After obtaining the restraints from Gwak Jeong-shin, Jaekyung, as promised, released the twin children of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“Thank you.”
Seeing their two children leave safely, Seo Mu-so and Yang Yu-wan seemed to have no lingering attachments. They seemed to have a vague premonition of their own end. Perhaps from the moment they were defeated and captured, they had imagined all sorts of things and finally resigned themselves to their fate.
They asked nothing. Like candles whose wicks had burned all the way down, they merely breathed. Jaekyung had Cheong-o watch over them.
Injured and with their spiritual power sealed, they could be perfectly controlled even by a single early-stage Qi Refining cultivator. Besides, while Cheong-o's combat power might be somewhat lacking compared to other demon races of the same rank, he was a spirit beast nonetheless, more than enough to keep an eye on them.
‘Hmm. But I must prepare for the unexpected.’
It wasn't that he didn't trust Cheong-o. However, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators were his most precious treasures at the moment, so he had to be as careful as possible in keeping them. It would be troublesome if, in their despair, they tried to bite their own tongues.
“Leave it to me.”
Han Cheong-yu showed his resolve with a stiff tone. He would have looked a bit more convincing if a large crow hadn't been sitting on his head, preening its feathers.
“... Alright. Keep a good watch.”
Before leaving, Jaekyung went to see Mook-soo. Mook-soo, who had been forced to flee the island when Seo Mu-so and Yang Yu-wan attacked, was still in a foul mood.
Jaekyung wondered if briefly entering the water was something to be so angry about, but since it might be different for a tree demon, he tried his best to humor the creature. In any case, Mook-soo was a goose that laid golden eggs, so as the master of the house, he had to treat it accordingly.
“I'll catch a few aquatic spirit beasts for you, so calm down.”
Jaekyung spoke nicely, but Mook-soo was not satisfied. The creature was very displeased that Jaekyung had released the two humans yesterday. It was as if it believed those two should have rightfully been its share.
“Don't be too greedy.”
But Jaekyung was not Mook-soo's nanny, so he didn't indulge all of its tantrums. When Jaekyung spoke firmly, Mook-soo seemed to lose heart and let its branches droop. Black Shark Island was located on the border between the demon lands and human territories of the Western Twin Lake.
However, even for a border, it was located at the very edge of the line, a corner that no one paid attention to, so it was difficult to find any human forces, let alone Great Spirit Beasts, in the vicinity. Therefore, Jaekyung had to travel for several days without rest to find the Great Spirit Beasts.
Fortunately, he had once heard the general locations of the surrounding spiritual lands from Hyeon-gu, so he could go straight there without getting lost.
“Who goes there!”
Not long after entering the unfamiliar spiritual land, a powerful energy rapidly approached. As this was expected, Jaekyung waited quietly on the spot. At the same time, he gauged his opponent's realm.
‘Mid-stage of the Great Spirit stage. Or the very end of the initial stage.’
Once he had a rough grasp of his opponent's realm, Jaekyung relaxed. A moment later, a Great Spirit Beast appeared before him. It was a Great Spirit Beast in the form of a giant fish, and its head was enormous.
Nearly half its body was its head, and most of the head was its mouth. Even with its mouth closed, all of its hideous teeth were visible. Jaekyung, living his second life in this world, had seen all sorts of things, but looking at this creature, he couldn't help but think it was monstrously ugly.
“Y-You are...”
The hideous Great Spirit Beast, which had appeared with great momentum, stopped dead in its tracks as if slamming on the brakes upon seeing Jaekyung, its mouth gaping. Its eyes, not very large compared to its head, darted around anxiously. Jaekyung was certain the creature was under a pleasant misunderstanding and began his characteristic nonchalant act.
“Greetings. I am Jaekyung. I am a Guest Elder of the Whale King Palace, and I reside in the Black Flood Dragon water territory. I apologize for this sudden visit.”
“Ah, that is...”
Confident and arrogant. Even his words of apology were arrogant, conveying an underlying meaning of, ‘I've apologized, so just accept it and understand.’
“I am called Dae-yeong.”
“A pleasure, Dae-yeong. I have come to propose a trade.”
“A-A trade?”
Flustered, Dae-yeong's eyes began to roll around wildly in earnest. It seemed the giant fish head was starting to overload.
“I have two human Foundation Establishment cultivators who practiced water-attribute cultivation techniques. If you have anything useful, I would like to exchange them. What do you say?”
“H-Human Foundation Establishment cultivators?”
Clear emotions appeared on Dae-yeong's large face. Greed, desire, confusion, and so on. Jaekyung leisurely watched the ever-changing expressions and waited for an answer.
“If it's a u-useful item, what kind...?”
“Just as I said. Of course, its usefulness must be confirmed by me, not you.”
“Umm.”
The look of conflict on Dae-yeong's large face deepened. His darting eyes would occasionally size up Jaekyung, and Jaekyung met those cautious, probing gazes with a sullen look. At that, the big-headed Great Spirit Beast flinched as if burned and became even more cautious.
“I believe I have given you enough time to think. If you have no intention of trading, just say so. I have to go find others.”
“I'll do it. I'll do it.”
When Jaekyung pressed him with irritation, Dae-yeong hurriedly expressed his intention to trade.
“B-But I don't know if I have anything useful. You... should take a look for yourself.”
“Of course, I must.”
Dae-yeong led Jaekyung to his home. His body was stiff the entire way, as if he was worried Jaekyung might suddenly attack.
