Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Child. I don't think there will be a next time. I also have my own circumstances. Then, before we part, let me give you one piece of advice. About the Blood Cult right below."

Namgung Hui had not expected the word 'Blood Cult' to come out of the Blood Qilin's mouth.

Hadn't the Blue Tiger he had met a while ago said that the Blood Qilin had not come out of its abode for nearly 100 years?

And since that period also coincided with the time the Azure Dragon disappeared, Namgung Hui had thought she would be ignorant of worldly affairs.

But the word 'Blood Cult' had come out of her mouth.

"Do you know something about the Blood Cult?"

"Based on your memories, if the humans who have settled down there are the Blood Cult, then they are. Would you like to hear about it?"

"Of course, I must hear it. I will listen attentively. Please tell me."

"Yes. Let's see. How did I come to know of their existence..."

As the Blue Tiger had said, the Blood Qilin was said to be spending its life cultivating spirit herbs and trees in its abode.

Then, about 10 years ago, an unusual energy was detected from Gwangcheon Peak.

Although it was a divine beast that usually didn't care about the human world, it was said to be so sinister that it was difficult to just ignore it.

"Although you are on the quite strong side among humans, the being on Gwangcheon Peak is at least stronger than you are now. At least, you would have to be at the level of the Heretic Alliance Lord you met before to be able to face him."

This was unexpected information.

Although it was not strange for the Blood Cult to have such a master, the fact that it had not been known until now had its own meaning.

Either it couldn't show itself right away.

Or it was deliberately hiding itself and waiting for the right time.

The probability of it being one of the two was high.

'Then I must achieve results in the Blood Cult and leave quickly before that thing moves.'

For now, since it was not moving from Gwangcheon Peak, he just had to not approach that place.

There was no way it would detect Namgung Hui's energy from such a far distance.

Namgung Hui was also confident that unless it was someone of the Blood Qilin's level, it would now be impossible to read his ki, as he was free in the control of his ki.

"I will be careful as you said, Grand-aunt."

"If you're thinking of attacking with your partner, it would be better to give up. It's not the time yet. First, regain your past life's realm and then think about it."

"I was planning to do so anyway."

The Blood Qilin patted Namgung Hui's head as if he were praiseworthy and said.

"Yes. Do so."

"Ahem. I may look like this, but I'm quite old, so my head is a bit..."

"Do you know how old I am?"

Did the Azure Dragon live for over a thousand years?

He couldn't discuss age in front of the Blood Qilin, who had lived for a comparable amount of time.

"They say you shouldn't bring up a lady's age. Let's just move on from this."

"Hahaha! Alright. I'm done talking now, so you can descend the mountain. And when you go down, take only the man named Gwon Cheong and leave the single-horned snake."

"Why that thing?"

"Didn't it even give you a spirit fruit? It seems it has decided to follow you, but with that size, it would only be a nuisance. I'm thinking of taking it with me and raising it. I was feeling lonely, so it would be a good thing."

Namgung Hui had also been inwardly wondering what to do if that large thing followed him down the mountain.

Well, since it was a creature that understood words, he had intended to persuade it with words, but he couldn't be more pleased that the Blood Qilin had offered to take care of it.

"I'm really just being indebted to you, Grand-aunt. If I have the chance later, I will definitely repay you."

"Don't just say it, I hope you will definitely keep your promise later. Then, you may go now."

The Blood Qilin waved its hand as if it were annoyed.

Since he had received a lot from her, Namgung Hui couldn't take up even the Blood Qilin's time.

Namgung Hui politely bowed and left.

And then, when he had stepped outside the barrier, the Blood Qilin's complexion turned blue, and blood spurted from its mouth.

"Keulleok! To think that just a few spirit fruits would cause this much damage, as expected, the law of causality that my brother spoke of is not to be ignored. By the way, Grand-aunt... It doesn't have a bad ring to it."

Although the Blood Qilin's complexion was not good, its lips were curled up in a big smile.

* * *

"Mister. I've finished my business, so let's go down."

