The Mind and the Flame

The damp soil, already sown with Spiritual Rice seeds, overflowed with vibrant life. Whether this sudden vitality stemmed from the seeds buried deep within the earth or the Spirit Rain that Han Cheongyu and his men had just summoned, it was a pleasing sight nonetheless.

"You have done well," Jekyeong commended them, handing a few Spirit Stones to Han Cheongyu and each of his men. Having never expected to receive such a reward, the exhausted workers beamed with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠joy.

"Continue to tend to the Spiritual Rice diligently."

"Leave it to us, My Lord," Han Cheongyu replied with a deep bow.

The Spirit Stones Jekyeong bestowed upon them were few, a trivial sum compared to the grueling labor they had exerted. Yet, Han Cheongyu and the other workers were deeply satisfied. In truth, they had no choice but to be.

They never forgot their place, nor did they forget that the being playing the part of a benevolent employer before them was not human. He was a Great Demon, the sovereign of the Heukgyo Water Territory, the terrifying entity who had annihilated the Black Flood Dragon Gang and reduced Heukgyodo to a wasteland of ash. Displeasing him even slightly meant risking becoming a demon beast's next meal. They lived in constant, breathless tension.

"Hup!"

Upon returning to his lair, Jekyeong spotted Cheongo engaging in some bizarre behavior nearby. The bird was thrusting both wings straight forward, letting out a sound that was half-grunt, half-groan. Occasionally, it overextended, losing its balance and wobbling precariously.

Jekyeong watched the ridiculous spectacle in silence for a while. When Cheongo finally threw a tantrum and slapped the ground with its wings in frustration, Jekyeong quietly asked, "What on earth are you doing?"

"The Spirit Rain Technique!"

"What?"

"Don't you know? The thing that makes it rain! The thing those humans were just doing!" Cheongo pointed a wing toward the Spiritual Rice fields.

"Of course I know what the Spirit Rain Technique is. But how are you supposed to cast it?"

"Why? Am I not allowed to?"

"No, that's not what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I mean..." As Jekyeong sputtered in disbelief, Cheongo stared back at him as if looking at a simpleton.

"The most important thing is the mind! It's everything! If you think you can't do it, you won't even be able to do the things you can do!" Cheongo nodded vigorously at its own words. "I can definitely do it! I just know it!"

Having put on a complete one-man show, Cheongo thrust its wings forward again like a martial artist throwing straight punches. "Hup! Hup!"

Lacking the energy to argue further, Jekyeong scoffed at the foolish crow and closed his eyes. But a moment later...

Plop!

'Huh?'

Something small touched his scales. Unbelieving, he opened his eyes and saw faint droplets occasionally falling from above. It was too sparse to even be called a drizzle, but it was undoubtedly rain.

Turning his head in a daze, Jekyeong saw Cheongo proudly spreading both wings, gazing up at the sky with immense satisfaction.

How on earth did this happen? Jekyeong looked back and forth between the falling rain and Cheongo several times. Did Cheongo really just cast the Spirit Rain Technique? But how? Although the amount of rain was far too meager to be called a proper technique, each and every droplet clearly contained pure spiritual energy.

"How did you do it?"

"You just have to believe you can, and put your whole heart into it!" Cheongo replied in a smug, boastful tone, as if it had been waiting for him to ask.

Jekyeong's eyes narrowed. It wasn't because Cheongo's bragging annoyed him, but because he sensed something profound in the bird's words. What should he call it—a glimpse of the profound mystery? No, was that going too far? In any case, there was something strangely lingering about it, making it impossible to dismiss as mere nonsense.

'It all started after that dream.'

Cheongo had begun to change after having that bizarre dream. At first, Jekyeong thought the dream had simply left a strong impression on the bird, but as time passed, he realized there was more to it.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

'The strange fellow has gotten even stranger.'

Come to think of it, Cheongo had always been strange—no, special. That was true when it was a mere beast, and it remained true after it became a Demon Beast. One couldn't find even a trace of the viciousness typical of the Beast Race within it. In fact, except for its avian appearance, Cheongo was far closer to the Human Race than the Beast Race.

'The Seonin.'

Jekyeong speculated that Cheongo's uniqueness was related to that deceased immortal. Though he called it speculation, he was almost certain. It was bizarre for a dead man to appear in a dream and influence the living, but the cultivation world was a place where far more mysterious and strange things happened all the time.

'Still... just in case.'

Jekyeong watched Cheongo carefully after that. However, other than being engrossed in practicing the Spirit Rain Technique or occasionally visiting the human workers, there was nothing particularly noteworthy. The bird remained as innocent as ever, and still completely devoted to decorating its nest.

After a full fortnight had passed, Jekyeong decided that further observation was meaningless. Cheongo had definitely changed. However, cultivation was a continuous process of shedding one's old self, so it was only natural for a cultivator to keep changing. In that sense, this change could be seen as Cheongo finally becoming a proper cultivator.

'By the way... that Spirit Rain Technique is still terrible.'

A full fortnight had passed. Cheongo had practiced the Spirit Rain Technique diligently for fifteen days, but the results were meager. The spirit rain it summoned was still less than a drizzle.

