Chương 790: Protagonist (主人公) (5)

Kugugung!

Divine providence tangles.

Presences whose mere sight makes the chest tremble personally descend to this place.

Tsuaaat!

Borrowing the power of the myriad stars to restore the body, I at last.

Finally, I can realize one of the answers I pondered for a long time.

[Baby].

The colossal form of the [Baby] I saw in the world beyond the timeline...

Its true nature.

'I see.'

Absolute Ones.

Omnipotent beings.

Those who take a single worldline as their blood vessel.

"Creator Gods..."

Divinities of infinite chaos and omnipotence.

Outside Mount Sumeru.

The Earth we came from, Silver Basket, Obsidian, and so on.

Creator Gods of Otherworlds where the very foundational principles of the world are entirely different reveal themselves in this place.

They are true Undying.

Perhaps because I am a Governing Immortal, perceiving them itself is not a problem, but...

Surely, if one is below Great Net Immortal, one's very existence would shatter just by perceiving them, and even at Immortal Lord level one's eyes would hurt.

Kung— Kung— Kung— Kung—!

However, what truly makes the chest throb is not their rank.

Kung— Kung— Kung—!

'So... many...!'

Each and every one is omnipotent, and there are far too many.

Beings who would be omnipotent in their own worlds send incarnations to this Mount Sumeru and reveal fragments of omnipotence.

And there are very many such beings.

At a glance, they number in the dozens!

'The world is...'

I once had such a thought.

Why do those who become Supreme Deities head to the Audience Chamber?

Why, after becoming Supreme Deity and fully enjoying what there is to enjoy, do they not live as eternal undying rulers of the Heavenly Domains, but instead...

... head 'outside,' and challenge the Future King!?

'It is... this... vast...!'

Even if one lives as a Supreme Deity, after living for hundreds of millions, tens of billions, trillions of years and more, all feel it.

Though one cannot know what lies outside this place called Mount Sumeru, surely 'outside' there is a world broader than this!

What the Radiance Hall says is nonsense, and 'outside' this world there are far, far too many other worlds that are so mysterious, beautiful, strange, and full of things to discover.

One instinctively realizes it.

The outside of this world is a different Heaven and Earth.

'If you think about it... isn't that so...?'

I look upon those mysterious, strange, and awe-inspiring Creator Gods and feel it.

'The beings drawn in periodically from other worlds are those called the Enders... so what Supreme Deity would not be curious about the outside...!?'

The incarnations of the Creator Gods seem to explain the very foundations of their own worlds.

Even one whose entire body is made of fire.

Even one made of endless chaos.

Even one composed of the cosmic great desolation itself.

And even one who assumes the form of an ordinary stellar system...

Through the insight of a Supreme Deity, as I peak into the worlds of the Creator Gods of Otherworlds...

I feel some emotion deep in my chest begin to throb.

And, leaving such a me behind, the Creator Gods use power.

In forms so bizarre that one cannot even guess their shapes, they block the front of Bong Hwa and each disperses the power of [Hope] in her stead.

As the authorities of a dozen or so Creator Gods overlay, Hope slowly disperses and scatters.

Seeing this, Hong Fan quietly asks Silver Basket.

"To defeat me alone, how great a price have you paid? Even if they do not desire it, by the promise of gods, you must serve them. Then again, since you are the wanderer who has roamed countless dimensions, you must indeed know many entertainments to please them."

"... O Future King. Do you not already know?"

It appears that, in order to summon those otherworld Creator Gods, Silver Basket, who is likewise originally a Creator God of another world, took some considerable loss.

"To those who possess everything, what could I give to spark their interest? I am merely the pretext. They are beings who descended because they are intrigued by you and Mount Sumeru itself."

"They are all faces I see anew. Since I see no familiar Creator Gods, they are gods who are not old, are they? You have lured in nuisances with curiosity as bait."

"If it is five or six, you can probably keep them briefly killed through your Hope. But o Future King! I have called them even at the cost of consuming the causality and legacies of high divinities I obtained while traveling innumerable Otherworlds. So many beings have gathered to block your Hope!"

Hong Fan sends a cold gaze toward Silver Basket, and Silver Basket, dwelling within Oh Hyun-seok's body and restoring the spirit, smiles.

"What could you possibly do against this many gods of Otherworlds!?"

As if offering gratitude toward Silver Basket's soul, Bong Hwa bows her head toward the being resurrecting inside Oh Hyun-seok.

Hong Fan glances at such a Bong Hwa, then looks again at Silver Basket, and then opens his mouth toward the beings of the Cosmic Great Desolation (宇宙鴻黃) who block them.

"O great gods. I do not wish to insult you."

Then Hong Fan, with empty eyes, looks up at them and speaks.

