Chapter 178: The Blowing West Wind (1)

The thing that the celestial immortal Queen Mother of the West offered to Yi-gang was that miraculous peach of immortality.

It was said to have the effect of immortality, but who on earth knew the details about the peach of immortality?

It was clear that the soul of Namgung Seo-ryeon scattered, but with the seed of the peach of immortality, it was cleansed and reincarnated.

Though she could not be reborn as a yokai with all her memories and personality as Yi-gang had initially requested…

“Keeing, Kking.”

…Yi-gang felt a very complex joy, looking at the baby fox crying.

Cheongho, who could now barely open her eyes and stand up, was just the size of Yi-gang’s fist.

It was unclear whether she was being playful or acting cute, but she rolled over to expose her belly and flailed her front legs.

Could it be said that this was the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon, Namgung Seo-ryeon?

No matter how much he thought about it, it was difficult to assert that firmly without the memories of being the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon, and with a different personality.

This fox couldn’t even speak yet. It was entirely different from Yi-gang’s case of reincarnation.

However, somehow… He wasn’t sad or resentful.

She had suffered too much pain in her life.

Wanting to become a yokai because she hated humans, perhaps this was the happiest ending.

Thinking so, Yi-gang ended up smiling.

“It’s a good outcome. Truly, it is.”

Noticing Yi-gang’s contemplation, Yu Jeong-shin said so, “This master was quite worried about you.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“When I heard that you were afflicted with an inner demon, I thought the time had come.”

To Yi-gang, the inner demon seemed like a sudden crisis.

However, Yu Jeong-shin seemed to have anticipated his disciple’s inner demon to some extent.

“At such a young age, you have lost so much…”

“…”

“Sending away your personal maid, your ancestor, and even that child who had been with you for so long… How could an inner demon not come?”

Yi-gang suddenly reflected on his past days.

He was born into the Baek Noble Clan, destined to die young.

His sickly body was frail, making every night a torment, and eventually, he lived apart from his family.

The only one he could rely on, like a sister, his personal maid, died before his eyes one day.

“Although I have experienced loss…”

After that, he met the Immortal Divine Sword.

Perhaps thanks to the Immortal Divine Sword, Yi-gang was able to rise again.

He reconciled with his family and was initiated into the Azure Forest.

And then, he bid farewell to the Immortal Divine Sword.

“Haven’t I gained more?”

Afterward, he gained a master, a senior brother, and even comrades. He also encountered the soul known as the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon.

“That’s right.”

“And this time, it doesn’t seem like a loss.”

“It happened as the child wished.”

Though the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon was no longer in this world, her soul had been cleansed and reincarnated as a fox.

The thought that there was no need to be sad crossed his mind.

“Still, you should continue to cultivate your mind in the future. The root of the inner demon has been treated, but your body isn’t back to normal yet.”

“I will do so.”

Fortunately, the inner demon that had driven Yi-gang to Qi deviation had also been resolved.

The situation turned around for the better, likely thanks to the efficacy of the Golden Needle Phantom’s herbal decoction that drained his tears.

It had been about ten days since that day.

Both humans and the Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Foxes found little Cheongho endearing.

Cheok-yo, who used to act arrogantly discussing humans, was at a loss with the birth of their youngest sibling.

It was said that he used to be the youngest until then.

“Hey, let go of Cheongho!”

“Let me touch her too!”

Though Cheok-yo shouted, Dam Hyun paid him no heed.

Among humans, Dam Hyun was undoubtedly the most smitten with Cheongho.

He, who had been as devoted as Yi-gang in turning the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon into a yokai, now held Cheongho in his hands.

Cheongho had snow-white fur, but her eyebrows and tail had blue fur, which was quite mystical.

It was said that the tail would turn white later on.

Dam Hyun’s eyes sparkled.

Then, he twisted around as if he didn’t know what to do with its cuteness.

“Oh dear…”

When he made such an old-man-like sound, Pahan and Ha-jun wore a sour expression.

But Dam Hyun seemed not to care about such things at all.