Plop! Plop!

Ignoring the occasional droplets falling onto his body, Jekyeong quietly closed his eyes.

"My son! You've really returned!"

A white-haired old woman clung to a young man who looked barely over twenty, tears streaming down her face. The young man shook his head gently as he looked at her. "I told you, Mother. It wasn't dangerous."

"How could it not be! Do you know what kind of place that is!"

It wasn't just the old woman surrounding the young man. His acquaintances, as well as people who had never even spoken to him before, crowded around. They were shocked that the young man who had been dragged off to the terrifying Heukgyodo had returned safely, and now they wanted to hear his story.

"The Dragon Lord is a good master. At least, he is much better than those Black Flood Dragon Gang bastards. We went to Heukgyodo to work for him..."

The young man gave a rough account of his few months on the island. Of course, he didn't tell them everything, keeping certain things hidden—such as the fact that the Dragon Lord had bestowed some Spirit Stones upon them as payment for their labor.

"Is that true?"

"Can't you tell by looking at me, returning completely unharmed?"

Many were skeptical, but the living proof stood right before them. On top of that, when the young man produced several items he had acquired from the Human Territory, even those who had remained doubtful until the very end had no choice but to believe him.

Unbelievable as it was, the new master of the Heukgyo Water Territory was not as terrifying as they had imagined, but rather quite merciful. However, the human mind is a fickle thing; give them an inch, and they will take a mile. Learning that the Black Flood Dragon was not as cruel as they had feared, and seeing those who had returned from the Human Territory with their own eyes, some naturally began to harbor other desires.

It wasn't anything grand. They simply wanted to leave the island they had lived on all their lives and see the world outside the water territory. But the problem was, Jekyeong had absolutely no intention of granting their wishes.

"Dragon Lord. I have dealt with them cleanly," Hyeongu said, bowing respectfully upon his return.

Jekyeong had ordered Hyeongu, who was guarding the Fleshy-Scaled Fish schools, to monitor several islands. His task was to eliminate anyone who tried to sneak off the islands without his permission.

"You have worked hard. There are no issues with the fish schools, correct?"

"Yes. Everything there has been settled, so there will be no problems even if I step away for a while."

Apart from his respectful tone, Hyeongu's voice carried a new strength and confidence. It was a stark contrast to his previously somewhat feeble demeanor.

His eyes were clearer, and his overall aura had grown significantly. Whether the efficacy of Muk-su's Spiritual Fruit was just that excellent, or if Hyeongu was exceptionally compatible with it, Hyeongu had become far more competent after consuming the fruit. He had become adept at managing the water beasts, and his methods of handling affairs had become much more flexible. This task was a prime example. Hyeongu's execution was faster and cleaner than Jekyeong had expected.

"Shall I continue to watch them?"

"Yes."

Although there wouldn't be many who possessed both the courage and the initiative to act, they still had to be watched just in case. Jekyeong could not tolerate even a single hole in his net. No matter how small that hole might be.

Once a hole was made, it could not be mended and would only grow larger, so not even a speck of a hole should be allowed from the start. A fish that escaped the net would bring back all sorts of other fish, and a net that was already torn would not be able to stop them. Therefore, absolute control was the only answer. At least, that was the best judgment Jekyeong could make right now.

Of course, no matter how much he tried to control it, the net would eventually break, whether from leaks within or intrusions from without. Still, he had to delay that time as much as possible—until the point where external threats could no longer shake him.

'In the end, it's because I am weak.'

Although obtaining the Guest Elder status at Gyeongwang Palace gave him some breathing room, he couldn't let his guard down. An invisible, tiny awl was far more terrifying than a visible, large sword. Jekyeong believed that the only thing he could truly rely on was his own strength.

'If only I could reach the mid-stage, or even late-stage of the Great Yao realm, I could relax to some extent.'

Since becoming a Great Demon, he prided himself on never having been idle for even a single moment. Yet, his cultivation progress was painfully slow. Without the aid of a powerful bloodline, the process of accumulating demonic power stitch by stitch was incredibly bleak and tedious.

'At least it's a relief that I obtained a proper cultivation technique this time.'

The crafts and techniques Han Cheongyu and the workers back from the Human Territory brought back weren't the only things. They had also obtained several cultivation techniques commonly practiced by Qi Refining cultivators. In other words, they weren't just basic entry-level techniques. Among those various techniques was a fire-attribute cultivation technique, allowing Jekyeong to finally bid farewell to the dreadful Heat-Absorbing Technique.

It was a common technique that could be easily bought in the market with a bit of legwork, but to Jekyeong, who had been accustomed to the abysmal cultivation speed of the Heat-Absorbing Technique, this Thought-Burning Heart-Searing Cultivation was an unparalleled, supreme art.

Whoosh!

A massive flame erupted. It was a spiritual fire that burned away stray thoughts and heated the mind. This fire was far wilder than the one kindled by the Heat-Absorbing Technique, but Jekyeong could easily withstand its violence. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Thus, he did not restrain it, letting it run wild. The wild flames rising from his spiritual nature spread in an instant, threatening to consume his body and soul. Yet, Jekyeong's expression remained perfectly serene.