Playing with Fire
If anyone discovered what he had done, Jekyeong fully intended to lap up every last drop of the Medicinal Water and flee immediately.
'I wonder if I'm taking unnecessary risks...'
In truth, there was nothing wrong with maintaining the status quo. If he simply enjoyed the abundant spiritual energy of the Spiritual Spring, solidified his position in the water, and waited for his body to grow, becoming a Great Demon would be well within his reach. It was a stable, promising future.
On the other hand, what he was about to do was a highly dangerous gamble, a literal playing with fire by comparison. Was there any need to risk a virtually guaranteed, safe future for a perilous adventure? Had he not just comforted himself by saying that going slow was fine, as long as he didn't stop?
'Actually, there is.'
The reason this venture could be considered a dangerous game was simply because no one had ever attempted it before. But conversely, because it was something no one had ever done, it was worth trying.
What if things went south? He could just leave. He could find another territory elsewhere, so there was no reason to obsess over this particular Spiritual Spring. The only thing that truly mattered was the Medicinal Water; as long as he took that with him, he wouldn't have much to regret. Thus, the actual risk he had to bear was not as massive as it seemed.
On the flip side, if things went well, the rewards would be so immense that the risks would seem utterly trivial by comparison.
'Once my body grows, I'll easily—no, naturally—overcome this current bottleneck. But becoming a Great Yo-beast is a different story altogether.'
If his hypothesis was correct—that the stagnation of his vital energy was merely because his physical body hadn't fully matured yet—then his current bottleneck could hardly be called a bottleneck. What kind of bottleneck resolves itself naturally with the mere passage of time? The real bottleneck would come after this, and the sheer frustration of it would be incomparable to what he felt now. Therefore, he had to prepare in advance.
Although he knew nothing about how a Yo-beast became a Great Yo-beast, he had heard quite a bit about how a Qi Refining cultivator reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Such knowledge was considered incredibly precious in the outside world, but not in Bul-mang-won. While Jekyeong had never dared to ask about it openly, he had picked up a great deal by listening to the senior cultivators' discussions on cultivation.
'In the first place, I evolved from an ordinary beast into a Yo-beast, and I have no powerful bloodline to rely on. The only path I can reference is that of the Human Race.'
It was said that the Beast Race could only utilize human cultivation methods after undergoing the Transformation Tribulation, but that was only true for ordinary beasts. In terms of mind and body, achieving anthropomorphism meant acquiring a physical form similar to humans—in other words, achieving a state of semi-humanization.
'Then what about me?' He possessed the body of a Yo-beast, but his mind was no different from a human's. In that case, even though he hadn't undergone the Transformation Tribulation, couldn't he be considered to have already achieved semi-humanization?
'In human cultivation, the core of Foundation Establishment lies in nurturing the Spiritual Root.' The Spiritual Root, also known as the Spiritual Embryo, was the essential quality required to sense and channel natural spiritual energy to exert spiritual power. It was an indispensable trait for walking the path of immortality. Almost all humans were born with a Spiritual Root, but it remained dormant unless stimulated through cultivation. Thus, the cultivation of the Qi Refining stage was about awakening this hidden root, becoming accustomed to spiritual energy, and refining it into spiritual power to store within the body. This was all a preparatory process for Foundation Establishment. To cross that threshold, a Qi Refining cultivator had to forge Dharma Power based on the Spiritual Root they had sprouted and the spiritual power they had accumulated.
What, then, was this Dharma Power? If raw spiritual power was merely "borrowed strength" taken from the world's spiritual energy and stamped with one's name, Dharma Power was a cultivator's own unique strength, forged by their own will. Therefore, as U Do-baek had mentioned before, Dharma Power was inevitably imbued with the cultivator's distinct personal color.
'The power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is called Dharma Power, and the power of the Beast Race, including Great Yo-beasts, is called Monster Power. But in my eyes, their essence is not much different. In the end, both are forged from the world's natural energy in one's own unique way.'
Humans refined spiritual energy based on their Spiritual Root. What about the Beast Race, the Yo-beasts? They were said to cultivate their vital energy, but those with superior bloodlines could easily raise their realms simply by absorbing the power of their lineage without any special cultivation. Of course, one could argue that absorbing bloodline power was a form of cultivation in itself.
