Chapter 43 - Act 6. Heavenly-Demonic Dual-Meridian Constitution (6)

Yise steadied his flustered mind and first checked the barrier’s extent. Keeping a hand against its translucent wall, he made a circuit and gained a rough idea of its shape. The barrier included Hae Il’s residence, covering a fairly broad area encompassing both the mansion and the surrounding grounds.

Perhaps this meant he had permission to use the residence if necessary, in case Hae Il was delayed. Grateful as he was for such boundless consideration, Yise had no desire to enter a great Nascent Soul Cultivator’s home while its owner was away. He already owed the man a great debt; he could hardly impose on him as well.

He had brought preserved food for the journey. If he rationed it, he could last several months. After all, a Cultivator’s body could easily survive a month on a single meal. Losing one of his personal pleasures was a shame... but he had gained something far greater.

Having made up his mind, Yise settled down. The density of spiritual energy here was beyond comparison with the training compound on Azure Mountain. It would be no exaggeration to call this entire place a grotto-heaven. Merely breathing drew spiritual energy into his spiritual meridians.

Yise searched for the spot where the purest spiritual energy flowed, then returned to his original place and sat cross-legged. The energy was distributed evenly throughout the grotto-heaven. First, he checked the realm he had attained. He opened his palm and drew up his spiritual energy. Through Spiritual Energy Manifesting as Spell Power, he imbued it with the fire attribute, transforming the spiritual energy within him into what was called spell power.

Red flames bloomed above his palm. Watching them, Yise smiled. The wall that had refused to budge through more than three months of battering his head against it had crumpled like paper once his shackles were removed.

While he was at it, he tried the most basic of spells: Firebolt. The method was simple. All he had to do was launch the flame he had conjured, just as he would fire off spiritual energy. Trailing sparks, the spell flew into the barrier. It did not leave so much as a scratch.

With a sheepish smile, Yise tried manifesting the other attributes. He pressed his palm to the ground and converted his energy into earth-attribute spell power. Soil gathered and rose. When he imbued it with metal-attribute spell power, it hardened like steel. Next, he attempted water and wood, but unlike the first three, these two did not manifest readily.

‘Does this depend on aptitude too, like spiritual roots?’

Yise shook his head. Judging by the circumstances, it was probably a difference in familiarity rather than talent. Fire, earth, and metal were things he had encountered countless times throughout his life. By comparison, wood and water had been less familiar. It was only a guess, but not something worth dwelling on. He believed it was merely a matter of time before he could wield them all.

Basic spells for the five elements were included in the Demon-Exorcizing Spirit Arts, so he could practice them at his own pace. As for special attributes such as lightning, wind, and ice, he should be able to learn those once he acquired the appropriate spell manuals.

‘Knowing a variety of spells will give me more versatility in combat.’

Since the five elements reinforced and counteracted one another, he needed to exploit his constitution’s advantages to the fullest.

* * *

He had no idea how much time had passed. By the time he finished manifesting spell power for all five attributes and learned two basic spells for each, his stomach was clamoring for food. Yise popped a Grain-Abstinence Pill into his mouth, then opened the secret manual of the Dokkaebi Shadow-Gathering Demonic Art and immersed himself in its contents, turning one page after another.

The cultivation manual detailed the Dokkaebi’s entire cultivation system. Demon cultivation was fundamentally different from that of Cultivators. Whereas Cultivators advanced step by step in their control of spiritual energy through enlightenment, the way Demons grew stronger was brutally simple.

Devour enemies and grow a Demon core. Accumulate Demonic Energy through devouring, then compress that energy to form a core inside the body.

As Yise committed the manual’s contents to memory, a thought occurred to him.

‘In a way, the Demon-Exorcizing Spirit Arts seem like a mixture of Demon cultivation and Cultivator methods.’

Absorbing an enemy’s energy and making it one’s own—that was Demonic devouring. Of course, the Demon-Exorcizing Spirit Arts included a process that purified Demonic Energy into spiritual energy, but in its bare essentials, the process followed the same course. The method’s origins had probably been influenced by the Lord of Daemudo, who possessed the same constitution as Yise. It was fascinating to think that the cultivation method underlying all of Daemudo might have originated in the training methods of Demons.

