'What the...?'
I feel bewildered as I touch my head.
At the same time, I observe my body from the top of the tree and look up at the sky.
The celestial energy isn't readable, and I can't sense the small world within my body.
'I see. This is similar to the 'dream world' from Penglai Island...'
However, there is a difference. This world doesn't just reference fairy tales from our subconscious; it seems to be created entirely based on our memories.
'Of course, it's not all exactly the same.'
I gently touch the leaves of the tree I climbed.
'The number of leaves is different.'
Even though it no longer occurs, there was a time when I frequently experienced mornings at Ascension Path.As such, I had swept through this area completely with my consciousness before.
That's why the number of branches and leaves on the tallest tree, and the state at that time, are clearly remembered in my mind.
'Even the smell is slightly different.'
Before my senses sharpened, I didn't notice.
But now that I can fully control the senses of my body, I can tell.
The smell of Ascension Path in the early cycles had a faint hint of Shi Ho's excrement mixed into the forest air.
However...
'There's no scent of Shi Ho's excrement. It's mixed with the smell of another animal...meaning that Shi Ho is no longer the current master of Ascension Path.'
It looks perfectly the same on the surface, but in the finer details, too many things are different.
'Even just the herbs at Ascension Path...'
I take in the scents of the herbs.
'The Yellow Bamboo Ginseng or Paralysis Grass...the herbs I recognized in the previous Ascension Path are all gone.'
Instead, what's present...
'...Raspberries?'
Startled, I stare at the raspberry bushes down below.
Raspberries.
They seem like a very ordinary fruit, something you could often find if you enter any mountain in the countryside on Earth.
But the reason I'm so taken aback by seeing raspberries...
It's because raspberries are plants that you can only find on 'Earth.'
'Raspberries, here, in a world other than Earth?'
It makes no sense.
There may be similar species, but there can't be an exact match.
Even people like Kim Young-hoon or I, who came from Earth, are slightly different from the people of this world.
The people here have several smaller wisdom teeth, and their tongues can touch their noses.
Though these are trivial differences, they indicate that there's a slight genetic difference between us and the people of this world.
Tadatt!
I jump down from the tree and rush to where the raspberries are, inspecting them closely.
I pluck one and put it in my mouth, examining it in detail.
And I come to one conclusion.
'It's exactly the same...'
The taste, the scent, the appearance, the color, the shape...everything is the same as the raspberries I used to eat when I was a child on Earth.
'This is strange...'
Furrowing my brows, I put another raspberry in my mouth.
'Now that I think about it, I see clover and oak trees...plants from Earth as well.'
Could this place possibly be Earth?
As I ponder, it happens.
Crunch, crunch...
Someone is walking towards me.
"Um...Deputy...Seo...? No, no...Senior...?"
It's Seo Ran.
I frown as I ask.
"What kind of 'senior' do you mean?"
Seo Ran grabs his head and furrows his brow.
That delicate face, resembling Seo Hweol, is now marked with distress.
"Ugh...my head... So, the truth is...I don't really remember well. But...I do remember that Senior...was an Esteemed One."
"...I understand for now."
It seems that although Seo Ran isn't fully okay, he is starting to regain his memories.
Judging by his appearance, it looks like the memories are coming back gradually.
'Are Seo Ran and I the first to recover our memories this time too?'
Seeing his state, I'm convinced.
'I really thought for a moment that we returned to Earth...but as expected that isn't the case. If someone like Seo Ran is regaining his memories, then...this must indeed be a place similar to the 'dream world'.'
It's a type of illusion formation.
One that is based on our memories.
"...By the way, Seo Ran..."
I glance over his appearance from head to toe and ask.
"Why are you wearing those clothes?"
"Ah...this...ugh..."
Seo Ran clutches his head again and responds.
"My memories are mixed up, so I'm a bit confused...but I think I came wearing my usual clothes from home."
"Hm...well, for now, I'll assume that you are playing the role of 'Kang Min-hee' in this world."
I ask, bewildered by the scent I sense from him.
"Did you perhaps start...practicing the Taiji Quaking Lightning Body before coming here?"
"Uhmm..."
Seo Ran's face suddenly turns bright red, and he avoids my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Senior... Ugh...I don't remember very well."
"..."
