Chapter 162: Chapter 162
The survival instinct of all living beings residing on earth is truly terrifying.
Even an insect devoid of reason is bound to muster inexplicable strength and flee upon sensing danger, and a human whose life and family are threatened sometimes becomes an entirely different person from usual.
How much more so, needless to say, the survival instinct of an imugi that had lived for a thousand years.
Rumble!
Cheon Woo-jin raised Dark Heavens Qi even further.
To remove the poison qi situated in the imugi’s inner core, he had to take complete control of that inner core.
The imugi’s resistance was exceedingly fierce. It felt as though it could not die here after having endured and lived a thousand years to become a dragon.
“I can feel all of your heart, but if left like this, you will rather die without even properly using the spiritual power you gathered your entire life.”
Cheon Woo-jin spoke in a coaxing tone.
Of course, the imugi’s resistance did not cease. Cheon Woo-jin had not spoken with such an expectation either.
It was merely a sort of apology. Because from now on, the imugi might be engulfed in pain difficult to endure.
Having uttered his own apology like that, Cheon Woo-jin raised Dark Heavens Qi to the limit. Disobeying his two masters’ words, he unleashed all his power. Just as he had done when killing the Beast Palace Lord to hear the roar of the Crescent Moon Staff.
Soon, the clash of the two colossal energies rummaged wildly through the imugi’s belly. Seeing that it endured without a hole being pierced, a spiritual creature was indeed a spiritual creature.
Cheon Woo-jin was surprised inwardly. As control of the inner core gradually transferred to him, he could feel intact how dense and colossal the energy harbored by that inner core was.
Even compared to all the Dark Heavens Qi flowing through Cheon Woo-jin’s entire body combined, its quantity and quality did not fall behind in the slightest.
It was at that moment.
Suddenly, Cheon Woo-jin’s vision blurred dizzily.
He had felt it when killing the Beast Palace Lord as well, but when he unleashed all of Dark Heavens Qi and operated it at full power, this phenomenon occurred.
It felt as if rather than him controlling the energy, the energy kept trying to control Cheon Woo-jin.
All emotions a human should originally possess were sinking endlessly into a deep well within.
Once all of that sank, what would remain in Cheon Woo-jin’s body would only be power, destruction, and impulse.
‘Could one truly call that human?’
Was the Dark Emperor, the source of this power, truly not a god?
Cheon Woo-jin continued to have such questions.
He sensed instinctively that if he did not resist Dark Heavens Qi and completely accepted its will… he would enter a new realm.
It would be something on the same plane as those realms called Nirvana in Buddhism and Ascending to Immortality in Daoism.
Since it was a realm reached through the Dark Emperor’s energy, it should rightfully be called the Realm of the Evil God rather than Nirvana or Ascending to Immortality.
Cheon Woo-jin felt instinctively. That he must by no means reach that realm.
“Whew.”
Letting out a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
Concentrating his spirit further, he began to pull up the emotions that had been sinking endlessly into the depths.
Sorrow, anger, joy, remorse, pleasure, happiness, surprise, fear…
He slowly drew up the bucket containing all those emotions from the very deep well. The well was too deep, and the rope suspending the bucket was as thin as a thread, making it perilous.
With even the slightest mistake, that thread would snap and all emotions would sink into the unreachable depths forever.
Now it was not a contest with the imugi’s inner core, but a contest with himself.
He concentrated so intensely that sweat flowing down his cheeks fell to the ground. His martial robes became soaked through, and irritable wrinkles formed on his brow.
Just how much time had passed like that?
Cheon Woo-jin let out a long breath.
His entire body, which had felt as light as if escaping the limits of a human physical body, regained its proper weight, and the emotions he had almost lost were held intact in his heart.
Cheon Woo-jin was duller in emotions than other people. Even so, although the total sum of his emotions was very small, having even a little and completely losing them was the difference between heaven and earth.
