The Immortal Continent

by Virlyce

  Think about entering it…? Whoa! What’s this? Where am I? It’s all dark and there’s this floating ball of green light in front of me. Isn’t this like that time I entered mini-DalDal to learn the Path of Slaughter? …I’ve already been burned twice by something like this! If I touch the floating light, I might learn something, but it’ll hurt. And I don’t like pain, so I’m just going to leave. Mhm. Just leave. …Leave. Hello? How do I get out of here?

  Touch the light.

  “Who said that!?” I’m all alone in this darkness! Who’s creeping on me!? Was it the light? “Is there any way to get out without touching the green thing…?”

  No.

  Ugh…. Alright, fine. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes while reaching for the light with my toe. Please don’t hurt. Please don’t hurt. Please don’t hurt. Gah! Fuck! It hurts! It hurts! It … doesn’t hurt? Huh? I opened my eyes. Oh, I didn’t touch it yet. I’m still about an inch away from the—why is it flying towards me!? Gah! It hurts for real this time! My head’s going to explode!

  “Lucia? Are you alright?”

  “No, I’m not alright!”

  “Oh.”

  I could feel Ilya’s stare on me as I clutched my throbbing head. “Don’t just stare! Heal me!”

  “Err, learning through a forced transmission can’t be healed,” Ilya said. “I mean, it’s not supposed to hurt in the first place. Forced transmissions only cause discomfort if the recipient is an idio…. Oh. Right. That explains it.”

  Phew. The headache’s gone. What was Ilya saying just now? Anyways, what did I learn? “Heart Devil Cultivation Technique?”

  “Let me see?”

  “Yeah, sure. Here.” I handed over the green slip. I really wanted to break it after the suffering it put me through, but that’d be a waste. At the very least, I should sell it. “How’d you know how to use one of these things? And is there a way out once you’re inside?”

  “Hmm? I read about them in my father’s books,” Ilya said. “And there isn’t a way.” She closed her eyes as she placed the slip on the table. A moment later, she opened her eyes and nodded. “Like I thought. Those people are using a different form of energy than us. Otherwise, how could they cause explosions with the predators around? Most likely, I can use this knowledge to augment my abilities. But I’m not sure how well it would mix with mana…. Maybe it’ll be like merging qi and mana, ruining my chances of advancing any further as a magician. I don’t think it’s worth it.”

  “So … you’re saying this Heart Devil Cultivation Technique can make me stronger?” Ilya said augment, right? That means improve! See, I’m smart. Let’s try it. I’m supposed to circulate my qi like this and like that and then like this, but that feels a bit uncomfortable. Wouldn’t it be better to circulate it that way instead? Yes, that feels much better. Then it does a twist over here in my leg…, a loop in my arm…, three loops around my stomach? It should be four! And finally, I force it all back into my womb. Or dantian. Same thing, right?

  Ilya screamed, and I opened my eyes. Why was she screaming? Don’t tell me I turned hideous! Did I? Oh, there’s a mirror in my interspacial ring, I’ll check. …Nope, nothing’s changed. I’m still beautiful. So why was Ilya screaming? Then I saw the things in the mirror behind me. Hundreds of black, worm-like things were in the sky, and they all seemed to be rushing towards … me! “What the hell is this!? Ilya!? I need answers!”

  “You absorbed the knowledge too!” Ilya shouted as she ran away from me. Why was she running from me? “Stop following me! Stop! Those things are the accumulated energies your heart devils absorbed! Let me go! Lucia!”

  Maybe it’s a bit unfair that I’m holding Ilya over my head like an umbrella. Alright, fine. I’ll swap her out with Puppers. At least he won’t die if he dies.

  Puppers sighed as he was held over my head. “Well. I knew this was coming.” He closed his eyes and splayed his limbs like a corpse, waiting for the black, worm-like things to hit him. They drilled into his skin and came out the other side, leaving him … completely unharmed. And then they hit me! Gah, fuck! This hurts even worse than the green ball of light!

  Puppers ignored me, his dying master lying on the ground, and sidled over to Ilya. “Mind explaining what the Heart Devil Cultivation Technique is?”

