Returning Immortal

Chapter 22 : Qiankun Pouch

How could this be!

The group, which had escaped the formation, could not close their mouths at the sight unfolding before their eyes.

In front of the formation was a wilderness with not many trees.

But there, numerous beasts were rampaging in a frenzy.

It wasn't just the beasts they had seen from the top of the Black Dragon Cliff.

Even demonic beasts that were only passed down in legends, like the Human-Faced Spider and the Snow Mountain Divine Cat, could be seen.

Among them, Ne Jinja, who seemed to have seen a rare sight, turned to the Ghost Medicine Hall Master and asked.

"Hall Master! Isn't that a Golden-Crowned Blood-Tailed Snake? Is it true that the invincible creature that even a supreme master cannot face is now being chased?"

"Gekekeke. Although the Golden-Crowned Blood-Tailed Snake is an invincible master, wouldn't the story be different if its opponent is a Golden-Eyed Divine Bird?"

"Golden-Eyed Divine Bird? Isn't that a spiritual beast that was said to have already gone extinct in ancient times?"

"I heard so too, but I can't believe my own eyes. To think that I would see today the spiritual beast that the ancient immortals were said to have ridden, which is wise and ferocious beyond compare. Oh, oh! The divine bird has finally caught up with the Golden-Crowned Blood-Tailed Snake."

The two spiritual beasts, unaware that the group was watching with surprised expressions, fiercely intertwined and fought.

As a red energy enveloped the surroundings like a mist, a golden light flashed like a flood dragon and dug into the red mist.

Fierce lightning flickered in the red cloud, and a blood-colored light rippled like a current, then suddenly spread wide and swirled fiercely.

Yellow-brown dust also rose like flames.

Even so, the golden light did not lose its color.

Rather, it shone brilliantly, then in an instant, it drove away the red mist and stood tall.

Screech!

The Golden-Eyed Divine Bird, which had spread its two wings wide and cried out long while looking at the sky, grabbed a snake three chi long, bigger than its own body, and flew up into the sky.

The Golden-Crowned Blood-Tailed Snake was hanging limp, as if dead.

The wind blew and the golden light wavered, then its body disappeared, and it felt as if he was having a dream.

"Where on earth did all these spiritual beasts come from? They can't all be living here..."

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master muttered, staring blankly in the direction where the Golden-Eyed Divine Bird had disappeared.

His face was that of someone who had lost two precious treasures.

Although there was almost no recorded content about the Golden-Eyed Divine Bird other than its shape and name, the Golden-Crowned Blood-Tailed Snake was described in detail in a book called the 'Record of Ten Thousand Beasts and Strange Creatures'.

With that size, it would have even formed an inner core...

Although there was nothing to throw away, from the golden crown, gallbladder, skin, to the meat, the inner core of the Golden-Crowned Blood-Tailed Snake was a treasure of the world that could not be bought with money.

If one refined and consumed it, it could raise a supreme master to the realm of the supreme in one breath.

"That's because you, Hall Master, don't know. I don't know about the Golden-Eyed Divine Bird, but the other beasts probably can't easily cross this absolute forbidden zone. It's said that only the extremely high-ranking beings among the demonic creatures can occasionally come and go."

"Then are you saying all of them are living here? That's impossible. They can't be fools, so why would they insist on living here, of all places, where there are so many fearsome predators and natural enemies?"

"That's right. It's certainly against common sense to say that all those demonic beasts are living here. But it's also a fact that what we are seeing now is not an illusion or a lie. There must be a reason we don't know."

"Could it be that they fell from the sky? Or did they spring from the ground...?"

"Perhaps..."

"If not that, then the legendary Grotto-Heaven and Blessed-Land might be formed nearby..."

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who had stopped talking, let out a chuckle.

It seemed he found his own thoughts amusing.

Ne Jinja, who had chuckled along with him, suddenly looked back at Gwi Seongjin.

Then, as if it were strange, his expression hardened.

Everyone had their eyes fixed on the place where the beasts and demonic creatures were chasing and being chased, but Gwi Seongjin was looking at a different place.

It was a swarm of insects flying in a group.

