WeTried Translations

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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 41: Preparation

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As Upper Demon Grove led the Demon Race army through the region and swept aside anything in its path, Jegyeong and Cheongo had an exceptionally smooth journey back to the Spirit Spring in Cold River Plain.

Yet no matter how smooth the way was, Jegyeong felt as though he were sitting on a bed of thorns. Driven only by the thought that he had to return faster, he forced his creaking body onward.

“Jegyeong. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Cheongo, who had been scouting ahead, asked anxiously. Even they could see that Jegyeong’s condition was far from normal.

Cheongo had been Jegyeong’s companion since he was an ordinary snake. They had shared every kind of hardship and joy, and Cheongo had seen Jegyeong injured and exhausted more than once. If even Cheongo was this worried, it showed just how serious Jegyeong’s condition was.

In truth, Jegyeong had already reached his limit. Even his body, which had steadily grown stronger since becoming a Demon Beast, could endure no longer. He was moving through sheer force of will.

‘Urgh.’

On top of his physical condition, the fear that Sagaewan might catch up at any moment gnawed away at his mind. Fortunately, Sagaewan did not appear before the familiar river came into view in the distance.

‘Did Sagaewan die?’

He hoped so, but the possibility was slim.

Jegyeong had not seen Chaesan Old Demon die, nor did he know whether he was dead. Still, Jegyeong knew that Sagaewan had remained alive until the tide of battle sharply shifted toward the Human Race.

‘If I got out, there’s no way Sagaewan couldn’t have escaped too.’

Everything was uncertain.

With Sagaewan’s abilities, escaping the battlefield would have been easy. On the other hand, as one of Upper Demon Grove’s high-ranking forces, it was likely that the Human Race had pursued them relentlessly.

Had Sagaewan died? If not, would they return to Upper Demon Grove, or come after him?

There was no way to know. Jegyeong simply assumed the worst.

That was how he survived.

At times, he overprepared out of fear and regretted it afterward, but Jegyeong thought that was fine too. After all, one could only regret something while alive.

“Jegyeong! We’re here!”

“Yeah.”

At the sight of the Spirit Spring, strength seemed to return to his body. Jegyeong dragged his unbearably heavy body to the water’s edge, then turned to Cheongo.

“Cheongo. The fruit.”

“Huh? Oh, right.”

When he carefully accepted Muk-su’s fruit from Cheongo with his tongue and held it in his mouth, he felt a faint stir of life alongside its familiar Aura.

“It won’t take long. Wait here a little longer.”

“Okay.”

The moment he entered the water, his body felt much lighter and more comfortable. Jegyeong swelled his Aura as much as he could and headed toward the riverbed where the Healing Water was.

From time to time, he sensed Water Demons fleeing after detecting his Aura.

That sight reassured him.

Jegyeong knew very well that those Water Demons could change their attitude at any time. If he had not established his position here before, and if he looked weak now instead of forcefully swelling his Aura to put on a show, they would swarm him like piranhas that scented blood, eager for his flesh.

‘Haa.’

Perhaps his mind had reached its limit, or perhaps returning to familiar surroundings had loosened his tension. Warning lights began flashing throughout his body. More precisely, he was only now beginning to notice the warning lights that had been flashing for a long time.

‘Not much farther. Just a little more.’

More than swimming, he focused on maintaining his inflated Aura. The Water Demons had retreated after sensing his exaggerated Aura, but some, drawn by the smell of his blood, still lingered at a suitable distance.

The instant they realized his display was a bluff, they would rush him as though they had been waiting for it.

‘There. I’m here.’

It took nearly twice as long as usual to reach the riverbed. Jegyeong laboriously pushed aside the rock he had placed over the entrance.

He worried that one of them might lose patience and attack, but thankfully, nothing happened.

‘It’s there.’

He had expected it to be, but seeing the Healing Water still intact filled him with relief that he had survived. At the same time, the thread of tension he had barely maintained finally slackened.

