Chương 463: The Place The Snake Cannot Find (5)

I drink all of the medicinal decoction that Buk Hyang-hwa has given me and then dust myself off as I stand up.

'Meeting that bandaged guy was unexpected... but in the end, everything turned out well.'

I met Cheongmun Ryeong, and I also met Buk Hyang-hwa.

Now, I will become Cheongmun Ryeong's disciple, study under him, and later meet Azure Tiger Saint and Shi Ho as well.

"By the way, may I ask for your name, Miss?"

As I wrap the bandages around my body, I ask Buk Hyang-hwa.

I ask because her name might be different in this world.

"Ah, my name is Baek Ran (白蘭/White Orchid). You can call me Physician Baek."

"Baek Ran... It's a nice name."

For some reason, it feels like a familiar name.

It seems to be her name in this world.

"How much would the treatment fee be?"

"Ah, the person who brought me here has already paid all the treatment fees, so you don't have to pay anything."

"Ah, I see. However, I still want to express my gratitude. If you can let me know where you reside, I'll visit you later to repay the favor."

"You really don't need to but... if you insist, you can come find me at White Lotus Valley in Clear River County."

"Understood, I'll visit you later."

After expressing my thanks to Buk Hyang-hwa... no, to Baek Ran, I leave the room.

'An estate?'

The place I step out into is an estate, and in the large courtyard, dozens of people are sitting cross-legged, engaged in cultivation.

'This place...'

"This estate is rented by Master. You will now participate in the disciple recruitment process, stay in this estate to train in basic spell methods, and remain here until you catch Master's eye. However, if Master declares your elimination, you must leave the estate immediately. Do you agree?"

"I came here intending to become a disciple, so I agree, but..."

I ask the bandaged giant a question.

"What happens if I don't participate in this disciple recruitment?"

Though I intend to participate, I can't help but feel a bit resistant to the giant's proposal, which rubs me the wrong way.

"Then you will have no relation to Master's command anymore, and I will kill you on the spot."

"Ha!"

I look into the giant's eyes and say.

"The way you're speaking... are you perhaps jealous that I might become a disciple of Sir Cheongmun Ryeong? Can the disciple of such a great person be so narrow-minded?"

"They can be."

"What?"

"As long as you follow Master's will, it doesn't matter how petty, narrow-minded, dirty, or disgraceful you are in all other things in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds."

"What does that...?"

"If it's that person's command, I can even pull out my own neck right now. If it's that person's command, I stand here ready to accept any command no matter how irrational or unreasonable it is. I stand here with the resolve to accept nothing but that person's commands in my heart, rejecting everything else in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds. But what about you? Do you have that kind of resolve?"

"..."

"To receive someone's teachings, to serve someone as your master... means having at least that much resolve. If you don't have that kind of resolve, get lost immediately. I said I would kill you out of anger just moments ago, but if you walk out on your own right now, I won't kill you."

I briefly lock eyes with the bandaged monster.

The eyes flickering with a strange madness flickering.

I see a familiar figure in those eyes.

It's me.

That madness is not just filled with insanity and malice.

There is boundless respect, reverence, and an unwavering loyalty towards their master.

Beyond that, I recall the past when I bowed ten times before Cheongmun Ryeong before dying.

Then, with a serious expression, I speak.

"... Do you think I would have come to serve him without that kind of resolve?"

"..."

"Even if I die, I came here with the resolve to bow before him and then die. Don't test me by your own standards."

At my words, the bandaged monster looks at me in silence for a moment, then turns around.

"... Follow me. I will take you to Master."

I follow the bandaged monster.

Before long, I meet Cheongmun Ryeong.

"Are you the child who fought with my disciple?"

"I'm ashamed but it's true. I apologize for causing trouble."

"It's fine. As long as you've understood now, it's alright. My method of recruiting disciples is simple. Starting today, I will teach you a basic cultivation method. If you cultivate diligently, I will observe your progress and decide whether to accept you as my disciple."

"Yes. Whatever you give me, I will cultivate earnestly."

"Good. Then, take this."

I receive a basic cultivation manual from Cheongmun Ryeong.

