Storm (4)
I tilted my head in confusion and asked.
“Youkai...?”
“I’ve already heard from the Dragon King that you have a sea demon inside you. But he described you as a hybrid of the mythical bird. How did you become a youkai in disguise...?”
[What I’m speaking of is not the fleshly part. Rather, it’s the spiritual. The judgment that you are a youkai comes from the sphere of the divine mind.]
“Consciousness domain...?”
It was so unexpected that I stared at him in bewilderment.
[It seems you don’t understand. Watch my consciousness through the eyes of the consciousness domain. If your meridians are opened, you should be able to do that much, right?]
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Whoosh—
I entered the world of intent and observed Seo Ran’s consciousness.
And I could not help but shiver.
“The form of the consciousness domain... is completely different?”
With Seo Huel, the size was so vast that I could never confirm the shape of the domain.
But in Seo Ran’s case, the consciousness domain was not a sphere—it was a thin layer of the same phenomenon hovering above his own body.
“Wh-what...!”
I examined the bizarre form of Seo Ran’s consciousness domain, and at the same time I saw the colors shimmering across his entire body.
His horns shone with a hue of pride.
His hind legs were tinted with a faint shade of sorrow.
It was at that moment that I was observing Seo Ran’s consciousness and colors.
[Indeed, that ‘eye’ of yours. You have a vision completely different from ordinary human cultivators. Those human cultivators merely look at the form of my consciousness and are startled.
You seem to be seeing something else. Isn’t that so?]
“…Yes, that’s right...”
[You examined my body in the exact order of the parts I’ve been most concerned about all along. There are minor differences in vision depending on species, but fundamentally, youkai have an enormous difference in consciousness from human cultivators.]
Seo Ran’s explanation continued.
[The difference in divine mind between youkai and humans is mainly the difference between Qian and Kun.
We humans are said to descend the spirit of heaven, and when we look at the sky we can read our lifespan or basic celestial phenomena. Fate is also partially readable.
But we youkai can’t read fate just by looking at the sky. Occasionally, among special youkai, there are those who discover a sacrificial method suited to themselves and read their heavenly mandate like humans.
Fundamentally, the vast majority of us cannot read the sky. Instead, we read the spirit power flowing across this land.]
“Spirit power...?”
[Youkai are divided into countless species even among themselves, so not all are the same. But fundamentally, all youkai read the yin and yang of spirit power.]
Seo Ran’s explanation continued.
[We can’t read celestial phenomena like humans, but the qi of heaven and earth cycles endlessly according to the principle of yin and yang. We visualize that circulation of yin and yang and observe it, don’t we? Reading and reading the circulation of yin and yang lets us obtain information completely different from humans.
The ability of beasts to sense danger and flee quickly is also for this reason. We may be less able to read the larger flows than humans, but in terms of intuition, this vision that visualizes yin and yang is the greatest difference between the consciousness of youkai and humans.]
“Huh?”
But the more I listened, the stranger I felt.
I was not witnessing the scene Seo Ran was describing.
What I was seeing was countless colors based on seven hues.
I was visualizing the intent of countless beings.
I had never seen the circulation of spirit power that Seo Ran described visualized.
[It’s also because you are judged a youkai in disguise. The unique temperament of the consciousness you possess appears only when our youkai monks detect the circulation of yin and yang. That unique consciousness wave that appears according to the principle of yin and yang exists in your consciousness...]
What on earth was it?
Was the seven-colored world I had entered the circulation of spirit power that Seo Ran spoke of?
But no matter how I looked at it, that scene looked nothing like the circulation of yin and yang.
[Why did the king judge you a hybrid? You don’t seem to be lying, and the king wouldn’t have been wrong. A hybrid of the mythical bird is usually specialized in reading celestial phenomena, not the flow of yin and yang, because his divine mind follows that of humans.]
According to Seo Ran, how had the Dragon King judged me a hybrid of the mythical bird?
It would have been normal for him to have seen me as a youkai in disguise the moment he saw me.
I was thinking about the reason when a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“When I met Seo Huel... my consciousness was the same as ordinary humans?”
Perhaps the change in my consciousness had occurred after I met Seo Huel.
The event that had changed my consciousness the most in this life.
