Snow Falls Endlessly Upon the Plateau, Part 2
It was a spine-chilling sight.
Hundreds of cocoons lay dormant. Had they discovered them even a moment later, it would have resulted in an irreversible catastrophe.
Dang Sobaek swallowed a groan and spoke in a low voice.
"To think they set up such a thing right above the cave. I know not whether to call this a stroke of fortune."
"Well, as long as we weren't too late, that is all that matters," the weasel said, waving his paw through the air. The embedded cocoons floated up and stacked themselves neatly in one place.
"Hmm..."
The cocoons came in various shapes. It seemed the parasites had not stopped at monkeys but had infested every beast in sight.
Soon, the weasel had piled them into a hill of cocoons. It was so high that one had to crane their neck to see the top.
"There are... truly a great many of them."
It was Dang Sobaek's honest impression.
Could one's mind remain intact after slaughtering such a vast number of beasts? Hardly. No matter how much a spiritual beast fed on resentment to grow, there had to be a limit.
Dang Sobaek glanced at Jim-i.
Sensing his gaze, Jim-i crept closer to Dang Sobaek and wrapped her wing around him.
"?"
"Sorry!"
Sobaek's vision was momentarily obscured.
He wondered what she was doing, but then a blast of hot wind swept over them. She had set the cocoons ablaze.
Fwooooosh!
Once ignited, the flames spread with terrifying ease. A horrific stench wafted through the air, nearly unbearable.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
After a short while, the cocoons began to burst all at once. Green bodily fluids splattered, staining the snow on the ground.
Watching this, Dang Sobaek suddenly recalled a fact he had forgotten.
He had been so distracted by the cocoons that he hadn't paid attention. Hadn't they rushed out of the cave because of a tremor resembling an earthquake?
And.
What on earth was that dark shadow cast upon the ceiling?
Was it truly just an earthquake?
The weasel seemed to be harboring the same suspicion, frowning as he extended his Divine Sense to investigate.
Sobaek could have easily extended his own Divine Sense across that distance, but there was no need to waste his energy.
Just then,
Thoom!
Once again, the very earth shook.
It was clear now.
This was no earthquake.
Something was approaching.
The source of the sound was drawing closer.
The stench grew stronger as well.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud-thud-thud!
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
A cloud of dust rose from the mountain slope to the left of the snowy field. Trees snapped and splintered with loud, cracking groans.
Yet, the weasel's expression remained remarkably calm.
"Is that the monkey spiritual beast you spoke of?"
Dang Sobaek focused his mind and peered closely.
A beast larger than most giant trees was charging toward them.
Only then did Jim-il and Jim-i spot it. Startled, they soared into the sky. As the distance closed, its form became distinct.
It had the face of a monkey but the body and legs of a spider, covered in shaggy red fur. A dark, ink-like energy wafted around it like a hazy heat shimmer.
"It did not possess such a hideous appearance before... yet the energy it exudes is strangely similar."
"It must be the same one. It likely underwent this bizarre emergence as a side effect of absorbing more resentment and true blood than it could handle."
"What do you intend to do?"
To Dang Sobaek, the energy of the massive beast felt incredibly violent and immense.
No matter how formidable the weasel was, it was difficult to predict the outcome of a clash.
"What else? It looks to be a mere half-breed that failed to emerge properly. I must put an end to it here and now."
With a confident smirk, the weasel shot up into the air.
At that moment,
Rumble!
A fierce gale whipped up with a violent, air-rending screech. In a single strike, the area near the heart of the monstrosity—the Human-Faced Spider, or rather, the Monkey-Faced Spider—was shredded to pieces.
The only problem was...
Skrrrrt! Skrreeeech!
As if possessing an immortal body, the Monkey-Faced Spider regenerated in an instant. Its wounds closed, and its heart grew back.
The weasel clicked his tongue.
"Unable to withstand the dense spiritual energy and potent resentment, it has ultimately degenerated into an aberration."
The situation did not progress optimistically.
For even as they burned in Jim-i's flames, the aberrations that had successfully emerged began to awaken one by one.
Though most were already heavily injured, scorched and charred by the fire, their numbers were too great to ignore.
While Dang Sobaek and the other Jimjos worked together to handle the spiritual beasts—no, the aberrations—the weasel focused entirely on the Monkey-Faced Spider.
"What a stubbornly persistent life. Having lived this long, is it not time to let go?"
At the weasel's sneer, the Monkey-Faced Spider hissed in slurred Yo-language, dripping with hatred:
"Skrrr... Rat... bastard..."
It spewed an endless stream of spider silk from its maw.
"Well, though seeking eternal life is the very essence of a cultivator..."
The silk filled the sky, raining down in a massive semi-circular dome.
There was no escape in sight.
Its rigidity and sharpness were akin to well-forged blades.
"Is this not a bit excessive?"
Had it been an ordinary spiritual beast,
it would not have even been able to react.
But.
Clang!
The weasel calmly manifested a spell, slicing through the webbing and slipping through the gap.
The Monkey-Faced Spider's power was immense, almost off the charts. In terms of sheer physical scale, it held the upper hand over the weasel.
But that was all.
It lacked refinement.
It knew neither how to deceive its opponent,
nor how to exploit an opening.
It merely sought to crush everything with brute force.
"Tsk. Ignorant of your own pathetic state."
"Kill... you!"
"With nothing but hatred remaining, your spiritual nature has completely collapsed. Then again, having absorbed the true blood and resentment of thousands of beasts, I suppose it is a miracle you have maintained even this much sanity."