Jegyeong carefully set Muk-su’s fruit down, approached the Healing Water, and cautiously extended his tongue as he had once done before.

The moment its tip touched the Healing Water, coolness washed over his entire body.

The pain and fatigue that had tormented him for days vanished as though rinsed away, replaced by comfort so complete that he almost felt reborn.

He had experienced it once before, but Jegyeong was struck anew by what an incredible treasure this Healing Water was.

“Haa.”

After confirming that his body had fully recovered, Jegyeong opened his eyes.

Very little Healing Water remained.

He had used far more than before. It was likely because his condition had been much worse this time.

He did not find it particularly regrettable. If anything, he thought it might be for the best.

‘Though I don’t know if it’ll work.’

Jegyeong picked up Muk-su’s fruit, which he had carefully set down beside him, and brought it to the Healing Water.

The fruit twitched faintly as it touched the soft blue light of the Healing Water. At the same time, what little Healing Water remained gradually diminished.

Before long, it vanished completely.

The fruit that had absorbed the Healing Water looked glossier than before and twitched from time to time.

It sounded strange to say a fruit twitched, but there was no other way to describe it.

Feeling the familiar Aura within the fruit grow stronger, Jegyeong let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

A bloody wind, no, a storm of blood swept through the once-peaceful river.

“Graaah!”

Jegyeong slammed the Water Demon he had bitten down on hard onto the riverbed, then lashed it repeatedly with his tail.

The creature could not even react. Its eyes rolled back as it was sent flying.

The hunt had taken fewer than ten breaths. Compared to before, it was astonishingly fast.

The Water Demon had been relatively small and weak, which played a part. Still, the greater reason was the remarkable progress Jegyeong had made over the past few days.

His mind and Spiritual Essence, which had been battered by exposure to the Aura of Foundation Establishment cultivators and Great Demon Beasts, had fully recovered thanks to the Healing Water.

On top of that, perhaps his near-death struggles over the past few days had not been for nothing. Jegyeong realized that every one of his senses had become sharper than before.

Even that was minor compared to the changes brought by the Spiritual Seed.

Having freely consumed the Spiritual Power of Human Race cultivators, the Spiritual Seed had dissolved more deeply into his Spiritual Essence than before, enriching and developing it as a whole.

The development of Spiritual Essence did not simply mean that one’s spiritual senses and abilities improved.

Cultivators who walked the Immortal Path had already left the ranks of ordinary living creatures and entered the process of becoming transcendent beings. The higher their realm, the farther they moved from the mundane and the closer they came to transcendence.

Jegyeong had yet to become a Great Demon Beast, but he stood before that threshold. In a sense, he could already be considered a transcendent creature.

For Jegyeong, then, Spiritual Essence represented the rank of his existence. Its development meant that rank had risen.

Of course, Jegyeong did not know what the rank of one’s existence meant. He only felt that the development of his Spiritual Essence had greatly improved every part of him.

Bang!

Water Demons without any special traits were no different from ordinary beasts to him now.

Jegyeong finished off the first Water Demon he had hunted and tore its body open. Then he pushed Muk-su’s fruit into the exposed flesh.

As he had expected and hoped, the fruit began moving actively upon touching the Water Demon’s blood and flesh, just as it had when it absorbed the Healing Water.

Once he saw the blood dry up and the flesh shrivel, Jegyeong took the fruit back into his mouth when its movements began to settle. Then he rose to the surface.

“Cheongo.”

As Jegyeong poked his head out of the water, Cheongo flew over as though they had been waiting.

“Take it.”

Jegyeong passed the fruit from his mouth to Cheongo.

“Sagaewan might come. You should stay hidden for a few days, no, at least ten days.”

“Sagaewan? Are they coming? Why?”

“I don’t know. But... they probably will. So hide.”

“Just me? What about you?”

Jegyeong remembered Sagaewan’s gleaming eyes.

