A Path Beyond the Dao
The dense fog surrounding them parted as if actively avoiding Bigu, and the roaring thunder and fierce winds echoing from all directions did not dare approach his vicinity.
"You have to stay close and follow me. If you get swept up in the array, it'll be hard to find you," Bigu's voice rumbled.
"Understood," Han Cheongyu replied. He knew that the array here was Hyeongu's handiwork. Almost every time they met, Hyeongu would mention it.
He would ramble about how he had tweaked the Island Protecting Grand Array, how the Lost Track Array felt too empty so he had added a few more layers, or how he had gained some insights while contemplating array formations and decided to test them out... In truth, every single array surrounding the Seongya Archipelago—no, the Heukgyo Gundo—bore Hyeongu's touch.
"Husband," Yeon-su whispered, pressing close to his side with an anxious expression. Though she had prepared herself mentally long ago, actually witnessing a colossal turtle Great Demon right before her eyes and entering this ominous array made it impossible to suppress her fear.
"It is alright. There is no need to fear—and besides, fearing would do us no good anyway." Han Cheongyu understood his Dao companion. Having lived her entire life as an ordinary human cultivator, such a reaction was only natural. No matter how much he had persuaded and reassured her beforehand, understanding something intellectually was entirely different from witnessing it firsthand.
"The Dragon Lord likely already knows of our arrival. Perhaps he is even waiting for us."
"That's right. He definitely knows. Nothing here can escape his eyes and ears," Bigu chimed in. "You, human female, don't worry. As long as you don't do anything suicidal, you won't die."
"Ah..." Yeon-su fell silent, her expression awkward, unsure of how to respond. Yet, those brief words managed to wash away a significant portion of her dread. At the same time, she realized that this terrifying Great Demon might not be as dangerous as she had feared.
Though they were traveling through a thick fog echoing with constant, thunderous roars, once she calmed her racing heart, Yeon-su realized that following behind the giant turtle demon was the most peaceful moment she had experienced since leaving Jaseong Island. There were no enemies here, nor anything she needed to worry about. She didn't even need to extend her Divine Sense to scan their surroundings; she could simply watch the giant turtle demon lead the way.
"Is there anything we should be careful of when we meet the Dragon Lord?" Yeon-su asked, though her question was not directed at her husband.
"Huh?" Bigu realized a moment too late that she was speaking to him. He slowed his pace slightly and turned his massive head. "Something to be careful of when meeting the Dragon Lord?"
"Yes."
"Uh..." Bigu scratched his head with a flipper that had now evolved to closely resemble a front paw. "Just, well, don't talk back to him, I guess?"
"..." Yeon-su parted her lips a few times but ultimately said nothing. In this short span of time, this colossal turtle Great Demon had repeatedly shattered her preconceived notions of what a Great Demon was supposed to be.
"We're here," Bigu announced. Just as a different kind of fog began to cloud her mind, the physical mist surrounding their party vanished. In an instant, as if they had suddenly opened closed eyes, everything in their field of vision transformed.
With the obscuring fog gone, the humans aboard the vessel could finally behold the true Heukgyo Gundo. An endless horizon stretched out before them. No matter where they looked, islands of various sizes dotted the waters, some sharp and clear, others faint in the distance. Aquatic creatures occasionally broke the surface, and ships glided past them... No, wait.
"Ships? Did you say ships?"
"Yeah. Ships. Is that weird? You guys are on a ship too, aren't you?"
"No, that's not what I mean... Why are there ships here?"
"Because the humans need them?" At that moment, Han Cheongyu cut into the circular conversation. "Yeon-su, I told you before. The Dragon Lord has quite a few humans under his command."
Only then did Yeon-su understand. Han Cheongyu had indeed mentioned it, but back then, she had assumed he meant a handful of cultivators. As it turned out, this Dragon Lord ruled over an entire population of humans.
"Lord Bigu. Do you know how many humans reside in this archipelago?"
"Lord Bigu?" Bigu rolled his eyes at the unfamiliar title, but as he chewed on the words, he found them rather pleasing to the ear. It made him feel deeply respected. His mood instantly brightening, Bigu did his best to answer the human female's difficult question in earnest.
How many humans were here? He didn't actually know. He had never been curious about it in the first place, and humans bred at an astonishing rate. Moreover, despite multiplying so quickly, they rarely fought among themselves, so they hardly ever died. Thus, rather than giving a specific number, Bigu offered a wiser, more general estimate: they lived scattered across dozens of islands, and recently, even those had become so crowded that they had migrated to several more.
"How do they make a living?"
"How do they live? They just... eat and live." Bigu wondered what was going on inside this human female's head. What exactly did she want to know? Why were her questions so bizarre?
"They offer tribute, or they offer their skills." It was Han Cheongyu who rescued the bewildered Bigu once again. Although this was his first time visiting the Heukgyo Gundo as well, he had previously made Heukgyodo his home and frequently conversed with Hyeongu. Having heard many stories about this place, he was more than capable of satisfying his companion's curiosity.
"The Dragon Lord is merciful, but he is by no means soft. He does not take in or protect those who are of no use."
Yeon-su was no fool. How could a foolish person ever achieve Foundation Establishment? As the ship glided smoothly forward, she gradually formed her own understanding of this entity known as the Dragon Lord.
