It was as if he heard the light flick of a finger. It also seemed as if he heard a sigh. It seemed as if he felt a sense of longing, as if his body trembled with joy.
Vaguely, it felt as though he had seen a single painting. So much was contained within that painting, yet its expression was exceedingly simple. He could not remember how many things were drawn, nor how they had been rendered so simply.
'I can't remember?' Did he recognize it at first, only to forget? Or was it that he never recognized it in the first place?
The moment the confusion blooming in his heart touched his dazed mind, Jaekyung awoke. But what had he awakened from?
Sleep? Delusion? Enlightenment?
It was none of those. It was like he had a long dream, yet nothing came to mind. It was as if he had realized something, yet he could not explain it in a single word.
He could only sigh blankly, trying to shake off the feeling of emptiness. Through the voices of regret bursting forth from here and there, Jaekyung knew that not a few had shared the same experience. The cultivators were frustrated and disappointed.
They knew well how difficult it was to encounter a Nascent Soul True Lord, a legend in the cultivation world, let alone how nigh impossible it was to hear his sermon. But at the same time, they also knew that gaining something from a Nascent Soul True Lord's sermon was like catching a whale with a small fishing rod.
Therefore, though they were disappointed, they soon came to accept it. Even if they could not remember or understand, they were content with the fact that they had heard the Nascent Soul True Lord's teachings, believing his care would grace their future Immortal Path. To them, such a reaction seemed natural.
However, Jaekyung was not like that. He kept trying to recall the memories that wouldn't surface, struggling to grasp at something that was not even visible.
He was forced to stop only when his mental energy was depleted and his very spirit was on the verge of shaking, but the lingering attachment and regret in his heart did not diminish in the slightest and continued to torment him.
“You held on for a long time.”
Woo Do-baek said with a bitter smile. He had long since, like the others, found contentment and was looking forward to the subsequent sermons from the Golden Core cultivators. He had just noticed Jaekyung stubbornly persisting in his 'futile effort' and was feeling a complex mix of emotions.
“How was it? Did you gain anything at all?”
When Woo Do-baek asked nonchalantly, Jaekyung replied a bit bluntly. He had expended too much mental energy, and to have gained nothing despite that, his words could not possibly come out gently.
“I only gained a mountain of regrets.”
“Haha! Regret isn't so bad. If you manage it well, can't it be used as fuel for the desire to improve?”
“That is also true.”
Though the words sounded slightly mocking, Jaekyung decided to take them well.
“Look. Those who are just waking up now are surely at the late Foundation Establishment stage, or on par with them." "The higher one's stage of Cultivation and the deeper their enlightenment, the later they are waking up.”
When Jaekyung glanced around, Woo Do-baek's words indeed seemed to be correct. He could not see into the spirits of any of those who looked as though they were just coming to their senses. 'But they probably didn't gain anything either.'
The sigh that escaped them the moment they regained their senses was the same for those who awoke early and those who awoke late. Even their acceptance and contentment a moment later were the same.
“The only ones who can truly reap a harvest from the True Lord’s sermon are those Seniors up there.”
Woo Do-baek's gaze, filled with envy, turned towards the spirits of the Golden Core cultivators floating like ghosts in front of the grotto.
“How long will it take?”
“Well, how would I know? However, I've heard before that a Nascent Soul True Lord's enlightenment often lasts for over a hundred years. Those figures are in the Golden Core realm, and the stories I heard were likely a mix of truth and exaggeration, so I assume it won't be that long, but……”
A hundred years for a single enlightenment? There should be a limit to exaggeration, a limit to falsehood. '... Could it be true?'
Even if it was exaggerated tenfold, that was ten years. If it was exaggerated a hundredfold, it was still a year. Did that mean he had to wait here for at least a year?
Surely not.
Half a year, no, even three months seemed impossible. But what if the sermon ended while he was away? In that moment, Jaekyung's mind began to spin with complex thoughts.
But no matter how he thought about it, no answer came to him, so he asked Woo Do-baek, who laughed as if it were absurd.