"This place is the conception palace of omnipotence. The gestation world of a Creator who has not yet completed creation. It is not a place for those who have already accomplished creation to come. I ask that you please leave."

At a glance the tone is polite, yet at the same time proud.

In response, the Creator Gods reveal anger.

'No, that is not it.'

I notice that it is not anger.

It seems like pity, and also like joy, and also like sorrow.

It is literally true chaos itself.

:: O G O D W H O H A S F A L L E N I N T O D E S P A I R:::: W E H A V E W A T C H E D O V E R T H O U:::: R A T H E R, T H Y C U R R E N T D E E D:::: I S I N D E F I N I T E L Y D E L A Y I N G:::: T H E B I R T H O F A C R E A T O R G O D:::: D O S T T H O U T H I N K W E W O U L D K N O W N O T:::: O F T H E P R E V I O U S G E N E R A T I O N W H O L E F T T H E C R A D L E A N D S L E E P S?

:::: H O W C O U L D T H O U K N O W N O T W H Y T H E Y D I V I D E D T H E I R S O U L I N T O T H R E E A N D S P L I T I T I N T O F A T E, H I S T O R Y, A N D M I R A C L E?

:::: L E T G O O F T H Y O B S E S S I O N A N D A C C E P T I T N A T U R A L L Y:::: E I T H E R L E T G O A N D F O L L O W T H E W I L L O F T H E P R E V I O U S G E N E R A T I O N:::: O R D E V O U R A L L T H R E E:::: T H O U A C C O M P L I S H I N G C R E A T I O N:::: I S G R E A T E R T H A N T H E R E S U L T O F T H Y F O O L I S H O B S E S S I O N::: D O S T T H O U T R U L Y N O T K N O W?:: Countless wills resonate in wondrous and bizarre ways and deliver to the Future King.

Why is it?

Even though they are beings who violently invaded the world at Silver Basket's request, from them I feel a sign as if they 'worry' about the Future King.

And, while receiving the sympathy of innumerable Absolute Ones, he grips the Emptiness Sword.

"O young Absolute Ones. Your opening of creation comes after my birth. Believing only in rank while invoking the former generation, what do you know that you would dare preach to me?"

Judging by the tone, he seems angry, yet the wave of will I feel from him is rather one of 'contempt.'

:: O R D E R O F T I M E A N D S U C H:::: H A V E N O M E A N I N G T O T H E O M N I P O T E N T:::: D O S T T H O U T R U L Y N O T K N O W?::

"Omniscient and omnipotent ones on your own ground. Are you truly ignorant of the result of violating my taboo and coming here."

The speech (言) of divine beings and the physical voice of a mortal being collide in the void.

And yet, why is it?

Surely those beings are of a rank so high that even I, the Star Genesis Supreme Deity, cannot properly read their speech, and yet, I feel that the Future King's will, spoken out as nothing but an ordinary voice, is all the more chilling and baleful.

"O young Creators. Are you truly ignorant of why the ancient Creator Gods do not violate my taboo and, even at Silver Basket's request, do not descend."

Thud— Breath…

Begins to be caught.

Even to me, who fully restored the true body of the Star Genesis Supreme Deity, can tell that [something] I cannot perceive is beginning to bloom from the true body of the Future King, the Fate Supreme Deity Hong Fan Gu Ju.

Just then, Silver Basket, who barely stitched the spirit together by borrowing the energy of the Origin Essence of Life through Bong Hwa, begins to let out a lamentation unbefitting a Creator God of another world.

"Lament, and lament, and lament again. O Future King. Do you truly not know why, despite making such a sacrifice, I am in this place?"

The Future King ignores that cry and starts to reach out his hand.

Woooooo— Those far-distant Otherworlds.

The other Creator Gods who do not descend into this gestational world called Mount Sumeru all at once wail in grief and numb heaviness and begin to 'move' their own worlds.

Many of the lights that shine beyond the void and the Vairambha Wind begin to flee.

As if they do not want to be caught up in it.

Here, the Creator Gods of Otherworlds who descended through Silver Basket begin to exert the power of their omniscient and omnipotent (全知全能) might, pressuring Hong Fan Gu Ju.

The endless chaos and omnipotent power that originate from them cover him.

Silver Basket begins to wail.

"For the sake of what you call Hope, how long do you intend to carry on this painful story!? Hope that pushes every being of a world that has not yet been born, including yourself, into hell—what meaning does it have!?"

Why do they wail?

Because they fear Hong Fan?

No, that is not it.

That is...

Pity.

"Do you not know how deeply those who watch over you pity you?"

They pity the Future King and feels endless compassion for him.

—True Martial Arts Emptiness Sword.

—Linked Profundity.

