Chapter 51 - Act 8. Daemudo’s Main Mountain (2)

As Park Gangseo had said, the main mountain was vast. Absurdly vast, really. Even walking briskly and only viewing the buildings from outside before moving on to the next district, the tour took more than half a day.

The northern and central portions of the main mountain were divided into eight districts.

The residential district held Cultivators’ quarters for sleeping, tending to their equipment, and going about their private lives, along with parks where they could relax.

The research district housed workshops, pill-refining furnaces, laboratories, and libraries for honing such crafts as implement crafting, pill refining, talisman making, and formation laying.

The administrative district managed all of Daemudo’s affairs, great and small: paperwork, mission assignments, contributions, message talismans, security, and litigation.

The training district let Cultivators spar with one another or rent combat puppets for practical training.

The cultivation district offered private cultivation caves, seclusion caves, and communal meditation grounds.

The commercial district housed assorted permanent shops and a market held every fortnight.

The production district was devoted to farming, livestock raising, fishing, and the like.

Last came the memorial district, with its communal cemetery for the deceased.

Looking weary, Park Gangseo finally stepped into a building in the memorial district bearing the sign “Hall of Remembrance.” Quite a few of their peers who had just become formal disciples were already inside.

“This is where we keep the remains and belongings of deceased disciples to honor their memory. There should be something for your fellow novices, too. Over there.”

Where he pointed stood memorial tablets bearing the names of novice disciples, including Yeom Bo.

“If you lose someone, you’ll find yourself coming here often... But I hope you’ll have as little reason as possible to visit.”

With that, he led them toward the administrative district in the center.

The administrative district felt more urban than anywhere else on the main mountain. Its buildings were tall and grand, and even their architectural style was unfamiliar. Park Gangseo explained that they had been modeled after buildings on other continents.

Their destination was the Registry Office, which maintained the rolls of Daemudo’s disciples. Yise approached the Cultivator handling administrative duties.

“Show me the back of your hand.”

Yise extended his hand, and Daemudo’s seal and his name appeared on it. The Cultivator passed an unfamiliar ritual implement over it to check, then handed him an identity token made from an unusually colored metal.

「Yise. Formal Disciple. Unaffiliated.」

It was succinct.

“Your quarters are in Clear Repose Hall One, west wing, third floor, third room on the left. If you lose the token, you must pay a ten-spirit-stone fine for a replacement.”

“Yes.”

With that brief reply, Yise put the token in his storage pouch.

“Would you prefer a staff assignment or mission duty? Staff members take responsibility for specific duties within the main mountain, while those on mission duty need only complete one official mission each year.”

“I’ll take mission duty.”

“Noted. You can accept your first mission after the turn of the year. If you change your mind, you may switch on the first day of each new year.”

There was nothing to consider. He had heard that staff assignments were for people who lacked a talent for combat and had given up the Demon-Exorcizing Arts.

Once their business at the Registry Office was finished, Park Gangseo looked relieved. Yet the newcomers showed no sign of leaving his side. Like puppies set loose in unfamiliar surroundings, they kept looking around and trailing at his heels.

He frowned and waved them off.

“That’s the end of my job. Go look around, cultivate, do whatever you like, but stop following me. Senior, I’ll finish showing you around.”

Despite the blatant favoritism, the disciples dared not complain and shuffled away awkwardly. Yise exchanged glances of farewell with his peers. Once again, he felt just how bitter life in this place could be for those of a low realm.

“Anything else you’d like to know, Senior?”

“No questions. I’d just like a closer look around.”

“Want me to show you?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“Where first?”

“The library, for a start. And I’m wondering whether the Four Crafts Workshop has somewhere I could make immortal cuisine, like the butcher shop at the training compound. Shall we visit the production district, too? I noticed they were raising spiritual herbs and spirit beasts.”

Park Gangseo chuckled as Yise excitedly counted off the places on his fingers.

“At times like this, you really are just a boy. Well, let’s start with whatever’s closest.”

The production district was neatly divided into plots like a Go board. Square garden beds had been laid out in the earth, each planted with different spiritual herbs and spirit trees. Signs at the entrances to their fences bore the owners’ names.

Opposite stood livestock sheds of every shape. They reminded Yise of the shed in a corner of a wealthy neighbor’s courtyard when he was little. A long row of structures looked as though that very shed had been transplanted here, whole.

Every animal inside was a spirit beast. The difference lay in their Rank. Even a single calf gave off abundant spiritual energy.

Approaching a nearby garden plot, Yise noticed a white orb the size of a human fist embedded beside the sign. Sensing his presence, it slowly turned a full circle, then opened its eye and blinked.

It wasn’t an orb. It was an eyeball.

Yise reflexively withdrew his hand.

“That’s called a Recording Eye.”

“Gave me a fright.”

“It’s a ritual implement that records events as though you were seeing them yourself, like an Image-Retaining Stone. The records serve as evidence if there’s theft or vandalism, so don’t touch it without permission. Tamper with one and you’ll be hauled off to the Law Enforcement Hall and put through the wringer for three days.”

He had deliberately tried to frighten Yise, but Yise’s interest lay elsewhere.

“Expensive, I assume?”

“Very.”

A pity. Having one would be incredibly useful. Yise set his disappointment aside.

The livestock sheds were no different. Each building had both a sign and a Recording Eye. Inside one, a Qi Refining Cultivator squatted beside a cowlike spirit beast, busily milking it.

Park Gangseo gave a brief nod of greeting, and the other Cultivator responded with a wave.

“By the way, Gangseo.”

“Yes?”

“Why do Daemudo disciples raise spirit beasts and spiritual plants? Aren’t we supposed to protect them?”

