Chapter 300 – Demonic Beast (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A very long time ago,

A demonic beast Yayu, in a form far smaller than it was now, stared at something with a terrified face.

That was because of the giant shadow of a fox with nine tails, cast darkly over the middle of burning Xiaoxian Mountain.

Within the wavering shadows of the flames, the huge nine-tailed fox was biting apart the head of something.

It was the adult form of Yayu, with the head of a dragon.

As the small Yayu watched, its red eyes shook madly.

* * *

“Kiriririk, you… what are you? Why do you… smell like that monstrous fox?”

The demonic beast Yayu asked Mok Gyeong-un with trembling eyes.

Yayu had endured ninety-nine days of the pain of the Demon-Subduing True Mantra and the hunger that felt as though its stomach were turning inside out, and the moment it saw Mok Gyeong-un it had tried to devour him at once.

But no matter how starved it was, to the point of nearly losing reason, it was still a high-ranking being among strange beings.

The intelligent demonic beast Yayu had caught the familiar scent coming from Mok Gyeong-un and had no choice but to recoil in instant wariness.

“The smell of a monstrous fox?”

“Kiriririk. There is no mistake. The smell coming from you is surely that of that monstrous fox.”

At the demonic beast Yayu’s confident words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

The quick-witted Mok Gyeong-un immediately thought of Consort Ho, no, of the Hundred Faces King, the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox, the instant he heard the words monstrous fox.

[Carry it around. It will serve as proof that I’ve marked you as mine.]

[If it is proof that you’ve marked me, that makes me even less inclined to carry it.]

[You really are honest. But there is no harm in carrying it. Looking at you, you seem to get tangled up with strange beings rather often.]

[…]

[So keep it. If you carry even a piece of my tail, you will not get mixed up with troublesome things so easily.]

Mok Gyeong-un recalled the round token inside his robes.

It was something the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox had made for him from a severed piece of her own tail.

Originally he had intended to throw it away, but even Blue Spirit had said it would be better for him to keep it for the time being.

-Even if it is only a part, if it is the body of a spirit beast belonging to a being nearly equal to a divine beast, like the Hundred Faces King, then whatever it is, it should be useful somewhere.

He had not expected that moment to come already.

Looking at the demonic beast Yayu’s eyes, now filled with wariness, he could even see fear there.

Seeing a being intelligent enough to speak human language reacting like that, he thought he might be able to make use of it.

So Mok Gyeong-un took out the round token made from the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox’s tail.

The instant he brought it out,

-Swaaaaaaa!

At the now stronger scent of the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox, the demonic beast Yayu actually took a step back.

“Kiriririk. Y-you, what are you? How does a mere human have something like that?”

Recalling a memory from long ago, the demonic beast Yayu trembled all over.

Though so many long years had passed, the fear imprinted into its entire body had never faded.

That being had truly been tyranny itself.

If some other strange being displeased her, she was savage enough to tear apart the whole body and devour it on the spot.

-Parrrr!

Seeing Yayu’s red fur standing on end as it trembled, the corner of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth twitched.

If all went well, this might become easy.

‘How should I approach this?’

Judging by that attitude, the demonic beast Yayu clearly feared the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox greatly.

If so, it was better to proceed as though his relationship with the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox were very close.

So Mok Gyeong-un smiled faintly and said,

“As expected of a demonic beast, you really do have a good nose for the scent here.”

“Kiriririk. What are you?”

-Clank!

As the demonic beast Yayu backed away, the chain attached to the restraint on its ankle drew tight.

Because of the restraints linked to the center of the cavern, Yayu’s range of movement could not reach the cavern walls.

Mok Gyeong-un walked toward it as he spoke.

-Do not get too close, all living beings.

Blue Spirit warned him just in case.

No matter how fearful it seemed, the other side was still a demonic beast, a being of high rank even among strange beings.

There was nothing to be gained by provoking it carelessly.

But Mok Gyeong-un deliberately closed the distance further in order to project confidence.

Then, holding up the round token made from the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox’s tail, he said,

“You could say we are acquaintances, more or less.”

“Acquaintances? With that monster?”

“Yes. It seems you know her well.”

“How could I not? The number of beings that monstrous fox has slain cannot even be counted. If their corpses were piled up, they would have risen higher than the Heavenly Mountains.”

-That is likely true. If it was an anomaly of such high rank, it would have lived for over a thousand years, so not just one Heavenly Mountain but several would be required to equal the dead.

Blue Spirit muttered in agreement.