Throwing technique.

An upward cleave that uses repulsion force.

Accelerating technique.

A downward cleave that uses attraction force.

The ultimate techniques of the Emptiness Sword combine in an instant and are born as a baleful killing art.

—Upper Heaven Future King Within the authorities of Creator Gods, Hong Fan Gu Ju, who takes the stance of throwing, begins to throw something.

It is not the Emptiness Sword.

It is...

"Just how long do you intend to continue that horrific Divine Art!?"

It is a transcendent [something] that I cannot even begin to perceive.

The power of transcendence that is called Great Mantra, or also called Divine Arts.

That is cast through the combination formula of the Emptiness Sword, pierces the incarnate bodies of the Creator Gods, leaps beyond the Void, and flies out to cause the collapse of a single world beyond the void in a single strike.

At the same time, one Creator God in the vicinity disappears.

The cause and effect are unknown, but through insight it is possible to infer.

At that very moment, a Creator God, world and all, was skewered and killed by the Future King's Divine Art.

That is the beginning.

Tukwang— Tukwang— Tukwang!

The Future King Fate Supreme Deity, tearing the authorities of the Creator Gods apart with mere movement, begins to throw something.

Each time that unperceivable thing called Divine Art is thrown, one world is pierced and meets annihilation.

And the Chief Divinity at the center of that world.

The ruler who governs the single world.

The Absolute One.

The Omnipotent One.

The Creator God, is torn and killed.

He brings collapse to worlds.

He brings annihilation to worlds.

He brings the End to worlds.

He brings ruination to worlds.

He brings massacre to Absolute Beings.

He executes them.

He exterminates them.

What on earth could one call it?

In that ghastly and hideous revel of killing, feeling inexpressible terror and pain, we can only watch as countless worlds and Creator Gods turn to powder before they can even react.

The Creator Gods are being massacred.

Before that appalling killing power, everyone except Bong Hwa only stares blankly at the scene.

Even Silver Basket and I, for a brief moment, lose even the will to resist that appalling absolute authority and can only stand with mouths agape.

Wooooooo— The Creator Gods wail.

Jiiiiiing!

The wails of beings who create and annihilate worlds with a single word.

Their cry brings pain even to us who have nothing to do with them, our chests ache, and a bitterness of having lost a world invades the mind and delivers suffering.

They grant, by sound alone, emotions so fierce and terrifying even to Governing Immortals.

That is the wail of the Creator Gods.

And that terrifying wail at a glance also seems to be a wail from the pain of their worlds perishing and their very beings being torn to shreds.

Yet, I can tell.

They do not simply wail for that.

They are pitying the Future King.

Whisperwhisperwhisperwhisper— As the Absolute Ones fade, they whisper.

Even as they themselves go to their deaths, as if such a thing does not concern them at all, Wholly pitying and blessing the Future King...

:: Pleasedonottakethelongroadbackbutfindtheanswer:::: PitifulandpoorHongFanGuJuIshedtearsatthepainyousuffered:::: Igivemyblessingthatyoufindtheanswerandpraythatyoufindsalavation:::: Somedayescapeandbefreedfromthedreadfulandfoolishbridbleofpainyouoncethrewuponus:::: Isincerelypraythatyouyourselfareliberated:: Empathy.

They, even as they die by Hong Fan Gu Ju, who destroys their own worlds and tears their true bodies apart, feel pity and sorrow for him, and sincerely empathize with him.

It is a strangeness that I cannot possibly understand.

Sensing the bizarre and incomprehensible vested interests of the truly born Absolute Ones, I feel the song of their wailing subside.

He, who destroyed the Creator Gods and tore apart dozens of worlds to powder, sits upon the jade throne of the Audience Chamber.

At the same time, for the first time I can feel 'emotion' from him.

Hearing the horrible and agonizing screams and wails of the Creator Gods, and hearing the blessings and empathy imbued in them, does he feel some stirring of emotion?

The emotion he shows for the first time.

It is 'fatigue'.

"Now!"

And Kim Young-hoon, who discerns him, shouts.

"If it is [now]... at least in 'speed', we can surpass him!"

What is obtained by emptying everything into emptiness is the Apex of Movement Techniques of Hong Fan Gu Ju, True Martial Arts Black Heaven.

The principle of Void Speed.

However, in this moment when fatigue and wavering nest inside that heart.

He has, for an instant, stepped out from perfect emptiness.

At least for now, he cannot use Void Speed.

And he also cannot use the ultimate technique that accelerates once more from Void Speed, 'Future'!

If it is now!

Through Golden Great Thousand World, we can seize superiority in speed!

With Kim Young-hoon's shout, a familiar authority begins to bloom from one corner of the Audience Chamber.

