The Harvester, Part 2
Mother Jimjo's eyes clouded with pain.
The sword embedded in her wing trembled briefly before piercing straight through, returning to the human's hand.
He was truly extraordinary.
While it was true his oppressive aura was faint compared to the humans who had visited in the past, a monster was still a monster.
What if that human had aimed for her heart? Just imagining it sent a chill down her spine.
So this is what he meant by not killing me easily.
Only then did Mother Jimjo clearly realize what the human was thinking.
He intended to toy with her completely, killing her slowly.
If there was any saving grace, it was that despite her wing being pierced, she could still move without issue.
To turn the tide of battle, Mother Jimjo flapped her wings and soared endlessly into the sky.
"You beast! Do you think you can flee? It is utterly futile."
With that, the human also stepped on empty air and surged up into the sky. The distance between them gradually closed.
Humans were truly bizarre creatures. To roam the sky without wings, and to be even faster than a winged beast like herself.
At this rate, she would be caught.
However, Mother Jimjo's goal was not flight.
Once he pursued her to an appropriate distance, Mother Jimjo looked down, positioning the sun directly behind her back.
The human's eyes squinted for a split second.
Seizing that fleeting moment, she unleashed her feathers—shweeeek!—and sent a poison-laden gale blasting toward him.
It was a technique similar to human spells. It was Mother Jimjo's own divine ability, realized after endless contemplation on how to utilize both yo-qi and poison together.
Yet, it had no effect on the human. With a single swing of his sword, the poisonous wind was split and neutralized.
He did not seem to feel even a shred of tension.
Mother Jimjo was not discouraged. She already knew the disparity in their realms was vast.
She drew her yo-qi to its absolute limit. Her overloaded core instantly amplified her cultivation. A barrage of diverse attacks, unlike before, poured toward the human.
A landslide massive enough to overturn heaven and earth cascaded down, and the scale of the poisonous wind she conjured with all her might rivaled a natural disaster.
Still, not a single blow touched the human. A sneer was plain on his face.
"Hmph, you have merely bloated the scale of your power to no end. Watch closely."
Gripping his sword in one hand, the human drew lines freely through the air. It was a fluid, elegant movement, as if he were painting with his blade. It was beautiful enough to captivate even Mother Jimjo, who knew nothing of swordsmanship.
Yet—screeech!—the result was nothing short of savage.
Dozens of sharp energies rained down upon Mother Jimjo.
To endure somehow, Mother Jimjo wrapped her wings around her body and curled up. Though she had shielded herself with ample yo-qi, a dizzying shockwave rippled through her. Feathers harder than diamond were torn away.
She had to endure.
Only then would she have a chance.
The rain of blades, which could only be described as a sword gale, grew fiercer by the second.
「Kyiaaaaaaaakh!」
It felt as if a wild beast were tearing her entire body apart. A scream tore from her throat.
At this rate...
She would die.
Her body would be hacked to pieces, and she would plummet to the earth.
Mother Jimjo steeled her resolve and surged her yo-qi.
Was it because death was drawing near?
Crack, crackle!
Her core, pushed past its limits, fractured and compressed, repeatedly merging and dividing. Soon, it triggered a massive explosion and expanded once more.
A bountiful energy boiled up from her core.
Mother Jimjo's red eyes, visible between her wings, gleamed coldly.
Mother Jimjo did not know that the stick the human held was a "sword," nor did she understand the principles and methods by which he swung it.
Therefore, she thought more simply.
She would try to mimic it.
Using her yo-qi, she created threads connecting to her feathers and unleashed dozens of them at once. Then, concentrating her entire mind, she imparted a spinning force to them.
In other words, she reinterpreted it in her own way—one fitting for a Jimjo.
The dozens of feathers floating in the air began to rotate, surrounding Mother Jimjo. As they gained speed, a poisonous wind whipped up, forming a sort of barrier.
As the two forces mingled, a green tornado formed and surged into the heavens.
She had finally broken free from the sword gale.
The human wore a look of utter shock.
Mother Jimjo did not stop there and launched another attack.
Her feathers, now moving as naturally as her own limbs, glided freely through the air, piercing toward the human from all directions.
Though not precise, the sheer scale of power and the varied range of attacks compared to before made it impossible for the human to look down on her.
Clang, clang, clang!
The sword swung repeatedly, throwing off sparks. The momentum had completely shifted to Mother Jimjo.
Thwack!
Finally, a feather embedded itself deep into the human's shoulder. His face flushed a deep purple.
Once again, the bastard hurriedly pulled out a slip of paper and slapped it onto his body. Only then did his complexion return to normal.
"C-crazy! Breaking through two realms in the middle of combat?! This... this makes no sense! How could a mere spiritual beast...!"
