Chapter 139
Baek Yeon-Ju glided above the clouds for several days.
Below the deck, mountain ranges and river streams flow by like a scroll painting.
Holed up in her Guest Room, Baek-Cheong was completely engrossed in the Nameless Forum.
The Righteous-Demonic Debate, far from cooling down, was becoming more of a spectacle by the day.
As if verbal arguments weren’t enough, they were now in the midst of an exposure war, laying bare each other’s shameful secrets.
“Dao Friend (284.7): I accuse the true nature of those so-called Righteous prestigious clans.”
[A certain Righteous Sect strikes out bloodlines born without Spiritual Roots from their genealogies and binds them as slaves in the Spiritual Herb Field for life. Then, if a child with a Spiritual Root is born from that bloodline, they take them back and prevent them from ever meeting their parents again.]
[Dao Friend (45.88): This is the bare face of those who claim the Dao of Immortals.]
[Dao Friend (32.248): Do not frame us with baseless rumors.]
“Dao Friend (338.21): Just look at the atrocities of the Demonic bastards.”
[They trap a Mortal Village in a Barrier and breed them as sacrifices for blood rituals. If they lack numbers, they just sweep them all up. Are they even human after this?]
[Dao Friend (837.11): Breeding them, how horrific.]
└Dao Friend (45.88): I don’t see how that’s any different from the Righteous path’s working their Outer Sect disciples.
└Dao Friend (338.21): Are you even listening to yourself?
The exposures bit each other’s tails.
How a certain Sect swallowed the entire Eastern Region of an annihilated Rogue Cultivator Family.
How a certain Demonic Sect raised even cultivators like livestock to use as ingredients for Life and Death Pills.
Unheard-of shameful secrets poured out one after another.
[Dao Friend (733.19): But how do you guys know this so well? This is information you couldn’t know unless you were a Demonic spy.]
└Dao Friend (284.7): Isn’t it suspicious that you’re the one so well-versed in Demonic affairs?
└Dao Friend (733.19): You have to know the enemy to cut them down.
Eventually, it reached the point where they were driving each other into corners as spies.
Baek-Cheong shook her head naturally as she skimmed the replies.
‘They’re both as rotten as can be.’
The Righteous path was no cleaner, and the Demonic path was no dirtier.
Who was right or wrong had long been pushed to the back burner; they were too busy slinging mud at each other.
The debate blazed up on its own, making its instigator’s efforts seem insignificant.
There was no longer even a need to add firewood.
While leisurely lurking through the replies, she suddenly felt a strange sense of incongruity.
It was something she had vaguely felt for a while.
Dao Friends who directly revealed their identities in the Nameless Forum were rare.
However, when writing posts, one’s nature was bound to reveal itself naturally.
Dao Friends exchange talk of Golden Core and Nascent Soul as casually as walking in and out of an inner room.
Dao Friends are chewing over grudges from centuries ago as if they happened yesterday.
Dao Friends are haggling like sly snakes in the Marketplace.
Every single one of them showed signs of high realms or deep experience.
Yet, the naivety typical of a Qi Condensation Stage cultivator like herself was nowhere to be found.
There were no posts asking about the basics, nor were there any Dao Friends making a fuss in excitement.
Then again, when she had previously asked how to solidify her realm, she was treated like an Old Monster pretending to be a junior.
‘Strange, isn’t it?’
Once she became aware of it, she couldn’t stand the curiosity.
Baek-Cheong immediately posted a thread.
“Dao Friend (913.14): Am I the only Qi Condensation Stage here in the Nameless Forum?”
[It seems like there are only Old Monsters.]
Because the Righteous-Demonic Debate was in full swing, few Dao Friends paid attention to such a useless question.
Still, the Dao Friends who unfailingly appeared whenever she posted left replies.
[Dao Friend (11.23): Why would a Qi Condensation Stage use the Nameless Forum?]
[Dao Friend (48.21): You’re the weird one.]
[Dao Friend (55.19): Not only are there many who cannot perceive their Divine Sense during the Qi Condensation Stage, but even if they awaken their Divine Sense, they are inept at handling it, making it impossible to fully utilize the Nameless Forum. Furthermore, using Spiritual energy to write posts or replies during a time when there isn’t even enough time to devote to cultivation means that if they were in their right mind, they wouldn’t actively use the Nameless Forum like someone we know.]
It was truly a reply befitting Dao Friend (55.19), who loved to explain things.
Thanks to hearing this explanation, she understood.
The Qi Condensation Stage was a state where one had only a little Spiritual energy in their Dantian.
In a situation where a single search made one’s Divine Sense stagger and a single line of text drained the Dantian dry, it made no sense for one to use the Nameless Forum.
“No wonder everyone kept calling me an Old Monster whenever they saw me.”
The very existence of a Qi Condensation Stage cultivator chatting excitedly in the Nameless Forum was a logical contradiction.
She felt a slight sting at the part about “time that isn’t even enough to devote to cultivation,' but she ignored it.
‘I do my cultivation and browse the forum too, so I’m definitely in my right mind.’
Baek-Cheong rationalized to herself as she left a reply.
└Dao Friend (913.14): They must be ordinary persons, then.
A life where they couldn’t even extend their Divine Sense to enter the Nameless Forum.
They were no different from an ordinary person wearing the mask of a cultivator.
