WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: WeTried Translations

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 25: Healing Water

──────

It was fortunate that he had learned Healing Water from a Spirit Spring could treat his eye, but how to obtain that Healing Water was still a problem.

“A Spirit Spring? Healing Water?”

As expected, Cheongo rounded their eyes and asked what those were and whether they were good.

‘This one is becoming more and more like a person.’

Cheongo had already been intelligent enough before, but now they truly seemed no different from a person.

If anything, they were a little too innocent.

“Yes. If I have it, I can treat my eye.”

“What if you don't have it? Can't it be treated?”

“I don't know. Either way, I need it. So can you look for it?”

“But how can I find it when I don't know what it is?”

Jegyeong repeated to Cheongo what Yu Gyeyun had told him.

“Uh... I don't really understand. But I'll look for it.”

Cheongo rubbed their head with a wing and shifted their gaze, looking as though they had not fully understood. Still, for now, he had no choice but to rely on Cheongo.

Yu Gyeyun had said Spirit Springs were found in Spiritual Lands, so they would have to search the Spiritual Lands. Yet every Spiritual Land nearby had an owner.

If Jegyeong went snooping around to see whether one had a Spirit Spring, a fight was bound to break out.

If he knew a Spiritual Land contained a Spirit Spring, that would be one thing. Since he was not even sure, he could not charge in blindly. Cheongo had to take the lead first.

“By the way, how is it? Do you think you're about to molt?”

“Yes. Soon.”

After moving here, they had hunted Demon Beasts steadily.

They split the prey three ways, but they had hunted so many that Jegyeong's body was preparing for another change.

Whenever he had time, Jegyeong cultivated the Qi Concealment Technique and contemplated himself. Through that, he had realized Molting was close.

His Qi and Blood had already begun to surge. At the latest, it would probably begin within two days.

‘After I molt once more, I won't have to keep hiding like I do now.’

There were many powerful Demon Beasts here.

Some looked easy enough to handle, but there were also quite a few dangerous ones that seemed difficult to face at a glance.

Difficult, in this case, meant they would be hard to defeat even with the help of the Wood Demon and Cheongo.

‘I only understood after coming here that not all Demon Beasts are alike.’

Just as humans were divided into geniuses and dullards according to talent, Demon Beasts differed in talent and strength according to the Bloodline they possessed.

A Demon Beast that naturally grew after inheriting the Bloodline of a divine beast spoken of only in legends could not be the same as one that happened to find and consume a spiritual treasure, changing its fate.

The Demon Beasts Jegyeong had seen before were all closer to the latter.

Only after arriving here did he begin to understand what a Bloodline was and how different Demon Beasts with Bloodlines were from those without them.

‘Even after reincarnating, there are still those born with silver spoons.’

It was ridiculous, but that was all. He did not feel like lamenting it.

If anything, Jegyeong looked forward to how much he could gain by eating these so-called Bloodline Demon Beasts.

* * *

“Grrrrr.”

Having completed another Molting, Jegyeong let out a growl that carried both his irritation at the pain he had endured and his joy at the power overflowing within him.

His low growl seemed to shake the entire swamp.

Wooooo!

The Wood Demon, rooted some distance away, howled in response.

Jegyeong did not know its exact meaning, but he could tell it was offering congratulations.

They had shared hardships for what could be called either a short or long time. Naturally, they had learned to guess one another's intentions.

“Thanks.”

As if wondering why he was saying such things, the Wood Demon lightly shook one branch.

“Where's Cheongo?”

Woo...

‘Not back yet.’

It was later than expected, but understandable.

Cheongo was not simply glancing over Spiritual Lands. They had to check whether each one held a Spirit Spring. Even Cheongo would need time.

Having completed his Molting, Jegyeong calmly contemplated his heated body.

Unlike before, this Molting had not brought particularly great changes to his body.

There had been no rapid growth or sharp increase in power. Instead, the parts of his body damaged in earlier fights had healed.

Scales that had cracked and fallen away grew back. Wounds that had remained as unhealed scars also faded.

For a moment, he wondered if all the Qi and Blood meant for growth had been spent restoring his body. But after confirming through contemplation that his condition was stable, Jegyeong realized that was not the case.

‘The stimulation from my Qi and Blood isn't as intense as before.’

During his previous Molting, his boiling Qi and Blood had raged through him as if it would tear his body apart.

This time, it was still boiling, but it was relatively stable, like water in a kettle.

Why was it different this time? Had he not accumulated enough Qi and Blood?

But if that were true, the Molting would never have begun in the first place.

‘I’ll find out in time.’

He would learn whether this continued in the future.

With no one to teach him and nothing to use as a reference, Jegyeong could only experience and guess for himself amid the uncertainty.

‘Still, it isn't bad.’

He had not gained the clear growth he expected, but most of his old injuries had healed instead.