At that, Mok Gyeong-un lightly waved the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox token before Yayu and said,

“It is fortunate that you understand how dangerous the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox is. I was worried you might not take seriously the proposal I wanted to make, one that could benefit both of us.”

“A proposal?”

“Yes. You could say it is a proposal worth finding tempting.”

“What kind of proposal?”

At the word proposal, the demonic beast Yayu asked in puzzlement.

Mok Gyeong-un tucked the round token back into his robes and said,

“A proposal that, if all goes well, might allow you to be released from here as well.”

“Released? From this damned cave?”

“Yes. If that interests you, would you hear me out?”

“Kiriririk. Hm.”

The demonic beast Yayu rolled its eyes in a strange way, then looked down at Mok Gyeong-un and said,

“What is the proposal?”

“It is not difficult. You would simply need to suppress your demonic nature for a while and show yourself as though under my control.”

“Show myself under your control?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mean to tell me to stand before those bald monks looking as if a human like you has subdued me?”

“Hooh. You understand quickly.”

A strange light entered Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.

As expected of a demonic beast, it did not merely possess the intelligence to converse, but a certain degree of insight as well.

“You know very well why the monks of Shaolin capture and imprison you and other strange beings, and since you have intelligence, you must also know why they keep chanting scriptures at you, yes?”

“And so you say all I have to do is pretend to be controlled by a human like you?”

“Yes. If you do that, Shaolin will let you go.”

“Only for that?”

“The reason they keep you is because they consider you dangerous. But if it can be shown that you can be controlled, then there is no reason for them to keep holding you.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the demonic beast Yayu narrowed its eyes.

It seemed to be seriously considering the proposal.

If it feared the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox and wished to leave this place, would it not accept rather easily?

Just as he was thinking that, the demonic beast Yayu opened its mouth.

“Kiririk. There is something I want to ask, human.”

“What is it?”

“I understand what you mean about the condition under which I could be released, but you do not seem to have anything to do with those bald monks. Why are you trying to prove this?”

‘Ah…’

At the demonic beast Yayu’s question, Mok Gyeong-un inwardly found it irritating.

He had hoped it would approach the matter a little more simply, but because it possessed intelligence and insight, it was doubting the very intent behind the proposal.

So in that instant Mok Gyeong-un’s mind began to race.

How should he explain things so that the demonic beast Yayu would accept the proposal smoothly and without suspicion?

Then he raised the spell power that formed the foundation of occult arts.

The moment he did, the demonic beast Yayu raised its voice at the aura that appeared.

“Kiririk. Human. So you are an occult practitioner.”

“Yes. As you can see.”

“No wonder those damned bald monks would never have sent in an ordinary human.”

-Grrrk!

Looking at the demonic beast Yayu grinding its teeth, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged and said,

“Yes. But that makes this an opportunity for you. I too need to prove, due to my conflict with the monks here, that the strange being I have taken as a shikigami is not dangerous.”

“Shikigami?”

“I have one strange being as a shikigami, though its demonic power is weaker than yours.”

At those words, the demonic beast Yayu twitched the corner of its long mouth and said,

“Kiriririk. So it seems those bald monks are after the strange being that an occult practitioner like you has taken as a shikigami.”

“That is right. You really are clever. So if you accept my proposal and help me, could we not arrive at a result that benefits us both?”

“Kirik. Kirik. Yes. That may be so.”

“Then will you accept my proposal? It may be difficult at first, but if you cooperate with my control for just a short while, you can gain your fre…”

-Paak!

Before he could finish speaking.

At tremendous speed, the front hoof of the demonic beast Yayu flew at Mok Gyeong-un, who immediately flung his body backward.

-Pat! Kwaaaang!

When the hoof struck the ground, the floor cracked and shattered fragments flew upward.

At that, Mok Gyeong-un cut apart the flying shards with sharp sword energy formed through his sword seal while dodging those he could evade by moving his body.

But no sooner had he done that than,

-Kurururururu!

A mass of condensed violet smoke poured from the demonic beast Yayu’s mouth and tried to engulf Mok Gyeong-un.

‘Poison? No.’

It was different from poison.

It was more like smoke carrying demonic power,

-Sleek!

and when Mok Gyeong-un hastily dodged it, the condensed violet smoke crashed into the floor.

But unlike before, where it hit,

-Uuuuuung!

The letters of the scripture written there in gold flashed brightly, and the strange phenomenon occurred in which the smoke was repelled away.

The rebounded smoke then struck another wall of the cave.