Mother Jimjo did not understand what the human was saying.
She only felt a firm conviction.
Now, I can win.
No, she felt as if anything was possible.
Compared to before the battle, she felt more than just a surge of energy; she felt a sense of near-omnipotence.
In truth, Mother Jimjo's breakthrough was no mere coincidence; it was entirely natural.
The only reason she had been stagnant without breaking through was the lack of a proper catalyst.
The growth of a spiritual beast was vastly different from that of humans.
There were two main ways for a spiritual beast to grow:
First, by constantly yearning for power and engaging in struggle.
Second, by detonating their core through beast cultivation techniques to expand their vessel.
However, on this island, there were neither spiritual beasts capable of rivaling Mother Jimjo nor any cultivation techniques. Thus, her realm had no choice but to stagnate.
The human had filled that missing piece, and the water that had risen to the brim finally overflowed, forming a new vessel.
Just as Mother Jimjo was about to unleash her power upon the shocked human—
"!"
The human grimaced and took a stance.
The atmosphere shifted ominously.
Creak, groan!
A hair-raising sound echoed continuously.
The materialized energy began to merge into one. Soon, it formed a perfect round sphere and shot toward Mother Jimjo.
It was a technique bordering on a legendary state, known as the Sword Qi Compression Bead, or simply the Sword Bead.
Mother Jimjo quickly gathered her power to its absolute limit and spat it out through her beak.
As their powers clashed—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, large enough to sweep away the entire area.
Although she had neutralized a portion of the force, the residual shockwave swept over her. A heavy impact rattled her feathers, which were reinforced with yo-qi.
Gritting her teeth to endure and preparing to counterattack, she saw the human suddenly turn tail and flee.
His retreating figure was pathetic.
In the end, she had repelled the human.
Mother Jimjo briefly contemplated pursuing him, but decided against it.
Her own condition was far from perfect.
There was no telling what would happen if he fought with his life on the line.
Rather than taking unnecessary risks, her priority was to tend to her wounded body.
Mother Jimjo glided down swiftly, cutting through the wind as she headed toward her nest.
Then, she paused mid-flight.
Since the human had come for her, she wondered if her chicks might also be in danger.
But she steeled her heart.
That, too, was their own choice and free will.
Even so, they would be safe.
Was not the fourth chick's nest a place even she had trouble finding?
So, he would be fine.
Thus Mother Jimjo thought.
The sound of rushing water from the estuary below the cave, as well as Jim-i's noisy chirping, had all faded away.
Having concentrated his entire mind on controlling the poison, Dang Sobaek had entered a state of selflessness.
Though the core of the Black-Scaled Blood Python was small, the total amount of poison and yo-qi stored within was not to be underestimated.
Operating the Mandok-gwigong to guide it to his poison sac was not a problem in itself. However, the capacity of his sac was far too lacking.
The poison sac, which had been eighty percent empty, filled up in an instant. It felt like a torrential downpour. Even after compressing the energy to its limit, it was still nowhere near enough.
Tsk...
Sobaek's brow furrowed. The overflowing poison struggled to spread into every corner of his blood vessels.
Greed here would be dangerous. A single misstep could lead to a deviation of madness.
Just as he was about to expel the remaining energy without regret—
Rumble!
A sound like thunder echoed in Sobaek's ears. A massive shockwave hit him, making his body tremble like an aspen leaf.
Having reached its absolute limit, the poison sac began to slowly morph.
Rather than forcing control here...
It was wiser to follow the natural order and flow.
Although he had mapped out most of a Jimjo's blood vessels, the aspects concerning their flow and instincts remained uncharted territory. Intervening recklessly could prove highly dangerous.
Still, this phenomenon was somewhat similar to when a martial artist broke through the barrier from First-class to Peak, expanding their dantian.
The overflowing energy began to rotate in a ring around the poison sac. Soon, intense pressure was applied, and an excruciating pain spread.
Crack, crack!
It felt as if his entire body were being pounded by a hammer. His mind grew hazy. A scream threatened to escape his beak. Even the bone-dislocating, muscle-tearing torture of the Tang Clan would not be this painful.
Dang Sobaek endured by sheer force of will, cold sweat pouring down his body. His mind was on the verge of going completely blank from the agony.
No matter how much of a spiritual beast a Jimjo was, there was no way a mere animal went through such agony every time.
This was likely a process unique to Dang Sobaek.
It was the result of the Sichuan Tang Clan's Mandok-gwigong clashing and merging with the unique physiology of a Jimjo.
Sobaek's thoughts deepened. A seed of inner demons began to sprout within him.
Should I control it now? Should I force the energy out?