"Mister? Do you still say that after seeing my face?"

"Then I'll call you brother."

"Yes. That sounds much better. But when you go down to the village below, you should be careful with the title 'brother'."

Since Namgung Hui was currently disguised as a woman, it was awkward to call him brother.

If so, he should have called him 'older brother.'

Namgung Hui also found that to be a thorny thing to say, so he was at a loss.

"I'll just keep calling you mister. Let's go. Mister."

"But why are we going down leaving the single-horned snake behind?"

"Ah. That's because Lord Blood Qilin told us to leave it. Perhaps it will be used as a guardian to protect the territory."

"Hmm... That would be a good thing. If that thing eats the leftovers here, it will grow quickly. By the way, what did you get?"

"I just got a small spirit fruit to give to a friend. Let's go down before the sun sets."

The sun set early in the mountains, so they had to reach the campsite before it got dark.

Of course, Namgung Hui could have carried Gwon Cheong and performed a lightness skill, but the Blood Qilin had told him not to use martial arts near Qilin Peak if possible.

Perhaps not to provoke the other spirit beasts.

Although there was no divine beast as strong as the Blood Qilin, it was said that there were several powerful spirit beasts, including the Blue Tiger.

Among them, there were individuals who listened well like the Blue Tiger, but some were said to even show their teeth to the Blood Qilin.

Namgung Hui decided to go down quietly so as not to disturb her rest.

That would be the small consideration he could give her right now.

'And most of all, it wouldn't be a bad thing to dig up more spirit herbs on this occasion. Is it because it's a land with a mysterious energy? There are certainly many spirit herbs.'

It was honestly a pity to go down like this after having climbed Qilin Peak with difficulty.

Hadn't he dug up quite a lot of medicinal herbs and spirit herbs just today?

Since medicinal herbs were scattered all over the place, it wouldn't be a bad idea to dig up plenty on this occasion, share them with Seong Sohui, and put her in his debt.

Moreover, he would be able to dig up things that would make money if he sold them, like thousand-year-old knotweed.

Namgung Hui smacked his lips and returned to the campsite.

Perhaps because the single-horned snake, which had a huge presence, was gone, it felt a little empty.

He even felt a little sorry, perhaps because he hadn't been able to say a proper farewell to the creature.

Hadn't the single-horned snake even given him a spirit fruit and abandoned its own territory to follow him?

Although it had ended up being a good thing for the single-horned snake in the end, Namgung Hui had done nothing.

'If I go to see the Blood Qilin later, I'll do something for it.'

And so, he entered the hut and began to prepare dinner.

He lit a fire at the campsite and blocked the smoke with a formation.

He wanted to set up a formation around the entire campsite to hide his presence, but that was still too much for Namgung Hui.

"Did you learn the formation from the elder Cheongi-ja?"

"No. Unfortunately, I learned it from someone else. By the way, how long are you going to stay here, mister?"

"We've already set up a campsite, so wouldn't it be a pity to return today? Let's dig up medicinal herbs until tomorrow evening and then go down. The amount is still not enough to bring to the cult."

"Speaking of the cult, are you also a member of the Blood Cult, mister?"

Gwon Cheong stroked his now awkward-looking beard and continued.

"Strictly speaking, I'm not a member of the Blood Cult. I don't even believe in the god they believe in. But if you ask if I'm a person from the village below, I can answer yes. Can't we, as fellow villagers, exchange medicinal herbs?"

"I see. Then how much do you know about them?"

"As someone who is dark about the surrounding news, I can say I don't know much. The elder also didn't say a word about them. He just told me to take you to Qilin Peak when a helper joined."

"Even though my mission was to dig up medicinal herbs?"

"Ahem! That was me borrowing your strength on the side. Are you going to argue about it now?"

Namgung Hui wanted to ask not Gwon Cheong, but Cheongi-ja.

Why on earth he had sent him to Qilin Peak.

'Don't tell me he knew the Blood Qilin was here? And that he knew she had a connection with the Thunder Sect?'

