Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 209

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 209

“Hmm, so you’re saying that thing inside there… made you what you are now?”

[That’s right.]

“…”

At Hwangyo’s answer, Zhuge Munhyeon, who had been looking down at him while stepping on his neck, casually raised his hand.

Smack!

Following the slap, Hwangyo’s head whipped around as he sent a gaze full of confusion and resentment.

“You need to speak properly.”

[Ah… I’m sorry.]

“Let’s be careful. Don’t forget who’s in charge here.”

[Yes.]

Hwangyo, now docile after the slap, nodded his head earnestly.

I don’t discriminate between people and beasts.

Spirit beast or whatever, I absolutely can’t stand the sight of something born as a beast baring its fangs at a human.

Speaking informally is the same.

“Now, let’s try again. You were originally the mountain lord of Aenoe Mountain, but one day your innate spiritual root bloomed and you ate the Baekryeong-gwa?”

[That’s correct.]

“So you rose all the way to the realm of Half-Immortals?”

[Yes!]

“Then were you waiting until the next fruit would ripen? For a hundred years?”

[…That’s, that’s about right.]

For some reason, his answer came a bit late.

He seemed to be reading the situation, and his voice was slightly trembling.

‘This bastard… there’s more to it, isn’t there?’

A creature that’s supposedly lived for a hundred years or more shows his hand so obviously with just one question.

The expression “not acting your age” is meant for times like this.

Just from listening, this is clearly someone who was born in the mountains, raised in the mountains, and never left the mountains.

In other words, he lacks social experience.

‘You fool. At this rate, you couldn’t fool a person, let alone a ghost.’

It’s no different from a child who thinks he’s clever trying to lie to an adult.

No human with their head screwed on straight would fall for such tricks.

He must be hiding something.

But for now, I pretended to be fooled.

Ever since meeting Yeongmun, I’ve been burning with scholarly passion about immortals.

But anyway, Baekryeong-gwa.

Zhuge Munhyeon nodded and looked toward the waterfall.

Roooooar!

The waterfall still poured down with a magnificent roar.

And the dense flow of spirit energy visible beyond it.

The world is indeed worth living long to see.

In my previous life, perhaps because I was cursed by heaven, I never even accidentally saw a spirit beast’s droppings or a single leaf of a spiritual herb.

“But you ate it, right? How did it grow back?”

[That’s how Baekryeong-gwa originally is.]

“What?”

[This place is where the spiritual energy of Aenoe Mountain gathers… As long as the roots aren’t damaged, it bears fruit once every hundred years.]

“Hmm… Unexpected. Then why hasn’t it been discovered by people until now?”

[Well, I’m not sure.]

“Huh?”

[Actually, I don’t know much about things outside Aenoe Mountain…]

If Hwangyo had been human, he would have looked embarrassed while scratching his head.

He really doesn’t know anything.

I wondered if this guy would be of any help.

[Um, but could you please let go of my neck… I can’t breathe…]

Since this was my first conversation with a beast, I couldn’t tell exactly what expression he was making… but it seemed servile.

But!

“This bastard is trying to be clever again? Let you go? So you can scratch me with your claws?”

[How, how could I? I’ve already experienced firsthand that you’re a powerful person I cannot oppose, and I’ve accepted it mentally as well. Really!]

Zhuge Munhyeon chuckled at his protesting appearance and pondered for a moment.

What should I do with this guy?

Hmm, should I try taming him while I’m at it?

Even the mountain spirits in stories used to have at least one tiger following them around.

I imagined it for a moment.

Myself reborn as a great immortal, riding around on a house-sized tiger.

Just thinking about it made me pleased.

Compared to him, Baek-a is just a cat.

I had planned to give his hide as a gift to Dan Chuyeong, but originally gifts are up to the giver’s discretion.

However.

“Paw.”

[…Pardon?]

“Want to get hit?”

Thud!

Fortunately, he seemed to have some sense.

I had only furrowed my brow, but Hwangyo quickly placed his front paw on my hand.

It seemed like he could be tamed.

However, I should prepare for any contingencies.

“Let me see.”