When he suppressed the Dark Heavens Qi trying to dominate Cheon Woo-jin, control over the imugi’s inner core had also already passed over to Cheon Woo-jin.
Cheon Woo-jin gathered all the poison qi in the inner core and expelled it. That terrifying poison qi could have been burned or dispersed, but because it could become a disaster if it leaked outside, he fashioned it into a small bead.
“Calling it Flood Dragon Poison will suffice.”
Of course, Cheon Woo-jin had no hobby in poison arts.
He intended to give it to Dok-ra-su, the Poison King, or Tang So-yeon of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Flood Dragon Poison, where the valley lord’s poison qi had been refined more delicately within the imugi’s inner core, would not be something an ordinary person could handle.
Since the First Valley Lord had intended to become the Number One Poison Master Under Heaven with this poison, in fact, it was questionable whether even Dok-ra-su and the Poison King could handle it.
Soon, stowing the Flood Dragon Poison in his robes, Cheon Woo-jin looked at the imugi’s inner core. The inner core with all poison qi removed was azure, as if containing the sky.
There was a mystery where a thousand years of time was felt intact, and even Cheon Woo-jin felt his mind clearing under the influence of that atmosphere.
“Is this the wishing jewel?”
It was at that moment.
The stomach acid and vibrations that had surged toward Cheon Woo-jin had long since stopped. Light brightened from far away. The imugi had opened its mouth so he could exit.
Cheon Woo-jin, taking in the wishing jewel with his eyes, slowly walked toward the outside. Because entering the body of an imugi was not common, he walked slowly while taking in as much as possible with his eyes.
Suddenly, Cheon Woo-jin stopped his steps. Some energy was felt from behind. Turning his head, the azure wishing jewel flew gently and stopped in front of Cheon Woo-jin.
When Cheon Woo-jin spread his palm, the wishing jewel came down atop it. Even though all poison qi had been drawn out, energy rivaling or even greater than Cheon Woo-jin’s Dark Heavens Qi was harbored within.
“Are you giving this to me?”
Could he really accept this?
It was a precious energy gathered over a thousand years.
However, the wishing jewel seemed to have no intention of leaving Cheon Woo-jin’s palm. That thing, which had been the size of a human head, had transformed into a small bead of the same size as the Flood Dragon Poison.
Cheon Woo-jin, who had contemplated for a moment, stowed the wishing jewel in his robes and walked out.
.
.
.
Cheon Woo-jin came outside and met eyes with the imugi.
Deep gratitude was contained in the imugi’s gaze.
Cheon Woo-jin was dubious. It was a wishing jewel made by gathering its entire lifetime spanning a thousand years, so what was it so grateful for even after giving that away?
He came to know the reason before long.
In an instant, the imugi’s entire body radiated light.
Those thick and hard scales that not even Crane Wind Single Annihilation could scratch began to drop to the ground in heaps.
From the bare flesh revealed, new scales combining gold and green were sprouting.
Soon, having completely finished its molting, the imugi’s entire body was enveloped in light. It was so bright and dazzling that even Cheon Woo-jin slightly narrowed his eyes.
Whooosh!
The imugi made a pleasant snort as if joyful. Due to that wind, the surrounding ground was shattered and blown away.
In an instant, the sky brightened.
A cluster of resplendent golden light originating from the sky gathered into the imugi’s open mouth. Suddenly, that cluster of light produced a single golden orb.
Cheon Woo-jin naturally realized upon seeing this.
“That was the true wishing jewel.”
The wishing jewel was not an inner core gathered by the imugi throughout its life. It was a gift bestowed by heaven when it emptied its heart and completely let go of it.
The imugi holding the wishing jewel in its mouth, no, the Heavenly Dragon, gradually rose into the sky and circled widely around the surroundings once.
It was so colossal that it had the momentum to completely blanket the sky.
Above the heads of Cheon Woo-jin and the Espionage Hall Master watching that wondrous spectacle, the Heavenly Dragon grazed past by a hair’s breadth at tremendous speed.
