Chapter 76. Don’t Think About What Comes Next.

“That’s impossible.”

Jin Cheon shook his head at the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees’ words.

“If I were him, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember you.”

“You could be deceiving me.”

“For what reason?”

Jin Cheon asked back at the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees.

“If I were his reincarnation, I wouldn’t need to come all the way here to train, would I?”

“That is……”

“Let me be clear, I am not his reincarnation. Rather, it’s the opposite.”

“The opposite……?”

“My goal is to kill him.”

“……!”

“So that he can never reincarnate again.”

As Jin Cheon spoke without faltering, the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees’ expression softened somewhat.

“Is it possible for someone like me to be his reincarnation?”

“That’s a convincing statement.”

As the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees seemed to be persuaded, the Hui Dragon Emperor spoke in a voice mixed with fury.

“You foolish fox wench! After being deceived like that, are you going to be deceived again! That brat, despite being a mere insect, was born with a vessel capable of containing the demon! If not Dokgo Seong, who else could be born with such a body!”

“Isn’t the body something bestowed by the heavens? The Heavenly Demon’s Physique isn’t his exclusive property, is it?”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees spoke as if she disagreed with the Hui Dragon Emperor’s words, then looked back at Jin Cheon.

“What are you doing? Not attacking?”

“……?”

“Attack. Before I change my mind.”

As soon as the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees’ words fell, Jin Cheon threw himself forward.

He could not miss such an opportunity.

It was no exaggeration to say that being able to attack a seemingly invincible, strange and powerful being like the Hui Dragon Emperor with a free mind was a blessing in itself.

Woong!

The Heavenly Demon Divine Qi surged, bestowing immense power upon Jin Cheon.

Kwang! Kwaaang!

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art’s Heavenly Thunderclap Palm repeatedly struck the Hui Dragon Emperor’s chest.

“Kuaaaaaaaak!”

A scream filled with pain erupted from the Hui Dragon Emperor’s mouth.

“I don’t know what the situation is… but I should seize the opportunity.”

A mass of red light gathered in the hands of the Blood Qilin, who had recovered at some point.

Shuuuuuk!

Soon, blood flowed from various parts of the Hui Dragon Emperor’s body and was sucked into the Blood Qilin’s hands.

Blood Qi Wind Acupoint.

It was a family martial art of the Sacred Blood Clan, a terrifying technique that sucked the life force of an enemy from a distance.

“Keueuk! You sly fox wench! Keueueuk! How could you make such a foolish choice when you could have gone easily!”

“Because the merit I’ve accumulated in the Ledger of Merits and Demerits is too precious.”

“Foolish wench! Do you think you can become a Heavenly Fox by doing this! Keueueuk!”

“That’s none of your business. It’s not like you can help me reach the heavens.”

“Keueueuk!”

“Rather, aren’t you the one abandoned by the heavens?”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees said so and bound the Hui Dragon Emperor even more tightly.

Gwaak, gwaaaak!

The nine tails pressed down on the Hui Dragon Emperor like a binding rope.

The intensity was so strong that even the great Hui Dragon Emperor could not move an inch.

The problem was that despite this, Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin could not finish off the Hui Dragon Emperor.

The Hui Dragon Emperor’s durability was truly beyond imagination.

Had he been human, even a master who had surpassed the Realm of Transformation and reached the Realm of Profundity would not have been able to withstand it.

But perhaps because the Hui Dragon Emperor was a giant serpent that had aged for nearly a thousand years, the strength of his hide and scales was truly formidable.

“Finish it quickly! I can’t hold on for much longer!”

“I’m trying!”

Jin Cheon shouted back at the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees’ cry.

He was just as anxious.

‘The destructive power is far too insufficient.’

Although he had completed the Heavenly Demon Divine Qi’s Demonic Lord stage after nearly three years of seclusion in the Black Bamboo Forest, it was not enough against the Hui Dragon Emperor.

It seemed that to exert enough destructive power to end his life, one had to at least reach the level of a Demonic King, that is, the state of Extreme Demon.

But there was no way to reach the state of Extreme Demon right now.

‘I have no choice.’

Jin Cheon made a decision.

Wungwungwung!

The demonic qi seated in his dantian began to boil as if running rampant and rushed through all the blood vessels in his body.

“Don’t tell me you’re!”

