The long, stretching horn suddenly snapped and fell off. And from the place where the horn had fallen, a new, thicker horn sprouted. That horn seemed to grow long like the one that had fallen off, but then it began to curve slightly.
Crack!
Jaekyung opened his mouth wide and unconsciously breathed fire. A sensation, as if his entire body was being kneaded by a skilled and powerful masseur—painful yet refreshing, and intensely stimulating—spread from the tip of his head to the end of his tail.
Crash!
A light swing of his tail struck the ground, and the floor of the great hall cracked, causing the entire Black Flood Dragon Palace to shake precariously. Cheong-o, who had been spread-eagled on his belly in his nest, was launched into the air.
Having fallen asleep drooling, Cheong-o blankly opened his eyes and tried to grasp the situation, only to fall back to the ground with a scream.
"Ah, really!"
Cheong-o's displeased gaze turned to Jaekyung, who was writhing his entire body. Jaekyung, who damaged the building and made loud noises at all hours, was utterly detestable. Isn't the essence of Cultivation supposed to be about tranquility and peace?
But what is that fellow doing?
'Huh?
But what was tranquility and peace again?' Cheong-o was puzzled by his own sudden thought. Tranquility and peace?
Cultivation?
Did I see it in a dream? Yes, that seemed to be it. But when did I see it?
'Ah, I don't know.' As his thoughts grew, drowsiness washed over him. Cheong-o closed his eyes, which had suddenly become unbearably heavy.
He stretched his two wings out to the sides and pressed his plump belly against the ground. While Cheong-o was thus waking and falling back asleep, Jaekyung was still trembling, savoring the aftereffects of the increase in his Refined Blood and the molting. 'I was thinking about it wrong.'
Jaekyung narrowed his eyes as he felt his noticeably more powerful physical body naturally contain and channel more demonic power. 'As the vessel became larger and sturdier, the power contained within it also increased and grew denser.' It wasn't a huge difference.
But it was definitely different. The current trend in the cultivation world is the dharma cultivator. It is a path of honing spiritual power to raise one's realm, and is, for all intents and purposes, the only path.
On the other hand, the body cultivator generally plays a supplementary role. The training of the physical body is slower compared to a dharma cultivator, and even with arduous training, the increase in lifespan is minimal, so cultivators pressed for time have no leisure to dabble in body cultivation.
Even those in the current cultivation world called body cultivators are not pure body cultivators, but practice dual cultivation of dharma and body. They are only called body cultivators because their physical cultivation is more outstanding and prominent than others. The demon race is not much different from the humans.
Most of the demon race are born with physical bodies far more powerful than humans, so they don't feel the need to train them. Moreover, their cultivation is generally based on the legacy of their bloodline, but breakthroughs in realm are fundamentally related to the accumulation of demonic power, so they pay even less attention to training their physical bodies.
Jaekyung was the same. His powerful physical body was his greatest strength, but that was entirely dependent on molting, and he hadn't particularly thought about needing to train his physical body. But now, Jaekyung's thoughts had changed.
He felt that his more powerful physical body could absorb more spiritual energy of heaven and earth. He felt that the flow and application of his demonic power had become much smoother. 'Why is it different from before?'
This wasn't the first or second time he had molted. This molting was also only different in that it was greatly advanced with the help of Refined Blood; there was nothing special about it compared to previous moltings. Could it be because of the efficacy of the Refined Blood itself, not the molting?
That was possible, but somehow it didn't feel right. 'Maybe I was thinking about something wrong.' Jaekyung suddenly recalled the various realms that existed for dharma cultivators.
Taking the humans as an example, they divided the stages of cultivation not only into great realms like Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, but also into three minor realms: early, middle, and late. These were bottlenecks, large and small. And such bottlenecks must have existed since a long, long time ago, even before they were distinguished and named.
Then what about the body cultivator? If this too is a branch of the Immortal Path, wouldn't there naturally be bottlenecks on the path of the body cultivator as well? 'I probably just don't know about them, but they must exist.'
