Chapter 461 : Body of the Dragon’s Energy
Chapter 461: Body of the Dragon’s Energy
“This place—why must I wear this filthy hide just to enter?”
I said that, glaring at the people wrapping green hide around my limbless body.
My father, Cheong Yeong, also frowned at the poisonous-resistant hide given by Valley Leader Ha Deokgye of Dark Echo Valley, but knowing he couldn't withstand the poison either, he tried to calm me down.
“They say we can’t enter without wearing this. There’s no helping it.”
Even though I hadn’t entered the cave yet, the poisonous miasma rising from beneath the Dragon Bone Cavern made all the hairs on my body stand on end.
“If it weren’t for the promise of a chance to get revenge on Yong Hwarin, I wouldn’t have worn this disgusting thing.”
“If not for that promise, I wouldn’t have come here either. But since Valley Leader Sohyeon gave us his word, there must be something.”
When he first saw me with all my limbs severed, my father’s eyes had bled tears.
So when So Yonghwa said there was a way to get revenge on Yong Hwarin, we came here without hesitation.
Grumbling, I begrudgingly wore the poisonous-resistant hide. My father lifted me up in his arms and entered the underground tunnel.
And when we emerged from the tunnel, we were shocked to see two people standing without wearing any protective hide.
One was Sohyeon, a known master of the Three Demonic Heavens, so I could understand that. But the other old man was unfamiliar, yet he was withstanding the suffocating poison with just his Protective Energy.
‘A formidable expert... And judging by how even Sohyeon treats him with reverence, he’s clearly no ordinary man...’
My father and I exchanged glances and nodded.
There was no need to provoke people like them.
“Let’s go.”
As Wang Wook took the lead, Sohyeon, Ha Deokgye, my father, and I followed behind.
When we reached the end of the cave, it suddenly widened—at least three times the size.
Unless someone had deliberately dug it out, there was no way it could have expanded so abruptly.
And seeing traces of artificial carving here and there, it was clear someone had purposely enlarged the space.
At the end of it, we witnessed a shocking sight.
“Heavens!”
“To think I’d see this with my own eyes after only hearing of it in legends...”
“Dragons really did exist, huh?”
“Ah! What a luxury to behold this in my lifetime.”
Everyone let out exclamations of awe as we all looked at Wang Wook, who walked forward.
When others tried to approach, Sohyeon stopped them.
“The rest of you, stay here.”
“But who is that man? I held my tongue out of respect for the Valley Leader, but surely it’s time you tell us who he is?”
When Ha Deokgye said this, Sohyeon nodded.
“I will explain everything shortly. Please hold your curiosity for now.”
Sohyeon smiled gently, persuading him, and Ha Deokgye could only suppress his irritation with two dry coughs.
In the middle of the cave, a massive serpent coiled in place—its body dried and clinging to the bones. Its form resembled a dragon.
At a glance, it looked like a massive snake. But its head was distinctly different.
It resembled the dragons of legend, with two horns atop its head and enormous eyes.
This was no ordinary serpent.
“It’s a Half-Dragon,” said Wang Wook in a quiet voice.
“It lived for thousands of years, building its spiritual energy, but failed to ascend.”
Though shriveled now, the girth of its body was far thicker than any tree trunk, and even from a cursory look, its length exceeded ten jang easily.
Neither my father nor I had imagined that there’d be a dragon—or whatever that creature was—in the place Valley Leader Sohyeon brought us to. We were simply dumbfounded.
Then a question suddenly struck me.
‘But why did they bring us to a place like this?’
Feeling I might not get another chance to ask, I turned to Sohyeon.
“Why did you call me here? I came because I was told I’d be given a chance to avenge myself against Yong Hwarin, but instead, you show me a carcass that might be a dragon or a snake. I can’t help but be curious.”
Just as Sohyeon opened his mouth to answer, Wang Wook spoke first.
“It’s because…”
Since he took the lead in speaking, Sohyeon stepped back.
“You received Yong Hwarin’s True Qi.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you carry the True Qi of Yong Hwarin, and that has made you… very special.”
“And what does that have to do with revenge?”
That was all I cared about—revenge against Yong Hwarin, who reduced me to this state.
Nothing else mattered to me anymore.
“Of course. The purpose of bringing you here is to offer you a chance at revenge. That creature still retains immense power. We call it Dragon’s Evil (용악). You will absorb it.”
“Even if I gain that power called Dragon’s Evil, I have no limbs. No amount of Qi will do me any good.”
I was disappointed. For all my hopes, they were only offering me Qi?
What use was Qi when I had no limbs?
“No need to be disappointed. You won’t be the one to carry out the revenge.”
Hearing that, I finally understood.
“You mean... I will absorb that dragon’s energy, and someone else will inherit it? And that person will get my revenge?”
“Quite perceptive. That’s exactly it.”
“Well… If that’s how my revenge can be accomplished, then I’m satisfied.”
Even if I couldn’t take revenge with my own hands, there was no reason to refuse if it could be achieved through someone else.
But Cheong Yeong raised an objection.
“Wait. Wouldn’t that harm my son? If my son absorbs the Dragon’s Evil and then passes it to someone else, it could damage his True Qi.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Do you really think we couldn’t even handle something as basic as absorbing True Qi?”
