reverted to dragon form and soared into the sky.
He joined the three dragons already waiting above, each taking their cardinal positions.
Azure Dragon in the east, Vermilion Dragon in the south, White Dragon in the west, Black Dragon in the north.
[Alright, let's get started!]
And at the center of the altar in the Dragon God Temple stood Horus, polymorphed into a massive gold dragon using the 'Elder Dragon's Heart.'
Until now, survival had been the priority amid disasters, and he hadn't properly inherited traditions, leaving things somewhat haphazard.
But in truth, the Dragon God's direct descendants—the Five Dragons—each had defined roles.
The calm, rational Azure Dragon managed the Repentance Cave seals and served as judge.
The belligerent Vermilion Dragon led the vanguard in external conflicts.
The calculating, risk-averse White Dragon oversaw finances as quartermaster.
The sinister Black Dragon handled external intelligence and executed traitors as inquisitor.
'And the Yellow Dragon symbolizes the connection to the Dragon God as high priest.'
A tremendous aura poured from Horus's body.
Of course, as a makeshift Yellow Dragon pretender rather than the real thing, he couldn't fully perform the priestly role.
Ruuuumble—
The one filling that gap was the 'Child of the Dragon.'
Jegal Hye-mi, the apostle and shaman directly sent to the earth by the Dragon God, proof of the world's restoration miracle.
"...Ngh."
A heavy groan escaped her lips as she knelt, clutching one Cintamani with both hands in prayer.
'My body's about to burst.'
The massive energy flowing from the Repentance Cave—channeled through the dragons positioned at the cardinal directions as pillars of the ritual—was being sucked wholesale into the Cintamani in her hands.
Though Horus, as the Yellow Dragon, controlled most of it, standing at the ritual's center placed no small burden on her.
'No, it's still fine. Compared to that time, this is nothing!'
The moment she had reunited with Ha Seung-hoon after being kidnapped by the Demonic Cult.
Compared to when she bestowed her blessing on him and was possessed by the Dragon God, this was bearable.
Back then, the ritual had overwhelmed her before she could do anything.
'After all I've received, I have to endure at least this much!'
Who knew?
She might even receive some special power from the dragons through this.
Having yearned for greater strength after the recent incident—so as not to be a burden to Ha Seung-hoon—she gritted her teeth and gripped the Cintamani tighter.
At that instant.
Crack—!
A cracking sound leaked from her hands.
The Cintamani, true to its name, held immense wish-granting power.
It was a famed mystical crystal said by some to fulfill any desire.
And now, the entire ritual was augmented by the system perk 'Yellow Dragon's Jewel'!
The convergence of all these forces was enough.
To twist the world's laws and manifest a miracle.
Craaack!
From the fissures in the shattered Cintamani.
[Kyaaang!]
A feeble cry emerged from the gap, accompanied by a small, yellow head poking out.