The Dragon's Pearl and the Price of Fate
Seo-heun, having learned how to utilize her middle dantian from Seong-jin, grew stronger with each passing day. Originally, she had attempted to control the innate energy of her middle dantian through the cultivation of her upper dantian. Once she gained the ability to control the middle dantian directly, rather than through the indirect mediation of the upper, she not only mastered the immense power of a dragon but also accelerated her progress in upper dantian cultivation.
"Look at this! I've reached the Four Directions (Sabang)!"
For Seo-heun, the powerful energy inherent in her middle dantian had been like a demonic obsession, hindering her upper dantian cultivation. Once freed from that interference, she grew with such speed that her previous stagnation seemed like a lie.
"Didn't you say you reached the Three Talents (Samjae) just a while ago?"
"It means that for a genius like me, breaking through a realm is as easy as eating a piece of cake."
Strictly speaking, it was closer to retracing a path she should have already walked. Being born a dragon meant she had already experienced the senses of those who had attained enlightenment. In other words, just as Seong-jin was born with a natural aptitude for martial arts, Seo-heun was born with an aptitude for Taoist cultivation. It was no surprise that she showed unprecedented progress.
As she began to make strides in her cultivation, Seo-heun’s demeanor became noticeably brighter. Her face, which had once worn a fairy-like beauty only to spit out biting words, now bloomed like a flower in full spring whenever she smiled. This change in attitude wasn't limited to Seong-jin; on the day the siblings who had been healed finally departed, she even hugged them and wept.
She had simply been a lonely child, sulking because she had no friends and no progress in the cultivation needed to find her mother. Once those burdens were lifted, Seo-heun was quickly able to wear the innocent smile of a child. She reached the realm of the Five Elements (Ohaeng) in an instant, and soon began to eye the Six Harmonies (Yukhap).
"Hah, to think demonic arts could have such an effect. If you could also overcome the Nine-Yin Severed Pulse, you would be able to grow at that speed, too."
Lee Cheol-goi watched Seo-heun’s growth and felt a pang of regret for Seong-jin’s situation, but Seong-jin thought differently.
'My choice to come to Mount Bongnae has helped someone.'
The mere proof that his choice hadn't been wrong held great significance for Seong-jin. Even if he were to close his eyes here, someone else would be able to achieve their dream through what he had left behind.
Seo-heun smiled. Seong-jin smiled as he watched her. The two children of similar age spent their days on Mount Bongnae, receiving the teachings of the immortals together.
Then, two years later.
"Cough!"
Seong-jin, who had been carrying water from the lake to the herb garden after receiving lessons from Ha-seon-go as usual, collapsed with a sudden bout of blood-spitting.
"She's late…."
In Lee Cheol-goi’s herb garden, Seo-heun sat on a tree branch, swinging her legs back and forth as she waited for Seong-jin. Today, while Seong-jin learned medicine from Ha-seon-go, she had received Taoist training from Yeo Dong-bin. It had been their promise for the past two years to meet in the herb garden after their studies were done, so as not to interfere with each other's training.
"I hit the Six Harmonies today."
Having had her meridians cleared through Seong-jin’s oral instructions, she had broken through three stages—from Three Talents to Six Harmonies—in just two years. Realistically, she wouldn't be able to break through realms at this speed forever, but at this rate, she would easily reach the Nine Palaces (Gugung) and see completion within a hundred years. For Seo-heun, born a dragon, it was a manageable timeline. Compared to the days when she had no progress and time flowed without promise, the ability to estimate a concrete duration was a world of difference.
"When I go to the Immortal Realm, I'll have to introduce that guy to my mother, too. Hehe."
She was finally able to smile while painting a rosy future. However, the future that approached her was not a soft pink, but a blood-red hue.
After waiting a long time for Seong-jin, who still hadn't arrived, Seo-heun decided that the sun would truly set if she waited any longer, and she set out to find him. She soon discovered Seong-jin collapsed on the mountain path and hurriedly moved him to the lake.
"Ha-seon-go!"
"This is…!"
Ha-seon-go possessed the finest medical skills in the Immortal Realm. Having treated Seong-jin before when he was struck by the Chang-gwi, she had long known of his constitution.
"The time has finally come."
"What does that mean?"
"Didn't you know? In truth, this child has…."
Seo-heun, hearing of Seong-jin’s condition for the first time through Ha-seon-go, froze instantly. The face that had been filled with smiles for the past two years was overwritten by the expression she had worn on the day the Bongsin Treaty was enacted.
"Even if we treat the internal injuries, there is no way unless we resolve the fundamental cause."
"Then just treat it! What medicine is needed to cure the Nine-Yin Severed Pulse!"
"Since the innate constitution is the problem, it cannot be cured with simple medicine. Perhaps if it were the Bando peaches grown by the Queen Mother of the West, it might be different."
The peaches of the Immortal Realm, said to grant eternal youth and immortality if eaten. The Queen Mother of the West was the highest-ranking immortal in the realm, governing life and death, and was famous for gifting eternal life and immortality by sharing these peaches with those who newly ascended. Even the Pilma-on of the heavens had stolen and eaten her peaches to achieve immortality, so there was no need to say more.
"Then what if I ascend and bring back a Bando? I was a dragon from birth, so I'll be fine even without one!"
"It is doubtful whether it is even possible to ascend and come back down with a peach, but even if it were, Seong-jin would not be able to hold on until then."
