Jaekyung, locked in a bloody battle with the wolf spirit beast, cautiously retreated upon hearing the faint cry of a crow. At his movement, the murderous wolf spirit beast flinched, then straightened its posture and let out a low growl. It seemed to think Jaekyung was admitting defeat and preparing to withdraw.
In truth, that thought was not wrong. 'What a vicious bastard.' Jaekyung's entire body was covered in wounds.
If not for his sturdy scales, he would have become a red snake by now, not a black one. He couldn't understand why a mere wolf would claw so relentlessly. Surely it didn't think it was a tiger, did it?
'This is infuriating.' Having been beaten down the whole time, his head couldn't help but grow hot. Should he have fought fire with fire instead?
'No. No.' Doing so might have been satisfying, and he might have been able to gift that arrogant wolf a couple of large wounds, but in return, he would have been utterly mangled. This was the result of just enduring; had he bared his fangs, would he not have lost half the blood in his body?
'I can only hope Cheong-o found something.' As he slowly backed away as if admitting he was no match, the wolf snorted and shot him a cold glance, seemingly having no intention of continuing the fight. Though he couldn't read the wolf's expression, Jaekyung felt as if it was telling him to get lost quickly.
'Hoo.'
A cocky fellow, but thankfully, not a mad dog as he had expected. If it had come at him intent on finishing things, he would have had to brace himself as well. But as expected, those with spiritual wisdom were extremely reluctant to leave their own territories.
It was natural for those who possessed something to be obsessed with it, but in Jaekyung's view, these creatures were in some ways like shut-ins. Moreover, this one was a shut-in among shut-ins, handpicked by Cheong-o. The calculation was that unless it flew into a complete rage, it wouldn't chase him outside its territory. And indeed, that calculation proved correct.
"Oof."
After retreating far from the wolf spirit beast's territory and appropriately glaring at the riffraff that gathered, drawn by the smell of blood, Jaekyung finally let himself relax and began to groan in pain only after reaching the place where Mook-soo was. The pain wasn't severe, but the stinging sensation felt all over his body was not easily endured.
After what felt like a long time, Cheong-o finally arrived. But the talkative fellow, upon seeing the wounded Jaekyung, showed a dejected expression, unlike his usual self. Seeing this, Jaekyung knew instantly.
'Came up empty.' Still, he waited for Cheong-o's words, just in case. But "just in case" turned into "as expected."
"There were no spiritual objects. There were only pups inside..."
"Pups?"
Jaekyung, muttering in disappointment, closed his eyes. For a moment, his heart ached as much as his body, but he soon felt better.
"It's alright. We can't expect to be satisfied on the first try."
"Yeah."
Cheong-o, glancing at Jaekyung's wounded body, was dispirited, as if it were his own fault. Jaekyung comforted the dejected Cheong-o as best he could, suggesting they move again once his wounds healed. Cheong-o, who had been drooping, finally perked up a little and said he would try to move faster this time.
"Don't overdo it. Speed isn't important. Not getting caught is what's important."
"Yeah! You can count on me!"
* Contrary to Cheong-o's loud proclamation, they came up empty-handed in succession. The only silver lining was that this time, Jaekyung was able to retreat without getting seriously injured. Part of it was Jaekyung being a bit more cautious, but a bigger factor was that the matchup was favorable.
While the wolf spirit beast was the type to move quickly and land a series of small attacks, the master of the second spiritual land was the type to throw one big punch. Jaekyung, with his large but agile body, was able to endure by somehow dodging those all-or-nothing attacks.
But even though his body wasn't badly hurt, the fact that he had toiled in vain again left his spirit somewhat weary. Still, he managed to console the drooping Cheong-o, but he doubted he could say nice things again if the next attempt also ended in failure. 'This is harder than I thought.'
He had thought he just needed to draw their attention, but that was a huge miscalculation. Facing an opponent who was stronger than him and could kill him in an instant was by no means an easy task. Throwing himself into a situation where he could die exhausted not only his body but also, to a great extent, his mind.
'So pathetic!'
Jaekyung berated himself to pull his mind together, which was about to droop just like Cheong-o. There's a limit to wanting a free meal. How could I even speak of spiritual objects without enduring this much hardship? This thing called the mind is truly fragile; let your guard down for a moment, and it becomes endlessly weak.
One cannot be careless for even an instant. 'Could this also be considered a state of mind?' Jaekyung couldn't be sure if this mind was that mind, but he decided to just think of it that way.