[…?]

Zhuge Munhyeon placed his hand on Hwangyo’s chest.

A beast’s vital points might not be the same as a human’s, but I could see the paths of spirit energy flowing through his body.

It seemed possible.

Poke! Poke poke!

[Gack, cough!]

When I pressed several vital points that served as pathways for spirit energy with my fingers, Hwangyo’s massive body trembled violently.

After several attempts and several failures, Hwangyo’s spirit energy finally stopped flowing.

Having blocked the pathways, he wouldn’t be able to properly use his spiritual power now.

[Wh-what is this?]

“I’ve sealed your spirit energy.”

Created through the long efforts of the Demonic Sect mixed with the Zhuge Family’s formation techniques, the so-called Spirit Energy Sealing Art.

I haven’t come up with a name for it yet.

[…How can you not trust my sincerity.]

“Sincerity, what nonsense. How can I trust you? We were fighting to the death just moments ago.”

[I’m disappointed.]

“Then should I kill you?”

[…I was just expressing my feelings.]

At his grumbling appearance, Zhuge Munhyeon smiled slightly and lifted his foot from his neck.

[Whew…]

Hwangyo, who had been holding his blocked breath, let out a long exhale and raised his body.

He really is huge.

I have to crane my neck to look up at him…

“Bow down.”

[Yes!]

Hwangyo, who had been stretching his stiffened body like yawning, immediately lowered his posture.

[…Now please take the Baekryeong-gwa.]

“Hmm. You’re not hiding something, are you?”

[Me, me?]

“Yeah, your eyes look like it.”

[Oh my, how could that be? Since you’ve already sealed my spiritual energy, I’m nothing more than a big tiger now.]

“That’s true…”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

This guy is just a tiger cub.

In fact, even if his spiritual energy wasn’t sealed, he’s no longer a threat to me.

[I’ll guard outside until you take the Baekryeong-gwa and are reborn in a new form.]

At the sight of him even expressing loyalty, Zhuge Munhyeon smiled again and picked up a few stones scattered around.

Even if he’s not a threat, I can’t trust him completely.

So I’m thinking of setting up a formation around the waterfall to prevent him from doing anything else while I obtain the Baekryeong-gwa.

With his spiritual energy sealed, making him no different from an ordinary beast, he definitely won’t be able to break through the formation.

It was the moment he was about to set up the formation while calculating the axes.

“Munhyeon!”

“…?”

At the sudden shout, Zhuge Munhyeon turned his head.

“Uncle Yeongmun?”

It was him.

Though they hadn’t parted long ago, his heart was full of joy.

“Ha! Did you really subdue the Golden Spirit Beast?”

“Yes. I’ve sealed his spiritual energy too.”

Yeongmun looked at Hwangyo, who was cowering and reading the mood, unable to hide his amazement.

“Immeasurable Buddha, truly remarkable. Your talent is truly outstanding. Even though the Golden Spirit Beast couldn’t properly handle spiritual energy since he never learned immortal arts, how could you, who just achieved transcendence… And to even seal his spiritual energy.”

“It’s thanks to the Silver Cold Staff.”

“No need to be modest. Didn’t you not even know how to use it?”

“Well…”

At Yeongmun’s words, Zhuge Munhyeon smiled awkwardly.

I didn’t know, but I learned while fighting and now I know a little.

“But what brings you here? You said you wouldn’t come out into the world at all for cultivation?”

“I was going to, but your spiritual pressure was hardly ordinary. The whole mountain was in an uproar.”

“That’s…”

“It’s my oversight. I should have told you that if you ever fight an immortal, you must deploy a barrier.”

“A barrier?”

“Yes. It’s taboo for immortals to harm humans. So you must deploy a barrier to use spiritual power.”

“Ah…”

“If an immortal harms humans… in Murim terms, they become a public enemy.”

“There was such a thing.”

It seems there were rules of their own.

Well, there’s even the saying about officials not interfering, and in a world where Murim people are strictly forbidden from harming villages, why wouldn’t immortals have such rules?

Perhaps the Half-Immortals who tried to kill me when I was the Heavenly Demon also taught me the Destruction Method for that reason.

