After fully digesting the Vermilion Great Toad, Jaekyung felt his spiritual nature had grown much deeper. 'Not much longer now.' From what he had heard from others and felt himself, Cultivation was fundamentally like climbing a mountain, but at certain moments, that mountain would transform into a single, high step.
In this regard, he couldn't help but praise the humans. The major and minor realms of Cultivation they had defined were precisely those steps. There were only differences in height, but they were fundamentally thresholds and gates that were difficult to cross with diligence alone.
Therefore, to cross those thresholds, or gates, a special opportunity was needed. It could be a moment of enlightenment, the help of an external object, or something else entirely. Of course, this was a story that mainly applied to humans, but Jaekyung partially agreed with it.
This was because his Cultivation was fundamentally based on the human method. Now, on the verge of the middle stage of the Great Spirit stage, he could feel an irksome step appearing before him. However, unlike human cultivators, he had no intention of stopping before the step and waiting for an opportunity.
It wasn't because he lacked patience, but because there was no need to. He may have imitated the human way of Cultivation, but in the end, he was not human. Didn't even the talented among the humans rush forward as if cultivation bottlenecks did not exist, up to the level their talent allowed?
For Jaekyung, a member of the demon races, it was even more so. Jaekyung had a premonition, close to a certainty, that he could simply crush the small step before him and move on. And that was likely due to the assets he possessed.
A physical body incomparably stronger than that of humans, and a bloodline that even he himself had not fully comprehended. 'It won't be long now. I'll know soon enough if my premonition is right or wrong.'
After assessing his noticeably increased demonic power and the faintly felt 'step', Jaekyung soon calmed his mind and began to operate his cultivation technique. He had just finished digesting the Vermilion Great Toad, but digestion was digestion, and training was training. * Ten years was not a very long time for cultivators.
However, during those not-so-long ten years, quite a few changes had occurred on Black Flood Dragon Island. The biggest change was, of course, the increase in the number of residents. The number of human residents, which had been less than ten, had more than doubled.
They were not simple workers who only used the Spiritual Rain Technique. Jaekyung had them practice cultivation techniques and bestowed upon them medicinal pills for their training. Of course, those medicinal pills were byproducts from his process of learning alchemy, but in any case, Jaekyung had invested in them.
Such an investment was not much in truth, but a sip of water given to a thirsty person could sometimes shine brighter than a spirit stone. They were people who had suffered under the oppression of the Black Shark Gang; to put it nicely, they were slaves, and to put it bluntly, livestock.
Jaekyung had given them freedom and opened the Immortal Path to them, so in the eyes of the humans of the Black Flood Dragon water territory, he was a savior. Even if he was a ferocious and fearsome Great Spirit Beast. On top of that, an exemplary case like Han Cheong-yu led the way, guiding their hearts.
The humans who came to Black Flood Dragon Island and received Jaekyung's 'grace' steadily nurtured their loyalty to their new master.
"Cheong-yu. Do you know when the next outing is?"
After sprinkling rain on the spirit rice and some spiritual herbs with the Spiritual Rain Technique, the humans rested and chatted amongst themselves.
"I don't know. But the last outing was almost a year ago, so shouldn't we be heading out soon?"
Unlike before, Han Cheong-yu was treated as a leader among the humans of Black Flood Dragon Island. This was partly due to his Cultivation, but also because Jaekyung had shown his trust in him on several occasions.
He was the only human who had received a few words of praise from Jaekyung, and every time they went on an outing to the outer regions, he was appointed as the one in charge.
Because of this, the humans of Black Flood Dragon Island had no choice but to recognize Han Cheong-yu as their leader, whether they liked it or not.
At first, Han Cheong-yu felt quite burdened by the attitude of his kin, but he soon adapted well enough, and later even showed signs of enjoying the respect and admiration they showed him to some extent. And now, looking at his kin who were thirsty for an outing, he gave a bitter smile inwardly. 'How naive they are.'
They seemed to think that going to the outer regions and coming back was like some light picnic to get some fresh air. Of course, he could understand. Except for when they were tending to the spirit rice and spiritual plants, they had to live confined in a narrow living area, so it was natural to feel stifled.
