Returning Immortal

Chapter 24 : Three-Eyed Toad

The mosquitoes were incomparably weaker poisonous insects compared to the Blood Flies, but since their numbers were large, they were extremely annoying.

And as fate would have it, they clung to Gwi Seongjin a lot.

"Gekekeke. The mosquitoes seem to like only you. Did you eat something good recently?"

That couldn't be.

The most precious food Gwi Seongjin had eaten since being captured by the Luminous Cult was raw meat.

And since it had a Gu worm in it, it wasn't that good either.

"I think it's because of the blood."

Gwi Seongjin said, pointing to the bloodstains of the black leopard he had been covered in before.

Come to think of it, not only Gwi Seongjin's clothes but even his hair was caked with blood.

So the swarm of mosquitoes had rushed at him with a vengeance.

"I see. I'll get rid of the bloodstains, so wait a moment."

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master turned his hand behind his back and put it into the leather sack he was carrying.

And after fumbling around for a moment, he took out a thin leather pouch.

"This is the powder of Dragon's Blood Mountain. It will sting a little when it touches your skin. There is no poison, so you can rest assured."

When the Ghost Medicine Hall Master dropped the powder he had taken out of the pouch onto the bloodstains, a surprising phenomenon occurred.

The hardened blood melted and evaporated.

Everyone was surprised by the efficacy of the Dragon's Blood Mountain, but Gwi Seongjin was surprised for a different reason.

It was because the leather sack the Ghost Medicine Hall Master was carrying on his back was similar in use to the Qiankun Pouch he had obtained from the Dao Dragon Beast's belly.

The Qiankun Pouch was an extremely convenient tool.

It could make things light with a lightness spell, and by reducing the volume, it could store anything up to a certain amount inside.

Instead, there was the inconvenience of having to use spirit energy to open and close the entrance, but that too was not a very big disadvantage considering the safety.

So was that why it was made so bizarrely?

The leather sack the Ghost Medicine Hall Master was carrying had many similarities to a Qiankun Pouch.

First of all, it could store many things inside.

And it had a structure that made it easy to take out the things inside, and the material of the cloth was also tough and sturdy.

In addition, it had a function that the Qiankun Pouch could not, which was that it could contain living creatures and could be used without spirit energy.

However, the disadvantage was that the sack was large and heavy, and the inside could be detected with spiritual sense.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

When the bloodstains on his body were removed, the swarm of mosquitoes rushing at Gwi Seongjin was significantly reduced.

"Thank you. It's bearable now."

Gwi Seongjin bowed his head to the Ghost Medicine Hall Master.

He had received not a little help from him, including the poison-repelling pearl.

"Gekekeke. If you're so grateful, you can repay the favor later. Isn't the martial world a place where we help each other and live?"

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who had clearly made it known that he had bestowed a favor, put his hand into the sack and took out a black bottle.

When he opened the lid and blew his internal energy into it, a black energy flowed out from the bottle like a storm.

At that, the swarm of mosquitoes that smelled it scattered in all directions in a panic and fled madly.

* * *

The group, which had defeated the swarm of mosquitoes thanks to the Ghost Medicine Hall Master's performance, once again hurried their steps.

Strangely, for a while, there were no attacks from beasts.

Everyone was curious about the reason, and before long, they could find out the cause.

A formation was installed in front, and the beasts and demonic beasts that had disappeared were engaged in a fierce slaughter within it.

Although the Blood Flies were not visible, it was not difficult to know that they had also entered.

It was because the corpses of beasts, presumed to have been killed by the Blood Flies, were scattered at the entrance of the formation.

"Grand Prince! I remember this formation having a complex maze and many barriers. Some barriers would automatically release their seals when a person approached, and monsters would rush out. There is a high possibility that this formation has also evolved."

Ne Jinja, who was explaining the characteristics of the formation, turned his gaze inside and suddenly his expression brightened.

A huge monster, presumed to have escaped from a barrier, was being attacked by poisonous creatures and demonic beasts that had come from outside.

