“Although the Garden of Remembrance is a minor world, it is quite vast. It cannot be compared to any ordinary grotto or secret realm.”
According to Woo Do-baek, the Garden of Remembrance had not always been so vast from the beginning. However, since a senior in the distant past first opened the sky of the Garden of Remembrance, the seniors of later generations have continuously supplemented and expanded this world, and the result is the Garden of Remembrance of today.
“Perhaps you may be wondering. Since the number of cultivators is not that large, is there a need for a resting place they only visit for a short while to be so vast?”
Jaekyung thought it was a good thing that one could only exist as a spirit in the Garden of Remembrance. If not, he would have surely worn an expression of being seen right through. Woo Do-baek continued.
“Cultivators fundamentally have a very strong sense of territory. It is the same even in a place where one can only exist as a spirit. That is why the seniors with powerful divine sense have taken certain areas as their domains, forbidding the entry of strangers. Senior Bu-un is one such case. I heard the size of his domain, the Vast Leisure Forest, is larger than most cities of the humans.”
The size of a resting place he only visits for a short while is larger than a city? For a moment, Jaekyung doubted his ears, but he soon accepted it as it was. It was not that he understood, but that he accepted it as fact.
“I say this out of concern, but do not recklessly visit the domains of the seniors hoping to gain an immortal's favor. There is a rule in the Garden of Remembrance that prohibits disputes, but that rule is applied quite flexibly. For example, it prohibits disputes, but it does not prohibit punishment.”
Jaekyung understood immediately. In short, it meant that while those of similar standing were prohibited from causing a stir by creating disputes, it did not prohibit the great and powerful seniors from punishing ill-mannered juniors. He wondered what kind of rule could be so arbitrary, but in a way, it was only natural.
In this world where the value of life was not equal, laws and rules were like conveniences made by the strong for themselves. The Garden of Remembrance was no exception. Even if they were kin, were all kin truly the same?
“Rest assured. I am not mad.”
“The harshness of the Immortal Path is what drives even sane people mad. The world is full of those who would willingly jump into a pit of fire if they could grasp even a thread of an opportunity.”
Woo Do-baek, who had let out a low sigh, changed the subject before the mood completely sank.
“The Garden of Remembrance is divided into five areas. The four territories of east, west, south, and north, and the central area located in their middle. The central area is also called the Forbidden Zone.”
“The Forbidden Zone?”
“Yes. The Forbidden Zone, the central area, is where the Heaven-Reaching Tower, where the Master resides, is located. Only those who have received the Master’s permission or the elders can enter that place.”
Although there was no systematic organization in the Garden of Remembrance, there were managers. If there were no one to manage it, who would establish and enforce rules such as the prohibition of disputes? Those who did the managing were people like the Master and the elders.
In particular, the Master was the owner and supreme manager of the Garden of Remembrance, and here, his word was law. However, the Master rarely revealed himself or made his presence known, so his very existence was considered a mystery of the Garden of Remembrance.
“I heard that once, a great power challenged the Master to become the lord of the Garden of Remembrance, only to flee, scared out of his wits. Some say it was thousands of years ago, and others say it was only a few hundred years ago… I do not know if it is true.”
Woo Do-baek spoke in a flowing manner about everything from the most important rules of the Garden of Remembrance to rumors and common trivial matters.
“Sometimes, the seniors give out missions. Of course, they are not mandatory, and one can decide whether or not to do the mission after seeing the reward. These missions are usually more time-consuming than dangerous, so juniors like us can also participate if we have the mind to.”
“Doesn’t everyone hide their identity here? Since everyone can only exist as a spirit in the Garden of Remembrance, how can one receive the reward for a mission?”
When Jaekyung raised his question, Woo Do-baek affirmed as if he had asked a good question.
“You are right. No matter how much of a sense of kinship we share as the same race, in the cultivation world, there are not a few who would even harm their own flesh and blood for the sake of the Immortal Path, so how can one carelessly trust others? That is why, even here, people generally try to hide their identity as much as possible.”
The first quality a person who cultivates must have is vigilance. Those who can come to the Garden of Remembrance, with a few special exceptions, are all those who have reached a realm higher than the Foundation Establishment stage, and by that point, most have weathered many storms in the cultivation world. How could such people act naively?
Moreover, here, one could neither confirm nor recognize another's identity.
“But that is a story that only applies to floating weeds like us in the cultivation world. We who worry about being swept away when the wind blows and fear a blade flying from somewhere if we say one wrong word, have no choice but to always be vigilant and watch our step.
