Jaekyung groaned as he looked at the former fugitive, who had become a corpse in an instant. It was not because he pitied the man, but because of the lingering thoughts he emitted the moment his eyes rolled back and he breathed his last.
The spiritual power, spreading like a lingering fragrance, was filled to the brim with the feelings of injustice and anger he had felt. Such lingering thoughts have little effect on a cultivator of the same level.
When he had swallowed the Black Shark Gang Leader, Gong Byeok-un, whole, his lingering thoughts had exploded, but the only effect on Jaekyyung was a brief fluctuation in his mood. But this time was different. The influence of the lingering thoughts on him was considerable.
Anger surged, and a directionless resentment boiled within him, similar to when his frustration and anger had peaked in his transformed state.
“Huu. Huu.”
The breath he exhaled was in itself a massive, violent flame. The fire energy originating from his spiritual nature had already taken firm root throughout his spirit and flesh, so it was no exaggeration to say he was already a fire-attribute spirit beast.
A single drop of his blood was hotter than boiling water, and his breath could cook an ordinary creature in an instant. Jaekyung moved far away from the strange, water-droplet-like thing to calm his emotions.
He did not know if it was a creature or an object, but whatever it was, it did not seem ordinary, so he intended to collect it if he could.
‘Just how filled with malice were you.’
After composing himself for a while, Jaekyung looked at the corpse inside the water droplet with new eyes. The man was clearly in the early Foundation Establishment stage, lower in realm than the Black Shark Gang Leader. But the emotions he held just before his death were more intense than anyone Jaekyung had ever seen.
He could not tell where those venomous emotions came from. It could be resentment towards the demonic cultivators who pursued him, lingering attachment to the Immortal Path he could not fully walk, or something else entirely.
‘This thing is…?’
Jaekyung examined the water-droplet-like thing once more.
‘It’s not a spirit beast.’
He judged so because it showed no reaction, even with him right in front of it. If this thing were a spirit beast, it would be impossible for it to show no reaction with a Great Spirit Beast right before its nose. And that would be the same not just for spirit beasts, but for any other living creature.
Uncertain, Jaekyung opened his storage pouch. If this was not a living creature, it could be stored in the pouch, so he intended to give it a try. However, the storage pouch, which could easily store not just spirit stones but also rocks as large as a person, remained quiet this time.
‘This thing is a living creature.’
Jaekyung made his judgment.
‘But it doesn’t seem to have spiritual wisdom. In terms of intelligence, it seems even less than an ordinary beast.’
Jaekyung grew curious about this strange creature, but he did not forget the order of priorities. The man who had become a corpse was being chased by three demonic cultivators. Had he completely shaken them off?
Maybe, maybe not. But if the man could make it this far, couldn’t the demonic cultivators come as well? Jaekyung did not think they could come this deep, but one could never be sure.
Perhaps they too had some special means, like this strange creature. Jaekyung wanted to avoid getting entangled in dangerous and troublesome matters as much as possible. To do that, he had to leave this place, where he might encounter the demonic cultivators, as quickly as possible.
‘Hmm.’
Jaekyung gently pushed his head into the water droplet. His head entered the droplet’s interior without any resistance. However, the inside of the water droplet was too narrow to contain his entire head, so Jaekyung immediately transformed and landed beside the corpse.
Jaekyung looked back and forth between the man’s wide-open eyes and the storage pouch clenched tightly in one hand.
‘Rest in peace.’
Jaekyung personally closed the man’s eyes and retrieved his storage pouch. He did not check what was inside the storage pouch. That could be done later.
Instead, he searched the man’s body to see if anything was hidden and soon found a thin object wrapped around the corpse’s left forearm.
‘What is this?’
Jaekyung had been steadily acquiring various kinds of knowledge from the cultivation world and had seen countless storage pouches, so he recognized at a glance that the object was a spatial spirit artifact.
Considering the water droplet floating like a balloon right next to it, he could guess that the thin, cloth-like object in his hand was the legendary Beast Pouch.
‘A fine item.’
It was similar to a storage pouch in that it was a spatial spirit artifact, but a Beast Pouch was a much rarer item. Because while a storage pouch holds objects, a Beast Pouch can hold living spirit beasts. Theoretically, even a Great Spirit Beast could be held in a Beast Pouch.
Hmm.
Of course, not just any Great Spirit Beast, but one with whom a soul contract had been formed. Jaekyung glanced at the water-droplet-like thing, unsure if it was a spirit beast or something else, and tried to put it into the Beast Pouch as a test.
According to what he knew, this thing should not be able to be put into the Beast Pouch. Since the cultivator who had formed a soul contract with it had died, its soul contract would naturally have disappeared. But contrary to his thoughts, this strange thing went into the Beast Pouch without any resistance.
“As I thought.”
This water-droplet-like thing was clearly a living creature, but it seemed to lack its own thoughts. With no thoughts, it had no emotions. If you push it, it moves.
If you press it, it yields. Similarly, if you try to put it in, it goes in.
‘I’ll have to examine it slowly.’
