Chapter 68: A Slow Path, a Sprouting Seed
That method was like blindly swallowing poisons in the hope of developing antibodies. Countless Yao beasts must have tried, failed, and died. Only one in a million—perhaps even fewer—would have survived to become a Great Yao Beast and forge a new path. Jekyeong had walked that perilous road and succeeded. But what about Cheongo? Could the bird do the same? Jekyeong highly valued Cheongo's cleverness, but he remained pessimistic about the bird's chances of becoming a Great Yao Beast like himself.
Well... it's not my place to worry.
Of course, Jekyeong was more than willing to help Cheongo if there was a way. However, the path of cultivation was a solitary one; no one could undertake the journey on another's behalf. Whether to cross the threshold of a Great Yao, and how to do so if it chose to, was a decision Cheongo had to ponder and make on its own.
"Phew."
Having rested sufficiently, Jekyeong uncoiled his massive body and gave a signal. Cheongo quickly flew over, carrying a gourd bottle in its beak. Meanwhile, Jekyeong transformed back into his human form and sat cross-legged.
Gulp! Gulp!
The liquid inside the gourd was alcohol. This, too, had been procured through the Yeongbu Merchant Group. It was no ordinary liquor, but Spirit Wine brewed from Spiritual Rice and various medicinal herbs. By drinking this Spirit Wine, Jekyeong could maintain his sanity without constantly chanting the Heart-Clearing Mantra, at least until the alcohol—or rather, the spiritual wine energy—wore off.
Whoosh! Feeling a sudden warmth spread through his body, Jekyeong immediately began circulating his cultivation technique. This was the Heat-Absorbing Technique, which he had also purchased at a discount from the Yeongbu Merchant Group. It was a basic fire-attribute technique practiced by Qi Refining cultivators. Being a basic technique, its cultivation speed was painfully slow, but its stability was absolutely flawless.
Jekyeong had purchased this basic technique to verify his own theories and to familiarize himself with the cultivation methods of the Human Race. He could still vividly recall the strange look Gwak Jeong-sin had given him when he announced his intention to buy it.
It was a natural reaction. Jekyeong had not achieved his human form by overcoming the Transformation Tribulation; he had merely bypassed it through a secret technique. Under normal circumstances, it should have been impossible for him to practice human cultivation techniques. To Gwak Jeong-sin, Jekyeong must have looked like he was throwing his money away.
Only when Jekyeong used the excuse of wanting to study human cultivation methods and asked to buy basic techniques of other attributes did Gwak Jeong-sin seem somewhat convinced. The merchant had praised Jekyeong's scholarly curiosity and recommended several techniques. While Jekyeong had casually selected the other elemental techniques based on Gwak Jeong-sin's recommendations, he had meticulously scrutinized and chosen this single one: the Heat-Absorbing Technique. His choice was guided by one criterion alone—absolute stability.
Flicker! Though he circulated the Heat-Absorbing Technique with all his might until the wine's energy dissipated, all he managed to produce was a single, tiny ember. It was a pitiful result befitting a basic technique, but Jekyeong was satisfied. He could vividly feel that his spiritual nature had grown larger by the exact measure of that tiny spark.
My path to immortality is a smooth, open highway!
Bathed in a sense of accomplishment, Jekyeong was about to circulate the Heat-Absorbing Technique once more when he paused and glanced at the gourd bottle resting beside him.
"..."
The pride that had just elevated his spirits vanished instantly, replaced by deep hesitation. To practice again, he would have to take another sip. However, since he had already expended a significant amount of mental energy during the first session, a consecutive attempt would be far less efficient. Was it really worth gulping down that expensive Spirit Wine for such an inefficient session? He wasn't drinking wine; he was practically swallowing raw money—Spirit Stones.
"Ugh..."
Groaning softly, Jekyeong succumbed to reality and quietly began to recite the Heart-Clearing Mantra. Until his patience ran out, he had to make the most of what little time he had left to cultivate as productively as possible.
As Jekyeong's voice reciting the mantra echoed softly through the cave, the fruit of Muk-su resting on the Spiritual Soil began to rot at an alarming speed. The fruit, which had looked as fresh as if it had just been plucked, crumbled into something resembling sand in a matter of seconds.
And moments later, from the powdery ruins of the fruit, a tiny green sprout burst forth.
