A Convenient Misunderstanding
Although ascending to the Great Yao realm had suddenly turned him into a fire serpent, he still found the water to be the most comfortable and pleasant place. He had no plans to stay here long, but he still wanted to live in peace while he was here.
'This should be enough to let me live quietly for the time being.'
The Great Yao he had met earlier had given him a lot of useful information, but Jekyeong couldn't be sure if the fellow was telling the truth. Therefore, he planned to keep a low profile for the time being, investigate the surrounding situation, and look for a spiritual territory only after he had finished gathering information.
"Are we planting Muk-su here?"
"Yes."
Cheongo now regarded the fruit of Muk-su as Muk-su itself. Jekyeong didn't deny it either. The fruit certainly possessed the same aura as Muk-su. Jekyeong speculated that right before Muk-su withered and died, it had transferred its energy and life force into this fruit.
"But will it be okay? Muk-su hates hot things."
"It can't be helped. The outside is too dangerous."
Jekyeong also thought that staying with him might not be good for Muk-su's fruit, but there was no other way. It would probably be fine if he caught and fed it some water beasts from time to time.
"You should also try not to wander around and stay on the island."
"Okay! But are you going to be okay alone?"
"I'll be fine. There won't be any problems."
After reaching the Great Yao realm, Jekyeong had gained a few abilities. One of them was Yokai Fire, which he could breathe from his mouth. Although its power was decent, it required preparation time, making it almost useless in actual combat. On the other hand, there was an ability that was useless in battle but possessed overwhelming practical utility. It was the ability to communicate, which Cheongo had possessed from early on.
Unlike Yokai Fire, this ability wasn't something Jekyeong obtained the moment he entered the Great Yao realm. Jekyeong had previously heard from the senior cultivators of the Mansi Assembly that once one reached the second realm of the immortal path, they would gain the ability to communicate regardless of language.
The vocal bone was a restriction placed on all living beings by heaven; as long as it existed, they had to use a specific language to communicate with one another. However, cultivators who ascended to the second realm of the immortal path and forged their own power could destroy this restriction and awaken spiritual communication. From the moment they melted the vocal bone, they would no longer be bound by the constraints of language and could communicate freely.
When he first heard that story, Jekyeong had wondered if melting the vocal bone was not just breaking a restriction, but rather mastering a divine ability of communication. However, back then, it was a distant story far beyond his realm, so he had simply found it fascinating and moved on. Now that he had reached that seemingly distant realm, the details he had heard back then naturally came to mind.
After a brief moment of introspection, Jekyeong located his vocal bone and melted it away, finally acquiring the communication ability he had envied for so long. Thanks to this ability, he had been able to hear various stories about Yangseo Lake from a Great Yao he encountered while traveling along the waterways.
With this ability, gathering information wouldn't be very difficult. Although it wouldn't be easy to find low-level water beasts capable of proper conversation, he could always just seek out Great Yao if needed.
Though he had only just ascended to the Great Yao realm, Jekyeong assessed his own strength as decent. If his opponent were someone like Sagaewan, it might be hard to win, but escaping wouldn't be difficult. However, fighting was an option to be considered only as a last resort, and Jekyeong had another card up his sleeve.
'Once they reach the level of a Great Yao, they know how to use their heads. They won't start a fight that yields no benefit. Exchanging information won't be a problem. And...'
Jekyeong looked at his reflection in the water. Amidst the overall familiar image, a particularly unfamiliar feature caught his eye. The two horns growing from his head. These horns were his other source of confidence.
'Anyway, thanks to these horns, I've already gotten free information once... so who knows.'
Jekyeong stared blankly at his two horns for a while, then submerged his body into the water that had filled the hollow before he knew it.
The Serpent Who Doesn't Lie
Jekyeong had encountered a Great Yao on his way to Yangseo Lake. And the moment the Great Yao saw Jekyeong's face, he cried out in sheer terror.
"A-A Flood Dragon?!"
Having melted his vocal bone, Jekyeong naturally understood those words, and he felt the majestic momentum of the approaching opponent rapidly deflate.
'A Flood Dragon?'
While maintaining his guard, Jekyeong recalled his shallow knowledge of Flood Dragons. From what he knew, a Flood Dragon was a powerful creature that, for various reasons, had failed to become a true dragon, yet was still powerful enough that using the name "dragon" didn't feel out of place.
If true dragons had heard his thoughts, they would have spat fire in outrage, asking what kind of nonsense that was, and claiming that by that logic, a chicken was a dinosaur. But Jekyeong really only knew that much. And as far as he was concerned, a Flood Dragon was a magnificent and powerful entity fully deserving of the name dragon. The Flood Dragons that appeared in the stories told by the seniors of the Mansi Assembly were indeed all incredibly powerful beings.
Yet, this Great Yao had looked at him and called him a Flood Dragon. Of course, Jekyeong knew very well that he wasn't a Flood Dragon, but seeing the opponent's overreaction, he began to feel a bit confused himself.