The startled Blood Qilin shouted.

He had seen through what kind of decision Jin Cheon had made.

Innate Primordial Qi.

Right now, Jin Cheon was trying to draw not only on the inner qi he possessed but also on his own life force.

***

Jin Cheon’s decision was inevitable.

If he failed to end the Hui Dragon Emperor’s life here, not only he himself but also the others would not be able to escape death.

However, the destructive power to defeat the Hui Dragon Emperor was sorely lacking.

Therefore, Jin Cheon had no choice but to draw upon his Innate Primordial Qi to increase the destructive power of his technique.

“Are you crazy? You’ll die if you do that!”

“I know!”

“Stop it right now!”

“We can’t all die together!”

Jin Cheon shouted back and continued to draw upon his Innate Primordial Qi.

‘Don’t think about what comes next. Only look at this moment.’

That was also the teaching of his master, the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior.

– Don’t think about tomorrow. A martial artist’s life is one where you don’t know when or where you’ll drop dead. How foolish is it to think about tomorrow in such a situation?

– Are you saying I should always be prepared to die?

– Yes. The one who lives only for today is the strongest. The one who thinks about tomorrow is killed by the one who lives only for today. First, focus on surviving today. Only then will there be a tomorrow.

Following that teaching, Jin Cheon unsparingly drew upon his Innate Primordial Qi and concentrated all the inner qi he possessed onto the blade of his hand.

Wuwuwung!!!

The authority of destruction was imbued in the blade of Jin Cheon’s hand, which was sharpened like a knife.

With all the inner qi he possessed, plus the addition of his Innate Primordial Qi, there was no need to speak of its sharpness and destructive power.

“……!”

Recognizing it, the Hui Dragon Emperor’s eyes widened like lanterns.

He realized that even he would not be safe if he were to be hit by Jin Cheon’s current strike.

“N, no……”

The Hui Dragon Emperor could not finish his words.

Chwarararara!

A winged blade of light.

The Heavenly Demon Fighting Soul Martial Art’s Light Wing Blade slit the Hui Dragon Emperor’s neck.

Seogeok!

With an eerie sound, the Hui Dragon Emperor’s head dropped and rolled on the ground.

Thud!

Soon, his massive body, nine feet tall, crumbled, and a heavy sound echoed.

Decapitation.

The head of the being who had ruled the Sea of Trees as a thousand-year-old giant serpent and dragonman had been severed.

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

“Shik, shiiik!”

The giant snakes that were fighting the martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult began to flee in all directions, screaming.

“What is this!”

The Ghost King of the Sea of Trees, who had been cornering Wi Mu-rin as if hunting a rat, was aghast at the sight of the Hui Dragon Emperor’s corpse.

He had never dreamed that the great Hui Dragon Emperor would have his head severed by the hands of a mere human.

“How can something so absurd happen!”

The Ghost King of the Sea of Trees said so and threw himself away without a moment’s hesitation.

The Forest Killing Ghosts also followed the Ghost King and retreated from the Black Bamboo Forest like a receding tide.

Realizing they had no chance of victory now that the Hui Dragon Emperor had fallen, they immediately fled.

In the meantime.

Thud!

Jin Cheon collapsed.

He had completely collapsed from exhaustion as a price for using his Innate Primordial Qi.

“Junior Brother!”

“My Lord!”

The Blood Qilin and Danmok Cheong rushed to Jin Cheon and checked his condition.

“Heok, heok……”

Jin Cheon was struggling, gasping for breath.

“You idiot! Why would you do something so reckless!”

“My Lord, My Lord! You have to pull yourself together!”

Jin Cheon could not answer their words.

Having consumed his Innate Primordial Qi, his life force had dropped sharply, leaving him without the strength to even speak a single word.

“Move.”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees urgently approached Jin Cheon.

Three of her tails had already fallen off, leaving only six.

She had consumed too much power to bind the Hui Dragon Emperor, losing three of her most precious tails.

“His condition is very bad. At this rate, he will die soon. He has consumed too much Innate Primordial Qi.”

“Is there no way?”

Danmok Cheong asked in a truly desperate tone.

His lord, Jin Cheon, was on the verge of death, and the pain of being unable to do anything was evident on his face.

“A way? There might be one.”

“What is it! Just tell me! I’ll do anything!”