That was...
Yin and yang, Qian and Kun, heaven and earth...
Heaven, earth, and humanity.
The three luminaries!
“The separation of the sword pill created by comprehending the principle of the three luminaries!”
That had been the event that most greatly changed my consciousness in this life!
I felt like I had grasped a thread.
And without missing that thread, I focused on the sensation of splitting the sword pill.
The sensation of heaven and earth cycling around me as the axis, without creating the sword pill!
Whoosh—
The moment I concentrated beyond a certain level on that sensation, my head began to ache as if it would split.
[Oh, so you didn’t know your own identity. Now that you’ve told me, your consciousness temperament becomes even more established.]
My head hurt, but I knew I had gained the correct awakening from Seo Ran’s words,
and I focused even more intensely on that sensation.
It was as if something was blocking me, but I forced my way through.
But such sensations...
“Had been pierced through once when I reached the peak realm, and once when I reached the peak of Five Qi Consorting with the Origin!”
Pierce!
Pierce!
Make me human.
And make the two Ganghwans each heaven and earth.
The moment I realized that heaven and earth cycled...
I had been able to stably split the Ganghwans.
That sensation, a little more.
“Ha-a-a-a-a!”
My head felt like it would split.
But I bit down until I tasted blood from my gums and endured, focusing even more on that sensation.
Blood dripped from my nose and eyes.
My ears rang.
My senses felt distant.
And then.
Crack!
The sensation I had sensed at the peak, the one that had reached the peak of Five Qi Consorting with the Origin.
That sensation, similar yet completely different, had settled in.
No, it hadn’t settled.
I should have properly awakened the sensation I had known from the beginning.
“Ah...”
Heaven and earth were constantly cycling.
Or should I say yin and yang? Or Qian and Kun?
Right. It should be the supreme ultimate.
The supreme ultimate of spirit power was rotating endlessly in countless places.
In leaves, in water droplets, in Seo Ran’s body.
Yin and yang were circulating everywhere, stabilizing heaven and earth.
And the moment I witnessed that scene, I unconsciously raised my hand.
The Ganghwans rose from my dantian.
And the Ganghwans separated into two according to the principle of the circulation of yin and yang that cycled in heaven and earth.
But why?
Why did I see the circulation of yin and yang with my eyes, yet I had evolved the Ganghwans according to the principle of the three luminaries?
The supreme ultimates of yin and yang that cycled in heaven and earth.
Those supreme ultimates were not all of the same form.
Sometimes, as yin and yang cycled, they became elliptical rather than circular, flat, or of shapes that could not be described.
They changed in a way that was impossible to understand.
And that change originated from “beings” possessing spirit power.
Only then did I understand why my awakening was connected to the three luminaries.
There were heaven and earth, and yin and yang, but within them existed beings who were born and changed heaven and earth.
That was the principle of humanity.
All beings born and living between heaven and earth were changing the world.
Changing itself was the circulation of heaven and earth, yin and yang.
Whoosh!
When the two Ganghwans spun in a chain...
A faint halo of light connected between the spins.
And from the two Ganghwans, one more lump split.
Three Ganghwans were spinning above my dantian according to the principle of heaven, earth, and humanity.
It was at the realm of Deungbongjogeuk that I had awakened the awakening.
Chi—
At the same time, I could no longer hold onto that sensation of observing the circulation of yin and yang and escaped from it.
Just like when I had first recognized the world of intent,
the feeling that I would burn my brain if I stayed any longer in that world pressed against my brain.
However, thanks to having obtained the awakening by witnessing that scene, the three Ganghwans spinning above my hand remained.
Seo Ran looked at the Ganghwans with bright eyes.
[Ho, what is that? Your species’ characteristic?]
“…Well, let’s just say that.”
Among humans, those who reached Deungbongjogeuk were none other than me and Kim Young-hoon in the annals of martial arts history, so I simply let it go.
“With the clear identity you told me, I was able to see the world of Qian and Kun even more clearly. Thank you.”
[Haha, all right. If the king sent you, you had to do at least that much. Looking at your current form, you must not have fully awakened youkai consciousness when you met the king. Now your consciousness is truly no different from a youkai’s. It’s strange. How does a hybrid of the mythical bird possess the consciousness of youkai rather than human? I really don’t know cases like that.]