That in this moment, his mind had become even a little stronger. Thinking like that, the two failed attempts weren't a complete waste.
"Cheong-o, there's a saying: 'third time's the charm.'"
"Third time's the charm? What's that?"
"It means one out of three will be a hit."
Jaekyung ignored Cheong-o, who, not understanding, kept repeating, 'What does that mean?' His mind, now stronger than before, filled with hope and determination. And then, the long-awaited third time.
"Jaekyung!"
Jaekyung, who had been groaning before his nearly torn-off tail, snapped his head up as he saw Cheong-o flying towards him from a distance, something clutched in his talons.
"Look at this! Treasure! Treasure!"
As Cheong-o drew closer, the thing he was holding became clearer, and at the same time, Jaekyung could feel the energy it exuded. With his sensitive spiritual awareness, Jaekyung sensed the heat it contained. Wooo- Mook-soo, who had been as still as death, also seemed to sense something and moved its body with a quiet cry.
"Jaekyung! Look! This is good stuff, right? Right?"
Cheong-o placed it in front of Jaekyung. Before Jaekyung could react, Mook-soo flinched and began to creep backward, as if it didn't want to be near the object. Seeing this reaction, Jaekyung looked at the small, stone-like object with interest.
Now that it was right in front of him, he could feel a considerable amount of spiritual energy dwelling within it, even without a close inspection. The energy felt through his spiritual awareness was hot, suggesting it was of the Fire attribute among the Five Elements, or perhaps yang energy of yin-yang.
However, he had heard that spiritual objects related to yin-yang were extremely rare, and seeing Mook-soo's rejection, it was highly probable that this stone-like object was a Fire-element spiritual object. 'Can this be considered a spiritual object for cultivation? Seeing as it looks like a stone... could this be a Fire Crystal?'
He remembered hearing about something called a "Crystal" when the senior cultivators at the Twilight Gathering were talking about spiritual objects for cultivation.
In that it was an object formed by the condensation of spiritual energy, it was like a spirit stone, but unlike a spirit stone, it contained spiritual energy of a specific attribute, making its value higher than a spirit stone? 'Come to think of it, I've never seen a spirit stone, which are said to be common.'
Spirit stones were valuable yet common enough to be used as currency in the world of human cultivators. However, only the lowest grades to low-grade spirit stones, which contained faint spiritual energy, were common.
Anything above that was a different story; a high-grade spirit stone was something even a cultivator at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage like Woo Do-baek would find hard to come by.
"Is this good? It's good, right?"
Cheong-o couldn't sense the energy of this Fire Crystal as clearly as Jaekyung, but he seemed to vaguely guess that it was no ordinary object. 'Well, that's why he would have picked it up.' Jaekyung looked down at the Fire Crystal, feeling both joy and disappointment.
The joy was, of course, from finally getting something on the third try, and the disappointment was that it was only this one small Fire Crystal.
"It's a decent item. A rare spiritual object."
"I knew it!"
"Was this the only one?"
"Yeah! This was all there was! I almost missed it because it was buried under a pile of rocks."
"I see."
Jaekyung smacked his lips and swallowed his disappointment. It wasn't entirely satisfying, but it was something.
"I need this. I'll catch two spirit beasts for you in return."
"Great!"
That very day, Jaekyung hunted one and gave it to Cheong-o. The reason he only hunted one was the concern that hunting too frequently would make the aquatic spirit beasts overly wary. When he told Cheong-o about this, the bird understood.
"It's okay! This should be enough to keep me full for a while."
The creature Jaekyung had caught was an octopus-like aquatic spirit beast with well over twenty legs. After tearing off and eating a few legs, Cheong-o seemed to decide this wasn't the way and called Mook-soo over to share. Jaekyung, who had been watching them blankly, soon averted his gaze and began to examine the Fire Crystal in earnest.
'How should I use this?' His initial plan had been to swallow it, but looking at the Fire Crystal, which looked for all the world like a stone, made him hesitate. Of course, his large and powerful stomach would have no problem even if he ate a stone, but this was no ordinary stone.
What if he swallowed it, thinking it would be fine, and fire energy erupted inside his stomach? 'The safest bet would be to ask the seniors at the Twilight Gathering.' Even if he couldn't use it the way they did, he could at least get some advice on precautions and other things.
Coincidentally, the Full Wing Day was not far off, so he wouldn't have to wait long.