'What exactly is a Flood Dragon anyway?'
Jekyeong noticed that the gaze of the Great Yao before him was fixed primarily on his horns.
'My horns?'
Come to think of it, when people described the appearance of a Flood Dragon, didn't they usually mention a serpent's body, horns, and awkwardly grown limbs? If so, Jekyeong himself, although lacking limbs, could be seen as meeting the physical criteria of a Flood Dragon to some extent. Besides, even without limbs, wasn't his body far too excessively large to be called a mere serpent?
'It's an understandable misunderstanding.'
He had to admit it. At least in terms of appearance, he closely resembled a Flood Dragon, and it was no wonder the other party was mistaken. Still, for someone who was supposed to be a Great Yao to deflate like a popped balloon was utterly pathetic. Even if he were a real Flood Dragon, they were both in the same Great Yao realm, yet the fellow cowered so miserably.
But he only needed to keep those thoughts to himself. Since the opponent had misunderstood and shrunk back on his own, there was no need to correct him. Seizing the psychological advantage, Jekyeong asked the Great Yao a few questions.
First, he asked where they were and received the answer "Yangseo Lake." Next, he asked for various details about the lake. The Great Yao answered everything kindly and sincerely—so much so that it was almost suspicious.
Later, when the Great Yao scrambled away as if fleeing for his life, Cheongo, who had been holding its breath inside Jekyeong's mouth throughout the conversation, asked in bewilderment:
"Why was that guy so scared?"
Even to Cheongo, it seemed strange that someone of a Great Yao's caliber would be so utterly terrified.
"I think he mistook me for a Flood Dragon."
"Jekyeong, are you a Flood Dragon?"
"Well, I don't know."
Cheongo's eyes widened. At its expression, which seemed to ask, 'If you don't know, who does?' Jekyeong added another word.
"But that fellow has probably only heard about Flood Dragons from somewhere too; he's definitely never seen a real one."
"How do you know that?"
"Just a feeling."
"A feeling?"
Cheongo shook its head side to side again, but Jekyeong ignored it. In that short span of time, various thoughts rose and fell in his mind.
And now, some time had passed. Having successfully settled in Yangseo Lake, Jekyeong leisurely surveyed the surroundings, centering his search around the island that served as his temporary shelter.
Since he hadn't concealed his aura with his Presence-Concealing Technique, the low-level water beasts that sensed his presence along the way fled in a hurry.
Jekyeong caught up to the one whose aura felt the most distinct. It was a turtle, quite small compared to the strength of its aura. The creature had been frantically flailing its limbs to escape, but when Jekyeong suddenly materialized right in front of it, it shrieked in terror and pulled itself into its shell.
"Do you think I can't do anything to that shell?"
When Jekyeong asked in disbelief, the turtle flinched, and after a moment, cautiously poked its head out. It then pressed its webbed feet together as if clasping its hands in a polite greeting and spoke respectfully.
"M-My... Dragon Lord, what business does a great being like you have with a humble turtle like me...?"
The moment the term "Dragon Lord" left the turtle's mouth, the corner of Jekyeong's mouth twitched. It seemed this fellow had also made a massive assumption. Jekyeong didn't bother to correct the misunderstanding. Whether this turtle was mistaken or not, he only needed to get his business done.
"I've surveyed this area, but I only see low-level water beasts. No Great Yao are in sight. What is the meaning of this?"
"Pardon?"
The turtle blinked a few times before speaking cautiously.
"Well... wouldn't the esteemed Great Yao be in their spiritual territories?"
"But don't spiritual territories already have masters? Surely Yangseo Lake doesn't have enough spiritual territories to accommodate all the Great Yao?"
Jekyeong knew that wasn't the case. According to the Great Yao he had met earlier, there were several spiritual veins in Yangseo Lake. These spiritual veins possessed several times more spiritual energy than standard spiritual territories, but to maintain such rich energy, they had to draw in the surrounding spiritual energy. In other words, it was difficult for spiritual territories to exist near a spiritual vein.
This was true whether it was a naturally formed spiritual vein or an artificial one created by the human race. Once a spiritual vein was established, the spiritual energy in its vicinity was essentially sucked dry. Jekyeong figured that while that Great Yao might have told him a few lies, he wouldn't have lied about such fundamental concepts.
"Ah, of course not. Most of the spiritual territories in Yangseo Lake are small. However, among those located far from the spiritual veins, there are still a few decently sized ones. One of them is not far from here."
"Then the Great Yao must all be gathered there."
"Wouldn't that be the case? I cannot say for certain."
For a mere demon beast, this turtle was remarkably easy to talk to and seemed quite intelligent. The way it constantly read his expressions and carefully chose its words made it seem no different from an ordinary human.
'Come to think of it, this fellow's aura is quite strong for a demon beast, but he doesn't actually look strong.'
