After hearing about the Azure-White Flood Dragon from Bing Yerin, Seomun Hwa-rin and I focused our training on dealing with that thing.
Seomun Hwa-rin studied punches that might work against a giant snake, while I, with Seol Ri-hyang's help, practiced cutting away the cold itself.
About ten days passed like that. Tang So-wol, who had only shown her face briefly at mealtimes and before bed, appeared carrying a wooden tub as large as her own body.
She must have been eating and sleeping well, yet her face had grown noticeably gaunt. Worried, I approached her—but unaware of my concern, she puffed out her shoulders with a thoroughly proud expression.
"Go on, praise me, young hero Cheon!"
"You gathered all the poison? Good work. Then today… no, rest for two full days. You look unwell."
"Hehe. I didn't just gather it, you know. Since I'd only get one chance, I concentrated it as much as possible to make sure the poisoning would take…"
Before Tang So-wol, brimming with confidence, could even finish her sentence, she crumpled to the floor.
"Ah, this."
I rushed over before she hit the ground and caught her in my arms.
Her eyes gently closed. Her breathing even. And her body instinctively curling into my embrace.
"Is she just asleep?"
This was practically no different from fainting, but at any rate, she'd be fine after a good night's rest.
My inward sigh of relief lasted only a moment. A sudden sense of wrongness forced my eyes wide open.
"This is…!"
The pouch of Tang So-wol's poison that I felt against my chest had grown noticeably lighter.
Today. My world had collapsed.
***
Fortunately, it seemed she had merely been exhausted—after a good night's sleep, Tang So-wol was back to normal. Though she had to spend the entire day sleeping.
The moment she came to her senses, Tang So-wol picked up the jar filled with poison and went to see the Ice Palace Lord.
Upon hearing that she had been unconscious all day, the Ice Palace Lord spoke with a worried expression. Sneaking a glance at my reaction was a bonus.
"Is your body feeling better?"
"Yes. This was the first time I drew out this much poison, so I suppose I overdid it a little. I'm perfectly fine now."
"Then that's a relief. But I heard the poison is a little different from before…"
"Mmm. The poison itself hasn't changed. I merely concentrated it."
"…And the concentrated amount is this much?"
The Ice Palace Lord looked at the large wooden barrel beside us with a slightly repulsed expression.
Tang So-wol let out a small sigh and nodded.
"I prepared an amount of poison to match its size and the immense energy it carried—more than I had anticipated. But in doing so, it ended up being too much."
"How much was it at first?"
"It filled two and a half barrels of this size. No matter how confident I am in my poison art, I can't freely handle that much poison."
That was why Tang So-wol had concentrated the poison she had prepared, over and over, until it reached an amount she could properly handle.
"…I never expected you to go that far. I am truly grateful."
"Hehe. If I weren't going to do it at all, that would be one thing, but once I decided to, I had to do it properly. Besides, this is a matter of poison, isn't it? Even if this is the North Sea and not the Central Plains, as a member of the Tang Clan, I cannot afford to do things half-heartedly."
As she said this, the corners of Tang So-wol's mouth curled up with confidence. A face full of pride.
She might have pushed herself a little too hard, but seeing how satisfied she was with herself, it was probably fine.
The energy I felt from her seemed a bit more stable now, so it looked like she had gained some accomplishment of her own.
Even if it was simple repetition, pushing it to the absolute limit was itself a new experience.
As I nodded inwardly, the Ice Palace Lord asked with an impressed expression.
"The Tang Clan's reputation is no empty boast, I realize anew. A poison of this caliber must surely have a name. Would you be willing to share it?"
"Hmm. I only thought about making it, so I never considered that part."
Tang So-wol tapped her chin thoughtfully, then looked at me with a troubled expression.
"Young hero Cheon, do you have any good name in mind?"
"Well. When you don't know what to call something, it's best to stay true to its purpose. This poison is meant to kill serpents, not men…"
I paused to gather my thoughts, then spoke.
"How about Killing Net Poison?"
"So you used 'net' to mean a flood dragon rather than a snake. Indeed, that creature was formidable enough to be called a flood dragon."
Tang So-wol nodded with a satisfied expression. The Ice Palace Lord, on the other hand, seemed to have noticed that I had heard the story of the Azure-White Flood Dragon from Bing Yerin, and wore a bitter smile.
It seemed less like she was trying to deceive us and more like she simply couldn't speak of it in front of the other martial artists of the North Sea Ice Palace, so this was good enough.
She had even shown me the place where the Azure-White Flood Dragon lived, and had sent Bing Yerin off without any particular warning to keep quiet.
And so the name of the poison was decided. Seomun Hwa-rin, who had been silent until now, spoke with an unusually serious expression.
"With this, the preparations are complete. So, when do you plan to execute the plan?"
"I just need to apply the poison and pull out, so I'm ready anytime. What about young hero Cheon and sister Hwa-rin?"
"Since I was the one who brought it up, I am also prepared."
"I'm the same."
Thanks to Seol Ri-hyang's help, I had been training to cut away the cold energy, and I had gotten a decent feel for it by now.
Even if I practiced a few more days here, nothing much would change. What I needed now was simply time to train properly.
"If the two of you are ready, then why not leave tomorrow without dragging things out any longer?"
Just as Tang So-wol's words were about to draw agreement from me and Seomun Hwa-rin, the Ice Palace Lord, who had been listening to our conversation, cut in a step ahead.
