A Matter of Appearances
"For the time being, leave the clan's affairs to your brothers and focus entirely on consolidating your cultivation."
"I will obey your command, Father."
"Mm."
Choi Ju-tang nodded with deep satisfaction as he watched his son return to the meditation chamber.
Good. Excellent. The future of the Choi clan is bright.
Now that his son had broken through the bottleneck of Foundation Establishment, the clan had secured at least another century of prosperity. Whether his other children could achieve the same remained uncertain, but having solidified their standing as a Foundation Establishment clan, a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders.
A Foundation Establishment clan...
Initially, his decision to settle on Sosan Island had been to leverage his connections to the fullest, but it was also to avoid conflict. At the time, the Choi clan possessed no real influence, and with him being the sole Foundation Establishment cultivator, they were in no position to compete with other factions.
The same held true even now. Although the clan now boasted two Foundation Establishment cultivators, the number of those at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation or higher was still abysmally low. Even this current number was only achieved because he had tirelessly encouraged his descendants to multiply, leading by example himself.
Honestly, this is more than enough for now.
A clan's golden age did not manifest overnight. Even if a peerless genius were to be born, true prosperity could never be sustained without a foundation built over generations. The name of the Sosan Choi clan was only just beginning to rise; his role was simply to lay down the deepest, sturdiest foundation possible for those who would follow.
To achieve that, what he needed above all else... was longevity.
Only if I live as long as possible and maintain my connection with Junior Jekyeong will our family business truly flourish.
It wasn't that he had abandoned his own path of cultivation. He still trained diligently, and if possible, he wanted to form his own Golden Core, standing tall in the cultivation world without relying on anyone else. But he was a pragmatist. His ever-slowing cultivation speed and advancing years forced him to face the cold, hard truth.
He was already walking the exact path U Do-baek had trodden in the past. He had established a clan, begun preparing for future generations, and had even resorted to consuming a Lifespan Extending Pill.
Just how much time do I have left?
Can I break through before my great limit arrives? If he consistently replenished his Vital Energy and healed his hidden injuries, he might be able to seize one last opportunity. But beyond that... it would likely be impossible.
Calming his turbulent thoughts, Choi Ju-tang reviewed the clan's affairs. Compared to the endlessly distant path of the immortal Dao, the rapid, visible growth of his family brought him genuine joy.
Aboard an unmarked vessel, the cultivators of the Choi clan held their breath, staring intently into the distance. No matter how hard they strained their eyes, they could not pierce the dense, swirling fog, but doing so was the only way to soothe their mounting anxiety.
"Don't be nervous."
Those with prior transport experience tried to reassure the newcomers, but their words carried little weight. The veterans themselves looked as pale as death, their voices stiff as stone.
It was an unavoidable reaction. No matter how much experience they claimed to have, they were ultimately mere Qi Condensation cultivators. They could not help but shrink back instinctively from the overwhelming Monster Power that saturated the air.
Thud!
Amidst the heavy silence, the water suddenly surged violently. As the tense cultivators scrambled to grab onto anything to keep their balance, a massive island slowly rose from the depths in the distance. The island—or rather, something that looked exactly like one—began to glide slowly toward them.
"Calm down! Calm down! That is Lord Bigu! He has come to receive us!"
The thick fog blanketing the area could not hope to conceal such a colossal existence. The Choi clan members who were making this journey for the first time stared in utter horror at the island-sized turtle heading straight for them.
"Don't make fools of yourselves! Get a grip!"
Though the gargantuan turtle moved at a leisurely pace, his sheer mass meant that even the slightest shift of his body sent massive waves rolling outward. The stationary vessel tossed violently as if caught in a tempest, and the weaker cultivators struggled to even remain on their feet.
Yet, it was impossible for mere Qi Condensation cultivators to maintain their composure in front of such a terrifying Great Demon, so they could hardly be blamed for their terror.
"Lord Bigu! We are cultivators of the Choi clan! We have brought the tributes for the Lord Dragon!"
"Yeah. I know. I heard."
Poking his head above the water, Bigu stared blankly at the human cultivators, whose faces were as pale as corpses.
"So, where are the tributes?"
"Ah, yes! We have them ready!"
The Choi cultivators scrambled into action, quickly releasing a smaller boat. Though called "small," it was only small in comparison to their main transport vessel; it was still the size of a standard fishing boat. Inside, it was packed with humans bound by spiritual restrictions.
After confirming the unconscious, sleeping humans, Bigu carefully swallowed the boat whole.
"Good job."
Leaving behind the still-dazed Choi cultivators, Bigu slowly submerged back into the depths.
Although conditions had improved significantly over time, the environment of the Seongya Archipelago remained incredibly harsh. Let alone ordinary monsters, even decent Great Demons could easily meet a bloody end if they took a wrong turn.
This was precisely why Bigu had taken on the role of gatekeeper and errand boy. His incredibly durable body could easily withstand the harshness of the Seongya Archipelago, and his massive size was highly practical for handling minor chores like this.
Whoosh—
Paddling his relatively short legs and flippers, Bigu smoothly cut through the turbulent currents. Despite his bulk, his speed was remarkably fast. It took him less than a day to travel from the outer edge of the archipelago to the Black Cult Palace at its center.
"Mmm..."
Carefully poking his head out, Bigu quickly scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming that his father—who scolded him every time they met—and the crow—who took great pleasure in teasing him—were nowhere to be seen did he regurgitate the swallowed "tributes."
"Caw!"