And there too, because of the golden scriptural text, it was reflected again, scattering all around.

As a result, Mok Gyeong-un widened the distance as much as he could to avoid the smoke, but before long the reflected smoke had filled more than half the entire cavern.

Some of it touched his skin.

-Chiiiiii!

‘Acid?’

It was a terribly strong acid.

This was unrelated to poison resistance.

If one were directly exposed to acid, the skin would have no choice but to melt.

So Mok Gyeong-un drew up demonic aura and formed a thin membrane over his skin, protecting his body much like a protective aura.

Fortunately, it worked.

The acid could not pierce the membrane made of demonic aura.

-Swish!

Not stopping there, Mok Gyeong-un also pushed the smoke back with true qi, preventing it from entering a certain range around him.

Then, out of that smoke,

-Thump! Thump!

The demonic beast Yayu, which had suddenly attacked him, revealed itself.

“Kiririririk. You are no ordinary human. There is no way an occult practitioner who only handles techniques could move so quickly.”

“Whether I am an occult practitioner or not, what does that matter? I made you a fairly tempting proposal, so I do not understand this sudden attack.”

At those words, the demonic beast Yayu bared its savage sharp fangs and laughed.

“Kiririririri. Did you really think I would believe your words?”

“…That is unexpected. I thought if you were doomed to remain imprisoned, listening to scriptures until you died, then you would seize even the slightest chance to get out.”

“Kiririk. Yes. On the surface, that sounds right. But those bald monks and you, an occult practitioner, are all natural enemies to beings like me in the end. To think I would trust some flimsy agreement between the lot of you is truly foolish.”

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue and said,

“So you are going to lose the chance to be freed just like that?”

“It could just as easily have been a chance to be used and then killed.”

At the demonic beast Yayu’s answer, Mok Gyeong-un smacked his lips.

Just as he himself was highly suspicious by nature, this demonic beast Yayu, as befit an intelligent being, refused to trust him in the slightest.

He had thought things might go smoothly thanks to the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox’s token, but apparently not.

So Mok Gyeong-un took the token out again and said,

“If it is because I am an occult practitioner, then I think there is a misunderstanding. Just seeing that I know the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox should be enough to…”

-Thump!

Before he could finish, the demonic beast Yayu slammed its hoof into the ground.

Then it looked down at Mok Gyeong-un and said in a voice full of pressure,

“Human, because of you, I have remembered a filthy memory.”

“A filthy memory?”

“That monstrous fox slaughtered every member of my kind on Xiaoxian Mountain, leaving me the only survivor.”

“…”

Mok Gyeong-un let out a small sigh.

He had thought Yayu merely feared the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox because its rank was lower.

But if its entire kin had been slaughtered,

-Guuuuuuu!

then the surging killing intent alone was enough to make its naked hostility obvious.

“…There will be nothing good to come of this. Even if you hate the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox, the proposal I made you was not a lie.”

“Whether it was a lie or not, I trust neither the bald monks nor a human like you. More importantly, a splendid plan has just occurred to me.”

“A splendid plan?”

“Yes. If that monstrous fox cherishes a human like you so much, then once I kill you here, she and those damned bald monks who locked me up here will tear each other apart in a glorious fight!”

-Kururururur!

The moment those words ended, the demonic beast Yayu spewed out violet smoke.

The violet smoke burst out with even greater force than before and flew somewhere at once, straight toward the iron gate at the entrance.

In an instant, the entire area around the iron gate was filled with violet smoke.

‘It is trying to keep me from getting out.’

At that, Mok Gyeong-un had no choice but to move to the other side.

As he threw himself toward the opposite direction, Yayu’s long tail lashed out at him like a whip.

-Fwish!

But considering the sheer size of that tail, whip was too mild a word.

At that, Mok Gyeong-un finally drew the Evil-Answering Sword in an instant.

-Sreung!

And he blocked the incoming tail with it.

-Chaaaang!

Contrary to how soft the red feather-like fur on the tail looked, the moment it struck, it gave off a metallic sound and proved extraordinarily hard.

Moreover, the force and weight carried in the tail itself were immense.

-Paaang!

Mok Gyeong-un’s body was flung backward.

As he flew back, it seemed certain he would crash into the cave wall on the opposite side.

Thinking he should use that force, Mok Gyeong-un spun through the air and twisted his body, intending to kick off the wall.

But the moment he tried to push off with his feet just as he met the wall,

-Kwaang!

his feet punched straight through the cave wall, and his whole body passed right through to the other side.

‘!?’