A Spark of Hope
"Ugh..."
Only after retreating far from the wolf demon beast's territory and glaring away the low-level scavengers that had gathered, drawn by the scent of blood, did Jekyeong finally reach the clearing where Muk-su was. Only then did he let his guard down and begin to groan in pain. It wasn't a severe, life-threatening injury, but the stinging sensation radiating across his entire body was incredibly difficult to endure. After what felt like an eternity of nursing his wounds, Cheongo finally arrived. However, the usually talkative bird took one look at Jekyeong's battered, wound-covered body and fell uncharacteristically sullen.
Seeing this, Jekyeong immediately knew.
He came back empty-handed.
Still, a tiny sliver of hope made him wait for Cheongo to speak. But as expected, reality was harsh.
"There were no spiritual treasures. There was nothing but cubs inside..."
"Cubs?"
Jekyeong muttered blankly and closed his eyes. For a brief moment, his heart ached as much as his physical wounds, but he quickly composed himself.
"It's fine. We can't expect to hit the jackpot on our very first try."
"Yeah..." Cheongo mumbled, stealing glances at Jekyeong's wounded body, looking utterly dejected as if it were all his fault.
Jekyeong gently comforted the bird, telling him they would set out again as soon as his wounds healed. Only then did the drooping Cheongo perk up slightly, declaring that he would move even faster next time.
"Don't overdo it. Speed isn't what's important. Staying undetected is."
"Okay! Just trust me!"
Despite Cheongo's confident boasting, they came up empty-handed on their next attempt as well. The only saving grace was that Jekyeong managed to retreat without sustaining any major injuries this time. Part of it was because Jekyeong had acted with extreme caution, but it was also largely due to a favorable matchup.
While the wolf demon beast was a speed-oriented opponent that unleashed a barrage of rapid, minor attacks, the master of the second spiritual territory was a heavy hitter that relied on slow, devastating blows. Though Jekyeong was massive, his body was remarkably agile. He was easily able to dodge and endure attacks that relied entirely on landing a single lucky strike.
Yet, even if his body was spared from harm, the fact that he had wasted his efforts once again began to wear on his mind. He managed to soothe the dejected Cheongo once more, but he doubted whether he would be able to offer kind, encouraging words if they failed a third time.
This is much harder than I thought.
He had initially assumed that simply drawing the enemy's attention would be easy, but that was a massive miscalculation. Facing an opponent stronger than himself—one who could kill him in a single moment of carelessness—was no simple task. Throwing himself into life-or-death situations took a heavy toll, exhausting not just his body, but his mind as well.
Stop being so weak!
Jekyeong cursed his own creeping lethargy, forcing himself to snap out of it. There was a limit to wanting a free lunch; how could he expect to obtain a spiritual treasure without enduring at least this much hardship? The human mind was an incredibly fragile thing—the moment one let their guard down, it would spiral into endless weakness. He couldn't afford to relax for even a second.
Could this also be considered a form of cultivating my mind state?
Jekyeong couldn't be certain if this mental struggle aligned with the true concept of Sim-gyeong, but he decided to believe it did. He chose to believe that, at this very moment, his mind was becoming just a little bit sturdier. If he looked at it that way, then those two failures hadn't been a complete waste of time.
"Cheongo. There's a saying: 'Third time's a charm.'"
"Third time's a charm? What does that mean?"
"It means that out of three attempts, at least one is bound to succeed."
Jekyeong ignored Cheongo, who kept repeating, "What does that mean?" in confusion. His mind, now tempered and stronger than before, swelled with renewed hope and determination.
And then came the highly anticipated third attempt.
"Jekyeong!"
Jekyeong, who had been groaning in pain while staring at his tail—which had almost been completely torn off—snapped his head up. He saw Cheongo flying toward him from the distance, shouting excitedly, with something clutched tightly in his talons.
"Look at this! A treasure! A treasure!"
As Cheongo drew closer, the object in his grasp became clearer, and Jekyeong could feel the distinct aura radiating from it. Through his sharp Spiritual Awareness, Jekyeong detected a profound, pulsing heat within the object.
Woo-oo—
Even Muk-su, who had been lying as still as death, seemed to sense something. The sentient fruit let out a soft, low rumble and began to stir.
"Jekyeong! Look! This is a good thing, right? Right?"
Cheongo dropped the object in front of Jekyeong. Before Jekyeong could even react, Muk-su flinched violently and began to shimmy backward, clearly wanting nothing to do with the object.
Observing Muk-su's reaction, Jekyeong curiously examined the small, stone-like object. Now that it was right in front of him, he could feel a substantial amount of Spiritual Energy sealed inside it without even having to look closely.