Although they were far away and small in size, Ne Jinja, a supreme master, could easily identify them as Blood Flies.

"Those are Blood Flies that live in the poisonous lands deep in the southern barbarian lands. I heard they travel in swarms, but their numbers are greater than I thought."

As Ne Jinja said, the number of Blood Flies was not small.

There seemed to be at least a hundred thousand of them.

Perhaps because of that, it felt as if a red cloud was flowing on the wind.

The way they gathered and scattered, their form changing freely, was truly a magnificent sight.

"Are those poisonous insects called Blood Flies? I've also read about them in a book."

If one's internal energy was high, one could naturally see far away.

But Gwi Seongjin's internal energy was low, so he was not at a level to distinguish the Blood Flies like Ne Jinja.

Although his eyesight had improved with the Primordial Chaos Art, that too had its limits, and his spiritual sense was too far away to even attempt.

So he was frustrated, but with Ne Jinja's help, he came to know the identity of the insects.

"But they are much bigger than I knew. Their movements are also fast... They are like well-trained soldiers."

Looking at the movements of the Blood Flies now, they were like soldiers moving in a military formation on a battlefield.

They were not flying according to instinct, but were all moving in perfect order as if being controlled by an outstanding strategist.

"I also found that strange and have been observing them for a while. As I see it, their movements have a clear purpose. It seems they are trying to enter the formation in front."

"What? Then are you saying they are flying around looking for the weakness of the formation?"

"It seems so. Oh! It seems they've found the exit."

While the two were talking, some of the Blood Flies were sucked into the formation and disappeared.

They had found the weakness.

"The ancient formation is in that direction, so we can just follow them. Grand Prince! It seems we should also move now."

"I understand. Then, Vice Director, you take the lead."

"I will do so. There are many beasts in front, so please follow carefully."

With Ne Jinja in the lead, the group unhesitatingly jumped into the wilderness teeming with demonic beasts.

They knew that since the beasts had already swept through, there were no formations or prohibitions up to the target point.

So there was no hesitation in running.

Kwwwwwaaaaang!

As a large black leopard jumped in next to the group, the Raging Fire Divine Lord's Sky-Piercing Halberd spewed fire.

At that, the sky split, and a thick purple blood rained down.

Everyone skillfully used their skills to avoid the blood from touching their bodies, but Gwi Seongjin was an exception.

His internal energy was weak, so he was covered in blood all over.

Even so, Gwi Seongjin did not hesitate for a moment.

It was because he did not want to allow the group to be delayed because of him.

Just then, a fearless salamander rushed at Ne Jinja, who was in the lead.

It was a white salamander, only about a chi in size.

Although it was a small and weak existence that didn't even need to be avoided, Ne Jinja's eyes flashed coldly and he boldly operated his Yin Talisman Ghost Killing Art.

It was from the judgment that if it were an ordinary salamander, it would not have survived here until now.

As expected!

The salamander, which was running on its two hind legs, jumped into the air, and suddenly the sky turned pitch black.

As if a space spell had been cast, the salamander's mouth opened to an enormous size and covered the group.

Swoosh!

As Ne Jinja's two hands cut through the space, the sky was split in a cross shape.

The blue sky was briefly revealed through it, but when a black light flashed from below, the sky was once again engulfed in darkness as if by a lie.

"A bewitching creature."

Ne Jinja's hand flashed, and the Raging Fire Divine Lord's Sky-Piercing Halberd and Ilgeom's blade tore the darkness to shreds.

Even so, the darkness flowed out like an immortal and stitched up the torn space in black.

Gurgle, gurgle.

As the black light that was enveloping the group narrowed, a foul smell wafted from the front.

It was the smell of the corpses of humans and beasts that had been eaten by the salamander, rotting for hundreds of years.

On the floor, the remains of such animals were scattered in a disorderly manner.

Sticky water was dripping from the ceiling, and the black-stained floor was also wriggling like a wave, gradually narrowing the space.

Thud!

Something got caught on Gwi Seongjin's foot as he was dodging the dirty water falling from the ceiling.

When he looked down casually, it was a human corpse.