Cheongo was the first to notice the change in Muk-su. This was simply because the bird had very little to do during the day. Its routine consisted of lazing around the nest, flying out to gather materials to expand its home, and occasionally checking on Muk-su. It was during one of these routine checks that Cheongo discovered the newly sprouted Muk-su.
"Muk-su got tiny! But it'll grow back fast, right? Fast, right?"
"Probably," Jekyeong replied.
Cheongo could hardly take its eyes off the tiny sapling. Even when resting in its nest, the bird kept its head turned toward Muk-su.
"Muk-su is eating way more! Way more!"
"That's a good thing."
The sprouted Muk-su's appetite had indeed grown far more voracious. Whether absorbing nutrients from monster corpses could truly be called "eating" was debatable, but its consumption rate had easily doubled. Furthermore, unlike before, its growth after absorbing nutrients was now visible to the naked eye. In fact, to call its growth rate "tremendous" would be an understatement.
As if trying to make up for its previous sluggish, gluttonous phase, it literally grew by the day. What had been a tiny sprout became a small sapling in less than twenty-four hours, and in less than a fortnight, it had shot up into a tree over two meters tall.
While this explosive growth was impressive, what truly pleased Jekyeong was that Muk-su had finally grown branches, allowing them to communicate once more. Though the branches were still too short to wave vigorously like before, brief exchanges were no longer an issue.
"Muk-su! How do you feel right now? Good? Bad? Good? Bad?"
Cheongo was absolutely thrilled to have Muk-su back as a tree. The bird seized every opportunity to perch near Muk-su and chatter away. It asked if Muk-su remembered it, if the cave felt too stuffy, when it would bear fruit again... While there was an occasional useful question mixed in, most of it was just mindless babble disguised as curiosity.
Its luster looks even better than before.
Jekyeong observed the reborn Muk-su from time to time. Even taking into account its immature size, he felt the tree looked far more vibrant than before. Whether this was due to the Spiritual Soil or the process of reverting to a fruit before sprouting anew, Muk-su's current condition seemed significantly better than when it had resided in the Spiritual Spring.
Once it grows a bit more and can bear fruit again...
Shiver! Sensing Jekyeong's calculating gaze, Muk-su trembled slightly.
No more.
Having finished his daily cultivation, Jekyeong shook the gourd bottle and frowned. This gourd was no ordinary vessel; though small on the outside, its internal capacity was immense. He felt as though he had already consumed nearly ten liters of Spirit Wine, yet a small amount still remained.
About two more drinks and it'll be empty.
The thought of spending more Spirit Stones weighed heavily on his mind, but what troubled him even more was this barren cultivation environment. While the cave was cozy and safe from external threats, it was almost entirely devoid of spiritual energy. As a place of cultivation, it was the absolute worst.
Since the Heart-Clearing Mantra trained the mind and soul, the lack of spiritual energy posed no obstacle. The Heat-Absorbing Technique, however, was a different story. It was already a basic technique with a sluggish cultivation speed, but trying to practice it in a place with virtually no spiritual energy was like strapping iron weights to the legs of a crawling turtle.
I need a spiritual territory.
Jekyeong was in no position to consume cultivation elixirs, nor could he obtain them even if he wanted to. He had previously used the excuse of studying human cultivation methods with Gwak Jeong-sin, but if he went so far as to request cultivation elixirs, any sensible person would immediately grow suspicious.
I cannot rely on the Yeongbu Merchant Group for advanced techniques and elixirs. I'll have to secure them myself later.
It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that non-human races could only begin to access human heritages after surviving the Transformation Tribulation—meaning, at the very least, after reaching the Core Formation realm. Yet Jekyeong, who was merely at the Great Yao stage, was already practicing a human technique. If this fact were ever exposed, he would instantly become a sensation across the cultivation world. Naturally, Jekyeong wanted no part in such fame. He intended to keep his ability to practice human techniques a strict secret, at least until he reached the Yao King realm.
Consequently, he had no choice but to stick with the Heat-Absorbing Technique for now. However, because it was a technique that even novice Qi Refining human cultivators only dabbled in briefly before moving on, its cultivation efficiency was abysmally low.
Still, if I cultivate in a proper spiritual territory, the efficiency will be incomparably better than this.
Even if the improvement was as minuscule as an ant's teardrop, he would be profoundly grateful for it under the current circumstances.
