A Microcosm of the Heavens
"Before that, there is one thing I wish to ask."
The ferret's lips curled upward into a smirk.
"Indeed? What is it that makes you so curious?"
"Is this truly the correct path? I find it difficult to comprehend how a spiritual beast can practice such a cultivation technique."
It was a straightforward question.
Though he had only realized it recently, it was clear that Mother Jimjo had indeed set foot into the realm of Qi Condensation.
However, he doubted she had practiced a technique like this.
No matter how much spiritual awareness a beast awakened, could its intellect truly surpass that of a human?
Soyo patted Dang Sobaek's wing as he replied.
"How clever. As you say, these techniques are tailored for the human race. Thus, they are not beast cultivation techniques."
"Then I understand even less. If there is a proper method meant for us, why is there a need to walk this path?"
"Spiritual beasts grow stronger by hunting and preying upon other beasts. They follow the law of the jungle—the survival of the fittest. If one is born with a spiritual root, then at a certain point—"
Soyo cut himself off and clapped his paws.
Clap!
"The inner core triggers an explosion, balancing the energy of the five elements to match the spiritual root. Only then is the beast core formed."
"Hmm..."
Soyo chuckled, his expression full of mischief.
"An incredibly simple and convenient method, is it not? Why? Are you tempted?"
"Soyo, there must be a reason why you did not choose that method yourself."
The ferret looked utterly taken aback.
"Impertinent brat! Who said you could address your master so casually?"
"Did you not tell me your name so I could use it? Besides, you are not my master. You are my senior."
"Fine. What could I possibly expect from you? At any rate, returning to the main point, forming a beast core through an explosion is an incredibly crude and ignorant method."
Soyo's explanation was as follows:
While one could form a beast core through an explosion, failure resulted in critical injuries, and death was by no means an uncommon outcome.
Therefore, the beast's physical body had to be robust enough to withstand the blast, and its innate bloodline had to be exceptionally superior. That was the crux of the matter.
It is literally survival of the fittest.
It was a method where only the strong survived.
Dang Sobaek's bloodline could be considered quite excellent, as he carried the blood of the Jimjo, a species revered as spiritual beasts.
But that was all.
To possess a strong physical body, one had to constantly consume spiritual flesh, but currently, beasts worthy of being called spiritual beasts had been wiped clean from Gwisu Island.
No matter how great his bloodline was, if he could not strengthen his physical body, he would eventually hit a wall.
"I now clearly understand why we must practice this technique. Then, may I assume this is a human cultivation technique?"
"Indeed. However, there is no major issue even if a spiritual beast practices it, so do not trouble yourself over it."
This path suited Dang Sobaek's disposition much better anyway.
There was no need to choose a perilous path when a safe alternative existed.
Soyo placed his paws on his hips and began his explanation in a solemn tone.
"To master this technique, you must first understand the Twelve Meridians. Allow me to explain—"
These were concepts Dang Sobaek already knew inside out.
"There is no need for that."
"What?! Did I not just say? We must start step-by-step from this first..."
Dang Sobaek began with the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin and went all the way to the Liver Meridian of Foot-Jueyin, proving his knowledge by explaining his understanding of each one by one.
The depth of his knowledge was truly vast.
Soyo's eyes widened in sheer shock.
"H-How..."
"That is why I said it was unnecessary. Let us move on to the next step."
In truth, this was only natural.
Dang Sobaek had once been revered as the Medicine Immortal; his knowledge of the human body was peerless. To cultivate poison arts, such knowledge was an absolute necessity.
Furthermore, since his reincarnation as a Jimjo, he had constantly mapped out his own meridians, so explaining them posed no difficulty whatsoever.
If anything, his understanding was likely far more detailed than Soyo's, certainly not lacking.
"V-Very well! Impressive. However, to be frank, this is not particularly difficult, so it is only natural you could grasp it quickly. Next is the concept of the Twelve Stations of the Heavens. This will not be easy."
"I am listening."
Dang Sobaek nodded, focusing intently on the ferret's explanation.
The Twelve Stations were a matter of astronomy. The heavens were divided into twelve sectors, ordered as follows: Seonggi (Star Epoch), Hyeonhyo (Active Void), Chuja (Deep Sigh), Gangru (Descent), Daeryang (Great Bridge), Silchim (Sinking Star), Sunsu (Quail's Head), Sunhwa (Quail's Fire), Sunmi (Quail's Tail), Suseong (Longevity Star), Daehwa (Great Fire), and Seokmok (Split Wood).
As Dang Sobaek memorized Soyo's explanation, a hypothesis formed in his mind.
If Seonggi represents the center of the stars, then it corresponds to the Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin, which establishes the foundation of the physical body.
And that was not all.
The Twelve Stations that divided the heavens and the Twelve Meridians of the body shared an astonishing number of similarities.
