Chapter 1170: Scorched World.

I have seen many trees up until now.

Not to mention common trees, I’ve seen plenty of trees from other worlds too. But among them, the one that naturally stands out in my memory is, of course, one.

‘The tree with white leaves.’

I first saw it in Sichuan.

A tree with white, and even whiter leaves.

Just by looking at it, I could tell it wasn’t an ordinary tree.

As soon as I saw it, an unknown sense of awe welled up. It was a tree whose alien appearance naturally drew my gaze.

Recalling that, I looked at the tree before me.

The feeling was similar.

Its size wasn’t much different from other trees, but the size of the roots embedded beneath it was enough to cover the entire space.

The roots looked twice as big as the tree’s trunk.

And the color wasn’t white, but a deep crimson red.

The sensations I felt were also…….

‘Hostility and discomfort.’

Although I felt completely different emotions compared to the white tree, which evoked brilliance and awe.

‘Why does it feel similar?’

I was looking at the red tree and thinking it was similar to the white tree.

I turned my eyes and surveyed the surroundings.

Is this Bigō? If it’s Bigō, it only contains one thing.

Should I call that tree the treasure of this Bigō?

I approached cautiously.

The closer I got, the more intense the discomfort poured over me.

‘I feel like I’m going to vomit.’

If I lost focus even for a moment, I felt like I’d scorch the tree with fire.

I gathered my energy and suppressed the emotions. There were so many things to investigate, how could I easily give in?

‘Why is something like this under the frontline?’

And in the territory of Gu Clanh.

Tuk.

My toes touched the tree’s roots.

There was no reaction. I moved past the finely spread roots towards the main trunk.

Eventually, I arrived in front of the tree.

“……”

I stared blankly at the tree, narrowing my eyes.

‘What is this?’

How can something like this exist here?

Holding the question, I reached out my hand.

My fingertips stopped just before touching the tree. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should touch it, but…

Tuk.

I soon touched it.

At that moment.

Saaaaaaaah-!

“……!”

My body swayed from the aura emanating from the tree.

‘This is…’

Narrowing my face, I realized.

‘It smells like blood.’

It’s the scent of blood. The scent of blood emanating from the tree was no joke. Especially since it wasn’t just any scent of blood-

‘The aura of a Blood Demon.’

The aura of a Blood Demon was constantly felt from this tree itself.

What is this?

Could this also be the Blood Demon’s doing? I quickly pulled my hand away from the tree.

It wasn’t difficult to pull away. There were no particular issues.

Swoosh.

Wiping off the discomfort on my hand, I looked back at the tree.

‘This is definitely the Blood Demon’s aura.’

I couldn’t possibly forget that guy’s aura. This is undoubtedly the Blood Demon’s aura.

‘Why is it here in the form of a tree?’

I couldn’t understand it at all.

As I frowned, unable to comprehend,

Zzzzt-!

“……!”

Suddenly, my eyes hurt.

“Kkuh…!”

My eyeballs felt hot as if they would burst, forcing me to cover both eyes. Why is this happening again? It’s sudden pain. And it’s pain that’s hard to endure.

As I was staggering like that for a long time,

Ting-!

The pain stopped along with a sensation of being pushed away. This too happened in an instant.

“Hoo.”

Only after the pain disappeared did I exhale.

Then.

-The blessing doesn’t seem to work. What is this?

A voice followed. This voice is……?

“Blood Demon?”

-Blood Demon, huh. So that’s how you know me. And who might you be?

It’s the Blood Demon’s voice.

“You bastard…”

Did this guy also embed his thoughts into the tree? What’s with the curse, anyway?

-I cannot be contained within your eyes. It was quite a pleasing vessel. What a shame.

“What are you talking about? A blessing? What were you trying to do to me?”

-An opportunity to contain a great being is a blessing, what else would it be?

“You’re spouting bullshit again.”

Now I understand.

‘So that’s why I felt such hostility.’

It seems it was because it was the Blood Demon’s aura, the Blood Demon itself. That’s why I felt hostility.

“What were you trying to do? Don’t tell me…”

I drew forth my fighting spirit and wrapped it around my body.

“Did you place your heart here, just like in the Northern Sea incident?”

-Huh?

The Blood Demon reacted to my words.

-You know about the heart.

“What were you trying to do here?”

-Yes, looking at you now… you are a dragon. You’re a dragon, how can a dragon exist?

We can’t communicate.

We were both just saying what we wanted to say.

However, I noticed one thing from that conversation.

‘It doesn’t know me.’

I had already seen the Blood Demon in this era. Since I even had the ring he gave me, it didn’t make sense for him not to know me.

‘That’s separate from the change in appearance.’

The Blood Demon was genuinely surprised by the very existence of a dragon, so I had to interpret it differently.

‘This guy is a different one.’

It seemed more likely I was seeing a thought-form or something similar.