The method doesn't have a title; it's just a simple method manual for accumulating spiritual power.

"This is..."

'Incredible...!'

After quickly skimming through the manual, I grasp its essence relying on my previous experience of reaching the Grand Perfection Integration stage.

'It's trash...'

I'm not joking; it's genuinely the most worthless cultivation method I've ever seen.

'How is this slower at accumulating spiritual power than the Five Surpassing Paths to Cultivation, which is supposed to be the most basic method? No... the method is deliberately designed to build spiritual power slowly.'

That's right.

This method isn't aimed at accumulating spiritual power even a day faster like typical cultivation methods. Rather, it seems like it's designed to make the process as slow as possible.

'In a world where Heaven and Earth spiritual energy is already sparse, practicing this method... even a Heavenly Spiritual Root would need a hundred years just to reach the 1st star of Qi Refining.'

Though I'm a bit taken aback, I bow my head to Cheongmun Ryeong nonetheless.

"Thank you for your grace, as vast as the sea."

"Good. Right, and... my disciple Gak Am may give you and the other disciple candidates some chores at times. You must also perform those diligently."

"Yes, I will carry them out wholeheartedly."

"Then you may go."

"Yes, I won't disappoint you."

After bowing to Cheongmun Ryeong, I set out to find a place to train in this nameless cultivation method.

That's when it happens.

"Right, I forgot. Take this."

"Pardon?"

Cheongmun Ryeong hands me a single plum.

"I've infused this fruit with a special harmony. Always keep this in your mouth. It will aid in your cultivation."

"Ah, yes..."

I inspect the plum after receiving it.

I don't feel any particular spiritual power wave from it.

Although he claims it's imbued with a special harmony, it feels like an ordinary plum.

For a moment, I wonder if he's playing a joke on me, but since it's something given by Cheongmun Ryeong, I trust there's a reason and put it in my mouth.

'He didn't say to eat it, just to keep it in my mouth, right?'

I don't swallow the plum but hold it in one side of my mouth. After bowing to Cheongmun Ryeong, I leave and head towards the inner courtyard I saw earlier in the estate.

There, many of the disciple candidates participating in Cheongmun Ryeong's recruitment test are sitting cross-legged, seemingly practicing the nameless cultivation method.

I sit between them and begin practicing the nameless method myself.

Then it happens.

"Hey, you. Newbie. If you just arrived, shouldn't you greet your seniors first?"

A robust giant and some well-dressed young masters approach me, crossing their arms as they speak.

Careful not to spit out the plum, I respond.

"... Elder Cheongmun Ryeong instructed me to focus on cultivating the method so..."

"Hah! If you don't greet us, it doesn't matter what cultivation method or whatever—" Piiit!

Without saying another word, I draw my sword from my robe and swing it towards the sky.

There's no sound.

But the result is clear.

Jjeok!

The cloud passing through the sky is split in two.

"Stop talking to me and go practice your cultivation method properly if you want to become a disciple of Elder Cheongmun Ryeong."

"Yes, yes, elder..."

They shrink back as they look at me, quickly scurrying away to a further place.

'Now, this method...'

However, just as I'm about to sit down and start cultivating, other candidates begin bothering me.

"A-Amazing, Hyung-nim!"

"What divine power was that just now? Could you perhaps teach me a bit...?"

"To silence that gang in one stroke, you're like a hero!"

"If I don't become teacher Salt Sea Master's disciple, could I become big bro's disciple..."

"Hehe, Orabeoni (traditional formal term for older brother). Let's get along. My name is Yuan Li..."

"Splitting Cloud Master! Since you split the cloud in two, I'll call you teacher Splitting Cloud Master...!"

Though there's something that bothered me in the middle, I ignore the annoying ones and begin operating the nameless cultivation method.

Several days pass.

'Spiritual power isn't accumulating.'

Well, it is accumulating.

However, compared to the energy in a single low-grade spirit stone, only about 1 in 10 nayota has been gathered.

[TL/N: Nayota is an extremely large number in Buddhism. Some sources define it as 10 million, while some as 100 billion.] Still, there's no need to rush.

