C 405
Swoosh!
Gwia climbed up Pyo Wol's chest and settled on his neck.
One man and one snake stared at the approaching giant Imoogi.
The massive jaws, capable of swallowing even rocks, were filled with sharp, spike-like teeth.
One bite from those teeth could trap even a divine being, making escape impossible.
Crunch!
The rock where Pyo Wol had been standing was crushed by Imoogi's bite, turning into dust.
It was a sight that could make even the legendary Pyo Wol shiver to his core.
Swish!
As the giant Imoogi freely changed its direction, its scales collided, producing an eerie sound.
A powerful temptation was embedded in the sound, capable of stealing the soul of anyone with a weak heart in an instant.
Boom! Boom!
The Imoogi attacked Pyo Wol at an unbelievable speed.
Its enormous body moved like a whip.
With each movement of Imoogi, a cracking sound erupted. The sound of a whip at its highest
speed was coming from Imoogi's body.
Pyo Wol unfolded his meandering steps to dodge the Imoogi's attacks. However, he couldn't keep dodging like this forever.
Pyo Wol stared directly into Imoogi's eyes.
His reflection was clearly visible in those giant eyes.
The emotionless, inorganic eyes had the power to induce fear in anyone who looked at them.
That's why many people shied away from snakes and kept their distance.
There was no creature more dangerous than a beast whose intentions were unknowable.
But Pyo Wol was different.
Having lived with snakes, he could read their thoughts and emotions better than anyone else.
The Imoogi was sad.
If it had returned to its cultivation after failing to ascend, it might have had a second chance.
Although it would take much longer, that is. But now that it had been subdued by the master of life and death, all opportunities for the Imoogi were gone.
Heaven does not accept creatures tainted by human hands.
Even if Imoogi got a second chance to cultivate, the opportunity to ascend would never come.
All that was left for Imoogi was to serve as the master of life and death's pawn until his death, accumulating evil deeds.
The Imoogi did not want such a life.
But the Imoogi had no choice. It was completely subjugated by the master of life and death.
It couldn't even die of its own will.It had to live like this forever until the master of life and death released it.
The reason Imoogi was attacking Pyo Wol now, regardless of its own will, was because of that.
Roar!
With its massive jaws wide open, the Imoogi charged at Pyo Wol at full speed. But all it bit was empty air. There was no sensation of anything in its mouth.
Pyo Wol unfolded the Black Lightning technique to increase the reaction speed of his body to its maximum.
Bang!
His fist struck the body of the giant serpent.
Although it possessed enough power to shatter rocks, the Imoogi's body only slightly twitched, and it did not receive any substantial impact.
The Imoogi's scales were harder than steel and possessed strong elasticity, which absorbed any impact.
Bang!
Pyo Wol threw another punch.
Again, he only felt a strong rebound force on his fist, without causing any damage to the Imoogi.
Pyo Wol's favorite martial art technique was the soul reaping thread. However, he couldn't bind or strike the giant Imoogi with it.
Even if he tightly bound it, the Imoogi would break free in an instant with a twist of its body.
All that was left were the ghost blades.
He used the ghost blades to attack the serpent.
Clang!
Just as the ghost blade was about to hit, the Imoogi violently shook its scales. The subtle but intense vibration sent the ghost blades flying away.
The warrior who was fighting the ghost king shouted,
"Do you really think you can defeat the Imoogi with that level of skill? It might have failed to ascend, but it still has abilities comparable to a dragon."
"The Imoogi is not a dragon. It lost its chance to become a dragon because of you."
"Hmph! What are you talking about? I gave the dying creature a second chance at life. It should be grateful."
The warrior's eyes were filled with madness.
He genuinely believed that the Imoogi was grateful to him.
The warrior yelled at the Imoogi,
"What are you doing? Kill him already. Digest him in your stomach without leaving a single bone."
Roar!
Upon the warrior's command, the Imoogi's eyes filled with ferocity once again.
The Imoogi attacked Pyo Wol with terrifying force.
With every movement of its massive body, the forest was destroyed.
Pyo Wol's gaze turned to the black earth.
They were getting closer to the black earth.
Once the serpent reached the black earth, Hong Ye-seol’s life would suffer greatly.
'There must be a weak point.'
Although it failed to become a dragon, the Imoogi still possessed some dragon-like characteristics.
Pyo Wol dodged the Imoogi's attacks while observing it closely.
Due to its enormous size, it took quite a while to examine its entire body.
During that time, he faced several crises.
Each time, Pyo Wol used a combination of the Meandering steps and Black Lightning techniques to overcome the danger.
'There's no weak point on its back or jaw. Then, the only place left is its belly?'
The only part Pyo Wol hadn't examined was the Imoogi's belly.
The Imoogi's belly was in contact with the ground, making it impossible to observe.
Under no circumstances did the Imoogi lift its belly off the ground.
To see the Imoogi's belly, Pyo Wol had to take a risk.
His thoughts were quick, and his actions were even quicker.
Pat!
Suddenly, Pyo Wol changed direction and rushed towards Imoogi's face.
The Imoogi also opened its jaws wide and lunged at Pyo Wol.
At the moment when the Imoogi's teeth and throat were clearly visible, Pyo Wol suddenly kicked off the ground and soared into the sky.
Clang!
The serpent's body bent at a right angle as it chased after Pyo Wol, who was now suspended in mid-air.
Pyo Wol quickly glanced down at his feet.
The vivid image of the giant serpent trying to swallow him with its jaws wide open was clearly visible.
Even someone with nerves of steel couldn't help but feel their heart race in front of such a sight.
In an instant, Pyo Wol extended the soul reaping thread to a large tree below him.
As the soul reaping thread wrapped around the tree branch, Pyo Wol's body abruptly stopped in mid-air. He then plunged at a frightening speed, crossing paths with the giant Imoogi in the air.
During that split second, Pyo Wol's eyes swept across Imoogi's belly.
'Found it.'
He spotted a scale the size of an adult's fist on the underside of its belly.
Unlike the dark red scales, this one was a strikingly vivid red color. Even its direction was different from the others.
It was clearly the weak point.
Pyo Wol charged towards the weak point.
The giant Imoogi also realized Pyo Wol's target and abruptly changed its direction in mid-air, but by then, Pyo Wol had already reached the weak point.
Pyo Wol unleashed the fire jade technique(punch technique)towards the weak point.
Bang!
The giant serpent let out a pained roar, unlike any reaction it had shown before.
It writhed and fell to the ground.
Pyo Wol quickly unleashed another Fire Jade technique to the weak point.
Bang!
The giant Imoogi crashed to the ground.
For the first time in its life, the serpent experienced intense pain and twisted its body in agony.
Pyo Wol held onto the serpent's scales and stood on its belly. The Imoogi tried to coil its massive body around him.
No matter how powerful Pyo Wol's martial arts were, if the Imoogi's body coiled around him, he would be crushed like a bug.
Despite the enormous threat, Pyo Wol didn't falter and threw another punch at the serpent's weak point.
Crack!
The once-solid scales shattered, revealing the tender flesh underneath.
Pyo Wol unleashed the Black Lightning technique towards the soft-looking flesh.
Whoosh!
The Black Lightning penetrated the flesh and burrowed deep inside.
The giant serpent's massive body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.
Pyo Wol moved from the serpent's belly to its head.
The serpent's face, which had been so ferocious just moments before, now looked incredibly peaceful.
The connection between the master of life and death and the serpent through his spell was fading.
"No, don't!"
The master of life and death cried out in horror.
He, too, felt the connection with the Imoogi breaking.
The master of life and death tried to rush towards the Imoogi in a frenzy.
He wanted to somehow revive it and subdue it again with his spell. However, this time, the ghost king blocked his path persistently.
"Get out of the way!"
The master of life and death used all sorts of spells, but the ghost king silently blocked all attacks and continued to hinder him.
Thanks to this, Pyo Wol could focus on the Imoogi without worrying about the master of life and death.
The Imoogi was gasping for breath, as if it would die any moment.
The ferocity and madness in its eyes disappeared, revealing clear, transparent eyes.