Where the Heavenly Dragon headed was the First Valley Lord, who was similarly watching spellbound.
The Heavenly Dragon casually swallowed the First Valley Lord, then ascended straight to the heavens. As if heaven welcomed it, the clouds parted, and soon the Heavenly Dragon vanished into them.
* * *
After the Heavenly Dragon disappeared, the sky regained its original color.
Only Cheon Woo-jin and the Espionage Hall Master were left in the spot.
Poison Valley and the Poison Demon Corps were annihilated. The massive canyon that Poison Valley had used entirely and where the imugi had resided as its dwelling was now completely empty.
In the future, such a name would be attached to the canyon.
Ascending Dragon Valley.
Since the imugi that stayed here became a Heavenly Dragon and ascended to heaven from this spot, all kinds of Daoists under heaven would gather.
Perhaps a new Daoist sect might even be established here.
Because no matter how great the spiritual energy of Mount Wudang and Mount Kunlun was, it could not compare to the spot where a dragon ascended.
“…”
The Espionage Hall Master still seemed completely dazed. He was merely looking back and forth between the canyon and the sky with blank eyes.
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head and spoke.
“Indeed, I was also a bit surprised. To think an imugi and dragon really existed in the world.”
“…?”
The Espionage Hall Master looked at Cheon Woo-jin with an absurd face. What had truly surprised him right now was not because of the imugi and dragon.
“What on earth are you, having defeated that imugi and dragon?”
“Well.”
“Are you even human?”
It was a reasonable question.
Cheon Woo-jin had heard such questions often before as well.
Back then, it was merely unpleasant. Because there were those who kept telling a person that they were not human, and even those who called him a monster.
However, that phenomenon felt when raising Dark Heavens Qi at full power. The feeling as if he would immediately ascend to the Realm of the Evil God and truly become an existence beyond human.
Did his masters know such things in advance and tell him to use only half of his full power?
“I do not know either.”
“Huh?”
“Whether I am truly human. In fact, I knew that I was essentially a little different from others. For instance, killing peak masters with bare hands even when internal energy was restricted, or achieving the realm of Immunity to All Poisons. I originally have duller emotions compared to others, and dealing with people is difficult. My heart still flutters when going to crowded places… now I don’t know well either.”
Perhaps I might not be a human.
He swallowed such words with effort.
People precious to Cheon Woo-jin, such as Black Elder and White Elder, Song Yi-yeon and Jin Un, Namgung Jin, or Cheol Ji-ak and Zhuge Rin, etc…
At the thought that he might essentially be a different existence from them, his feelings were truly delicate.
In the suddenly awkward atmosphere, Cheon Woo-jin, having let out a deep sigh, was about to move his steps, saying they should slowly return to the alliance.
“Wait!”
The Espionage Hall Master urgently stopped Cheon Woo-jin.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at him with an indifferent face as always.
“It means you are that great and mighty, not that you are not human. If you felt bad, I apologize. I did not mean it that way.”
“…Yes.”
“Above all, you are very much a human person. Honestly, you and I met for the first time, did we not? Even if the cave collapsed and I died, it had nothing to do with you, right? Even so, while facing the imugi, you tried to look after me as well. Furthermore, did you not annihilate the Poison Demon Corps and Poison Valley out of a desire that commoners wouldn’t be caught in poison and die if war broke out?”
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin wore a slightly surprised expression, as if he did not know the Espionage Hall Master would say such things.
The words he gave provoked many thoughts in Cheon Woo-jin.
Just how much time had passed?
“Thank you.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head slightly. He felt his complicated feelings had been sorted out somewhat. When he was about to move his steps again, the Espionage Hall Master’s words followed.
“For now, the Martial Alliance is not in that direction. It is the opposite.”
“…”
Cheon Woo-jin smoothly changed direction and walked as if he had originally intended to go that way. At that sight, the Espionage Hall Master let out a hearty laugh.
“Haha, what else would that be if not human warmth?”