Deflecting the Monkey-Faced Spider's relentless attacks, the weasel cast a quick glance aside.
I wonder if those little ones can hold out.
But his worries were entirely unfounded.
Under Dang Sobaek's leadership, the young Jimjos were systematically dealing with the Monkey-Faced Spider's dregs.
He was truly an extraordinary fellow.
This was not a level of performance expected from someone who had never learned proper spiritual beast cultivation methods or martial arts.
He possessed the talent to become a grandmaster of his generation.
Swoosh!
Without relying on any divine abilities, Sobaek steadily thinned their numbers using only his feathers and poison.
If only his core were intact...
He would have swept them away in an instant with that technique he had shown before.
The other two, though different in style, did not seem to warrant much concern either.
Jim-i, in particular, possessed such superb flight skills that her ability to evade the aberrations' attacks was outstanding.
The weasel barely managed to suppress a twitching smile as he casually swatted away the incoming webbing.
Perhaps angered by this dismissive attitude,
"Where... are you... looking?!" the Monkey-Faced Spider roared in fury, gathering its spiritual qi.
"Ah, yes. I must deal with you first."
Slash!
The razor-sharp wind manifested by the weasel severed four of the spider's left legs simultaneously. Losing its balance, the massive body crashed to the ground, sending tremors through the earth.
Yet, that was only temporary.
The Monkey-Faced Spider's body regenerated in the blink of an eye by absorbing several nearby aberrations.
"Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you!"
"Quiet! I shall play with you, so pray shut that foul-smelling maw of yours."
Sweeping the entire area clean would be the simplest method.
If it were the main body, perhaps it would be different, but
these mere dregs of aberrations would be wiped out in a single blow.
However, doing so would sweep up the young Jimjos as well.
To realize his future plans, these hatchlings were absolutely indispensable.
Well, I suppose it cannot be helped.
He would have to push himself a little too hard this time.
Still, if it meant completely eradicating the troublesome Monkey-Faced Spider,
it is not too great a loss.
The weasel gathered his spiritual qi and formed a hand seal.
Soon, he spoke aloud, ensuring the young Jimjos could hear him.
"Originally, lightning possesses the power to destroy evil and manifest righteousness!"
Violet lightning began to crackle violently around the weasel.
"Skrrr!"
Sensing the danger, the Monkey-Faced Spider lunged forward to ram him, attempting to disrupt the spell.
"There is no better force to eradicate wickedness and purify heaven and earth."
However, the spell manifested by the weasel was a fraction of a second faster.
Purple Star Heavenly Light Lightning Prison
A violet sphere formed around the Monkey-Faced Spider.
Under the relentless onslaught of lightning, the spider's body repeatedly crumbled and regenerated by absorbing the surrounding aberrations.
It was truly worthy of being called a lightning prison.
From here on, it was a battle of attrition between the weasel's spiritual qi and the Monkey-Faced Spider's regenerative power.
"Kieeeeeeeek!"
Every time the Monkey-Faced Spider shrieked and thrashed, the lightning prison shook violently. Blood welled up in the weasel's throat and spilled past his lips.
"You endure with disgusting tenacity."
As the number of aberrations dwindled, the spider's frenzy grew even more desperate.
It had realized instinctively:
The moment its means of regeneration vanished completely,
it might be utterly annihilated.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
The lightning prison shook without pause.
An ominous sound echoed, and
Crackle! Snap!
spiderweb-like cracks began to spider across the prison.
The strain on the weasel mounted steadily.
As the Monkey-Faced Spider forced its way through the cracks,
Cough!
a torrent of blood erupted from the weasel's mouth.
The backlash hit him hard as his spell was forcibly torn open.
Right then,
"!!"
Flames suddenly erupted around the cracked lightning prison. The Monkey-Faced Spider's red fur turned to ash and scattered.
Following that,
Swoosh!
dozens of feathers flew through the air, embedding themselves between the spider's eyes.
While Dang Sobaek drew the aberration's attention,
the other Jimjos had joined the fray, seeing that the situation was turning grim.
They can barely fend for themselves...
The aberrations had not yet been completely wiped out.
Yet, even in such a state, the young Jimjos had divided their strength to aid him.
The weasel let out a hollow laugh.
There was no need to ask whose command it was.
To accurately analyze the situation, make a judgment, and execute a decision in the midst of such a chaotic battlefield?
It was utterly absurd.
The weasel thought:
That fellow.
Him, at least.
I must find a way to awaken his spiritual root, no matter what it takes.
"To think that I, of all people, would receive aid from hatchlings."
Summoning superhuman concentration, the weasel maintained the Purple Star Heavenly Light Lightning Prison while preparing another spell.
This was different from the spiritual arts he had shown thus far.
A spiritual art was a type of power engraved upon and passed down through one's true blood.
The weasel's lineage was incredibly thin and insignificant, but he had honed and refined it to make it usable.
However, the spell he was preparing now was no such incomplete art.
It was the Wind and Thunder Resonance Scripture, his natal cultivation method that had elevated him to the fourth layer of the Qi Condensation realm.
Wind and Thunder Resonance Scripture
In accordance with its profound power, a crimson thunderbolt accompanied by wind and rain crashed down,
Kyaaaaaaaaah!
and instantly pulverized the Monkey-Faced Spider.
There was not even a moment for it to regenerate.
Along with its clones and the resentment of the slaughtered beasts, the Monkey-Faced Spider turned to ash and scattered in the wind.
A round, ink-colored inner core dropped onto the cold snow with a soft thud.
Snow began to pile gently over it.
It was, indeed, a very gloomy day.