It really is slow.
Jekyeong clicked his tongue at the abysmal efficiency of the Heat-Absorbing Technique. If the spiritual energy drawn in by the technique was a mere handful, the refined monster power obtained from it was a single drop. He now fully understood why basic techniques were relegated to the status of "basic."
In truth, the fundamental principle behind the Heat-Absorbing Technique he practiced and the advanced techniques used by human Foundation Establishment cultivators was the same: drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and refining it into one's own power. Yet, the reason basic techniques like the Heat-Absorbing Technique were shunned and abandoned even by Qi Refining cultivators was, of course, the sheer difference in cultivation speed.
Whether it was the spiritual energy of a Qi Refining cultivator or the Dharma Power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, accumulating and refining it in large quantities required a massive influx of raw spiritual energy. Naturally, cultivators favored techniques that could draw in as much energy as possible.
Of course, nothing in this world was entirely without drawbacks. Walking slowly kept one from tripping, whereas running in a hurry often led to a fall. Techniques with rapid cultivation speeds inevitably carried various side effects or imperfections. Common issues included strict prerequisites for cultivation or a high risk of Qi Deviation.
In contrast, basic techniques were slow but exceptionally stable. Having practiced the Heat-Absorbing Technique firsthand, Jekyeong felt this advantage clearly. Aside from the fatal flaw of its agonizingly slow speed, the Heat-Absorbing Technique was a perfect technique for human transformation.
The Human Race chose speed over stability.
Jekyeong believed this was an inevitable choice. Humans had short lifespans. Those in the Qi Refining stage were practically fleeting, and even those who reached Foundation Establishment only lived for four to five hundred years at most. Within that brief window, they had to accumulate enough power to break through to higher realms. Thus, they could not afford to stop sprinting, even if they tripped over rocks or collapsed from exhaustion along the way.
But I am different.
While it varied by individual, members of the Beast Race at the Great Yao stage could easily live for two to three thousand years, provided they didn't meet an untimely death. In terms of lifespan, the Beast Race possessed an absolute advantage over the Human Race. Jekyeong was no exception.
The slow cultivation speed of a basic technique? Unlike human cultivators, Jekyeong could tolerate the sluggishness and frustration to some extent. He could do so first because of the Beast Race's long lifespan, and second because his cultivation had been completely stagnant since he reached the Great Yao stage.
Having spent a long time agonizing over a complete standstill, even this crawling pace of progress brought him a genuine sense of achievement. Of course, if this state persisted indefinitely... a day might come when even his patience reached its limit. But that day was not today. And so, he continued to drink Spirit Wine daily, practicing the Heat-Absorbing Technique and reciting the Heart-Clearing Mantra.
Even so, I still need a spiritual territory. Not just for my own cultivation, but because those two won't be able to tolerate this cramped space much longer.
Cheongo had already begun showing signs of restlessness some time ago. It was unavoidable, but for a creature meant to soar freely through the skies, being confined to a tiny island and its immediate surroundings must have been incredibly suffocating. At first, the bird had ventured out occasionally, but recently, it had holed up in the cave like a shut-in, leaving only to bring back shiny objects. Its once-bright demeanor had grown somewhat gloomy. It was a relief that Muk-su was back to keep it company; otherwise, there was no telling how much darker its mood might have become.
Muk-su didn't seem to have any issues yet, but given its rapid growth rate, it would have to leave the cave before long. When that time came, it would also require abundant spiritual energy to bear fruit. Jekyeong was certain of it.
Hmm.
In any case, they all needed a vast, spiritual energy-rich territory.
"I'll be out for a bit."
"Okay!" Cheongo chirped.
Jekyeong glanced at Cheongo, who was utterly absorbed in Muk-su, and stepped out of the cave. Thanks to the Divine Sense Mark he had left during their previous encounter, it took him less than two days to locate the smart turtle.
"I pay my respects to the Lord Dragon."
The turtle showed no signs of panic even when Jekyeong suddenly materialized before it. In the way it humbly bowed its head, there was an air of serene detachment.
"Did you know I was coming?"
"Yes. When the waves suddenly surged, I knew the Lord Dragon had arrived."
Perhaps it was the title "Lord Dragon," or perhaps it was the turtle's exceptionally polite demeanor, but Jekyeong felt as though this creature already regarded him as its master.
It's put on some weight.