Chapter 72. Do You Intend to Devour Even My Liver?

The appearance of the Forest Killing Ghosts was, in a way, to be expected.

They were like wild dogs, appearing as if by magic wherever a fight broke out.

Targeting those wounded in battle was the primary hunting method of the Forest Killing Ghosts…….

However, Jin Cheon’s party did not panic.

“Kill them all.”

“As you command.”

As soon as Jin Cheon’s order fell, the Divine Demon Squad members proved their martial prowess by slaughtering the attacking Forest Killing Ghosts as they came.

“Yes! This is it!”

“Good!”

A smile bloomed on the lips of the Divine Demon Squad members as they faced the Forest Killing Ghosts.

It was only natural, as the Divine Demon Squad members were already in a state of high excitement.

Having focused solely on training for nearly three years, they were thirsty for real combat experience.

With the results being so favorable, a smile couldn’t help but appear on their faces.

However, the number of Forest Killing Ghosts was far greater than expected.

At first, they thought there were only a few dozen, but as time passed, the number of attacking Forest Killing Ghosts increased exponentially.

“Run!”

The woman shouted at Jin Cheon.

“He will come! We must run now!”

“He…?”

“The king of the Forest Killing Ghosts!”

“……!”

“When the Ghost King of the Sea of Trees comes, everyone will die! So run away quickly!”

Jin Cheon recalled his past ill-fated encounter with the Ghost King of the Sea of Trees and frowned.

It was quite some time ago now, but the grudge from back then hadn’t disappeared…….

‘I’m grinding my teeth. How long has it been since I left the Black Bamboo Forest?’

Jin Cheon was once again reminded of how dangerous the Sea of Trees was and commanded the Divine Demon Squad members.

“Retreat, we are retreating!”

“As you command!”

As soon as Jin Cheon’s order fell, the Divine Demon Squad members began to retreat in perfect order.

Just then.

“It has been a long time.”

Speak of the devil, the Ghost King of the Sea of Trees appeared.

“You are the humans of the Black Bamboo Forest. You have not forgotten the conversation we had before, have you?”

“Indeed.”

Jin Cheon replied in a reluctant tone.

“It has been quite a while, is it too much to hope the grudge has faded?”

“The time this king has spent in the Sea of Trees exceeds several hundred years; such a short time is but a fleeting moment.”

The Ghost King of the Sea of Trees gave a chilling smile.

“This king clearly said you would come to regret it. I also stated that not a single one of you would return alive. That day will be today.”

“Isn’t that something we’ll know only after we fight?”

Jin Cheon raised his Heavenly Demon Divine Qi.

“Wait.”

The woman stepped forward.

“These humans are mine. So I would appreciate it if you would back off.”

“Oho.”

The Ghost King of the Sea of Trees recognized the woman at a glance and made an intrigued expression.

“What brings the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees out so suddenly? Why, do you intend to lure those humans and devour even their livers?”

At the Ghost King’s words, Jin Cheon and the Divine Demon Squad members thought, ‘Of course,’ and their eyes glinted with caution.

“What ancient story are you talking about? It’s been over a hundred years already.”

The woman, no, the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees, contorted her face.

“I’m sorry, but I stopped doing that a long time ago.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s been decades since I began accumulating a hundred years of merit through the Ledger of Merits and Demerits.”

“Foolish.”

The Ghost King of the Sea of Trees let out a sneer.

“The great Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees accumulating merit through the Ledger of Merits and Demerits? A passing dog would laugh. It’s impressive that you’ve been accumulating merit for decades, but with that temper of yours, can you really achieve great success? You’ll eventually break.”

“Are you done talking?”

“Do you think you can become a Heavenly Fox by doing that?”

A Heavenly Fox was a divine beast with nine tails, a being of a different class from a nine-tailed fox.

Even though both were nine-tailed foxes, if a nine-tailed fox was an evil monster, a Heavenly Fox was a divine beast of the heavenly realm, said to be favored by the Supreme Emperor.

Of course, that too was a legend passed down, so there was no way to know if it was true.

“How dare a mere Corpse Ghost mock me?”

