The spiked lizard was good prey. To say it was good prey meant it was an easy opponent. Its weapons were its sharp teeth and spikes, neither of which were very threatening to the tree demon.
The tree demon was large with tough bark, and it attacked from a distance by swinging its long branches and roots. The spiked lizard could neither ignore the attacks nor retaliate against them. It was no exaggeration to say that its defensive capabilities were entirely reliant on the numerous spikes covering its body.
The function of those spikes was not to endure an attack, like Jaekyung's scales or the tree demon's bark, but rather to injure the attacker in return. Thus, these spikes displayed great power against opponents who fought up close, but they were of little use against an opponent like the tree demon, which kept its distance and attacked one-sidedly.
Moreover, the tree demon's bark was also hard, so even when its branches and roots were pierced by the spikes, it showed no sign of flinching in the slightest. 'The matchup is too poor.'
If the spiked lizard's opponent had been the monkey spirit beasts from before, rather than the tree demon, it would have been able to put up a much better fight.
But whereas the monkey spirit beasts had driven back the tree demon without much difficulty, the spiked lizard was being helplessly pushed back, unable to do almost anything against the tree demon. This was the importance of matchups. Was it not just like rock, paper, scissors?
'Still, this is a problem. I can't just sit back and watch.' Jaekyung learned for the first time that a hunt going too smoothly could also be a problem.
If things continued like this, it seemed the tree demon would defeat the spiked lizard all by itself. Of course, even if the spiked lizard was foolish, it wasn't an idiot, so it would flee before that happened, and the sluggish tree demon would not be able to catch it.
If he stepped in then and delivered the finishing blow, he would have played his part, more or less, but Jaekyung could not be satisfied with just adding that final touch. 'I have no choice.' As he watched the escalating fight, Jaekyung used the Aura Concealment Art to its fullest extent, hiding his presence.
Then, he quietly approached the battlefield of the tree demon and the spiked lizard.
Wuuuuu~!
The tree demon raised its momentum and pressed the spiked lizard. It was truly refreshing to one-sidedly beat down an opponent that posed no threat to it at all. The tree demon, which had been dispirited by various recent events, used this opportunity to release all its pent-up emotions.
The spiked lizard tried to resist somehow, but its weapons were completely ineffective against the tree demon. Its teeth, of course, and even its poisonous spikes were the same. The tree demon also had the ability to handle poison, and because of that, its resistance to poison was considerable.
A mere handful of poison injected into its branches and roots could not inflict more than a light itch.
"Kyak!"
The spiked lizard, which had been pushed back from start to finish, finally acknowledged that this monster tree was an enemy it could not face and decided to flee. But the moment it turned its head slightly to check its escape route, a large snake tail, which had approached without it noticing, slammed into its head.
Wham!
The spiked lizard was sent flying like a kicked pebble. Even while being struck in the head, it somehow managed not to lose consciousness and tried to regain its balance as it fell, but the place it landed was a mudflat no different from a swamp.
As soon as the spiked lizard's feet touched it, the ground rippled, and a few small roots that had been submerged below shot out and wrapped around the spiked lizard's legs. That was the end of it.
The spiked lizard tried to break free, but the tree demon was not about to let it go willingly, and while it struggled to escape, Jaekyung, who had quickly caught up, swung his tail once more. 'I have to be careful.' In fact, at first, Jaekyung had habitually opened his mouth wide to bite the spiked lizard.
But he belatedly realized the obvious fact that there were no scales inside his mouth, so he closed it and swung his tail instead. Just as he had expected, just as he had hoped, the spiked lizard's spikes could not pierce his scales.
On the other hand, the spiked lizard, having been struck squarely in the head twice, was now in a near-death state, staggering.
Wuuu~!
The tree demon delivered the final blow. One particularly large root broke off and struck the staggering spiked lizard on the crown of its head. With a heavy thud, the spiked lizard collapsed without even a scream.
"Amazing! Amazing!"
Cheong-o, who had been watching the fight from the sky as always, made his presence known by enthusiastically showering them with aimless praise. But even amidst that clamor, Jaekyung's sharp eyes noticed that the fruit that should have been in Cheong-o's beak was gone. 'What an easy fellow to read.'
He had no intention of saying anything. It wasn't his place to say anything anyway. If anyone were to say something, it should be the tree demon, but it didn't seem like the type to fuss over a single fruit.
In truth, Cheong-o's contribution to this hunt was by no means small. It had done nothing in the actual fight, but before that, it had to carry the tree demon's fruit and fly all the way to the spiked lizard's territory. That was not only troublesome, but it also required taking a considerable risk.