'This is...!'

The Origin Essence of Liberation inside the Liberation Seal of the Liberation Palace left by Bong Myeong freed Bong Hwa.

And what he left behind does not end there.

Pseudo-Ender Liberation Law Talent What is called a Pseudo-Ender is no different from a Pseudo-Absolute fragment.

Yes, he was truly a Craftsman of the Heavens.

For it is he who, with his own hands, weaved principle, fate, and causality to create a Pseudo-Absolute!

Clang, clang!

The Pseudo-Absolute fragment flashes, becoming a shining [key] that releases [something].

The next moment, Kwaaaang!

Light bursts forth, and from the [cage] that has until now imprisoned the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld Bong Hwa, seven-colored light sweeps the whole world.

At the same time, inside that cluster of seven-colored light.

The things that have been compressed into the form of a [cage] start to be 'liberated'.

'This is...'

Because it fell a bit short to liberate Bong Hwa, the Origin Essence of Liberation was detonated directly, yet it is a key sufficient to liberate 'something else.'

That key resonates with some being's Immortal Art and mixes with a silver cluster of light within Primordial Chaos.

It is Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.

—Purple is the most suitable color to hide in the darkness.

—Carry on life in the darkness where light can never reach.

—By continuing the inherited life, we shall all finally reach liberation.

The formula that Silver Basket created, as it touches the will of the Liberation Supreme Deity, reverses from that of an authority which is specialized in seizing another's body, It becomes not one that seizes another's flesh and oneself evolves.

But one that sacrifices oneself, and revives the soul of the one whose self was stolen.

The will of sacrifice of the Liberation Supreme Deity meshes with the will of Silver Basket and explodes the Psuedo-Absolute Liberation Law Talent with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.

Those who are compressed into the form of a [cage] and [confined] begin to be liberated!

Kung, kung, kung!

On the face of Bong Hwa, who is truly advancing, a warm smile settles.

Perhaps it is because there are several faces familiar to her.

A gigantic silver body begins to recover, sucking in the spirits of Silver Basket that were torn away.

A Heavenly King of far-off primordial antiquity.

The one who was called the Silver Basket Heavenly King descends to this place.

Next, a being that exudes a presence second only to Silver Basket's ferocity opens their eyes.

They are also of antiquity, known as the God of Gods.

The one who was called the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King descends to this place.

The last presence I feel is a being far too familiar.

The moment Kim Yeon offers the true body she prepared in offering, they settle into that flesh and, compared to the others, awakens without any loss of power.

The one who was called the Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King descends to this place.

Led by those three beings, countless existences appear in this place.

Red Pearl Yang Su-jin.

Agate Seo Wu-jin.

Lapis Lazuli Jeong Shin.

Obsidian Vinaya.

Tridacna Shin.

Gold Gugalanna.

Beginning from existences so very familiar, to those whose names, authorities, and natal dharma treasures were seen in the past.

And the Agate Hatred Heavenly King of the previous generation who has connections with us.

From the heinous beings who provided the causality that gave birth to Seo Hweol, To Enders of the past generations at the level of mere mortal beings with no presence at all.

Even to Enders at the trivial mortal-level who, upon arriving at the Head Realm, fell at once and died with their heads split on stone.

All Enders of all eras come back to life in this place and awaken in the Audience Chamber!

Kuuung!

At the same time, Silver Basket stamps a foot and injects [wisdom] that explains the current situation to them all.

Enders at the level of mere mortal beings, who are not even qualified to respond to that [wisdom], all explode and die at once.

However, perhaps judging that Enders of that level will not even be of help, Silver Basket pays it no mind and points at me and declares.

:: All of you, listen. Now. Except for now, there is absolutely no chance in the future! Only now, when the first error that ripped apart the devil's fate with his hands is here in this place!:: Uuuuuuuu— Four among the Five Desires Chain who were clearly torn to death by the Splitting Heaven Mantra come back to life at a single touch of the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King, and without any time to grasp the situation, they join again and become a gigantic Swallowing Heaven.

:: This is the only time when I can foresee the highest win rate called four pun!:: A soft pink radiance bursts out, and a gigantic light pink colossus begins to lift something up behind their back.

Longevity, Wealth, Health, Love of Virtue, Acceptance at Fate's End.

The symbols of the Five Blessings radiate brilliantly in splendor and extend hands to the system of Immortal Cultivation that belongs to Hong Fan Gu Ju.

:: Bring forth a miracle. O fragments of miracle!:: At Silver Basket's declaration, they all raise their momentum without words.

Of course, the ones who regain rationality are at least Enders of Immortal Lord rank.

Enders of Great Net Immortal and below, even though they receive [wisdom] and grasp the situation, for some reason only stand there with dazed eyes.

