Returning Immortal

Chapter 43

Clang!

At that very moment, the axe made of ghost qi finally cut the chain that was binding his primordial spirit.

He had finally broken the shackles.

Gwi Seongjin, who had obtained the freedom of his primordial spirit, first spread his spiritual sense wide.

Then he found out that the masters of the Luminous Cult, from whom he had been separated a few days ago, had entered the cave.

It seemed they had not yet discovered him.

It was because, like him, they were concentrating their attention on the fight between the three-headed snake and the avian demonic beast.

Another reason was the location where he had fallen.

The uneven cave floor was cleverly blocking the view of those standing at the entrance.

'Shall I shout?'

It was also advantageous for Gwi Seongjin himself to join them.

Gwi Seongjin, who had judged so, sent the ghost qi back to the air of his spirit platform and then let out a short groan.

Ugh.

Ne Jinja, who was startled by the sudden groan, scanned the vicinity with a wary gaze.

Then he discovered Gwi Seongjin lying on the ground.

"Seongjin!

Ne Jinja, who had run in one breath, placed Gwi Seongjin's head on his lap and then carefully looked around.

He was in a state of being wary of someone.

"The Blood Scorpion Demoness, that demoness has already been eaten by the three-headed snake."

"What! Is that true?"

"Yes. The demoness brought me into the cave, but when she saw the yellow flower, she got excited and jumped straight into the pond. Then she was hit by the three-headed snake and fell onto the water, and the demonic creature swallowed her in one bite."

Gwi Seongjin said, pointing at the flower in the center of the pond.

The reason he had blamed the Blood Scorpion Demoness's death on the three-headed snake was to simplify the incident.

He couldn't tell the truth that he had killed the Blood Scorpion Demoness.

In any case, Gwi Seongjin had to lie.

In that case, it was better to simplify the incident.

It was because if the story got long, a mistake could come out.

The two's gazes turned to the top of the pond, and at that very moment, the three-headed snake raised its only remaining head.

And after roaring fiercely at the avian demonic beast, it kicked the water and shot up into the air.

But its size was smaller than he had thought.

At best, it was about three chi.

"That small snake swallowed a person in one bite?"

"A barrier formation is spread around the pond. It seems to be a barrier that distorts space."

"It distorts space? What nonsense..."

Ne Jinja, who was looking at the pond with a look of disbelief, tilted his head.

Come to think of it, the size of the avian demonic beast fighting the three-headed snake on the pond looked smaller than he had thought.

'It didn't look that small when it entered the cave...?'

While Ne Jinja was narrowing his two eyes and staring blankly at the pond, the three-headed snake wrapped its long tail around the avian demonic beast's wing.

In response, the entangled demonic beasts sank into the water again.

Splash.

When the two demonic beasts disappeared into the pond, the cave seemed to fall into silence.

But this too did not last long.

Buzzzzz.

When the demonic beasts disappeared, the black grasshoppers that had been waiting for an opportunity rushed towards the flower in the center of the pond all at once.

It wasn't just the grasshoppers.

The five-colored frogs and centipedes that had been circling the pond, waiting for their time, also followed and jumped into the water.

The barrier that had been repelling intruders had been released at some point.

But a strange phenomenon occurred.

The grasshoppers that were flying in the air suddenly plunged into the pond.

It was a sight as if they were committing mass suicide, swept up in a frenzy.

The same went for the frogs and centipedes.

The insects that were swimming across to the central island all went into the water and were not coming up.

Puff!

Then, a few of the five-colored frogs stuck their heads out of the water.

They were frogs with unusually large bodies.

"Croak! Croak!"

The frogs, which had puffed up their cheeks and had croaked a few times, cut through the water with difficulty and advanced towards the island.

Their eyes were fixed on the yellow flower.

But their bodies were too heavy.

The closer they got to the island, the stronger the pulling force from the water became...

In the end, even the frogs that had risen to the surface sank below the surface of the water, one by one.