He just gently stroked Cheongho’s back as if he were caressing a glass artifact.

Eventually, his eyes almost moistened with the touch of that soft fluff.

“How can you be… so cute.”

Cheongho might have found Dam Hyun, who seemed about to bury his face in it, a bit too much.

Trying to dodge his fingers, Cheongho made an effort, but Dam Hyun, oblivious, continued to pet it.

“Squeak, squeak.”

“Oh dear…”

There was nowhere to escape on the palm of his hand.

Eventually, feeling a sense of crisis, the young fox activated its defense mechanism.

There was only one defense mechanism for a Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Fox.

“Let’s see if I can touch its belly, gya gya gya!”

Electricity discharged from the body of Cheongho.

Dam Hyun was electrocuted, his eyes turning white as he flipped over.

Seizing the moment, Cheongho leaped out of this palm. The place Cheongho fled to, away from Dam Hyun, was the embrace of the most trustworthy being.

“Huhuhu…”

Yi-gang, with Cheongho jumping onto his shoulder, stroked it with a pleased expression.

Cheongho seemed to hide behind Yi-gang’s neck as if trying to escape from Dam Hyun.

“Ha, ha ha…”

Kneeling, Dam Hyun groaned as he watched this scene.

“Cu-cute…”

Then he flopped down.

Watching this, the Golden Needle Phantom tsk-tsked.

“Crazy brat…”

The Golden Needle Phantom and Yu Jeong-shin had not yet left this place.

There was still something that needed to be done here.

“It’s fortunate that the major meridian can be safely connected.”

The task of healing Yi-gang’s body remained.

The Nine-Tailed Fox had promised to connect Yi-gang’s major meridian.

However, it was a task that required the direct assistance of one of the Four Great Heavenly Physicians, the’ Golden Needle Phantom, and the Great Library Master, Yu Jeong-shin.

“Taking a little rest while treating Yi-gang might be good too.”

“Indeed, the current situation in the Central Plains is quite ominous.”

Connecting the major meridian itself would take a few months, but adapting to the newly connected major meridian would take more time.

Yi-gang planned to stay here with Cheongho to heal his body.

If time permitted, it would also be good to visit the Kunlun Sect to meet Go Yo-ja.

Yi-gang spoke as he removed the hair Cheongho was chewing on, “It seems I’ll be staying quite a while.”

At those words, Ha-jun’s expression darkened.

He too wanted to stay here, but that was not possible.

Given the situation, he had come in haste, but as the Young Clan Head, he needed to return to his clan.

Given that they had to leave soon, Ha-jun spoke to his brother with a slightly worried voice, “Don’t be too late.”

“Alright. Don’t worry.”

Yi-gang smiled faintly.

After Ha-jun and Pahan left, Yi-gang, along with the people of the Azure Forest, stayed in Fox Spirit Village nearby.

The villagers were delighted to hear that the Taoist priests had arrived.

Although the term “Taoist” made them wary, perhaps thinking they were from Kunlun, revealing they were from the Azure Forest and with the Golden Needle Phantom treating the patients, they soon won them over with goodwill.

Cheongho continued to follow Yi-gang closely.

According to the Heavenly Thunder White-Tailed Foxes, it would take a long time for Cheongho to speak human language and find the stature of a great yokai.

For now, it was closer to a cute fox that followed Yi-gang, but it seemed very happy at least.

And then, Gumiho connected Yi-gang’s major meridian.

Indeed, as the stories of old suggested, a vast amount of True Qi that had accumulated in Yi-gang’s body suddenly flowed through the meridians, creating several dangerous situations.

However, having broken through the Gateway of Life and Death and with the Golden Needle Phantom by his side, he was safe.

From the moment Yi-gang stood up to begin training again, there was a being watching over him and Cheongho.

It was a falcon.

This falcon, about ten years old, was somewhat of a boss in its own right in the Kunlun Mountains.

As befit a bird of prey, its usual prey were small animals.

It liked voles the best, occasionally preyed on other birds, and young animals were especially a delicacy.