Even so, empowered by Silver Basket's command, they begin to move and unfold their respective authorities.

No one speaks.

'... So that is how it is.'

Those who uttered their fate.

All who let their tongues slip lost the right to speak.

Only Silver Basket, whose rank does not fall behind the Future King, can utter words.

Even so, their wills are clearly conveyed.

Drawing out the morale of no retreat before battle, they all at once begin to walk toward the Owner of Fate seated on the jade throne.

And Hong Fan lets out a sigh.

"I am tired."

Wuduk— A mere sigh.

With that alone, a repulsion force that is enough to briefly halt the movements of all Enders of all eras arises and binds them.

And, as I perceive the truths contained in that repulsion force, I realize one thing.

'... It was not that his strength was worn down while facing the Creator Gods.'

Only, the wails and shrieks of the Creators Gods.

The blessing and sympathy within them shook his heart, and only dug a little deeper into the crack that already exists in that heart.

Therefore, only the stray thought that he is tired briefly revealed itself.

Of course, with just that stray thought, one of his ultimate techniques that is a movement technique is sealed.

But a stray thought is a stray thought.

"I should close my eyes for a moment."

If he calms his heart just a little, it is something that will be tidied away at any time.

He shuts his eyes and raises his hand.

"Attend to my hand. Storage scroll, Emptiness Supreme Deity."

The shackle that briefly sealed the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld, the Netherworld Queen Mother Bong Hwa. The gatekeeper who tested us and the door that leads to the Audience Chamber.

At the same time, the Head Realm, which has been harboring the Akashic Records all this time, appears upon his hand and begins to open its mouth.

That's right.

To him, even an existence at the level of a Supreme Deity is merely something at the level of a storage scroll that stores things like the Akashic Records.

And, what is 'stored' in the storage scroll is not only the Akashic Records.

Chwarararararak— The Emptiness Supreme Deity Myeong Woon opens its mouth and begins to pour something out.

Kung, kung, kung, kung, kung, kung, kung, kung, kung!

Woooo— Unlike the true body of Hong Fan Gu Ju, from which nothing is felt, as [those] begin to descend, a baleful and terrifying aura begins to fill all Heaven and Earth.

Ominous.

Ominousness beyond ominousness.

What appears before the numerous Heavenly Kings and Enders of all eras is dozens of Governing Immortals.

In other words, the Supreme Deities who have been devoured by the Emptiness Supreme Deity until now.

Dozens of Supreme Deities descend here and block the way before the Enders of all eras.

They have no reason, and only glare at us with black pupils and obey the command of the Owner of Fate.

That is not the end.

Kwaruru—

"... Gang... Sphere...?"

Kim Young-hoon mutters.

Above the hand of Hong Fan Gu Ju, something rotating appears.

It looks like a Three Great Ultimates formed by the gathering of countless thread-like things.

And I once saw something that looked exactly the same as that in the past.

Its name is Hyeon Mu's Gandhara.

It is the symbol of [Blackened Three Great Ultimates], and the very existence of that being itself.

Perhaps because he is tired, the moment he floats the Blackened Three Great Ultimates above his hand, a wisp of wisdom leaks out and reveals its identity.

—Henceforth, this shall be called Gang (罡).

The power that martial artists obtain upon reaching a certain realm is Gang Qi.

A name used in Body Protective Gang Qi, Sword Gang, Gang Sphere, and so on, and the power that cultivators call pure spiritual force.

Named as Gang, the name of the Northern Dipper's star of death, it was a power that, because it signified the loftiest attainment in the martial world, was wielded by countless martial artists and came to be known as Gang Qi.

Only now can I know who first attached the name Gang (罡) to Gang Qi.

The pure death of the North Pole itself.

'... What we... have been fighting is...'

The Northern Heavenly Venerable, the True Martial Great Emperor Hyeon Mu.

No, perhaps even the Southern Heavenly Venerable, Time, and the Eastern Heavenly Venerable, Sal Tree.

The heinous truth that what we have been calling Heavenly Venerables were merely tools into which a bit of history was breathed into the Gang Sphere clones of the Future King...

Reveals itself before my eyes.

Kurururu—

"It is not a Gang Sphere clone. Unlike your Gang Spheres, I focused on killing, not stability and skill."

He briefly spits out words, reading my thoughts.

Surely, those pieces of information feel like mercy given to me who endures hope, and a kind of respect...

But in the overwhelming disparity, even respect feels like mockery.

"I call it Gang Extreme."

A Three Great Ultimates of killing made of Gang Qi.

That chilling vortex begins to rotate ominously and 'multiply'.

It is certainly more unstable than our Gang Sphere, and I feel it focuses on attack and killing.