'But that's impossible for a dirt-spoon—no, a spoonless nobody like me. I have no choice but to reference human cultivation.'
If the essence of Foundation Establishment lay in forging natural energy into one's own power, what should he use as a foundation, and how should he shape that natural energy?
'My foundation is vital energy. I have nothing else. But if this is my foundation, where do I draw the natural energy to accumulate?'
Jekyeong pondered for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
'I must borrow the power of external objects.'
Humans practiced cultivation techniques to refine natural spiritual energy into spiritual power and accumulate it in their bodies. However, setting aside the question of how he would even obtain such a technique, Jekyeong, with a physical structure entirely different from a human's, could not employ this method. Thus, to draw in natural spiritual energy, his only option was to consume spiritual items that contained it. But such items were rare even among spiritual treasures. Above all, they were classified as cultivation treasures, which human cultivators searched for with bloodshot eyes, making their value far higher than ordinary spiritual items.
'It bothers me slightly that it's raw spiritual energy rather than refined spiritual power, but my body is far sturdier than a human's, so it should be fine.'
Human cultivators refined spiritual energy into spiritual power partly because it was easier to utilize, but also because their physical bodies were too fragile to contain raw, unrefined energy. However, Jekyeong, who prided himself on possessing a body that was top-tier even among Yo-beasts in terms of sheer durability, had no need for such worries.
'A human cultivator forges Dharma Power in the single moment they challenge the Foundation Establishment barrier. So, I suppose I should consume the spiritual item at the moment I challenge the Great Demon barrier... But can I succeed on the first try?'
Jekyeong could not be certain of this. Succeeding on the first try would obviously be ideal, but what if he failed? Considering that only a handful of Qi Refining cultivators ever knocked on the door of Foundation Establishment, and only a fraction of those actually broke through, one could easily guess how difficult it was to transcend to a major realm. While the low probability of success was a problem in itself, the even greater issue was the devastating cost of failure. At best, one's vital energy would be severely damaged, requiring a long period of recuperation; at worst, it was not uncommon to lose one's life. For this reason, those who could afford it would consume a Meridian-Protecting Pill before attempting a breakthrough to prepare for the worst. But such things, of course, had nothing to do with Jekyeong. A Meridian-Protecting Pill? Where on earth would he obtain one? And who knew if a human Dan-yak would even work on him?
'I must assume I only have one shot.'
Therefore, instead of worrying about failure, he had to focus on how to maximize his chances of success.
'As expected, I need to maximize my control over spiritual energy before attempting the breakthrough.' To do that, he had to consume a spiritual item containing spiritual energy beforehand to gain experience. There might be other ways, but this was the only method Jekyeong could think of.
'The problem is, to use this method, I need at least two spiritual items.'
Actually, there were other options besides spiritual items. After all, spiritual items weren't the only things that contained natural spiritual energy. For instance, human cultivators could be a viable option. Although what they accumulated in their bodies was not pure natural spiritual energy but refined spiritual power, it was still essentially modified spiritual energy. However, that would be far more difficult and dangerous than finding spiritual items. He was currently a fugitive who had fled all this way to escape human cultivators. Unless there was absolutely no other choice, Jekyeong wanted to avoid entanglements with the Human Race as much as possible.
'A spiritual item containing natural spiritual energy.' He felt a bit at a loss. Even the Medicinal Water had been an incredible find, but a rare spiritual item of that caliber was far more precious than Medicinal Water. Of course, this valuation was based on human standards, but it was a fact that such items were much rarer than most ordinary spiritual treasures.
'Still, the situation isn't entirely hopeless. Perhaps I can obtain one this time.' This was not a baseless hope, and it was precisely why Jekyeong intended to raid the rulers of the local territories. Anywhere else might be different, but here, untouched by human hands, it wouldn't be surprising at all if such a spiritual item was in the possession of a member of the Beast Race.
He didn't know if this place belonged to the wild beast territories, but the environment here was completely different from the Human Territory that always appeared in the stories of his seniors. With all due respect to his seniors in Bul-mang-won, Jekyeong thought of humans as a swarm of locusts. Wherever they swept through, not a single spiritual item—nor any minor resource—remained. But this wasn't simply because they were greedy. Jekyeong believed there were two main reasons for this.
First, the vast heritage of the Human Race broadened their horizons. They could find value in trivial things that other races completely ignored. To put it extremely, what looked like trash to other races could appear as a spiritual treasure in the eyes of a human.
Second, their population was simply too large. A massive population meant that the average amount of resources available to each individual was bound to be scarce. Those with full bellies might seek out gourmet delicacies, but would a starving man care if he was eating coarse grains or white rice? If necessary, they wouldn't hesitate to strip and eat the bark off trees.
'There's a reason the seniors lamented that the prosperity of the Human Race is the misfortune of human cultivators.' He hadn't thought deeply about it back then, but recalling those words now, they resonated deeply with him.
Cheongo did not take Jekyeong's warning lightly and moved with extreme caution. Although the bird had previously toured the neighboring territories around the Spiritual Spring, that had been nothing more than a superficial glance from afar. This time, however, Cheongo had to approach the territories and provoke a reaction from their masters. In a way, it was practically picking a fight. Naturally, the danger was incomparably higher than during the previous scouting trips, so Cheongo exercised the utmost caution. After dedicating over a month to the task, Cheongo finally completed the mission.
"Two demons and four Yo-beasts!" Out of the six targets Cheongo had carefully shortlisted, Jekyeong decided that four were worth targeting. The other two occupied territories that were easy to enter but difficult to escape from—such as deep caves—making them undesirable targets.
"Let's start with this wolf first."
"Okay! Okay!"
Since the preparation period had been long enough, Jekyeong didn't want to drag things out any further. After letting Cheongo rest for two days, he headed straight for the wolf Yo-beast's territory.
"Grrr!" The moment Jekyeong stepped into the territory, a wolf the size of a decent house materialized before him. Its murderous aura made its rage and wariness palpable.
"Calm down. Shall we talk for a moment?" Jekyeong spoke as gently as possible to signal that he had no intention of fighting. He knew it would probably sound like nothing more than a snake's hiss to the wolf, but they said sincerity always got through, didn't they?
"Roar!" Apparently, it didn't. Why? His desire to avoid a fight was completely sincere. Jekyeong smacked his lips in frustration as he watched the wolf Yo-beast, which looked ready to pounce at any second.
While locked in a bloody battle with the wolf Yo-beast—which possessed a Fire Crystal—Jekyeong caught the faint sound of a crow's caw and began to stealthily back away. At his retreat, the murderous wolf paused for a moment, stood tall, and let out a low growl. It seemed to think Jekyeong was admitting defeat and backing down. In truth, it wasn't entirely wrong.
'What a vicious bastard.' Jekyeong's entire body was covered in wounds. If not for his durable scales, he would have been turned from a black serpent into a red one by now. He didn't understand why a mere wolf was scratching so relentlessly. Did the damn thing think it was a tiger or something?
'Infuriating.' Having done nothing but take a beating the entire time, his blood was starting to boil. Should he have just fought back with everything he had?
'No, absolutely not.' Doing so might have been satisfying, and he might have left a couple of massive scars on that arrogant wolf, but he would have ended up completely battered in return. Even with his purely defensive posture, he was in this state; if he had bared his fangs, he probably would have lost half the blood in his body.
'I just have to hope Cheongo managed to snag something.' As Jekyeong slowly backed away as if conceding defeat, the wolf snorted and glared at him coldly, seemingly having no desire to pursue the fight further. Though he couldn't read a wolf's facial expressions, Jekyeong got the distinct impression that it was telling him to get lost.
'Whew.' The wolf was arrogant, but thankfully, it wasn't a rabid dog. If it had insisted on fighting to the death, Jekyeong would have had to prepare himself for the worst. As expected, those who ruled over territories were extremely reluctant to leave their domains. It was only natural for those who possessed things to obsess over keeping them, but to Jekyeong, these creatures seemed like shut-ins in some ways. Moreover, this particular wolf was a shut-in among shut-ins, handpicked by Cheongo. Jekyeong had calculated that unless the wolf completely lost its mind, it would never chase him outside its territory. Sure enough, his calculation was correct.