The Path of a Demon Beast
"I thought my life had been quite eventful, but trying to put it into words made it feel so brief it was almost anticlimactic," Jekyeong said. "You told me to survive and grow strong. I want to do exactly that, but I don't know how. I don't even know if I'm a demon beast right now. If I'm not, what do I have to do to become one?"
"Hmm. I cannot tell whether you are a demon beast or not," Yu Jeonggyeom replied. "Since you have only just set foot in Bul-mang-won, your spiritual body has not fully formed. Furthermore, the cultivation of the Beast Race generally leans toward the physical body rather than the mind. Because of this, it is difficult to discern their progress until their cultivation reaches a certain level. Thus, even I cannot peer into your current cultivation. You may have opened your spiritual awareness by consuming that lotus, but spiritual awareness is separate from one's cultivation stage, so it cannot be used as a reference."
The Guide paused in thought before continuing.
"Becoming a demon beast is simple. You must strengthen your vital energy and, using that as a foundation, resonate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Since you have already awakened your spiritual awareness, resonating with spiritual energy will be easy. The key is to build up your vital energy. To put it simply, you must consume plenty of nutritious things."
"Uh..."
If Jekyeong had come here with his physical body, he would have blinked in sheer disbelief. Consume plenty of nutritious things? So, he just had to eat well and sleep well? Was it really that simple? But... isn't that exactly what I've been doing all this time?
"I know it might sound somewhat absurd," Yu Jeonggyeom said. "But that is simply the nature of the Beast Race's cultivation. Since they possess virtually no systematically accumulated heritage, their methods of cultivation are extremely simple. In fact, even the term 'cultivation' feels a bit awkward. They merely engage in a struggle for survival guided by instinct, and a select few exceptional individuals among them eventually make a name for themselves."
Jekyeong detected no malice or condescension from the Guide. His tone was serene, calmly stating what he believed to be the plain truth. At the very least, he genuinely seemed to think this way.
This made Jekyeong wonder. If the Beast Race's cultivation methods are so crude, how can they contest hegemony over this world with the Human Race? Is it simply because of their sheer numbers?
"Another piece of advice: seek out places where spiritual energy is dense," Yu Jeonggyeom added. "Though you lack a cultivation technique to directly refine spiritual energy, merely exposing yourself to a denser concentration of it will yield various positive effects. The Beast Race, with their naturally robust bodies, benefit even more from this. However, be cautious. Even wild beasts that have not awakened their spiritual intelligence possess an instinct to seek out good things. Therefore, places with dense spiritual energy—spiritual lands—are highly likely to already have masters. If you can handle them, well and good. But if you cannot, you will only be courting disaster. You must be as prudent as possible when searching for spiritual lands."
"Thank you for your guidance. I will keep that in mind."
Afterward, Jekyeong asked about everything else that crossed his mind. Toward the end, many of his questions could have been considered trivial, but the Guide answered every single one with patience and detail, showing no sign of annoyance. Jekyeong couldn't help but admire his profound professionalism. He was truly a man worthy of the title 'Guide.'
As he relished the feeling of his mind filling with knowledge, Jekyeong suddenly realized that quite a bit of time must have passed. According to the Guide, it was only his mind that had come here. This meant his physical body was still coiled by the Pond, completely defenseless.
Jekyeong voiced his concerns to the Guide, apologetically explaining that he needed to return. The Guide nodded readily in understanding.
"Go on, then. I will not be here to greet you next time, so you will have to explore Bul-mang-won on your own. But there is no need to worry. Everyone here is of your kind. Even if they are not particularly warm, they will not harm you. Besides, conflict is strictly forbidden here."
"Thank you. But... how do I return here?"
"You saw the gate, did you not?"
The gate? Did he mean that massive celestial body—no, that eye? When Jekyeong asked, the Guide nodded.
"Normally, one would extend their spiritual consciousness toward the gate. However, since you have only just opened your spiritual awareness, you must try to expand it as much as possible. If you can perceive the gate, you will be able to come. Otherwise, you will have to wait until you obtain spiritual consciousness."