“Oh my, the Fox Immortal seems very angry.”

The Ghost King of the Sea of Trees feigned fear playfully.

“Then there’s no choice. I must retreat.”

“Are you really going to retreat?”

“What good comes from fighting the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees? We’ll both just suffer losses. But if I’m with the Hui Dragon Emperor, the story will be different.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to join hands with the Hui Dragon Emperor?”

“Of course.”

The Ghost King of the Sea of Trees nodded.

“So it would be best for you to retreat now. Otherwise, you’ll have to face both me and the Hui Dragon Emperor at the same time.”

“Grr…!”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees gritted her teeth in frustration.

“How about you join hands with this king this time? Just hand over that damn brat to this king, and I’ll cleanly give up on the rest. How about it? Isn’t that a rather reasonable proposal?”

“……”

The Fox Immortal remained silent for a moment.

The Ghost King’s proposal was not bad for her at all.

“Do you need more time to think?”

“No.”

The Fox Immortal shook her head.

“The answer is already decided. Stop your petty tricks and get lost now. Stop spreading that rotten corpse smell.”

The Fox Immortal growled at the Ghost King.

“Are you really going to refuse this king’s proposal?”

“I told you, get lost.”

“Well, so be it.”

The Ghost King nodded nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.

“I shall see if you can maintain that pathetic merit of yours in front of the Hui Dragon Emperor.”

“……”

“Then, farewell.”

The Ghost King said so and truly disappeared into the blizzard with the Forest Killing Ghosts.

Then, the Fox Immortal turned to look at Jin Cheon.

“Do you still not trust me?”

“Should I bow my head now?”

Jin Cheon said with sincerity.

***

Under the guidance of the Fox Immortal, Jin Cheon’s party safely reached the Black Bamboo Forest.

Halt. The Fox Immortal’s footsteps stopped.

“I can’t go any further from here.”

“Ah, because of the formation?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Jin Cheon nodded in understanding and clasped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute towards the Fox Immortal.

“My name is Jin Cheon. I will surely repay the grace of saving my life one day.”

“Hmph.”

The Fox Immortal snorted.

“It’s better to hope for the Ghost King to turn over a new leaf than to expect a human to repay a kindness.”

“That’s too negative.”

“What can I do? That’s how the humans I’ve seen have been.”

“Hmm.”

“And you don’t have to be too grateful. I also helped for the purpose of accumulating merit.”

“Whatever the reason, gratitude is gratitude. If I ever get a chance to repay you, I’ll show you that not all humans are the same.”

“As if.”

The Fox Immortal, while scoffing, did not seem displeased.

“If you’re really grateful, then help me get out of the Sea of Trees.”

“Help you get out?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“It’s simple. Just erase my name engraved on the Divine Spirit Tree.”

“Hmm.”

Jin Cheon could not rashly promise to do so.

The Divine Spirit Tree played a crucial role in imprisoning the strange and powerful beings of the Sea of Trees, so it was highly likely that Jin Cheon did not have the authority.

Perhaps the Cult Leader, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, did.

“That might be a bit difficult.”

“I knew it.”

As Jin Cheon showed reluctance, the Fox Immortal pouted as if she had expected it.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I don’t have the authority to do so.”

“Really?”

“I’ll try to bring it up with my superiors.”

“Really?!”

The Fox Immortal’s expression brightened.

“Will you really do that for me?”

“I’m saying I’ll at least bring it up. I can’t guarantee whether it will work or not.”

“That’s more than enough! I’d be grateful for even that.”

“You seem to really want to get out.”

“Is that even a question? I came into the Sea of Trees without knowing any better to cultivate, and it’s been over a few hundred years since I got trapped here.”

“That must be frustrating.”

Jin Cheon could empathize with the Fox Immortal’s feelings to some extent.

Even Jin Cheon, who had only been in closed-door training in the Black Bamboo Forest for about three years, was starting to miss the secular world.

He thought how much more suffocating it must have been to be trapped for hundreds of years.

“You’d better persuade your superiors well. You’ll need my help in the future, too.”

“In the future, too?”

