Sparks of Fire and Fate
After finishing his chat with his companions, Han Cheongyu headed to his home. Unlike his peers, who spent considerable effort building and decorating their homes in various ways, Han Cheongyu’s dwelling remained humble and sparse. Even when his companions visited and nagged him about it, he paid them no mind. To him, a house was merely a place to close his eyes for a few hours; there was no need to waste effort on it. A spacious, cozy home? Such luxuries would only slow down the accumulation of his spiritual energy.
Let us not be hasty. If a realm is within my reach, I will eventually attain it, so long as I do not stop of my own accord.
As a cultivator who had not yet reached thirty, Han Cheongyu was practically a greenhorn, to say the least. Yet even a novice had his own experiences and insights. If there was one truth he had realized during his cultivation journey, it was that while laziness was forbidden, impatience was equally fatal. This was a piece of advice the Lord Dragon had casually tossed to him years ago, back when Han Cheongyu was neglecting food and sleep to focus solely on his training. It had been a brief, offhand remark, but to the young cultivator of that time, those simple words had resonated deeply. Since then, Han Cheongyu had treasured that advice like a golden rule, making it the core principle of his cultivation.
“Caw!”
Just as Han Cheongyu was settling his mind to begin his pre-sleep cultivation, a sharp crow’s cry sounded from above. He smiled wryly and looked up. Without making a single sound, a massive crow had appeared overhead, its wings flapping silently.
“Elder Cheongo.”
“Caw!”
Something dropped with a soft thud. When he looked down, he saw a fruit the size of a fist.
“Jekyeong told me to give this to you!”
“The Lord Dragon? To me?”
“Yes! Eat it! It’s good stuff!”
Cheongo fluttered down to land on Han Cheongyu’s head. The bird tried to land with both feet, but realizing too late that Han Cheongyu’s head was too small and its own talons were too large, it barely managed to balance on a single foot. It wobbled precariously, a rather undignified sight, though fortunately, there was no one else around to witness it.
“Eat it now! He told me to make sure you ate it before I came back!”
“Ah, yes.”
Han Cheongyu had no idea that this fruit was a Spiritual Fruit borne by a wood-attribute demon. He merely assumed it was some extraordinary treasure.
Crunch!
But the moment he took a bite, he realized.
It’s a spiritual treasure!
Though he had never seen a spiritual treasure before, he had heard plenty of rumors. Tales of lucky cultivators who stumbled upon a mystical treasure and ascended to the peak of the immortal path overnight were common gossip among practitioners. Thus, the instant the single bite sent a profound resonance echoing through his mind and spiritual nature, he was certain this was indeed a Spiritual Fruit.
Shoving the rest of the fruit into his mouth, Han Cheongyu immediately closed his eyes and began circulating his cultivation technique. He felt the bottleneck that had blocked his path like a towering mountain for months suddenly shrink, becoming as low as a gentle hill.
I will break through in one go.
The mystical efficacy of the Spiritual Fruit continuously infused him with inspiration and confidence.
A moment later.
Han Cheongyu shattered the bottleneck that had plagued him for so long, successfully stepping into the late Qi Condensation stage.
“We searched absolutely everywhere, but...”
Watching Hyeongu report in a tiny, fading voice, Jekyeong let out a quiet sigh.
“I see. It cannot be helped.”
Jekyeong had to admit that his expectations had been somewhat unrealistic. If such valuable aquatic beasts had been living in the Heukgyo water territory, the bandits of the Black Flood Dragon Gang would never have left them alone. They would have used every method at their disposal, diving into the deepest depths, to harvest them all.
Hyeongu had truly given his all. One look at his haggard, disheveled appearance—so starkly different from two months ago—was enough to tell how much he had suffered.
“You have worked hard.”
Seeing Hyeongu bow his head as if he had committed a capital offense, Jekyeong felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. No one disliked a loyal subordinate, especially one who was highly capable.
“Do you require rest?”
“No, my Lord. Do you have further commands?”
A burning determination blazed in Hyeongu’s eyes.
“I have an errand for you. Seek out the Great Demons I name, and deliver my words to them.”
Hyeongu’s eyes widened at the mention of seeking out Great Demons, but he did not speak out of turn. He simply memorized the instructions and then voiced his concerns, which were primarily about the dangers involved. Once he left their sovereign waters, all manner of low-life beasts would bare their fangs at him. Worse, those Great Demons might swallow him whole before he could even utter a word.
“Do not worry.”
Jekyeong assumed his human form and made a cut on his hand. However, unlike before, tearing his own flesh with his fingernails proved to be no easy task. This was the result of his body growing incredibly resilient after undergoing several rounds of molting. Although his transformed human body was not as powerful as his true form, it still inherited a portion of its strength. While he couldn’t be certain, he estimated that his human form possessed about ten percent of his true form’s physical power, perhaps slightly less. Yet even that fraction made him stronger than most human Body Cultivators. This was especially true regarding his physical durability. It seemed he would need at least a high-grade spiritual tool to easily pierce his own skin.
“Go.”
With a fair amount of effort, Jekyeong squeezed out a few drops of blood and flicked them onto Hyeongu. Feeling the overwhelming presence contained within those few drops of blood, Hyeongu shuddered and bowed deeply.
“I shall fulfill the Lord Dragon’s command.”
Hyeongu immediately departed from Heukgyodo. Swimming vigorously behind him was a turtle far larger than himself.
“Father, Father! I’m hungry. Can’t we grab a bite before we go?”
“You ate your fill while I was in audience with the Lord Dragon!”
The massive turtle, Bigu, blinked his tiny eyes in surprise.
“How did you know?”
“Hmph! Do you think I don’t know my own son?”