I continue to operate the nameless method tirelessly, day and night, for several days.

'It'll work eventually.'

As long as I keep endlessly trying and trying, I'll eventually succeed.

That's a truth I've realized after repeating my regressions countless times.

"Hey, work time. You, you, and you. Get up and follow me."

The bandaged monster.

Salt Sea Master Cheongmun Ryeong's only disciple, the person called Gak Am, calls out to me and a few others.

The turn to do the 'chores' Gak Am assigns has come to me.

Our chores involve either cooking porridge or chopping wood to distribute to the slums.

"You go chop the wood. You move the grains from that warehouse. And you..."

Gak Am looks at me and says.

"Take the wood this guy chops and burn it into charcoal."

"Charcoal?"

"Do you not know what charcoal is? Don't ask questions like an idiot and move quickly!"

"... Understood."

Suddenly, I find myself in the role of a charcoal maker again.

Of course, I'm not the only one. A few others are also assigned to the charcoal-making task.

Together with my fellow charcoal-makers, I carry the wood and begin burning to make charcoal.

And as we work, I notice the other fellows taking the plums out of their mouths.

"Wait, aren't we not supposed to take those out of our mouths?"

Cheongmun Ryeong's plum doesn't seem to contain any spiritual energy, but I don't know what's up with it. Even after several days of keeping it in my mouth, it hasn't spoiled.

It seems like it's been harmonized with some law of this world that I'm not familiar with.

In any case, I'm surprised to see them taking out the plums and ask them, but they look at me with an expression saying 'So what?' and question me back.

"What are you talking about, Hyung-nim? Doesn't what Sir Salt Sea Master said just mean to carry the plum with us?"

"That's right, Hyung-nim. How could anyone keep a plum in their mouth all the time? It'd be uncomfortable when you sleep."

"And what if it rots while keeping it in your mouth?"

At their words, I ask with confusion.

"... It rots?"

"Pardon? Isn't it obvious? It's sitting in your mouth for so long, soaked in saliva... When I took it out the day after receiving it from Sir Cheongmun Ryeong, I found it had already rotted."

'What? The one in my mouth is still fine.'

It's more than just fine.

It's as fresh as if it was picked just moments ago.

So why did theirs rot instantly while mine is still fresh?

Wondering about this, I continue to burn charcoal.

A month passes.

I stay in touch with my comrades staying nearby through letters and continue my cultivation.

And gradually, I begin to notice something.

'I'm losing strength.'

The more I practice the nameless cultivation method, the more my body loses physical strength and grows weaker.

In the past, with one sexagenary cycle of internal energy, I could easily lift an entire house. But these days, let alone a brick, even lifting a spoon is too much of a struggle.

'If it wasn't Cheongmun Ryeong, I'd think I was under some kind of curse.'

I look at my arm.

The more I practice the nameless method, the more my body withers away.

Just a month ago, my body was fairly robust, but now I've become almost as thin as a scarecrow.

'... But my heart is becoming clearer.'

Spiritual power does not increase, and only my body continues to worsen.

However, the more I cultivate inside Cheongmun Ryeong's estate, the more my heart gradually becomes at peace, my mind clears, and the feeling of worry vanishes.

As I hold the plum in my mouth, I extinguish the lamp in my assigned room and think to myself.

'What kind of harmony is infused in this plum?'

Before long, many of the other disciple candidates have been eliminated, leaving only me and three or four others in the estate.

Among them, none seem to understand why they haven't been eliminated yet.

However, I think I understand the condition under which Cheongmun Ryeong decides whether to send away or retain disciples.

'Is it the plum?'

Only those who have kept the plum that Cheongmun Ryeong gave us in their mouths from the beginning until now have remained.

Surprisingly, many had taken the plum, which Cheongmun Ryeong had handed over casually, in and out of their mouths to taste it, which resulted in them being dismissed.

'But the others will soon realize as well.'

There are four of us left, including myself.

'But I heard that Cheongmun Ryeong's trials are so harsh that none have passed except that Gak Am... is this really the end?'

It's when I'm pondering this.

"Everyone, come out!"