"But Jaekyung. Are we going to check the remaining places?"
"Of course."
He had a good feeling. It felt like his luck was finally turning. He had a strong premonition that he might hit the jackpot at one of the remaining places.
* There was certainly a time when he had thought that. Perhaps his wicked desire for an easy meal had reared its head again.
"So, after all that trouble, all you got was a single Fire Crystal?"
"Yes."
The senior cultivators, who had been impressed when they first heard the story of how he obtained the Fire Crystal, showed an awkward reaction upon hearing that he had gained nothing else despite all his efforts. As if they didn't know whether to congratulate or console him.
"That is how it is. If spiritual objects were that common, why would everyone search for them with fire in their eyes?"
"Yes. I have learned my lesson this time."
Honestly, he was quite disappointed, but he had no choice but to accept it. The world was not that easy, and a treasure was a treasure anywhere. A treasure rare in human territories would not be as common as stones on the roadside, even outside those territories.
"Spiritual objects tend to appear in places with dense spiritual energy. In that respect, a spiritual land is... a bit lacking."
"Are there places with denser spiritual energy than a spiritual land?"
"There are. A prime example is a spirit vein. If the spiritual energy concentration of a typical spiritual land is 1, a spirit vein, no matter how low its grade, can be considered to have a concentration of at least 5 or more."
According to Woo Do-baek, a spirit vein was the spiritual land of spiritual lands. Naturally occurring spirit veins often contained spirit stone ore, and all sorts of rarely seen spiritual objects were said to be discovered there.
"You mentioned naturally occurring spirit veins. Does that mean there are also artificially created ones?"
"Indeed. In fact, most of the spirit veins in the human territories today are artificially created."
Naturally occurring spirit veins were almost all depleted and had become extremely hard to find in the human territories. The few that remained were those acquired as the human territories expanded, and only a small number existed on the outskirts of human lands.
"In fact, the depletion of spirit veins was a major problem for the human race. The depletion of spirit veins, the foundation of Cultivation, was tantamount to harming the very root of the human race. As I understand it, at the time, there were strong voices advocating for an expansion war for the fate of the human race due to the spirit vein depletion."
"I have heard that story as well. That if the Vein Altering Technique had not been created in time, a great war would have truly been fought..."
"At the time, there was really no other way. In any case, with the invention of the Vein Altering Technique, it became possible to create spirit veins artificially, so the calls for war naturally became a thing of the past."
Having said that, Woo Do-baek briefly explained the Vein Altering Technique to the curious Jaekyung.
"The Vein Altering Technique is a method of increasing the spiritual energy concentration of a specific ley line by mobilizing a massive amount of spirit stones. The amount of spiritual energy that needs to be mobilized is so vast that it is said no one below the rank of a Nascent Soul True Lord can even attempt it."
Nascent Soul True Lord. A realm that all cultivators could only dream of, those who reached this realm were all behemoths capable of shaking the entire human cultivation world.
"A Nascent Soul True Lord..."
Yeo Jang-gyeong and Choi Ju-tang, who had been listening quietly, muttered as if enchanted. Jaekyung could feel a sense of distant longing in their whispers.
"The conversation has strayed a bit, but to return to the main point, things like the Fire Crystal you obtained are usually found in spirit veins. Among them, they mostly appear in places with strong fire energy. But since you found it in a spiritual land... I think it was moved from somewhere else for some reason."
For a fleeting moment, Jaekyung had hoped there might be a hidden spirit vein nearby, but he could only smile bitterly to himself.
"I see. Then is there a way for me to use this Fire Crystal?"
"Hmm... we human cultivators usually use a method of slowly absorbing the energy of the Fire Crystal by circulating our cultivation techniques. That's the most reliable and stable way. But you can't do that, so in my opinion..."
Jaekyung frankly shared the cultivation method he had devised. Woo Do-baek and the others expressed their admiration for his plan and helped him brainstorm if there were any parts that could be improved. For them, this was not only a chance to help a junior but also an opportunity to improve their own understanding of cultivation.
They agreed with Jaekyung's overall concept but offered their opinions on the finer details. This helped to patch up many of the crude holes in his plan, which had a solid framework but was flawed in places. Jaekyung gained the confidence that he could break through the Great Spirit barrier if only the spiritual energy problem was solved.
"Actually, if your physical body is as sturdy as you say, it should be fine to just swallow it. However, the Fire Crystal is different from other spiritual crystals."