But an outing was a mission, and a mission had to be completed. They rejoiced like innocent children every time they went on an outing, but he had to suffer under immense pressure each time. The outer regions he saw were not a bustling and interesting world, but a perilous place swarming with packs of savage and vile wolves.
He had realized that fact from his very first outing. 'If only I could enter the late Qi Refining Stage, I could breathe a little easier.'
The late Qi Refining Stage was not a realm high enough to be treated as a strong person, but as long as he didn't run into Foundation Establishment cultivators, he could at least manage some minimal self-protection.
He also had the spiritual artifact bestowed upon him by the Dragon Lord, so if he acted with utmost caution, he could have a little confidence when carrying out his missions. 'It feels so close, yet it's so hard to reach.' After finishing his chat with his colleagues, Han Cheong-yu headed for his home.
Unlike his colleagues who elaborately built and decorated their homes in various ways, Han Cheong-yu's house was still shabby. Even when colleagues who visited his house made comments, he paid them no mind.
He thought there was no need to build it elaborately since it was just a place he used for a short time to catch a few hours of sleep. A spacious and cozy house? Such things only slow down the accumulation of spiritual energy.
'Let's not be hasty. If it's a realm I can reach, as long as I don't stop myself, I will reach it someday.' As a cultivator not yet thirty years old, it was no exaggeration to call Han Cheong-yu a novice.
But even a novice has their own experiences and thoughts. If there was one principle he had realized through his Cultivation so far, it was that in Cultivation, laziness was forbidden, but so was impatience.
This was also a single remark the Dragon Lord had tossed his way years ago, when he was so engrossed in training that he forgot to eat or sleep. It was nothing special, just a casually spoken remark, but to the Han Cheong-yu of that time, that one simple phrase resonated with him exceptionally.
Since then, Han Cheong-yu had treated that single piece of advice as a golden rule and made it a principle of his Cultivation.
"Caw!"
As he was about to begin his pre-sleep training with a calm mind, Han Cheong-yu heard a crow's caw from above and looked up with a bitter smile. He saw a giant crow, which had appeared without a sound, flapping its wings above his head.
"Elder Cheong-o." "Caw!"
Something dropped with a thud, and when he looked, it was a fruit the size of a fist.
"Jaekyung told me to give this to you."
"The Dragon Lord? To me?"
"Yes. Eat it. It's good for you."
Cheong-o landed on Han Cheong-yu's head. It tried to land on his head with both feet, but belatedly realized Han Cheong-yu's head was too small and its own feet were too big, so it barely managed to place one foot there.
The sight of it wobbling was not very pleasant to see, but fortunately, there was no one around to watch.
"Eat it now. I was told to watch you eat it before I leave."
"Ah, yes."
Han Cheong-yu couldn't even imagine that the fruit he had received was a spiritual fruit borne by a tree demon. He simply thought it must be an extraordinary item.
Crunch!
But the moment he took a bite, he realized. 'It's a spiritual object!' Though he had never seen a spiritual object, he had heard much about them.
Stories of obtaining a mysterious spiritual object and reaching the pinnacle of the Immortal Path overnight were common tales among cultivators. Therefore, the moment the fruit he bit into resonated deeply with his mind and spiritual nature, he was certain that this fruit was a spiritual fruit.
Shoving the rest of the spiritual fruit into his mouth in one go, Han Cheong-yu immediately closed his eyes and began to operate his cultivation technique. Han Cheong-yu could feel that the bottleneck, which had blocked his path like a huge mountain for months, had in this moment been reduced to a low hill. 'I'll break through in one go.'
The mysterious effect of the spiritual fruit continuously instilled him with spiritual sense and confidence. A moment later. Han Cheong-yu broke through the bottleneck that had been tormenting him for some time and reached the late Qi Refining Stage.
* "I truly searched every nook and cranny, but..." Watching Hyeon-gu report in a voice that trailed off, Jaekyung sighed inwardly.
"I see. It can't be helped."
Jaekyung couldn't help but admit that his expectations had been a bit unrealistic. Come to think of it, if such expensive aquatic spirit beasts were living in the Black Flood Dragon water territory, the Black Shark Gang fellows would never have left them alone.
