Returning Immortal

Chapter 21 : Earth Transformation Art

How could this be!

How much effort had gone into making that true qi...

He searched again, shedding tears of blood, but as expected, he couldn't feel it.

The Raging Fire Divine Lord's face, which was trembling all over, began to turn dark red.

Then it turned white, and then black again, and suddenly revealed a thick killing intent.

Ugh!

Gwi Seongjin, who felt the killing intent, let out a faint groan.

It was for the purpose of letting those around him know of his danger.

"Wait a minute! I'm also going to examine this child, so Divine Lord, please step aside for a moment."

Fortunately, Ne Jinja stepped forward and separated Gwi Seongjin from the Raging Fire Divine Lord.

The Raging Fire Divine Lord did not want to move aside, but perhaps because he was conscious of the Grand Prince's gaze, he stood up from his seat with a reluctant expression.

As he stood up, the Raging Fire Divine Lord secretly planted a wisp of Pure Yang True Qi in one of Gwi Seongjin's acupoints.

It was an acupoint that would not interfere with the performance of his martial arts.

Ne Jinja, who had switched places with the Raging Fire Divine Lord, held out a black pill to Gwi Seongjin.

It was a pill that looked similar to the Ink Soul Pill he had given Gwi Seongjin before, but unfortunately, its size was a little smaller.

"Eat this. And what happened?"

Gwi Seongjin, who had received the pill Ne Jinja handed him, put it in his mouth and began to chew it slowly.

He had experienced it before, but the pill was extremely bitter.

And a hot energy that was enough to make his mouth sore spewed out, but fortunately, it was not to the extent that he couldn't bear it.

Gwi Seongjin, who had carefully swallowed the pill, explained the situation of his collapse to the group.

Of course, it was a story he had made up.

"...",

"So you're saying the demon used a spell to build an earthen wall, and then suddenly knocked you out and ran away while you were talking?"

When Gwi Seongjin's explanation ended, Ne Jinja asked with an expression that said he couldn't understand.

Ne Jinja didn't know the fact that the demon had transferred power to the green monster.

Even so, the demon's ability to make the ground shoot up in an instant and harden the earth like iron was enough to startle him.

If that ability had been used for an attack, there would not have been many people left standing in this place.

In the worst case, they could have been annihilated.

But to have just watched on as if it were someone else's business and then disappeared without a word...

Gwi Seongjin's words were not readily believable.

"That's right. And I had a few words with the demon, but it seemed to be a little lacking in intelligence. It showed strong hostility towards us, but perhaps because it was not good with words, it only expressed its anger and there was almost no actual conversation. Then, when the green monster died, it pulled up earth from the ground to prevent others from coming over here, and then, as if something urgent had come up, it knocked me out and ran away."

"Was it definitely a demon lacking in intelligence?"

Ne Jinja asked as if to confirm, with a look of unresolved suspicion.

It was because it was an important issue.

A demon that was not developed in intelligence was not to be feared much, no matter how divine and elusive its abilities were.

It was just a ferocious beast.

And if that was true, there was no need to worry about the time it had spent with Gwi Seongjin at all.

"Although the demon used human language, its level of thinking was at best that of a child. It didn't even have a name yet and couldn't form long sentences. And I don't know the reason, but it seemed to be reluctant to kill directly. It had several chances to kill me, but it hesitated and didn't act."

"That's a relief. In any case, it can be said to be a stroke of luck that you survived this time without dying. Take this crisis as a lesson and stick by my side as much as possible from now on."

Ne Jinja said with a slightly brightened complexion.

Although his suspicion was not completely gone, his eyes were much more relaxed than at first.

"I will keep that in mind. By the way, the spell the demon performed is unusual. Do you have any idea what kind of technique it is?"

Although Gwi Seongjin asked with a look of not knowing, he too had a guess in his heart.

What the demon had performed was the Earth Transformation Art, a legal art of the earth attribute.

Perhaps because it was born in the ground, it was skilled in the legal art of handling earth.

Of course, it wasn't that humans didn't know such a spell.

Even a warrior without an upper dantian could easily perform the Earth Traveling Art, which involved digging into the ground to hide or move.

However, they could not make the earth shoot up in the shape of a wall or make it as hard as iron like the demon had performed.

"I don't know. There are countless people with strange abilities in the world, so it's not strange that a demon has such a skill. I'm not sure, but the demon's hidden abilities are probably not few. That being said, I'm worried about the future. Even though there are many monsters and demons in the forbidden zone, I've never seen a creature of that level... I don't know where it came from."

The corner of Gwi Seongjin's mouth went up slightly.

It was because he knew that a considerable amount of time had passed since the demon had entered this place.

"If it's the demon's hidden ability, it must be a world-shaking spell, right? I don't know if we can handle it."

In fact, Gwi Seongjin had briefly contemplated whether to use the wish the demon had presented before it left.

It was a wish to kill all the members of the Luminous Cult beyond the earthen wall.

If he killed them, Gwi Seongjin could regain his freedom.

But he gave up because there were many things that bothered him, and the biggest reason was because of Baek Gayoung.

If he disappeared, her safety would be in danger.

"I'm not sure, but seeing that the demon fled, it must have something it's reluctant to face. Still, I hope we don't run into it as much as possible."

"I hope so too. By the way, are there other demons of that level in the forbidden zone?"

"Probably not. But just in case..."

Ne Jinja, who had stopped talking, turned his head and his eyebrows shot up.

