Ophidian of the Immortal World - Chapter 96

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: WeTried Translations

◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 96: Cheongo’s Sleep-Talking

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Jegyeong named the stage of body tempering cultivation, or rather, its bottleneck, the Body Gate.

The Human Race's Body Cultivators might have their own realm divisions, but Jegyeong's cultivation differed from theirs.

Having crossed the Body Gate once, did that mean he was at the mid-stage of Qi Refining? Absolutely not.

Judging solely by the improvement in his strength, Jegyeong believed his body tempering cultivation was at least equivalent to the Human Race's mid-stage Foundation Establishment level.

“Phew.”

After completing another Molting, Jegyeong recalled the second Body Gate he had sensed for only an instant.

Molting was like a qualitative leap.

With one great bound, one undergoes an ascension in one's very level of life.

In that moment of leaping, one can briefly sense many things whose existence one had never even known.

As one leaps upward and one's perspective rises, one naturally sees more.

The experience had been brief, but it was enough.

Cultivation was an endless walk through darkness. Even a single point of light was enough to illuminate the path.

At the very least, it was enough to clear away uncertainty and give one direction.

‘I'm at the bottom again.’

He told himself that money, no, Spirit Stones, came and went, and that as long as he could put them toward cultivation, it was worthwhile no matter what. Still, he could not help feeling pained when he looked at his Storage bag, now thin and empty after once being so full.

‘I'll have to wait at least four months for the Fleshscale Fish, and Muk-su's Spirit Fruit... that will take another month as well.’

It had already been two years since Muk-su became a Great Demon Beast.

All the expensive food Jegyeong had continuously supplied had paid off. Muk-su had begun bearing Spirit Fruit again much sooner than he had expected.

He had worried that the fruit's effects might change into something less profitable, but that turned out to be needless concern.

According to Gwak Jeongsin's tests, the new Spirit Fruit purified a cultivator's Spiritual Essence and strengthened the mind to some extent. It was also effective at expanding and tempering Divine Sense.

Spiritual treasures of this sort were rare to begin with, and ones that had a meaningful effect on Foundation Establishment cultivators were even rarer.

Naturally, the price had risen to more than double what it was before. Even that was only the lowest possible price, as the actual price depended on how the auction unfolded.

A good product was like a weapon to a merchant. With a new and powerful weapon in hand, Gwak Jeongsin did not spare Spirit Stones.

He showed his sincerity with Spirit Stones, and Jegyeong, satisfied, caught a Great Demon Beast and threw it to Muk-su.

This time, he had not drained its blood, so the meat was not dry.

Muk-su did not put on airs and happily stretched out its roots toward its meal.

“Got it? Don't worry about a thing. Just eat plenty and bear plenty of fruit. I guarantee it, there isn't a Demon Race cultivator who has it as easy as you.”

Jegyeong threw another four or five Water Demons to Muk-su as he began educating it.

He hoped to reduce its picky eating even a little, but it was not a lie.

He truly believed no Demon Race cultivator cultivated as easily and comfortably as Muk-su.

It only had to remain in one place, enjoy the warm sunlight and cool breeze without a care in the world, and food would fall right in front of it. Where else could one find such a fortunate member of the Demon Race?

To compete with this one's luck, one would probably have to find some well-born, silver-spoon Demon Race cultivator.

“Is Cheongo... still asleep?”

Several long lines appeared across Muk-su's trunk. One of them moved up and down.

A halting, slow voice, yet one carrying clear meaning, reached Jegyeong's ears.

Whether they were Demon Beasts, demon fiends, or members of other races, reaching the Great Demon Realm brought about a tremendous evolution as a living being.

It would not be an exaggeration to say they became entirely different life forms.

Muk-su was one example.

If it wished, it could now live underwater. As long as there was Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth, it could survive until the end of its lifespan without consuming anything.

Its old weapon, colorless and odorless poisonous mist, could cover all of Black Shark Island. It even claimed, though Jegyeong did not know whether that was boasting, that it could maintain that state for days.

Compared to such evolutions, the ability to communicate directly through speech did not seem especially impressive, but Jegyeong preferred this modest ability.

He no longer had to communicate by making frustrating guesses as before.

“Yes.”

“Sleeps... a lot.”

Sleeps a lot?

That was far too polite a way to put it. Cheongo had long passed that point.

If Jegyeong had not been certain that Cheongo's changes were not negative, he would have summoned a veterinarian, no, a beast tamer through Gwak Jeongsin long ago.

Cheongo now spent most of every day asleep.

Jegyeong still judged Cheongo's condition to be fine because he had noticed that Cheongo continuously drew in and absorbed Spiritual Energy while sleeping.

That absorbed Spiritual Energy was gradually bringing about Cheongo's Transformation.

The vitality Jegyeong sensed from their steady breathing grew stronger, and their body grew larger as well.

The problem was that they grew thinner in proportion. That was why Cheongo occasionally opened their eyes.

For the past few months, it had become Cheongo's habit to open bleary eyes and immediately whine about being hungry.

Jegyeong had suddenly become Cheongo's caretaker, piling fresh Water Demon meat before them every day.

Naturally, he did not hunt the Water Demons himself. He ordered Hyeon-gwi to do it, and Hyeon-gwi probably ordered those beneath them to do the work.