For example, young foxes.

A white fox with a blue tail was truly conspicuous prey.

The sharp-eyed falcon caught sight of Cheongho bouncing below.

However, the falcon dared not attempt to catch Cheongho.

The falcon clacked its beak up and down.

Click.

A few days ago, the falcon had nearly lost its life trying to snatch a fox.

While diving at lightning speed, a human caught it.

It was the very human beside that fox now.

The human said with a smirk, “Had I not intervened, we’d have had a roasted chicken right there.”

It was a statement the falcon could not comprehend.

The human released the falcon, but its pride was already shattered.

There was no place under the sky it could not go. The falcon decided it was time to migrate after a long while.

With its large wings flapping, the falcon soared into the sky.

And turning its back on the Kunlun Mountains, it moved towards the inland. Winter was coming, so it sought a warmer place with more prey.

The winter in the Central Plains was warmer than in the Kunlun Mountains.

The falcon thought it had made a good decision to leave.

By the time spring arrived, it had moved its dwelling once again.

The place humans called Sichuan was too hot in the summer.

Instinctively, it headed north again.

When the forests on the ground turned colorful and a year had passed, it arrived at Kaifeng.

The falcon’s arrival in a city bustling with humans was merely a whim.

Once the sovereign of the skies over the Kunlun Mountains, it now looked down upon the sleepless city.

Humans, who did not know to look up at the sky, crawled on the ground like ants.

Suddenly, the falcon spotted some suspicious humans.

They were humans running through the night.

Wearing black masks, they were faster than galloping horses from above.

The two masked individuals were heading towards the Murim Alliance.

They swiftly crossed the outer wall and then the inner wall.

Though it did not know the place was the Murim Alliance, from the sky, the falcon could clearly see the defensive posture of the place.

But the humans on the ground, unaware of the constantly changing danger zones, moved as if they could see them clearly.

The place they were headed to was a garden pond within the inner enclosure.

Someone was standing alone by the pond.

The falcon thought these masked individuals aimed for the person by the pond.

Like a hawk swooping down on its prey, were they planning to stab him in the back in one go?

However, things did not proceed as the falcon had imagined.

The man by the pond was no mere prey.

It was inconceivable that a figure, who was none other than the Vice Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance that lead the orthodox Murim, would not detect someone approaching.

“You’ve arrived.”

As the Vice Alliance Leader, who was feeding the carp in the pond, said that, the two masked individuals kneeled.

“Yes.”

“You weren’t noticed approaching, were you?”

“We came straight along the route you mentioned, encountering no one.”

The identity of the Vice Alliance Leader, turning around, was surprisingly the Iron-Blood Merciless Baek Ryu-san.

He, the Clan Head of the Baek Clan, had succeeded Namgung Yu-baek to become the Vice Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance.

Baek Ryu-san, who had cured his chronic lung disease, naturally ascended to the position of Vice Alliance Leader. There were few who opposed him.

The prestige of the Baek Noble Clan had risen to that extent.

“That’s how it should be. Even within the Alliance, your mission must remain a secret.”

What could be the reason for Baek Ryu-san to meet these masked individuals so secretly?

The masked individuals removed their masks.

The one in the lead was a young woman with a long scar on her face, her expression cold.

She was Sohwa’s younger sister, Soryu.

She had been recognized for her talent and had thus joined an organization directly under the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance.

That organization was called the Shadowless Squad, tasked with executing highly confidential missions within the Alliance.

“The Demon Cult has declared war, but more important is your mission.”

Baek Ryu-san’s gaze moved behind Soryu.

There stood a familiar face.

Namgung Shin, whose life had been saved by Yi-gang.

Rather than sitting idly in his sealed clan estate, he chose to be active.

Namgung Shin, who joined the Shadowless Squad as an ordinary member, did not disappoint and perfectly carried out his missions.

“Have you found it?”

He asked the main question.

“Yes.”

Soryu added.

“We found traces of the Evil Cult in Yunnan.”

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