The Allure of Transformation
Just as even the most targeted lecture is nothing but gibberish to those who lack even the basic concepts, the sermon of Buyun-ja, who stood at the peak of the Golden Core stage, would be of little help to those whose realms were too low. That was likely why the reactions were so divided.
Even within the Foundation Establishment stage, is there such a vast difference between the early and middle phases?
Perhaps dividing the major realms of cultivation into three sub-stages was not merely due to the human race's obsession with categorization. Jekyeong's gaze drifted toward Yoo Gyeyoon, who had remained silent for some time. The others were looking at him as well.
"Senior Yoo. What do you plan to do?"
"I intend to go. It might prove to be a good opportunity."
"Have you truly made up your mind?"
"Yes. I am desperate enough to grasp at straws. I have felt this way for quite some time now."
Sensing the gravity of the atmosphere, Jekyeong tactfully held his tongue. The seniors began to vent about the bottlenecks of cultivation, about that suffocating, desolate despair. A deep-rooted sense of mutual understanding, one that Jekyeong could not yet comprehend, bound them together.
A bottleneck.
Though he had yet to experience one himself, he would inevitably face it someday. To walk the path of cultivation, to tread the immortal road, was to wage a ceaseless war against countless bottlenecks.
"Then when will you depart?"
"I must set out within a year at the latest."
Hearing the tone that suggested even a year was cutting it close, Jekyeong inwardly clicked his tongue in amazement.
Gwanghanlim is in the Northern Region, and this place is in the dead center of the Southern Region. But even so...
Although they could only exist here as spiritual bodies and thus had to move purely through mental strength, the speed of cultivators was by no means slow. Jekyeong himself was confident he could fly faster than any bird in this realm, so what need was there to speak of Foundation Establishment cultivators?
Yet, it was not just any ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but Yoo Gyeyoon—a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—who was speaking of a journey that would take at least nine years. Jekyeong could only stare in sheer dumbfoundedness.
Is Bulmangwon truly that vast?
Had they not called it a sub-world? Was the concept of "small" in the cultivation world fundamentally different from what he imagined? For a moment, Jekyeong's mind spun in confusion.
Kind Seniors
Jekyeong noticed that while the cultivators of the Mansi Association discussed all sorts of topics, they never asked about or disclosed any personal details. Only then did he understand the reason behind the strange mixture of intimacy and distance he had felt ever since the gathering began.
In a manner of speaking, they were close precisely because they were distant. They likely knew very little about one another beyond their names and cultivation levels. Perhaps even the names they used now were pseudonyms. Furthermore, it was highly probable that their actual residences and areas of activity in the cultivation world did not overlap or even lie near one another.
They're like online friends.
He tried to avoid relying on the knowledge of his past life as much as possible, but once his thoughts reached this point, the comparison was unavoidable. They knew each other yet remained strangers; because their practical interests did not clash, they could associate purely based on mutual liking. Realizing this, Jekyeong felt much more at ease.
"Fellow Daoist U. How did that matter you mentioned the other day turn out?"
When Yeo Janggyeong asked, U Dobaek replied in a bitter tone.
"Do you mean the Fire Crystal? I could not obtain it. As you well know, Fellow Daoist Yeo, finding spiritual treasures for cultivation these days is like plucking stars from the sky."
"Indeed it is."
Chae Yeonri sighed and chimed in.
"They say the cultivation world has enjoyed a golden age for the past few thousand years, but that only means the number of cultivators has multiplied. The competition to forge ahead has grown fiercely intense, making it increasingly difficult to acquire the spiritual treasures you speak of. In other words, while the cultivation world as a whole may be thriving, for individual cultivators like us, it has only ushered in a harsher era."
"Fellow Daoist Chae is correct. Yet, trying to accumulate cultivation without the aid of external resources is like building a castle out of sand. We have no choice but to climb trees in search of fish, futile as it may seem."
After everyone took turns lamenting, the atmosphere grew heavy. It was then that Yoo Gyeyoon, who rarely spoke, broke the silence.
"Is that not the very nature of cultivation? It is an endeavor that can only be achieved by contending with people, contending with time, and contending with the heavens. There is no need to rejoice over opportunities, nor is there any reason to be disheartened by hardships. Rather than doing so, one should fear failing to do everything within their power."
"Your words are wise, Senior."