‘To think he'd dare to trade while being this anxious. Surely he hasn't set a trap?’
As his thoughts reached that point, the once-relaxed Jaekyung suddenly became wary. What if this seemingly stupid fish head was actually hiding a cunning scheme inside? Growing uneasy, Jaekyung spread his divine sense wide while raising his body's tension to an appropriate level.
So he could respond no matter what happened.
“We're here.”
However, when Dae-yeong guided him to the front of a large underwater cave, Jaekyung had to admit his wariness had been excessive. There was no conspiracy, no trickery. There were no other beings caught in his divine sense, nor were there any peculiarities detected by his spiritual awareness.
This fish head was truly a naive and harmless creature.
“Please wait a moment.”
Dae-yeong entered the cave, and a short while later, returned with several items held in his mouth.
“This is everything I own.”
Dae-yeong carefully spat out the things he had been holding in his mouth. Jaekyung examined them one by one. A pearl that looked to be at least one meter in diameter, an unknown lump that twitched minutely as if alive, a clump of grass resembling seaweed, and so on.
Some looked plausible at first glance, and others had a faint spiritual energy. The only common trait among these unique items was that none of them caught his eye in the slightest.
‘Is this the level?’
To present such junk as if it were some great treasure. Jaekyung sighed inwardly.
“I am not pleased. A Foundation Establishment cultivator is nothing great, but I still cannot exchange one for things like these.”
“Is that so...”
Dae-yeong didn't seem too disheartened, as if he had roughly expected it. No matter how ignorant he was of the world, he should at least be able to tell gold from dung, so he must have known the value of the items he presented was far from enough to trade for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The reason he still came this far and attempted a trade was likely out of a hope for a stroke of luck.
“If there is nothing to trade, I must be on my way. I hope we have occasion to interact from time to time in the future.”
He couldn't make a trade, but it wasn't a wasted trip. Just getting acquainted with one Great Spirit Beast was a small achievement in itself. Dae-yeong remained stiff as a board until Jaekyung turned and left.
Seeing this, Jaekyung thought that if he had stayed a few more hours, the creature might have turned into a stone statue.
‘In this life, I'm really benefiting greatly from this appearance.’
Jaekyung felt like he was starting to get a taste for acting like a flood dragon. The act that had once felt somewhat awkward and even repulsive now felt very natural. Is this what they call method acting?
‘By the way, not all the creatures around here are paupers like this one, are they?’
In truth, he didn't have high expectations for the demon races of the mountain sects. Demon races, especially spirit beasts, tend to be mostly foolish and act on instinct. Among them, aquatic spirit beasts were particularly so, and it wasn't much different even if they became Great Spirit Beasts.
They become stronger and smarter than when they were spirit beasts, but compared to other Great Spirit Beasts, they were still lacking in terms of intelligence. The vast majority of Great Spirit Beasts in the Western Twin Lake were Great Spirit Beasts that had originated from such aquatic spirit beasts.
That was why Jaekyung didn't expect these Great Spirit Beasts to possess any great treasures and was planning to compromise at a reasonable level, even if it meant taking a slight loss.
‘But that doesn't mean I can be a pushover or a philanthropist.’
Even if he took a loss, it had to be within a reasonable range. What he was trying to do was a trade, not charity.
‘If it really doesn't work out, I have no choice but to visit the Whale King Palace.’
Jaekyung planned to meet a few Great Spirit Beasts, and if he couldn't trade with any of them, he intended to visit the Whale King Palace. In any case, that was the domain of a Demon King, and the demon races under him were all outstanding, so there would surely be those interested in human Foundation Establishment cultivators.
However, going to the Whale King Palace was an option to be considered only as a last resort. First, the distance to the Whale King Palace was an issue, and Jaekyung had a vague fear of the Shattered Waters Whale King. The biggest problem was his identity.
In this backwater, his fake identity as a flood dragon was very useful, but against a Demon King, there was a high chance it wouldn't be. The Shattered Waters Whale King might see through his identity, and even if he didn't, Jaekyung felt uneasy.
Who was to say the king wouldn't suddenly get curious about the taste of dragon's blood and start licking his lips? Such worries might be paranoia, but the existence of a Demon King was that vast and fearsome.
Although it was said that the Whale King Palace could not suppress the demon races of the Western Twin Lake, Jaekyung believed that if the Shattered Waters Whale King put his mind to it, he could unify the Western Twin Lake demon race cultivation world.
Of course, if that happened, the number of Great Spirit Beasts would likely be reduced to a tenth, or even less.
‘I really hope there's at least one creature worth trading with.’
For over a month, Jaekyung diligently roamed around, searching for a trading partner. He met six Great Spirit Beasts during that time, and fortunately, thanks to his flood dragon-like appearance, no unfortunate incidents occurred. Also, his diligent efforts paid off, and he was able to find one partner worth trading with.
“Alright. This will do. How about we trade this for one human?”
“Only one?”
Jaekyung shook his head firmly at his greedy counterpart.
“Don't be greedy. A trade must be fair.”
In the end, his counterpart accepted Jaekyung's terms. After all, his item was a white elephant to him, so being able to exchange it for one Foundation Establishment cultivator was a gain.
“Good. Follow me.”
Jaekyung glanced sideways at the other's item. It was a spiritual object resembling a sea cucumber, and within it, a distinct fire energy was stirring.