Cheong-o already had a special appearance and aura, making it an easy target for other beasts. But this time, it had to fly a long distance while carrying the tree demon's fruit. The beasts and spirit beasts that couldn't leave the ground were no problem, but the sky was different.
What if it had been spotted by other flying creatures, or even monstrous birds? It probably wouldn't have escaped unscathed. Jaekyung knew the risk Cheong-o had to take, so he didn't want to scold it over a single fruit.
What the tree demon thought... was none of his business.
"Jaekyung is amazing! The tree is amazing!"
While Cheong-o chattered away, Jaekyung wrapped his tail around the limp spiked lizard, which was on the verge of death. Although it was monstrously large for a lizard, Jaekyung's tail could easily wrap around it once.
Crack!
The body of a spirit beast that had already exhausted its vital energy and lost consciousness became as weak as an ordinary animal. Just a slight application of force was enough to crush its entire body.
"We'll divide it into five. That way, I'll take two. You take two. And Cheong-o gets one."
Neither Cheong-o nor the tree demon had any complaints about Jaekyung's distribution. Jaekyung, who had been inwardly worried that the tree demon might be grumpy, was satisfied with the smooth reaction and divided the shares. Jaekyung immediately swallowed his portion.
Cheong-o, on the other hand, took a piece of flesh larger than its body and flew off somewhere, while the tree demon wrapped the remaining carcass with its roots and dragged it into the mud. 'That Cheong-o fellow. He must have been in quite a hurry.'
He had planned to discuss the schedule for the next hunt, but without a translator, he couldn't do anything. In the end, Jaekyung and the tree demon exchanged simple farewells in words neither could understand and parted ways.
* The spiked lizard hunted this time was stronger than the monkey spirit beast and contained more vital energy, but it was only one creature, and of that, he had only taken forty percent. So, even swallowing it all at once, he felt no burden in his stomach. 'There's that, but my vessel itself has gotten bigger.'
He wasn't sure if the term 'vessel' was appropriate, but no other expression came to mind. He felt that he could finish digesting it within the day without needing to sleep. 'I wonder if it'll take some time for Cheong-o to return.'
The one fruit from the tree demon that Cheong-o had gobbled down and the twenty percent of the spiked lizard's carcass it would gobble down would be more than enough for it to become a spirit beast. Jaekyung wasn't worried that it would leave without a word after becoming a spirit beast.
Not because he trusted Cheong-o, but because he trusted its greed. He had been somewhat half-convinced before, but seeing it unable to resist gulping down the fruit this time solidified his belief. Not all spirit beasts are the same.
Unless they have awakened a special ability, a spirit beast's combat power is generally determined by what its original species was. Therefore, Cheong-o, whose original form was nothing more than a slightly unusual crow, had a high probability of having only mediocre combat power even after becoming a spirit beast.
If it planned to live by preying on ordinary animals even after becoming a spirit beast, that was one thing, but if it wanted to eat well and dream bigger dreams, Cheong-o had no choice but to return to him. And Jaekyung believed that Cheong-o would return. Because the creature was clever, but its greed was greater still.
'In the meantime, practicing the Aura Concealment Art would be perfect.' When he practiced alone, it felt a bit vague, as if he knew and yet he didn't, but after using it once in a real situation, he finally got the hang of it. 'It's still clumsy.
The reason I could use it well this time was because I was lucky. That lizard fellow was a dull one, and the situation was chaotic.' 'The core of the Aura Concealment Art is ultimately to cultivate the ability to control one's presence.'
Then what was this presence? It was neither the power of vital energy nor the power of spiritual energy. Jaekyung understood it as a kind of presence, or in other words, the significance a being occupies in this world.
This understanding stemmed from a short story he heard in the Garden of Remembrance. According to the kind Seniors at the Garden of Remembrance, the level of one's presence was related to a cultivator's realm but was not absolute.
For instance, the emperor of the Immortal Dynasty often had a lower realm than his subjects, but his presence was said to be strong enough to overwhelm subjects of higher realms. Why was this? It was because of the status of being the emperor of the Immortal Dynasty and the symbolism of that status.
Because the significance he occupies in this world as the emperor of the Immortal Dynasty is high, his presence is strong even if his personal realm is low. 'But what is this presence useful for?' Things like vital energy and spiritual energy were tangible powers.
On the other hand, he couldn't figure out what use presence had. The Senior cultivators at the Garden of Remembrance didn't know either, nor were they curious. To them, the existence of presence seemed to be regarded as just one of the natural phenomena of the cultivation world.
Jaekyung wondered if he too would one day become so indifferent, but for now, he had to focus on this thing called presence. 'First, I need to find a place to stay.' The cave he had been using was now too small and difficult to use.