Although the monster's strength and ferocity were great, the poisonous creatures and demonic beasts were no less.

They were all rushing in, disregarding death, and steadily chipping away at the monster's stamina.

As long as he and Gwi Seongjin were there, there was no need to worry much about the maze formation inside the formation.

Moreover, not a few mazes had already been destroyed by the intrusion of beasts and demonic beasts.

Thinking that they might be able to get out easily if they were lucky, Ne Jinja carefully led the group into the formation.

The formation was longer than he had thought.

And it was dangerous.

The group, which had passed through several life-and-death crises in the maze formation, was now looking at the swarming rats with tired faces.

Of course, they were not ordinary rats.

The swarm of rats, with sharp, long fangs protruding like spears from the corners of their mouths, were ferocious in nature and their movements were as agile as could be.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

And their cries were strangely grating on the nerves.

If you listened for a long time, your concentration would decrease and you would even experience hallucinations.

"Even though we killed so many, they're still swarming. Seongjin! Don't go too far ahead this time."

"Don't worry. I won't overdo it this time."

"Alright. If you get tired from fighting, come to my side..."

"Yes."

While Ne Jinja was instructing Gwi Seongjin, the swarm of rats rushed at the group again.

"Hall Master! Isn't there any poison that can deal with these things?"

Ne Jinja asked the Ghost Medicine Hall Master as if complaining.

"Why wouldn't there be? But since a more difficult situation may arise in the future, I am refraining from using it as much as possible."

"The sack on your back is so big, what are you worried about? Why don't you show off your skills and release it on this occasion?"

"Gekekeke. Since the Vice Director is asking like this, I have no choice but to release the sack. I understand, so everyone, step back."

What the Ghost Medicine Hall Master took out from the sack was a small jade bottle with a strange pattern exquisitely engraved on its surface.

But what caught Gwi Seongjin's attention was something else.

It was the talisman sealing the bottle stopper.

It was a very old talisman with red letters standing out on a yellow background.

Rip.

When the Ghost Medicine Hall Master tore off the talisman, the jade bottle made a strange sound and suddenly began to shake.

It was to the extent that the blue stopper that was blocking the jade bottle was bobbing up and down.

"You bastards! I'll let you eat what you want to your heart's content, so just be patient for a little while."

As if the being inside the jade bottle could understand human words, the Ghost Medicine Hall Master spouted incomprehensible words.

Then he immediately pulled out the stopper.

Psssss.

When the Ghost Medicine Hall Master opened the stopper of the jade bottle, a black mist billowed out from inside.

It was a somehow sinister, and at the same time, eerie mist.

The moment the black energy shot out from the jade bottle, the Ghost Medicine Hall Master did a strange thing.

He bit his finger and spewed blood into the mist.

And when he muttered something, the black mist floating above the jade bottle gradually turned dark red.

The eerie energy also became even thicker.

Then, it suddenly spread wide and diffused in all directions, and a few strands of it jumped into the swarm of rats.

A surprising phenomenon occurred when the dark red mist encountered the swarm of rats.

Kieeeek!

The swarm of rats that collided with the mist screamed and fell to the ground, then began to tremble. Then they melted like water.

It was a formidable toxicity.

The dark red mist's form changed freely.

After brutally slaughtering the swarming rats, when they fled in all directions, it also separated its body and chased after the rats.

Then it finally poisoned the rats and made them roll on the ground.

Because of this, no more rats could be found rushing at the group.

The only ones that survived were a few hundred that had been commanding from a distance and had fled after noticing that the situation was not favorable.

It seemed the fight was ending like that.

But some of the dark red mist was still wandering outside the jade bottle.

Then, the mist that was wandering over the corpses of the dead rats suddenly split into thousands of strands.

A strange light flickered in Gwi Seongjin's eyes as he was watching the scene with his spiritual sense in the bizarre situation.

It was because he had witnessed a faint gray radiance wriggling and coming out from the heads of the dead rats.

The gray radiance that came out from the head of the dead rat momentarily moved its body and appeared in the air about ten zhang away.