Jaekyung was certain that the humans possessed a legacy of body cultivation, both deep and shallow, and that among them would be knowledge about the realms of the body. However, such knowledge would be of little use to him. Because he was of the demon race, a spirit beast.
Unlike the dharma cultivator, which is based on spiritual nature, the body cultivator is based on the physical body. For him, who possessed a physical body incomparably stronger than that of humans, there was no reason or value in referencing human cultivation techniques. 'I have broken through a bottleneck on the path of the body cultivator.'
If so, was what he had crossed a minor realm or a great realm? Perhaps even this distinction wasn't appropriate. Distinctions like minor realm and great realm were the ways of the humans, after all.
'Looking at it this way, it seems foolish to even distinguish between dharma and body. If each can support the other, is there any reason to choose only one?' For the past ten years, he had focused solely on accumulating demonic power.
It wasn't bad. He felt that he was steadily improving and was confident that he was not far from the middle stage of the Great Spirit stage. Compared not only to the demon races but also to human cultivators, his cultivation speed was very fast.
But now, operating the Burning Flame Art with his newly reborn body, he could feel that the quantity and quality of the demonic power being accumulated had improved compared to before.
'I'm certain.
This is the righteous path. At least, for me, it is the righteous path.' His heart swelled.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which had flowed in under the guidance of the Burning Flame Art, became flames that flickered over his entire body. Amidst the blazing fire, Jaekyung smiled with utmost satisfaction. * He had found a new path, a better path, but finding the path and walking it were two different things.
This might be a slightly different story, but who wouldn't know that one could cultivate faster by consuming spiritual herbs?
Everyone knew.
They just couldn't afford them. In that respect, Jaekyung's situation hadn't changed from before. Whether accumulating demonic power or training his physical body, resources were equally a problem.
The only difference was that there was a way to train his physical body somewhat faster even without spiritual herbs. Crunch, crunch— He tossed hundreds of spirit stones into his mouth at once.
It was an atrocity that would make the eyes of poor mountain sect cultivators turn bloodshot, but Jaekyung didn't care one bit for the jealousy of such paupers. He just moved his jaw mechanically, carefully observing the 'acceleration' that the hundreds of lowest-grade spirit stones brought to his physical body. 'Not bad, but not good either.'
Before, he would have frowned, thinking the cost-effectiveness was poor, but not now. Buying spiritual objects with spirit stones takes time, and luck must follow. Moreover, spiritual objects that help the body are generally hard to find, so eating spirit stones to accelerate molting was also a decent choice.
'Refined Blood.'
As he consumed spirit stones like rice, Jaekyung thought about Refined Blood. The Refined Blood of a Great Spirit Beast was certainly potent, befitting its description as the best body-tempering spiritual elixir. The fact that he broke through the bottleneck was due to his prior accumulation, but even considering that, the efficacy of the Refined Blood was quite impressive.
Ignorance would have been bliss, but having tasted it once, it was hard to forget its potent effect. 'Where can I get more Refined Blood.' The first thing that came to mind was, of course, the grand auctions of the humans, but Jaekyung immediately dismissed it from his mind.
A precious item like Refined Blood would be hard to find at a small auction, and while one might be able to see it at a grand auction, trying to win the bid… 'Let's give up on auctions.' If not buying it with spirit stones, the only other way was to obtain it directly.
This way would be easier and cleaner. Since it's the Refined Blood of a Great Spirit Beast, wouldn't hunting a Great Spirit Beast suffice? 'This is also easier said than done.'
Jaekyung, who had experience hunting Great Spirit Beasts directly and chewing their flesh, knew well that Great Spirit Beasts with Refined Blood were rare. Perhaps only Great Spirit Beasts with robust physical bodies, who had unknowingly built up their body cultivation to a certain level, would possess Refined Blood. Such Great Spirit Beasts were rare, and unrecognizable.