They would have used any means necessary, even diving to the deepest parts, to capture them all. Hyeon-gu had tried his best. Just by looking at his clearly haggard and grimy appearance compared to two months ago, one could tell how much he had suffered.
"You've worked hard."
Seeing Hyeon-gu bow his head as if he had committed a mortal sin, Jaekyung felt a slight sense of satisfaction. No one dislikes a loyal subordinate. Especially if that subordinate is useful enough.
"Do you need a rest?"
"No, sir. Do you have an order for me?"
A burning will shone in Hyeon-gu's two eyes.
"I need you to run an errand for me. Go and find the Great Spirit Beasts I tell you of and deliver my message to them."
Hyeon-gu's eyes widened at the command to seek out Great Spirit Beasts, but he did not open his mouth. He simply memorized the instructions, then spoke about his concerns. It was mainly about the dangers.
If he went outside the water territory, all sorts of riffraff would bare their fangs at him, and the Great Spirit Beasts, in particular, might devour him before he even got a word out.
"Do not worry."
Jaekyung transformed into his human form and then made a cut on his hand. But unlike before, it wasn't easy to tear his flesh with his fingernails. It was because his physical body had grown even tougher after several moltings.
Of course, his transformed body was not as powerful as his original form, but it was still affected to some degree. He wasn't certain, but he felt that the strength of his transformed body was about one-tenth of his original form, or perhaps slightly less. But even so, it was still a level stronger than most human body cultivators.
This was especially true in terms of his physical body's durability. To injure his physical body, it seemed a high-grade spirit artifact at the very least would be required.
"Go."
With considerable effort, Jaekyung squeezed out a few drops of blood and flicked them onto Hyeon-gu. Feeling the energy contained in those few drops of blood, Hyeon-gu trembled once and then bowed his head deeply.
"I will obey the Dragon Lord's command."
Hyeon-gu immediately left Black Flood Dragon Island. A much larger turtle followed behind him as he swam powerfully.
"Father, Father. I'm hungry, can't we eat something before we go?"
"Didn't you eat your fill while I was meeting with the Dragon Lord!"
The large turtle, Bi-gu, widened his small eyes.
"How did you know?"
"Hmph! You think I don't know you?"
"But I'm hungry."
Bi-gu mumbled sullenly and flapped his webbed feet.
"Father. Look at my body. I'm much bigger than you, so I have to eat much more."
"No, you're just fat. Of course it is! You do nothing but eat and sleep every day, so you're bound to get fat!"
"But I'm in my growing period."
"What growing period!"
Hyeon-gu snapped at him not to talk nonsense, but inwardly, he thought this foolish son of his might actually be right. 'This one's bloodline is different from mine.' Hyeon-gu was a spirit beast with a bloodline, and so was his son.
Among his dozens of children, Bi-gu was the only one with a bloodline, and this one's bloodline was different from his own. In fact, this was normal.
Turtle spirit beasts were a type that could be called a great clan among spirit beasts, and among their ancestors were all sorts of Great Spirit Beasts and Demon Kings, and even Demon Emperors. From those countless ancestors, countless more descendants had branched off, so which bloodline one manifested was entirely up to the will of the heavens.
Therefore, Hyeon-gu couldn't tell if his foolish son had become a lazy glutton because of his own disposition or because of the influence of his bloodline.
"Father, Father. I'm so hungry I can't move."
Bi-gu, who had been following slowly, finally let out a whine and flipped over onto his back. Seeing him, Hyeon-gu's breathing grew ragged, but Bi-gu just closed his eyes as if to say, do as you please, kill me or save me.
He hit him with his webbed feet, rammed him with his head, and even bit him, but Bi-gu didn't budge. Hyeon-gu seethed with anger, but that was all. This one was lazy, fat, and even slow, but in return, he was strong and sturdy.
When he was younger, he could still be controlled to some extent, but as he grew bigger and bigger, this kind of physical control no longer worked. It was a relief that his disposition was gentle, so he only rebelled like this when he was hungry.
If not, he would have had no choice but to give up on this foolish son long ago.
"Alright, I understand."
After his fit of anger, Hyeon-gu ended up resigning himself to it, just as he always did.