Then, after looking at its own body once, it finally gave up its lingering attachment and flew up into the air.

It was then.

The dark red mist that had been watching followed with a long tail and swallowed it in an instant.

Such a situation was happening simultaneously in the air, so in an instant, hundreds of gray radiances disappeared before his eyes.

The gray radiances, which had realized that there was a butcher in the vicinity, no longer hesitated.

As soon as they came out of their bodies, they moved to a place where there was no dark red mist and then flew into the air without delay.

At that, the dark red mist also tore into more branches and filled the gaps where the gray radiances would escape.

Even so, the radiance that escaped was pursued by the mist, which split its body again.

Ssssss.

A gray radiance that had lost its direction flew next to Gwi Seongjin.

Gwi Seongjin, who had sensed that it was the soul of a rat with his spiritual sense, did not bother to join the attack.

He just watched indifferently as the eerie mist swallowed the soul.

It was because Gwi Seongjin's enemy was the swarm of rats, not the dark red mist.

After fighting a life-and-death battle like that for a while and swallowing most of the gray radiances, the dark red mist finally went into the jade bottle.

Perhaps because it had preyed on so many souls, a sticky and sinister energy thickly enveloped the jade bottle.

Thwack!

The Ghost Medicine Hall Master, who had covered the lid with the stopper, took out a talisman from his bosom and sealed the jade bottle again.

And after putting the jade bottle into the sack, he gave a faint smile on his pale face.

The group, which had regulated their breathing while standing, flew forward again.

A few ferocious beasts started a fight, but most of them met their end at Ne Jinja's fingernails.

And the remaining one or two had their souls separated by the sword qi that stretched out from the Sky-Piercing Halberd.

"Wait!"

The steps of Ne Jinja, who was running in front, suddenly slowed down.

It was because there was a large barrier in front.

The group, which had carefully entered, first frowned at the gruesome sight.

Perhaps because a huge fight had taken place, the barrier was completely destroyed, and not a single barrier stone was intact.

And there were a huge number of dead corpses.

The corpses of all sorts of monsters and demonic beasts were scattered here and there.

The group, which had advanced a long way from there, witnessed a tremendous sight.

It was the sight of a huge toad, with three eyes and over one zhang in size, fighting with the Blood Flies.

"Isn't that a Three-Eyed Toad?"

Ne Jinja, who saw the toad, asked the Ghost Medicine Hall Master.

"Looking at its appearance, the Vice Director's guess is correct. But seeing that the eye in the middle of its forehead is golden and its body is so large... I can't be sure that it's a Three-Eyed Toad."

"Couldn't it become like that if it's old?"

"Just because it's old doesn't necessarily mean its body gets bigger. But if that is a real Three-Eyed Toad... we must also keep in mind the possibility that that monster can perform a divine ability."

"A divine ability? What do you mean by that?"

Ne Jinja asked, looking at the bones and corpses of the beasts scattered around the Three-Eyed Toad.

A huge number of beasts were dead nearby, and among them were not a few corpses that looked larger and more ferocious than the Three-Eyed Toad.

As the Ghost Medicine Hall Master had said, it was a battle record that could not be explained without a divine ability.

"The Three-Eyed Toad is a very special species among toads, and I know that when it awakens to the principles of heaven and earth and awakens its third eye, it is reborn as a Three-Eyed Toad. So the old ones can even perform divine abilities..."

"I can't believe a toad can perform a divine ability. By the way, do you have any idea what kind of ability it is?"

"A guess? Gekekeke. I wish I had such a divine ability. It was written in the booklet that each monster has a different divine ability."

While the Ghost Medicine Hall Master was recalling the contents recorded in the 'Record of Ten Thousand Beasts and Strange Creatures', the Three-Eyed Toad and the Blood Flies were engaged in a fierce, life-and-death battle.

Swish!

As the Blood Flies passed before its eyes, the Three-Eyed Toad's tongue suddenly stretched out about two zhang.

And after rolling up about ten Blood Flies, it pushed them into its mouth in the blink of an eye.

(End of Chapter)