But that too was a matter for later. For now, the urgent priority was to get away from this place as quickly as possible. * Despite his hot blood and burning spiritual nature, Jaekyung defined himself as an aquatic spirit beast.
Some might scoff at the idea of a fire-attribute aquatic spirit beast, calling it nonsense, but it was the truth. The fire energy originating from his spiritual nature was a result of the Cultivation Jaekyung had built up over time. On the other hand, breathing and feeling comfortable in the water was a trait he had from birth.
As an aquatic spirit beast, Jaekyung enjoyed immense advantages in the water. His movements were not restricted like those of land-dwelling beings, and with his excessively sturdy body to support him, he could move freely in the depths where most aquatic spirit beasts could not even approach. This was an absolute advantage.
In the dark riverbed where he was currently moving, Jaekyung was confident he could fight even against an enemy of a higher realm. Of course, that was under the premise that the enemy was not an aquatic spirit beast.
Kwaang!
The teeth of a giant clam snapped shut fiercely.
Yes.
A clam’s teeth. The giant clam, about half Jaekyung’s size, had sharp teeth that could rival a shark’s, and it even had eyes on its shell.
“Are you really trying to do this.”
A murderous glint appeared in Jaekyung’s eyes. An ordinary aquatic spirit beast would have fainted on the spot or trembled in fear upon meeting that gaze, and even a Great Spirit Beast would have flinched for a moment. But this clam did not.
It was not because this thing was brave, but purely because it was stupid. It could not distinguish the strength of its enemy, nor could it think. It was only faithful to the instinct of hunting and eating whatever was alive and moving.
Among the demon races, especially among spirit beasts, there were not a few such creatures. The humans had even given these creatures a special name: Fierce Beasts.
“Kuaaaah!”
Jaekyung had detected this creature early on through his divine sense but had not paid it much mind, planning to just pass by feigning ignorance. This was because he judged that its aura was formidable, and it would not be an easy opponent to deal with. But if it was picking a fight like this, that was a different story.
Besides, he hadn't realized it when he sensed its aura with his divine sense, but seeing it with his own eyes, dealing with this creature didn't seem so difficult. This Great Spirit Beast, or Fierce Beast, in the form of a clam, seemed to be a typical ‘sturdy body’ type.
Its weapons seemed to be its sharp teeth and clamping force, which was quite a ridiculous weapon considering its greatest advantage seemed to be its sturdy shell. Wasn't that so? To attack, it had to open its shell and expose its teeth, which naturally exposed its soft inner flesh.
In Jaekyung’s view, this clam was quite deformed. At the same time, it was also lucky. If its home had not been in these deep waters, it would have been eaten by someone long ago.
Hwareureuk!
Jaekyung’s body was huge, but not clumsy. At least, he was agile enough to leisurely dodge the giant clam’s attack. In truth, Jaekyung did not think the clam’s bite would inflict much damage on him.
If the clam’s greatest advantage was its hard shell, then what Jaekyung considered his own greatest advantage was also his sturdy body. His body, which had undergone repeated molting and received the baptism of spiritual nature, was a terrifying weapon in itself. This was not his arrogance, but a fact proven in actual combat.
Previously, when he fought the demonic cultivators who had come to Black Flood Dragon Island, he had not suffered a single scratch even when directly hit by a spirit artifact thrown with their full power.
Of course, one had to consider that the spirit artifact was of somewhat poor quality, or that the cultivator’s spiritual power was already more than half depleted at the time, but it was still terrifying nonetheless.
‘But there’s no need to take a hit I can dodge.’
He was not a stupid beast that charged head-on into everything, relying solely on his own strength. If he could fight more wisely and advantageously, why wouldn't he?
Hwareureuk!
An intense flame shot out from its wide-open mouth. The demonic flame, heavily imbued with demonic power, instantly swept over the giant clam. Through many years of Cultivation, Jaekyung had come to a deeper understanding of how to handle demonic power, and accordingly, he had become able to use demonic flame at will.
Now, he could emit demonic flame from his entire body, but it was most powerful when spewed from his mouth. Moreover, his control was strong, allowing him to continuously spew it as long as his demonic power did not run out.
Hwarereureu!
The endlessly spewing demonic flame instantly turned the cold, deep water into a sea of lava. The giant clam was out of its mind with the pain of being roasted alive. It thrashed about violently, but there was no way Jaekyung would be caught by such a struggle.
Jaekyung leisurely dodged the giant clam’s attacks while continuously spewing demonic flame, burning it again and again.
“Kureureuk!”
This giant clam was in some ways less than a beast, but it was a Great Spirit Beast nonetheless. An ordinary spirit beast would have been reduced to ashes in an instant, but this one endured, writhing in pain even after bathing in the demonic flame for a good few minutes, but not dying. But that too had its limits.
As the surroundings were eroded by dense demonic power and flames spread in all directions, the giant clam’s tenacious life thread finally snapped. Its mouth, which had not fully opened even when attacking, now gaped wide open. Jaekyung’s eyes shone as he saw the golden-brown cooked flesh through the wide-open clam’s mouth, and a sparkling something nestled in its center.