The flesh had melted and the bones were scattered, so it was not a complete form.

But what was strange was that part of the clothes it was wearing had not rotted and remained.

Poke.

A strange light flashed in Gwi Seongjin's eyes as he discovered a small pouch inside.

'Qiankun Pouch.'

Cha!

Gwi Seongjin, who had jumped up with all his might and cut the ceiling with his Thunder Cloud Sword, fell to the ground as if slipping.

Then, when he stood up, the Qiankun Pouch that had been in the corpse's clothes was gone.

While Gwi Seongjin was patting his pounding chest, the Ghost Medicine Hall Master put his hand into the sack on his back and took out a strangely shaped gourd.

It was a gourd with a long neck like a crane.

Pop!

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who was stroking the long neck with a look of regret, opened the lid, and a foul smell and yellow smoke flowed out from inside.

"Everyone, hold your breath."

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who had shouted loudly to the group, shot the liquid inside the gourd at the salamander's stomach wall with his internal energy.

At that, the stomach wall, which had been restored right after being torn by swords, began to melt like water.

Screech! Screeeech!

Suddenly, a grotesque scream erupted, and the darkness momentarily receded.

And a white salamander appeared and fled at an astonishing speed.

The demonic beast, which had grown to a size of ten zhang, had shrunk to a size of one chi in an instant and was running away.

"Wh-what is that?"

The startled Ghost Medicine Hall Master asked Ne Jinja, but there was no answer.

He was just shaking his head with a surprised expression.

Ne Jinja, who had been distracted for a moment, thinking about the salamander that had disappeared before his eyes, urged the group to move again.

It was because he couldn't miss the good opportunity that had come after a long time because of an unknown demonic beast.

The Blood Flies seemed to have almost all entered the formation, and now only a few could be seen.

Gwi Seongjin, who was flying among the group, recalled an old memory.

It was a word his late father had shown him and explained.

Qiankun Pouch.

The Qiankun Pouch was a pouch that cultivators who practiced the Dao carried on their side to hold refining materials or treasures, and it was mostly the size of two palms.

But he had heard that since a space expansion spell was cast on it, some Qiankun Pouches could hold the entire heaven and earth.

That's why it was called a Qiankun Pouch, and the demonic beast he had just encountered was the Dao Dragon Beast, an indispensable main ingredient for making the pouch.

The higher the cultivation of the Dao Dragon Beast, the better the performance of the Qiankun Pouch that could be made, but he knew that it was very difficult to capture because it was impervious to swords and its stealth spell was outstanding.

But to have entered the Dao Dragon Beast's body and obtained a Qiankun Pouch... even if it was a coincidence, there was no such good fortune.

* * *

Gwi Seongjin, who was trying hard to erase the smile that was forming on his lips, performed his movement technique and arrived at the point where the Blood Flies had disappeared.

Thanks to deploying his spiritual sense while running, Gwi Seongjin already knew that there was an empty square at the entrance of the formation.

He didn't know the dangers that lay beyond it yet, but the method of entering the formation was not very difficult.

This time, Gwi Seongjin asked Ne Jinja first.

"Vice Director! Is this also a formation you have experienced before?"

Fortunately, Ne Jinja's head nodded.

"If you go inside the formation, there is a small space and a stone chamber beyond it. Before, there were devices that spewed poison or illusion formations installed there. What I remember is that there was only one exit to get out of the stone chamber, and that everything was an illusion."

"Gekekeke. Just hearing about it is chilling. If we can't find the exit here either, do we starve to death?"

"Not necessarily. It's a last resort, but we can also just smash all the mechanisms, illusions and all."

"A method I like for once."

This time, the Raging Fire Divine Lord answered.

The way he was swinging his Sky-Piercing Halberd fiercely, it seemed he had not a few knots in his heart.

"Then let's go inside."

Ne Jinja said as he moved his steps in the direction where the Blood Flies had disappeared.

Strangely, Ne Jinja's body disappeared into the space as if melting.

Next was the Raging Fire Divine Lord.

Then it was Gwi Seongjin's turn.

(End of Chapter)