“Of course we protect them. Look at those little cows. Don’t they have it good?”

Chuckling, Park Gangseo pointed at the dairy spirit beast. It snorted as though asking what he was staring at.

“Meditation and the Demon-Exorcizing Arts alone can’t support everyone’s cultivation. That’s why we allow some production and use of resources.”

Yise listened quietly as he explained.

“But the rules are strict. For instance, you can only butcher spirit beasts that have died naturally. Harvesting is much the same. You may gather fruit, grain, and the like, but you can’t uproot a whole plant. What a Cultivator takes is a spiritual organism’s by-products, not the organism itself.”

“I see. Then I suppose they mostly raise spirit beasts that produce milk like that one.”

“Milk is the most common, but there’s plenty else to be had. Hair, claws, shed skins. Droppings, too.”

“... Droppings?”

“Some spirit beasts even have spirituality in their dung.”

“No matter how good it is, I really don’t want to eat that.”

“Who said anything about eating it? Why do you turn everything into food, Senior? You mix spirit-beast dung with spirit stones, ordinary soil, and so on to make spirit soil. It’s perfect fertilizer for the garden beds.”

While they traded these silly jokes, a message talisman flew toward Park Gangseo from somewhere. He opened it and smacked his lips in disappointment.

“Ah... Senior Han Jae wants me. Says I need to finish my mission report.”

“Go on. Thanks for everything.”

Park Gangseo pointed northeast.

“Keep walking that way to reach the research district. You won’t get lost like a little kid, will you? I’ll come watch the exchange gathering in a few days. See you then.”

Waving goodbye, he disappeared farther into the main mountain.

* * *

The main mountain had not one library but ten, numbered Library One through Library Ten. The higher the number, the larger the building.

Library Ten, farthest in, was imposing enough to rival Gwisu Temple’s inner hall.

Yise’s heart pounded.

New cultivation methods. New spells. New knowledge.

Any of them would do, as long as they could slake this thirst. He had saved up contribution points for this very moment.

Naturally, his feet carried him toward the largest building, Library Ten. The instant he entered, however, he was stopped. The Foundation Establishment Cultivator guarding the entrance waved him away.

“You’re a new disciple, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Go back. Start with Library One.”

Yise withdrew without protest.

Composing himself, he headed to Library One’s entrance. Inside sat a third-star Qi Refining Cultivator who looked about the same age as his fellow novices.

“Your identity token, please, Senior!”

“Here.”

Yise handed it over, and the Cultivator carefully touched a ritual implement to it.

“One hundred and twenty-five contribution points confirmed. You may enter.”

“Could I ask you something?”

“Certainly! What would you like to know?”

“How do I spend my contribution points?”

“... Pardon?”

“I heard you have to pay contribution points to obtain secret manuals.”

A puzzled look briefly crossed the Cultivator’s face. Then, as if something had occurred to him, he lightly clapped his hands.

“Are you... a newly appointed formal disciple, by any chance?”

“That’s right.”

“But your realm... Ah! You must have been recruited from outside. Forgive me, I misunderstood for a moment!”

“...?”

“You don’t spend contribution points. They’re an entry requirement! One hundred points for Library One, five hundred for Library Two, and so on. Only Library Ten requires you to actually pay contribution points to receive copies!”

Yise’s eyes lit up at this revelation. Apparently, only the truly important secret manuals were kept in Library Ten and cost contribution points. The rest were freely available to the disciples.

“Are there any time limits or other restrictions?”

“Well, I suppose the only limit is how deep your pockets are, Senior?”

“You said I wouldn’t spend contribution points. Didn’t that mean I could read freely?”

“Haha, you’re quite the joker! Of course not. We charge spirit stones. The prices are posted at the bottom of the shelves!”

“...”

What a pack of money-grubbers.

Yise stood rooted to the spot for a long time. In his head, he could almost hear his spirit-stone pouch growing lighter.

This wasn’t a Daoist order. It was a den of loan sharks.

Muttering curses to himself, he headed inside.

Compared to his expectations, the sight within was rather deflating. Most of the secret manuals were the same as those in the Azure Mountain training compound’s library.

There were some unfamiliar spell manuals, such as Body Cleansing, a spell for opening locked doors, and one for plowing fields, but they weren’t particularly cheap either. Even the introductory manual on growing spirit rice cost more than it had at the bookshop outside the training compound.

‘No wonder I felt like buying it back then... I’d be better off saving contribution points and moving up.’

He couldn’t squander his precious spirit stones.

Yise bought only a reference book titled Latest Collection of Additional Information on Qi Refining Demons and the Art of Severing Tendons and Meridians, then left without a backward glance. The excitement he had felt on entering was left entirely behind him.

He had only just stepped out of the shade beneath Library One’s eaves when he heard robes rustling overhead.

His hand moved toward his hand axe faster than instinct. Before his fingers could touch the handle, however, someone landed lightly a single step in front of him.

White robes. A plain white mask covering the entire face. Only the gaze from behind it was directed straight at him.

The figure was not particularly tall. The line of the shoulders was not enough to call them a man, yet declaring them a woman felt just as awkward. There was something about the silhouette that fit neither.

Yise withdrew his hand and took a step back.

He could not gauge the stranger’s realm. That meant only one thing.

Core Formation. A Hall Master of the Eleven Inner Halls.

He immediately straightened and bowed his head.

“Yise?”

“Yes.”

“U Yuhee.”

“... Winged Dragon Hall Master.”

“I wanted to see your face, so I dropped by for a moment.”

A faint breath, almost a chuckle, escaped from behind the mask.