Since the aura perceived by his Spiritual Awareness was hot, it was likely either of the Fire attribute among the Five Elements, or Yang energy from Yin and Yang. However, since he had heard that spiritual treasures related to Yin and Yang were extremely rare, and given Muk-su's adverse reaction, this stone-like object was highly likely to be a Fire-attribute spiritual treasure.
Can this be considered a cultivation treasure as well? Looking at its stone-like appearance... could this be a Fire Crystal?
He recalled hearing the senior cultivators of the Mansi Assembly talk about "Crystals" (晶) when discussing cultivation treasures. They were similar to Spirit Stones in that they were formed from condensed Spiritual Energy, but unlike Spirit Stones, they contained a specific elemental attribute, making their value far higher.
Come to think of it, I've never actually seen a Spirit Stone, despite how common they're supposed to be.
Spirit Stones were valuable yet common enough to serve as the currency of the human cultivation world. However, only the low-grade and lowest-grade Spirit Stones, which contained faint traces of Spiritual Energy, were common. Anything above that was a different story; high-grade Spirit Stones were apparently so rare that even a middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like U Do-baek rarely laid eyes on them.
"Is this a good thing? It's a good thing, right?"
Cheongo didn't seem to perceive the aura of the Fire Crystal as clearly as Jekyeong did, but he appeared to have a vague inkling that it was an extraordinary item.
Well, that's probably why he picked it up in the first place.
Looking down at the Fire Crystal, Jekyeong felt a mixture of joy and regret. The joy, naturally, came from finally obtaining something on their third attempt. The regret was that this tiny Fire Crystal was the only thing they had managed to salvage.
"It is a decent item. A rare spiritual treasure."
"I knew it!"
"Was this the only one?"
"Yeah! This was all there was! It was buried under a pile of rocks, so I almost missed it."
"I see..."
Jekyeong smacked his lips, swallowing his disappointment. It wasn't entirely satisfying, but it was far better than nothing.
"I need this. In exchange, I'll hunt two demon beasts for you."
"Deal!"
Jekyeong hunted one down that very day and handed it over to Cheongo. The reason he only hunted one was out of concern that hunting too frequently would make the water beasts excessively wary. When he explained this to Cheongo, the bird understood.
"It's fine! Just this one will keep me full for a while!"
The prey Jekyeong had caught was a cephalopod water beast that resembled an octopus but had well over twenty tentacles. Cheongo tore off a few tentacles and ate them, but then, deciding he couldn't finish it alone, called Muk-su over to share the feast.
Jekyeong watched them quietly for a moment before turning his gaze away to focus entirely on the Fire Crystal.
How should I use this?
His original plan had been to swallow it, but looking at the stone-like Fire Crystal made him hesitate. Of course, his massive and powerful stomach would have no trouble digesting an ordinary stone, but this was no ordinary stone. What if he swallowed it, thinking it would be fine, only for a violent surge of fire energy to erupt inside his belly?
The safest bet is to ask the seniors at the Mansi Assembly.
Even if he couldn't replicate the exact methods human cultivators used, he could at least get some advice or warnings. Conveniently, the next meeting of the Mansi Assembly was not far off, so he wouldn't have to wait long.
"By the way, Jekyeong. Are you going to search the remaining territories too?"
"Of course."
He had a good feeling. It felt like his luck was finally turning. He had a strong premonition that he might hit the jackpot in the remaining areas.
Yes, there was a time when he had foolishly thought that.
Clearly, his greedy desire for an easy shortcut had reared its ugly head once again.
"So, after all that struggle, all you managed to get was a single Fire Crystal?"
"Yes."
The senior cultivators, who had been marveling when they first heard about him acquiring the Fire Crystal, showed awkward reactions when Jekyeong revealed that he had found absolutely nothing else despite all his subsequent struggles. They seemed caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to offer congratulations or condolences.
"That is simply how it is. If spiritual treasures were that common, why would everyone search for them with such bloodshot eyes?"
"Yes. I learned a valuable lesson this time."
To be honest, Jekyeong was quite disappointed, but he had no choice but to accept it. The world was not that easy, and a treasure was a treasure for a reason. A treasure rare in the Human Territory was not going to be rolling around like common pebbles on the side of the road, even outside of it.
"Spiritual treasures usually appear in places where Spiritual Energy is highly concentrated. In that regard, a standard spiritual territory is... somewhat lacking."
"Are there places with even denser Spiritual Energy than a spiritual territory?"
"Of course. The most prominent example would be a Spiritual Vein. If the Spiritual Energy concentration of a typical spiritual territory is rated as a one, a Spiritual Vein—no matter how low its grade—would be at least a five."