“…Hmm, it’s not an absolute law, is it?”
Seo Ran shook his head at my question.
[I’m sorry, but it is an absolute law. The reason human cultivators can read the heavenly mandate is that the human race has become one that discovered a sacrificial method suited to itself and communicates with heaven.
If your human cultivators’ eyes are suited to heaven, the youkai monks’ eyes are suited to seeing the circulation of spirit power. And that does not symbolize earth. Because heaven presses down on earth, a hybrid of the mythical bird is inevitably born with human consciousness.
But you, then—are you a being with heaven and earth reversed? How did your hybrid awaken youkai consciousness?]
“Ah...”
While listening to Seo Ran’s explanation, I learned one more thing.
“Originally, cultivators were specialized in the consciousness of reading the sky’s celestial phenomena. Youkai were specialized in the consciousness of reading the circulation of spirit power. But those who reached Five Qi Consorting with the Origin visualized intent based on the seven-colored intent.
And according to Seo Ran’s words. The seven-colored world I have seen until now means it is a completely separate thing from both human and youkai cultivators.”
What form of consciousness did I perceive?
“Human? Just a simple species characteristic of humans?”
But if not... if it was the human vision according to the principle of the three luminaries?
However, the three luminaries of heaven, earth, and humanity were extremely human-centered.
Heaven, earth, and humanity.
Was a mere human comparable to heaven and earth?
This land was not only inhabited by humans.
“I don’t know.”
For now, I decided to think of it as a human species characteristic.
Even if I discovered other facts later, I could only think of this vision as having the meaning I described now.
I organized my thoughts, removed the Ganghwans, and bowed to Seo Ran.
“Thank you for helping me open my eyes.”
[What nonsense. It was you who established your identity after hearing my words. Why thank me? Rubbing your eyes to open them and then thanking someone else.
...And anyway, the reason the king sent you to me must mean he wants me to teach you youkai language. Since I am proficient in human culture and language...]
His words continued.
[But since you’ve awakened a consciousness completely the same as youkai, teaching you youkai language will be much easier. A hybrid of the mythical bird would have to learn special techniques separately to learn youkai language.]
“...?”
You had to learn special techniques to learn language?
[First, follow me. Since you’re still at the sea altar, I feel that the people of Geukran Island are approaching this way. If I see you, they’ll probably offer you tribute again, so let’s go to my residence first.]
Splash!
Seo Ran turned his back and began swimming out into the sea.
I, too, leaped from the cliff where the sea altar stood.
Splash, splash, splash!
And I spread the Water Walking Step and continued chasing after Seo Ran.
How many times had I crossed the sea following Seo Ran’s back?
[My residence is underwater. Come down after me.]
Splash!
Seo Ran stopped swimming on the surface and dove down below.
“...”
I looked down into the dark sea and let out a small sigh.
“It seems I’ll have to train a few styles of Water Walking Step up to the fifth level from the next life onward.”
I took a deep breath and jumped into the sea below.
Just as I had walked in the air feeling the void, I felt the water’s current and swam toward him following the current that allowed me to chase the fastest.
Seo Ran seemed to be going slowly as if he was waiting for me to catch up, but in the water it was actually difficult even to pursue him.
How deep had I gone down, feeling the gradually increasing water pressure?
I saw countless coral beds below.
It looked like a garden underwater.
And in one corner of that coral garden, a submerged cave appeared.
Seo Ran entered that submerged cave, and I followed him into it as well.
The submerged cave went down and then up again; after swimming upward through it for a while...
Splash!
I was able to take in the cool air.
“Cool?”
I rose to the land inside the submerged cave and stirred my internal energy to evaporate the moisture.
And at the same time, I felt how incredibly fresh the air was.
[Welcome to my residence. In my residence there is a special coral called Clear Coral that always keeps the air clear. Even ordinary land-dwelling creatures can live comfortably here.]
“Indeed, the air is as good as that of a mountain valley.”
Whoosh—
When Seo Ran stirred his spirit power, the round spirit stones embedded in the ceiling began to glow.
