Chapter 72
Chapter 72
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Tarod Molti
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The moment Ilryeong attached the talisman to Molti's forehead, a dark red mass of light emerged from Molti's body.
Ilryeong approached the mass of light and extended a hand.
Ilryeong was acting as a filter between Geon-woo and Molti's Jiangshi Spirit.
Previously, when Molti's Jiangshi Spirit had exploded, Geon-woo had directly connected his consciousness to it.
But afterward, he learned that such a method could potentially backfire on him.
If Molti had grown stronger than Geon-woo, no amount of caution would suffice.
That was why they decided Ilryeong would serve as the intermediary filter once more, just like before.
= Ughhh!
In that instant, an enormous surge of energy poured into Ilryeong from the mass of light.
"Ilryeong! Are you okay?!"
Geon-woo, whose consciousness was linked with Ilryeong's, immediately sensed the changes occurring within him.
That was why he shouted upon realizing Ilryeong was receiving an overwhelming amount of energy.
= My lord, I'm fine. However, the restrictions implanted in Molti have been greatly loosened.
Ilryeong reported after checking the state of Molti's spirit body.
"As expected. I had a feeling that might be the case."
= Therefore, we'll need to go through the process of turning it back into a Jiangshi Spirit.
"Yeah. Got it. Let's do that."
= Yes, my lord.
With his response, Ilryeong began the process of reforming Molti's spirit body into a Jiangshi Spirit.
And during that process, Molti's memories started flowing toward Geon-woo.
"Hmm."
Geon-woo received the full experiences of this second Molti in the Demon Dimension.
This Molti had originally been a demon of the Tarod species.
The Tarod species possessed more reptilian factors than insectile ones, giving them an appearance reminiscent of mythical dragons at first glance.
Their faces combined reptilian and human features, complete with horns curving from forehead to the back of the head, and skin densely covered in large and small scales that evoked images of dragonkin.
On top of that, they had leathery wings, the hallmark of the Tarod species.
This Jiangshi Spirit, formed from a Tarod species spirit body, had luckily fallen near its kin's territory upon entering the Demon Dimension.
There, it possessed the corpse of a small lizard, then rapidly regained its original form through predation and proliferation.
What was surprising was that this Tarod Molti's cognitive abilities had not deteriorated significantly.
After restoring its original form through predation and proliferation, Tarod Molti diagnosed itself as having lost its memories for some reason.
Based on that judgment, it cautiously infiltrated Tarod society.
'It didn't realize it had become a Jiangshi Spirit. However, its subconscious knew that some kind of restriction in its mind would cause it to perish if it disobeyed commands.'
Geon-woo couldn't pinpoint exactly when or how the Jiangshi Spirit's command seal and restrictions had gone awry.
Crossing unstable dimensional passages was inherently risky, and the annihilation of some Jiangshi Spirits en route was something he'd prepared for.
Any disruption to the command arts or restrictions during that process was to be expected.
'But what's this?'
As Geon-woo sifted through Tarod Molti's memories, he discovered an unusual change during the predation and proliferation phases.
'Why is it so dense? No, the density is incredibly high, that's what it is.'
Tarod Molti had possessed a small lizard corpse and afterward devoured insects and small animals of similar size.
Through this predation, it secured the energy and biomass needed for proliferation.
Yet the proliferation process in Tarod Molti's memories was profoundly strange.
Receiving the memories directly made it feel as if Geon-woo had experienced it himself, but both the energy Tarod Molti accumulated and its body itself exceeded all imagination.
'Compared to my body and the energy I handle, this Molti's body and energy have insanely higher density. It's not even comparable.'
If Geon-woo's body and energy were like a cornstalk, Tarod Molti's were like oak wood.
The two weren't even in the same league.
At best, one could say Geon-woo's was a cornstalk slightly compressed for strength.
But even that paled in comparison to oak.
'They're just fundamentally different. The system in the Demon Dimension operates nothing like Onbiroad or Earth. Is this what they mean by a higher realm?'
Geon-woo realized that beings native to the Demon Dimension were inherently different from birth.
'This is why the system has to impose restrictions on Demon Dimension natives.'
= My lord! We must hurry and separate the factors of possession, predation, and proliferation from Molti's spirit body. At this rate, we won't be able to turn it into a Jiangshi Spirit.
While Geon-woo was poring over Tarod Molti's memories in shock, Ilryeong urgently called out to him.
Snapping to attention at the voice, Geon-woo focused his will and extracted the factors Ilryeong mentioned from the dark red mass of light that was Molti's spirit body.
Inserting or extracting factors was something he'd done thousands of times before, flowing as naturally as breathing.
With those disruptive factors removed, preparations to reform Tarod Molti's spirit body into a Jiangshi Spirit were complete.
Geon-woo then pushed Cheonnoe Bunsim Jeryeong Gangsi Gong to its limits, aiding Ilryeong in transforming Tarod Molti's spirit body into a Jiangshi Spirit.
- Kraaaah! No! I hate it!
At the same moment, Tarod Molti's consciousness—which had been dormant as if dead—burst from the spirit body in resistance.
= Lord? What is this?
Ilryeong looked at Geon-woo in surprise.
'It's an instinct buried deep in the subconscious. It was the consciousness gradually taking shape as Molti grew in the Demon Dimension.'
= So Molti was developing a new consciousness?
'It probably wasn't even aware of it itself. The moment its subconscious recognized the lack of freedom from the command arts and restrictions, it began devising a way to escape deep within. Until it was ready, even Molti itself remained unaware.'
= Is that possible?
'Demons from the Demon Dimension aren't your average lot. They're a step higher in realm compared to those from Earth or Onbiroad, you could say.'
= Mere bugs that evolved, and you think that?