At that very moment, the three-headed snake that had sunk into the water shot up into the air.

Surprisingly, in its mouth was the avian demonic beast, with its neck hanging limp.

Despite being at a disadvantage, it had managed to defeat its enemy.

The three-headed snake's body was also not in a normal state.

Its scales were almost all peeled off, and its internal organs were sticking out from the long, open wound.

Crunch, crunch.

The three-headed snake, which was chewing and eating the dead avian demonic beast, bones and all, swallowed the remaining carcass.

Whoosh!

And it let out a roar that seemed to shake the heavens.

The reason the three-headed snake had been able to kill the stronger avian demonic beast was because it had lured it to its own dwelling in the water and had trapped it.

Although it had also suffered great damage, in any case, the victor was itself.

But outside the barrier, there were still many enemies remaining.

The three-headed snake, whose primordial qi was exhausted and whose body was seriously injured from the repeated fights, looked around with a tense expression.

Then it discovered a few insects approaching the center of the pond.

Although it was clear that the yellow flower was in danger, the three-headed snake turned its gaze to another place.

It was because the Golden Immortal Flower's temporary release of the barrier must have been for a purpose.

The three-headed snake, which had turned its gaze from the insects, looked at the skull.

The three-headed snake and the skull had a truly ill-fated relationship.

It had been less than a thousand years since the Golden Immortal Flower and itself had entered this place.

Chased by a hideous demon, they had jumped into a spatial crack, and when they had come to their senses, they were right here in the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion.

There was an immortal guest in the cave.

It was a golden skull that was cultivating its soul fragment on its own corpse.

The realm of the skull when it was alive was unknown.

But seeing that the soul fragment that had returned just before the primordial spirit that had left the body and had gone out of the cave was extinguished was maintaining the realm of the tenth stage of Qi Refinement, it would not have been an ordinary cultivator.

In any case, since that day, the three-headed snake and the skull had fought countless times.

The three-headed snake had fought with all its might to buy time for its cultivation companion, the Golden Immortal Flower, to heal its internal injuries and recover its former realm...

The skull had fought fiercely under the pretext of protecting the treasure placed on the table.

Because of that, it had lacked time to cultivate, and even though a thousand years had passed, the three-headed snake's cultivation had not increased much.

What was fortunate was that since the skull also had no body, it could no longer raise its realm.

Other than that, there was another point where the skull was at a disadvantage.

The skull, which had lost its body, had no mobility.

So it had faced the three-headed snake by performing incantation spells, and this spell consumed a great deal of legal power.

If it made a mistake, the soul body it had barely stabilized could be separated from the body, so the skull could not attack the opponent recklessly.

The same went for now.

"..."

The three-headed snake, which was holding its breath in the pond and was glaring at the skull, was now wrapped in a vague anxiety.

Although it didn't know for sure, it had a feeling that it was overlooking something important.

The three-headed snake's gaze, which was quietly reflecting on its thoughts, suddenly turned to Gwi Seongjin.

Come to think of it, the jade plaque the skull had protected with its life was now in the Qiankun Pouch of the low-level cultivator visible before its eyes.

'Why didn't the skull stop him when that person took the jade plaque?'

A question arose in the three-headed snake's head.

There was another question besides that.

The three-headed snake's primordial qi was almost gone from fighting the avian demonic beast.

It couldn't not know that...

If it attacked now, it could resolve the grudge that had been building up for a thousand years in one go, but the skull was not moving at all.

There must be a reason... the fact that it didn't know was unsettling.

Could it be because of the humans?

That was absurd.

The three-headed snake also knew that the humans who had entered the cave had internal energy.

But humans who had cultivated internal energy, not spirit energy, were... not even in its consideration.

Even if it had no primordial qi left at all, it was confident it could bite them all to death.

Then why?

The flood dragon's eye, which was looking at Gwi Seongjin, flashed for a moment.

That person.

Although he was a low-level cultivator with low cultivation, he was by no means an ordinary person.

The skull, which had noticed that, was now plotting something...

