The Altar of the Great Turtle
"Can't we put this guy to use?"
A colossal turtle. It was true that it felt like a waste to simply butcher and eat this spiritual beast, which was closer to a moving island than a living creature. If nothing else, the sheer romance of riding it was killer.
But Ryeo-ah's reply was simple. "Why bother? While it is indeed a rare spiritual beast, it stands out far too much. Moreover, perhaps due to its immense age, it instinctively employs the arts of spiritual mediumship and earth-burrowing."
"?"
"Simply put, the total capacity of my mental strength and spiritual possession is limited. Keeping this turtle bound and subjugated would exceed that capacity."
I understood. In short, it wasn't a one-and-done deal just because she'd dominated it once. They were connected like Wi-Fi, and controlling the turtle would constantly eat up her domination and brainwashing bandwidth. It was highly inefficient.
"Perhaps because it is a spiritual beast blessed by a dragon, its mental defenses are remarkably strong."
What a waste. But then again, as pirates, we couldn't exactly ride around on a colossal spiritual turtle that practically screamed, "Please find my location!" The massive warships we'd seized from Dae-akgwi were conspicuous enough, but this turtle was on a whole different level. The damn thing was practically the size of an entire island.
"There is no need to be disappointed. We have acquired a treasure far grander than such a beast."
Ryeo-ah stroked the turtle's head as if admiring a choice cut of meat. Her gaze then drifted to the mysterious scroll tied to my waist.
A grand, majestic sun hung dead center in the sky, surrounded by dreamlike, drifting clouds. Below it lay a vast expanse of grass and weathered rocks, completely devoid of shade. Every single blade of grass swaying in the wind looked incredibly lifelike. And if one were to step inside, they would see those very plants rustling in real-time.
I tapped my finger against a particularly large, weathered boulder—the very spot where the Lord of White Dragon Island had been sitting not long ago.
"This?"
"Indeed. Anyone can simply expand or stretch space... but a treasure that compresses a miniature world and allows it to cycle on its own is exceedingly rare. Especially that sun. Though it pales in comparison to the real one hanging above us, it is, without a doubt, a true sun."
"Oh."
"It is a masterpiece crafted either by dragons, who share the deepest connection with Mother Nature, or by the hands of legendary grandmaster artisans."
"So, what do we use it for?"
Surely there was some badass way to use it, right? Ryeo-ah smirked. The moment I saw that mischievous look on her face, my long experience told me I wasn't going to get a normal answer.
"It can hold a small world inside."
"And?"
"That is all. Is that not enough? What more could you possibly want?"
"No, I mean, how do I use it?" Like, does it raise my cultivation realm, or make me insanely strong? Nothing like that?
"Fufu, do you still not understand? In that case..."
"Don't you dare say 'the time is not yet ripe' or some shit."
"My, aren't we quick-witted."
Ryeo-ah giggled, covering her mouth with her sleeve. Then, as if she had nothing more to say to me, she waved her sleeve dismissively and placed her hand back on the turtle's head.
"You are still far too green to utilize it properly. However, realize this: the world inside that painting and the reality we stand upon are strictly different. Grasping just that will open up infinite possibilities. Or... since the space inside is quite vast, you could always carry your family's retainers around in it."
She closed her eyes, clearly done talking. Apparently, butchering this giant turtle properly required some sort of advance preparation.
"Fine. I'll figure it out."
After all, I hadn't even reached the limit of my mind yet. There would be some meaning in figuring out a tool like this from scratch on my own. First, let's head inside.
I knew how to operate dharma treasures. If you channeled your energy into any dharma treasure, you could get a rough grasp of how to use it. Reaching the Tongun realm to learn its usage, and reaching the limit of at least one aspect to withstand the treasure's energy—that was the minimum requirement to activate any dharma treasure. And sometimes, there were items that were technically dharma treasures, but could not be described as mere treasures.
"I don't get it."
Hayun stepped inside the painting. The sun embedded in the sky still glowed crimson, and the surrounding wind and fluffy clouds were fantastical. But that was it.
"I have no idea how to use this."
Normally, the way a Samgeuk master handled a dharma treasure that didn't belong to them was simple. They just had to pour in their own massive, limit-breaking energy and completely erase the previous owner's trace. Those who reached the limit of Qi did so with vast and pure energy. Those who reached the limit of the Body did so with overflowing vitality and a mysterious body that had touched a singularity. Those who realized the limit of the Mind did so with a superhuman spirit capable of physically influencing reality.
While those in the Tongun realm could theoretically handle dharma treasures... it was literally worse than a monkey swinging a smartphone around. In contrast, a Samgeuk master could reset all the settings and apps calibrated for the previous owner, starting from a blank slate to customize it to their liking.
