Though there had been a slight incident along the way, Jaekyung returned safely to Black Flood Dragon Island. 'It was a good thing I came back alone.' If he had stayed on the Prosperous Treasure Guild's ship, it would have taken several more days to return, and he wouldn't have had his unexpected gains.
“Dragon Lord. Welcome back.”
As he revealed himself before Black Flood Dragon Island, those who had already sensed his return through the Island-Protecting Grand Formation bowed their heads in unison. Among them were humans and spirit beasts. The humans were about twenty cultivators led by Han Cheong-yu, and the spirit beasts were two turtles, one large and one small.
The small, human-sized turtle had eyes brimming with intelligence, while the large turtle, well over twice its size, had eyes that were the complete opposite, dull and vacant. The small turtle with the intelligent eyes was Hyeon-gu, and the large turtle with the dull eyes was Hyeon-gu's child, Bi-gu.
Hyeon-gu had formally introduced the child to him four years ago, and when Jaekyung first saw him, he had doubted if the little one was truly Hyeon-gu's offspring. He wondered how such a dullard could have come from a clever fellow like Hyeon-gu.
However, although the one called Bi-gu was dim-witted, as one could tell from its size, it had far more talent for tasks requiring strength than Hyeon-gu. And its temperament was gentle, so it did what its father Hyeon-gu told it to do, and refrained from what it was told not to.
Hyeon-gu often took this simple-minded yet faithful son and paraded around the Black Flood Dragon water territory, showing off his presence. Jaekyung found it amusing but did not stop them. In truth, he didn't care how those under him acted within his territory.
Of course, this was under the premise that they carried out his orders without fail.
"Yes."
Jaekyung shifted his gaze from the two turtles and scanned the humans. A few, including Han Cheong-yu, kept their heads bowed steadily, but the rest had somewhat pale faces and trembled from time to time.
"Cheong-yu, your cultivation has improved."
"It is thanks to the Dragon Lord's care."
All the bowing humans were in the middle Qi Refining Stage. Although Han Cheong-yu was among the younger ones, his realm was the highest, almost at the level of knocking on the door to the late Qi Refining Stage. This rate of cultivation was largely due not just to talent, but to Han Cheong-yu's firm Dao Heart.
Jaekyung would occasionally observe the humans staying on Black Flood Dragon Island in secret, and he could confirm that Han Cheong-yu devoted himself almost entirely to Cultivation, except when he was working.
"Cheong-o?"
"He is sleeping."
Cheong-o's sleeping had increased noticeably. It was to the point where, for the last ten years, he had spent more time asleep than awake. At first, Jaekyung thought something might be wrong with Cheong-o, but seeing his eyes become clearer and his energy thicker each time he woke up, he decided not to worry about it.
This world was full of all sorts of mysterious and wondrous things that he did not know and could not understand. Cheong-o's Cultivation was one of them. According to Cheong-o's own words, it was building a nest in its dreams.
Jaekyung didn't know what that meant, nor could he understand it, but he vaguely guessed it was part of its Cultivation. He didn't know how such a thing was possible, but since it was clear that its cultivation increased every time it woke up from a deep sleep, he had no choice but to assume so.
"I see."
After asking if anything special had happened while he was away, Jaekyung headed for his residence, a place named the Black Flood Dragon Palace. It was a name given by the humans who worked under him.
In the past, when the Black Shark Gang occupied Black Flood Dragon Island, the Gang Leader's residence at the center of the island was called the Black Flood Dragon Hall, and they had only changed the last character of that name. It seemed a bit uninspired, but it sounded fine.
At least it was better than the name Hyeon-gu had come up with, the Dragon Palace. The name Dragon Palace was certainly grand, but it was a name that would easily attract disaster if it reached the ears of others, so Jaekyung couldn't possibly bear it. Deep within the Black Flood Dragon Palace.
Jaekyung began to organize the spoils from his recent trip. First, he took out the spiritual objects he had obtained at the auction. Next were the various cultivation techniques and skill legacies he had collected here and there.
Finally, he took out the storage pouch and Beast Pouch he had gotten from the nameless cultivator. 'Precious Jade Elixir, Clear Tree Heart Root, Water Demon's Refined Blood, Vermilion Great Toad.' These four spiritual objects he had acquired at the auction couldn't be called supreme-grade, but they could still be considered high-grade.
The Precious Jade Elixir was a spiritual object for cultivation that was good for anyone, no matter how they took it, and the Vermilion Great Toad was a fire-element spiritual object that was hard to find in the Western Twin Lake.
And. 'Refined blood.'
Jaekyung examined the single drop of brilliant liquid in a small, transparent jade vial with curious eyes. This Water Demon's Refined Blood was, literally, the refined blood of a Great Spirit Beast called a Water Demon. And refined blood meant blood in which the energy of life had condensed.
Not just any living being could possess such blood. Even a Great Spirit Beast with exuberant life force was no exception. To put it simply, among all the Great Spirit Beasts Jaekyung had hunted so far, not a single one possessed refined blood.
'Hmm.'
Jaekyung observed the Water Demon's Refined Blood in the jade vial for a moment, then swallowed it in one gulp and observed the changes within his body. The reaction was immediate. A vast energy of life, a storm of vital energy, swept through his spirit and flesh.