Satisfied with resolving her small curiosity, she went back to enjoying the Nameless Forum.
* * *
Time flew by like an arrow.
As the pure white hull rounded the familiar mountain terrain, the Clan’s pavilions revealed themselves in the distance.
When the Law Enforcer at the bow withdrew their Spiritual energy, the massive hull touched down lightly upon the Flying Immortal Platform.
Below the deck, she could see her parents who had come out to meet her.
Her mother was already waving her hand early on, and her father stood silently beside her, looking up.
They were standing in the exact same spot, looking exactly the same as the day she left.
Baek-Cheong scurried down the moment the ramp was hooked.
“Father! Mother!”
She threw herself straight into her mother’s arms.
“I missed you.”
“Oh my, our Cheong-Yi. Mother missed you too.”
Her mother hugged her tightly and stroked her back.
Her hands were busy examining every corner of her face to see if she had grown thin over the past few months.
Her father also approached and gently patted her head.
“You’ve worked hard coming all this way.”
It was the warm touch of a father, with the majesty of a Golden Core stage Clan Head nowhere to be found.
Her mother adjusted her Attire and spoke.
“I made a bunch of your favorite foods since our Cheong-Yi was coming. I even prepared the most tender cuts of Spirit Beast Meat.”
“Really? I want to eat it right now!”
Baek-Cheong jumped up and down in excitement, and her parents looked at each other and smiled.
.
.
.
That evening, a Family Meal was set up in the Inner Hall for the first time in a while.
With her uncle sitting around the table as well, the table looked quite full.
From steaming Spirit Beast Meat to a seasoned Precious Spiritual Herb dish, the meal was packed with only her favorite foods.
Baek-Cheong stuffed her cheeks with food and caught up on everything that had happened.
Her mother continuously picked up side dishes and placed them in her bowl, looking as though she had many things she wanted to ask.
“Is Gyu doing well? Is he not skipping meals?”
“Yes, he’s doing well. In fact, he gave me an Earnest Warning not to skip meals.”
“Oh, Gyu. He’s still the same, always taking care of his younger sister first.”
Her mother let out a sigh of relief mixed with a laugh.
Her uncle tilted his glass and recounted the events that had happened at the Biun Sect.
“With this visit, our relationship with the Biun Sect has grown even stronger. An Inner Sect Elder even arranged a separate drinking gathering for us, and the elder was the one who first requested to double their trade with our Merchant Guild. It seemed Baek Gyu’s position within the Sect had also become much more solid.”
“That’s wonderful. Gyu must have worked hard.”
Her father nodded in satisfaction.
Her mother also smiled continuously at the news of her Eldest Son.
Baek-Cheong gulped down the meat in her mouth and raised her hand high.
“I also participated in the Martial Arts Competition! I even became the Top Ranker!”
Her parents looked at her with surprised expressions.
The first to speak was her mother.
“The Martial Arts Competition… Cheong-A, did you get hurt?”
It seemed the word “Top Ranker” didn’t even register in her ears.
Her mother’s eyes were filled with worry.
Baek-Cheong bravely puffed out her small chest.
“I didn’t get hurt at all. I knocked them all down in one hit!”
Her mother’s eyes widened.
However, her father, far from being surprised, gave a small nod as if he had expected it.
The goal was to be the Top Ranker in a Martial Arts Competition where the young prodigies of a Great Sect had gathered.
For any other Clan, it would be a joyous occasion more than worthy of being reported to the Ancestral Shrine, yet it was treated as a matter of course.
“As expected of my daughter.”
Smack.
Her mother’s palm smacked her father’s back.
“Is that something to say right now? Our daughter was exchanging blows with people!”
“N-No, wife. Cheong-Yi said she won.”
“Is winning or losing the issue here?”
A rare spectacle unfolded as the Golden Core stage Clan Head, who had reached the realm of a Half-Immortal, shrank his back and made excuses.
Baek-Cheong and Baek Mu-Yeong merely innocently gulped from their teacups, trying to hold back their laughter.
Even after that, their conversation blossomed for a long time.
How her Older Sister had kneaded her cheeks so much!
How spectacular the Sea of Clouds in the Cloud Sea Secret Realm had been.
Every time she chattered on, unraveling her tales of heroism, her parents burst into laughter.
As the warm meal and harmonious atmosphere continued in the embrace of her Family, the fact that she had returned home finally felt real.
‘There’s no place like home.’
It was around the time the table was slowly being cleared.
After talking up a storm, she began to reflect on something.
Throughout this excursion, she frequently felt the inadequacy of her realm.
She began with the Dharma Treasure forged by the Peak Lord of Yeon-gi Peak, which was an item she could only awaken once she reached Foundation Establishment.
Most of the Dharma Artifacts she had scooped up in the Secret Realm were also Pie in the Sky for someone at the Qi Condensation Stage.
When she secretly clashed with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, she had to squeeze out every trick she had.
Wherever she went, her realm of Qi Condensation Stage, 7th Level ended up holding her back.
“My Cultivation is definitely lacking.”
Fortunately, since she knew what she lacked, she just needed to fill it.
Since she had just returned home, it was the perfect time to hole up and devote herself to her progress.
Baek-Cheong carefully set down her chopsticks and looked at her parents.
“Father, mother. I will enter Secluded Cultivation starting tomorrow.”