Countless choices flashed through his mind and vanished. Time ticked away. It seemed impossible to endure any longer. He had to make a decision before it was too late.
In the end,
Sobaek decided to trust himself.
The martial arts he had accumulated, and the properties of poison he had researched his entire life.
Relying solely on a Jimjo's instincts and leaving things to the heavens did not suit Sobaek's nature.
Sssss!
Dang Sobaek operated the Mandok-gwigong far more aggressively than before.
First, he slowly sculpted the shape of the poison sac, which was repeatedly contracting and expanding, molding it into something resembling a human dantian.
Then, drawing up his dormant poison energy, he wrapped it around the unabsorbed core of the Black-Scaled Blood Python. The clash of different poisons and yo-qi made his body shudder once more.
Sobaek gritted his teeth and endured. A tug-of-war of power ensued. He refined countless poisons in real-time to counter the opposing force.
A clash of poison against poison.
Naturally, his insides could not remain unscathed. Sobaek had to bear the full brunt of the backlash.
"Kegh!"
Dang Sobaek swallowed back the blood welling up in his throat and focused. Fortunately, as time passed, the backlash gradually subsided.
The core of the Black-Scaled Blood Python was slowly being tamed by Sobaek.
Very slowly and carefully, Sobaek guided the python's core to the center of his dantian. Instead of absorbing it all at once, he initiated a sealing process so it could be digested gradually.
Once it was finally settled, the pain slowly receded. Now, only a faint ember of discomfort remained.
Beeeeep—
Tinnitus rang in his ears.
Dang Sobaek exhaled a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.
My insides feel completely hollow.
A profound sense of exhaustion washed over him.
Yet, it was incomparable to before.
It was merely exhaustion from exhausting all his energy at once. A distinctly denser power now coiled within him than ever before.
Furthermore, unlike before, poison and yo-qi were now being slowly "generated." This was likely due to the unabsorbed core of the Black-Scaled Blood Python. Although the amount of poison generated was minuscule, that alone was an incredible harvest.
At this point, calling it a mere poison sac was a misnomer. A core. No, more precisely, it was only right to call it a Dokyodan (Poison-Yo Core).
Is the naturally generated poison similar in property to the deadly venom of the Black-Scaled Blood Python?
This was also a boon for Dang Sobaek.
The venom of the Black-Scaled Blood Python was a variety he had rarely encountered even in his past life. It would be of immense help in blending and researching new poisons to open new horizons in the future.
Dang Sobaek would be able to resume his research into poison arts, which he had completely set aside after completing the Muhyeong-jidok-pyeon (Formless Poison Chapter).
His body felt lighter overall.
Being in a beast's body, his raw martial prowess could not compare to a human's, but the sheer scale of his power seemed to barely scrape the threshold of a First-class martial artist.
How strange, though.
His other siblings developed physical traits upon absorbing cores or consuming beasts imbued with yo-qi. Jim-sam and Jim-i were prime examples.
Yet, Dang Sobaek remained completely unchanged.
It could be because he possessed a human soul, or perhaps he was simply a mutant.
But if he were to fully absorb the python's core and complete his unfinished Dokyodan—
Perhaps...
Just then, Jim-i flew over and began frantically patting down Dang Sobaek's body.
Tsk, what a nuisance.
Yet, he did not push her away. He always tried to maintain a proper distance, but it never quite went as planned.
Good grief.
Had Jim-i not been stomping her feet in anxiety right before he entered his trance? She was simply worried. So, despite the annoyance, he let her be for now.
By the way, I don't see Jim-sam. Where did he go?
Sobaek could not sense Jim-sam's presence inside the cave. The carcass of the bat beast was still there, as was the Black-Scaled Blood Python.
Dang Sobaek stared at Jim-i. In response, she pointed her wing toward the cave exit.
It seemed he had returned to his nest.
The hunt was over, and the core had been absorbed. Having no reason to remain, he had simply left.
Well, it doesn't matter.
Sobaek had originally intended to share a portion of the carcasses. He had no intention of keeping it all to himself. After all, the Tang Clan was clear-cut about debts of gratitude and grudges.
Since he already knew where Jim-sam's nest was, he could just visit him later. The carcasses of spiritual beasts did not rot easily, so there was no rush.
Now that the battle was over and he had secured a hideout to use as a nest, it was time to survey the surroundings.
Outside the cave—specifically, the stream below—was an estuary where the river met the sea, making it unsuitable for drinking water. He would have to follow the river further upstream.
But before that...
He needed to examine the formation array here in more detail and patch up its flaws.
Just as Dang Sobaek thought this and prepared to head outside—
Flash!
The world flickered violently, and the entire cave shook with a deafening roll of thunder.