To respect Seo Ran's dignity, I refrain from asking her any further questions.
"Alright. For now, focus more on recovering your memories, and help me out a little."
"Yes, understood."
Seo Ran and I return to where our unconscious comrades are lying.
I hoist Kim Young-hoon, Jeon Myeong-hoon, and Oh Hyun-seok onto my back, while Seo Ran carries Kim Yeon and follows me.
We arrive at the familiar cave of Ascension Path.
'The cave is in the same place...'
But, once again, something feels strange.
While the cave is where it should be...
'Something...has changed a lot.'
The cave's entrance is much larger than I remember, and inside, stalagmites and stalactites have grown to the point that they form a forest.
Seo Ran and I lay our comrades down in a suitable spot, and I send her to gather some dry leaves and branches.
Boo-oong!
Huaruruk!
I swing the branches, generating friction to ignite a fire, and after setting up a proper campfire, I gather some fruits that I recognize nearby.
The interesting part is that most of the trees and fruits in this area are from Earth, and unlike the plants of Ascension Path, I'm not familiar with the plants from Earth. Compared to the abundance I had in the early cycles, now I can only gather raspberries.
"Do you know anything useful?"
"Ah...when I was hungry, I usually swallowed sharks, dolphins, or swordfish whole, so I don't know much about land animals."
"Hm...what about plants?"
"Plants...well, occasionally, when I wanted a special treat, I would swallow an entire coral reef, but..."
"That's enough."
It seems Seo Ran isn't going to be much help in this situation.
I quickly carve a moderately thick branch into the shape of a wooden sword, set it aside, then sit cross-legged and begin regulating my breathing.
"Hmm..."
How long have I concentrated on my breathing...?
Drip.
Blood starts flowing from my nose.
Then, I finally sense a faint warmth around my dantian.
'I see. Qi itself does exist.'
However, the breathing technique I just used isn't an ordinary one.
I imbued my breath with intent, desperately overloading my brain to draw in as much energy from the surroundings as possible.
If I had done this in the Bright Cold Realm, the surrounding Heaven and Earth spiritual energy would have been completely sucked dry, turning the area within sixty thousand li into a dead zone—a terrifying act.
But despite such an overwhelming technique, and despite pushing my brain to the point where blood trickles from my nose, I've only managed to gather a minuscule amount of internal energy, barely the level a common person might obtain.
I rub my throbbing head.
'At this rate, if I want to reach the Qi Building stage...I'll have to overload my brain and cultivate for a hundred years! Damn it...I can't continue like this.'
I sigh and stand up from my seat.
'There is Qi, but it's so scarce that it's almost hopeless. How strange. It's impossible for there to be so little Qi in a forest teeming with life... Is the fundamental rule of this world simply different?'
I explain the situation to Seo Ran and ask for her opinion.
"What do you think, Seo Ran?"
"Hmm..."
Seo Ran furrows her pale face and contemplates for a moment.
She then offers a textbook response.
"Well...assuming this world exists based on our memories, it would be right to start by meeting the people of this world. Just like the last time with Yuk Yo, the inhabitants of this world likely know things we don't, and meeting them might give us a hint on how to escape this world."
"...A hint?"
"Ah...it's one of the words jumbled in my memory. Could it be something I learned in this world?"
"Probably..."
I think for a moment, trying to recall what the word 'hint' referred to, and then nod as the memory returns.
[TL/N: 'Hint' being the actual English word hint, not the hint/clue in the language of RToC.]
'I've lost the connection to the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections due to the lack of Qi. However, since the Canvas is within my heart essence, I won't completely fall into dementia like before, though it'll be harder to recall memories as smoothly as before.'
"Alright. You're right. First, we should meet the other intelligent beings of this world and talk to them before deciding on a direction. The problem is...if this place is based on Ascension Path, it's going to be vast, and encountering any intelligent beings might be diff—"
Just when I think so.
Hwiiiii!
Taaatt!
A strong wind blows, and someone lands behind me.
Feeling a spine-chilling presence, I turn around.
'This aura...!'
'It' has two heads, like conjoined twins.
The creature, dressed in red robes, has one male head and one female head, and its skin is dotted with red scales.
But that's not the issue.
'Qi Building stage!?'