However, that is clearly an evolved form of Gang Qi like ours.

Kugugugugu!

As the Three Great Ultimates of killing expands, their shapes grow distinct and solidify into forms we know.

The Gandhara of the True Martial Great Emperor Hyeon Mu.

Yes.

The Fate Supreme Deity's Gang Sphere clone.

Fifty Heavenly Venerables appear and begin to converge.

"For the rest of the story, if you are still standing when I open my eyes, I shall listen."

With that, Hong Fan Gu Ju reclines on the jade throne and closes his eyes, entering meditation to settle his heart.

An overwhelming gap that feels utterly unbreachable.

However, Despite that gap, I set my foot down.

Kung!

The true body of the Star Genesis Supreme Deity takes a step toward that jade throne.

Then, a silver giant takes another step at my side.

::... Do not give up.:: Kung!

Beginning with Silver Basket.

The Enders, awakened across aeons, face the Heavenly Venerables and Supreme Deities.

And beyond them, they begin to step toward the colossal jade throne.

Kururururur— Numerous black Three Great Ultimates.

One of the vortices of killing stands foremost and changes its appearance.

It is a familiar figure.

A girl in black martial attire.

Thinking about it now, if wrinkles are drawn on that girl's face, it is the same face as Hong Fan's.

With eyes filled entirely with self-loathing, that being opens her mouth.

"Give up. If I, who am merely a shard of a dream, am permitted this level of power against you, I have no way to lose."

She slowly brings her hand to the ponytail that has been tied until now.

Tuuk— For the first time, Hyeon Mu tears off the 'something' that has been tying her ponytail.

Chwararak— At the same time, Hyeon Mu's hair flows down like a waterfall.

Just tearing off what has been tying the ponytail that had always seemed short makes it pour down wildly, making the sight look rather uncanny yet at the same time sacred.

Shwaaaaa— Black hair covers the surroundings and forms a sea of darkness.

It is a world of nothing.

The Interdimensional Void.

At the same time, the heart essence world of the Owner of Immortal Cultivation where all Middle Realms reside.

As the distinction between martial robes and hair grows faint in the darkness, that being raises the black something she has used as a weapon all this time.

Only now that I am a Supreme Deity, only now that I truly stand upon Martial Pinnacle, can I know what Hyeon Mu has been using as a 'weapon'.

It is a leopard-pattern hair ornament.

A form quite similar to what Bong Hwa has been using.

Amorphous darkness spews from it, becoming swords, spears, whips, arrows, and countless other forms of killing weapons with which she has been facing us with.

"'I' am merely playing with you as a gesture of respect for having come this far.

'Hope' is even now evolving, and since there is no particular restriction, 'I' could have unleashed indiscriminate barrages as much as 'I' liked."

At those grim words, Silver Basket seems to recall something unpleasant and flinches, and I smile faintly.

"I know."

"'I' have not properly used the power of fate, nor have 'I' summoned a proper Immortal Treasure.

'I' have also not used the [First Light] which is called forth through the gathering of all the summoned Supreme Deities here around the Radiance Supreme Deity. Great Mantra. What you call Divine Art has also had its conditions long met, yet was used only to face the Creator Gods. The debt enforcement that once used, can annihilate all of you at once has also not properly been used."

"I know that as well."

"The time when 'I' reached the ultimate of Martial Arts was the time before Nayuta. Across an unfathomable span of time, the one who has polished and evolved Martial Pinnacle is 'I'. With the power of Martial Arts alone, 'I' can butcher you all. With the use of proper Immortal Cultivation and mantras, authority and Immortal Treasures, just what chance of victory do you have?"

Only now can I perceive in more detail what reflects in those black pupils.

Hyeon Mu is Hong Fan's shame.

Only today, upon facing her, do I understand why Hyeon Mu insists on taking the form of a 'girl'.

"You... are the compassion that remains in Hong Fan. You are his softest part, and his last remaining humaneness."

"Only a defective product."

"No matter what form the heart takes, there is no such thing as defective."

I smile brightly as I look at her and raise the Impermanence Sword.

The power of the Turning Wheel Mantra, the power of the Origin Essence of Myriad Stars, infuses into the Impermanence Sword, and the Impermanence Sword begins to shine with starlight.

It feels as if a galaxy rests in my hand.

"You are merely the soft and gentle part."

"Nothing but the anguish that calls forth pain."

"So you are the anguish of the heavens."

Hong Fan calls Hyeon Mu a defective product.

And Hyeon Mu fears Hong Fan.

He says making a world without the heart is his first goal.

He says resisting the heart, resisting connection is Immortal Cultivation.

"If one truly has a strong heart, then is it not the heart to accept without needing to resist?"

