Returning Immortal

Chapter 54 : Kunlun Continent

A fortnight passed in an instant.

In the meantime, Gwi Seongjin had eaten the Zisu Pill that Ne Jinja had given him and had reached the late stage of the first-rate.

But no one recognized it.

It was because even the person with the lowest martial arts realm among the Legal Guards was at the early stage of the supreme realm.

Gwi Seongjin, who had been holding onto the Yin-Yang and Five Elements manual all day in the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, was walking up the dark Mount Shinmok in the evening.

Swish.

The wind blew and slightly lifted his robe.

But the Qiankun Pouch was not visible on his waist.

Did he leave it in the cave?

No.

While going to work at the Dark Spirit Council, Gwi Seongjin had been wearing the Qiankun Pouch inside his waist.

Since he had worn a robe over it again, there was no way to know from the outside.

And even if it were discovered, they would mistake it for a money pouch.

Thud, thud.

As he got closer to the cave, the large trees became more numerous.

Some trees seemed to be over a thousand years old.

Gwi Seongjin, who had inhaled the clear and cool air deep into his chest, looked at his cave across the valley.

'Huh!'

Gwi Seongjin, with a strange feeling, suddenly exerted his spiritual sense.

Then he was startled and performed the Shifting Form Transposition and jumped onto the cliff in one breath.

On the cliff where his cave was.

A green shadow had just flickered.

But it had disappeared in an instant, and now there was only an old pine tree.

Swish.

Gwi Seongjin, who had flown onto the pine tree and had stood on its top with one foot, opened his eyes wide and looked around.

No suspicious shadow was visible.

"..."

After a moment, Gwi Seongjin, who had flown to the cliff, entered the cave as if being sucked in.

The first room Gwi Seongjin entered in the cave was the room where the Nine Palaces Peach Blossom Formation was installed.

Screech. Screech!

The two scorpions were chattering noisily inside the barrier.

It was a sound asking for food.

[Be quiet.]

Gwi Seongjin shouted loudly with his spiritual sense.

Perhaps because it was effective, the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions immediately shut their mouths.

That too was only for a moment.

Flutter.

Screech. Screech!

This time, the two flew around inside the barrier and chattered noisily.

It was an even louder sound than before.

[These brats...]

The mushrooms he had bought at the underground market were neatly placed on one side of the barrier.

It was for the purpose of gathering them thickly and defecating.

Gwi Seongjin, who had trembled, shook his head and entered the stone chamber where the bed was.

Fortunately, the flowerpot was also safe.

"Hmm!"

A single streak of strange light flashed in Gwi Seongjin's eyes as he reached out and stroked the tree branch.

It was because a faint green light was lingering on the boundary area that was in contact with the True Spirit Soil.

Although it was to the extent that it was difficult to discover if one didn't look closely, Gwi Seongjin could clearly recognize the difference.

'I couldn't discover any vitality in the morning...'

Although it was strange, it was clearly a pleasant phenomenon.

The most precious things in his cave were the two Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions and the one tree of unknown identity.

When he confirmed that they were safe, Gwi Seongjin's anxious heart quickly regained its stability.

"Nameless tree! Please grow up well."

Gwi Seongjin, who had stroked the tree branch with his finger, stood up and entered the room where the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions were.

As soon as he entered the room, a noisy sound was heard.

'As expected, Mugi is much noisier.'

Mugi was the name Gwi Seongjin had given to the larger of the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions.

Its personality was fierce and ferocious, and it didn't listen to him at all.

The scorpions that had eaten the mushroom had also undergone a rather large transformation this time.

The biggest change was that their fangs had grown longer.

That was not all.

Flutter.

Their flight speed had become faster and their bodies had become harder, so when they crashed into the barrier, a sound like thunder was heard.

Moreover, they had become noisy.

Especially, Mugi would shout for food whenever it saw Gwi Seongjin.

It was so noisy that he couldn't even come to his senses.

[Are you hungry?]