“But I’m still hungry,” Bigu muttered sullenly, flapping his webbed flippers. “Father, look at my body. I’m way bigger than you, so I need to eat way more.”
“No, you are just fat! And of course you are! All you do is eat and sleep all day, so how could you not be fat?”
“But I’m in my growing phase!”
“Growing phase, my foot!”
Hyeongu snapped at the absurd excuse, but inwardly, he wondered if the foolish boy might actually be right. His bloodline is different from mine, after all.
Hyeongu was a demon beast possessing a distinct bloodline, and his son was the same. Out of his dozens of offspring, Bigu was the only one who had awakened a bloodline, but his bloodline was entirely different from Hyeongu’s own. In truth, this was perfectly normal. Turtle demons were considered a massive clan among beasts, and their ancestors included all kinds of Great Demons, Demon Kings, and even Yao Emperors. With countless descendants branching out from those legendary ancestors, which specific bloodline manifested was entirely up to the heavens. Thus, Hyeongu could not tell whether his foolish son’s lazy, gluttonous nature was simply his personality or an influence of his awakened bloodline.
“Father, Father... I’m too hungry to move.”
Lagging slowly behind, Bigu finally let out a pathetic groan and flipped onto his back, floating belly-up. Hyeongu’s breathing grew ragged with frustration at the sight, but Bigu simply closed his eyes, looking entirely resigned to whatever beating or scolding might come. Hyeongu smacked him with his flippers, rammed him with his head, and even bit him, but Bigu did not budge an inch. Hyeongu fumed with rage, but there was little else he could do. Though lazy, fat, and slow, this boy was incredibly strong and durable. When Bigu was small, Hyeongu could manage him to some extent, but as the boy grew larger and larger, physical discipline ceased to have any effect. It was a blessing that his temperament was gentle, meaning he only rebelled when his stomach was empty. Otherwise, Hyeongu would have been forced to abandon this foolish child long ago.
“Fine, fine! I get it!”
After venting his anger, Hyeongu ultimately resigned himself to his fate, as he always did.
“Therefore, before a Dharma Seed can be considered a concentration of Dharma Power, it is the very foundation of one’s Dao. It is the spark of ignition that lights a cultivator’s unique immortal path.”
The indifferent, chanting voice of Daoist Cheongheo settled into the minds of all the cultivators. Jekyeong found it somewhat perplexing. He felt as though he understood Daoist Cheongheo’s words, yet at the same time, understood nothing at all. He savored the Dao Rhyme hidden within that indifferent tone as much as possible, while striving to commit every single word to memory. In truth, the teachings of a senior cultivator as unimaginably distant as Daoist Cheongheo were not something he could fully absorb at his current stage. Even if he could comprehend them, they could only serve as a reference; he could never blindly retrace the steps of his predecessors. After all, if there were ten thousand cultivators, there would be ten thousand different immortal paths. Thus, listening to the sermons of senior cultivators was a way to broaden one’s horizons and expand one’s own path through their experiences. Widening his path even by a fraction would reduce the chances of taking a false step.
“As expected of Daoist Cheongheo.”
“It seems he has resolved to face the Spirit Transformation Tribulation.”
“I heard Daoist Cheongheo still has quite a bit of lifespan remaining. Isn’t he rushing things?”
“Perhaps he believes there is no reason to delay a path he must walk eventually.”
“An admirable Dao heart indeed.”
After the sermon concluded, the cultivators of Bul-mang-won gathered in small groups to converse. Jekyeong also met with the members of the Mansi Assembly in a quiet spot to share their insights. Though the insights of cultivators merely at the early to middle stages of Foundation Establishment were nothing extraordinary, these discussions of the Dao still held value. They gained minor revelations and fostered a sense of belonging within their small circle.
“They say the seniors deliver sermons to us juniors to accumulate immortal affinity. But what exactly is immortal affinity? Some say it is karmic merit, while others believe it is the literal connection itself... but what meaning could there be in forging a connection with insignificant people like us?”
“Haha. Well, who knows? I prefer not to trouble my mind with it beforehand. We will understand when the time comes.”
U Do-baek shook his head with a wry smile.
“Indeed. That is the correct attitude.”
Jekyeong cast a sideways glance at U Do-baek, who exuded a carefree, almost resigned aura. U Do-baek was still stuck at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, unable to break through his bottleneck.
Perhaps he has given up.
As far as Jekyeong knew, U Do-baek was quite advanced in years. Furthermore, from their occasional casual chats, Jekyeong had learned that U Do-baek had a family, and a rather large one at that. For the past few years, he had frequently spoken of his exceptionally bright grandson, expressing high hopes for the boy’s future on the immortal path—the classic behavior of an elder placing his hopes on the next generation. Jekyeong could not fully empathize with U Do-baek’s mindset, but he did not mock or look down on him. Everyone had their own circumstances; how could one truly understand another’s heart without walking in their shoes? Still, seeing the Dao heart of someone he called a fellow Daoist begin to falter left a faint bitterness in his chest.
“Senior U. I have encountered some obstacles recently, and I would like to ask for your guidance regarding fire magic.”
“Oh? If I can be of help, by all means.”
U Do-baek was the only cultivator in the Mansi Assembly who practiced fire magic. Jekyeong often sought his counsel on the subject, and U Do-baek never hesitated to answer his questions with ease. Of course, since Jekyeong manipulated Monster Power rather than Dharma Power, he could not apply U Do-baek’s teachings literally, but they still served as an invaluable reference. Jekyeong estimated that at least thirty percent of his achievements in fire magic over the past ten years were thanks to U Do-baek’s guidance.
“Thank you for your guidance.”
“Guidance? You are far too humble. We are merely exchanging insights.”
As the oldest member of the Mansi Assembly, U Do-baek was naturally the most knowledgeable.