Then why was this thought-form embedded here?

As I was quickly racking my brain,

-Ah.

The Blood Demon reacted as if it had realized something.

-I see, you are not a native of this place.

“……”

-Yes, is that why the blessing didn’t work? Ahahaha. What a pity… that this place is a delusion.

“What the hell are you babbling about now?”

-Who granted you this place? There shouldn’t be anyone worthy of granting something like this.

No matter what I said, the Blood Demon seemed busy talking to itself. Or rather, should I say it was trying to understand on its own?

-Are you trying to struggle? Even so, nothing will change…

“You’re talking crap again. Does it hurt to speak comprehensibly? Damn bastards, really.”

Hwaruruk-!

I ignited flames in my hand. Since it wasn’t going to speak properly anyway, I thought it was best to just burn it.

The blue flames I created gradually brightened until they became white (白色). I created these flames knowing they would be consumed by the Blood Demon.

-……Hahaha. Oh my.

The Blood Demon laughed upon seeing the white flames.

-This is surprising. Yes, that’s right. If there’s an anomaly, it should certainly be one.

The Blood Demon showed a strange reaction, as if pleased.

-It’s unfortunate, but I’m glad to see there’s a crack instead.

“You’re really pissing me off.”

I didn’t want to hear anymore. Just as I was about to set the tree ablaze,

-However, conversely, I feel jealous. That it won’t be me experiencing this. Therefore, I will tell you something good.

Meomchit.

My hand stopped before touching the tree. It was because it said it would tell me something.

“What good thing?”

-I am Sight.

“Hm?”

What’s with Sight all of a sudden? It was a completely out-of-the-blue statement.

-Furthermore, I am also the last remaining blessing among the remaining five senses. Find it. Before I gather everything.

“……What?”

Find it? I tried to react to the rather strange words, but…

Pasuseuseuk-!

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the tree began to dry up and wither. It was instantaneous. All the moisture drained out, and the tree dried up completely.

The blooming leaves fell rustling to the ground.

Pasasasasak.

The tree crumbled and fell. It turned to dust and disappeared before my eyes.

“……Ha.”

What kind of bullshit situation is this? I’m dumbfounded. It was already strange enough that the Blood Demon’s aura was under the frontline.

‘It just realized something on its own and disappeared.’

To disappear with a reaction of emptiness about what it saw in me.

‘What’s with the five senses now?’

What’s here is Sight. Now it wants me to find the rest?

‘What kind of nonsensical talk is this…’

I stopped thinking abruptly.

‘Oh.’

Because something came to mind. There was something Cheolyeong said back at Shaolin.

‘The Blood Demon’s five senses were sealed individually and sent flowing into the Heavenly Sea.’

“……”

The words meant his five senses were decomposed and scattered elsewhere. Back then, I simply understood it as sealing or disposal.

‘Is there some connection?’

Linking it with the Blood Demon’s current words, it felt like there was a connection.

Five senses.

Sight.

And the Peng family.

As a feeling like I was about to grasp something kept brushing past me,

Kugugugung-!

“Damn it.”

The Bigō began to vibrate intensely. I quickly turned my head. My Mind’s Eye activated, allowing me to check the situation.

‘It’s dangerous.’

Cracks began to form in the space. It would all collapse soon after. As I confirmed this and prepared to move,

‘What’s that?’

I saw an entrance appear on the wall where there wasn’t one before. What is that now? It wasn’t there originally? It’s an anomaly caused by the tree’s disappearance.

‘What should I do?’

It looked exactly like an entrance meant to be entered, but…

‘It’s not too late to leave the way I came.’

It wouldn’t be too late to exit the way I just entered. Do I really need to go there? It could be a trap.

“……”

My deliberation wasn’t long.

Hwaruruk-!

Wrapping my body in flames, I plunged into the newly formed doorway.

Kugugugung-!

Following that, the sound of the space breaking apart and collapsing echoed.

---

The newly formed space is a passageway no different from the entrance. It was dark without torches, but my flame-filled eyes had no trouble seeing. The passageway was merely an ordinary path with no particular traps. My tension was pointless, as there was truly nothing there.

“……”

Just in case, I kept my Mind’s Eye active, and I couldn’t find any major issues with movement. Walking a bit faster, I soon found a door that looked like an exit. This too looked identical to the entrance I came through. Meaning it led somewhere connected.

I grabbed the doorknob.

Kiiiiiik-!

As the iron door scraped open, my vision cleared. Where could this lead? Just in case, I didn’t completely relax my guard.

The place that appeared was.

“Huh?”

Surprisingly, it was a place I knew well.

“This place…”

A forest within ruins. Not only was it sparsely populated, but it was also a location no one could easily reach. A place managed and hidden by Gu Clanh.

“…This is where the eggs are.”

The place with the crimson eggs. It was the place I came to find on the frontline in my previous life.