  Ilya sighed, her gaze boring a hole into my body. She should’ve warned me about this! Once this stops hurting so much, I’m going to teach her a lesson about withholding information! Ah, it’s so painful. I can feel the qi inside me exploding and becoming more abundant in the process! …Wait, becoming more abundant in the process? It’s not worth it! The pain to qi-gained ratio is completely skewed towards pain!

  “Right, that cultivation technique is some kind of internal energy generator,” Ilya said to Puppers, ignoring the obviously dying person by her feet. I’m not bitter. Not one bit. “Apparently, everyone gets these heart devils, or internal demons, and it drains their energy while haunting their thoughts. Something like an insecurity, I suppose.”

  Puppers nodded. “You mean like when you confess to someone and get rejected, and five years later, you end up lying in bed unable to sleep while dwelling on that one specific instance, wondering why you’re such a moron for doing such a dumb thing, and that maybe if you did it this way instead, everything would’ve been different?”

  “…That’s an oddly specific scenario,” Ilya said. “I thought weapon spirits couldn’t sleep.”

  Puppers shrugged.

  “I guess those are the sentiments of a heart devil,” Ilya muttered. She nodded. “And Lucia can basically harvest the energy from any heart devil she’s caused another person.”

  “So that’s why a black strand left my body,” Puppers said.

  “Yeah,” Ilya said. “I was so surprised about the thing leaving my chest that I screamed.”

  Hello? I’m dying here. Why are they ignoring me!?

  “Lucia! Ilya! Did you see something black fly over here?”

  Was that the man in the sky? What was he doing in my territory?

  “Lucia! Something black flew out of all the prisoners inside your dungeon! It flew out of me too!”

  And that was Reena. Wow, everyone’s here to pay me a visit, huh?

  “The worldly phenomenon converged over there! The treasure must be up ahead!”

  Oh, hey. More strangers from that so-called Immortal Continent. I declare today as National Tax Day! Anyone who doesn’t pay up is going to jail. I’m going to be rich—especially since the man in the sky is here!

  Chapter 2

  Where am I? What happened? I’m lying on a bed and…. Oh. That’s what happened; I remember everything now. Where’s Lucia? Well, for now, I’ll recover the qi that I lost. Hmm? That’s odd. I’m able to draw on qi that’s not Lucia’s? Is this what the qi of the world feels like? I’m not sure if this is a side effect of reaching the legendary realm or a side effect of last night’s activities. Either way, I’m not complaining. And it seems like I can still draw on Lucia’s qi too. But it’s different, like something potent and dark has been added. How did everything change so much after a single night? I feel stronger too, but once again, I’m not sure if that’s because of reaching the legendary realm or not.

  I finished my meditation and climbed off the bed, putting on the robe that was hanging over a chair. I left the lakeside house and frowned at the sight that greeted me. Treasures were scattered about the table outside, and two chairs were knocked over as if the occupants had been in a hurry to get away. Where is Lucia? She can’t be that far since I haven’t been transported back to mini-DalDal. And Lucia removed that spirit-restraining cuff too, so that’s not stopping me either.

  A scream coming from the nearby woods drew my attention. No doubt, that’s where Lucia was. I didn’t recognize the owner of the scream, so I didn’t need to rush over. I strolled through the garden, admiring the thousands upon thousands of spirit seeds scattered about like dew on grass. For some reason, the trees that produce Lucia�
�s acorns and cocoa beans have a really high rate of growing a spirit seed. They’re supposed to be common in places with high concentrations of mana, but there must be something special about Lucia’s lands that increase spirit seed appearance. Ilya says it’s due to the predators’ poop.

  Lucia had been trying to create, as she calls it, super-duper soft and fluffy underwear, but every single seed she’s planted into her clothes has turned out to be a male spirit, so she gave up. Now, the seeds are just left in her garden to make it sparkle and look pretty. I don’t mind. It means less competition for Lucia’s qi. Sure, she has an abnormally large amount, but I don’t like sharing. I’m quite a selfish person, aren’t I? Maybe if the world were a nicer place where strength didn’t rule, people could afford to be nicer, but until then, it’s every person for himself.

