I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 32

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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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32.

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The next day, before dawn broke, Seon-o boarded the ghost carriage. The carriage entered the mountain path after leaving the capital, rattling quietly along.

Seon-o looked out the window with a face showing no signs of fatigue. Even though she hadn’t eaten breakfast, she felt neither hungry nor thirsty. It was thanks to the alcohol Hwan had given her yesterday.

Now that it had been revealed that something had been mixed into the superhumans’ food at Maehwagak, it was an invaluable gift for Seon-o who had to depart for the remote area.

‘I won’t be able to use it every time. No matter how capable Hwan is, he can’t obtain that rare alcohol every time, nor can he give it to me every time.’

It was unexpected for Seon-o that Hwan had given her such precious alcohol without asking for anything in return.

‘…It seems like he’s being favorable toward me, doesn’t it?’

While it might be natural given what happened at Maehwagak, as far as Seon-o knew, Hwan in the original work wasn’t someone who easily trusted others or showed favor.

Rather, it would make more sense for him to continue suspecting Seon-o because of the Maehwagak incident. Seon-o had been fully prepared for that possibility.

‘It’s also strange that he agreed to meet me so easily in the first place.’

Unable to guess Hwan’s intentions, Seon-o scratched her chin.

‘Well, he might still be suspicious but just not showing it.’

If that were the case, she needed to turn Hwan’s suspicion into solid trust. Since things had come to this, she had to maintain cooperation with Yawol Sect until the end.

As Seon-o recalled Hwan smiling faintly while telling her to pass this gateway, she suddenly became curious about Hwan’s dragon transformation.

‘Hwan was a black dragon, wasn’t he? Hmm…That suits him terrifyingly well.’

Just thinking about a man who already seemed like the incarnation of a black dragon actually transforming into one made her feel chills down her spine. Even when she faced the four-headed dragon in the Demon Lair, its size had made her knees weak, and the Seven Super Gods were said to be even more massive than that dragon.

The super-deities’ dragon transformations had appeared several times in the original work, so if she was lucky, she might be able to witness that magnificent sight.

But now wasn’t the time for such leisurely thoughts. Seon-o pulled herself together and glanced out the window again.

Outside, the sun had already risen high. In the meantime, the ghost carriage that had crossed several mountains was now approaching its destination.

When the ghost carriage finally reached its destination and came to a rattling stop, Seon-o, who had been waiting, immediately got off and hid behind the nearest tree.

The ghost carriage immediately turned around and disappeared, and Seon-o, left alone in the dense forest, lowered her breathing and surveyed her surroundings.

Only after confirming that no sounds could be heard did she raise her head to look up at the large tree. The tree had grown so tall that its top couldn’t be seen, with sturdy branches extending in various directions.

‘Shall I give it a try?’

After loosening her hands and feet, Seon-o bent her knees for a moment then stood up, causing her body to spring upward like a coil. In an instant, she landed on a high branch, and a refreshing smile appeared on her lips.

‘This is it.’

This amazingly light body movement was precisely the power of the Ungyeongji that Dang Pa-baek had given her. Her body, enhanced by the mystical mushroom, felt as light as if it could fly through the sky.

She felt a sense of liberation from this surreal physical ability that could never be experienced in reality. With such a body, confidence surged that she could accomplish the upcoming task, strengthening Seon-o’s resolve. Meeting Dang Pa-baek had indeed been an essential process she had to go through.

At that moment, when the image of Baek-ryu looking down at her from atop a tree at Bujin Pavilion suddenly came to mind, a small curiosity arose.

‘Did Baek-ryu eat this too?’

However, since Light Body Technique was also based on the Yin Power dwelling in the body, well-trained masters could use it without the help of mystical mushrooms. Baek-ryu probably corresponded to a very well-trained superhuman.

‘What exactly is that guy’s true identity?’

Both at Bujin Pavilion and Maehwagak, Baek-ryu had appeared as a wandering demon hunter. But somehow, Seon-o didn’t think of him as just an ordinary demon hunter.

Moreover, a demon hunter with that level of skill should have already made a name for himself throughout the land. However, Seon-o couldn’t find any more information about Baek-ryu.

‘He’s not some hidden villain or something like that, is he? …No, that can’t be it.’

Because of this lingering unease, Seon-o found herself involuntarily thinking of Baek-ryu from time to time.

And when she did, his last words would invariably echo in her ears.

“See you again, Master.”

Just like that.

‘See you again, Master…’

They had coincidentally met twice by chance, but would there be more occasions to meet in the future?

Thinking there probably wouldn’t be, Seon-o finally looked at the scene spread out before her eyes.

Standing on a branch so high that the ground below seemed distant, she could see at a glance the massive river stretching beyond the forest.

The vast river flowing serenely while receiving sunlight was enchantingly beautiful.

The riverside scenery with grass swaying in the wind was also utterly peaceful.

The leisurely appearance of the riverside was a scenic view that could only be seen in classical landscape paintings, but Seon-o knew the true nature of this place. In this river called ‘Cheongpa River’ lived a demon with high Yin Power.

Its name was the ‘Golden Salamander.’

Long ago, when a rift occurred in this world and cracks opened, it was a case of a salamander that had picked up and eaten a Yin Stone that fell from that crack, evolving into a demon.

Demons that had eaten ‘Rift Yin Stones’ from that ‘first great catastrophe’ were very powerful and possessed extraordinary abilities.

‘There was no longer any need to mimic humans, so it was commanding other demons to fill its belly.’

The creature that had seized the Rift Sound Stone and become the leader of the demons had built a palace-like fortress somewhere here and holed up inside. After consuming the enormous meal that its subordinates brought once a month, it would sleep for a month until everything was digested.

After everything it had eaten was fully digested…

Seon-o’s brow furrowed at the horrific thought. But what was even more horrific were the things she would have to do from now on. From the moment she planned this task until now, Seon-o had to fight against an endless desire to give up.

“Hah… Kang Seon-o. You can do this. You can do it.”

Seon-o muttered as if hypnotizing herself and plopped down on a tree branch. She then shaded her eyes with her hand and carefully examined the distant riverbank.

Suddenly, something near the left riverbank sparkled as it reflected sunlight, causing Seon-o’s eyes to narrow. After waiting for the sunlight to move away and looking again, she could see hydrangeas covering the area so densely it was disgusting.

‘Found it.’

A tense smile appeared on Seon-o’s lips.

Seon-o sprang up from her position and leaped without hesitation.

Her light body repeatedly landed on trees across the way in the blink of an eye, drawing closer to the riverbank.

* * *

The upper reaches of Cheongpa River.

Inside the demons’ fortress hidden on the riverbank where human feet never tread, bustling activity filled the air even before sunset.

Today was the feeding day for their master, the ‘Golden Salamander.’

For this day, the demons of Cheongpa Palace had to spend a month gathering his meal by any means necessary.

The abundant ‘meal’ they had collected was piled up like a mountain on a giant cart inside the fortress’s storage.

The demon that had just tossed the last catch onto the cart looked at the storage manager and asked.

“You made sure there’s nothing still breathing, right?”

“Yes. Sniff, sniff sniff. Looks like you caught something very tasty?”

The demon that brought the final offering grinned wickedly.

“A human child not even a hundred days old.”

“Damn it! You got something precious indeed.”

“Don’t drool. Our master needs to consume precious things to give us power. With that power, we must escape being these damn mediocre mid-level demons, mustn’t we? You fool.”

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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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