Gwi Seongjin sent his spiritual sense to Hyeon.

Hyeon was the name of the scorpion next to Mugi.

Although its build was a little smaller, Hyeon, which had eaten the mushroom, had also undergone the same transformation as Mugi.

Its gaze had also become ferocious, and the fangs that protruded from its mouth had also changed chillingly.

Still, it was not as noisy as Mugi.

At Gwi Seongjin's spiritual sense, Hyeon blinked its two eyes.

Since the Ghost Medicine Hall Master had handled it skillfully, he had thought it would understand simple words, but it seemed he had been mistaken.

But it was still too early to give up.

[Attack!]

Gwi Seongjin sent his spiritual sense to the two scorpions at the same time.

At that, a surprising thing happened.

The two scorpions, which had been whining noisily or had been looking only at Gwi Seongjin with a pitiful expression, flew up all at once and crashed their bodies against the formation.

Thud!

When their bodies bounced off several times, this time they directly brought their hideous fangs to the barrier.

Crunch. Crunch.

When the two scorpions bit and tore with their sharp fangs, the barrier formation began to shake.

Before, it hadn't even budged no matter how much they gnawed...

When the formation was damaged, the flames that were floating on the surface of the barrier changed into lightning and attacked the scorpions.

But this only stimulated the scorpions' ferocity.

The enraged Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions even chewed and ate the lightning.

Next, they began to gnaw at the formation with an even more frightening speed.

A barrier formation is a formation that is operated by momentum.

It was a principle where the spirit energy emitted from the spirit stone flowed into the formation and assisted the laws of the nine palaces.

But since the scorpions were gnawing and eating the spirit energy, the spirit energy was constantly being consumed.

'A demonic beast that gnaws and eats spirit energy... This is crazy!'

Gwi Seongjin, who was looking at such scorpions, made a look of disbelief.

Come to think of it, it was clear that the rapid consumption of the spirit stone of the broken barrier banner was also their doing.

Crunch, crunch.

The speed at which the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions were gnawing and eating the spirit energy was getting faster and faster.

If he hadn't repaired it before, it seemed a hole would have been pierced long ago.

Gwi Seongjin hastily sent his spiritual sense.

[S-stop!]

Fortunately, this command also worked on the scorpions.

It seemed this was also one of the words the Ghost Medicine Hall Master had taught.

Gulp...

The problem was Mugi.

Although Hyeon had stopped long ago, it was still sticking its fangs into the formation.

[Stop!]

When Gwi Seongjin shouted loudly with his spiritual sense, Mugi finally stopped its movement.

Phew!

Gwi Seongjin, who had barely calmed down the scorpions, let out a long sigh.

The fact that the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions could gnaw and eat spirit energy was by no means something to be taken lightly.

Interpreted differently, it meant that if he had only these, he could dismantle a barrier that was operated by spirit energy.

And very secretly at that...

'From tomorrow, I'll have to actively look for what scorpion-type demonic beasts like. If there's really nothing, I'll have to get the mushroom I fed them before...'

Gwi Seongjin, who had discovered the true value of the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions, decided to subjugate them and make them his own limbs.

To do that, the first thing he had to do was to get food for them and offer it.

* * *

Gwi Seongjin, who had barely calmed down the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions, went into the training room and took out the red jade box.

Rip!

When Gwi Seongjin tore off the second talisman, the skull cultivator's spiritual sense immediately flew out.

[It's been a while. Have you been well?]

[I've been well. I called you because I have a few things to ask.]

[What are you curious about?]

[First, demonic beasts. Do you happen to know about this demonic beast?]

Gwi Seongjin explained the appearance of the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions to the skull cultivator.

Although he had even told him the name of the demonic beast, the skull cultivator said he had never heard of it.

The same went for the black mushroom he had taken out from the wooden box.

Although he had explained its appearance and characteristics in detail, he seemed to have no idea.

Gwi Seongjin, who had not found an answer from the skull cultivator, this time covered his spirit platform with ghost qi.