'What could it be?'

As the three-headed snake's worries deepened, a strange silence descended on the cave.

What broke that silence was human greed.

Swish!

The Grand Prince, who had judged that the three-headed snake was unable to move due to its serious injuries, suddenly flew towards the pond.

Then he made a net-shaped silver thread with his shuttle and widely enveloped the yellow flower in the center of the island.

But a difficult situation occurred.

The net did not reach the flower.

The flustered Grand Prince added his true qi to the shuttle, the treasure of his sect.

At that, the length of the silver thread stretched endlessly.

Wriggle, wriggle.

From the Grand Prince's body, a thick demonic qi was churning like a storm.

* * *

Among the insects, only a very few had safely arrived at the island in the center of the pond.

A few fierce and resilient individuals.

They rushed to the petals, competing with each other.

The grasshoppers that were flying in the sky flew down as if dive-bombing, and the two five-colored frogs also opened their mouths wide and jumped towards the petals.

They were in a momentum to bite and swallow the petals in one bite.

At that, the fragrance flowing from the flower grew even thicker.

What was strange was that a faint fishy smell was mixed in the fragrance.

It was then that a strange change occurred.

The grasshoppers and the five-colored frogs that were rushing at the petals all gave off a black smoke and melted.

They had disappeared without even leaving a corpse in the blink of an eye.

Croak.

The last remaining frog puffed up its body greatly.

A faint five-colored protective barrier was cast around the body of the frog, which was the largest among the individuals.

But when a sinister light flashed from the black pearl inside the yellow petals, the five-colored protective barrier flowed down like water, and the frog's body also burst, and it died instantly.

The Grand Prince's silver net was also not fine.

The flood dragon's neck stretched like a clothesline, then shot out of the pond, bit the net, and tore it fiercely.

Swish!

A few strands of silver thread came out from the unraveled net and pierced the flood dragon's body like a spear, but the flood dragon did not even flinch.

Rather, the flood dragon pulled the silver thread and in turn snatched the Grand Prince's shuttle.

"Vice Director! Help me!"

The startled Grand Prince asked Ne Jinja for help.

And with a secret art, he swelled his body several times.

When the Grand Prince performed the secret art, demonic qi flowed from his skin, billowing, and instantly increased his size.

It was a size of almost a zhang.

When the Grand Prince asked for help, Ne Jinja laid Gwi Seongjin on the ground and immediately ran towards the pond.

On the tips of his fingers, black claws as sharp as a sword had already shot out.

A tense situation.

But among the group, there was a person who was acting in a way that did not fit the situation.

It was the Raging Fire Divine Lord.

Although he had lost his sight, the Raging Fire Divine Lord's sense of smell and hearing were fine.

Of course, it was right for him to move towards the pond, but the place he was heading was in the direction where Gwi Seongjin was.

Gwi Seongjin, who had discovered the killing intent flowing from his body, gave a bitter, vicious smile.

Stagger, stagger.

When Gwi Seongjin stood up and moved towards the pond, the Raging Fire Divine Lord also changed his direction and followed him.

Although both of their speeds were slow, their purpose was clear.

It was to kill the opponent.

However, Gwi Seongjin had a few more purposes besides that.

Gwi Seongjin, who was going towards the pond, suddenly stopped walking.

It was because the skull, which had been quiet for a while, had spoken to him.

[Young cultivator! Can you take me out of the cave?]

Gwi Seongjin, who had hesitated for a moment, once again moved his steps calmly.

He also knew that the skull's legal art was not ordinary.

It had a high cultivation, on par with the three-headed snake.

But he couldn't just grant a request without any conditions...

[Why should I?]

[If you grant my request, I will help you raise your cultivation realm.]

[How?]

Gwi Seongjin's steps slowed down a little.

[I know quite a lot of cultivation methods and secret arts that raise one's cultivation. Moreover, since I have abundant cultivation experience, I will surely be of help when a cultivator is in difficulty.]

[Why don't you go out yourself...?]

The skull, which had discovered a look of disbelief in Gwi Seongjin's voice, lowered its voice as if regretful.

[Can't you tell by looking? I can't move on my own.]

At the skull's spiritual sense, Gwi Seongjin glanced at that side.

Come to think of it, compared to the three-headed snake, which had been relatively free to move, the skull had almost no movement.

It had fought by chanting incantations without moving an inch from its original spot.

[This place also seems to be a good place to cultivate... why do you want to go outside?]

"..."

At Gwi Seongjin's words, the skull stopped its spiritual sense for a long time.

Then, when Gwi Seongjin took a step and was about to pass him, its voice suddenly quickened.

[I am a soul fragment. A being that will eventually scatter and be extinguished.]

[Are you saying you know a way for the soul not to be extinguished?]

[Smart. Yes. I know a place where a treasure of the ancient era is hidden. If you take me there, all the treasures there will be yours. Except for one Soul Nurturing Tree...]

[Soul Nurturing Tree?]

[The Soul Nurturing Tree is one of the three great divine trees, a treasure that can train and harden the soul.]

[Haha! After training your soul, you'll need a body too, won't you?]

When Gwi Seongjin said it warily, the skull snorted.

[Hmph! If you search the world, there are not a few heavenly spirit root bodies, and dual spirit root bodies are scattered everywhere, but who would covet a triple spirit root body with a low aptitude like you?]

[Well...]

Gwi Seongjin answered, sighing inwardly.

Even if he were the skull, he wouldn't want to take a triple spirit root body as his physical body.

[By the way, how did you know that I have a triple spirit root body?]

[Would you believe me if I said I have learned a special eye art?]

[...Of course.]

The spirit root attribute could not be distinguished even with spiritual sense.

However, if one prepared a special foreign object like a five-element stone, one could distinguish it without difficulty, but the skull had found out just by looking, so Gwi Seongjin was surprised.

Well, the demon friend he had met in the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion had even mentioned the Dao root.

[...Don't forget the promise you just made.]

[How could I? I swear. If you go out with me, I will actively help your cultivation, and if you take me to the place where the treasure is, all the treasures there will be yours, except for the Soul Nurturing Tree.]

[Good. I will believe that and take you, cultivator, outside. By the way, what kind of spiritual herb is that?]

Gwi Seongjin asked, looking at the yellow blossom in the center of the pond.

[Don't be greedy. That is not a flower, but a vicious demonic creature.]

[Demonic creature?]

[Yes. It's a kind of blood-sucking flower, a monster that lives by luring living creatures with its fragrance and eating their essence blood and souls. It's trapped in a restriction in a barrier now and can't move, but its ability is so great that if it just escapes, it can move ten thousand li in one night.]

[To think a tree can move ten thousand li in one night, I can't believe it.]

[That's why it's a demonic creature. Its skills are also extraordinary, so if it shakes its body, the area is filled with killing intent from deep in the ground to the end of the sky, and the vicinity becomes a crucible of fear. In the past, cultivators called that bastard the 'Beast Flower'. In a word, it's a monster crazy for blood.]

[If it's such a hideous demonic creature, why is the three-headed snake protecting it?]

[It's because the fragrance of the Beast Flower is helpful for the three-headed snake's cultivation. Moreover, it seems it cunningly teaches the three-headed snake secret arts from time to time. The secret art that attacked your primordial spirit was actually passed on by that demonic creature.]

[Is there no way for the Beast Flower to escape the restriction?]

[Why wouldn't there be? As you know, the formation that was protecting this place collapsed today. If demonic beasts are lured by the fragrance and come in, the demonic creature will eat them and become rapidly stronger. That's the reason why we have to get out of here quickly...]

[I see. Then I will put you, cultivator, in the Qiankun Pouch, so please bear with it even if it's stuffy.]

Hearing the skull's words, it seemed the one to be most wary of here was not the three-headed snake, but the Beast Flower.

(End of Chapter)