“Be quiet. There’s nothing you can do.”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees said so, then slightly turned her head to look at the dead Hui Dragon Emperor’s corpse.

Then she approached his body, opened his chest, and took out a single, brilliantly shining orb.

Anyone could see that it was clearly the Hui Dragon Emperor’s heart, that is, his inner core.

“Fortunately, there is a way. The only way to survive after consuming all of one’s Innate Primordial Qi is to eat something like this.”

“He can survive if he eats that?”

“Probably.”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees nodded at the Blood Qilin’s question.

“In this situation, the Hui Dragon Emperor’s inner core would be more certain than the treatment of the Great Divine Physician of Immortals. It’s the inner core of a thousand-year-old giant serpent, surely it can heal a single human body?”

“Hmm. That does sound convincing.”

“I’ll feed it to him for now.”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees opened Jin Cheon’s mouth and shoved the Hui Dragon Emperor’s inner core down his throat.

“Keok, keoheok!”

“Swallow it somehow.”

“Keoheoeok!”

“You have to endure. That’s how you’ll live. Just swallow it, and stay sharp. If you want to live.”

Following the Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees’ advice, Jin Cheon used all his strength to gulp down the Hui Dragon Emperor’s inner core.

It was an almost instinctive action, performed as his consciousness faded and his mind grew hazy.

The Hui Dragon Emperor’s inner core was incredible.

Gooooooh!

As soon as he consumed the inner core, an unbearable energy surged from the depths of his stomach and began to spread to every corner of his body.

“Get up. Circulate your qi somehow.”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees forcibly pulled Jin Cheon up and helped him into a cross-legged position.

“From now on, it’s all up to you. You have to absorb the energy contained in the Hui Dragon Emperor’s inner core and repair the shattered vessel of your life. That’s the only way to recover your Innate Primordial Qi.”

“……”

Jin Cheon did not answer.

‘Focus… focus.’

It was not an easy task to circulate the Heavenly Demon Divine Qi while his consciousness was fading.

It was something that had to be endured with sheer mental strength, and if he lost focus for even a moment, it would be the end.

It was a situation where he had to truly give it his all, exerting more mental strength than when he had endured the harsh tortures in the Demonic Prison.

***

“Everyone, stand guard!”

“As you command!”

Danmok Cheong and the Seventh Divine Demon Squad surrounded Jin Cheon and stood guard.

With their lord, Jin Cheon, on the brink of life and death, embarking on a life-risking qi circulation, it was only natural for them as his guards to protect his surroundings.

The rest of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s martial artists were no different from the Seventh Divine Demon Squad.

“Everyone, guard the Seventh Young Master.”

“As you command.”

Wi Mu-rin also ordered the martial artists and sorcerers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to stand guard for Jin Cheon.

It was not a safe place, and with him entering into qi circulation in the middle of the Black Bamboo Forest where the formation had been broken, it would not be an exaggeration for hundreds of people to stand guard simultaneously.

“Don’t die.”

The Blood Qilin, staying by Jin Cheon’s side, tossed out a single sentence.

“What am I supposed to do if my only junior brother dies?”

“……”

It goes without saying, but Jin Cheon did not reply.

Jin Cheon simply emitted an indescribable aura ceaselessly, focusing solely on his qi circulation in a state of selflessness.

Thus, time passed endlessly.

Jin Cheon’s qi circulation continued for nearly ten periods of two hours, but there was no sign of it ending.

Nevertheless, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult protected Jin Cheon’s side like an iron fortress.

“How does his condition look?”

“How should I know.”

The Fox Immortal of the Sea of Trees shrugged at Danmok Cheong’s question.

“The fact that he’s holding on like this should be a good sign, but the fact that he’s not waking up makes it seem like it’s not going well.”

“Hmm.”

“Anyway, he’s not dead yet. That’s all that matters. If we wait……”

Just then.

Woong!

Jin Cheon, sitting cross-legged, floated up from his spot.

Levitation.

But that wasn’t the only surprising thing.

Hwareuk, hwareureuk!

Jin Cheon’s skin turned to charcoal and peeled off, and from underneath, new white flesh was revealed.

“N, no way.”

The Blood Qilin was aghast at the sight of Jin Cheon.

With the legendary Body Reformation unfolding before his eyes, even the Blood Qilin could not help but be surprised.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep