"That wretched creature really put us through hell."
As the beast collapsed onto the gravel, Mandok Shingun’s voice rang out amidst the people gathering around.
With the sun at their backs and all of them draped in Yo-hwa’s silk threads, they looked like identical clones—like some kind of illusion technique.
I searched for my grandfather among them, trying to distinguish the real one. Then, one figure stepped forward from the crowd of identical silhouettes and placed a hand on the beast’s head.
"Now then, let’s see just how extraordinary this Neidan is that allowed it to use Surging Qi Reversal. Hmph."
As soon as Grandfather placed his hand on the creature’s head, intending to locate its Neidan, the gathered people pressed in even closer.
Everyone who had participated in the raid had abandoned their guard, converging on the scene in anticipation.
For me, the creature itself was the main point of interest, but for everyone else here, nothing mattered more than the Neidan.
After all, in the martial world, internal energy and martial arts were the two most vital factors, and a Neidan was an invaluable elixir that could enhance internal energy. There was no way they wouldn’t be interested.
Then, a voice called out from afar.
"Did you catch it!?"
"You caught it, So-ryong!?"
It was Seol and Hwa-eun.
They hadn’t been able to participate in the stalking because Yo-hwa’s silk would outline their figures too much. Instead, they had been waiting nearby, and as soon as they heard the creature had fallen, they rushed over.
"Yes, we caught it."
As I nodded, their faces lit up.
The first words out of their mouths were identical.
"The Neidan?"
"The Neidan?"
Of course, even Seol and Hwa-eun were most curious about the Neidan.
I glanced toward Grandfather as I replied.
"Grandfather is examining it right now."
Even Hwa-eun, usually calm and reserved, couldn't contain her excitement over the Neidan. Unable to wait any longer, she approached Grandfather, who was meticulously scanning the creature from head to tail.
"Grandfather, just how extraordinary is it? Considering it could use Surging Qi Reversal, it must be at least one Gapja, right? Right?"
One Gapja—that was an amount of internal energy said to take sixty years to accumulate.
At Hwa-eun’s question, everyone's eyes and ears turned to Grandfather. Without answering immediately, he raised a hand slightly as if to tell them to wait.
Then, after a moment, he lifted his hand away from the back of the creature’s neck and muttered to himself.
"Hmm... This should be enough for two Gapja... Moreover, it’s not just large—it’s a well-compressed, high-quality Neidan."
"Two... Two Gapja!?"
It was as if a bomb had been dropped into the gathering. Two Gapja.
If one Gapja was sixty years’ worth of internal energy, two would mean one hundred and twenty years.
"Grandfather, did you just say two Gapja!?"
"Sir, are you certain about the two Gapja!?"
The revelation that this creature housed a Neidan containing one hundred and twenty years’ worth of internal energy set the gravel field ablaze.
"So-So-ryong, just—just cut it open. You haven't even gotten attached to it yet."
"Exactly, So-ryong. We're not talking about ten or twenty years—we’re talking about one hundred and twenty years. Even if you absorb only half of it, that’s sixty years of internal energy. You’d never lack internal energy for martial arts training again."
"As Hwa-eun said, it’s best to decide before you grow attached. If you hesitate, it’ll only get harder later."
The arguments for cutting open the creature, which I had barely managed to suppress by convincing them it might be a golden goose, were completely forgotten in the face of two Gapja.
***
Ever since it was revealed that the creature possessed a Neidan with one hundred and twenty years’ worth of internal energy, Seol and Hwa-eun had been relentless.
They wanted me to cut it open.
"So-ryong, if you refine it properly with an internal energy technique suited to it, you might gain near-rebirth levels of internal energy. If that happens, you could even overcome your Ten-Poison Body."
"Yeah, So-ryong. We'll check with both the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace and the Tang Clan for an internal energy technique that matches it. Just cut it open already."
Even though they knew how much I loved venomous creatures, they still insisted that I should hurry up and do it since I hadn’t formed an attachment yet.
They argued that even if I couldn’t absorb all of it, even half would be a treasure beyond measure.
More importantly, if I could absorb it all, I might even be able to alter my Ten-Poison Body.
And that was tempting.
After advancing too quickly with the Five Poisons technique, I was now at risk of being unable to assimilate one of the Ten Deadly Venoms. But if my body were restructured, it would be like gaining extra skill slots.
‘Skill slots aren’t something you can just add so easily, you know?’
Even in games, learning a new skill was common, but increasing the number of skill slots was a different matter entirely. Their suggestion couldn’t be dismissed outright.
But the problem was... this creature was ultra-rare.
I couldn’t just give it up so easily.
‘But Bi-cheon Shin-sa is just too rare.’
Cobalt-blue body, green horns.
A magnificent dorsal fin running along its back.
And to top it all off—it could fly.
The only reason Bi-cheon Shin-sa wasn’t classified among the Ten Deadly Venoms was because its poison was weak compared to its formidable physical abilities.
Its poison was confirmed to be a paralytic toxin, but Grandfather insisted on running tests to be sure.
As the top poison master of the Tang Clan, Grandfather had to verify its poison after the Neidan.
And when the results came in... the poison was underwhelming.
"Hmm... I suppose individual differences exist, but I was wondering why such a remarkable creature wasn’t counted among the Ten Deadly Venoms. Now I see why."
"The poison is weak?"
"As we suspected, it's a paralytic toxin. But it's not as potent as Yo-hwa’s venom. Since its body is so resilient, it likely never needed a strong poison."
Grandfather concluded that the creature’s venom was simply a weaker version of Yo-hwa’s paralytic toxin.
Yo-hwa’s venom worked instantly but left its target conscious, while this creature’s venom induced unconsciousness but took longer to take effect.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Bi-cheon Shin-sa was a solitary predator in the jungle, whereas Yo-hwa relied on consuming human Yang energy.
If we were to judge based on which was more dangerous to humans, Yo-hwa was clearly the greater threat.
That might be why this creature never made the Ten Deadly Venoms list.
"So-ryong, you’re a good boy. You’ll listen to your sister, right?"
"So-ryong..."
Seol and Hwa-eun’s persuasion continued all the way back to the Beast Palace.
***
Two Days Since Leaving Hyeopsugok
The entire journey back to the Beast Palace had been a relentless ordeal. The moment I lay down to sleep, exhausted, I heard Hwa-eun’s quiet voice near my ear.
[So-ryong, can we talk for a moment?]
[Ah, alright.]
‘Don’t tell me... again?’
For two days straight, I had been stuck between Seol and Hwa-eun, bombarded with their persistent persuasion. And now, just as I was about to sleep, they were calling me out again.
Were they planning to keep me awake until I finally agreed to cut open the creature’s belly?
I sighed and followed Hwa-eun into the grass.
She led me to a rock, sat down, and gestured for me to sit beside her.
"Over here, So-ryong."
Then, with a determined look, she grabbed my hand tightly.
"So-ryong, at first, I was foolish and didn’t realize how amazing you are. But now, I do. Now, I know just how incredible you really are."
Her grip tightened.
"That’s why I... I think about you all the time. How can I help you? How can I be of use to you? Those kinds of thoughts."
Hwa-eun’s voice was filled with sincerity, and she spoke without even flinching from embarrassment.
I had a pretty good idea where this was going.
And honestly, this kind of approach was way harder to resist than their constant nagging.
"I... I see."
"Yes, and because I feel this way, I really want you to listen to me. I know how much you love venomous creatures. But even so, I’m telling you this because this might be a chance that never comes again."
She took a deep breath and continued.
"You’ve said your goal is to collect the Ten Deadly Venoms and reach the ultimate realm of Ten Poison Mastery. But those creatures are extremely rare, and even if you do capture them, you’d never take out their Neidan, right?"
Hwa-eun was right. The Ten Deadly Venoms were my life's goal, my trophies.
Even if I managed to capture one, I would never cut it open for its Neidan. I nodded.
"That’s... true."
"Then that’s exactly why you should take the Neidan from this one. It’s not one of the Ten Deadly Venoms—it’s just a Twenty-Four Venom Beast. If you strengthen your martial arts now, it’ll make capturing the real Ten Deadly Venoms much easier later."
She gazed up at me with an almost pleading expression, still clutching my hand.
If I refused, I had the feeling this conversation would never end.
Not that it was a bad thing... but still.
In the end, I had no choice but to answer.
"Ah... alright. I’ll... I’ll think about it."
"I really hope you make the right decision."
As soon as I escaped from that confession-like plea in the grass, I let out a deep sigh.