The Guide kindly explained spiritual consciousness as well. According to his explanation, spiritual consciousness was a spiritual sense manifested through mental power. Once one could use it, they could perceive everything within its range of detection, among various other abilities.
Hearing this, Jekyeong recalled the frog that had used the mist to sense enemies entering its domain.
An even higher-level ability than that.
In any case, spiritual consciousness was currently pie in the sky for Jekyeong. If he couldn't reach the gate by opening his spiritual awareness, it would likely be a very long time before he could enter Bul-mang-won again.
"I hope to see you again soon. I assure you, you will grow to like this place. Diverse interactions yield diverse benefits. Perhaps you might even meet someone from your hometown here."
Hometown. Jekyeong bowed his head in silence. Of course, in his spiritual body, he had no physical head to bow, but the respect and gratitude he wished to convey were surely delivered.
"May I ask your name?"
Jekyeong could feel the Guide's goodwill. Whether that goodwill was extended to all of their kind or was simply a product of his deep professionalism, gratitude was gratitude.
"My name is Yu Jeonggyeom. Take care of yourself until we meet again."
The moment the Guide, Yu Jeonggyeom, finished speaking, Jekyeong's consciousness was violently sucked away. After a brief, dizzying sensation as if caught in a powerful whirlpool, Jekyeong shuddered violently.
"Huh?"
Indeed, he had shuddered. Before he knew it, he was back in his serpent form.
"Jekyeong! Were you sleeping with your eyes open?"
And right above his head, a rather grumpy-looking Cheongo was chirping and crying out.
Quickly smoothing things over, Jekyeong told the annoyed Cheongo that he hadn't been ignoring it, but had truly been unable to hear.
Since Cheongo had also spaced out after eating a few petals of the spiritual lotus, it readily accepted Jekyeong's excuse.
"We stayed here for way too long."
Unlike Jekyeong, who showed virtually no outward changes despite awakening his spiritual awareness, Cheongo's transformation was distinct. For starters, the blue light flowing through its body had grown more brilliant, and its speech had become much more coherent. Did it get smarter?
"I'm going to stay here for the time being."
"Here? Why?"
Cheongo looked around as it asked. There was only a single pond sitting in isolation, surrounded by tilted and fallen trees, giving the area a somewhat desolate feel. Naturally, not even a single mouse could be seen.
"I find being in the water comfortable. It's much better than climbing trees every day."
While that was true, the real reason was that the spiritual energy here was denser than in the surrounding areas. He didn't tell Cheongo the truth simply because there was no need to. Cheongo was a good business partner, but Jekyeong saw no reason to lay all his cards on the table. He believed that secrets were like wealth in a way—the more you kept, the better off you were.
Cheongo accepted Jekyeong's excuse. After all, no matter where he stayed, it wouldn't stop the bird from finding him.
"Alright. Are we hunting more today?"
"No. I'm tired. I want to rest today."
He had experienced and learned far too much today. The mysterious Bul-mang-won, the unexpected encounter with his own kind, and his desperate struggle with the frog—all in all, he was more exhausted, both physically and mentally, than ever before.
"Okay. Rest well. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. If you need to find me, just call out from above the pond. I'll be able to hear you."
After bidding farewell to Cheongo, Jekyeong slipped into the pond.
It's unmistakable.
He had been invited to Bul-mang-won the instant his spiritual awareness awakened, leaving him no time to process it. But now, calmly utilizing this newly acquired sense, the world felt entirely different.
The Guide, Yu Jeonggyeom, had said that one could perceive the world's spiritual energy through spiritual awareness. It was exactly as he had said. Jekyeong could now faintly sense a mysterious energy permeating the world. This mysterious energy had to be spiritual energy. It spread across the world like endless, unbroken threads, or a complex, sprawling spiderweb. Moreover, most of it didn't stay in one place but constantly drifted like flowing water. Focusing on this flow, Jekyeong felt as though he were submerged in a gently flowing river.