According to U Do-baek, a Spiritual Vein was the ultimate spiritual territory. Naturally occurring Spiritual Veins often contained veins of Spirit Stones, and all kinds of rare spiritual treasures could be found within them.
"You mentioned naturally occurring Spiritual Veins. Does that mean there are artificially created ones as well?"
"Indeed. In fact, most of the Spiritual Veins currently existing in the Human Territory are artificial."
Naturally occurring Spiritual Veins had almost completely dried up, making them exceedingly rare within the Human Territory. The few that remained were those acquired as humanity expanded its borders, and only a handful existed on the outer fringes of the Human Territory.
"In truth, the depletion of Spiritual Veins was a massive crisis for the Human Race. Since Spiritual Veins are the very foundation of cultivation, their depletion was akin to damaging the core foundation of humanity itself. From what I understand, the depletion of these veins sparked strong voices calling for a war of expansion, staking the very fate of the Human Race."
"I've heard of that as well," Yeo Janggyeong chimed in. "If the Vein-Reforming Technique hadn't been developed in time, a catastrophic war would have surely broken out..."
"There really was no other way back then. At any rate, once the Vein-Reforming Technique was invented, allowing us to artificially create Spiritual Veins, the calls for war naturally faded away."
Having said that, U Do-baek gave Jekyeong, who was listening intently, a brief explanation of the Vein-Reforming Technique.
"The Vein-Reforming Technique is a method of raising the Spiritual Energy concentration of a specific leyline by mobilizing an astronomical amount of Spirit Stones. The sheer volume of Spiritual Energy required is so immense that no one below the Nascent Soul stage can even attempt it."
A Nascent Soul expert. A realm that every cultivator dreamed of in their sleep. Those who reached this stage were legendary figures capable of shaking the entire human cultivation world with a single movement.
"A Nascent Soul expert..."
Yeo Janggyeong and Choi Ju-tang, who had been listening quietly, murmured as if entranced. Jekyeong could sense a deep, distant yearning in their voices.
"We've strayed a bit from the topic. To return to the main point, objects like the Fire Crystal you obtained are usually found in Spiritual Veins. Specifically, in areas where fire energy is exceptionally strong. But since you found it in a standard spiritual territory... I suspect it was somehow transported there from somewhere else."
Jekyeong, who had briefly hoped that there might be a hidden Spiritual Vein nearby, smiled bitterly to himself.
"I see. In that case, is there any way for me to utilize this Fire Crystal?"
"Hmm... We human cultivators typically circulate our cultivation methods to slowly absorb the energy of a Fire Crystal over time. That is the most reliable and stable method. However, since you cannot do that, I believe..."
Jekyeong openly shared the cultivation method he had envisioned. U Do-baek and the others marveled at his concept and began brainstorming together to see if there were any areas that needed refinement. For them, this was not only a chance to help a junior, but also an opportunity to broaden their own cultivation insights.
While they agreed with Jekyeong's overall concept, they offered their own opinions on the finer details. This significantly patched up the loopholes in Jekyeong's plan, which had previously only been a rough framework. With their input, Jekyeong gained the confidence that he could break through the bottleneck to become a Great Demon, provided he could resolve the issue of Spiritual Energy.
"In truth, if your physical body is as sturdy as you claim, swallowing it directly might not be an issue. However, a Fire Crystal is different from other elemental crystals. Fire energy is the most violent and intense among the Five Elements. Because it is so intense, it is highly unstable and difficult to control. Therefore, the most ideal method would be to find another spiritual treasure of a different attribute—specifically, a Water-attribute treasure—and swallow them together. That way, the two treasures will maintain a degree of balance and harmony, allowing you to cross the threshold much more smoothly when you attempt your breakthrough."
This was a method commonly employed by humans as well. After all, one of the core principles of alchemy and medicine was neutralization—combining opposing energies to find a state of balance. Jekyeong found U Do-baek's suggestion highly plausible.
The problem was where to find a Water-attribute spiritual treasure, and whether it was even possible to find one. U Do-baek seemed mindful of this issue as well.
"Of course, obtaining a spiritual treasure capable of neutralizing a Fire Crystal's energy will not be easy. That is why I called it the 'ideal' method. Under your current circumstances, finding such a treasure would require... nothing short of heaven's favor."
"Indeed. Even obtaining this Fire Crystal was entirely due to a stroke of heavenly luck."
"Yes. So, to speak of a more realistic approach... the first thing that comes to mind is utilizing the power of your environment. Swallowing the Fire Crystal in a place with dense water energy. While it won't neutralize the crystal's fire energy directly, it should alleviate the burden on your body to some extent."