Gak Am shouts as they drag us out of the room.

"Now that all the others who used to handle the chores are gone, from now on, you lot will have to handle all the chores that everyone used to do! Understand?"

At those words, the faces of the remaining three, excluding myself, turn deathly pale.

Gak Am continues.

"And Master has given one piece of advice for you remaining brats! Listen carefully!"

Cheongmun Ryeong's message is as follows:

"'Thank you for enduring well. But from now on, many more chores await you. Whenever that happens. remember the plum that you have in your mouth. When it's hot or when you're thirsty, when you're exhausted or when you're hungry, think of the plum I gave you and gather your strength'... that's all!"

The others seem bewildered.

I too am a little puzzled, but I interpret Cheongmun Ryeong's message in my own way.

'This plum is a fruit Cheongmun Ryeong imbued with a harmony for us.'

To remember the plum is to remember Cheongmun Ryeong's grace.

'Let's draw strength by recalling the master's grace.'

The other candidates have grim expressions.

Their physical conditions have become similar to mine.

And so, we fall into the endless hell of chores.

Another month passes.

Scrapescrapescrapescrape...

The remaining disciple candidates are now only me and one other person.

We are currently in the kitchen, peeling potatoes.

Our appearances are now no different from that of skeletons.

'Even holding the potato peeler is difficult.'

My body is utterly drained of energy.

Honestly, even I don't understand how I'm still moving.

'There's not a single bit of energy left in my body... In this condition, dying is only natural, but just what strength is keeping me moving?'

I roll the plum inside my mouth with my tongue as I ponder.

'... Is it the plum?'

As Gak Am had conveyed, every time I lick the plum and think of Cheongmun Ryeong, my body somehow continues to move.

'There's clearly no energy, no soul that I can sense... it's an astonishing harmony.'

Admiring the harmony that Cheongmun Ryeong infused, I continue to peel the potatoes with my skeleton-like hands, filled with gratitude for his grace.

At that moment.

"Kehoek, ptui!"

The woman across from me spits out the plum and stands up abruptly.

"Fuck this! I can't take it anymore! If I stay like this, I'll die!"

The plum she spat out is rotten.

"I finally understand! Cheongmun Ryeong is a fraud! How can he make people keep a rotten plum in their mouths for months, make them learn a method that makes their body weird, and still not accept a disciple! I, I need to get out of here! O-Orabeoni, let's leave too, shall we?"

"... Go by yourself."

I don't even look at her and continue peeling the potato.

"Hng, damn it! What good will come from cultivating under this fraud!! Look at this! My beauty, my nearly perfect face has been ruined after coming here! I, I'm leaving. Damn it, you stay here and let this fraud work you to death for all I care!"

After thoroughly cursing Cheongmun Ryeong in front of me, she changes out of her work clothes into her red outfit and flees from the estate.

Judging from how she called me Orabeoni, it seems she was one of those who acted coquettishly to me on the first day but...

'No determination. Or rather... no respect?'

I had occasionally seen the plum in her mouth while she ate and drank, so I know.

'The plum was always fresh.'

It rotted the moment she spat it out.

'Cheongmun Ryeong's harmony is real. He won't let us die.'

I hold this unwavering faith in him in my heart and continue to work silently and diligently.

A while later, Gak Am comes to me.

"... When will the test end?"

I ask them.

Since I'm the only one left now, I think it's about time for the final trial to begin, so I ask him.

They smirk and respond.

"How can a firefly know the thoughts of the sun? That person will decide, so just do your task."

Gak Am dumps ten more baskets of potatoes in front of me and leaves.

I silently continue peeling the potatoes.

Four more months pass.

'What... am I?'

I think this as I watch my fingernails fall off from my hands.

Now, my body has moved beyond exhaustion, nearing the state of a corpse.

'How am I still alive?'

Carrying a broom that feels as heavy as a thousand pounds, I wonder as I clean the estate.

Recently, I lost my appetite.

So, I stopped eating food.

At some point, I even stopped drinking water.

It's probably been about a month since then.

I'm not surviving through internal energy or any other form of power.

'The internal energy that once amounted to an entire sixty-year cycle... has completely dried up.'

