The Heavenly Demon Uses Taoist Magic (1)
I ended the stream and felt exhausted. While physical fatigue didn't exist for me, mental exhaustion was undeniably real. Maybe it was because I'd overthought things too much during that last combat mage tutorial. I didn't feel like doing anything at all. I wondered if the day would ever come when I could complete that assignment using only magic, without relying on the correction function. It felt impossibly far away. So far. Sigh. In times like these, the only solution was to go get some healing. My heart had been wounded after being firmly rejected by the spirits, so wasn't it only right to soothe it by playing with Baru?
With that thought in mind, I entered the world of Hwaryong Muin, only to find two figures—no, one divine spirit and one animal—raising their voices in my office.
“Baru. How long do you plan on just lazing around?”
“This is not lazing. This is taking proper rest.”
“That's the same thing!”
Baekju was scolding Baru, who was sprawled by the window basking in the sunlight. Baru, eyes closed, responded lazily no matter what was said to her. The reaction seemed to irritate Baekju even more; she puffed up with indignation until she noticed my presence and quickly changed her expression.
“Min-ga. You've arrived.”
“Is there any point in putting on that fake politeness now?”
“...Shouldn't you at least pretend not to notice at times like this?”
“My apologies. I simply dislike such things.”
Dealing with people who were different on the inside than they appeared on the outside was far too bothersome. That was precisely why I liked beings like Enry or Baru. When I answered that way, Baekju's face flushed slightly and she cleared her throat.
“So, what exactly were you scolding Baru for?”
“Scolding? I was merely offering some advice.”
“Most people would call that scolding.”
“...It's because Baru hasn't done anything all day.”
Hmm? So this was what Baekju meant. She'd come here this morning and watched Baru the entire time, only to see her do nothing but eat and sleep. As a divine spirit, she should have been tending to the mountain, or at the very least practicing Taoist magic, yet she'd done absolutely nothing throughout the day.
“A divine spirit shouldn't behave this way!”
Even as Baekju raised her voice, Baru simply yawned in clear annoyance.
“Baru!”
“Speaking of which, didn't you also abandon your own mountain to come here?”
“That... that's...”
When Baru scratched behind her ear with a hind leg while saying that, Baekju was left speechless. After all, she couldn't exactly call those words false.
Yesterday, I'd suggested to my benefactor that she come to Mount Hua. Since she'd promised to grant any request I made, she readily agreed, and her relocation was decided. The person most shocked by this news was none other than Baekju. She'd apparently assumed her benefactor wouldn't actually leave, because when she saw her packing what little belongings she had, Baekju's face filled with dismay.
‘You're really going?’
‘Yes. I need to repay the favor, don't I?’
‘Then what about me?’
When Baekju asked what she should do if the Blood Sect returned, even I found myself troubled. I personally didn't care what happened to her, but Baekju was still Baru's acquaintance. If she fell into danger, Baru would be saddened. As I pondered what to do, Baru suddenly spoke up.
‘Why don't you simply come along as well?’
‘Pardon?’
Baru's explanation was this: A divine spirit could sense everything happening in their mountain even from far away. Therefore, if she couldn't protect the mountain alone, it would be better to stay at Mount Hua and ask me for help when needed.
‘Since Min-ga possesses the means to travel vast distances instantly, dealing with emergencies would be much easier. Ah, of course, only if Min-ga permits it.’
It was an offer I had no reason to refuse. The grounds of Mount Hua were vast, yet the number of people using them was pitifully small. Adding one or two more people wouldn't cause any real problems. Besides, I rather liked the idea of personally smashing the Blood Sect if they dared invade Mount Seoryeong again.
Baekju seemed quite conflicted about abandoning the mountain where she resided, pondering for a long time, but in the end she decided to come with me. As a result, she was now staying at Mount Hua.
Having thrown the fact that she'd left her own mountain behind in Baekju's face—something she'd clearly been carrying in her heart—it was only natural that she'd be rendered speechless. Baru watched the flustered Baekju, who had no idea what to do, then let out a sigh, stood up, and took on human form.
“My apologies. I spoke out of turn.”
“What? No, it's fine.”
“So, what do you propose we do?”
“First, I was thinking of restoring this mountain to help Na-yul return quickly.”
Na-yul—she must be referring to that venomous toad-dragon from last time. Since divine spirits were immortal beings, she'd said it would return someday.
“If that's the case, I've already been doing something about it.”
“You have?”
“You have?”
When both I and Baekju asked at the same time, Baru gave us a withering glare as if we were being ridiculous.
“Just what do you two take me for?”