But from the very moment my finger first touched this painting, I felt it bone-deep. It was impossible to fully attune this to myself. Was it because the previous owner, the Lord of White Dragon Island, had too strong of an energy? No way. Even if it were a treasure belonging to someone who had reached the absolute peak of Samgeuk, as long as it was masterless, I could wipe away their traces with enough time and bend it to my will. No, this wasn't the consciousness or energy of some mere Lord of White Dragon Island. The entity sustaining and forming this dharma treasure was...
"A dragon?"
Since it was said to be a relic of the White Dragon, it was naturally powered by the White Dragon's might. That bastard, the Lord of White Dragon Island, didn't seem all that impressive, so taming this would have been impossible for him. Did he have some bypass route passed down through his clan, or some biological password transmitted through blood?
In the end, I wouldn't be able to use it to its full potential. If so, it was time to go back to being a dumb monkey, just as described earlier. A monkey swinging a smartphone might look idiotic to Ryeo-ah... but a treasure of this caliber would cause an immense impact even if swung blindly.
First, what does this place exist for?
The purpose... storage? Or a world of my own. I narrowed the purposes down to two. If so, how could I use it?
Since the space is vast, I can use it as a warehouse and carry my family members around. If dozens of war-grade dharma treasures and Samgeuk masters suddenly poured out of a mere painting to gang up on an enemy, it would be the ultimate, unpredictable surprise attack.
This probably wasn't its intended purpose, but even this was magnificent. What kind of lunatic would expect dozens of war-grade dharma treasures and Samgeuk masters to suddenly fire a coordinated volley out of a painting? This was basically a sniper rifle and the ultimate hidden weapon rolled into one.
But was cultivation possible here?
It is. No problem at all.
I plucked some grass and popped it into my mouth. The chewing sensation, the earthy, bitter taste of grass and soil—it was real. At the same time, it was infused with Yang energy; every single blade of grass scattered here was practically on par with a low-grade spiritual herb.
I touched a boulder. It was rough and hard. I exerted my strength to lift it, but it was heavier and sturdier than expected.
Looking back, the grass I had just plucked had already grown back. However... when I touched it, it wasn't infused with the same spiritual energy as before. I panicked for a second, thinking I had broken the treasure, but fortunately, the grass was absorbing the essence of the sun in the sky. With time, it would regain its spiritual properties.
"Why is there absolutely nothing around?"
There was nothing to hide behind; a vast meadow filled with only green grass and boulders stretched out endlessly. I wondered if I should dig into the ground, but realized that was a stupid idea. If the White Dragon, known as the Eight-Winged Heavenly Dragon, had hidden something in this world... it would naturally be in the sky.
Hayun's gaze locked onto the sun embedded dead center in the blue canvas. He stared into the eye of this world.
"This feels like..."
As if to prove that calling it an 'eye' was no exaggeration, a peculiar red ring seemed to depict a pupil, the iris of an eyeball. Then, I felt my vision distort slightly. Had I strained my eyes by staring at the sun for too long? No, wait. Logically speaking, that shouldn't even be possible for me.
"...!"
Splat! I clutched my face, and a sticky substance burst out, trickling down my fingers.
"Huh?"
The world went pitch black, leaving me bewildered for a moment. But as soon as I realized that the fluid was my own eyeball melting and flowing down, a cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck.
"Fuck."
It hurt like hell. My head... my head throbbed. Don't tell me this is melting my brain too? I felt like I was sweating excessively today. Wait, is my skin melting...?
"Focus, you idiot."
Slap! I slapped my own cheek. No matter how absurd this place was, how could staring at the sky do this to me? I circulated my demonic power to protect my body. Instantly, the bizarre heat wrapping around me dissipated.
"Phew..."
My body was still in a melted state, but I could regenerate it in no time. Unless my core was shattered or my limbs were completely severed, this was nothing to someone who had achieved the limit of the Body.
"And it wasn't even an illusion."
The terrifying part was that this wasn't some mere illusion. The bizarre pressure radiating from the sky and the sun had simply stripped away my will to resist.
"Seriously, that wench should have warned me."
She never mentioned there was something so vicious in here. Is this that whole 'if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you' thing?
I looked at the sun from an angle, and indeed, that alone made a difference. What happened just now was simply because I had stared at it like an idiot without any preparation. With just a bit of protection and defense, I wouldn't fall prey to it so easily. Still, staying here for long periods seemed dangerous, so it would be wise to step back into reality and take breaks periodically.
"The sky seems a bit dangerous, so let's check out the surroundings first." For instance, starting with how far this vast meadow stretched.