The realms of Qi Condensation are also divided into exactly twelve stages.
Twelve Meridians ⇋ Twelve Stations ⇋ Twelve Stars of Qi Condensation
It could not be a mere coincidence.
That they all pointed to the number twelve, with each having a corresponding point of connection.
Dang Sobaek interrupted Soyo to ask a question.
"I have heard that Qi Condensation is the process of transforming the body's meridians into what are called spiritual meridians, or spiritual pathways. Is this correct?"
"You remembered well. That is correct."
"Then Qi Condensation can be viewed as the process of turning the body into a microcosm of the universe. Since the Twelve Meridians correspond to the Twelve Stations, engraving them onto the meridians to transform them into spiritual meridians is the core of Qi Condensation cultivation. Is my hypothesis correct?"
"..."
The ferret remained silent for a long time. Feeling a sudden pang of unease, Dang Sobaek asked again.
"Was I wrong? Perhaps I jumped to conclusions..."
"N-No, you are correct. I knew your comprehension was outstanding, but... frankly, you have far exceeded my expectations."
"I see."
"However, high comprehension does not mean you can break through realms easily. The path of cultivation is a place where one's spiritual root matters far more. Do not grow arrogant."
He had no intention of becoming arrogant.
He did not know just how much of a dunce a possessor of five spiritual roots was considered, but he was well-acquainted with setbacks anyway.
There was always a higher heaven, a greater expert. Had he not learned that lesson bitterly in his past life?
Soyo studied Dang Sobaek's expression closely, then patted his shoulder.
"Now that your understanding of the basics is complete, I shall instruct you on how to engrave Hyeonhyo onto your meridians."
A valley near the temple.
A small clearing before it.
Soyo had come here to teach the other two.
Teaching three Jimjo birds was no easy task. Though he only taught Dang Sobaek once every seven days and nights, he had to instruct these two every single day. He had to split his time down to the minute just to scrape together enough time for his own cultivation.
Still...
His sole consolation was that every single one of them possessed extraordinary talent, making the teaching highly rewarding.
Not long after Soyo arrived in the clearing, two young Jimjo birds flew in from the distance.
"Impudent brats! How dare you keep your master waiting?"
"We were eating!"
"We are sorry. This one kept clinging to me..."
"Silence! We are starting immediately, so prepare yourselves."
Soyo cloaked himself in lightning and lunged toward the two young Jimjo.
For those who lacked spirit stones, beast flesh to devour, and high comprehension, learning through physical experience was the fastest method.
Boom!
Furthermore, both possessed Heavenly Spiritual Roots.
Though Jim-il's was slightly ambiguous, his talent was not far behind.
These two did not need a complex understanding of the Twelve Stations or the Twelve Meridians like Dang Sobaek. Such tedious theories only existed for those with inferior, mixed spiritual roots.
By striking their meridians appropriately and letting them feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, their spiritual meridians would naturally activate.
There was a reason a Heavenly Spiritual Root was called a gift from the heavens.
Once they broke through a realm, the lower-tier techniques corresponding to it would naturally be understood.
"It hurts! I said it hurts!"
"Urgh. I am coming again."
Fireballs manifested around Jim-i, while Jim-il formed a sphere of water.
The water sphere took the position of the Dipper and Ox constellations.
The fireballs shifted unpredictably to support it, surging toward the ferret.
By now, their execution of the Water Source Art and the Blazing Sun Technique was remarkably proficient.
"Not bad!"
Soyo evaded with swift movements, casually waving his paw to deflect the attacks that came from awkward angles.
Then, closing the distance instantly, he channeled lightning directly into them.
"Squeak!"
"Keh-heck!"
With the acrid smell of burning feathers, the two young Jimjo foamed at the mouth and fainted. Soyo wiped his sweat and grumbled.
"Whew, dealing with both of them at once is becoming increasingly troublesome."
They would soon enter the Second Star of Qi Condensation.
It was a truly astonishing achievement.
Of course, the difficulty would spike sharply after this, so it would take some time.
But if they maintained their current pace, ten years would be more than enough.
Soyo gathered the two unconscious Jimjo in one place and fell into thought.
Monster.
These two were absurd enough, but Dang Sobaek was on an entirely different level. Unless he had already possessed this knowledge beforehand...
But that is impossible.
That was too wild of a speculation.
And while his comprehension was outstanding, talent was a different matter. It was something one was born with.
If it took these two ten years to reach the Second Star of Qi Condensation, Dang Sobaek, even with his brilliant comprehension, would take at least twice as long.
That was surely the case.
"I wonder how it will turn out."
A strange sense of anticipation welled up within him.
"Whew... It is not easy."