‘Either way, I need to form a Demon core...’

Whereas a Cultivator’s cultivation began with understanding spiritual energy, a Demon’s began with forming a Demon core. Apparently, most Demons did not learn this process through instruction, but acquired it naturally in the struggle to survive. Yise soon began forming his own.

‘Where should I put it?’

It would be difficult to move the Demon core once it took root. It was a physical object, not a spiritual one. In other words, someone could cut him open, rummage inside, and take it.

‘Somewhere as safe as possible, where it won’t interfere with my organs even if it grows a little...’

He chose the space between his liver and lungs. As he recalled, upon reaching Core Formation, the Demon core would break apart and transform into a spiritual golden core, so even a small space would suffice.

He gathered the Demonic Energy flowing through his body, spinning it beneath his lower dantian. He whirled it under intense pressure, compressed it, then compressed it again. The longer he manipulated it, the more a chill settled over him. Each time his spiritual energy passed the spot where the Demonic Energy was gathering, it heaved as though grumbling about their uncomfortable coexistence.

Normally, the Demon core came first, and one then learned to wield Demonic Energy with the core at its center. But he was working in reverse, packing down the overwhelming quantity of Demonic Energy accumulated through countless acts of devouring. Wasn’t there a saying that finding a path was difficult, but retracing it was easy?

At some point, the Demonic Energy, which had kept bouncing about and trying to scatter, calmed and began compressing ever more densely. For an instant, a strange, alien sensation arose, as though something had burrowed into his body. A considerable amount of Demonic Energy was absorbed into it. What remained continued flowing along his spiritual meridians as before. Apparently, the total demonic power a Demon core could contain depended on one’s realm.

Yise opened his eyes. A new vista unfolded, different again from what he had seen upon awakening his spirit sight. Until now, he had only been able to see the spiritual energy of heaven and earth drifting through the air. Now he could see the Demonic Energy on its other side as well. If spiritual energy was the power of yang, Demonic Energy was the power of yin. Just as shadow existed wherever there was light, both energies flowed quietly through the same space.

He lowered his gaze to his belly. He could not see it, but he could feel it clearly. Having a Demon core lodged inside him was a bizarre sensation. He felt as though he had truly become a Demon. It would be a lie to say he felt no revulsion. Having lost his family to Demons and grown up with Demon hunting as his life’s calling, he had regarded Demon cores as nothing more than things to smash and devour.

At the same time, thinking of the Dokkaebi of Gwisu Temple, his new home, filled him with excitement. He could now learn their spells, the ones that manipulated shadows at will. The Dokkaebi had saved him, raised him, and now, at last, he had gained their power. Revulsion and anticipation stirred together within him.

The Dokkaebi Shadow-Gathering Demonic Art offered three spells that could be learned at Middle Stage Qi Refining.

Shadow-Net Formation: a spell that formed a net of shadows to bind an opponent.

Four-Direction Strike: a spell that drew shadows from all four directions to strike simultaneously.

Ground-Shadow Snare: a spell that seized an opponent’s ankles with their own shadow in a surprise attack, tripping them.

Unlike the Dokkaebi, who could manipulate shadows instinctively, a human needed to know how to wield attributeless spell power to use their spells.

‘I’ll have to reach the sixth star first.’

The formula of the sixth star of Qi Refining was Attributeless Spell Power. It was the realm of freely bestowing, converting, and removing attributes. Of these, converting spiritual energy into spell power without imbuing it with an attribute was the essence of the sixth star. Upon reaching it, one could learn a variety of attributeless spells.

Yise could not yet fully grasp what that meant, but merely beginning to glimpse its threshold set his heart racing. This was fun. Pure, simple fun, like a child receiving a new toy. Spells were tools for manipulating the world. Creating fire, raising earth, wielding shadows—all of it would spring from his own hands.

Cultivation had always been enjoyable, but especially so now. He wanted to climb the next step as soon as possible and wield the Dokkaebi’s spells. Calming his excitement, Yise sat cross-legged again and closed his eyes.

* * *

Hae Il returned more than fifty days later. His business in the Archipelago had taken far longer than expected. Despite his promise to return shortly, nearly two months had passed. Tearing through space to arrive at his secluded abode, he first checked inside the barrier.