Everyone here addressed one another as "Fellow Daoist," but they reserved the title of "Senior" solely for Yoo Gyeyoon. Now, Jekyeong realized this was not merely because his cultivation level was the highest. Though he spoke little, he was undeniably the anchor of this gathering.
He seems to be the oldest as well.
Despite existing only as a hazy spiritual body, he exuded an aura of quiet transcendence. An indelible sense of experience and weariness clung to his calm, measured words, leading Jekyeong to guess that Yoo Gyeyoon was an elderly man in the physical world. One whose lifespan, in all likelihood... was drawing to a close.
The weariness of the immortal path.
While a cultivator walking the immortal path had to contend with countless adversaries, the most threatening opponent of all was their own lifespan. This was especially true for human cultivators.
Some claimed that the human race was the premier race of the immortal path, favored by the heavens. This assertion was not merely baseless self-flattery concocted by humans to elevate themselves; it possessed its own logical foundation.
First, the human race was vast in number. Of course, there were other races in the Changram Realm with larger populations, but humans possessed an absolute advantage that those races could never match: their capacity for unity. No other race in the world could unite as cohesively as humanity.
While other races might temporarily join forces to face a common enemy in times of external threat, the unity of the human race was on an entirely different level. They banded together to build villages, establish cities, and forge empires. Such cohesion and the collective power born from it were things other races could neither replicate nor withstand. It was by virtue of this strength that humanity had risen to become the dominant race, vying for absolute hegemony over the Changram Realm.
Yet, nothing in this world is perfect. The heavens had balanced humanity's strengths with a single, devastating flaw: a short lifespan. Incomparable to long-lived species and far shorter than that of most other races, this brief existence was the heaviest shackle that drove human cultivators to despair.
How many human cultivators had withered away before the wall of mortality, crushed beneath the weight of passing years? Everyone knew that the number was beyond calculation. Thus, human cultivators strove desperately to raise their cultivation levels. They knew that only by constantly forging ahead could they avoid being ground to dust by time.
Perhaps they see their own future in Yoo Gyeyoon.
Though Jekyeong had yet to experience it firsthand, he had heard of the grueling nature of cultivation many times. Out of a thousand who set their hearts on the immortal path, only one would successfully initiate and enter the Dao. Out of those, only one in a hundred would endure decades of grueling cultivation to even knock on the gates of Foundation Establishment. The crucial point was not that one in a hundred achieved Foundation Establishment, but that only one in a hundred even managed to knock on its gates.
The tightly shut gates did not open for just anyone. How many of them would actually reach Foundation Establishment and earn the right to challenge even higher realms? No one could say for certain, but it was undoubtedly a minuscule fraction.
Thinking of it that way, the individuals before him seemed truly remarkable. Yet even they were merely one in a thousand—or perhaps one in ten thousand—staring up at the ultimate breakthrough. They were but a few of the desperate souls struggling to become the single camel passing through the eye of a needle.
"Let us set aside such heavy topics for now. How is everyone's cultivation progressing?"
"What could possibly change in a mere three months? I am still wandering through a thick fog."
"A wind is bound to blow eventually. As long as you do not regress, a path will surely open."
"I only hope that wind blows sooner rather than later."
As Yoo Gyeyoon smoothly shifted the mood of the gathering, lively conversation resumed. The discussion centered mostly on various difficulties encountered in their cultivation, though unlike before, it remained lighthearted venting.
"Our junior from the beast race is quite silent. There is no need to walk on eggshells. This small gathering was originally created so we could speak our minds freely. If there is anything you wish to say or ask, do not keep it bottled up."
U Dobaek spoke with a warm smile. Perhaps he felt a lingering sense of responsibility as the one who had invited Jekyeong to the Mansi Association. Regardless, Jekyeong did not reject U Dobaek's goodwill. Feeling the curious gazes turning toward him from all sides, he spoke cautiously.
"To be completely honest with you, seniors, my ignorance of the immortal path is so profound that simply trying to follow your conversation has taken all my concentration. I simply did not have the luxury to speak."
"There is no need to be so humble. Perhaps in the outside world, but certainly not here."
"I thank you for your generosity, seniors."
Now that he had been given the floor, Jekyeong did not shrink back any further.
"Seniors, earlier, while you were discussing the beast race of the Yeongbu Merchant Alliance, you mentioned something called the Transformation Secret Art. What exactly is that?"