"This is because among the energies of the Five Elements, fire energy is the most intense."
"As intense as it is, it's also unstable and not easy to handle."
"Therefore, the most ideal method is to find another spiritual object with a different attribute, particularly a water attribute spiritual object, and swallow them together."
"Then, the two spiritual objects will achieve balance and harmony, even if for a short while, and if you attempt to break through then, you should be able to overcome the ordeal more easily."
This method was commonly used by humans as well. One of the core theories of alchemy and medicine was neutralization, which was finding balance by combining different energies. Woo Do-baek's opinion sounded plausible to Jaekyung too.
The problem was where to find a water attribute spiritual object, and if it could be found at all. Woo Do-baek seemed to be aware of this point as well.
"Of course, it won't be easy to obtain a spiritual object that can neutralize the energy of the Fire Crystal. That's why I called it the most ideal method. To obtain such a spiritual object in your current circumstances... you would have to hope for help from the heavens."
"That is indeed true. I only obtained the Fire Crystal through a stroke of heavenly luck."
"Right. So, to discuss a more realistic method... the first thing that comes to mind is borrowing the power of the environment. Swallow the Fire Crystal in a place with strong water energy. It won't neutralize the fire energy of the Fire Crystal, but it should be able to lessen the burden on your body to some extent."
"That sounds like a good method."
"Among the realistically usable methods, yes. Anyway, that's that, and another method is...?"
At this point, Woo Do-baek hesitated. From his rather long hesitation, Jaekyung felt that Woo Do-baek himself wasn't confident about the second method.
"Senior. Why do you hesitate? I know that all your words are for the sake of this junior. Please speak without reservation."
"I thank you for saying so, but I still hesitate. I am not confident about this method either. It was just a sudden inspiration I had after listening to your story a moment ago."
After saying that and remaining silent for a moment, Woo Do-baek seemed to have made up his mind and spoke.
"The second method is to make the fire energy of the Fire Crystal your source spiritual energy."
"Source spiritual energy?"
"Yes. To put it simply, make it your spiritual root."
At the unexpected words, not only Jaekyung but also Yeo Jang-gyeong and Choi Ju-tang, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, were greatly surprised. Woo Do-baek paid them no mind and continued his explanation.
"The cultivation of a spirit beast, as you said, relies heavily on its bloodline. They can even easily break through great realms just by awakening the power of their bloodline."
"No matter how great the difference between spirit beasts and humans, how is such a thing possible? No matter how light the body, one cannot fly without wings."
"Even if the cultivation of spirit beasts and humans are vastly different, in the grand scheme of things, there are corresponding parts."
"Just like how a Great Spirit Beast uses demonic power and a Foundation Establishment cultivator uses spiritual power."
Woo Do-baek's words, which were initially uncertain, gradually gained conviction.
"Therefore, I surmise that the bloodline of a spirit beast contains the core elements of each cultivation realm. For example, for a spirit beast to cross the Foundation Establishment, or rather, the Great Spirit barrier, it needs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. But how can a spirit beast without a spiritual root contain and forge the spiritual energy of heaven and earth? Through the power of its bloodline? If so, could it be that within that bloodline lies a dormant element that functions as a spiritual root?"
Woo Do-baek's words resonated with a question Jaekyung had held. To break through the Great Spirit barrier, one had to handle the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. So how could a spirit beast, which couldn't even hold spiritual energy in its body in the first place, cross the Great Spirit barrier?
This was a question Jaekyung had held, and a hurdle he had wanted to overcome. But now, Woo Do-baek's words provided an answer to that question. 'It was impossible from the start.'
How could a cultivator without a spiritual root practice cultivation? How could a spirit beast without a bloodline become a Great Spirit Beast? 'No. That's not right.
The bloodline couldn't have existed from the very beginning. Then how did the first Great Spirit Beast, the one who first left behind a bloodline, reach that realm?' In that instant, lightning struck inside Jaekyung's mind.
'Perhaps the first Great Spirit Beast was in the same situation as me. A spirit beast without a spiritual root must have tried this and that to reach a higher realm. And then, it finally found a way.'
The more Jaekyung listened to Woo Do-baek's words, the more plausible they sounded. In the first place, the act of cultivation itself was an act of endlessly taking something from heaven and earth. If one could draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and forge it as one's own, why couldn't one also take the vessel for it?
Jaekyung's spirit flickered violently, and seeing him, Woo Do-baek smiled silently.