“Do you think the Ghost King just retreated? It’s obvious he’ll go and tattle to the Hui Dragon Emperor.”

“Indeed……”

“And the Hui Dragon Emperor might be able to break the formation of the Black Bamboo Forest.”

“That would be a problem.”

“I’ll help as much as I can, so you do your best to help me escape the Sea of Trees.”

“I will do that.”

Jin Cheon decided to cooperate with the Fox Immortal for the time being.

Given the circumstances, he judged that cooperating with her was the only way to avoid the worst-case scenario.

***

“You said you were hungry, right? Wait a moment. I’ll go get you something to eat.”

The Fox Immortal left those words and leaped into the blizzard.

Thanks to her, Jin Cheon’s party did not have to risk leaving the Black Bamboo Forest and could conserve their stamina.

“Can we trust her?”

“We have no other choice right now.”

Jin Cheon replied to Danmok Cheong’s question.

“The situation will change when Senior Brother Wi or the Cult Leader arrives, but until then, we have no choice but to cooperate with her.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“For now, she said she’ll bring us food, so let’s wait.”

“Understood.”

“Just in case something happens, post guards in pairs of two. If the Hui Dragon Emperor tries to destroy the formation, we need to escape quickly.”

“As you command.”

After Danmok Cheong left, Jin Cheon fell into deep thought for a moment.

‘Senior Brother Wi wouldn’t be late for no reason.’

It was unlikely that Wi Mu-rin had forgotten about Jin Cheon’s party, and he would surely know they would starve if he didn’t supply them with food.

No matter how fiercely the blizzard raged and the snow fell, having no news for over ten days was not something to be taken lightly.

At the very least, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God himself should have descended…….

‘Could something have happened at the main cult? Something that would make them forget our existence?’

He thought it might be possible.

According to what Jin Cheon remembered, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had suffered from internal and external troubles even when the Iron-Blooded Demonic God was in good health.

Of course, this was mostly information he had heard from fellow inmates who came in later, especially Namgung Sin, so it wasn’t exact information.

‘What did that guy say?’

Jin Cheon reviewed the stories Namgung Sin had told him, wondering if he had missed anything.

However, he didn’t think the major incidents and accidents that came to mind were particularly related to the current situation.

Then, a memory suddenly surfaced.

One day, he had a conversation with Namgung Sin about how the second Righteous-Demonic War would unfold.

‘There’s no way the Demonic Cult would lose to the Righteous Heavenly Alliance. Even if they did, the Demonic Cult wouldn’t fall. The Ten Thousand Great Mountains are an impregnable fortress. It has never been conquered in history.’

‘Of course. Our cult has never allowed foreign invasion. Although half of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains was once burned down.’

‘Half of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains was burned down?’

‘Yes.’

‘Was there a forest fire? Or a volcanic eruption?’

‘Was it about ten-something years ago? There was a time when a great disaster occurred.’

‘A great disaster?’

‘There was a period when all sorts of catastrophes occurred due to the appearance of the strange and powerful beings I had only heard about in words. At that time, half of our cult was burned down, and tens of thousands of cultists died. Because of that incident, the cult’s military power was reduced by at least thirty percent…….’

Recalling the old memory, Jin Cheon’s face froze as if touched by frost.

Unfortunately, Namgung Sin had been dragged away at that moment, so he couldn’t hear the more detailed story, but if that was true, it was no exaggeration to say the problem was very serious.

Moreover, if it was ten-something years ago as Namgung Sin had said, wasn’t that roughly around the current time?

“Don’t tell me…….”

A moan-like mutter escaped Jin Cheon’s lips.

If the strange and powerful beings Namgung Sin spoke of were the cultivators of the Sea of Trees, and if they were released from the Sea of Trees and caused a disaster…….

The story would have been different if he hadn’t known about the place called the Sea of Trees, but now that he knew its reality, it was by no means an impossible event.

If the Divine Spirit Tree were destroyed, the great disaster Namgung Sin had spoken of would more than likely happen.

“The Divine Spirit Tree… is scheduled to be destroyed.”

Jin Cheon could only think of it that way.

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