‘I’m completely drained...’
Just as I was about to head back to bed, a commotion erupted near the wagons.
"He—he’s awake!"
"Fetch the Grand Elder and So-ryong immediately!"
—Clatter! Crash!
The sound of something breaking, followed by urgent shouting.
That could only mean one thing.
Bi-cheon Shin-sa had finally woken up.
We had anticipated this moment and were already prepared.
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"So-ryong, look over there."
Hwa-eun and I rushed toward the wagon.
By the time we arrived, the creature had completely shattered the cart it had been placed on and was thrashing violently.
—Crack!
We had taken precautions, stuffing it into a pouch made from Yo-hwa’s silk three times over, just in case.
Under the moonlight, the white pouch squirmed and bulged like a water balloon filled with liquid.
—Shyaaah!
A sharp warning cry echoed from within.
Since it couldn’t tear through the pouch, it suddenly began to rise into the air.
"It finally woke up, huh?"
Grandfather arrived just in time, but it wasn’t long before the creature was dragged back down.
—Thud!
—Hiss!
Even though it had floated up like a balloon, it didn’t get far before being pulled back down.
Grandfather, along with Yo-hwa and the warriors, had firmly gripped the silk threads attached to the pouch, forcefully dragging the beast back down to the ground.
—Shyaaah!
The creature shrieked and struggled, trying to lift itself into the air again, but it was repeatedly yanked down.
Eventually, it seemed to exhaust itself and settled, letting out sharp, hissing breaths.
—Shhh... shhh...
Blind and furious, it spat out defiant cries in every direction.
Grandfather stared at the writhing pouch and muttered.
"That thing sure has energy. It’s not some half-starved creature."
Snakes could go over a month without food.
This thing hadn’t collapsed from hunger—it had simply fallen unconscious from exhaustion.
That was why I wasn’t too concerned about its current outburst.
"Well, snakes can survive without eating for a month, after all."
Grandfather nodded before sighing.
"The real problem is... how are we supposed to transport it now that it’s awake?"
The temporary wagon was completely destroyed.
We could build another, but with the way it was thrashing, moving it would be a challenge.
Just as I was considering our options, Grandfather spoke in a hesitant tone.
"So-ryong, I didn’t mention this before because you seem so attached to it... but taking it back to the Tang Clan alive is a problem. The others were tame enough to raise without issue, but where do we even keep this one? That’s the real dilemma."
He had a point.
The O-gong were raised from birth, the Seokcheok had been rescued and healed, and Yo-hwa had been raised by humans since childhood, so she lacked any deep hostility toward people.
Caught up in the excitement of capturing it, I hadn’t given this much thought—but it was a serious issue.
As the creature continued to let out warning cries, Grandfather spoke again.
—Shyaaah!
"Wouldn’t it be better to just kill it and extract the Neidan?"
Hwa-eun nodded in agreement.
—Shyaaah! ...Sha!?
Then suddenly, the creature froze mid-cry.
As silence fell, all eyes turned toward the squirming pouch.
Grandfather continued.
"It’s unfortunate to lose such a rare creature, but if it’s this violent, it could harm people. Killing it now and taking the Neidan is the logical choice. Decide here and now, So-ryong."
Just as Grandfather finished speaking—
—Gag! Cough!
A strange sound came from inside the pouch.
"What was that?"
"So-ryong, what’s happening?"
The creature let out another hacking noise, as if something was stuck in its throat.
‘Regurgitation?’
Snakes sometimes regurgitated their food if they needed to move quickly after a large meal.
But this one hadn’t eaten in days.
Then, suddenly—
The pouch began to deflate like a balloon losing air.
And an eerie blue glow seeped out from inside.
"This... this is...?"
"What is that?"
Grandfather, Hwa-eun, and I instinctively stepped closer, mesmerized by the mysterious radiance.
A cool, refreshing energy spilled into the air.
Grandfather’s eyes widened in shock.
"It... it regurgitated its Neidan!?"
Instead of food, the creature had coughed up its own Neidan.
Inside the pouch, the now shrunken Bi-cheon Shin-sa, barely over a meter long, gazed up at us with a meek expression.
"Is it... offering its Neidan in exchange for its life?"
Hwa-eun’s voice was filled with disbelief.
And inside the pouch, the creature, tears welling in its eyes, furiously nodded.