WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: WeTried Translations
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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈
Chapter 18: Kind Seniors
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Jegyeong noticed that although the cultivators of the Full-Wing Gathering discussed all manner of things, they neither asked nor spoke about each other's personal circumstances.
Only then did he understand the strange mix of familiarity and distance he had felt since the gathering began.
In other words, they could be close because they were distant.
They probably knew little about one another beyond their names and cultivation levels. Even the names they used now might be aliases.
Their residences and areas of activity in the Cultivation World were also likely far apart, with little chance of overlap.
‘They’re like online friends.’
He had tried to avoid using knowledge from his previous life whenever possible, but that was the thought that naturally came to him.
They knew each other without truly knowing each other. Since their interests did not conflict, they could associate based purely on whether they liked or disliked one another.
Seeing it that way put Jegyeong more at ease.
“Fellow Daoist Uh. How did the matter you mentioned last time turn out?”
When Ye Janggyeong asked, Uh Dobaek replied bitterly.
“You mean the Fire Crystal? I couldn’t obtain it. As Fellow Daoist Ye knows, finding Cultivation Treasures these days is like plucking stars from the sky.”
“That is true.”
Chae Yeonri sighed.
“The Cultivation World may have entered a prosperous age over the past few thousand years, but that only means there are more cultivators. Competition to get ahead has grown just as fierce, so obtaining Cultivation Treasures like the one you mentioned is becoming harder by the day. In other words, the Cultivation World may be flourishing, but for cultivators like us, even harsher times have begun.”
“Fellow Daoist Chae is right. Yet building cultivation without the aid of external resources is like building a castle from sand. We have no choice but to climb a tree in search of fish.”
After everyone added a lament of their own, the mood sank.
Then Yu Gyeyun, who rarely spoke, broke the silence.
“Is that not the nature of cultivation? One must contend with people, contend with time, and contend with heaven to achieve anything. There is no need to rejoice at opportunities or lose heart over hardship. Better to fear that you may fail to do everything within your power.”
“Senior, your words are correct.”
Everyone present called each other Fellow Daoist, yet only Yu Gyeyun was addressed as Senior.
Now that Jegyeong thought about it, it did not seem to be simply because Yu Gyeyun had the highest cultivation level.
Yu Gyeyun did not speak much, but he was clearly the center of the gathering.
‘He seems to be the oldest as well.’
Though present only as a vague Spirit Body, Yu Gyeyun carried an air of detachment.
Even his calm words held an unmistakable weight of age and weariness. Jegyeong guessed that Yu Gyeyun was an elderly man.
Perhaps one whose lifespan was nearly at its end.
‘Is that the hardship of the Immortal Path?’
Cultivators walking the Immortal Path had countless foes to contend with, but the most threatening was their own lifespan.
This was especially true for Human Race cultivators.
Some said the Human Race was heaven's favored race, the foremost race on the Immortal Path.
That was not simply something the Human Race said to flatter itself. There was a basis for it.
First, the Human Race was numerous.
Of course, races more numerous than the Human Race existed in the Azure Basket Realm, but the Human Race possessed an absolute advantage that none of them could match.
Unity.
No other race in the world was as united as the Human Race.
When faced with outside threats, other races sometimes joined forces to fight a common enemy, but the Human Race's unity went beyond that.
They gathered to form villages, cities, and nations.
Other races could neither imitate nor withstand the collective strength born from such unity.
Through that strength, the Human Race had risen to become one of the dominant races contending for control of the Azure Basket Realm.
Yet nothing in the world was perfect.
Heaven had given humanity one shortcoming to offset its strengths: a brief lifespan.
Their lifespans could not compare to those of long-lived races and were shorter even than those of most Other Races.
That was the greatest shackle holding back Human Race cultivators.
How many Human Race cultivators had fallen before the wall of lifespan, crushed beneath the weight of passing years? Everyone knew no one could dare guess.
That was why Human Race cultivators desperately sought to raise their cultivation levels.
They knew that only by advancing without pause could they avoid being crushed by time.
‘Maybe they see their own future in Yu Gyeyun.’
Jegyeong had not yet felt it for himself, but he had heard many times how arduous cultivation was.
Of every thousand who set their sights on the Immortal Path, only one successfully entered it. Of those, only one in a hundred continued their grueling cultivation for decades and reached the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
What mattered was not that one in a hundred reached Foundation Establishment, but that one in a hundred even reached its gate.
A tightly shut gate did not open for just anyone.
How many of them would reach Foundation Establishment and earn the right to challenge higher realms?
No one knew, but it was certainly only a few.
Thinking about it, the people before him seemed remarkable.
Yet even they were only one among thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, aspiring to Form a Golden Core.
They were among those desperately struggling to become the single camel that passed through the eye of a needle.
“Let us set aside such heavy matters. How is everyone's cultivation going?”
“What could have changed in only three months? I am still wandering through the fog.”
“The wind will blow someday. So long as you do not regress, a path will eventually open.”
“I can only hope that wind comes as soon as possible.”
Yu Gyeyun skillfully changed the mood, and the conversation became lively again.
They mainly discussed various difficulties in cultivation, but unlike before, it was only light grumbling.
“Our junior from the Demon Race has been quiet. There is no need to hold back. This small gathering was made so that we could speak freely. If you have something to say or ask, do not swallow it down.”
Uh Dobaek smiled.
As the one who had invited Jegyeong to the Full-Wing Gathering, perhaps Uh Dobaek felt some responsibility.
In any case, Jegyeong did not reject Uh Dobaek's kindness.
Feeling curious gazes fall upon him from every direction, he carefully opened his mouth.
“Seniors, I am ignorant of the Immortal Path. I have been struggling just to understand what you have discussed, so I had no room to speak.”
“There is no need to be so modest. Perhaps outside, but not here.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Seniors.”
Having received permission, Jegyeong no longer held back.
“Seniors, while discussing the Demon Race members of the Spirit Talisman Merchant Association earlier, you mentioned something called the Transformation Secret Art. What is it?”
Jegyeong looked toward Chae Yeonri.
Ever since hearing the term, he had struggled to contain his curiosity.
Transformation Secret Art? From the name alone, it sounded like a secret art that changed one's appearance. If he learned it, could he assume a Human Race form?
If asked whether he still had any lingering attachment to his previous life, Jegyeong would probably shake his head.
But if asked whether he wanted to become human, he thought he would hesitate.
In this life, he had become a snake and a Demon Beast, but he still considered himself a person.
More precisely, Jegyeong did not define himself in any single way.
He thought of himself as a snake, a Demon Beast, and, at the same time, a person.
The first two were identities from this life, while the last was an identity carried over from his previous one.
He denied none of them and accepted them all.
That was why he felt such strong curiosity about the Transformation Secret Art.
If he could learn it, he wanted to.
“The Transformation Secret Art is a secret art that allows Other Races to assume the form of the Human Race. If mastered to completion, one can at least become outwardly a perfect member of the Human Race.”
“Why do the Other Races cultivate such a secret art? Is it for interaction with the Human Race?”
“That may be part of it, but it is likely more because of the Transformation Tribulation. Gaining experience with transformation in advance would surely help when facing the tribulation.”
Uh Dobaek added to Chae Yeonri's words.
“It is a plausible rumor, but nothing is certain. Little is known about Demon Race cultivation. Things such as the Transformation Tribulation are especially like tales from another world to us.”
Though Uh Dobaek had practically contradicted Chae Yeonri outright, she did not mind and agreed.
“That is true. Great Powers who have overcome the Transformation Tribulation are exceedingly rare, so what could people like us know about it? Still, I find the rumor convincing. If one can achieve transformation, even through a secret art, would that not itself become useful experience?”
“That may be so. Who knows? Ha ha.”
After thinking for a moment, Jegyeong asked again.
“Seniors, then why do Other Races transform? From what you have said, it sounds as though they must even face a dangerous tribulation. I am curious why they would go so far to achieve transformation.”
“Because the Human Race is the foremost race on the Immortal Path.”
Ye Janggyeong answered at once, pride clear in his voice.
Uh Dobaek added.
“More precisely, it is to gain the benefits of the Human Race Heritage.”
“Human Race Heritage?”
“Yes. The Human Race's true strength lies in the Human Race Heritage left behind by countless senior cultivators over the ages. There are cultivation methods, of course, but also the Hundred Arts of Cultivation. Shall we use the Alchemical Dao as an example?”
The Alchemical Dao.
It was the art of combining countless materials of heaven and earth to refine Medicinal Pills.
Its knowledge was so profound that it stood among the deepest of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, enough to be considered a Dao in its own right.
He had heard that those with profound attainment in the Alchemical Dao were regarded as grandmasters of alchemy regardless of their cultivation realm and received respect throughout the Cultivation World.
That was how important the Alchemical Dao was to the Human Race.
“In the beginning, the Human Race likely did as the Other Races did. Whenever they found something that looked good, they put it in their mouths without thought. In the process, they wasted the value of treasures and suffered harm after consuming things they should not have. Then, over countless years, those experiences accumulated until someone began classifying and recording what aided cultivation and what caused harm.”
No one knew how ancient the history of the Human Race truly was.
Some said the ancient era marked the beginning of history. Others guessed that an unfathomably distant past existed, one not even passed down by word of mouth.
Still others said the Human Race Heritage was their history.
Countless attempts had been made over countless years.
There had also been countless successes and failures, but all of them had value.
“There were once herbs considered to have little value. Then one day, someone discovered that combining those herbs properly helped accumulate Spiritual Power. Herbs that had been no different from worthless weeds for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, became cultivation resources in an instant.”
Uh Dobaek's explanation was lengthy, but it was not boring.
It was rather fascinating.
At first glance, it seemed like an irrelevant tangent, but Jegyeong thought he vaguely understood what Uh Dobaek was trying to say.
“There is something called a Foundation Establishment Pill. As its name suggests, it helps late Qi Refining cultivators who have encountered the Foundation Establishment bottleneck reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. These days, the Foundation Establishment Pill is regarded as an essential treasure for reaching Foundation Establishment. All sorts of bloody battles break out over it.”
At that, several people seemed to smile.
Stories related to the Foundation Establishment Pill seemed to stir some nostalgia in them.
“But did the Foundation Establishment Pill exist from the beginning? Of course not. It too was devised by some brilliant senior in the distant past. That senior could be called the savior of the Human Race. Without them, there would be no Foundation Establishment Pill today, and the Human Race would not hold such influence in the Cultivation World.”
That was the importance of Human Race Heritage.
No peerless genius could rise alone and reach heaven.
There had to be a foundation, and for the Human Race, that foundation was Human Race Heritage.
“Why do Other Races seek the form of the Human Race even at the cost of facing the Transformation Tribulation? To enjoy the benefits of the Human Race Heritage.”
“Do Other Races, such as the Demon Race, not have such heritage?”
“You are also of the Demon Race, so you know. Is every member of the Demon Race truly the same?”
Jegyeong shook his head.
He had no physical head to shake now, but even as a Spirit Body, he conveyed his meaning. Uh Dobaek understood.
“Exactly. They are grouped under the broad name of the Demon Race, but even a brief look shows that each is different. Then what of Demon Beasts? It is the same. Some Demon Beasts have wings, while others have tails. Some have one head, while others have many. Their very bodily structures differ so greatly, so how can they truly be called the same kind of Demon Beast?”
The physical body was by no means everything in cultivation, but it was undeniably one of its major foundations.
The Immortal Path was one where even a tiny flaw could send someone plunging off a cliff, so how much more important was the body?
“Since they are not the same in this way, what applies to one cannot apply to another. What meaning could heritage have, then? A Black Turtle's heritage of ten thousand years would not be worth even an earthworm in the dirt to a Blue Bird.”
The Human Race Heritage was the fruit accumulated through endless study and exchange by countless people over countless years.
Endless study and exchange.
Of those two, exchange was the key.
No matter how hard someone worked within a small well, the result could never grow beyond the well itself.
But what was accumulated in the wide world beyond the well could become as vast as the world.
‘So that’s it.’
Jegyeong finally understood completely.
The Demon Race's heritage could not help but be meager.
In the end, they could never leave their wells.
Even if those wells were several times larger than an ordinary one, a well was still only a well.
“If Other Races achieve transformation, can they enjoy all the Human Race's advantages?”
“Not all of them. Even if they transform and assume the form of the Human Race, their essence does not change. But they can enjoy some of them. Is that alone not enough for Other Races to risk the dangers of the Transformation Tribulation?”
Jegyeong fully agreed.
Taking himself as an example, he currently had no way to cultivate beyond eating and sleeping.
But what if he could consume Human Race cultivation resources, such as Medicinal Pills?
His cultivation speed would soar like a sail catching a favorable wind.
“To return to the Transformation Secret Art, it is not especially precious. Only a limited number of people seek to cultivate it, after all. It is not difficult to obtain if you look for it, but if you openly seek it out, you will have to pay a considerable price.”
Jegyeong understood at once.
In short, it was a stone to those who did not need it, but a jewel to those who did.
“Also, one must at least be at the Foundation Establishment Stage to cultivate it. For a Demon Beast, that means one must be at least a Great Demon Beast.”
“I see.”
It was only curiosity for now, so he was not disappointed.
Even if he learned the Transformation Secret Art and took Human Race form now, what use would it have beyond staring into water and becoming lost in thought?
Jegyeong thanked Uh Dobaek and Chae Yeonri for their kind explanations.
Then, after the seniors seemed to have spoken enough among themselves, he asked another question.
“Seniors, is there any way to conceal my Aura?”
“There is.”
“It is simple. Use the Qi Concealment Technique.”
Answers sprang up from every direction as though he had asked what one plus one was.
Jegyeong happily asked about the Qi Concealment Technique, and the kind seniors explained it to him in detail.
According to them, the Qi Concealment Technique was not some great secret method, but a simple knack for controlling qi.
The method itself was simple, but how skillfully one used it depended on individual ability, so its effects varied greatly according to the user.
It was like throwing the same punch. One person's was a laughable, limp flail, while another's was a sharp strike.
“The method is simple.”
The kind and respected seniors went on to teach him how to use the Qi Concealment Technique.
Jegyeong thanked them repeatedly and accepted their instruction.
The Qi Concealment Technique was fundamentally a method for controlling Spiritual Energy. Having completed Spiritual Energy Resonance, Jegyeong could naturally use it.
Since he could only exist as a Spirit Body in the Forget-Me Garden, he could not confirm whether he was doing it properly. Even so, it did not feel particularly difficult.
‘It really isn’t difficult. Of course, becoming accustomed to it is another matter.’
If he tried using it now, he doubted he could fool even Cheongo.
Still, taking the first step was better than nothing.
If he practiced steadily, it would surely be of great help in hunting.
Footnotes:
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