Well, most of what Baekju had just scolded her for was accurate, wasn't it? The only times I'd seen her while frequently visiting the world of Hwaryong Muin were moments when she was leisurely napping somewhere.
Under our awkward gazes, Baru sighed and told us to follow her. The place she led us to was the massive clearing that had been created when the Baek Hwaryeong of this world had destroyed Mount Hua in the past. On the barren ground where not even a single blade of grass had grown due to the aftermath of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, sprouts of various plants were now emerging.
“This mountain has been completely drained of its vitality. That's why even if you plant vegetation in the soil, it withers and dies instead of growing. It took quite an effort to make even these grow.”
Baru puffed out her chest proudly among the things brimming with green life. Just when had she been doing all this? The only thing I'd ever seen this child do on Mount Hua was sleep. Had she only moved when I wasn't around? Why? I didn't quite understand, but since it was clearly a good deed, I reached out and stroked Baru's head. Her tail swished through the air with a whooshing sound.
“I originally planned to show you once the scenery was a bit more proper.”
“What are you saying? It's wonderful even now.”
“Is it?”
Had creating this scenery been that difficult? Baru let out a pleased laugh at my praise.
While we were talking, Baekju wandered through the forest, checking various things, before frowning and placing both hands on her hips.
“I only took a quick look around the forest yesterday, but what the Blood Sect did is no joke. To reduce such a massive mountain to this state...”
“Doesn't it send chills down your spine when you think that Mount Seoryeong nearly ended up like this?”
“Very much so.”
Judging by Baekju's serious expression, it seemed the Blood Sect's actions had affected the mountain far more than I'd imagined. The fact that she'd used the term wasteland suggested the entire mountain had nearly become a place where no life could take root.
“Baekju. One of the reasons I brought you here was to restore this mountain.”
“I figured as much.”
“I'm counting on you.”
“Of course.”
With those words, Baekju pulled out a small pouch from her robes. She murmured something quietly, and energy began flowing out from her, slowly spreading across the land.
“What exactly is she doing right now?”
“She's bestowing a blessing upon the entire mountain. It's something only Baekju, a divine spirit who has lived for countless years, can do.”
I could see vitality slowly, bit by bit, seeping into the lifeless ground. Though I was practically an outsider when it came to Taoist magic, even I could tell how extraordinary this was just by watching the scene. She was forcibly instilling life force into dead earth. It was akin to rewriting the very principles inscribed upon the land.
“It's truly like magic.”
She was ignoring the principles of the world and inscribing her own will upon it. If that wasn't magic, what else could it be called?
“Magic?”
Baru, who didn't know what magic was, looked puzzled at my words. Ah, right. For someone from the Murim world like Baru, comparing it to magic would be difficult to understand. So I explained what magic was, describing it as a phenomenon from another world, and Baru showed interest.
“Hmm. So it's the complete opposite of the Taoist magic we use.”
“Opposite?”
Wasn't Taoist magic also about adding something on top of natural principles? I asked while thinking that, and Baru chuckled.
“So even you have things you don't know.”
“I only claim to know about martial arts, nothing more.”
“Then allow me to explain. First, you must understand that beneath all things lies the Dao. The Dao cannot be described, yet it exists everywhere and governs the growth, decay, and causality of all creation.”
Baru speaking about the Dao sounded exactly like some charlatan. I knew it was true because the speaker was who she was, but for some reason, hearing about the Dao made it sound untrustworthy.
“To your eyes, what we do may look like performing miracles, but in truth, we are merely borrowing the principles of the Dao to manifest phenomena. Just as you unfold martial arts by following the principles of martial truth.”
The explanation that, on a fundamental level, Taoist magic and martial arts pursued the same path made my head spin. I'd never heard such things in my previous life? No, that wasn't it. I'd simply never had the opportunity to hear them. After all, I hadn't particularly liked Taoist practitioners, so I'd never bothered listening to their explanations.
...Wait a moment.
“You said the Dao dwells within all things?”
“That's right.”
Let's think about this. In the VR world, I'd never encountered even the slightest restriction when practicing martial arts. That meant the principles of martial truth applied perfectly within the VR world. In other words, if the principles of martial truth applied, didn't that mean the principles of the Dao applied as well?
Just as I'd drawn the principles of martial truth with my mana to unleash martial arts, if I could draw the principles of the Dao in the same way, then I should be able to use Taoist magic there. On the surface, there didn't seem to be much difference between magic and Taoist magic. So if I learned Taoist magic, wouldn't that mean I could achieve the harmony between magic and martial arts that I'd been envisioning?