Chapter 182
“There's no need to feel burdened. If we find the diagram, we'd merely like to borrow a little of your wisdom then.”
“I don't know how much help I can be... but since you're asking me to do it, Brother.”
Baek Cheong obediently nodded, and Baek Woo smiled with satisfaction.
Iron Pen Wanderer, who had been standing beside him, also gave a rare nod of satisfaction.
‘I'm curious about Ancient Talisman Runes too.’
Baek Cheong outwardly gave the impression of agreeing reluctantly, but inwardly, the matter had already piqued her interest.
“Thank you. Let's keep what we discussed today among ourselves for the time being.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Having finished their business, the two rose from their seats.
As Iron Pen Wanderer left the room, he lightly flicked his sleeve.
At the same time, the birds whose chirping had abruptly ceased began singing again.
The sound of the wind and the footsteps of people coming and going gradually returned to normal as well.
The room that had been cut off from the outside world had seamlessly returned to how it had been before.
‘What a marvelous talisman.’
Baek Cheong went as far as the door to see the two off, then returned.
Then, as though waiting for this moment, Baek Cheong flopped down onto the bed.
The backlog of forum browsing had already been pushed to the back of her mind.
Her thoughts were completely filled with what she had just heard.
Ancient Talisman Runes, the Talisman Rune Diagram, and even teleportation talismans.
Every one of them was an unfamiliar subject Baek Cheong had never heard or seen before.
‘Let's search the Nameless Forum first.’
Baek Cheong logged on to the Nameless Forum without delay.
She immediately ran a search.
The first term was Ancient Talisman Runes.
But not a single post appeared in the results.
‘Huh?’
She even searched for “Ancient” and “Talisman Runes” separately, but the result was the same.
There were a few posts discussing the Ancient Era, but nowhere was there a mention of Ancient Talisman Runes.
Even with the forum's limit of forty pages, if the term didn't turn up in a place with so many information posts, that meant it wasn't a subject even the Nameless Forum covered.
‘Then what about this?’
The second term was teleportation formations.
This time, quite a few posts came up one after another.
『Daoist(214.66): If teleportation formations really existed, what would be the point of fighting over spirit veins?』
[If you could cross the continent in one step, who'd risk their life fighting?]
『Daoist(90.481): They say people traveled between continents using teleportation formations in the Ancient Era.』
[It's a story passed down from my grandfather's grandfather. No evidence, though.]
『Daoist(388.2): Looking for a Daoist who says they saw an actual teleportation formation diagram.』
[Reward offered.]
The posts varied, but none of them had any substance.
They were all vague speculation or baseless old tales.
Nothing could have fit the phrase “existent in name only” better.
‘Surely not this too?’
The third term was teleportation talismans.
This time, exactly one post appeared.
『Daoist(602.11): If teleportation formations exist, wouldn't teleportation talismans exist too?』
[If not, never mind.]
It was plainly some nonsense scribbled down by someone passing by.
It had been buried at the bottom of the deep sea without receiving even a single reply.
‘There's nothing useful here.’
Baek Cheong clicked her tongue in disappointment.
Then again, even Baek Cheong had never heard of it, despite digging through the depths of the Nameless Forum.
If it were something that could be found through a search, Baek Cheong would have picked it up long ago.
Since things had come to this, there was no choice but to ask directly.
Baek Cheong posted a question on the chatter board.
『Daoist(913.14): Does anyone know about Ancient Talisman Runes?』
[Not the talismans used nowadays, but talismans used in the Ancient Era.]
Under normal circumstances, this would have been the time to lay bait and stir up trouble.
But today, it was a sincere question with not even the slightest ulterior motive.
Perhaps because the expression was unfamiliar, replies quickly came pouring in.
[Daoist(11.23): Was there any difference between then and now?]
[Daoist(84.256): If they're talisman runes, they're talisman runes. What's with “Ancient Talisman Runes”?]
[Daoist(490.17): Never heard of it.]
[Daoist(208.4): This ignorant junior has never heard of it. If an esteemed senior is personally seeking it, there must surely be a profound reason.]
Most of the replies were variations on “That's the first I've heard of it.”
Some Daoists even dressed up their admission of ignorance in such elaborate courtesy that it was almost comical.
They were the group who had convinced themselves beyond doubt that they were incarnations of True Immortals.
‘If you don't know, you don't know. Why are you being so polite?’
Baek Cheong scratched her cheek for no particular reason as she skimmed the replies.
Still, she couldn't expect to find everything in one bite.
This time, Baek Cheong copied the puzzling point she had noticed verbatim.
『Daoist(913.14): It doesn't make sense for there to be no Ancient Talisman Runes.』
[They must have used glyphs in the Ancient Era too, right?]
But once again, no satisfying answer came back.
[Daoist(11.23): There aren't many people who mastered glyphs in the first place...]
[Daoist(509.30): Just hearing the word “glyphs” makes my head throb.]
[Daoist(841.6): How many Daoists here can even read glyphs?]
[Daoist(33.3): Sob sob.]
Baek Cheong scrolled through the replies and sighed.
Even across the entire Nameless Forum, Daoists who had mastered glyphs could be counted on one hand.
Even Daoist(33.3), who latched onto any mention of glyph forms, could only groan in this situation.
At this rate, there was no chance of any useful information turning up.