Could this place be considered a spiritual land of sorts?
Most spiritual energy flowed endlessly. However, some of it pooled in one place or drifted so slowly it seemed stagnant. This pond was one such place. To put it simply, the concentration of spiritual energy here was twice as dense as outside the pond, and three to four times denser than where the trees had collapsed. Jekyeong could guess why. The cause was undoubtedly the lotus he and Cheongo had devoured. While the pond's spiritual energy was denser than elsewhere, the energy right where the lotus had bloomed was even thicker than in the rest of the pond.
In that case, the spiritual energy here will also dissipate over time.
If they hadn't plucked and eaten the lotus, would the concentration of spiritual energy here have grown even denser? Perhaps this place could have become a true spiritual land. Well, it was a meaningless assumption now. Jekyeong decided to enjoy the spiritual energy here as much as possible while it lasted.
It definitely feels cool and pleasant, but what exactly is its practical benefit?
To use an analogy, it felt like soaking in a hot spring. It felt great, and he knew it was good for him, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly how or why.
He said I need to resonate with it. But he also said it would be useless until my vital energy is strong enough.
Jekyeong mulled over Yu Jeonggyeom's teachings. The Guide had told him to build up his vital energy. Only when his vital energy reached a certain level could his physical body resonate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, allowing him to transcend being a mere beast and become a demon beast.
Vital energy. Vital energy...
The method to build vital energy was simple. Just eat a lot, sleep a lot, and move a lot. But Jekyeong had no intention of slacking off and taking his sweet time just because a clear path lay ahead. If the destination was clear, it was only natural to reach it as quickly as possible.
Yu Jeonggyeom had also said to consume plenty of "good things." Conveniently, he had eaten something very good today—the frog that had originally guarded this pond.
It felt like I had consumed some sort of restorative tonic.
Though the quantity was mediocre, in terms of quality, the frog surpassed every prey Jekyeong had ever eaten. The only thing comparable was the blood of the spiritual bird that had once mesmerized him. Of course, that blood had only been a few drops, so it couldn't strictly compare to the frog he ate today, but it highlighted just how high the quality had been.
Rather than filling my stomach with common beasts, targeting creatures like that frog will be far more helpful in building my vital energy.
A slow, comfortable, and safe path lay before him alongside a fast but potentially dangerous one. In the past, Jekyeong would have chosen the first path without a second thought. But things were different now. He had learned that the path appearing safe was not truly safe, and the path appearing dangerous was not necessarily so.
If I seek out places with dense spiritual energy and find spiritual lands, I'll be able to find creatures like that frog.
Jekyeong used the frog as his benchmark. If his opponents were around the frog's level, he was confident he could handle them without much trouble. By "without much trouble," he didn't mean he could easily kill them, but rather that he was confident he wouldn't put himself in danger by fighting them. Take the frog, for instance. It hadn't posed a real threat to him, but Jekyeong also couldn't do anything to it through normal means. His ability to kill it had been the result of several favorable factors aligning, not because his own prowess was overwhelming.
Come to think of it, that frog was a bad matchup for me. It's best to avoid creatures that are too agile for me to catch or those that possess ranged attacks.
Jekyeong believed his strengths lay in his sturdy body and immense physical strength. Therefore, if he were to choose prey, it had to be something he could crush using those advantages.
I can just use Cheongo's help.
Since the bird seemed to have gotten smarter, it would likely be even better at scouting than before. Even now, he felt partnering up with it had been an incredibly wise decision.
Will I ever be able to fly through the sky on my own, without needing its help?
This world was different from his previous one. In his past life, no matter how extraordinary a creature was, it had biological limits. A creature without wings could never fly, and none could exert power far beyond their physical weight class. But this Changram Realm was different. Superhumans existed, as did transcendent creatures. It was impossible to even guess how powerful a single individual could become. So why couldn't a serpent fly? Why couldn't it soar even higher than the heavens? And when that time came, would a serpent still be just a serpent?
"Over there."
Over the next two months, the hunting method they had systematically established began to undergo a change.