Seo Ran’s cave was extremely large and spacious, and here and there were caves connecting to other places.
He lay his massive body in the common area and spoke.
[If the king ordered me to go find you, I should tell you quickly and comfortably. Besides, since you possess youkai consciousness, you don’t need the special techniques I mentioned. First, I should explain a little about youkai language.]
I listened attentively to Seo Ran’s explanation.
[You humans make sounds with your mouths and use those vibrations to stir the air and convey words to others, turning it into language, right?]
“That’s correct.”
[We youkai can also make sounds with our mouths. But most of us are beings that acquired spirit through training after having been beasts. Therefore, even if we conversed with sounds from our beast days, other species could never understand no matter how much we spoke.
But even so, it is clear that we youkai are unified under the name ‘youkai’ because we have common points among us. The representative one is the youkai pill that only youkai have. And the consciousness that recognizes the circulation of yin and yang.]
Whoosh!
Seo Ran raised his front paw, and spirit power surged above it.
I realized he was about to say something and awakened the sensation from earlier.
My head felt as if it would burn, but I could again see the flow of supreme ultimates cycling in heaven and earth.
Above Seo Ran’s front paw, spirit power of yin and yang was circulating.
[Many youkai agreed through those common points. The common language of youkai is to base it on this consciousness from now on.]
Whoosh!
Seo Ran opened his mouth.
At that moment, spirit power spurted from his mouth and drew countless patterns of supreme ultimates in the air.
I heard no sound in my ears, and I felt no reaction through spirit power.
To a stranger, it would look like he was simply exhaling a little spirit power through his mouth.
But my eyes saw it.
Spirit power surged and changed into a certain form.
“So... if human speech is conveyed through air as a medium, youkai speech is conveyed through spirit power as a medium?”
The more I focused on the sensation of seeing the circulation of spirit power, the sound of that spirit power seemed to reach my ears.
Or rather, although I had described it as “visualizing,” it was intuitively “felt,” and strictly speaking, this was not visualization from the beginning.
“*&%%^^$^&#...”
I couldn’t understand the meaning, but through it I could hear Seo Ran’s “voice.”
[It seems you roughly understood. Now it’s no problem to teach you a few words of youkai language.]
Seo Ran smiled as he saw that I had heard his voice and began teaching me youkai language.
***
Half a year had passed.
I had learned countless words and vocabulary of youkai language, and the method of speaking youkai.
And I had completely mastered the sensation of seeing the circulation of yin and yang.
“Now I should be able to read a book without any problem.”
“Thank you. Thanks to Seo-hyung.”
I thanked Seo Ran, who spoke to me in voice.
Today I had just finished reading the entire book on the basic culture of youkai that Seo Ran had given me.
“Now you should be able to read the Gongfa book the king gave you without any problem. There won’t be any confusing vocabulary left, so you can safely read the Gongfa book.”
“Thank you.”
[Haha, no. It was good for me too that I could fulfill the king’s request.]
We exchanged pleasantries for a moment.
And while we were doing so, Seo Ran spoke to me.
“…Actually, it was the king’s request, but I also had something I wanted from you. Could you perhaps fulfill my request?”
“Well, if it’s the request of the brother who taught me youkai language, I’ll do what I can.”
Thank you. Actually, the king may have sent you to me because of the current thing I’m troubled by... Actually, thirty years ago I discovered a large barrier deep in the Black Wind Sea.
And I learned that inside that barrier there was something important for my cultivation. But that barrier can only be broken with the combined power of humans and youkai, and until now I haven’t been able to challenge it because I haven’t met a trustworthy human cultivator.
He respectfully requested of me.
“You will help me break the barrier, so please help me. After all, you have human blood in your lineage, so it will help you break the barrier.”
I nodded readily.
“If I need your help, I’ll help. I’m glad I can repay the teachings I received from Seo-hyung.”
“All right. Thank you. Then, shall I immediately start cultivating the Gongfa book?”
I took out the Gongfa book given to me by the Dragon King Seo Huel.
The Gongfa book was bound in the hide of some beast.
According to Seo Ran, it was a sea dragon.
I read down the title of this youkai Gongfa book.
The title of the Gongfa book was Wind-Calling Responding Dragon Transformation.
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