Hyeon Mu's pupils tremble.

Tstststs— The Impermanence Sword loses the form of a sword and becomes starlight that circles me.

I take a step toward her.

Hyeon Mu clenches her hand tightly.

The hair ornament in her hand trembles.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Countless exchanges pass between her and me, but nothing can truly bar my way.

The Void Speed she boasts of is sealed thanks to the main body whose heart wavers, and the killing arts that unfold from Hyeon Mu's hand enter my sight fully thanks to my having seen of a higher level.

At last, piercing through the countless unseen exchanges and moments of timing, I enter her boundary and reach my hand toward Hyeon Mu's chest.

"When the weakness is clear, where is the reason I cannot win, O heart of the heavens."

With eyes filled with anguish.

At the corner of Hyeon Mu's mouth, who has been pretending to be empty, a smile appears for the first time.

It is a somewhat sad smile, and yet...

Her eyes are shining.

"Are you saying you can do it?"

And the answer comes from elsewhere.

[He can.] Tststststs— Wo-woong!

At this place, a certain apparition appears.

The owner of that apparition is the Southern Heavenly Venerable, the True Ultimate Eternal Life Great Emperor Cheon Woon.

The Heavenly Venerable of Time.

It is the being called the Owner of Calendrics.

[No other can do so, but he can.] Hyeon Mu casts her gaze toward Cheon Woon.

[Only he can set you free.]

"On what basis?"

[Because I saw it. Only I, as the observer of calendrics, remember together the 16th timeline.]

"... You..."

Hyeon Mu opens her mouth.

"You ran. You left. The Cradle of Chaos. The Conception Palace of Omnipotence... you escaped from Mount Sumeru!"

[Yes. I, shamefully, miserably, took advantage of the gap when the boundary of Cakravāda is split in half... and am running away to find the freedom I so longed for.] Cheon Woon smiles brightly.

[Of course, with 'your' complete power, I can be captured. But... not 'right now'. Until the end of this battlefield, I can remain as a 'witness'!] A smile rises at the corner of Hyeon Mu's lips.

"Ahaha... I see. Until 'I' capture you... the poison cannot be detoxified."

[... That's right. So, Seo Eun-hyun. Remember. Now that all restraints are released. Whatever causality there is, as long as I exist, the 16th cycle will be remembered 'no matter what'!]

"... My friend. Thank you."

The moment Hyeon Mu's words end, countless Gandharas swirl behind her and begin to unleash attacks toward me.

"You said let's dance, didn't you?"

Hyeon Mu begins to move through the lump of anguish grasped in her hand within the darkness.

The Supreme Deities and Gandharas gradually move by Hyeon Mu's command and begin to exert their authority.

"Then prove it. Prove that your enlightenment stands ahead of hope."

Wooo-woooong!

Hyeon Mu's face disappears, and what remains is a swirling Black Three Great Ultimates.

Beyond it, something reveals itself.

The Future King's storage scroll.

The Emptiness Supreme Deity opens its mouth.

Hyeon Mu, inheriting the will of the Future King, declares the opening of war and summons the Future King's treasure.

"Come forth. The first Immortal Treasure of the Heavens."

Future King Three Heavenly Treasures.

By the Supreme Deity's insight, I can tell.

The original of the downgraded version the Radiance Eight Immortals once showed.

The first.

The Heavenly Treasure corresponding to the Radiance Supreme Deity's Purple Forbidden Alms Bowl.

"Heavenly Void Furnace."

Tuk, tududududuk...!

From the Emptiness Supreme Deity's mouth, a familiar ground reveals itself again.

Ascension Path.

And, within that Ascension Path, the thing that had been sealed in the form of 'land' by Yang Su-jin.

Kugugugugu!

All Governing Immortals until now have merely swung it about blindly, but the relic of the Absolute now begins to exert proper 'authority' under Hyeon Mu's will.

16th cycle.

Kirilirik— Cutting Principle unfolds from my hand.

Just like a ship moving forward with the power of a fair wind, will—empowered by the heavenly fortune that the Liberation Seal draws in—becomes a slashing strike that cuts principle.

Shukwagak!

The principle within prohibition is severed.

At some point, I become able to delve more intuitively into the world of the [net].

"How is it, Master? Is there an effect?"

"Mm..."

I look at the Liberation Seal that Hong Fan is holding.

"Indeed, the effect of what is called heavenly fortune is powerful."

Overall luck improves.

Not simply fortune, but starting from talent fortune, even health fortune and wealth fortune feel as if they rise further.

With Hong Fan carrying the Liberation Seal that summons heavenly fortune and following me, the cultivation speed of Cutting Principle soars even faster.