Had Sagaewan only stared at him, he could have dismissed them as a disgusting creature and moved on. Yet Sagaewan had left a new mark on his Spiritual Essence. Without a doubt, that was a clear declaration of intent.

“I can’t hide.”

That was why he could not flee.

Cheongo was different. Sagaewan’s target was him, so if Jegyeong remained here, there was a good chance Cheongo could escape without trouble.

Cheongo was not foolish. They should be able to understand that much.

“No. I won’t leave. Sagaewan left a mark on me too. Running won’t help.”

It was a foolish stubbornness that even Cheongo could recognize.

Looking at Cheongo’s determined eyes, Jegyeong swallowed the words he had been about to say.

“Do what you want. Take good care of Muk-su.”

“Muk-su? Right. This is Muk-su, isn’t it? It is, right? I knew it!”

Cheongo carefully held the fruit in both feet. The stiffness in their eyes melted away.

“Hide or don’t hide. Do whatever you want.”

“What about you?”

“I have something to do.”

After that short reply, Jegyeong entered the water again.

* * *

When Upper Demon Grove gathered every kind of Demon Race member, Water Demons were the only ones not mobilized. Most of them could not leave the water and function on land, so Upper Demon Grove had not even considered gathering them.

As a result, the Water Demons around the Spirit Spring had not decreased at all. If anything, because Jegyeong had been away for several days, their numbers seemed to have increased.

Crunch-

Jegyeong chewed and swallowed the Water Demon he had just hunted while searching for his next target.

This was already his third, no, fourth one. The Water Demons nearby had all fled far away, but for Jegyeong, who had mastered the Qi Concealment Technique, that was only a minor inconvenience.

The simple Water Demons could not notice him until he revealed himself right before their eyes. By then, it was already too late.

‘Good. But it’s still nowhere near enough.’

Everything he ate was immediately digested, and his Qi and Blood increased.

Digestion was one thing, but the increase in Qi and Blood meant something else. Until a few days ago, he had barely felt it increase no matter how much he ate. Now he could clearly sense it growing, as strongly as when his Qi and Blood had been rapidly increasing before.

Was it because he had survived a brush with death? Or because his Spiritual Essence had developed?

Jegyeong believed it was the latter.

‘If the Spiritual Seed plays a role similar to a Bloodline, then the expansion of my Spiritual Essence could mean that the extent of my talent has increased.’

Talent.

At any other time, he might have been happy enough to perform a snake dance. Now, he had neither the mood nor the leisure for that.

Crunch-!

Jegyeong swallowed the remaining Water Demon meat in one gulp and moved to find his next prey.

Though he had just devoured an entire Water Demon that was not small, his body did not feel heavy at all.

Such monstrous digestive power was certainly not normal, but he did not find it strange in the slightest.

‘My body’s hot.’

It felt as though a huge furnace had settled inside him.

His Spirit and Flesh constantly commanded him to throw meat into that furnace. The command felt as natural as a rumbling stomach crying out to be fed.

“Graaah!”

How many Water Demons had he hunted like that?

Once the count passed ten, he stopped keeping track. No matter how much he ate, it did not seem enough, and the heat in his body did not fade.

Thump!

At some point, his heart began to pound.

His body grew hotter, and the surrounding water began to boil under its influence.

Unlike before, the Spiritual Seed had not escaped his control. It had quietly dissolved into his Spiritual Essence as though it had become one with it.

Jegyeong did not panic.

There was no reason to panic.

This was the moment he had intended and waited for.

‘Please.’

Jegyeong dragged his steaming body to a suitable place and coiled up.

He did not worry about anyone approaching. Not only Water Demons, but even ordinary fish had become hard to find nearby.

Crack!

A sound like bones shifting rang out.

There was no pain at all. It only felt as though he were receiving a refreshing massage.

It was clearly different from his previous Molting, which had come with searing pain.

Crack!

Another sound of bones twisting signaled the true beginning of his Molting.

