WeTried Translations

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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 14: Never-forgetting Garden (2)

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“Though the Forget-Me Garden is a Small World, it is remarkably vast. It is beyond comparison with an ordinary Grotto-Heaven or Secret Realm.”

According to Uh Dobaek, the Forget-Me Garden had not always been so vast.

However, after a senior from the distant past opened the heavens of the Forget-Me Garden, later seniors had continually improved and expanded this world. The result was the Forget-Me Garden of today.

“Perhaps you are wondering whether there is any need for a place visited only briefly from time to time to be this vast when there are not many cultivators here.”

Jegyeong was glad that one could only exist in the Forget-Me Garden as a Spirit Body.

Otherwise, his expression would surely have revealed just how deeply the question had struck home.

Uh Dobaek continued.

“Cultivators have a very strong sense of territory by nature. That does not change simply because this is a place where we exist only as Spirit Bodies. Seniors with powerful Divine Sense often claim entire areas as their Dao Grounds and prohibit strangers from entering. Senior Floating Cloud is one example. I hear that Senior Floating Cloud’s Dao Ground, the Vast Leisure Forest, is larger than most cities of the Human Race.”

A resting place one only visited briefly was bigger than an entire city?

Jegyeong doubted his ears for a moment, but soon accepted it as it was, not because he understood it.

“I say this out of concern, but do not rashly visit the Dao Grounds of seniors in hopes of finding an immortal opportunity. The Forget-Me Garden has rules against disputes, but those rules are applied rather flexibly. For example, disputes are forbidden, but punishment is not.”

Jegyeong understood at once.

In short, people of similar standing were forbidden from causing trouble by fighting, but Great Powers were not forbidden from punishing rude juniors.

The rules seemed absurdly elastic, yet in a way, that was only natural.

In a world where lives did not hold equal value, laws and rules were conveniences created by the strong for themselves.

The Forget-Me Garden was no exception.

Even if they were of the same kind, could they truly all be the same?

“Do not worry. I am not insane.”

“The hardships of the Immortal Path can drive even a sane person mad. The world is full of people willing to jump into a pit of fire if they can grasp even the slightest opportunity.”

Uh Dobaek sighed softly, then changed the subject before the mood could sink completely.

“The Forget-Me Garden is divided into five regions. The four regions of east, west, south, and north, along with the central region. The central region is also called the Forbidden Region.”

“The Forbidden Region?”

“Yes, the Forbidden Region. The Heaven-Piercing Tower, where the Garden Master resides, stands in the central region. Only those who have received the Garden Master’s permission, or the Elders themselves, may enter.”

The Forget-Me Garden had no formal organization, but it did have administrators.

If no one governed it, who would establish and enforce rules such as the ban on disputes?

The Garden Master and the Elders were those administrators.

The Garden Master, in particular, was the owner and highest administrator of the Forget-Me Garden. Here, the Garden Master’s word was law.

Yet the Garden Master rarely appeared or made his presence known, so his very existence was considered one of the Forget-Me Garden’s mysteries.

“I heard that once, a Great Power challenged the Garden Master in an attempt to become the master of the Forget-Me Garden, only to be terrified out of their wits. Some say it happened thousands of years ago, while others say it was only a few hundred years ago... I do not know whether it is true.”

Uh Dobaek told him about everything from the Forget-Me Garden’s most important rules to rumors and common trivial occurrences.

“From time to time, seniors also post missions. They are not compulsory, of course. You can decide for yourself whether to accept one after seeing the reward. Most such missions take a great deal of time rather than being particularly dangerous, so juniors like us can participate if we wish.”

“Does everyone not hide their identities here? Everyone can only exist as Spirit Bodies in the Forget-Me Garden, so how do they receive the mission rewards?”

When Jegyeong raised the question, Uh Dobaek nodded approvingly, as if it were a good question.

“You are right. Even with a sense of kinship, how can one carelessly trust others in the Cultivation World? There are many who would harm even their own blood relatives for the sake of the Immortal Path. That is why people generally try to hide their identities here as thoroughly as possible.”

The first quality cultivators needed was vigilance.

With rare exceptions, all who could enter the Forget-Me Garden had reached at least the Foundation Establishment Stage. By then, most had spent enough time in the Cultivation World to know it inside out.

How could people like that act naively?

Especially when no one here could confirm or recognize another’s identity.

“But that only applies to drifters in the Cultivation World like us. We worry that a gust of wind may sweep us away, and fear that a blade might fly at us from somewhere if we say the wrong thing. People like us can only remain vigilant and watch our step. But the great figures of the Cultivation World are different. If we are floating weeds, they are towering trees. A wind that would be a typhoon to us is only a gentle breeze to them. Our ten thousand fears are no more than a momentary inconvenience to them.”

The Forget-Me Garden contained such towering trees.

The names of some were known openly, possible only because they had no intention of hiding them.

“Is that allowed?”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought matters concerning the Forget-Me Garden had to remain secret.”

“Hmm. That is true. In the past, if someone discovered that you were a Reincarnator, you might be captured, have your soul extracted, and be used as material for pill refinement, artifact refinement, or all manner of experiments. It is not quite that bad these days. Still, it is better to be careful. It was proven long ago that the soul of a Reincarnator is no different from an ordinary soul, but fools who harbor doubts still appear from time to time.”

Uh Dobaek recounted that bloody history with a cold laugh.

“Do you know why the Forget-Me Garden was created in the first place? There are many accounts, but two theories have the most support. The first is that an ancient great senior created the Forget-Me Garden to preserve their Heart State, in other words, to set an anchor. The other is that when persecution of Reincarnators reached its height in the past, a great senior who could no longer bear it created this small refuge so Reincarnators could gather together and help one another. Well, I do not know which is true, but one thing is certain. Reincarnators have suffered persecution since long ago.”

Jegyeong could sense Uh Dobaek’s anger, but he did not feel much sympathy.

Perhaps it was because he had never suffered from it directly.

If he had been born into the Human Race and had suffered in the Human Race’s Cultivation World because he was a Reincarnator, he might have shared Uh Dobaek’s outrage wholeheartedly.

But since that was not the case, Jegyeong felt curiosity rather than anger.

Still, he had enough tact to offer suitable agreement to Uh Dobaek, who was getting worked up, while casually asking about what interested him.

“Senior, you mentioned an ‘anchor.’ What is an anchor?”

“Ah, that. It is one of the Cultivation World’s open secrets. Those at our level need not worry about it, but if you truly wish to climb high, it is best to consider it early.”

Uh Dobaek stopped in midair and looked down at the vast mountain range.

“What is cultivation? What is the pursuit of immortality? To become an Immortal is to transcend and rise beyond, but what does one transcend and rise beyond? They say a hundred questions have a hundred answers, but this question likely has only one. Shackles. It is becoming free of everything that binds you. Some may say, ‘Then should one not simply avoid being bound by anything from the start?’ But just as ignorance is not omniscience, one who has never worn shackles cannot cast them off. That is why, in cultivation, one must not fear getting dust on one’s body.”

It might have been an illusion, but Jegyeong felt that Uh Dobaek’s Spirit Body shone brighter than before.

Perhaps Uh Dobaek was recalling and strengthening his Dao while discussing it with Jegyeong.

“The higher one’s cultivation rises, the more delusions a cultivator suffers. Each time, one must steady one’s Dao Heart to avoid being swayed by them. That is what an anchor is for. An anchor is something that lets you remain yourself, that lets you be who you are. One day, you too will need to set your own anchor. The same is true for me.”

It still felt like a distant matter, but Jegyeong thought he could vaguely understand.

“Of course, all manner of strange people exist in this world. I have heard that some are born with an Innate Dao Heart and remain unmoved by any delusion. I think it is probably a false rumor or an exaggeration, but who knows?”

“That has nothing to do with me.”

“Haha. The same goes for me.”

A broad plateau appeared before them as they resumed moving.

“To return to what we were discussing earlier, the Forget-Me Garden has quite a few exchanges besides missions issued by seniors. Some could reasonably be called exchange gatherings. Some arose naturally when like-minded people came together, while others are run under the guarantee of seniors.”

“What sort of exchanges take place there?”

“The most common is the exchange of information. Discussing the Dao comes next. Of course, material trades take place as well. In that case, though, there must be firm trust between both sides. Otherwise, they must pay the price and seek a senior’s assistance.”

“What kind of assistance?”

“I told you that there are several seniors whose identities are publicly known, did I not? For instance, one of them is True Lord Yingfu, who operates a prominent merchant association in the Azure Basket Realm. With True Lord Yingfu’s help, a transaction can be carried out safely and cleanly.”

It meant conducting transactions through an intermediary they had no choice but to trust.

Of course, a major figure in the Cultivation World called a True Lord would not personally oversee every small transaction between distant juniors. They would likely only be lending their name, but even that would be enough to prevent anyone from harboring improper intentions.

“Do you participate in any exchange gatherings, Senior?”

“I do.”

Uh Dobaek answered as though it were obvious, as though he had been waiting for the question.

‘Just as I thought.’

Uh Dobaek’s kindness was in no way inferior to Yu Jeonggyeom’s, and in some respects, it surpassed it.

Jegyeong did not believe Uh Dobaek was doing this much simply out of goodwill toward one of his own kind.

Uh Dobaek clearly had an objective, and Jegyeong guessed it was to form some sort of connection with him.

Was this another case of sowing seeds? Perhaps, perhaps not.

“There are several. You will soon learn that the time one can spend visiting the Forget-Me Garden is limited. That makes it difficult to travel far and explore all over the place. Most people have fixed areas of activity and exchange only with like-minded people within those areas.”

Naturally, mental power was what formed and moved a Spirit Body.

Therefore, for a Spirit Body to move faster and farther, it required greater mental power.

Yet, except in special cases, mental power grew stronger as one’s cultivation rose. Cultivators who had only reached the Foundation Establishment Stage naturally found long-distance travel burdensome.

Of course, the Forget-Me Garden was not as vast as the Azure Basket Realm, so anyone determined enough could overcome the limits of distance.

But was there any reason to do so?

One could not forget that life in the Azure Basket Realm was what truly mattered.

Not only cultivation, but life in the Cultivation World itself also required attention.

Time spent in the Forget-Me Garden was, by comparison, like a brief rest.

“Of course, there are exceptions everywhere. I have heard that some wander around without end, claiming they intend to see every corner of the Forget-Me Garden. Do you wish to do that as well?”

“Certainly not.”

Perhaps if he someday had more time than he knew what to do with, Jegyeong might consider it. For now, he had no intention of indulging in such leisure.

“If you do not mind, I can introduce you to several exchange gatherings where I am active. I expect the Fellow Daoists there will welcome you as well.”

“Because I am a Demon Beast?”

“More precisely, because you are a Demon Beast with a stable Heart State. You may have guessed already, but members of the Demon Race are not especially welcome in the Forget-Me Garden. Most of them do not have stable Heart States, making them unsuitable people to associate with.”

“What exactly does it mean for their Heart States to be unstable?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like. Their minds are unstable, so there are problems with their temperaments and conduct. Let me put it this way. If one hundred problems occur in the Forget-Me Garden, ninety of them involve the Demon Race. Yet if there are a thousand cultivators in the Forget-Me Garden, there may not even be ten cultivators from the Demon Race among them.”

“Ah...”

Jegyeong understood at once.

“I will not hide it from you. I approached you because I thought associating with you would benefit me, if not now, then someday.”

“I expected as much.”

“Haha. I suppose my intentions were too obvious.”

“Not at all. It is simply that Senior Yu Jeonggyeom said something similar to me.”

“I see. You found yourself a good guide.”

They descended toward the plateau.

As they drew closer, Jegyeong saw dozens of huge, spike-like stone pillars rising from a wide basin.

“This is the meeting place for an exchange gathering. Gatherings are held every Full-Wing Day.”

“Full-Wing Day?”

“Hmm. You do not know. I will show you. Open your mind and do not resist.”

The moment Uh Dobaek finished speaking, something like an image or painting appeared in Jegyeong’s mind.

Among the countless celestial bodies scattered across a sky that was neither dark nor bright, several glowed faintly and seemed to form a vague shape.

Had Jegyeong not consciously been looking for it, and had Uh Dobaek not emphasized it and shown it to him, he would never have thought it was a shape at all.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“The gathering is held once every three months. It happens to be six days from now. Why not attend?”

“I will.”

Uh Dobaek seemed pleased when Jegyeong readily agreed.

Perhaps Uh Dobaek felt that all the talking had paid off.

‘There is nothing bad in this for me.’

He had learned much, yet there was still much more he needed to learn.

Having only just entered the path of cultivation, Jegyeong desperately needed not only basic knowledge of the Cultivation World but also the advice of seniors he could look to.

Of course, he knew nothing came free, and that the help he received now would become a debt later.

But that was a matter for later.

At the very least, it would be after he became a Great Demon Beast. By then, he would probably be able to repay those debts with a smile.

So what was the problem?

If anything, Jegyeong intended to take on as many debts as he could for now.

Footnotes:

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