The corners of Jaekyung's eyes twitched at the ferocious backlash of life energy. It was only because his spirit and flesh were exceptionally strong that he could endure it to this degree; a typical human cultivator would have been rolling on the ground screaming. 'No wonder they said to take it with Foundation Enhancement Pills.'
He had expected it to some extent, but the ferocity of the Water Demon's Refined Blood far surpassed his expectations. Still, it wasn't unbearable, so he focused his mind and contemplated the changes in his spirit and flesh. While the ferocious current continued unabated, his spirit and flesh slowly and completely absorbed the energy of the Water Demon's Refined Blood.
As a result, Jaekyung's already abundant vital energy began to seethe. Even the signs of molting, which had felt so distant—something he thought would only come after at least 10 years—became distinct. If he were to consume the remaining spirit stones without restraint, it seemed he could molt once more within a couple of months.
'Is this refined blood?
How terrifying.'
The refined blood he had swallowed was just a single drop. Could it be that the Great Spirit Beast called the Water Demon had only formed a single drop of refined blood? If not, just how magnificent was this creature's presence when it was alive?
"Hoo."
A moment later. Having completely digested the Water Demon's Refined Blood, Jaekyung's eyes gleamed as he looked at the Vermilion Great Toad, but he soon calmed his mind. Consuming spiritual objects one after another was not good for many reasons.
The different energies of the spiritual objects could mix and cause unexpected accidents, or a cultivator's fragile spirit and flesh could suffer from digesting spiritual objects in succession. Of course, this was a story for the incredibly fragile human cultivators, but Jaekyung decided to be cautious.
There was nothing wrong with being careful, and above all, it wasn't as if these spiritual objects would run away if he left them for a few days.
'Good.'
The effect of the Water Demon's Refined Blood was satisfactory. He decided to seek out more such refined blood if he had the chance in the future. 'By the way, that fellow really sleeps well.'
Jaekyung glanced at Cheong-o, who was sleeping soundly in a nest perched atop a small, shimmering, multi-colored mountain. The little fellow was even smacking its lips as if having a pleasant dream, and it looked utterly peaceful. At the summit of the highest mountain on Black Flood Dragon Island stood a single giant tree.
The tree, which seemed to have become the mountain peak itself, spread dozens of branches wide open towards the sky, looking as if it were trying to embrace the heavens.
"Mook-soo."
Jaekyung stood before the giant tree, Mook-soo.
"You've grown again."
The last time he came to see it was four months ago. But in those four months, it had grown again. At this rate, its size would not be inferior even when compared to his own original form.
'Well, considering how much I've fed it all this time.' Beyond its size, Mook-soo's energy was more than enough for it to become a Great Spirit Beast. As a tree demon that had not become a Great Spirit Beast, Mook-soo was already infinitesimally close to its limit.
Until now, Jaekyung had hoped that Mook-soo could naturally reach the Great Spirit stage, but no matter how long he waited, there was no change. At first, he thought it might be because it was a long-lived and slow-cultivating tree demon, but after close observation, he realized that wasn't the case. It was simply stuck at a wall.
Just like countless members of the demon races without a bloodline. Upon realizing this, Jaekyung had contemplated. Having reached a dead end, there were only two options.
Give up and sit down, or forge a path forward on one's own. Any cultivator walking the Immortal Path would naturally be drawn to the latter. However, as someone with experience, Jaekyung knew just how dangerous and arduous it was to forge a new path.
It was like distinguishing ninety-nine paths to death to find a single path to life. If your skill was lacking, you died; if you were not decisive enough, you died; if you were unlucky, you died.
Jaekyung wanted Mook-soo to become a Great Spirit Beast and be of greater help to him, but he didn't want to push it to its death either. So, he had Mook-soo choose for itself. Mook-soo had agonized over it for a long time, but eventually made a decision and gave him its answer.
The result was this very moment.
"This is the Clear Tree Heart Root. If you can refine it into your foundation...?"
Mook-soo lifted one of its roots and wrapped it around the Clear Tree Heart Root. Wooooo- After a rumble like a ship's horn, the branches that had been stretching toward the sky drooped powerlessly. At the same time, Mook-soo's energy, which had been resting quietly as if one with the mountain, began to stir little by little.
Jaekyung stood at a distance and watched the change. 'It's certainly different.' Previously, Jaekyung had used the fire energy of a Fire Crystal as a spiritual seed to open his spiritual nature and cross the Great Spirit barrier.
This could be seen as artificially creating a bloodline. On the other hand, the method Mook-soo was taking now was not creating, but bringing in.
He had heard that some demon races had the ability of bloodline devouring, where they stole another's bloodline and made it their own, and what Mook-soo was doing now could be seen as a type of bloodline devouring. It was transplanting the bloodline of the Clear Tree Great Spirit contained within the Clear Tree Heart Root.
Since the bloodline's energy within the heart root was not great, the effect would not be that significant, but in return, the risk would also not be great. 'Having a little is different from having none at all. If it can just sprout even a tiny bud, then from that point on, it can be nurtured...'
Mook-soo's transformation continued for several days. During those few days, countless leaves turned to ash and scattered, and parts of its branches and roots rotted away. In less than three days, Mook-soo's massive body lost more than half its vitality and withered.
But when another three days had passed, a single stream of life force sprouted from beneath the withered and rotten surface. It was faint, but the dense energy it contained was something the previously massive Mook-soo had never possessed. That faint sprout of life, like ink spreading on paper, quickly colored the withered Mook-soo.