  More screams rang through the air, but I didn’t pick up my pace. While training in mini-DalDal during this past year, screams coming from outside were a weekly occurrence. Lucia’s been rounding up slave traders and throwing them into her dungeons. She says she does it because slave traders are all rich, so it’s a cost-effective way to make money for the least amount of effort, but I know she has a soft spot for slaves. She even frees the slaves and let them run her acorn and chocolate plantations, giving them a place to sleep and earn money. Of course, I could be wrong and this is all just her giant ploy to have an infinite supply of acorn stew and hot chocolate, but I don’t believe Lucia’s intelligent enough to think up something like that.

  A few fireballs and lightning bolts appeared in the air above the woods where the screams were coming from. That’s odd. The presence of the predators prevented magic from being used. Unless Ilya was the one casting the spells. I paused and shielded my eyes from the sun, trying to get a better view of the magic being cast. I’ve learned to recognize spells and their strength based on their outer appearance. After all, the best way to defeat your enemy is to know him inside and out. But a spell appeared in the sky that I didn’t recognize. A massive palm made of golden light smashed past the clouds and crushed the fireballs and lightning bolts. It descended past the trees, breaking down a few treetops before disappearing from my view. What was that? A giant?

  Before I could head towards the woods, a voice came from behind me. “Senior Brother, look at all these spirit seeds! There must be hundreds of thousands!”

  I turned around while placing my hand on the hilt of my sword. It was a simple, one-handed sword with nothing special about it. It wasn’t even enchanted. Before one relied on outer forces, one had to rely on themselves. If I could become undefeated with an ordinary weapon, how strong would I become if I used an extraordinary one? I scanned the field of spirit seeds, but no one was there. When I raised my head, there were four people standing atop swords hovering in the air. How garish. At least it made sense when Ilya created boots that allowed a person to fly. Who thought standing on top of a flying sword would be a good idea? One strong gust would be enough to knock someone off to their death.

  The swords lowered, and the four people dropped to the ground. They were wearing clothes that seemed a bit out of place: long trailing sleeves, thin and robe-like, a wide cloth belt to prevent the robes from falling open. The four men gave me one glance before they crouched down and started picking spirit seeds off the grass as if they were beggars in a street. Well, there was only one thing to do, really: Kill. Lucia might not think those spirit seeds are valuable, but they’re still her property. And no one is allowed to take advantage of Lucia—only I can do that. I placed my left hand on the sheath of my sword and gripped the hilt tighter. The sword flashed in the sunlight as I drew and cut with it in a single motion. “Breaking Blade.”

  A beam of crescent blue qi flew towards the four people. They raised their heads and glared at me, a barrier appearing around them out of nowhere, but my qi cut through the yellow light as if it was paper. It cut through their bodies just as easily, and their torsos separated from their waists, slowly tumbling forward as their eyes widened in shock. Right before my qi was about to hit Lucia’s lakeside house, it ran out of energy and dispersed. I’m not like Lucia who’s unable to control her power. Blood pooled through the garden, causing the spirit seeds on the ground to glisten with a red light.

  A misty substance leaked out of one of the bodies, congealing into a humanoid form that tried to fly away. With a simple wave of my arm, I bisected it, causing it to disperse into golden droplets that fell to the ground. Was that a ghost? I kept my sword unsheathed as I poked around the four corpses, looking for treasure. Clearly, these people weren’t from this world; I’m an expert at plundering clothes, but it’s my first time seeing some designed like this. That didn’t stop me from discovering four interspacial rings though. While I was at it, I picked up the swords used for flight and tested their weight with a few swings. They clearly weren’t meant for fighting. Warmth flowed through my palm from their hilts and something deep inside me roared. …Was that my stomach growling? It can’t be. The first time I feel hunger, it’s due to a sword? That’s cannibalism. They did seem awfully appealing though, so I brought one of the swords to my mouth and took a bite. …It was delicious. Before I knew it, the four swords had disappeared into my stomach. Warmth flowed through my veins, and I’m not sure if it was my imagination or not, but I felt stronger. There sure were a lot of strange things going on today. Even now, dozens upon dozens of people standing on flying swords were rushing to this area from the distance. …I hope those swords taste just as good. No wonder why Lucia’s ruled by her stomach.