Seo-heun had now reached the Six Harmonies. For her to become an immortal, she needed nearly a hundred years.
"Judging by the progression of the symptoms, at this rate, he has one year. As I said, there is no way unless we resolve the fundamental cause."
"One year? That means it’s all over after just one season passes!"
It was not a long time even for a human. For Seo-heun, who possessed the lifespan of a dragon, one year was an agonizingly short time.
"Is there no other way?"
"There is not. At least, not in the lower realm."
Ha-seon-go was adamant. Coming from her, one of the finest medical immortals in the realm, it was no empty word.
"Then I will ascend within a year and bring back a Bando."
From that moment on, Seo-heun cut even her sleeping time to immerse herself in cultivation. Considering that a dragon falling into a long, periodic sleep was akin to a survival instinct, it was no exaggeration to call her resolve a desperate, life-or-death struggle.
She completed the Six Harmonies and reached the Seven Stars (Chilseong).
'This is not enough.'
Even after reaching a realm that would leave her name in history, Seo-heun did not stop. She cultivated as if she would burn her upper dantian to ash. She did not stop even when her dragon body screamed in agony.
The day Seong-jin taught her the oral instructions. From that day on, there was a heat that took root in Seo-heun’s heart. It was far too hot for her, a cold-blooded creature. But it was a heat that grew hotter by the day, with no sign of stopping.
No one had taught her the name of this heat, but Seo-heun knew instinctively. This heat would not cool even after a thousand years, and if she could not save Seong-jin, she would eventually be consumed by it. She knew she would do anything to prevent this heat from turning into the name of regret.
She reached the level of eyeing the Eight Trigrams (Pal-gwae) in less than a year, but the wall of time was immense. The absolute lack of time was something even she could not overcome. If she left Mount Bongnae and left Seong-jin behind, she might buy more time, but cultivating in the outside world was inferior to being on Mount Bongnae. Every attempt to utilize the time distortion spread across the mountain failed. Begging the immortals was the same.
When she discarded her pride as a dragon and knelt before them, Seo-heun saw in the eyes of the immortals a detachment as cold as stone. A detachment that did not care whether the tree beside them withered, whether a new seed sprouted, or whether a mountain fire burned everything to the ground. Even the compassionate Ha-seon-go kept her mouth shut regarding Seong-jin.
'I have to do it.'
In the end, she was the only one who could do anything. However, her enlightenment was still too shallow to discuss ascension. Seo-heun chose a different method.
"You were my Yeouiju."
Dragons were beings that cherished their treasures terribly.
"So, I will become your Yeouiju."
Taoist cultivation increases one's lifespan every time a stage is broken through, even before reaching completion. Therefore, if Seong-jin learned Taoist cultivation, his remaining time would increase in proportion to his extended lifespan. However, Seong-jin was hovering between life and death and was in no state to find enlightenment on his own, so there was only one way.
"In the world of the beginning, only the Hunwon (Primordial Chaos) existed, so the practice of Taoist cultivation also begins with the Ilwon (One Circle)."
A leak of heavenly secrets.
As Seo-heun transmitted her enlightenment, the thunder energy that filled her upper dantian moved to Seong-jin. At the same time, the sky of Mount Bongnae split, and a pillar began to descend. It was the Bongsin-dae (Altar of Conferred Gods).
The very thing that had taken her parents away from her was now descending to take her away.
-What have you done!
As the Bongsin-dae revealed itself, Yeo Dong-bin, who had been guarding Mount Bongnae, was the first to rush over.
"To personally hand over the god-energy that was in your upper dantian! This is a complete leak of heavenly secrets, with no room for argument!"
"Yeo Dong-bin, are you scolding me? You, who even taught Seong-jin the Gong-gwa-gyeok cultivation method?"
"That had at least some room to be overlooked. If that child became an immortal in time, we could have negotiated!"
"But you knew well enough that time was short!"
They were the ones who had known from the start that Seong-jin was living on borrowed time. Seo-heun, filled with passion, glared at Yeo Dong-bin, tears streaming down her face.
"If an immortal commits a leak of heavenly secrets, an equal causality returns to the demons. It is a causality enough to create a new immortal. We cannot push all the lives of the world into the hell-realm just to save one child."
"I can do it."
Seo-heun was adamant.
"What does it matter if the outside world belongs to humans or demons? To me, Seong-jin is more important than this world."
"Such actions only increase your karma and delay your ascension."
"Yes, in your eyes, I must look no different from the demons. A being that disrupts the world, a being that must be caught and locked away."
"Seo-heun…."
"Do not force your nobility upon me."
What happened after that was something even Seong-jin could not know for certain. Because Seong-jin, too, had only heard from the immortals what had happened while he was hovering between life and death. However, as a result of all those events, the immortals who had descended to the lower realm could no longer intervene in worldly affairs. On the other hand, the demons gained a causality where it didn't matter if they committed a few leaks of heavenly secrets. What Seo-heun had done to save Seong-jin had effectively handed the world over to the demons.
"In the end, all of this is because I could not die at the right time. So, as the last remaining immortal, I must be the one to finish it."
When Seong-jin’s story ended, So-geol-a gazed at the distant mountains for a moment. She sighed, looked at Seong-jin, couldn't bring herself to open her mouth, scratched her head, and looked back at the distant mountains. After hesitating for a long time, she finally held out a liquor bottle to Seong-jin.
"Ha, you! Have a drink, too!"