When he performed the secret art, the skull cultivator sent his spiritual sense with a surprised voice.

[I can't believe it. What kind of secret art is it that your cultivation realm is not visible at all?]

[I have shown it to you once before.]

[At that time, I had a suspicion that something was strange... but now, even that has disappeared.]

Thanks to his meditation training while looking at the Cheonbugyeong recently, Gwi Seongjin's spirit platform had made a dazzling development.

The pond of consciousness had widened, and the primordial spirit had also grown surprisingly.

Thanks to that, his skill in handling ghost qi had also increased, so now he didn't even need a long time to wrap his spirit platform.

Of course, his ability to hide his realm had also improved.

[I went to the absolute forbidden zone and even a mere demonic beast could hide its realm... What's so great about this secret art...]

[Hah! You're saying that because you don't know. Although it's not visible to your low-level cultivator's eyes, I have never seen a demonic beast with an ability so outstanding that it could deceive my eyes.]

[...What about humans?]

[The same goes for Qi Refinement stage cultivators. If not, why would I have been surprised?]

At the skull cultivator's words, Gwi Seongjin made a satisfied expression.

It seemed the evil ghost's talent was truly divine.

The evil ghost was neither a demonic beast nor a human.

'Is its divine power high because it's a ghost?'

Although Gwi Seongjin had inferred on his own, in reality, this was also not correct.

The reason the evil ghost's ghost qi had a surprising effect was largely due to the influence of it having swallowed the remnant soul of a fossilized ghost beast.

The remnant soul the evil ghost had eaten was very old.

From the ancient era...

Since it was an energy that had been refined like a legal treasure for such a long time, it could exert this much surprising divine power.

[As I said before, this place is the headquarters of a cult called the Demonic Cult. Since there are not a few cultivators who cultivate spirit energy inside, if my identity is discovered, I will probably not be able to escape death.]

[Can't you just run away?]

[I'm saying this because I don't have the skill to shake them off.]

Gwi Seongjin said as if he were pathetic.

Although he had risen to the realm of the third stage of Qi Refinement, there were masters who could kill him everywhere here.

The Guardian Venerables he had seen in the Hall of Supreme Rule before were at least at the mid-stage of the extreme demonic realm.

If two of them attacked together, he would be a dead man.

Moreover, he couldn't even face the Right Bright Light Emissary of the Transformation realm and the Cult Leader of the seventh stage of Qi Refinement alone.

Other than that, he couldn't even guess how many masters were crouching everywhere.

[Demonic Cult? Are you talking about the cult in the Hwajin Kingdom?]

[This country is not the Hwajin Kingdom, but the Zhonghua Kingdom.]

[Zhonghua Kingdom? A name I've never heard of... Is there a famous mountain nearby?]

[Have you heard of Mount Tian?]

[Of course, I have. It seems the owner of the country has changed while I was trapped in the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion. By the way, a demonic cult located in Mount Tian...]

The skull cultivator, who had been thinking for a moment, finally sent his spiritual sense.

[As you may know, in the lower realm we are living in now, there are three continents and one large island. This is the Kunlun Continent, one of them...]

[Can't you tell me in a little more detail?]

Gwi Seongjin also knew that he was living on the Kunlun Continent.

But he had never heard the names of the other continents.

All he knew were the names of a few countries around the Zhonghua Kingdom.

[I see. As I just said, we are living on the Kunlun Continent. The size of the continent is... to the extent that it cannot be fathomed.]

[How wide is it that you say it cannot be fathomed?]

[I also don't know for sure. However, I heard that even if an immortal who has achieved a primordial infant body rides a cloud and flies for ten years, the end is not visible.]

[It's incredibly wide.]

[You can assume that it's a distance that even a Qi Refinement stage master cannot cross in their entire life.]

Gwi Seongjin nodded his head as if he understood.

It wasn't that even a Qi Refinement stage master couldn't fly in the sky.