Either way, fresh Water Demon meat was piled before Cheongo each day. Cheongo would briefly open their eyes, whine as they filled their belly, then close their eyes again.

Several more months passed.

During that time, Jegyeong consumed every Spirit Stone he acquired without hesitation and focused on accumulating demon power whenever he could.

When Hyeon-gwi occasionally requested it, he also made a circuit through the waters to patrol and manage his territory.

He also went hunting with Jang Yeong from time to time.

They had already hunted more than five Great Demon Beasts, but unfortunately, they had yet to see even a trace of Essence Blood.

Those five had been chosen from among those with strong bodies and considerable strength, yet even they had not formed any.

At this point, Jegyeong began to suspect that those whose realms had not reached a certain level could not form Essence Blood, no matter how tough or strong they were.

Jegyeong had used himself as the standard, but he was neither an ordinary Great Demon nor an ordinary Great Demon Beast.

In terms of physical toughness alone, he might be comparable to mid-stage Great Demon Beasts, or even late-stage Great Demon Beasts.

Until now, he had had no way to compare himself. Now, things were different.

The Essence Blood he had formed himself and the first Body Gate he had broken through by chance had become standards for comparison.

‘Even a Great Demon Beast with a sturdy body will find it hard to form Essence Blood if it is only at the early stage of the Great Demon Realm.’

Judging only by the results, the five hunts had been a waste of effort. Yet Jegyeong was satisfied.

They had not simply been hunts, but a process of confirming his own superiority and uniqueness. Even if he gained nothing else, he could not help feeling pleased.

After Dae-yeong's death, Jegyeong decided to expand his modest exchange gathering, which had remained at four members.

Before, it had been difficult to obtain trade goods. He had also been reluctant to recruit new members, fearing that he might carelessly admit someone he could not handle, lose control of the gathering, or even put himself in danger.

Now, things were different.

Muk-su, now a Great Demon Beast, steadily produced high-quality Spirit Fruit. Whether he traded it directly or exchanged it for other goods to trade, he no longer had any problem obtaining merchandise.

Unless their affinities were incompatible, Jegyeong was confident he would not be pushed back even against enemies at the mid-stage of the Great Demon Realm.

With this level of strength, he would have no trouble controlling new members.

Even if that new member was a Great Demon at the mid-stage of the Great Demon Realm.

This was not arrogance.

For about half a month, Jegyeong had felt that the accumulation of demon power was no longer as smooth as before.

That meant he had entered a bottleneck. If he took just one more step forward, he would enter the mid-stage of the Great Demon Realm.

Most cultivators felt stifled and lost when they encountered a bottleneck. Those confident in breaking through, however, welcomed this brief hardship.

They knew it was a difficulty that would linger only briefly before passing.

Jegyeong was the same.

He quietly waited for the right time, feeling the demon power change little no matter how many times he circulated the Burning Flame Art.

* * *

Breaking through any bottleneck, large or small, was a tremendous Transformation, and it carried no small amount of danger.

No matter how confident one was, one had to be cautious when crossing a bottleneck.

Accumulation, timing, opportunity...

Each cultivator relied on something they could trust.

Jegyeong was no different.

When he broke through the Great Demon Barrier, he too had relied on a moment of instinct, or inspiration, and become a Great Demon in one stroke.

This time was no different, and he felt far more at ease than before.

He only had to stop for a moment and catch his breath.

The day when his heart was calmer than usual and his body felt lighter than usual.

That would be the day he entered the mid-stage of the Great Demon Realm.

But the affairs of the world often strayed from expectation without warning.

Jegyeong had not even imagined it.

Who would have thought that the crow Demon Beast, which had spent so long lazing about in comfort, would break through before him?

It was a moment he had waited for a long time, but he felt more dumbfounded than happy.

‘They broke through while sleeping? The Great Demon Barrier, at that?’

The world might be vast, but could something like this really happen?

They were becoming a Great Demon while comfortably asleep?

What would the countless members of the Demon Race who lacked Bloodlines and fortuitous opportunities, then closed their eyes without ever becoming Great Demons, think if they saw this?

Most of them probably could not think at all, but the few who could think and feel emotions...

Wouldn't they go mad with jealousy if they saw this?

“Mmm...”

The wind blew.

Whenever Cheongo smacked their beak and drooled, wind carrying Spiritual Energy brushed over their head.

Buuuum!

Jegyeong felt a strange ripple sweep over him.

It did not harm him in any way, but instinctive unease made him narrow his eyes.

“Ah.”

Cheongo had been drooling and mumbling for some time when they suddenly made a sound like an exclamation and frivolously flailed one wing.

Thinking they had finally awakened, Jegyeong looked at their face. Their eyes remained closed, and the corners of their beak had lifted like a person's smile. They were still wandering through a dream.

They seemed to be having a rather pleasant dream.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Once Cheongo's beak had curled upward, it did not come back down.

It twitched now and then, but that was all.

“Hehe.”

Another ripple spread out.

This ripple differed from the first.

It was still silent and arrived in an instant, but it carried something within it.

When the ripple swept over him, Jegyeong felt his vigilance ease and a strand of joy bloom within him.

‘What is this?’

His heart stirred.

Cheongo, frivolously flailing one wing as they grinned, looked different from a moment ago.