At least, Jaekyung couldn't recognize them. 'This is tricky. I can't just go around hunting any sturdy-looking fellow.'
Whether he had the ability to do so was one thing; the aftermath of causing such trouble would be no small matter. If he were to get seriously injured, the piranhas that smelled blood would swarm him, and even if not, if he were to attract the attention of powerful beings who disliked disturbances… 'No, that's not it.'
Jaekyung thought of Jang-yeong. Of the demon with the upper body of a giant and the lower body of an aquatic spirit beast. That fellow had hunted Dae-yeong without hesitation.
Was there some old grudge between them? Or did his eyes go wild upon seeing wounded prey? No, that couldn't be.
If there had been a grudge between them, he would have noticed it at the exchange meeting. Even if the calm and composed Jang-yeong didn't show it, the impulsive fish-head Dae-yeong would have reacted in some way. 'Jang-yeong, that fellow has a backer.'
When Jaekyung had visited Jang-yeong, Jang-yeong had not let down his guard despite Jaekyung's polite introduction. That guardiness only lessened slightly after Jaekyung revealed his nominal status as a Guest Elder of the Whale King Palace.
At the time, he had thought it was simply due to being overwhelmed by the prestige of a great power like the Whale King Palace. But now, having gained some understanding of the person named Jang-yeong and looking back on that time… it occurred to him that it couldn't be that simple.
'He could relax knowing I was affiliated with the Whale King Palace for one of two reasons. Either he utterly disdained the Whale King Palace, or he thought someone from the Whale King Palace would not harm him.' The answer was clear.
That was why he was puzzled.
‘I just have to find out now.’
Having made up his mind, Jaekyung rose to his heavy body. * “Ah, Dao Friend Jaekyung.” Jang-yeong's appearance was not much different from when they had met before.
Well, a considerable amount of time had passed, so even if he had been injured to some extent in the fight with Dae-yeong, he would have more than recovered.
"Dao Friend Jang-yeong."
They exchanged greetings in front of Jang-yeong's grotto. It was not only because of Jang-yeong's wariness, but also because Jaekyung's large body could not pass through the entrance of the grotto.
"Dao Friend Jaekyung… it seems you have had some achievements since we last met."
Jang-yeong's gaze swept over Jaekyung's even larger body, finally resting on the horn on his head. The previously long, awl-like horn was now much thicker and strangely curved. In some ways, it resembled an ox's horn, but in other ways, it was different.
Jang-yeong had never seen anything like it before. He just felt that the unfamiliar horn was not ordinary. Well, it was unlikely that a flood dragon's horn would be ordinary anyway.
"Well, I haven't just been standing still. By the way..."
Jaekyung trailed off, narrowing his eyes.
"Dao Friend Jang-yeong. I hear you laid a hand on Dao Friend Dae-yeong?"
“...”
Jang-yeong's body stiffened. His gaze as he met Jaekyung's also grew cold.
"... Yes. I did. Is the reason you sought me today to blame me for that matter?"
"It could be, or it could not be. Dao Friend Jang-yeong, you are clever, so you must have your own speculations about the gathering I held before."
“...”
"Dae-yeong was certainly lacking in many ways, but he was at least someone worth interacting with in this area. But since Dao Friend Jang-yeong laid a hand on him, hasn't all my effort gone to waste?"
Hearing those words, Jang-yeong's stiff body relaxed slightly. But the tension between them did not lessen in the slightest.
"I understand. As for that part… I apologize."
"An apology in words alone is meaningless."
"Of course. How should I apologize?"
"Dao Friend Jang-yeong. Were you not afraid of the consequences? Or did you trust in your backer? The Whale King Palace?"
Jang-yeong hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded his head.
"Yes. That is correct."
"So that's how it was."
Jaekyung smiled faintly and coiled his body in front of Jang-yeong. At the same time, his enormous, vertically slit eyes scanned Jang-yeong from top to bottom.