* * *

Cheongo buried Muk-su’s fruit in the ground and tossed animal carcasses around it.

Though the tree had become a fruit, its habits seemed unchanged. The carcasses placed around the fruit quickly had all their nutrients drained away and shriveled up.

Just as they had once done for Jegyeong, Cheongo steadily brought food to the new Muk-su.

There was not much else to do.

Several days had passed since Jegyeong went into the water.

Cheongo’s entire routine consisted of filling their stomach, bringing food to Muk-su, and blankly waiting for Jegyeong to emerge.

‘Will he come out today?’

Cheongo occasionally gazed at the river, where faint ripples spread across the surface.

When staying still grew tiresome, they would idly raise a wing to groom their feathers or sharpen their claws against trees and rocks.

After doing that for a long while, Cheongo suddenly jerked upright in alarm and flew high into the air.

‘They’re coming. They’re really coming!’

With eyes sharper than a hawk’s, Cheongo instantly recognized the dark shape approaching from far away.

Sagaewan!

It was Sagaewan. Just as Jegyeong had said, that two-headed monster had truly followed them!

‘What do I do? What do I do?’

Cheongo had said they would not leave because they did not want to part with Jegyeong. Yet when the time came to face Sagaewan, fear consumed them.

“Urgh!”

Should they run now? But Sagaewan had no wings and could still fly faster than Cheongo. Even if they fled, Sagaewan would catch them quickly.

While Cheongo hesitated, unable to do anything, Sagaewan arrived.

Boom!

When Sagaewan landed, the heavy impact cracked the ground and made the trees sway.

Only then could Cheongo fully see Sagaewan’s condition.

Sagaewan looked very different from what Cheongo remembered.

Only one head had both eyes intact, and their entire body was covered in wounds. Murky blood seeped from some injuries, while thin streams of dark, smoke-like vapor leaked from others.

They were clearly not in normal condition, yet that only made them seem more ominous.

“You. The crow that was with the snake.”

“A crow? Right. The crow. I can smell the crow.”

The head with the injured eye moved as it sniffed. Blood-mixed drool dripped from its mouth.

“Where is the snake? I can smell him. He’s close.”

“Has he gone into the water?”

Terrified, Cheongo could not say a word and only trembled.

The head with the injured eye frowned.

“Forget it. We know he’s nearby anyway. I’m hungry too, so let’s just eat the crow.”

The instant Cheongo heard that, they shouted.

“H-he went hunting! Over there... at that rocky mountain!”

Their voice trembled, as did their body.

Still, it was the bravest Cheongo had ever been in their life.

Facing a Great Demon Beast with such an ominous presence, being able to say even that much was a miracle.

“A rocky mountain?”

The head with intact eyes glanced in the direction Cheongo pointed, then gave a low laugh.

“A lie.”

“I thought the crow was smart, but the crow is foolish.”

Sagaewan took a step forward.

Cheongo was so frightened that they could not even think of running. Their beak only clicked helplessly.

“Why did the crow lie? Did the crow want to send me over there and escape?”

“What does it matter? I’m hungry. Let’s eat the crow.”

Sagaewan growled and rushed forward.

“Aaah!”

Cheongo squeezed their eyes shut, anticipating the painful end that was about to come.

Yet even after their scream ended, the pain they expected did not come.

Had they died without even having time to feel it?

A moment later, Cheongo's body still trembling violently, they sensed something strange and cautiously opened one eye.

What they saw was not Sagaewan’s vicious face, but a hazy fog.

No, it was steam.

‘Huh?’

Even after opening both eyes wide, Cheongo could see nothing but steam before them.

Sagaewan’s oppressive Aura was still there, but their form could not be seen. Was this thick steam concealing them?

“What kind of trick is this?”

“Come out! You damned snake!”

Sagaewan’s killing intent dripped from their shout.

“Graaah!”

A moment later, as though answering that call, a savage roar echoed up from deep within the river.

Footnotes:

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