'It's not about what they were born from, but what world they were born into. The Demon Dimension is like a blessed realm in that sense.'
- Uwaaaah! Let me go! Nooo!
Even as Geon-woo explained his discoveries to Ilryeong, Tarod Molti's spirit body thrashed wildly, refusing to yield.
However.
'No matter what, it's an incomplete consciousness, an incomplete ego. It can't wield proper power like this.'
Geon-woo glared at the writhing mass of light and intensified the energy of Cheonnoe Bunsim Jeryeong Gangsi Gong even further.
Through Ilryeong, whose consciousness was linked to his, he channeled that energy into Tarod Molti's spirit body.
- Heeeek! Hiiiik!
The consciousness emerging from the subconscious flailed, emitting bizarre thoughts.
But the spirit body's consciousness, possessing intellect inferior even to a child's, soon exhausted its strength.
= It's done, my lord. The command arts have taken hold perfectly.
'Good. Now, let's inscribe the restrictions and finish it off.'
Ilryeong announced that Tarod Molti's spirit body had been fully subdued, and Geon-woo inscribed the new restrictions he had prepared.
These restrictions were over ten times stronger than those used on previous Jiangshi Spirits, incorporating Cheonnoe Bunsim Jeryeong Gangsi Gong's command arts, Yultren's soul knowledge, and several skill abilities obtained from demons.
"In the end, we end up using them after all."
= I thought they were overkill and we'd never need them, but getting tangled with the Demon Dimension changed that.
"Alright, we've subdued that Tarod Molti spirit body for now, so let's take a look at this hunk of meat."
Geon-woo shifted his gaze from the now-secure Tarod Molti spirit body to the physical body it had vacated.
= We need to hurry because of the semi-mana field at least.
Ilryeong pressed close to Geon-woo and used Yultren's treasure, the proliferation metal, to manifest a physical body.
From here on, they would be performing physical work instead of using spirit power, so he was preparing accordingly.
"Yeah, let's see just how impressive this body really is."
Geon-woo couldn't hide his excitement at the prospect of directly verifying the realm disparity he'd sensed in Tarod Molti's memories.
And then.
Kagagagak! Kadududuk!
"Whoa, my sword barely makes a dent?"
Geon-woo was startled when his sword, infused with maximum energy, failed to pierce Tarod Molti's scales.
= Its durability rivals my lord's Indestructible Divine Body. Though it's still inferior to yours.
Ilryeong pointed coldly at the spot where Geon-woo's sword had bitten in.
Between the scales, on the softer skin, there was a small wound from the sword.
'Even in death, its regenerative power remains strong?'
Geon-woo shook his head as he watched the small wound he made slowly heal.
= Don't corpses often retain some biological activity after death? Especially those with innately superior regeneration—they mostly do.
Ilryeong gave Geon-woo a puzzled look, unsure why he was newly scrutinizing demon corpse regeneration.
Geon-woo shook his head again and explained.
"That's for specimens that originally had exceptional regenerative abilities. But this one doesn't have any separate regeneration skill."
= Ah! I see. Yet even in death, regenerative activity is occurring.
"That just shows how powerful demon natives are at their core. Imagine if such beings had regeneration on top of that?"
= It would be extraordinary. Turning something like that into a Jiangshi would be incredible.
"Huh?"
= Pardon?
"You're already thinking of turning native Demon Dimension demons—ones you couldn't even capture—into Jiangshi? I'm over here wondering if I can really beat them."
= Well...
"Well, what?"
= Because I believe in you, my lord.
"Eh? Oh! Haha, right..."
Geon-woo was momentarily stunned by Ilryeong's unexpected words, then chuckled softly.
And then.
"If you believe in me, I have to live up to those expectations, don't I? Alright, let's keep going."
Geon-woo refocused on dissecting Tarod Molti's corpse.
And a few hours later.
= Wow, we got completely fooled.
Ilryeong made a fuss in front of Geon-woo.
"Tell me about it. I never imagined the system would leave Tarod Molti's corpse intact."
Geon-woo's gaze turned to Tarod Molti's corpse lying on the stone operating table.
A few scales missing, a bit of blood drawn, but otherwise surprisingly pristine.
Geon-woo and Ilryeong hadn't significantly damaged Tarod Molti's corpse.
Or more precisely, they hadn't had the time to do so.
Despite their diligent work, they'd only obtained enough samples for the inspections needed in Jiangshi refining.
To make a Jiangshi, the corpse had to be soaked and aged in refining elixir, a mandatory process.
For that, they needed to know the corpse's resistance, reactions, and such, requiring blood and samples from various body parts.
Geon-woo and Ilryeong had planned to fully dismantle it, but they ended up stopping at minimal samples by the time the semi-mana magic formation shut down.
Yet even after the semi-mana magic formation ceased, Tarod Molti's corpse showed no changes.
In other words, the system had not interfered with Tarod Molti's corpse.
That was why Geon-woo and Ilryeong wore disappointed expressions.
"Still, this opens the possibility of making a Jiangshi from it, so it's good news for us, right?"
= Of course, my lord. This Ilryeong will absolutely refine it into the finest Jiangshi.
"The downside is we can't make a living Jiangshi from it."
= Don't worry. I'll definitely create something superior to a living Jiangshi. Since the Jiangshi Spirits my lord makes are so outstanding, they can more than compensate for a corpse Jiangshi's shortcomings.
"Yeah. With such premium materials, it'll make a top-tier Jiangshi. I trust you."
= Yes, my lord. I won't let you down.
Ilryeong's voice naturally rose in excitement at the thought of crafting a new Jiangshi.
"By the way, why didn't it explode?"
Of course, looking at the intact Tarod Molti lying there, Geon-woo couldn't help but wonder.