After several days of travel, a massive island came into view in the distance, featuring a crude yet grand structure situated at its center.
Jekyeong, currently in the guise of a pale man, sat upon a stone throne set high above, looking down at the pair kneeling below. One was familiar, the other a stranger. It was Han Cheongyu and his wife.
"We pay our respects to the Dragon Lord." Compared to Han Cheongyu, who showed slight tension but remained relatively calm, his Dao companion—no, his wife—was utterly consumed by terror. Her breathing was ragged, and her hands trembled visibly.
"Dragon Lord, this is my wife, Yeon-su." Han Cheongyu introduced his spouse, but Jekyeong's gaze and thoughts did not linger on her. As he watched Han Cheongyu introduce his wife, Jekyeong recalled the first time he had laid eyes on him. He had been a mere brat, burning with a desire for vengeance but utterly clueless on how to control that fire, constantly tormenting himself. Now, that boy had grown up and brought his own wife before him.
Though Jekyeong had forgotten almost all of his human concepts from his past life during his time in this world, he could not help but feel a strange sensation. Perhaps because his mind was not in its usual state, he asked a question he normally never would have.
"Do you resent me?"
"Pardon?"
"I know your heart was set on the immortal path. Yet, I practically forced you to take a wife and establish a clan."
"..."
"That is why I ask. Do you resent me?" This was, in truth, a question with only one acceptable answer. Even if there was resentment in his heart, how could he possibly dare to voice it honestly in front of the Dragon Lord?
Yet Jekyeong had asked regardless, and Han Cheongyu immediately grasped his intent. This was not a test; it was a genuine inquiry. If anything, it was an opportunity to unburden his heart.
Han Cheongyu felt his frozen heart soften. Even the lingering tension from moments ago dissolved completely. "...I did indeed harbor resentment. As the Dragon Lord said, I wished to continue walking the immortal path."
Beside him, Yeon-su, who had been holding her breath, flinched. She stole a glance at her husband with eyes full of shock and terror. At this moment, she felt as though she had already stepped halfway into the dragon's maw.
Yet, regardless of his wife's reaction, Han Cheongyu calmly confessed his true feelings. Resentment? He had certainly resented the Dragon Lord. That was an undeniable fact. Even if a goal was unattainable, crashing against it, realizing its impossibility, and giving up on one's own terms was entirely different from being stopped by someone else. The former left pain, while the latter left regret. And in some ways, regret was far more poisonous than pain, often festering into cowardly rationalizations. His resentment toward the Dragon Lord was the result of precisely such rationalization—his lingering regret for the immortal path had transformed into resentment toward his master.
"And now?"
"I believe a small part of it still remains. But... now, I resent myself, not the Dragon Lord." Han Cheongyu raised his head. His calm gaze traveled across the grand hall, reaching the base of the stone throne and the Dragon Lord's legs resting upon it. However, he could not bring himself to look any higher. Both his instinct and his reason forbade it.
"The immortal path possesses a strange allure. At times, it becomes a demonic obstacle, testing a cultivator's heart. One must distinguish between a genuine seeking of the Dao and mere lingering attachment, yet barely one in ten thousand cultivators seems to realize this. I was no exception."
"Have you given up?"
"No. As a cultivator, I will walk the immortal path until my very last breath. But at the same time, as a man named Han Cheongyu, I wish to live my life as well."
Jekyeong could sense that Han Cheongyu had changed. Whether this change was for better or worse, he could not say. No, such phrasing was inappropriate to begin with, as the very standards of good and bad were ambiguous. From a cultivator's perspective, it might seem like a negative shift, but even that was not necessarily true. Sometimes, things invisible from up close became clear only after taking a few steps back. Han Cheongyu had resolved to live his life as a human, and perhaps this new path would bring him some profound enlightenment.
"I see." Jekyeong did not think much of Han Cheongyu's transformation. He cared little for how this would affect his subordinate's cultivation. What he truly cared about was whether the man could still serve him faithfully after this. And looking at him now, it seemed he could continue to trust and employ him.
"I hear your clan has already established a decent foothold on Jaseong Island. Carving out a place for oneself anywhere is no easy task, so I know you must have worked diligently."
"It was all thanks to the Dragon Lord's grace." While these words were humble, they were also sincere. Han Cheongyu's ability to establish himself securely on Jaseong Island was largely due to his reputation as a highly capable Monster Hunter. And that reputation of being 'highly capable' had essentially been manufactured by Jekyeong—or more precisely, by Hyeongu and the aquatic beasts under his command acting on Jekyeong's orders. They had frequently driven aquatic beasts toward Han Cheongyu's vessel from afar, allowing him to reap bountiful harvests and build his fame every single time.
"There is no need for false modesty. Even if someone tries to spoon-feed you, you must know how to open your mouth to receive it." Instructing Hyeongu to assist Han Cheongyu had been Jekyeong's decision, but how much he could make of that assistance depended entirely on Han Cheongyu himself. Securing active support from Hyeongu, and even establishing a close personal rapport with him as he had now, was entirely Han Cheongyu's own achievement.
"You must have heard of the Ghost Disaster."
"Yes."