Yise was sitting cross-legged in cultivation, in the very same spot where Hae Il had left him. As though determined not to make the same mistake twice, he sprang up the instant he sensed Hae Il’s presence and greeted him respectfully.

“Welcome back, sir.”

“I’m a little late.”

Yise merely stood at attention, seemingly untroubled.

“Let’s see how diligently you’ve been cultivating.”

Hae Il’s eyes swept over Yise’s body. A faint bewilderment arose.

“The sixth star?”

“Yes, sir.”

Hae Il let out a disbelieving laugh. The novice disciple before him had already entered the realm of Attributeless Spell Power. When the boy had first come to him, he had been floundering, unable to cross a minor threshold. Hae Il had witnessed him break through to the fifth star after the gu parasite’s removal, but had never imagined he would reach the sixth so soon afterward.

To a Cultivator, two months could pass in a single session of meditation. This was effectively a leap of two stages.

‘The moment his shackles came off, he went charging ahead.’

Looking at Yise, Hae Il recalled his answer: it had taken him only about a month after the entrance examination to reach the fourth star. The spiritual energy and enlightenment he had accumulated while bound by the gu parasite must have burst forth the instant the shackles vanished. U Yuhee had taken a year to cross the first minor threshold, which made him twice as fast.

“I didn’t mention this because I thought it was still a long way off for you, but I had better tell you in advance.”

Yise’s eyes lit up, his attention immediately riveted on Hae Il’s words.

“There are generally three ways to break through to Foundation Establishment. The first is to take an elixir pill called a Foundation Establishment Pill, forcibly awakening divine sense and forming a Dharma-Transformed Dantian. It is safe, but requires that rare pill. That is the Pill Refining Sect’s method.”

A Foundation Establishment Pill. He had heard of it. Disciples of the Pill Refining Sect would even fight to the death to obtain one.

“The second is to build an altar from an immense number of spirit stones and offer rites to heaven, ascending to Foundation Establishment with the Heavenly Emperor’s aid. It requires a great deal of time, favorable fortune, and enormous resources. That is Kunlun’s method.”

Hae Il continued his explanation.

“The last uses body-refining methods to destroy and regenerate the bones, flesh, and organs, directly achieving a complete bodily transformation and developing divine sense and a Dharma-Transformed Dantian. That is Daemudo’s method. It may seem somewhat crude, but anyone can attempt it without another person’s support or sacrifice.”

“I’ve heard it is dangerous.”

“It is. If you fail, you become corrupted, die, or end up crippled.”

He continued casually, as though it were of little consequence.

“You, too, will undergo that process. But you must carry out both Daemudo’s method and the Demons’ method together. Namely, the molting of your Demon core. Consult Mongryeon’s cultivation method for the details. Just make sure you remember the proper direction.”

With that, Hae Il dispelled the barrier. As the translucent wall vanished like mist, Yise understood that he was being dismissed.

“Thank you for your kindness, Hall Master.”

He promptly rose and paid his respects.

“Remember your three assignments, and don’t go dying a pointless death. If an enemy learns of your constitution, make certain you kill them.”

“I will remember.”

“Off you go.”

Yise bowed deeply, then turned away.

Watching Yise’s retreating back, Hae Il murmured to himself.

“Recovering the Twin Principles Reversion Art is all well and good, but I had better cultivate diligently too.”

A new wind was blowing—a wind of change that would transform the long-entrenched, all-too-familiar Cultivation of the Eleven Inner Halls’ Hall Masters. Once they learned how quickly the boy was advancing, they would spur themselves to train as though someone had abruptly kicked them in the rear. Just as their realms had risen little by little after U Yuhee’s arrival.

Peace on the Eastern Continent rested on a precarious balance. What ripples would this boy, still a fledgling, create in a few decades? It was then that Hae Il noticed tooth marks on a sweet potato peel lying on the ground.

‘Tsk. There’s plenty to eat inside.’

Picking up the single remaining piece of sweet potato peel from the ground, Hae Il muttered, “Perhaps I should ask them to assign him a maid.”

Infused with spiritual energy, the peel he had discarded a month earlier was still fresh.