He could have forcibly expanded it, but looking at the state of the cave, he gave up, thinking it would collapse if he used his strength. In the end, Jaekyung found a moderately shaded spot and lay down.
The open feeling of being exposed on all sides still made him feel uneasy even now that he was a spirit beast, but he had no choice as there was no suitable place to shelter his body at the moment.
Still, after becoming a spirit beast, Jaekyung's state of mind had hardened significantly compared to before, so it did not take long to calm his anxious heart. Soon, the sound of calm breathing faintly leaked out like an auditory hallucination, and the massive snake's presence melted into the shadows.
* "Jaekyung.
How do I look?" Cheong-o did not fly over calling his name loudly as usual. It simply approached with powerful wingbeats and showed off its changed appearance.
"..."
The fatigue from training in the Aura Concealment Art had not yet fully dissipated, so Jaekyung opened his eyes blearily and looked at Cheong-o. Though it tried to act otherwise, its proud and triumphant appearance, which it couldn't hide, was certainly a great change from before. First, its size had nearly doubled.
The reason spirit beasts were larger than ordinary animals was due to the explosive increase in vital energy. To handle the increased vital energy, the physical body naturally had to grow larger.
"You look great."
He wasn't being sincere. Looking at its appearance alone, Jaekyung thought its previous form was rather more stylish. The current Cheong-o had grown larger and more spirit beast-like, but the mysteriousness it once had was gone.
It was because the faint blue light that used to flow around its body had disappeared. But well, since the bird itself seemed satisfied with this change, what was the harm in offering a few sweet words of praise?
"Right? Right?"
Jaekyung half-heartedly agreed and added a few more compliments. At that, Cheong-o, as if its mood had reached the heavens, began to ramble on and on about its experience of becoming a spirit beast. Forgetting that the giant snake in front of it had gone through the same experience much earlier.
"By the way, Jaekyung. I saw humans on my way here."
"Humans?"
Jaekyung, who had been feeling beyond bored to the point of suffering from Cheong-o's endless chatter, opened his eyes wide.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure! I saw them. They were hiding secretly, but they can't fool my eyes!"
Cheong-o said confidently, clacking its beak.
"How many were there? Were they strong?"
Knowing that Cheong-o wouldn't be able to answer if he asked about their realm, Jaekyung asked in a roundabout way.
"There were six. And, hmm… they were strong, but I don't think they were that strong."
"You mean they were weaker than me?"
"Yes. But two among them were quite strong. They seemed a little weaker than you, Jaekyung."
A group of cultivators and two leaders? Could he understand it like that? Jaekyung narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.
'Six Qi Refining cultivators. Could they be from the same group as those guys I saw before? Or a mountain sect?'
Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Jaekyung, who had been somewhat relaxed, tensed up and straightened his body.
"Where did you see them?"
"That way. The direction we came from. It was a two-day journey. I don't know where they are now."
The two-day journey was based on the speed at which they had been traveling together. They had moved diligently to get here, but they hadn't rushed unreasonably, so if they were two days away… 'We might run into them.'
An unprecedented sense of crisis surged. Jaekyung was about to ask Cheong-o again. In which direction they were moving, what they looked like, and so on.
Wuuuuuuuuuu~!
But then, the furious roar of the tree demon echoed, and Jaekyung swallowed the words he was about to say. * "Senior Brother! It's a tree demon!
Look at those branches!"
"Spiritual fruit!"
A group of cultivators could not hide their excitement as they looked at the massive tree demon, as large as a thousand-year-old tree. Their eyes shone at the sight of the spiritual fruit growing on the tree demon's branches, but instead of rushing forward blindly, they looked at the two people leading the group.
"Senior Brother. Senior Sister. What should we do?"
The man and woman at the head of the group seemed to hesitate for a moment but soon smiled and nodded.
"Was it not to find such a fortunate encounter that we came all this way? That demon doesn't look ordinary, but we have numbers, so we should be able to defeat it without much difficulty."
The man who said that stepped forward.
"My Junior Sister and I will attack it first. You all provide support once the demon's attention is drawn to us. If things get too noisy, other demons from the surroundings might be drawn here, so let's try to end this as quickly as possible."
"Understood."
The man tapped his waist, and a sword hanging there without a scabbard floated gently before his eyes.
"Junior Sister. Be careful. That demon is not ordinary. We don't know what strange abilities it might possess."
The man warned the woman beside him and took out a talisman, attaching it to the sword before him. The talisman instantly burned away, and the remaining flames seeped into the sword.
"Go!"
The man shouted as he waved his hand. The crimson, flaming sword flew towards the tree demon like an arrow at his command.