Wounds he had thought might need the power of Healing Water to treat alongside his eye had mostly healed this time. All in all, it had been a fairly satisfying Molting.

‘My eye still won't open.’

It was as though someone had glued his eyelids shut.

At least he no longer felt pain in the closed eye, unlike before. But this had already continued for well over a month.

At first, he believed it was healing. Now that it had remained this way for more than a month, he could no longer be as optimistic as before.

‘I can only hope the Healing Water works.’

Yu Gyeyun had spoken as if there would be no problem as long as he had Healing Water. Jegyeong could only hope that was true.

“I’m back!”

Just as Jegyeong finished contemplating himself and was about to catch his breath, Cheongo’s lively shout came from far away.

“Did you find Healing Water?”

“I couldn't find that. I found several Spirit Springs, but I don't know whether they have Healing Water. I tried to look closer, but fierce ones kept glaring at me, so I couldn't get near.”

“I see.”

Whether they were Demon Beasts or Demon Entities, none of those occupying Spiritual Lands were easy opponents.

They were powerful and more wary than ordinary Demon Beasts. Naturally, they would not stand by while an unfamiliar Demon Beast entered their territory.

‘Do I have to check them one by one?’

He had expected it might be difficult, but the reality still left a bitter taste.

“Tell me everything about the Spirit Springs you found. Where they are, what kinds of creatures occupy them, all of it.”

The place where they stayed was still part of the endless mountain range.

But unlike before, it was not all forest. Varied terrain spread before them.

There were sharp peaks like upside-down stalactites. Strange rocks stretched out like sand on a white beach. Fierce streams flowed through the land, neither quite rivers nor creeks.

When Jegyeong had first arrived, he wondered how such a place could exist.

At the same time, he was struck by the vast mountain range.

Come to think of it, after reincarnating in the Azure Basket Realm, he had never left this enormous range.

How vast was it? How immense and broad did it have to be to contain all of this without effort?

Were there many places like this in the Azure Basket Realm? Did the seniors in the Forget-Me Garden know about it?

After opening his eyes in this unfamiliar world, Jegyeong had always been too busy surviving to focus on anything beyond what lay before him.

In truth, it could not be helped.

He had no room to look elsewhere, and what different feelings could he have found in a place filled with nothing but trees and grass in every direction?

This place was different.

No matter where he looked, wondrous and mysterious scenery caught his attention.

It felt as if the weariness that had gathered in his heart without him noticing was being cleansed away.

Perhaps this was also a luxury he could enjoy only because he still retained a human heart.

“Are we doing this?”

“We have to. I can't keep living with only one eye.”

Cheongo had identified four Spirit Springs in total.

Two were so distant that they could not reach them within five days, so Jegyeong excluded them for now.

Of the closer two, one was in a river and the other in a large cave. A Catfish Demon Beast occupied the river, while a Rock Demon occupied the cave.

Jegyeong chose the river.

The decision was entirely based on their owners.

He judged that a familiar Demon Beast would be easier to face than a Demon Entity whose abilities he could not even guess.

“Jegyeong, you need to be careful. That catfish is really fierce. Even if you only get near it, it pokes its head out and starts yelling.”

“That's because it's weak.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it. If it was truly that confident in its strength, wouldn't it welcome other creatures entering the river? Its food would be coming right up to its mouth on its own. I think that thing acts fiercer on purpose because it's scared.”

“Uh... is that really it?”

Whether that was true or not, he could not know without looking into the catfish's mind.

Jegyeong only said it because Cheongo seemed too intimidated, and he wanted to give them some confidence.

“You still need to be careful. I saw that catfish fighting before. It can control the river water.”

“Really?”

Jegyeong fell into thought for a moment, then flicked his tongue as if it were no big deal.

It could control water? Certainly, that would be troublesome. But could it compare to the Dharma Artifacts and Dharma arts the Human Race cultivators had hurled at him together?

Even if it was an ability awakened from its Bloodline, if a Demon Beast used it, at most it would be on the level of a simple Dharma art.

Jegyeong had already been hit by plenty of Dharma arts. He did not find the catfish's ability Cheongo described all that impressive.

“And it can move really fast in the water.”

“So can I.”

He was confident in a fight underwater.

Of course, he could not compare to a fish Demon Beast that lived only in water. Still, he could not let himself be intimidated before they even met.

Jegyeong gathered the information Cheongo had given him and formed a hunting plan.

Avoiding a fight would be best if possible, but since Cheongo had failed, he had no choice but to enter the Spirit Spring himself and see whether it held Healing Water.

A fight would naturally be unavoidable then, so he made a hunting plan in advance.

‘A fish Demon Beast with excessive wariness.’

A hunt.

This could not be a fight. It had to be a hunt.

The result would be the same either way, but a hunt meant facing an enemy that was unprepared while he was thoroughly prepared.

“You'll have to put in some work.”