Jekyeong's gaze shifted toward Chae Yeonri. He had found it difficult to suppress his curiosity ever since he first heard the term. The Transformation Secret Art? Judging by the name, it seemed to be a secret technique for changing one's appearance. If so, did mastering it mean one could take on a human form?
If asked whether he harbored any lingering regrets about his past life, he would likely shake his head. But if asked whether he wished to become human, Jekyeong would hesitate. Though he had been reborn as a snake and had become a demon beast in this life, he still perceived himself as a human being.
To be precise, Jekyeong did not restrict himself to a single definition. He viewed himself as a snake, a demon beast, and a human all at once. The first two were his identities in this life, while the last was a legacy carried over from his past. He denied none of them, embracing them all. Consequently, he felt a powerful curiosity toward the Transformation Secret Art. If there was a way to learn it, he wanted to.
"The Transformation Secret Art is a technique that allows other races to assume the form of the human race. If mastered, one can achieve an appearance indistinguishable from a perfect human."
"Why do other races practice such a technique? Is it to facilitate interaction with humans?"
"While that may be part of it, the primary reason is likely the Transformation Tribulation. Accumulating experience with transformation beforehand undoubtedly aids them when they must undergo the actual tribulation."
U Dobaek added his own thoughts to Chae Yeonri's explanation.
"That is a plausible rumor, but it is by no means certain. Very little is known about the cultivation methods of the beast race. Especially something like the Transformation Tribulation... to us, it is practically a tale from another world."
Even though U Dobaek had essentially contradicted her, Chae Yeonri did not mind and readily agreed.
"Indeed. I have heard that great cultivators who have survived the Transformation Tribulation are exceedingly rare, so what could people like us possibly know of it? However, I find the rumor highly plausible. Even if it is only through a secret art, achieving transformation would surely serve as invaluable experience, would it not?"
"Of course, that may well be the case. Who can say for sure? Haha."
Jekyeong pondered for a moment before asking another question.
"Seniors, then why do other races seek to transform in the first place? From what you have said, it seems they must risk a perilous tribulation to do so. I am curious as to why they would go to such lengths just to achieve a human form."
"Because the human race is the premier race of the immortal path," Yeo Janggyeong answered immediately, his tone laced with pride.
"To be more precise, it is to obtain the aid of human legacies," U Dobaek added.
"Human legacies?"
"Yes. The true strength of the human race lies in the legacies left behind by countless senior cultivators over vast stretches of time. Cultivation methods go without saying, but there are also the Hundred Arts of Cultivation. Shall we take Alchemy as an example?"
Alchemy. It was the art of combining all manner of ingredients from heaven and earth to refine alchemical pills. The profundity of this knowledge was considered among the deepest of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, so much so that it was regarded as a Dao in its own right. He had heard that those with deep attainment in alchemy were revered as Grandmasters of Alchemy, transcending mere cultivation realms to command immense respect throughout the cultivation world. That was how vital alchemy was to the human race.
"In the beginning, humans, much like other races, likely shoved anything that looked beneficial straight into their mouths. In doing so, they wasted precious treasures and invited disaster by consuming the wrong things. But as those experiences accumulated over countless generations, someone eventually began to categorize and record what aided cultivation and what brought harm."
No one knew just how deep the history of the human race ran. Some claimed the ancient era was the beginning of history, while others speculated there existed a primordial past so distant it had faded even from oral tradition. And still others argued that the legacies of the human race were their history itself. Over countless ages, countless attempts had been made. There were, of course, countless successes and failures, but every single one of them held value.
"There were herbs that were once deemed utterly worthless. But one day, someone discovered that blending those very herbs in precise proportions could aid in accumulating spiritual energy. Herbs that had been treated as nothing more than common weeds for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, instantly became invaluable cultivation resources."
U Dobaek's tale was long-winded, but it was far from boring. In fact, it was quite fascinating. At first glance, it seemed like a tangential ramble unrelated to the question, but Jekyeong could faintly grasp what U Dobaek was trying to convey.
"There is a pill called the Foundation Establishment Pill. True to its name, it is a medicine that helps late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators who have hit a bottleneck break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Today, the Foundation Establishment Pill is regarded as an indispensable treasure for reaching Foundation Establishment. All manner of bloody battles are waged over these very pills."
At that remark, several of the gathered cultivators let out faint, knowing chuckles.