If one used a flight legal tool, one could fly in the sky alone.

But the flight speed of a Qi Refinement stage cultivator and a Void Refinement stage immortal could not even be compared.

A Void Refinement stage immortal could pass in less than half a day the distance a Qi Refinement stage master would fly for a month.

[The other two continents are the Spirit Immortal Continent and the Western Heaven Continent. And the island is called the Demon Island... Although it's called an island, its size is comparable to a continent.]

At the skull cultivator's explanation, Gwi Seongjin's mouth fell open.

Although he had heard that the world was big, he had never imagined it would be this vast.

[In that case, this Demonic Cult...?]

[There's no need to ask. This Zhonghua Kingdom is a very small country located on the outskirts of the Kunlun Continent. The only reputable cultivation sect in this country is the Kunlun Sect.]

[Are you saying the Demonic Cult doesn't even have a name?]

[Although you may think the Demonic Cult is great, in the cultivation world, it is a truly insignificant sect. Not to mention a Void Refinement stage immortal, there probably isn't even a Spirit Condensation stage legal master.]

[So are you saying I don't have to be anxious about my realm being discovered?]

[You can think so.]

At the skull cultivator's words, Gwi Seongjin keenly realized that his own perspective was lacking.

If he heard his words, the Ghost Valley Sect he was born in could not even be called a cultivation sect.

Since he was belittling even the Demonic Cult as insignificant, he would surely laugh if he said the highest master was at the fourth stage of Qi Refinement.

'Where is the sect of the skull cultivator who says so?'

Gwi Seongjin asked out of curiosity.

[Cultivator, where is your sect?]

[Why do you ask?]

The skull cultivator asked in a wary tone.

[Listening to you speak, it seems you were affiliated with a large sect in the past, so I just asked. If it's difficult to answer, please don't.]

[...I hope you understand that I cannot reveal my sect due to circumstances. It was a sect with a long history and tradition, and it once prospered greatly... but it has probably been annihilated and has disappeared now.]

[If it was such a large sect, isn't there a possibility that it still remains?]

[There's no way. And it shouldn't be...]

[...I heard you well.]

Since it seemed there were some circumstances, Gwi Seongjin did not ask any more.

Then, this time, the skull cultivator asked him.

[Cultivator Gwi! What kind of place is your family, the Ghost Valley Sect? Is its history of cultivation long?]

[I heard that about five thousand years have passed since the family produced a cultivator.]

[A strange thing. To think such a family with such a short history has raised such a great cultivator as you... It is by no means an easy thing to achieve the realm of the third stage of Qi Refinement at your age.]

[Wouldn't there have been many in the sect you were in, cultivator?]

[Hahaha! Isn't your situation different from theirs? They are children with a heavenly aptitude for cultivation, and they are nurtured from a young age with a huge amount of cultivation resources. Moreover, since they cultivate with a high-grade cultivation method, their cultivation speed is bound to be fast... But your aptitude is also ordinary, and the cultivation method you have cultivated was also low-grade...]

[I was just lucky.]

[Luck is also a skill. However, to survive in the harsh cultivation world, luck alone is not enough. So if you think it's a fortuitous encounter, don't hesitate and hold on tight.]

[A fortuitous encounter! Are you perhaps talking about the Northern Nether Divine Art I obtained from the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion?]

[That too is a fortuitous encounter.]

[Hahaha! I understand. Then, please rest well.]

Gwi Seongjin gave a meaningful smile.

Gwi Seongjin, who had bid farewell to the skull cultivator, attached the talisman to the red jade box again.

And after putting the jade box into the Qiankun Pouch, he crossed over to the room where the scorpions were.

Fortunately, the Ghost-Patterned Red-Tailed Scorpions were wandering around peacefully inside the barrier.

As he had instructed, they were no longer attacking the barrier.

'It might be easier to tame them than I expected...'

The relieved Gwi Seongjin fell into a deep sleep for the first time in a long time.

(End of Chapter)