As Wang Wook said this and looked at Cheong Yeong, the man didn’t even dare meet his gaze.
That was because the aura Wang Wook exuded was unmistakably that of an absolute master.
‘Who is he, to be such a supreme master I’ve never even heard of?’
No matter how many hidden experts were in the world, it made no sense that he’d never heard of someone this powerful. But seeing how even Sohyeon treated him with reverence, he couldn’t run his mouth carelessly.
In the end, Cheong Yeong had no choice but to trust and follow Sohyeon.
Once he agreed, Wang Wook looked at the Mummy of the dragon and began chanting a strange incantation.
It was a spell left behind by the Ghost Hermit, meant to unlock the seal on the dragon. With the incantation, an evil energy began to flood the surroundings.
But when there was no immediate reaction, Sohyeon wondered if he had been deceived by Wang Wook.
He couldn’t understand how mere sorcery could extract Dragon’s Evil from a dragon that had already become a Mummy.
After chanting for Two Hours (일다경), Wang Wook took out a piece of hide from his robe.
Unwrapping it revealed a Dragon Pearl that emitted a subtle blue radiance.
This was the Half-Dragon’s Dragon Spirit, the remainder after the Ghost Hermit had created the Azure Dragon Three Marbles.
After crafting the Four Great Divine Items, the Ghost Hermit had passed this power down to his descendant, preparing for a day when those items might be misused.
And now, that descendant was Wang Wook.
Wang Wook looked at Cheong Geonmin while holding it.
“Remove his poison-resistant hide.”
At Wang Wook’s words, Sohyeon removed the poisonous-hide wrapped around Cheong Geonmin.
“Wait! Won’t my son be poisoned by the miasma?”
At Cheong Yeong’s concern, Wang Wook smiled kindly.
“Do not worry. He will soon obtain great power and become immune to all poisons.”
As he spoke, Sohyeon peeled off Cheong Geonmin’s protective hide. Then, Wang Wook casually tossed the Dragon Spirit toward him.
It floated through the air and dropped right into Cheong Geonmin’s mouth.
At first, I instinctively tried to shut my mouth from the revulsion, but some formless force pried my jaw open, and I turned to stare at Wang Wook.
Clack.
“Mmph!”
When the Dragon Pearl, the size of a child’s fist, lodged into my mouth, I let out a muffled groan, but even that was suppressed by the invisible force.
Wang Wook had already struck my pressure points with True Qi.
Sensing something was wrong, I tried to say something to my father Cheong Yeong, but the only thing I could move were my eyes.
I shot him a desperate look, but Cheong Yeong, believing I was just enduring the pain, offered words of encouragement.
“That’s it, hold on a little longer. You’re doing well.”
Just then, a black aura surged from the Dragon Mummy, flowing out through its mouth.
Seeing that, Cheong Yeong took his eyes off me.
“So that’s the Dragon’s Evil!”
Even Sohyeon, who had only ever heard about the dragon’s sinister energy, felt as though he were trapped in glacial ice.
He realized for the first time that evil energy could chill one to the bone.
After a while, the evil aura began to twist and writhe like a living thing, circling the cave.
It seemed to be searching for a place to enter.
And when it noticed the Dragon Pearl in Cheong Geonmin’s mouth, the black energy surged toward it.
Shuuuuk!
The black aura was sucked into the Dragon Pearl without pause.
And then, at some point, the Dragon Pearl slipped down Cheong Geonmin’s throat.
Gulp!
Unintentionally swallowing it, I looked at my father with terrified eyes.
But Cheong Yeong, equally unsure of what was happening, could only stare back helplessly.
Then he noticed my belly swelling like that of a pregnant woman—and his eyes widened in alarm.
“Something’s wrong! Why is my son’s stomach swelling like that? We need to make him vomit that strange pill!”
Terrified by my expanding belly, Cheong Yeong cried out.
Seeing that, Sohyeon scowled and turned to Wang Wook.
“Shall I dispose of them now?”
Wang Wook merely nodded.
Hearing this, Cheong Yeong realized they had been deceived and rushed to pick me up.
But the moment he tried, he felt Sohyeon’s hand wrap around his neck.
In an instant, Cheong Yeong gathered his strength and struck Sohyeon’s chest.
Boom!
But it was blocked by Protective Energy, and the force rebounded, sending Cheong Yeong flying backward.
The impact tore flesh from his neck, causing blood to gush out.
On top of that, the collision between his energy and Protective Energy ripped open his poison-resistant hide, allowing the toxic air to seep in.
He tried to hold his breath, but with his neck torn, he ended up gasping.
In the end, poisoned by the miasma, Cheong Yeong’s face turned green and began to melt.
It was proof of how lethal the poison truly was.
Watching Cheong Yeong’s face dissolve, Valley Leader Ha Deokgye was horrified inside.
He had handled countless toxins in his life—but never had he encountered poison this deadly.
Seeing Cheong Yeong, used from beginning to end and then discarded, he couldn’t help but imagine himself in the same fate.
At that moment, he realized he might not be much different from Cheong Yeong.