The danger emanating from this being rivals that of an early Qi Building stage cultivator.
With a faint smile on its male face, it opens its mouth.
"Well now...you dare enter my forest and light a fire without permission...? On top of that, you pluck the fruits of my forest and cut down my trees to make that toy..."
I can feel it.
The scent coming from this being is the same scent of the animal throughout the forest.
The smell of a snake.
I remain vigilant as I pay my respects to this two-headed creature.
'It must be a manifestation of that two-headed snake...'
For some reason, it seems like in this world, beings at the Qi Building stage or higher are capable of taking on human form.
Judging by the current situation, this snake seems to be a similar existence to Shi Ho from back then.'
I bow my head before the snake and speak.
"I did not realize that we were being so rude in the presence of the master of the forest. We are but lowly and weak humans, so please do not be too angry with us...we were merely seeking warmth to heat our bodies."
"Haha, I see. You are a human who knows manners."
The snake strokes the beard of its male head and laughs.
Then, it suddenly speaks.
"If you know proper manners, then you should understand what you've just done... As punishment, cut off one of your arms and offer it to me. And if you wish to stay in my forest...let's see, since both of your faces are quite pleasing, why don't you both try to satisfy me?"
The snake points at me and Seo Ran with a face full of lust.
Clicking my tongue, I shake my head.
"I humbly apologize, but that won't be possible."
In the past, when facing Shi Ho, there was an overwhelming difference in power, and I was certain that even if my arm was torn off, I could recover, so it wasn't a big deal to offer it.
But now, that's not the case.
'I don't know if Azure Tiger Saint will come.'
This world, though it looks similar, is completely different.
I can't afford to act recklessly.
The snake's face twitches.
At that moment, I roughly figure out the snake's true level.
'It isn't at the early Qi Building stage. Goodness...is it actually at the late Qi Refining stage? But it's emitting pressure at the Qi Building stage? I see...the spiritual energy in the snake's body isn't just flowing naturally, it's circulating through dozens of spell formations. Each formation links together, amplifying its power, making it feel like a Qi Building level being.'
It seems that, in this world where the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy is extremely scarce, the methods for handling spells have evolved to an extreme degree.
The snake twitches again before turning its head.
Its female face looks at me and speaks.
"Ho, ohoho...I see. You must've misspoken out of shock. I'll overlook this rudeness if you pull out both of your arms or legs... Let me repeat. If you two serve me, then I'll allow you to stay in this forest..."
"Sorry, but."
I turn around to look behind me.
Seo Ran, Kim Young-hoon, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, Kim Yeon...
All of them are people who already have partners.
"Everyone here is already taken, so I don't think serving you will be an option. Why don't you propose something else? If there's anything we can help with, we will."
"...You..."
Both of the snake's faces turn crimson.
It grits its teeth and roars in fury.
"I am the beloved concubine of the Great Shi Ho, the Heaven-Treading Desert Ruler, one of the Three Rulers of this continent, and you dare reject my mercy? It would not be a crime to tear you apart!"
Chwarururuk!
A blood-red aura surges from the snake's entire body, and I smirk as I grip my wooden sword.
I observe.
The energy within my body is, by the standards of the Head Realm, nothing more than third-rate.
No, it's not even third-rate, just the amount of energy an ordinary person could develop after a few months of diligent health exercises.
With only this pitiful amount of energy, can I possibly defeat this late Qi Refining stage creature—essentially a Qi Building stage demon beast?
I watch the snake as it begins to transform into its true form and swing my sword.
Pabang!
In an instant, one of the snake's heads bursts apart.
I can feel the shock from the snake.
"H-How...can a mere mortal...!"
I lick the blood off my wooden sword, my eyes gleaming.
'It's as if its entire body is wrapped in Protective Gang Qi. But it's not real Gang Qi. No, even if it were real Gang Qi, I could still cut through it as long as I aim well between the grains.'
Lick—
I pull my tongue away from the blade and grin, baring my teeth.
"Even if I've become a powerless mortal, I think I can still take down someone of your level. So stop wasting your energy and come at me."
I've returned to Ascension Path.
A lot has changed, and there's still a lot I'm bewildered by.
But one thing is certain.
If I take down the creature in front of me, many things will be resolved.
I charge at the two-headed snake, swinging my sword.