He clearly understood that to ascend to the Second Star of Qi Condensation, he had to engrave Hyeonhyo onto the Heart Meridian of Hand-Shaoyin to transform it into a spiritual meridian.
However, the process was incredibly abstruse.
It surely did not literally mean carving a star into his blood vessels.
The essence was to bring the body closer to a microcosm of the universe, creating a pathway through which the spiritual energy of heaven and earth could naturally flow.
First, let us do what can be done.
Dang Sobaek used the Mandok-gwigong to deliberately draw in the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Then, he focused on balancing the energy of the five elements.
"Urgh."
As expected, its foundation was entirely different from martial arts.
Feeling a sharp ache in his heart, he hastily expelled the energy.
By absorbing the core of the Won-myeon-jiju, Dang Sobaek had already reached the First Star of Qi Condensation.
However, because he had not achieved this breakthrough through his own enlightenment, he had yet to fully adapt to it.
Thus, rather than focusing on engraving Hyeonhyo right away, it seemed wiser to calmly contemplate his spiritual meridians, realize what Seonggi signified, and fully comprehend it.
"Hmm?"
While focusing for a long time to examine his internal meridians, he realized that the energy of the five elements was flowing evenly through the Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin without him even intending it. He felt as though he understood how to wield this power.
In the end, creating a microcosm within the body meant forming spiritual meridians to mold the constitution into one most suited for absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Is that how it is?
Dang Sobaek thoroughly read the spells corresponding to the First Star of Qi Condensation recorded in the Five Elements Cycle Art.
Reading the book as if possessed, he simultaneously sharpened his senses to familiarize himself with the energy of the five elements.
The sun rose,
and the moon rose again.
He immersed himself in mastering the divine ability, completely losing track of time.
After two days of intense concentration.
Whoosh—
A light haze of dust swirls within the cave.
"Have I barely taken a single step now?"
Considering that reaching mastery in this spell could summon sandstorms, this was a truly trivial achievement.
Even this was only possible because he had already reached the First Star of Qi Condensation.
In a sense, it was a case of attaining the path before understanding it.
Still.
While the current Flying Sand Art possessed zero lethality on its own, it would be highly useful if combined with poison.
In the past, administering poison required extensive preparation, but now, the spell and the Dokyodan within his body would suffice.
Besides this, there were several other spells in the Five Elements Cycle Art that seemed quite useful.
Dang Sobaek closed the book and stepped out of the cave. It was time to replenish the poison he had consumed.
No matter how far he stepped onto the path of cultivation,
he could not neglect what he had practiced his entire life.
For that was Dang Sobaek's identity and very essence.
...I might find myself short on time in the future.
He would rather cut back on sleep and food.
For how could he afford to be negligent in either pursuit?
Though spiritual beasts had grown scarce on Gwisu Island, poisonous creatures were still abundant.
It is only proper to start by thoroughly searching the nearby areas first.
And though he had yet to discover them, considering the sheer size of Gwisu Island, there were bound to be mines containing arsenic or mercury.
A desert would also be ideal.
There would be plenty of useful venomous insects like scorpions there, and with some luck, he might even obtain sand venom.
Dang Sobaek left his cave and flew toward the rainforest.
Though the area had been scorched and dead not long ago, a lush forest had already sprung up in its place. The incessant chirping of insects filled the air.
Is it because of the abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth?
The growth rate of the flora and the reproductive capacity of the fauna defied common sense. He could see why the harvesters visited this island every hundred years to sweep it clean.
Lost in these thoughts, he soon found himself in the tropical rainforest.
It is humid.
The air was thick with moisture. Dang Sobaek perched on a tree branch and calmly surveyed his surroundings.
There was no need to even extend his Divine Sense.
This place was a literal treasure trove.
By nature, tropical rainforests harbored the greatest concentration of venomous creatures.
Because a vast array of species lived in such high density, many had chosen venom as their means of self-preservation.
The rainforest was like a Gu-poison jar crafted by nature itself.
Of course, to Dang Sobaek, it merely looked like a tavern where he could dine for free.
Dang Sobaek fluttered his wings, descended to the ground, and pecked up a small passing earthworm, swallowing it.
Ptu.
He spat it out immediately.
It tasted heavily of dirt and was utterly disappointing.
He had thought it might be venomous due to its mottled skin, but it seemed that was not the case.
Just as he was about to take flight again, thinking he had only ruined his appetite,
*Ssssshh!*
A red mantis with four forelegs blocked Dang Sobaek's path.
Is this also due to the rich spiritual energy? To think it has two heads and four forelegs.
It was quite large, about the size of a decent toad. It was a creature that could easily be called a mutation.
Without a moment's hesitation, the two-headed mantis swiftly swung its legs toward Dang Sobaek.
It was truly a case of
*Ssssshh!*
a mantis trying to stop a chariot.