Just as Baek Cheong was about to give up on her curiosity, one reply caught her eye.
[Daoist(490.17): Wouldn't a First-Realm Daoist or a titled Daoist know?]
“First-Realm Daoist” was an expression referring to Daoists with single-digit realm numbers.
Even the Nameless Forum had no accurate information about the identities of the First-Realm Daoists.
The prevailing theory was simply that they were peak Soul Formation cultivators who had lived in the Mortal Realm for a long time.
The Daoists' reasoning went like this.
Any cultivator who surpassed the Soul Formation stage would naturally earn a title in the Spirit Realm.
Once they had a title, they could live comfortably in the Spirit Realm, so there was no reason to settle down in the Mortal Realm.
Thus, they concluded that the First-Realm Daoists remaining in the Mortal Realm were probably around the Soul Formation stage.
It was a plausible theory, but no one anywhere knew the truth.
‘The problem is getting answers out of the First-Realm Daoists.’
Baek Cheong propped her head up on one arm and stared at the ceiling.
Every one of the First-Realm Daoists was impossible to pin down.
They rambled in all directions at the end of every sentence or often disappeared without a trace.
Even when one happened to appear, they often spilled out incomprehensible words before vanishing again.
And the situation with the titled Daoists wasn't any better.
Only two titled Daoists had revealed themselves on the Lower Realm Nameless Forum.
One had sealed the Heavenly Dao after searching throughout the Mortal Realm.
With the other, Baek Cheong had exchanged karmic retribution and become enemies.
‘I can't exactly ask the Daoist who sacrificed their lifespan to divine the whereabouts of the person who suppressed their karma.’
Baek Cheong decided to give up on the clues to Ancient Talisman Runes for the time being.
Instead, she wrote another post to resolve her remaining curiosity.
『Daoist(913.14): Then does anyone know about teleportation talismans?』
[Not teleportation formations—the teleportation talisman.]
The replies came pouring in quickly this time as well.
[Daoist(84.256): Are you talking about a Void-Rending Talisman?]
[Daoist(509.30): You mean a ruin entrance ticket?]
[Daoist(841.6): Isn't it the Great Shift Talisman?]
They were all bringing up things that were merely similar.
The Void-Rending Talisman, which tore through the void, was strictly a talisman for traveling short distances.
A ruin entrance ticket was, as the name suggested, nothing more than a ticket for entering a ruin.
As for the Great Shift Talisman, Baek Cheong had never even heard a rumor that it existed.
‘As expected, none of them know.’
Baek Cheong fidgeted with her fingers as she pondered the matter.
By now, there was only one option left.
She had to make a huge commotion and fish out the First-Realm Daoists.
Strangely enough, the First-Realm Daoists tended to appear whenever a commotion broke out.
‘What kind of trouble should I stir up to make them bite...?’
Baek Cheong was just beginning to enjoy the thought when a reply appeared without a sound.
[Daoist(8.3): It's something that exists only in the Spirit Realm or Immortal Realm, so of course everyone here might not know.]
Baek Cheong's eyes went round.
A First-Realm Daoist had appeared of their own accord before Baek Cheong had even cast her line.
On top of that, the information they had dropped was anything but ordinary.
A teleportation talisman existed, yet it was an item found only in the Spirit Realm or Immortal Realm.
They were casually letting slip information that could turn the entire Mortal Realm upside down.
As expected, replies immediately sprouted up everywhere.
└Daoist(11.23): There are Daoists in the Lower Realm Nameless Forum who communicate with the Spirit Realm, aren't there?
└Daoist(8.3): It's a top secret in the Spirit Realm. Even there, only a handful of people know about it.
└Daoist(841.6): Forget the First-Realm Daoists. How does Daoist(913.14) know about it...?
└Daoist(331.5): As expected of an incarnation. The memories of your true self are clearly flowing into you.
Of course, Daoist(8.3) had not the slightest intention of explaining how they knew.
Baek Cheong simply pretended not to see the last reply.
Instead, she carefully mulled over the replies that had appeared.
As she did, a vague outline gradually took shape.
Teleportation talismans were real.
They simply did not exist in the Mortal Realm and could only be found in the Spirit Realm or Immortal Realm.
They were said to be treated as a top secret even in the Spirit Realm, with only a handful of people knowing about them.
That meant it was information that would never emerge even if Baek Cheong turned the entire Lower Realm Nameless Forum upside down.
Once Baek Cheong had reached that conclusion, a chill ran through her entire body.
‘But how does Iron Pen Wanderer know about it?’
It was a top secret even in the Spirit Realm.
Yet a mere Talisman Master in the Mortal Realm knew about teleportation talismans.
On top of that, he had been certain that the Ancient Talisman Rune Diagram, which encompassed even teleportation talismans, lay dormant in the Lesser Realm.
If teleportation talismans were items from the Spirit Realm or Immortal Realm, the rank of the diagram was obvious.
Why would such an object be lying dormant in the Lesser Realm, in the very heart of the Mortal Realm?
‘Could it be... a fragment of the Spirit Realm?’
The hidden paradise said to exist in the Central Continent suddenly seemed ominous.
Baek Cheong couldn't even begin to guess what had happened in the Lower Realm where she lived.
She couldn't even begin to guess what had happened in the Lower Realm where she lived.