Feeling as if the heavens favor me, I rapidly cultivate the Star Extinguishing True Chapter.

Hong Fan as well hones cultivation at my side with me, learning the 'Three Spirits Art'.

It was one of the secret arts that became the original Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

Tsuat— Hong Fan's body seems to split into three, then merges back into one.

It is the divine external incarnation secret art of the Three Spirits Art.

It is a secret art that splits realm and cultivation to later infuse it back in, with the drawback that one's realm lowers the instant it is learned; but somehow, even though Hong Fan splits his realm, before long he reaches the Grand Perfection Core Formation level.

'Soon the realms will reverse.'

Once he passes the Nascent Soul stage, from then on the real reversal will begin.

With a slightly stifled heart, I gaze beyond the Serving Command Palace into the void space that is nothing but darkness.

I have experienced having my realm caught up to multiple times, but honestly it is not a pleasant feeling.

Moreover, knowing that Hong Fan deliberately splits his realm with the Three Spirits Art to slow the speed at which he catches up to my realm makes my mixed feelings grow even heavier.

Recently those feelings have been growing and growing a little more, spreading even into a gloomy mood, so I have also been spending a little time reigning in my Heart Demon.

Perhaps knowing my heart, Hong Fan speaks behind me while holding the Serving Command Seal.

"Since Master has cultivated for long, would you like to go on an outing?"

"An outing..."

It is a good idea.

Ordinary cultivators too, when their cultivation is blocked, often seek a shift in perception by wandering the world of mortals or traveling the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

And in the midst of that, they also obtain fortuitous encounters.

However...

"Mm... In the Head Realm, it is a little... yeah."

The situation before ascending to the Head Realm is something I still remember.

From Cheongmun Ryeong to Buk Hyang-hwa, Seo Ran.

And even Kim Young-hoon...

The Head Realm is a place full of connections I painstakingly cut and left behind.

What should I do if I meet precious connections while practicing the cultivation of cutting connections?

'If I do it wrong, the cultivation of Cutting People might get all tangled.'

But as if reading my worry, he chuckles.

"Haw haw, Master. Are you perhaps worried about meeting old connections in the Head Realm?"

"That is... yes. That is right."

"Then how about going to a place untouched by the hands of people?"

"A place untouched by the hands of people...?"

"Yes."

Woooooong!

Hong Fan seems to manipulate the Serving Command Seal, then causes the Serving Command Palace to deviate from its original orbit.

Kugugugu!

Soon, the Serving Command Seal pierces the void space and reveals itself somewhere else.

"This place is..."

Kugugugugu!

It is a place familiar to me.

A place that, despite being the Lower Realm, possesses a density of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy similar to a Middle Realm.

It is Ascension Path.

"Ah, yes..."

With clear eyes, I jump down toward Ascension Path.

"It's a good idea."

Certainly, if it is Ascension Path where people's hands do not readily reach, it seems good to refresh my mood under the clear sky, tidying my heart with less worry.

I descend to Ascension Path.

Hwioooooo— The wind of Ascension Path greets me.

And, unlike before, I discover something a little different in Ascension Path.

'The Sky Islands of the Sky Island Archipelago... are different.'

If the Sky Islands of the Sky Island Archipelago are being supported by the Grand Cultivator Association's fixed 'floating technique'...

Ascension Path is different.

'The dragon vein of Ascension Path itself...'

It has the appearance of [sealing] something.

The knowledge I accumulated from being dragged around by the Mad Lord in the Middle Realm, building experience as a governor in the True Devil Realm, and picking up various bits of information beside Seo Hweol, makes me recognize that fact even more clearly.

Thinking about it, it is so.

The barrier surrounding the entirety of Ascension Path also blocks ordinary people or cultivators below a certain realm from perceiving Ascension Path and from 'entering and exiting'.

The one who made Ascension Path.

Yang Su-jin obviously kept others from coming to Ascension Path.

'Ascension Path... is not floating by itself. Rather, the thing that Ascension Path is [sealing] is floating by itself, and Ascension Path is just 'attached there'.'

I suddenly grow curious about what is sealed in Ascension Path.

What is it for Yang Su-jin to seal it?

'Perhaps... even inside there, Yang Su-jin's lingering thought remains.'

If so, I may be able to meet Yang Su-jin's lingering thought again and seek advice on how to resolve my current state.

'Since Shattered Heaven Peak is a place where traces of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect remain, I don't know how the curse of the Heavenly Punishment True Immortal will flare up if I go...'

A curiosity that arises suddenly.

And at the same time, a strange confidence that, because I have the Liberation Seal and heavenly fortune itself increased, it cannot be a wrong judgment.

With those overlapping, I make up my mind to try to see what is sealed inside Ascension Path in this lifetime.