“Your Cultivation has already reached a high stage, but your heart has yet to escape from worldly concerns. An opportunity you might not get even after thirty years of arduous training is right before your eyes, and you're worried about mere time? What does a month matter, or a year? I would wait even if I had to wait in this spot for ten years.”
“I was foolish.”
Though it seemed a bit excessive, Jaekyung understood Woo Do-baek's reaction. The longer a cultivator had trained, the more deeply they understood the hardships of Cultivation. It was easy to forget because of the youthful and flexible demeanor Woo Do-baek often showed, but in truth, his age was not young.
At a previous Twilight Gathering meeting, he had mentioned that his grandson was only interested in Cultivation and had no interest in marriage. Considering that most marriages among cultivators in this world happened late in life, one could guess that Woo Do-baek's age was by no means young, even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Not a young age.
Furthermore, his Cultivation remained stuck at the bottleneck of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. It was said that one's lifespan increased slightly when crossing a minor realm, but it was literally just a little. Even if he somehow reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, would he have enough time to reach the end of that stage and aim for Core Formation?
Woo Do-baek himself probably knew the answer. It would be a different matter if the chance never came, but now that such an opportunity had appeared before his eyes, he would never want to miss it. Honestly, while Jaekyung vaguely understood his desperation, he couldn't quite empathize with it.
Perhaps it was because, though he had faced various hardships, he had never been pressed for time. Judging solely by the time it took him to get here, it was no exaggeration to call him a peerless genius by human standards.
He had no bloodline like the demon races born with a golden inheritance that automatically raised their cultivation, and he had achieved his current cultivation level solely through his own power. Considering that even humans had a spiritual root, his accomplishments deserved to be evaluated even more highly.
Jaekyung knew this as well, and so he had a certain pride in his own achievements. He knew the path ahead would not be easy, but he had no doubt that he would somehow be able to advance, just as he had walked the path until now. But come to think of it, which cultivator was not like him?
Especially since the cultivators gathered here had all reached at least the second stage of the Immortal Path. Among them, there must be those who were once confident but were broken after hitting a wall, and those who remained unbroken, firmly believing they could reach the end of the Immortal Path.
They too would one day hit a wall, and he himself would be no different. When that time came, would the Jaekyung of that time be any different from the Woo Do-baek of today?
In the end, this thing called time was a great enemy that could neither be defeated nor avoided, so all one could do was diligently flee from it. This would be no different even for a Nascent Soul True Lord. 'Are we all fugitives of time until we achieve the Great Dao?'
Thinking this, the Golden Core cultivators, and even the Nascent Soul True Lord, who had felt vaguely distant and fearsome, seemed a little different. Though it might be a momentary illusion, and even if they seemed different, they were still as terrifying as ever.
“Senior Woo.”
“Hmm?”
“I recall you mentioning the Transformation Secret Art some time ago.”
“Oh.”
Woo Do-baek's solemn atmosphere returned to its usual state.
“I did. Are you interested?”
“There's no harm in learning anything and everything, is there?”
“Hmm. Let's just say I partially agree. Anyway, so?”
“If it can be obtained, I would like to obtain it. As you know, for me to step forward myself is……”
“I understand what you mean.”
Their conversation flowed a little differently than usual. It was because they both recognized that this was not a casual exchange, but a transaction.
“I can't guarantee it, but I think I can acquire it somehow. However, it will cost a fair bit. Will that be alright?”
“To be honest, I'm not sure. As you can probably guess, Senior, I do not have things like spirit stones, so I will have to pay with something else… I am not sure what I can pay with.”
“I thought as much. I would like to help you if it were up to me, but acquiring something like a Transformation Secret Art is not something that can be done with good intentions alone.”
“I understand. The various teachings you have bestowed upon me so far are already a burden too heavy to bear, so this time, I wish to pay the proper price.”
“Thank you for saying so. In that case, I will do my best to find it at the best possible price.”
“Thank you. I will also make my own preparations.”
Jaekyung did not rush his thoughts. For now, the only price he could offer was the carcasses of spirit beasts. He had heard that it was difficult to see wild spirit beasts within the human territories, so he thought they might have some value, but would that be true by the standards of a mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivator?
Perhaps the carcass of a Great Spirit Beast would be different, but he felt that the carcass of a mere spirit beast would be difficult. But for the current Jaekyung, hunting a Great Spirit Beast was a dangerous venture. Putting aside the aftermath, he couldn't even be sure if he could hunt one safely.
'If all else fails, I'll have to gather spirit beast carcasses and push them on him.' Lost in thought, Jaekyung noticed the meaningful glances Yeo Jang-gyeong and Choi Ju-tang were quietly throwing his way. It meant they were also willing to trade.
Since he had discussed a trade with Woo Do-baek first, they didn't dare to intrude out of respect for Woo Do-baek's face, but they were showing their willingness to take over if his deal fell through. 'Their expectations seem too high.' Jaekyung guessed their intentions.
They were trying to obtain cultivation resources that were hard to find in the human territories through a trade with him. But Jaekyung lacked the ability to fulfill their wishes.
First of all, the place he was from was not the demon lands flowing with milk and honey of their imagination, but a lake whose continental location was unknown, with humans situated right next door.
If there were truly good things in the Western Twin Lake, wouldn't the humans, who could be called the locust swarm of the cultivation world, have already swept everything clean? There might be something left in places they couldn't reach, but even so, that had nothing to do with Jaekyung.
If a place was so dangerous that even the greed of humans couldn't reach it, it was impossible that he would have any connection to it. 'But apart from that, I do need some capital of my own.'
Being able to trade with relatively trustworthy individuals thanks to the Garden of Remembrance was a clear advantage, but to make use of this advantage, he needed resources suitable for trading with them.
He didn't know what Woo Do-baek would demand as payment for the Transformation Secret Art, but the only resource Jaekyung could offer right now was at most the carcasses of spirit beasts, so he had to find something else. At least something that could attract the interest of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Jaekyung spent his time planning for the future.
Occasionally, he would talk with Woo Do-baek and the others, or practice contemplation on his own spirit. It was a meaningless act, but since there was nothing else to do, he focused on it, thinking of it as cultivating his mind. When he focused on one thing, time flowed frighteningly fast.
In the middle of it, he twice felt Cheong-o approaching his body, which was in a semi-conscious state in the Azure Abyss Realm, and saying something. He could have listened if he tried, but Jaekyung did not. Judging by Cheong-o's demeanor, it was nine out of ten times just him grumbling out of boredom.
If it had been an urgent matter, he would have pecked him with his beak to wake him up. How much time had passed like that?
“I thank Senior Hyeondo for his teachings! But it seems the Dao of the humans does not suit me after all. The Dao I must achieve must be in that high sky above!”
The first to awaken from enlightenment was the Lesser Azure-Winged King. He left behind words that were hard to believe were meant for a Nascent Soul True Lord and departed spectacularly, kicking up a fierce wind just as he had arrived.
The other Core Formation cultivators began to awaken one by one quite a while after him, and watching them, Jaekyung guessed that the Lesser Azure-Winged King had voluntarily cut his enlightenment short.
As he himself had said, the Lesser Azure-Winged King must have thought that Black Capital True Lord's teachings did not suit him and simply got up and left in the middle.
'Amazing.'
Was he not a man who truly lived as his heart desired? If he got up and left because the teachings didn't suit him, what would become of the face of the Nascent Soul True Lord who had gone to the trouble of bestowing them? Jaekyung couldn't decide whether to call this unrestrained or insane.
But one thing was certain: that Lesser Azure-Winged King was no ordinary figure.
“We thank Senior Hyeondo for his teachings!”
A short while later, the Core Formation cultivators who had consolidated their enlightenment offered their thanks to Black Capital True Lord. However, no reply came from Black Capital True Lord. The Core Formation cultivators, as if expecting this, began to converse among themselves without a hint of surprise.
“Well then, I shall begin first.”
Then, the spirit of one cultivator floated to the center of the gathering hall. As tens of thousands of cultivators watched him, Jaekyung thought the voice he had just heard was familiar. 'Senior Yoo Jung-gyeom?'