Jaekyung immediately noticed something was off with Cheong-o. For one, he started sleeping a lot more. Even when he was awake, he would keep his eyes closed in the nest, as if forcing himself to fall asleep.
"What's wrong with you?"
When Jaekyung finally couldn't stand it anymore and asked, Cheong-o replied in a dazed voice.
"I'm trying to sleep."
"Why?"
"Because I have to sleep to dream..."
"A dream? What dream?"
"A dream about the Immortal master."
Watching Cheong-o spout more and more nonsense, Jaekyung narrowed his eyes. Cheong-o had his eccentric side, but he wasn't one to talk nonsense. So, he couldn't just dismiss this sleep-talk-like rambling.
Besides.
'It's that Immortal master again.' According to Cheong-o's ramblings, whenever he slept, he would have a dream, and it was always the same one. A dream featuring that same Immortal master and the ungrateful beasts.
'Is a memory replaying itself? But why now of all times? Is it because of Mook-soo's fruit?
What does the purification of spiritual nature have to do with a dream like this?' While Jaekyung was lost in thought, Cheong-o finally fell asleep again. And once more, a scene from the same memory unfolded as a dream.
The old man spoke in a low voice, and all the beasts sat quietly, listening to him. They couldn't understand the language of humans, but that didn't matter. Language was merely a form; the meaning contained within it reached their hearts.
The more meaning soaked into their hearts, the clearer the beasts' once-murky eyes became. And as their eyes cleared, the eyes of the seated old man grew dim.
"... Thus, Cultivation is a journey in search of the Dao, and transcendence means to be free and unfettered."
The old man's voice faded. He seemed to want to say more, his lips moving, but no sound came out. The light that had lingered in his eyes had also completely vanished.
"Heh heh."
The old man let out a hearty laugh and raised his head.
"I have pursued the Dao my whole life, yet all that remains now is regret."
Though his words spoke of regret, all that could be felt from him was a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
"I have received much in my life, so it is only right to give it back before I go."
The old man's gaze turned to the beasts sitting around him. He met the clear eyes of each beast one by one, smiling and nodding each time. Then, when his eyes met those of a crow that looked particularly different, he paused.
This crow was different from the other beasts. Dew-like tears welled up in its eyes, and its gaze was filled with sorrow. The old man watched it silently.
Then, when the tears finally streamed down from the crow's eyes, he quietly closed his own and sighed.
"Do you cry for me? Or do you cry in my stead?"
After a brief silence. The old man opened his eyes again, looked at the crow, and smiled once more.
"Since you have given me your tears, I shall give you a gift in return. May good karma follow you."
With those final, faintly echoing words, Cheong-o woke up. Tears were brimming in the awakened Cheong-o's eyes. Jaekyung felt that Cheong-o's energy had grown much stronger after he woke up, and sat up in surprise.
"You..."
How could this happen? Can one's energy change so drastically in a single moment? He examined Cheong-o closely just in case, but the creature was still a spirit beast.
It was only natural. In the vast cultivation world, inexplicable things often happened, and there were occasional cases of people breaking through their realm in a moment of enlightenment... but still, there was no way someone could achieve a breakthrough while drooling in their sleep.
"Jaekyung."
Cheong-o wiped his tears with a wing and said sullenly.
"The Immortal master is gone."
"Gone?"
"Yes. I can't see him again."
"How do you know that?"
"I don't know. I just know."
Jaekyung was at a loss for words. He could only assume it was one of the mysteries of the cultivation world. 'Well, I suppose it's a good thing.'
His energy becoming stronger was definitely a good thing. Perhaps this incident had increased the possibility of Cheong-o reaching the Great Spirit stage. 'The Great Spirit stage.'
Jaekyung looked at Cheong-o, while also thinking of Mook-soo. In this cold and cruel cultivation world, beings you could trust your back to were as rare and precious as spiritual objects. Although Jaekyung hadn't personally experienced the heartless state of the cultivation world, he had heard enough to know about it.
The reason he valued and cared for Cheong-o and Mook-soo was because he considered them trustworthy companions. He had shared life-and-death experiences with them, and Cheong-o in particular had saved his life when he was on the verge of death. That's why Jaekyung hoped Cheong-o and Mook-soo could reach the Great Spirit stage.
After all, only by reaching the Great Spirit stage and being on the same level as him could they continue to be together in the future. 'But without a bloodline, reaching the Great Spirit stage is a distant dream.' Without a bloodline, they would have to plant a spiritual seed and cultivate their spiritual nature, just as he did.
But this method was like walking on a knife's edge; it couldn't be forced upon them. Besides, Jaekyung had no intention of forcing his ways on Cheong-o and Mook-soo. Cultivation was something one did for oneself, not because someone else pushed them into it.
Jaekyung glanced at the heavily sighing Cheong-o and lay back down. Han Cheong-yu's party returned. Their number had decreased by four compared to when they left, but thankfully, it was due to an unfortunate accident, not desertion.
The experience must have been quite intense, as the atmosphere of Han Cheong-yu's party was somewhat gloomy, but Jaekyung didn't mind. What was important to him was not the number of people, but the items they had brought back. Various cultivation techniques and cultivation arts and skills.
Han Cheong-yu's party had carried out his orders more diligently than he had expected. Jaekyung held the jade slips that recorded basic alchemy methods in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
"You've worked hard."
Jaekyung examined everything Han Cheong-yu's party had brought. After reaching the Great Spirit stage, his spiritual wisdom had ascended to a different level. He wouldn't forget something once he saw it, and he could remember anything if he set his mind to it.
"Take them."
The cultivation techniques and cultivation arts and skills brought by Han Cheong-yu's party were already firmly imprinted in his mind. Without even trying to remember, everything came to mind naturally just by thinking about it.
"Yes."
After Han Cheong-yu's party left, Jaekyung began to go over the cultivation arts and skills imprinted in his mind one by one. This time, he had obtained three things: alchemy, artifact refinement, and the Spiritual Plant Art.
They all covered simple introductory knowledge, comparable to basic techniques if one were to use cultivation techniques as an analogy, which was perfect for Jaekyung, who had no related knowledge.
'Artifact refinement...
I don't need it for now. I don't think I'll need it in the future either.' Artifact refinement was the art of forging spiritual artifacts and spirit artifacts, which was of little use to Jaekyung, who was of the demon races.
He couldn't use ordinary spirit artifacts as a member of the demon races, and even if he could, his greatest weapon was his powerful body, so most spirit artifacts were nothing more than expensive ornaments to him.
Of course, not all spirit artifacts forged through artifact refinement were for combat, but in any case, Jaekyung currently had little interest in artifact refinement. On the other hand, alchemy and the Spiritual Plant Art were different. Jaekyung was very interested in these two cultivation arts and skills.
Alchemy, which could aid in Cultivation, went without saying, and the Spiritual Plant Art was essential for cultivating things like spirit rice and spiritual herbs, so he had to learn it. 'It's a shame there are no formations.' Jaekyung wasn't hoping for anything grand.
He would be perfectly satisfied if he could just set up a basic Spirit Gathering Formation. The Spirit Gathering Formation was a representative cultivation formation that consumed spirit stones to increase the spiritual energy concentration inside the formation.
It could literally be described as 'turning spirit stones into Cultivation,' but he had heard that its efficiency wasn't very good, so only those with truly deep pockets cultivated using a Spirit Gathering Formation. 'It wouldn't be a bad idea to buy a Spirit Gathering Formation separately, but...' After pondering for a moment, Jaekyung soon gave up on the idea.
He planned to keep sending out errand boys anyway, so it wouldn't be long before he could set up a Spirit Gathering Formation himself. Buying a formation is not a simple matter. Not only are they generally expensive, but formations each have a distinct purpose, so some information is inevitably leaked the moment you buy one.
For example, if he were to buy a Spirit Gathering Formation, it would be like indirectly telling the seller that he was wealthy enough to use one for his cultivation. If Jaekyung sent his errand boys to buy a Spirit Gathering Formation, the dangers they would face would be incomparable to this time.
Jaekyung didn't want to take such a risk just to get something a little faster when he could obtain it soon anyway. The errand boys, including Han Cheong-yu, would be very useful in the future, so he had to handle them with as much care as possible.
'Alchemy is similar to what I thought, but the Spiritual Plant Art is quite different.' Between alchemy and the Spiritual Plant Art, it was the Spiritual Plant Art that drew more of Jaekyung's interest. This cultivation art, which had an even longer history than alchemy, was far more complex than he had initially expected.
Should he say there were many things to consider? Seeds and geography were basic, but it said one even had to consider the nature and concentration of the spiritual energy affecting the cultivation site, and even the aura. He couldn't tell if this was true or just written to sound profound.
'Earth-grown crops and water-grown crops... spiritual herbs and poisonous herbs...?' Just skimming through it was enough to make his head spin. Basic things recorded at the very beginning, like spirit rice cultivation, were simple, but his head started to ache as soon as he moved on to the conceptual parts.
Jaekyung soon went back to the beginning and looked at a few crops that could be cultivated simply. 'For now... shall I try cultivating spirit rice?' The conditions and methods for cultivating spirit rice were simple.
As long as you had land that held a suitable amount of spiritual energy and spirit rice seeds, you could start cultivating. And if you occasionally took care of it with the Spiritual Rain Technique, it would grow well on its own.
Spirit rice is the staple food for Qi Refining cultivators who cannot practice abstention from grains, and it is also one of the main food sources for humans that even Foundation Establishment cultivators occasionally consume for their cultivation. This meant that once he cultivated it, there would be no trouble selling it.
As it happened, there was a lot of unused land on Black Shark Island, making it perfect for cultivating spirit rice. The Spiritual Rain Technique was a problem, if any, but he could just have a few suitable humans cast it. 'Hmm, I could have Han Cheong-yu's group do it.'
Since the cultivation techniques they practiced were likely water-attribute, there would be no problem casting the Spiritual Rain Technique. Bringing outsiders to the island bothered him a little, but they were just a few early-stage Qi Refining cultivators, so it wouldn't be a problem.
Gulp!
Han Cheong-yu looked at the ash-colored land spread before him and swallowed dryly. It was partly due to nervousness, and partly due to a sense of helplessness. From now on, he had to cultivate this vast land into soil suitable for planting spirit rice.
"This is truly immense."
A companion who came with him exclaimed in awe. Those who remained silent had similar expressions. They knew that the ash-color covering this land was related to the recent destruction of the Black Shark Gang.
Back then, the flame cloud that covered the sky had rained fire, and this ashen land was the aftermath.
"Let's begin."
After letting out a long sigh, they each took their positions and cast the Spiritual Rain Technique. Rain imbued with spiritual energy began to slowly wash away the ash-colored land. Watching the scene from a distance, Cheong-o tilted his head in confusion.