It was because the Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who had put the group in danger by disobeying the order not to touch anything in the formation without his permission, was now doing something else absurd.

When the earthen wall collapsed, everyone had run to Gwi Seongjin, but the Ghost Medicine Hall Master had run to the entrance of the barrier and was calmly pulling out the Three-Branched Nine-Leaf Herb.

It was a five-hundred-year-old spiritual herb.

"Gekekeke! It's like giving a disease and then a medicine, but at least it's not a losing business, so that's a relief."

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who had cut off one branch of the Three-Branched Nine-Leaf Herb, said as he stuffed the torn leaves into his mouth.

The Three-Branched Nine-Leaf Herb was a treasure of the medical family that was excellent for increasing internal energy, but it was also highly effective in treating internal injuries.

A spiritual herb of this level could completely heal his wounds in a day or two.

Moreover, his internal energy would also increase, so as he said, it was not a losing business.

The problem was that right now, he couldn't even use half of his original internal energy.

"What do you mean it's not a loss?"

The one who stepped forward to the Ghost Medicine Hall Master was unexpectedly the Grand Prince.

"Gekekeke. It's nothing. This absolute forbidden zone is truly a treasure trove. Spiritual herbs are scattered everywhere."

"Do you know how many masters have died here? They all grew up eating human blood and flesh."

"H-how could that be? Spiritual beings and spiritual herbs absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to grow, so with human blood..."

"Shall we test it? I think if you, Hall Master, die, one spiritual being or spiritual herb could grow from receiving that power..."

The Grand Prince's voice suddenly became cold.

It was clear that he was holding him responsible for touching the Child Ginseng, disobeying Ne Jinja's order.

However, he was not an existence to be persecuted like this.

In the Luminous Cult, the status of a Hall Master was a power that could even make a flying bird fall.

Moreover, he was also a confidant of his grandfather and the Cult Leader, Jang Mujong.

This was the reason why the Grand Prince, Jang Taegeon, could not treat him carelessly.

"Because of a mere herb..."

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who was about to confidently ask if he was being persecuted too much for touching a single herb, unconsciously hunched his shoulders.

It was because he had sensed a faint killing intent deep in the Grand Prince's eyes.

Damn it!

It was a dangerous sign.

The most vicious and cruel bloodline in the Luminous Cult was the Jang family, and the Grand Prince was a direct descendant of that family.

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master had no choice but to lower his head.

"I didn't think the barrier would be activated if I pulled out the Child Ginseng. I'm truly sorry."

"..."

Although the Ghost Medicine Hall Master apologized, the Grand Prince was silent.

It was an expression that said he couldn't forgive him with just that.

Had he approached before he knew it?

Ilgeom, who had approached diagonally to the Grand Prince, was also holding the hilt of his sword.

It was a momentum that said he would strike down his neck if the order was given.

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master's wrinkled lips were bitten hard.

It was true that he had done wrong.

But to be persecuted like this, a Hall Master...

In the suffocatingly cold atmosphere, only silence lingered within the barrier.

After a while like that.

The Grand Prince's mouth, which had been looking at the Ghost Medicine Hall Master with a cold gaze, finally opened.

"Because of the Hall Master's reckless behavior, we almost suffered a great disaster. The Hall Master and the Divine Lord suffered internal injuries, and Gwi Seongjin was driven to the brink of death and almost lost his life. I hope the Ghost Medicine Hall Master will no longer overlook the purpose of our coming here."

"This will never happen again."

"I'll be watching."

After clearly imprinting who the leader here was, the Grand Prince slowly moved back.

Perhaps because the demon had played a trick as it fled, the barrier had already been dismantled.

The group, which had come out of the barrier, felt a strange feeling.

The thick fog was nowhere to be seen, even after rubbing their eyes.

As they walked, they saw large trees uprooted... and the corpses of beasts were also occasionally visible.

The group, feeling a sense of unease, slowly slowed their walking speed.

Ne Jinja's gaze, which had been carefully examining the front, turned to the Grand Prince.

"Grand Prince! It seems a big change has occurred in the formation. It seems something has destroyed the formation and escaped in this direction."

"Is it the work of the demon that was in the barrier?"

"Seeing that the traces of the formation's destruction are connected from the barrier, it's not entirely impossible. However, what I can't be sure of is..."

"Why? Is there another reason?"

"That's not it, but if the demon in the barrier had this much ability, it wouldn't have let us kill the green monster. It would have had no reason to flee the barrier either."

"Well, with this much ability, we couldn't be sure of victory even if we all rushed at it... But we can't just think that another monster happened to pass through here, can we?"

"It's better not to jump to conclusions yet. I don't know if it's a human or a demon, but it will eventually be revealed as time passes. In any case, it's a fact that what passed through here is an extremely dangerous existence."

"Hoho. I didn't believe it when they said the forbidden zone was dangerous before I came... If that is an enemy, isn't it a really big problem?"

"I don't know if it's an enemy or not, but we will have to act more cautiously from now on. However, if we follow these traces of destruction, it seems we can escape the formation without much danger."

"That's a relief. In that case, since we don't know how the formation will change again, it would be better for us to speed up as well."

"I think that would be for the best too."

Thus, following Ne Jinja's words, the group sped up.

Roar!

Hooooowl!

As they ran, following the traces, the roars of ferocious beasts were heard one after another.

It seemed the formation was almost coming to an end.

(End of Chapter)