It could have been a good thing.

Hadn't he wanted to ask him about the secret history of 100 years ago?

It would be good to ask about the incident of the first Cult Leader and the whereabouts of the Four Divine Beasts on the side.

Namgung Hui and Gwon Cheong continued their conversation while eating the warmly heated hot pot.

"Mister. Then do you know about the members of the Blood Cult or the general rumors?"

"As for the members, I know them formally. In case I meet someone of high rank, I have to at least greet them. As for the rumors, well, I know the major ones. I also have to talk with the villagers to make a living."

"That's good. Then can you tell me who the Cult Leader, the Vice Cult Leader, and the Young Cult Leader are?"

"As far as I know, the position of Cult Leader is vacant. Instead, I only know that the Vice Cult Leader's faction and the Young Cult Leader's faction are divided and fighting. Ah. It is said that among the public, the Vice Cult Leader's faction is the moderate faction, and the Young Cult Leader's faction is the radical faction."

'So what Hyeokryeon Socheon said about recommending Beak Seolhwa to the Cult Leader was a lie.'

It was quite useful information.

On top of that, if the position of Cult Leader was still vacant, the atmosphere within the Blood Cult would be much more chaotic than Namgung Hui had thought.

He could fully understand why they had been looking for the sacred artifacts of the Divine Cult recently.

"And as for the major rumors, it's that there's another outsider besides you. They say the moderate faction and the radical faction each brought someone. It's not exactly known who they are. Well, I might not know, and other people might know. Hureuk. The soup is amazing."

'Are they staying somewhere other than the guest hall we're staying at? Indeed, if it's an important person, they would have them stay in a more plausible place than a guest hall.'

That made him even more curious.

To think that it was an important person to the point of having them stay in such a deep place.

Even the Little Saintess had not received such protection.

Of course, the Demonic Physician might have taken her to a deep place while Namgung Hui was away, but at least Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa had not received such treatment.

Could they be the ones who possessed the sacred artifacts of the Divine Cult?

Or were they individuals recruited from other factions?

Whatever the case, it seemed highly likely to act as a variable.

Namgung Hui resolved to investigate this as soon as he returned to the Blood Cult and cleanly finished the hot pot in his bowl.

"I'm going to take care of some business for a moment. You go to sleep first."

Although Namgung Hui nodded, there was no way he could fall asleep now.

As one's realm rose, one's sleep gradually decreased.

He could blow away his fatigue by just circulating his ki for a few days.

On top of that, after experiencing so many things today, there was no way he could fall asleep easily.

'Today has been an eventful day. I met the single-horned snake and the blue tiger, and I got the Yin-Yang Immortal Fruit and the Fruit of Evolution. Thanks to that, Chichi's performance has improved even more.'

But was there no development for Namgung Hui himself? That was not the case.

In the battle with the Blood Qilin, he had caught a glimpse of the new possibilities of the Two-Forms Heart Method and the Flying Thunder Sword.

On top of that, the biggest gain was the organization of his mind.

Now he would be able to melt the Fire Spirit Divine Pill without embarrassment.

All of this had happened thanks to the Blood Qilin.

He resolved to repay the favor if he had the chance later, sat on the ground, and assumed a cross-legged position.

He closed his eyes and raised the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.

The tidal wave of internal energy that rushed like an angry wave roamed the blood vessels and mercilessly beat his whole body.

A feeling quite different from the Purple Thunder Divine Art.

The Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art contained a heavy and destructive energy.

Perhaps because of the characteristics of such a heart method.

Nothing was left in the place where the tidal wave had passed.

Even if it was the fatigue that had accumulated in his body.

Due to the efficacy of the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art, his fatigue had been completely erased.

And so, Namgung Hui, who had finished circulating his ki once, opened his eyes, savoring the refreshing feeling.

The air was also unusually clear, and just breathing cleaned his lungs.

But that refreshing feeling soon turned into unpleasantness.

Because an unfamiliar presence was detected from the direction Gwon Cheong had disappeared.

(End of Chapter)