But the great figures who have made a name for themselves in the cultivation world are different. If we are floating weeds, they are great trees. A wind that is like a typhoon to us is but a gentle breeze to them, so our ten thousand fears are but a moment's trouble to them.”
In the Garden of Remembrance, there were such great trees. The names of some of them were publicly known, which was possible because they themselves had no intention of hiding them.
“Is that allowed?”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought things concerning the Garden of Remembrance were supposed to be kept secret.”
“Hmm. That is true. I heard that in the past, if you were found out to be a reincarnator, you would be captured, your soul extracted and used as a material for alchemy or artifact refinement, or become a subject for all sorts of experiments. But it is not that severe these days. Of course, it is still better to be careful. Although it was revealed a long time ago that the soul of a reincarnator is no different from an ordinary soul, there are still occasional dimwits who hold doubts.”
Woo Do-baek sneered as he recounted the bloody history.
“Do you know why the Garden of Remembrance was first created? There are many different opinions on this, but two theories are widely supported. One is that a great senior of old created the Garden of Remembrance to maintain his own state of mind, in other words, to set an anchor.
And the other is that in the past, when the persecution of reincarnators reached its peak, a great senior who could no longer bear it created this small sanctuary so that reincarnators could unite and help each other.
Well, I don't know what the truth is, but it is clear that the persecution of reincarnators has been going on for a long time.”
Jaekyung could feel Woo Do-baek's anger, but he did not particularly empathize with it. It was probably because he had never been directly harmed. If he had been born as a human and had been harmed in the human cultivation world because of his identity as a reincarnator, he would have been able to empathize and get fired up.
But since that was not the case, Jaekyung felt questions instead of anger. Still, he had some sense, so while appropriately agreeing with the heated Woo Do-baek, he subtly asked about the parts he was curious about.
“By the way, Senior. You mentioned something about an ‘anchor,’ what is an anchor?”
“Ah. That. It is one of the open secrets of the cultivation world. At our level, we do not need to worry about it, but if you truly wish to ascend high, it is good to pay attention to it early on.”
Woo Do-baek, who had stopped in mid-air, said as he looked down at the vast mountain range.
“What is Cultivation? What is immortal cultivation? To become an Immortal means to transcend and be detached, but from what does one transcend and become detached?
Though there are a hundred answers to a hundred questions, the answer to this one is probably singular. It is the yoke. It is to become free from everything that binds.
At this point, some might say, 'Then shouldn't one just not be bound by anything in the first place,' but just as ignorance is not omniscience, one who has never worn a yoke cannot remove it. That is why in progressing with Cultivation, one must not be afraid of getting dust on one's body.”
He did not know if it was a trick of his mind, but at that moment, Jaekyung felt that Woo Do-baek's spirit shone brighter than before. Perhaps, by discussing the Dao with Jaekyung, he was reminding himself of his own Dao and consolidating it further.
“The higher one’s Cultivation gets, the more the cultivator is plagued by all sorts of delusions. At such times, one must have a firm Dao Heart to not be swayed by the delusions. And what is needed for that is precisely an anchor. This anchor is a tool that allows you to be yourself, to be who you are. The time will come when you too must set your own anchor. Of course, the same goes for me.”
Perhaps because it was still a distant story, it felt vague, but even so, Jaekyung felt he could faintly understand.
“Of course, all sorts of strange and extraordinary people exist in the world. I have heard there are those born with a Heavenly Dao Heart who are not swayed by any delusion. I think it is a baseless rumor or an exaggeration, but who knows for sure.”
“It has nothing to do with me.”
“Haha. The same goes for me.”
As they began to move again, a wide plateau appeared before them.
“To return to what we were talking about earlier, besides missions given by the seniors, there is quite a bit of exchange in the Garden of Remembrance. There are things that could be called exchange meetings. Among them, some were naturally formed by like-minded people gathering, but there are also those that are operated under the guarantee of the seniors.”
“What kind of exchange takes place in such places?”
“The most common is all sorts of information. Next is discussing the Dao. Of course, material transactions also take place. However, in this case, there must be firm trust in each other. If not, one must bear the cost and receive the help of the seniors.”
“Help, you say?”
“I mentioned that there are a few seniors whose identities are publicly known, right? For example, one of them is the Prosperous Treasure True Lord, who runs a well-known merchant guild in the Azure Abyss Realm. With his help, you can conduct transactions safely and cleanly.”