"We would be reassured the sooner we go, but how about waiting one more day and leaving the day after?"
"Is there a reason to wait an extra day?"
"As you saw when you went there, the area around the Azure-White Cold Serpents' nest is a place where blizzards sometimes rage regardless of the weather. Based on my observations so far, the blizzard will continue through tomorrow and stop the day after."
"Hmm. If that's truly the case, then it would be better to wait one more day."
No matter how keen one's Qi Sense is, sight remains useful. One must not rely on it too heavily, but neither can it be ignored.
Moreover, for those of us still unfamiliar with the geography and climate of the North Sea, a clear day is far more comfortable than one of raging blizzards.
"So it's settled for two days from now."
At my words, Tang So-wol and Seomun Hwa-rin nodded silently. And so the date was fixed.
Once this business is finished, I'll have to hole up at home for a while. Thanks to achieving the state of being impervious to cold and heat, I'm not cold, but I'm starting to miss the warm weather of Sichuan Province.
***
Two days later.
We arrived once again before the traces of the great battle we had visited once before.
The only difference was that Tang So-wol carried a large wooden barrel on her back. And that Seol Ri-hyang had stayed behind at the North Sea Ice Palace instead of following us.
"The skies are clear, just as the Ice Palace Lord said."
"Indeed. Are you ready?"
"Of course. All that's left is for young hero Cheon to carry me."
Tang So-wol spread her arms and smiled playfully. Still, the corners of her eyes were slightly tense, as if she was nervous.
I shrugged and spoke in a deliberately light tone.
"If we stick to the plan, nothing will go wrong. Senior Seomun Hwa-rin, I leave it to you."
"Leave it to me."
Seol Ri-hyang patted her flat chest. A truly reassuring sight.
Tang So-wol gave a small bow, then lowered her posture and climbed onto my back. With the poison container placed on top of her, it was quite heavy.
With Tang So-wol on my back, I began my footwork. But not at full speed—this time, I focused on suppressing my presence as much as possible, prioritizing stealth.
Beasts are naturally sharper in senses than humans, and sensitive about their territory.
I wasn't sure if that applied to Spirit Beasts as well, but there was no harm in being careful.
The traces of battle that had seemed so huge from a distance that it distorted my sense of distance were even more enormous up close.
To exaggerate a bit, the thickness was comparable to a decent-sized hall.
I arrived at the crack with a mix of admiration and shock. Peeking down, the ground was gouged out like a deep valley, and at its center, oddly enough, there was a hole that opened round like the mouth of a pouch.
Whether that kind of terrain was formed by chance, or whether the Azure-White Flood Dragon had dug the ground itself, I couldn't tell.
One thing was certain: beyond the deep darkness, I could glimpse the occasional massive writhing.
That was probably where the Azure-White Flood Dragon and its offspring, the Azure-White Cold Serpents, were coiled together.
I'd heard that some snakes live intertwined in groups… I wondered if that remained true even after becoming Spirit Beasts.
I swallowed my curiosity and whispered to Tang So-wol, who was on my back.
"Let's begin now."
"Yes. Would you wait just a moment?"
Tang So-wol squirmed, then untied the wooden barrel she'd placed on my back, and threw the whole thing over the edge of the crack. And then.
"Hup!"
Tang So-wol's eyes snapped open as she reached for the wooden barrel. At the same moment, the falling barrel halted midair.
The Poison Spirit Constitution granted her the ability to freely control the poison that came from her own body—she must have used that power to seize the Killing Net Poison.
Handling this much poison from such a distance wasn't easy even for Tang So-wol; a single bead of sweat traced down her forehead.
Naturally, her composure began to fray, and her Aura spread out in every direction.
Was it the poison energy mixed into Tang So-wol's Aura? Or had her sharp instincts sensed the danger?
The faint writhing intensified, and the Azure-White Flood Dragon's Aura swelled at a rapid pace.
Just moments ago, it had felt like nothing at all—as if it were one with nature. But now, that was no longer the case.
A chill ran down my spine. Though unfamiliar, the instinctive threat I felt was on par with my own—or greater. So this was what a Harmony Realm Spirit Beast felt like.
A pair of bright yellow eyes flashed in the darkness of the deep crevice, but Tang So-wol spread her Killing Net Poison a step faster than the creature could rise.
Thud!
The poison contained within shattered the wooden barrel and scattered in all directions.
Not simply dispersing at random, however—it spread with precise range, neat shape, and regularity.
Patter.
Like rain falling from the sky, poison dropped from Tang So-wol's gestures.
A downpour that fell only into the pit within the crevice. The Azure-White Flood Dragon, which had lifted its head to emerge, was struck by the poisonous rain.
- Sssssss!
With a sharp shriek like air escaping, it began to writhe in agony.
Boom! CRASH!
A mere twist of its body shook the ground, and part of the crevice collapsed, spitting out rocks.
It was a spectacular sight, but unfortunately, there was no leisure to watch it to the end.
"Hold on tight!"
"I already am!"
Tang So-wol, who had pushed her poison control to its limit, was momentarily suffering from exhaustion. Anticipating this, he had been carrying her all along.
Only after feeling her weakened arm wrap around my neck did I slowly release the flow of internal energy I had been holding back.
I kicked off the ground hard in the direction we had come from. The Thunder Step, pushed to its extreme, let out a sound like rolling thunder as it accelerated sharply. And then.
KOOOOM!
—SHAAAARK!
Beyond the fissure, the massive maw of a serpent revealed itself.