Right at that moment, a cheerful caw echoed from the sky. Flinching at the sound, Bigu scrambled to hide back underwater, but before he could even budge, a large blue crow landed squarely on his head.
"Hey, fatty! Where have you been?"
"I-I went on an errand for the Lord Dragon. Look," Bigu said, pointing to the boat he had just spat out.
"An errand only takes a day. But you haven't been seen for ages before that!"
"Ah, that's because my father gave me something to do..."
"Don't lie to me, fatty! I already asked Skinny!"
"Skinny" was one of the many nicknames the crow had for his father. Depending on the situation and the crow's mood that day, his father could be "Skinny," "the Flatterer," or something else entirely.
"You were running away, weren't you?"
"No way! Why would I run away?"
"Exactly. Why run away when I gave you such a wonderful dream?"
"..."
A wonderful dream? It certainly had been wonderful—right up until he woke up. In that dream, he had feasted endlessly on all kinds of delicacies. Because he never felt full no matter how much he ate, he could literally eat to his heart's content, gorging himself without limit. Ah, even thinking back on it now, that moment had been so blissful he wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.
But no dream lasted forever. When he finally woke up, his head half-submerged in a puddle of his own drool, he was instantly hit by a wave of such agonizing hunger that he screamed. He had instinctively stuffed his face to fill the void, but because the memory of the dream was so vivid, nothing he ate could satisfy him.
To be unhappy even while eating one's fill? He had never imagined such a thing was possible. Yet reality was cruel, and it took Bigu a full half-year to escape that dreadful state of "unhappiness." Ever since, just the sound of this crow's flapping wings or cawing was enough to send him fleeing in terror.
"It's fine, don't be scared. This time, I'll let you have a really fun dream."
"Ugh... No, thank you. I'm not sleepy at all."
The one who saved the despairing Bigu was his "Skinny" father.
"You foolish boy! An envoy from Haeyeon Island has arrived! Go out and greet them immediately!"
"Yes, Father!"
As Bigu hurriedly vanished beneath the waves, Cheongo glared at Hyeongu with clear displeasure.
"Cheongo, the Lord Dragon is looking for you."
"Tsk. Fine."
Watching Cheongo grumble but immediately fly toward the Black Cult Palace, Hyeongu let out a soft sigh.
Lately, Jekyeong had been focusing entirely on refining his Grotto-heaven. He had previously inherited the Grotto-heaven from Sangyoza, but because his cultivation had not yet reached the Core Formation Realm, he had been unable to wield it, treating it as nothing more than a pie in the sky.
After achieving Core Formation, he had intended to refine the Grotto-heaven in earnest, but the constantly seething Demonic Obsession had forced him to put those plans on hold. Of course, that did not mean he hadn't tried at all. Immediately after calming his Demonic Obsession through slaughter, he had attempted to commune with and control the Grotto-heaven a few times. However, those few attempts only taught him that refining a Grotto-heaven was far more difficult than he had anticipated.
To use an analogy, the Grotto-heaven was like a vast space shrouded in absolute darkness. To truly claim and control it, one had to start with a tiny spark to banish the dark and illuminate the entire realm. It was not a task that could be accomplished overnight. Fortunately, suppressing his Demonic Obsession had become easier lately, granting him some breathing room; otherwise, Jekyeong would not have even dared to attempt refining the Grotto-heaven for a long time.
"..."
Jekyeong stared at a translucent shimmer wavering in the empty air. At a glance, it resembled the spatial rifts that had once hovered over the Seongya Archipelago, but it lacked their eerie, ominous aura, and no chilling winds blew from it.
The difference between a real rift and a mere projection.
While a true spatial rift connected to the void outside the world, what he had manifested now was not a gateway to another realm, but merely a projection of the entrance originating from himself. Consequently, there was no suppression or rejection from the Heavenly Dao against this projection, allowing it to remain perfectly stable.
The entrance is too small. I can open and close it, but any control beyond that is still out of my reach.
Being able to open and close the Grotto-heaven at any time and in any form—that was the very first step of refinement Jekyeong had envisioned.
Jekyeong repeatedly attempted to open and close the entrance of the Grotto-heaven at will. This process drained his pure mental strength. Had it been Monster Power, he could have simply caught his breath and let it recover naturally, but mental energy offered no such luxury. Once depleted, he had no choice but to rest for several days.
"Did you call?"
Cheongo arrived just as Jekyeong, exhausted from draining his mental strength, was taking a moment to rest.
Yes. I need your help.
"Oh!"
Cheongo was bursting with enthusiasm. Seeing Jekyeong devote himself to meditative cultivation seemed to have stimulated the bird, prompting it to begin its own training. The problem was that this training was quite a nuisance to others. Fortunately, Bigu was the only one who had suffered severely so far; the other monsters and humans merely ended up with slightly troubled dreams.
Had Cheongo caused such a ruckus without any results, Jekyeong would have scolded it. But fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—there were tangible results. Cheongo's hypnosis had always been bizarrely powerful, far exceeding ordinary mind control, but after this reckless training, its effects had evolved to the point where they could truly be called a Divine Ability.
Now, Cheongo could not only plunge targets into hypnosis with far greater ease but could also manifest desired dreams with vivid clarity. It could even exert a certain level of influence over reality itself through those dreams.
"Shall we begin?"
Yes.
Jekyeong stared straight into Cheongo's pitch-black eyes and relaxed his mind. No matter how extraordinary Cheongo was, it was ultimately still a Great Yao at the early stage. For the hypnosis to take hold, Jekyeong had to willingly open his mind.