Whoosh! I kicked off the ground and dashed. Just that alone propelled me forward at an incredible speed.
"Let's see how far this map is rendered." I'd start by measuring the width and diameter.
But at some point, realizing that the sun directly above my head never drifted away, and that nothing changed even after running for an entire day, I quietly gave up.
As expected, the answer lay in the sky. The secret was in that sun, in the heavens hidden behind the clouds. Instinctively sensing that it was time to rest, I pointed a finger at the sun, which seemed to glare back at me.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Blink.
"Hey."
"What is it? Can you not see that I am concentrating? I am busy prepping the turtle."
"There isn't some dragon's residual thought, consciousness, or anything like that inside there, is there?"
"There is not. If the Eight-Winged Heavenly Dragon were still alive, it would have resurrected long ago with the help of the descendants of White Dragon Island. For an existence at or above the Johwa realm, resurrection is surprisingly easy as long as the soul remains."
"Then what the hell is that sun?" I spat the question at Ryeo-ah, half-demanding an explanation for what I had just experienced. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Let us take a look."
We entered the painting. Ryeo-ah quietly observed the sun, her body enveloped in a menacing draconic aura, ready to strike at any moment.
"This is actually a stroke of good fortune. That is a fragment of a dragon."
"What?"
"It used a part of itself as the focal point and core of the dharma treasure. Well, it would take at least that much to craft an item of this caliber. It seems that Eight-Winged Heavenly Dragon was an existence at or above the Johwa realm—a True Spirit."
Speaking dismissively, Ryeo-ah stepped back outside. I scratched the back of my head, glaring up at the sun that resembled a giant pupil.
"Ha, damn. Is that so?"
Was it because I was a mere weakling that even looking at such a thing was too much for me? It was a depressing truth that forced me to look down on myself.
"I will conquer you, no matter what."
Of course, trying to do it right now would be insane. Feeling the connection between my body and the dharma treasure gradually strengthen, I sat cross-legged on the large boulder where the Lord of White Dragon Island had once sat. Before ascending to the sky, I needed time to dye this treasure with my own energy and attune to it. The more I meditated here and made my presence known, the more connected I felt.
"That's enough for today."
After spending a long time taming the treasure, Hayun stood up.
"See you tomorrow. Though I don't know how the concept of tomorrow works here since there's no moon."
Greed flared within me. I was going to make this mine, no matter what.
It was after repeating this process of entering the dharma treasure to imprint and dye it with my energy for several days.
"You are out? Perfect timing. The Dragon-Phoenix Soup has been boiled to perfection, so hurry up and eat."
When I stepped outside today, exhausted in both body and mind, I found our ship anchored in front of what looked like a massive rocky mountain. No, wait. That wasn't a rocky mountain...
"Oh, you poor turtle."
The legendary white turtle, once the renowned spiritual beast of White Dragon Island, was no more. Only its shell remained, flipped upside down to serve as a giant cauldron, inside of which boiled what used to be the turtle, bubbling like volcanic lava.
In the center of that bubbling lake of flesh floated a massive, pristine, pure-white orb. The damn thing was the size of a house, making me wonder if it could even be called an 'orb' anymore.
An upside-down shell acting as a cauldron for a lake of boiling flesh. And floating above it like an island was a colossal spiritual elixir.
Wiping away her sweat with a proud look, Ryeo-ah grabbed my hand and dragged me forward.
"Fufufu. This truly was a spiritual beast among spiritual beasts. It has been so long since I last constructed an altar of living flesh. It may be called a turtle, but it inherited a thick concentration of dragon blood, making it quite satisfying to butcher."
Ryeo-ah chattered away like a young girl expecting praise for her cooking. But wait, did she just say 'an altar of living flesh'?
"I also tossed in the elders of White Dragon Island we killed the other day, along with their dragon-blooded descendants after prepping them properly. I am quite curious to see what will come of this."
"Uh, yeah, wow, amazing. But, uh, could you let go of my hand?"
"This is a grand burnt offering, a ritual even I have never attempted before. While I have conducted many rituals of similar or even greater scale, this is my first time handling a heavenly dragon."
Isn't that something you shouldn't be doing? Normally, you're supposed to run clinical trials before administering any medicine, you know?
At my words, Ryeo-ah stared blankly at me.
Ah. I was the clinical trial?
"You don't happen to hold a grudge against me, do—"
"Hup!"
"Hey!"
Ryeo-ah casually shoved me, waving her hand playfully as my vision receded. She looked so incredibly obnoxious that I wanted to give her a good, hard pounding. And to be clear, I'm talking about my dick, not my fist.
"There will be a massive change. That is, if you can survive. Hehe, do your best."
Splash!