The Imoogi looked at Pyo Wol with gentle eyes.
Although its life had been threatened by Pyo Wol, there was no fear or resentment. Rather, it seemed grateful as it stuck out its huge tongue to lick Pyo Wol's body.
"Phew!"
Pyo Wol let out a sigh and gently touched Imoogi's face.
The Imoogi's feelings were transmitted through Pyo Wol's hand.
The Imoogi was genuinely grateful to Pyo Wol.
Although it could not ascend and had to end its life like this, it was relieved to know that it no longer had to accumulate any more evil deeds.
It was then.
The Gwia, which had been riding on Pyo Wol's shoulder, quietly came down and climbed onto the panting Imoogi's head.
The Gwia's movement around Imoogi's eyes seemed to be consoling it.
The Imoogi looked at the consoling Gwia, rolling its big eyes.
Although they were incomparable in size, the two snakes shared a deep connection.
Krrrr!
The Imoogi's body trembled greatly.
It was on the verge of its last breath.
Gulp!
Then, the Imoogi gathered its last strength and spat something out.
It was a small bead.
The color of the bead, smaller than a child's fist, was extremely radiant.
Pyo Wol recognized it as a kind of inner pill.
Having failed to ascend, most of the spiritual energy it had accumulated had vanished.
All that was left was an inner pill the size of a child's fist.
Originally, it should have used the small inner pill as a base to grow larger. However, due to
being subdued by the master of life and death, its growth had stopped, and the inner pill had also lost most of its power.
The Imoogi looked back and forth between the inner pill and the Gwia.
Pyo Wol realized what the Imoogi wanted to say.
"Do you want to give the inner pill to Gwia?"
The Imoogi flicked its tongue as if to say yes.
Although it had failed to ascend, it wished that its tiny friend, who had comforted it at the end, would not experience the same failure.
Pyo Wol answered while touching Imoogi's face.
"Alright, let's do that."
The next moment, the Imoogi closed its eyes.
It no longer writhed in pain.
It was freed from all the pressure that had been weighing it down.
It was a peaceful death.
Gwia remained still on Imoogi's corpse like a mourning stone.
It seemed as if it was grieving the Imoogi's death.
Pyo Wol spoke to Gwia.
"Take this. It's a gift left by your friend."
Gwia looked at the face of its dead friend for a moment and then climbed onto Pyo Wol's hand.
It coiled its tail around the inner pill left by the Imoogi as if hugging an egg.
"Hey!"
At that moment, the master of life and death's roar erupted from behind.
When Pyo Wol turned around, he saw the master of life and death approaching with a fearsome momentum.
"How dare you kill the Imoogi? I will never forgive you!"
The master of life and death looked like a demon.
His distorted face and the energy he emitted were truly terrifying.
Pyo Wol looked at the Ghost King.
The Ghost King, affected by the martial artist's magic, was unable to move, his body stiff.
Although the Ghost King had the extraordinary power to rule over everyone with fear, it was ineffective against the martial artist alone.
His soul was bound by the Soul-binding Spell, preventing him from unleashing his full power.
They were in a kind of natural enemy relationship.
So far, it was remarkable that the Ghost King had managed to hold his ground.
Seeing the Imoogi's suffering, the martial artist had sacrificed all of his treasured talismans to unleash a powerful spell.
The more powerful the spell, the greater the backlash.
That's why he had been cautious not to cross the line until now, but he lost his reason in the face of Imoogi's death.
He unleashed a powerful spell at the cost of sacrificing his talismans, and the backlash caused him great internal injuries. However, he ignored the pain and walked towards Pyo Wol.
The master of life and death's gaze was fixed on the Gwia and the inner pill in Pyo Wol's hand.
"You have taken away my most precious thing, so I will take away yours."
His eyes were filled with greed as he looked at Gwia.
Although he had lost the Imoogi, he thought that gaining the Gwia, which had absorbed the inner pill, wouldn't be too much of a loss.
Despite its small size, Gwia's potential was boundless.
As time passed and Gwia ascended, he could become a sorcerer who commands a dragon.