It meant conducting transactions through a trustworthy, no, a must-be-trusted intermediary. Of course, a great figure in the cultivation world called a True Lord would not look into every single trivial transaction of his distant juniors, so it was likely just lending his name, but with that alone, no one would dare to harbor foolish thoughts.
“Do you also participate in any exchange meetings, Senior?”
“I do.”
Woo Do-baek affirmed as if it were obvious, as if he had been waiting for the question.
‘Just as I thought.’
The kindness Woo Do-baek showed was in no way less than what Yoo Jung-gyeom had shown; in fact, there was more to it. Jaekyung did not think he would do so much without any intention, solely out of goodwill for a member of his race.
He had a clear purpose, and Jaekyung guessed it was to form some kind of connection with him. Was it another act of ‘sowing seeds’? It could be, or it could not be.
“There are several. As you will soon find out, the time one can spend in the Garden of Remembrance is limited. So, it is difficult to travel far and look around here and there. Usually, one's area of activity is set, and one tends to have limited exchanges with like-minded people within that area.”
What composed and moved a spirit was, of course, mental energy. Therefore, for a spirit to move faster and farther, stronger mental energy was needed. But this mental energy, with a few special exceptions, grows stronger the higher one's realm, so cultivators who were only at the Foundation Establishment stage could not help but find it burdensome to travel far.
Of course, the Garden of Remembrance was not as wide as the Azure Abyss Realm, so if one really set one's mind to it, one could overcome the limitations of distance. But was there really a reason to do so? One must not forget that life in the Azure Abyss Realm was the main thing.
Not to mention Cultivation, one could not help but care about life in the cultivation world. The time spent in the Garden of Remembrance was, to use an analogy, like a short break time.
“Of course, there are exceptions everywhere. I have heard there are people who wander around constantly, saying they will explore the entire Garden of Remembrance. Do you also want to do that?”
“Of course not.”
Maybe someday if he really had too much time and nothing to do, but for now, Jaekyung had no intention of being so leisurely.
“If you are alright with it, I will introduce you to a few of the exchange meetings I am active in. The fellow Daoists there will probably welcome you too.”
“Is it because I am a spirit beast?”
“To be precise, it is because you are a spirit beast with a stable state of mind. You may have guessed, but the demon races are not very welcome in the Garden of Remembrance. Most of them do not have a stable state of mind, so they are not suitable partners for exchange.”
“What exactly does it mean for the state of mind to be not stable?”
“It is as it sounds. Their minds are not stable, so there are problems with their personality and behavior. Let me put it this way. If 100 problems occur in the Garden of Remembrance, 90 of them are related to the demon races. But the problem is, if we assume there are 1000 cultivators in the Garden of Remembrance, there are barely 10 cultivators from the demon races.”
“Ah…”
Jaekyung was immediately convinced.
“I will not hide it from you. I approached you because I thought that interacting with you would be beneficial to me. Because I thought I could gain something from it someday, if not now.”
“I suspected as much.”
“Haha. It seems my intentions were too obvious.”
“It is not that. It is just because of what Senior Yoo Jung-gyeom told me.”
“I see. You have met a good guide.”
They descended towards the plateau. As they got a little closer, he could see dozens of large, awl-like stone pillars rising from a wide basin.
“This is the meeting place where the exchange meeting is held. The gatherings are held on every Full Wing Day.”
“Full Wing Day?”
“Hmm. You would not know. I will show you. Open your mind and do not resist.”
No sooner had Woo Do-baek finished speaking than an image, or a picture, surfaced in Jaekyung's mind. In a sky that was neither dark nor bright, a few of the countless celestial bodies glowed faintly, seeming to form some faint shape.
If he had not been paying attention, if Woo Do-baek had not emphasized and shown it to him, Jaekyung would not have thought it was a shape at all.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“The meeting is held once every three months. As it happens, the next one is in six days, how about you try participating?”
“I will.”
When Jaekyung readily accepted, Woo Do-baek was pleased. Perhaps he was thinking that his efforts in talking so much had paid off?
‘It’s not a bad deal for me.’
He had learned many things, but there were still many more things he needed to learn. Jaekyung, who could be said to have just entered the path of Cultivation, was desperate for the advice of ‘seniors’ he could refer to, not to mention the basic knowledge of the cultivation world.
He naturally knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and that the help he received now would be a debt in the future, but that was all for later.
At the very least, it would be after he became a Great Spirit Beast, and by then, he would probably be able to repay the debt with a smile. So what was the problem? On the contrary, Jaekyung was thinking of taking on as much debt as possible right now.