There's no energy left inside my body.

And yet, I am still alive.

I briefly stare at my body, dried up and shriveled like a tree stump, and take a deep breath.

'I don't know... but what's certain is...'

I came here seeking to become Cheongmun Ryeong's disciple.

I remember the grace I received from him.

I remember the time I spent with him.

I remember the bow I offered to him.

I think of my own disciples.

I sacrificed my life for them.

'That... is what the relationship between a master and disciple is like.'

A relationship where one can sacrifice their life for the other.

The relationship between a master and a disciple is like that of a parent and child.

That's why, in the word Sabu (사부/師父), another title used to address a master, the character Bu (父) meaning father is included.

But the Cheongmun Ryeong to whom I once bowed has vanished beyond the timeline.

The one here now is a 'different' Cheongmun Ryeong.

And yet...

Even so, I chased after his traces and came all the way here, seeking to establish a disciple-master relationship once again.

'Why?'

I ask myself.

'Why, even though he's a different person, am I trying to form this connection?'

This is a question I've asked myself countless times.

It's a question I've answered in my own way many times, yet I find myself asking it again and again.

Perhaps it's because it's that important.

'Because the name is the same? Because the appearance is the same? Or, because despite the regression, the soul remains the same?'

No matter what answer I come up with, it feels lacking.

I grit my teeth.

Why is it?

Why am I so obsessed with this relationship with him?

No, it's not just Cheongmun Ryeong.

'It's the same with Buk Hyang-hwa. The same with Kim Yeon...'

I know it too.

I am obsessed with connections.

Sometimes, to the point where it feels excessive.

And the result of that obsession is precisely the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

'Why do I obsess so much?'

I begin to question the very existence of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

'The Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections is something that manifests my connections.'

And in order to reach Void Shattering, one must sever obsessions and manifest the Void.

Yet, I embraced all the connections within the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections and overlapped them to create impermanence.

Someone's words flicker through my mind.

—The heart is essentially death.

Countless topics flash through my head.

Then, I snap back to my senses.

"Hah...!"

I suddenly recalled the moment when countless followers were annihilated.

And I saw the owner of the colossal mountain that appeared as if it were crushing the entire universe.

Great Mountain!

It was Great Mountain!

"Heok!"

But as I regained my senses, the one standing before me was Gak Am.

Gak Am is looking down at me, holding a whip.

'I must have seen an illusion with my body being in the state of a corpse.'

"... What?"

"You lazy bastard! How dare you slack off!? This is the task Master assigned through me! Stop slacking and do it properly!"

They begin to whip me.

With my body completely drained of energy, and my state being no different from that of a corpse, I can't resist Gak Am, who could overpower me even when I was at my peak.

My skin tears.

An intense pain overwhelms my mind, but not a single drop of blood comes out.

It seems my body is no longer in a normal state.

I look up at Gak Am.

The eyes are the windows to the heart.

For some reason, I feel like I can understand Gak Am's emotions.

'They're angry.'

It's not just anger.

It's anger mixed with fear.

They are afraid that I will become Salt Sea Master's disciple.

'I see... Am I almost there...?'

But why, I wonder.

Even though I know the trial of Cheongmun Ryeong is nearing its end, I don't feel particularly happy.

'Right now, it feels... more important to rid my heart of its burdens.'

It's strange.

Strangely, my heart feels peaceful and clear.

It's a completely different dimension from simply having my consciousness domain purified and seeing the world more clearly.

It feels as if an unknown super-perception has fallen into my hands.

After whipping me for a while, Gak Am sighs and turns their back.

"You stubborn, foolish idiot. Are you not afraid of death?"

"... More than death..."

I slowly open my mouth.

"I'm afraid... of just dying."

For some reason, I speak formally.

Why is that?

I usually hate them, but right now, I feel like I must be respectful.

"Just dying?"

"Yes. Dying without being able to do anything..."

The emotions I felt during my first death.

At that time...

I thought it was sadness.

I thought it was the sorrow and loneliness of dying miserably in this world without achieving anything.

But now that I think about it, it wasn't sorrow or misery.