After carefully forming his plan, Jegyeong stuck out his tongue at the Wood Demon, which was quietly enjoying the sunlight.

* * *

Woooo...

The Wood Demon’s notable traits were that it absorbed nearby life force to nourish itself, bore Spirit Fruit, and possessed a massive body.

A body large enough to catch the eye anywhere was usually a disadvantage in the struggle for survival, but it could be very useful for certain purposes.

Like now.

Splash!

One of the Wood Demon’s thick roots plunged into the rapidly flowing river.

As if checking the temperature before soaking itself in bathwater, the Wood Demon shyly dipped one root into the water. Apparently deciding the temperature was fine, it began placing its other roots into the river one by one.

It had put about half of its roots into the water and was about to lower its trunk in as well.

Crash!

With a violent roar, a huge surge of water, no, a small wave rushed directly toward the Wood Demon.

Sensing danger, the Wood Demon drove its roots into the riverbed and endured the powerful current.

Then, just as the wave seemed ready to collide with it and split apart, it abruptly changed direction and shook the Wood Demon once more.

It looked as if a small whirlpool had formed around the Wood Demon.

‘That’s it.’

From a small hill overlooking the Wood Demon, Jegyeong took his eyes off it as it was caught in the current and stared at the center of the river, where waves still rose.

He could not see through the water just by looking, but his sensitive Spirit Awareness detected a powerful presence there.

‘It seems to detect anything the moment it enters the water. Similar to that frog before. Is its ability to sense things maximized only underwater?’

One detail bothered him. If it had sensed the Wood Demon’s approach in advance, it should have reacted before the root entered the river.

It was more reasonable to assume that the creature’s sensing ability only worked underwater or right near the river.

After all, Cheongo had said they were discovered when they approached the river to see whether it had Healing Water.

‘That's still incredible. The river is wide.’

Compared to that astonishing sensing ability, its power to control the river water did not seem all that remarkable.

The Wood Demon, helplessly being battered by that ability, might have thought differently. But Jegyeong did not.

“Are you really going to do it?”

Cheongo, who had been holding their breath beside him, asked cautiously.

“Don't worry. My body is tough.”

“I know. I do, but...”

Cheongo carefully poked their head out and looked down at the river, which writhed violently as though it were a giant snake.

“I’m going. Watch from here, then judge for yourself when to move.”

Jegyeong focused his Spirit Awareness on the presence below the river and gauged the distance.

‘Three. Two. One.’

He remembered bungee jumping in his previous life.

He had vowed never to do it again after trying it once, yet now he was about to jump without even a safety cord.

Strangely, he was not afraid at all. Was it because a Demon Beast had more nerve than a human, or because he knew jumping into the river would not hurt him?

Probably the latter.

Thud!

He flicked his tail and launched himself.

Feeling the cool wind sweep over his entire body, Jegyeong concentrated on the river rushing closer and the intense Aura beneath it.

The river drew nearer.

The instant he sensed the coming impact and his body naturally tensed, five or six large droplets shot toward him at once.

‘Faster than I expected.’

He could have avoided them, but he had no intention of doing so.

Trusting in his tough body, Jegyeong took the droplets head-on.

It hurt, but not badly.

The impact was no worse than when he had been struck by the Wood Demon’s roots before.

Splash!

When his massive body, over twenty-five meters long, crashed into the water, a huge spray rose.

His vision was naturally obscured by cloudy foam, but that posed no problem for Jegyeong.

He moved toward the Aura directly beneath him, faster than his opponent could react.

‘There you are.’

The moment a dark shape entered his sight, Jegyeong lunged without hesitation and bared his teeth.

His wide-open mouth, filled with sawlike teeth, bit into smooth flesh.

“Guaaah!”

In the eye he could see, long, thin whisker-like feelers thrashed wildly.

Jegyeong clenched his jaws tighter and coiled around his opponent, wondering what it was.

‘Ah. Cheongo said it was a catfish.’

He had only half believed Cheongo, but now that he saw it, the creature certainly looked like a catfish.

‘Give up. I’m never letting go.’

The Catfish Demon Beast struggled harder and harder, but Jegyeong held on with all his strength.

He bit his prey and constricted it with his whole body.

It was a killing move he had repeated countless times since his days as a beast, and it had never failed him.

Once he had caught something, Jegyeong was confident he could hold it, even if it was a Demon Beast.

Crunch!

After several minutes of fierce wrestling, the Catfish Demon Beast apparently decided this would not work and changed its strategy.

It stopped struggling to escape, laboriously turned its head, and bit Jegyeong with its large mouth.

Did it want to compare their biting strength and endurance? Jegyeong welcomed that.

But...

‘It won't be that easy after all.’

The current that had flowed in one direction changed course.

Only seconds later, the whirlpool that had surrounded the Wood Demon now wrapped around Jegyeong.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried