WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: WeTried Translations
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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈
Chapter 53: Intermittent Explosive Disorder
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Jegyeong observed himself for a long time, yet found nothing wrong.
His mind was perfectly calm, as though it had never run wild at all, and his Spiritual Essence was stable as well.
‘What exactly is the problem?’
After finishing his observation, Jegyeong fell into thought.
His transformation had succeeded. It had definitely succeeded.
No matter how many times he thought it over, the conclusion remained unchanged.
‘There’s nothing wrong with the transformation. If there’s a problem, it’s me.’
He had lost his reason in anger, just like the Demon Race members who had lost control after being provoked by the Great Demon Beasts of Upper Demon Grove.
Back then, he had watched those Demon Race members rush toward their deaths. He had remained wary and tense so he would not become like them, yet he had ended up experiencing something similar without expecting it.
‘I’ve never heard of anyone else who learned a Transformation Secret Art suffering from this kind of problem.’
A transformation either failed or succeeded. There was no such thing as suffering side effects after succeeding, at least not as far as Jegyeong knew.
‘It’s neither a problem with the transformation nor the secret art. That means the problem must be with me.’
Jegyeong began going through, one by one, all the ways he differed from others.
A Reincarnator with a human soul, born in the body of the Demon Race.
Without a Bloodline, he had developed his Spiritual Essence through a Spiritual Seed and used that foundation to reach the Great Demon Realm.
Then, through good fortune, he had obtained a Transformation Secret Art perfectly suited to him and achieved transformation with ease.
A few smaller points came to mind as well, but these three seemed the most suspicious.
‘Unlike the other Demon Race members in the Forget-Me Garden, my mind is whole.’
The senior cultivators had spoken of this, so there was no reason to doubt it.
Jegyeong himself had never once felt, much less been swayed by, the fickle and violent nature of the Demon Race.
‘Could that stifling feeling and anger I felt after transforming have come from the Demon Race’s nature?’
If so, the anger was understandable. But what was that stifling feeling?
Jegyeong clearly remembered how the unbearable frustration had turned into anger. As the anger swelled until he could no longer endure it, he had lost his reason.
‘I felt stifled while I was in human form. Why? Was the form wrong?’
Yet when he had briefly checked his reflection in the water, he had found nothing strange.
His head was attached properly, and all four limbs were intact. His face had been somewhat idealized, but it still resembled his past self...
‘Could that have been the problem?’
When transforming, Jegyeong had skipped the process of Engraving the form of the Human Race.
That was because the Human Race form he wished to take already existed. It was not shaped from imagination and will, but was the image of his previous life that remained in his memories.
‘Is that why? Because I didn’t shape a new human form and instead brought over another version of myself as it was?’
Everything Jegyeong knew about transformation came from studying the Pulse-Striking Transformation Art, so he could not be certain.
Still, the more he considered it, the more convincing that guess became.
‘Considering I’ve never once suffered from the Demon Race’s nature, it’s safe to say my soul and mind have fully adapted to this Demon Race body.’
The mind of the Human Race in the body of the Demon Race.
Jegyeong had actively accepted and assimilated into his new identity.
From the moment he broke out of his egg, he had been faithful to this new life. He had steadily honed himself along the path to immortality, and that was how he had reached this point.
The current Jegyeong was complete.
There might be areas in which he fell short, but nothing was missing.
‘Yet in that state, I tried to add my past self on top.’
If his mind and soul were compared to a lump of clay, forming a shape from the beginning would be like gradually shaping part of a soft lump of clay.
Even after the shape was complete, it would still be one lump.
Jegyeong’s method had been slightly different. He had taken a separate clay figure and attached it to an existing lump of clay. Worse, he had attached it to clay that had already hardened.
It was quick and convenient, but the two would only cling together for a while. They were still two separate lumps.
‘Normally, there wouldn’t have been much of a problem even if I used my method.’
The true problem was not the figure he had attached, but the lump of clay that served as its foundation.
Because his soul and mind were already complete, the figure he had attached could not become one with them. It had ended up sitting awkwardly on top.
‘...It makes sense.’
It was all assumptions and speculation from beginning to end, but Jegyeong could not think of any other possibility.
‘If that really is the case, how do I solve it?’
Put simply, adapting too well as a member of the Demon Race had become poison instead.
Would things have been different if he had not tried to take shortcuts with the Engrave the form step?
No. Even then, the situation would likely have been similar.
As long as his previous life remained in his soul and mind as both identity and memory, nothing would change.
In the end, even a form shaped from the start would have worn that face reflected in the water.
‘I’ve already achieved transformation, so I can’t take it back.’
Within the house called Jegyeong, the former owner and current owner had already begun their uncomfortable cohabitation.
Unless he expanded the house or blew it up entirely, that uncomfortable cohabitation would continue to the end.
The one fortunate thing was that the current owner, Jegyeong the snake, was the one who performed the Pulse-Striking Transformation Art.
As long as he did not use the Pulse-Striking Transformation Art, he could continue the peaceful life he had enjoyed so far.
‘But I’ll need to transform often in the future.’
What should he do, then?
‘I have no choice but to keep my temper in check.’
It was simple, but far from easy. Still, it was the only conclusion he could think of for now.
* * *
The pale-skinned man, Jegyeong, sat cross-legged and muttered words whose meaning was difficult to grasp.
At times, it sounded like a Buddhist chant. At others, it sounded like the meaningless humming of a drunkard.
A faint mystical air surrounded his monotone voice.
Anyone unfamiliar with Jegyeong would have mistaken him for a Daoist with profound Dao attainment or a devout Buddhist monk.
“...”
Cheongo had their eyes closed atop the gleaming nest they had repaired with great effort.
At first, they had been afraid Jegyeong might lose control again at any moment. Now, though, they were completely absorbed in his quiet voice.
‘Immortal...’
Cheongo’s body remained atop the ornate nest in the cave, but their mind had returned to the days when they were a crow listening to the Immortal’s teachings.
Just recalling those memories made them feel peaceful.
The Immortal’s voice calling for them.
The final words the Immortal had offered.
The small smile that came afterward.
‘Hm?’
Lost in those memories, Cheongo suddenly realized Jegyeong’s voice had stopped. They hurriedly raised their head.
Jegyeong was still sitting cross-legged, but his expressionless face was slowly beginning to twist.
“Jegyeong! Wake up!”
Cheongo’s sharp cry was not all they did.
They swiftly flew over and began pecking Jegyeong’s head without mercy.
“Wake up! Wake up!”
With all their feelings behind every peck, Cheongo struck Jegyeong until he let out a short groan, regained his senses, and immediately returned to his original form.
“You...”
“Jegyeong was in danger! Danger! You almost caused another mess!”
Jegyeong closed his mouth as he watched Cheongo fly before his eyes as though asking for praise.
‘It was your nest that was in danger, not me.’
Still, Cheongo had woken him in time, so he could not say much.
‘Anyway... I definitely become weaker while in human form.’
When he was in his original form, no matter how long Cheongo pecked him, it would only tickle. Yet when they had poured their feelings into pecking his head just now, it had hurt quite a bit.
He still seemed far stronger than an ordinary Human Race member, considering he had not been injured. By Jegyeong’s standards, though, his hard body was far from satisfactory.
‘That aside, it definitely works.’
It felt as though he had endured for about an hour, perhaps even longer.
It was still insufficient, but compared to the first time he transformed, it was a tremendous improvement.
White Mountain Clear Heart Mantra.
That was the mantra Jegyeong had been chanting until just now.
It cleared the heart, and according to Gwak Jeongsin, it was quite popular among cultivators who practiced mental cultivation.
‘The incantation definitely works. The problem is that it only works properly while I keep chanting it.’
If he kept chanting the incantation, he could remain rational for around an hour. If he did not, anger rose within him in less than ten minutes.
Even those ten or so minutes had gradually increased only because he had continuously practiced the White Mountain Clear Heart Mantra.
‘To properly practice a cultivation method, I need to remain rational for at least two hours without chanting the Clear Heart Mantra.’
The road ahead was far too long.
At this turtle’s pace, he had no idea when he would reach his destination.
“Are you going to do it right away?”
“No. I’ll rest a little first.”
He wanted to practice the Clear Heart Mantra even while resting, but unfortunately, he could only practice it while in human form.
It was not even a cultivation method, so why did it have such a restriction? What could he do? That was simply how things were.
“Jegyeong. Can’t I learn that? Do I have to become human?”
“Yes.”
Cheongo sat in their nest and snorted in displeasure.
Ever since Jegyeong first chanted the Clear Heart Mantra, Cheongo had shown interest, saying it reminded them of the Immortal.
They had repeatedly said they wanted to learn it too, but only humans could practice the Clear Heart Mantra. For Cheongo to practice it, they would first have to reach the Great Demon Realm and learn a Transformation Secret Art.
Cheongo did not seem willing to accept the cold reality before them, but they would eventually have to.
‘Can that one become a Great Demon Beast?’
Jegyeong did not know whether Cheongo had a Bloodline.
Still, considering how Cheongo had become a Demon Beast before, the chances that they possessed one were very low. If so, becoming a Great Demon Beast would be nearly impossible.
‘It might be possible if they use the same method as me...’
It would be difficult.
Finding a spiritual treasure to use as a Spiritual Seed was hard enough, but planting that Spiritual Seed and cultivating Spiritual Essence was even harder.
Jegyeong believed his method was the path chosen by the very first Great Demon Beasts in the distant past, when they had neither Bloodlines nor anything else.
That method was like swallowing poison at random and hoping to develop antibodies.
Countless Demon Beasts must have attempted it, failed, and died.
Only a handful, perhaps one in several million or even fewer, would have survived to become Great Demon Beasts and open a new path.
Jegyeong had walked that dangerous path and succeeded.
But Cheongo? Could they do the same?
Jegyeong thought highly of Cheongo’s intelligence, yet he was still pessimistic about the possibility of them becoming a Great Demon Beast like him.
‘Well... that’s not something I need to worry about.’
Of course, if there was anything he could do to help Cheongo, Jegyeong intended to do so willingly.
But the path to immortality was walked alone, and cultivation was something no one could do in another’s place.
Whether Cheongo would cross the Great Demon threshold, and how they would cross it if they chose to, were matters they had to consider and decide for themselves.
“Hoo.”
Once Jegyeong had rested enough, he uncoiled and gave a signal. Cheongo swiftly brought over a gourd in their beak.
In the meantime, Jegyeong transformed into a human and sat cross-legged again.
Gulp! Gulp!
The gourd contained alcohol.
It had also been obtained through the Spirit Talisman Merchant Association. It was not ordinary alcohol, but Spirit Wine made by mixing Spiritual Rice with various medicinal herbs.
By drinking this Spirit Wine, Jegyeong could remain rational without chanting the Clear Heart Mantra until its intoxication, no, its wine energy, faded.
Hummm!
Feeling his body grow hot, Jegyeong immediately began circulating the cultivation method.
The Heat-Gathering Art had also been purchased at a discount from the Spirit Talisman Merchant Association.
It was a basic fire-aspect cultivation method practiced by Qi Refining Stage cultivators. As befitted a basic method, its cultivation speed was slow, but its stability was beyond reproach.
Jegyeong had purchased this basic cultivation method to test his theory and grow accustomed to the Human Race’s cultivation methods.
He could still vividly remember the strange look in Gwak Jeongsin’s eyes when he said he wanted to buy it.
It was a natural reaction.
Jegyeong had not overcome the Transformation Tribulation to achieve transformation. He had taken a shortcut through a secret art, so normally he should not have been able to practice the Human Race’s cultivation methods.
To Gwak Jeongsin, it must have looked as though Jegyeong was wasting money.
When Jegyeong tried to buy basic cultivation methods of other aspects as well, using the excuse that he wanted to study the Human Race’s cultivation methods, Gwak Jeongsin finally seemed somewhat convinced. He praised Jegyeong’s spirit of inquiry and recommended several methods.
Jegyeong had accepted Gwak Jeongsin’s recommendations and chosen the other aspects casually. Only the Heat-Gathering Art had he selected after careful consideration.
He had chosen it for one reason alone: stability.
Fwoosh!
Jegyeong circulated the Heat-Gathering Art with all his strength until the wine energy faded, but all he managed to create was a single tiny spark.
It was a shabby result worthy of a basic cultivation method, but Jegyeong was satisfied.
He could clearly feel that his Spiritual Essence had grown by exactly as much as that small spark.
‘My path to immortality is wide open!’
Filled with a sense of accomplishment, Jegyeong was about to circulate the Heat-Gathering Art once more when he paused and looked toward the gourd beside him.
“...”
The sense of accomplishment that had stirred him moments ago vanished without a trace, replaced by hesitation.
To cultivate once more, he would need another drink.
But he had already expended mental energy through one round of cultivation. If he cultivated again in succession, it would be less efficient than the first time.
Should he drink that expensive Spirit Wine for such inefficient cultivation? He was effectively drinking money, spending Spirit Stones rather than drinking wine.
“Ugh!”
Letting out a groan, Jegyeong surrendered to reality and obediently began chanting the Clear Heart Mantra.
Until his patience ran out, he needed to make the most of every bit of the little time he had left.
As Jegyeong’s chanting quietly echoed through the cave, Muk-su’s fruit, which lay atop the Spiritual Soil, began to rot rapidly.
The fruit, fresh as though it had just been picked, crumbled into something like sand in only a few seconds.
Then, after a short while, a tiny sprout emerged from the remains of the powdered fruit.
Footnotes:
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