‘Come to think of it, the guy I met at Dongho Lake also deployed some strange barrier-like thing.’

But suddenly I had a question.

“That guy didn’t do anything though?”

“That guy…”

When I pointed at Hwangyo with my finger, Yeongmun frowned.

“…is a guy who knows nothing. He became a beast immortal living in the mountains, but he’s never met an immortal or learned anything.”

“I see.”

I naturally nodded.

In other words, he’s street-born.

He gained fortune but never learned…

“So immortal power shouldn’t be used on people.”

“Of course. You must never use it. If you become a public enemy, you can’t enter the immortal path. You’ll end up stuck as a Half-Immortal and have to pay the price to other immortals for breaking the rules.”

“Ah…”

I felt a bit disappointed.

The massive spiritual energy I had acquired wasn’t comparable to when I was the Heavenly Demon in the past, but it was already overwhelming Dan Chuyeong, the Beast Palace Lord who had reached the Gang realm.

With just a little more cultivation, I could have quickly finished conquering Murim and elevated the Zhuge Family to the ranks of the world’s best…

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Now I’m also Half-Immortal level, so using spiritual energy against humans would be a bit unfair.’

I’ve lived that way.

Sword with sword, spear with spear.

Haven’t I always fought with equal martial arts?

I’ll fight and win against humans with human strength, and fight and win against immortal power with immortal power.

It was enough that I had gained these tremendous targets called Half-Immortals.

Because I can become stronger.

And because I can fight with those above them too.

“But what are you trying to do now?”

Yeongmun questioned my action of trying to set up a formation.

Hmm… is it okay to tell him?

I hesitated for a moment, but Yeongmun couldn’t have missed the spiritual energy from the waterfall.

He has spiritual sight too.

Also, he’s my uncle-in-law, and not only did he save me when I fell off the cliff while fighting Hwangyo, but he also generously taught me about Yang medicine, Embryonic Breathing, and wisdom about the immortal path.

One should know gratitude.

“Have you heard of Baekryeong-gwa?”

“Baekryeong… then that’s?”

Yeongmun quickly turned his head toward the waterfall.

He seems quite surprised too.

Well…

As I smiled, Yeongmun frowned and looked at Hwangyo.

“Did that guy tell you?”

“Pardon?”

“Did that guy tell you about the Baekryeong-gwa?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Why are you angry?

Meanwhile, why is Hwangyo fidgeting like a thief caught stealing? Why are his eyes rolling around so frantically… and why is his body twitching like that?

“Did he also tell you that you’d be cursed by a barrier the moment you eat the Baekryeong-gwa?”

“…Pardon?”

“You didn’t hear. Well, that guy wouldn’t have told the truth. The Baekryeong-gwa is…”

That was the moment.

Hwangyo suddenly got up and started running away.

In the moment I was confused and couldn’t grasp the situation, a talisman appeared in Yeongmun’s hand.

“Damn beast! Do you think you can escape with your spiritual energy sealed!”

The talisman that disappeared with his wave stuck to Hwangyo’s back, and the guy who flinched and stopped soon collapsed to the ground.

With his spiritual energy sealed, he couldn’t exceed the strength of an ordinary beast, so he couldn’t resist Yeongmun’s immortal arts.

“If you take the Baekryeong-gwa, a barrier will be deployed for a hundred years and no one can escape.”

“…Pardon?”

“Even ascetics who learned immortal arts are like that, so what about people? They either burst from overused power or grow old and die trapped in the barrier. The Baekryeong-gwa is such a thing.”

“Ah….”

At Yeongmun’s words, Zhuge Munhyeon finally realized.

The defeated Hwangyo’s final scheme.

It seemed he had planned to feign submission and make him take the Baekryeong-gwa, trapping him inside.

“Hmm….”

Zhuge Munhyeon slowly nodded his head and gripped the Silver Cold Staff tightly.

His intention to tame the beast had vanished.

They say you can’t reform people, and it seems beasts are the same way.

I’ll have to skin it instead.

Then this winter will be warm.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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