It was frustration.

[TL/N: Frustration from unfairness.] Despite having time from morning to evening...

I just died, without being able to know anything.

That's what frustrated me.

"Not being able... to do anything... not being remembered... not being able to remember... Dying like that is what I'm afraid of."

"Then are you not afraid now? I could kill you with just a flick."

"I'm not afraid."

"Why not?"

"Because... this time..."

I smile warmly.

"I've realized the Dao."

Someone once asked me.

What is my Dao?

I answered them.

The Causes and Connections of All Phenomena.

Yes...

My Dao is Myriad Forms and Connections.

Just by meeting someone, remembering their grace, being remembered by someone, and doing something together with them... Unlike that time when I died in loneliness, I am now so incredibly happy.

I have realized my Dao.

My Dao is Myriad Forms and Connections.

Myriad Forms and Connections refers to the heart that is given and received with the countless connections.

—Heart is essentially death.

I finally understand the true meaning of what 'someone' once told me.

Why does the heart become colorless at the very end?

That is...

When the heart is completed through the exchanges with connections, one realizes the Dao. To realize the Dao means that even if one dies and becomes nothingness, there's no problem, so it becomes colorless.

To summarize in three sentences, Why do I obsess with connections, and what does it mean that the heart is essentially death?

Connections are essentially the exchange of hearts, and realizing this is the same as realizing the Dao.

Thus, 'If I attain the Dao in the morning, I am content with death in the evening' means that if one enjoyed life within these connections, one can also accept death with dignity.

"A person's life is essentially the giving and receiving of hearts... Since everyone's hearts are already within me, I am not afraid of death."

I finally understand how I am moving, despite being in a state akin to a corpse.

It's not because of something like the plum.

I am no longer afraid of death.

Because I have confirmed that even if I die, the heart I have built remains.

That is why, even though death is hovering over me, I am still alive and continue to move.

"This is it, isn't it?"

Not fearing death and realizing that the strength moving my body is the heart.

"Isn't this the final gateway that everyone must pass through to become his disciple?"

I ask Gak Am, who has turned their back to me.

Gak Am says nothing but suddenly turns around and lashes their whip at me.

Chwak, chwak!

I calmly take a few strikes from their whip.

They glare at me and say,

"I have not acknowledged you. Do not call me senior brother. Understood? And..."

They grip the hand holding the whip tightly.

"My name is not Gak Am."

"What is it?"

"The name Gak Am is just a phonetic borrowing of my real name. My name is actually गा ॐ."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know either. My mother just picked up some words from around a temple and slapped them together into a half-hearted name. No meaning, no grammar—just a trash name. It has no meaning at all. But regardless, call me that."

"Hmm, the pronunciation is tricky. Gak Am? Ga Am? Ga Om?"

I try pronouncing their name, eventually finding a version that feels adequately comfortable to say.

"From now on, I'll call you 'Gwak Am,' Senior Brother."

I bow to 'Gwak Am,' and they glare at me before walking off.

"Don't call me senior brother. I'm not your senior brother."

They disappear from my sight.

I turn around.

There stands Cheongmun Ryeong.

"Do you know why you haven't died?"

"Because there are countless hearts dwelling within me."

"Do you know why you can move, despite having a body that's no different from a deceased?"

"Because I no longer fear death."

He looks at me and smiles slightly.

"Congratulations on passing the test, disciple."

Without a word, I bow to Cheongmun Ryeong ten times.

Thus, after many lives, I once again become a disciple of Cheongmun Ryeong.

"And, congratulations on entering the basics of Immortal Arts, disciple."

"... Pardon?"

"Without using any energy, soul power, or spiritual power, you twisted the principles of the world with only your heart. Truly accepting death and using that to reshape the world. That... is what we call Immortal Arts."

"... So me not dying... was Immortal Arts?"

"In a sense, yes. With the power of your heart, you briefly unfolded Immortal Arts. From now on, you will truly learn about the Immortal Path's divine powers, Immortal Arts, from me."

Just like that, on that day my connection with Cheongmun Ryeong was reestablished, I entered the path of Immortal Arts.