For both the human race and the beast race, a cultivator's aura and their actual strength are usually proportional. However, "usually" meant there were exceptions. Cheongo was a prime example, and this turtle seemed to be the same. Of course, this little fellow might be hiding a trump card, but...
"Do you know Yangseo Lake well?"
"Well... since I was born and raised here, I know a fair bit about it."
"Excellent."
Although he hadn't found a Great Yao, meeting a turtle who was easy to communicate with and highly knowledgeable was actually a stroke of good luck. Jekyeong began to question the turtle in earnest. The first question he asked was about the major factions of Yangseo Lake, and the answer was almost identical to what the Great Yao had told him before. The only difference was that the turtle's answer sounded much more objective.
"If we speak of the great powers of Yangseo Lake, there are three. First is our beast race, second is the human race, and third is the Gakchung Clan."
Jekyeong knew about the Gakchung Clan. Literally meaning the "Horned Insect Tribe," their forms and habits were so incredibly diverse that grouping them into a single race felt awkward. If they hadn't all been born from a single Insect Mother, it wouldn't have been strange to classify them as entirely different species.
They formed swarms centered around a single Insect Mother, and even the smallest swarm numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Considering that most of the Gakchung Clan were cultivators, it meant that hundreds of thousands of battle-ready cultivators existed as a single family.
Considering that no matter how many human cultivators there were, only a fraction of them were skilled in combat, one could see just how terrifyingly powerful a Gakchung swarm was. Add to that the fact that they were all one family and had the Insect Mother as their central pillar, and their cohesion was stronger than any other race in the cultivation world.
"Rumor has it that the Insect Mother's cultivation has reached the late Core Formation realm."
When describing the third realm of the immortal path, the Core Formation realm, humans usually called it the Golden Core, while the beast race called it the Yao King realm. However, the cultivation of other races, excluding these two dominant factions, was usually referred to plainly as the Core Formation realm without any special distinction. Perhaps the human cultivators, who loved to categorize and name everything, found it too troublesome to classify the realms of other races.
"Late Core Formation realm..."
Jekyeong felt his breath catch. Those who had displayed such terrifying power on the battlefield of Sangyo Forest and the Jeyeon Sect were, in the end, only Foundation Establishment cultivators and Great Yao. But Core Formation? And the late stage at that? Didn't that mean they were on the verge of the Nascent Soul realm? Jekyeong couldn't even begin to fathom the strength of such an entity.
"Because of such an existence, there is a general consensus that the Gakchung Clan is the strongest among the three major powers of Yangseo Lake. Neither humans nor beasts dare to enter their territory lightly, and they avoid causing trouble at all costs. However, since the Gakchung Clan rarely leaves their own domain, you can assume there won't be any issues with them as long as you don't trespass into their territory."
"You said the Gakchung Clan is the strongest. Then who is next?"
"Well..."
The turtle scratched its face with the tip of its webbed foot, looking troubled.
"This is purely my personal opinion, but I believe it is the human race."
Fearing that Jekyeong might take offense, the turtle quickly added an explanation.
"Of course, the cultivation of our Yangseo Lake's greatest expert, the Jansu Whale King, is as vast and deep as the lake itself. However, he is but a single individual, whereas the human race has two Golden Core sects. Although those humans bark at each other constantly, the moment a conflict with another race arises, they unite as if they were never enemies... In reality, even if our beast race has strength, it is not easy to face them all."
"I see."
The turtle kept glancing at him while babbling its explanation, but Jekyeong remained unfazed. Although he was a beast, he felt absolutely no sense of belonging or affection toward the beast race. Even if the turtle were to curse the beast race right in front of him, Jekyeong wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
"So in terms of strength, the Gakchung Clan is the strongest, followed by the human race, and the beast race is last. What about the other races?"
"They are not even worth mentioning. They merely scrape by, each occupying a tiny spiritual territory. If the Jansu Whale King so desired, he could wipe those pests out at a rate of one per day."
The Jansu Whale King mentioned by the turtle was the absolute strongest and the leader of the Yangseo Lake beasts, and his strength was said to be in the mid-Yao King realm. Of course, there was no way a mere low-level water beast like this turtle would have precise information about such a titan, so this detail had to be taken as a rough estimate.
"And next..."
The turtle truly knew a great deal. Jekyeong suspected it might know even more than an average Great Yao. The creature rattled off everything from the geography of Yangseo Lake to the various factions inside and outside, and even the rumors currently circulating. It behaved as if the more it revealed, the higher its chances of survival would be.
When the turtle began talking about an island nation established by a few human fugitives, Jekyeong cut off its endless stream of words.
"That is enough. I have heard all I need to hear."
He wanted useful information, not trivial gossip. Having been cut off, the turtle rolled its eyes anxiously while keeping its webbed feet pressed together.
"Um... Dragon Lord. If you have no further questions, may I take my leave?"
"Yes. You did well."
The turtle's information had been of immense help to Jekyeong—calling it merely "useful" would be an understatement.