  ***

  The sky turned golden. No, that’s not right. It’s more like a giant golden hand was covering the sky. I can even see the wrinkles on the palm from here. How old would someone have to be to have that many wrinkles…? So much for immortality, huh? If some old wrinkled person said he came from the Immortal Continent, would you believe him? Immortals should be young; otherwise, there’s no point in living forever.

  “Lucia! Do something about that!”

  Why was Ilya panicking? Jeez. The golden hand fell faster and faster, crushing the magic in the clouds that someone—I think the man in the sky—had prepared. I wonder how much the palm weighed…. I’m going to catch it. It should be a treasure of some sort, right? I could probably sell it for a lot. Maybe it’s made out of real gold!

  The palm crushed the treetops, and Ilya, Reena, and the man in the sky screamed at the same time. The person who summoned the giant palm laughed, and the people standing behind him had looks on their faces that were similar to the ones that the younger slaves that I freed from the slave traders had when they looked at me. Those faces turned to shock when I raised my arms over my head and caught the falling palm. Hmm, it was squishy. So it wasn’t made of gold—what a shame. Could it be made out of qi? Ah, it disappeared. I feel cheated.

  “Saint-realm expert!?” the man who summoned the palm shouted.

  Saint-realm expert this, saint-realm expert that. I’m hearing that phrase a lot, and something about it really irks me. I’m a legend, dammit, not a saint. Legend sounds much more imposing than saint. A saint’s someone like a hobbled over nun splashing so-called holy water on people. A legend’s someone like me. I’d rather be me than a nun. Right, to rid myself of this annoyance, I’m going to beat these people up. But first…, I held my hand out and rubbed my thumb against my forefingers. “Pay for your lives.”

  The group of strangers from the Immortal Continent exchanged glances with each other. Their eyes narrowed as a weird energy flared up around them. Then pouches appeared in all of their palms from their interspacial rings. They lined up in a neat single file and approached me one at a time, handing me their bags while kneeling and knocking their foreheads against the ground. …This is not what I was expecting at all. Where was the refusal? Where were the protests? The curses? The attempts at my life while my guard was lowered? These people are terrible slave traders! Wait. They weren’t slave traders in the first place. Hmm, but still. I’d feel
bad if I beat someone up when they’re cooperating so nicely. I guess I’ll spar Puppers later to vent. When the last person paid me a tribute of spirit stones, I nudged him with my foot. “Don’t you people have any dignity?”

  Instead of getting angry, the man knocked his forehead against the ground again. “This junior pays respect to Senior!”

  “…How come everyone addresses me as Senior?” I’m young, dammit! Senior is reserved for the elderly people in their sixties. I’m not even halfway there!

  “Senior is a saint-realm expert! With this junior’s mortal-realm cultivation, it would be rude of this junior not to address Senior as Senior!”

  ...When people brown-nose me, I usually feel good inside. So why was I getting goosebumps? This is uncomfortable. “Right. All of you can leave now.”

  The strangers all bowed to me again before standing on their swords and flying away as fast as possible. Moments earlier, they were screaming and killing each other to fight over some weird treasure. After the man in the sky zapped them a few times, that giant palm came down and I caught it. Then they all cooperated to give me money. I’m such a positive influence, aren’t I? I turned a scene of violence into one of peace and happiness! Hmm? It was only my happiness? Well, my happiness is the only one that matters.

  Right. I cleared my throat and stared at the man in the sky. He stared back at me. I rubbed my thumb against my other fingers.

  The man in the sky’s face cramped. “You’re not serious.”

  “It’s National Tax Day. Everyone in my territory has to pay taxes today.”

  The man in the sky sighed as he handed over an interspacial ring. I wonder what’s inside. Barrels of … acorn stew mixed with hot chocolate…? This is simply genius! Why have I never thought about mixing those two before?

  “So … about the black thing that flew over here,” the man in the sky said as I tucked away the ring in a safe location.