"... Who are you?"
Bi Hwa stares at the black silhouette before her and speaks.
She feels it.
The opponent before her is a being she cannot defy.
If so, rather than resist, she will at least pretend to hear what the other wants and then politely refuse.
'Under no circumstance must I provoke that being.'
:: I am...a Mountain Divine Spirit.::
'Mountain Divine Spirit!?'
Bi Hwa flinches in shock at the being's answer.
She too knows all too well about the wicked Mountain Divine Spirit.
Startled, she looks around to see if there is a 'mountain' and squeezes her eyes shut.
All across Heavenly Human Island, there are not just one or two cave residences built by cultivators on mountains.
To begin with, the hidden area she is in is also a cave residence hollowed out beneath a mountain called Gatap Mountain of Heavenly Human Island.
There is plenty of room for a Mountain Divine Spirit to intervene.
"... Why has the great Owner of Mountains come to seek out a mere mortal being like me?"
:: I am not yet the Owner of Mountains. ::
'Yet?'
:: And also it is not I who has sought you. You have sought me.::
"... What do you mean...?"
At Bi Hwa's words, somehow a feeling as if the being behind the silhouette is laughing spreads.
:: Do you not want to surpass Wol Ryeong? ::
That one line.
At that one line, Bi Hwa bites her lip.
:: I can bestow talent upon you. I can give you the [Eye]. ::
It is an all too tempting offer.
Yet even within that intense temptation she steadies her heart.
But her chest trembles despite herself.
"...I thank you for offering grace. However, I am a believer in the Amitayus Buddha of the Heavenly King Heaven, a follower of Light. Therefore, I cannot carelessly borrow the great Mountain Divine Spirit's power as the great Mountain Divine Spirit wishes. If I borrow your power, someday I will receive punishment from the Amitayus Buddha. Please forgive me."
:: Hahaha, do not worry, child. How could I drive you into hardship? What I will give you is not my authority but a portion of my enlightenment and talent. With such a thing, the Light will never notice. ::
"...However..."
::I see.::
As Bi Hwa hesitates, only then does the Mountain Divine Spirit laugh as if in understanding.
:: You feel guilty that you alone will receive that power. Then...I will show you a new scene for a moment. Now, look upon the disciples of the Radiance Spirit Sect in the hidden area beneath the Gatap Mountain you have made. ::
Tststststss-
At the voice of the afterimage, the appearance of Gatap Mountain becomes transparent.
It seems the Mountain Divine Spirit has briefly lent her eyes that penetrate the mountain to her alone.
Before she can even be surprised at the strangeness, Bi Hwa cannot help but be surprised at other things.
"...! Th-Those..."
The disciples who ascended from the Radiance Spirit Sect to the Vast Cold Realm at Bi Hwa's order.
Most of them are in their own cave residences, snorting suspicious white powder through their noses, or scattering it on the floor and licking it with their tongues while chanting suspicious formulas.
She, being in the Integration stage, can make out the identity of those suspicious formulas.
Because if she transfers the power of this being she feels right before her into a formula, they would become those very formulas!
"A-Already...they are using your power...?"
:: It is so. And, do you remember their faces? ::
Bi Hwa looks over their faces.
Since they are only disciples at the Heavenly Being stage, she has not paid attention before, but now it is clearly strange.
"... That one, he was only at the Nascent Soul stage until just recently..."
:: Even that child was only at the Core Formation stage not long ago... He has a body well-suited for my enlightenment. ::
:: You too can become like that. Your cultivation at the Grand Perfection Integration stage, stagnant for decades without progress. I hold in my hand the key to pierce through it at once. ::
"B-But..."
Bi Hwa's body trembles.
She is a proud disciple of the great Radiance Spirit Sect, and a believer of the Amitayus Buddha.
A follower of Light.
Such a person as she cannot allow her body to be given to the wicked Mountain Divine Spirit.
Yet, the wicked Mountain Divine Spirit's scheme finally breaks apart the deepest place in her heart.
:: Do you not see that all of them have already accepted it? Even if one more such as you accepts me, there is no problem. They are all already doing it. ::
Everyone is already doing it.
That one phrase melts her chest all too sweetly.
:: Do not worry. You may refuse. I will cause you no harm. ::
Moreover, that attitude which somehow even feels kind makes it seem that perhaps the Mountain Divine Spirit is not such an evil existence.
And finally-
And finally-
:: This Immortal is merely lonely. There has been no medium until now who could directly receive this Immortal's will as you can. Among those there who strive to lick fragments of my power, none have directly faced this Immortal's will. None less than you will suffice.::
"M-Me? None less than me...?"
:: That is so. Therefore, even if you refuse, this Immortal will not harm you. I will only have no choice but to go seek out your friend Wol Ryeong and make the same offer...::
"What!?"
She grits her teeth.
"Seek out Wol Ryeong? You said I am a good medium!"
"No, don't go to Wol Ryeong. Fine, I will specially accept your power. Instead! Promise me!! Never go to Wol Ryeong!! You must never lend power to Wol Ryeong!!*
::... vow not to go to Wol Ryeong in the form of a god. ::
"G-Good...then let me ask one more thing. If I take that white thing of yours...can I truly surpass Wol Ryeong?"
::...You...::
And then, the Divine Spirit of Sword Mountain laughs.
:: From the very moment you met this King, you had already surpassed her...::
Kugugugugu!
Beyond the afterimage of the Sword Mountain.
From that afterimage, she feels a gigantic 'hand' reaching toward her.
And soon, Bi Hwa feels her whole body enveloped by that 'hand,' her body heating up as her eyes roll back.
"Ah, aaaaaah..."
There is no pain.
What exists is only the boundless joy of communion with an unfathomable being, sharing transcendental sight and talent!
She trembles at the ecstasy of [wisdom] refined by a transcendent being and infused into her to fit her being.
"Cultivation is repentant enlightenment..."
"Like tiny grains of salt gathering to form the sea..."
"Build mountains through repentant enlightenment."
A dark chamber.
There, several cultivators gather, engaging in fierce dual cultivation.
Wo-woong
Sitting in a lotus position, they press their palms against each other, chanting a suspicious formula and endlessly circulating each other's energies in a kind of dual cultivation.
All six cultivators are at the Heavenly Being stage, and the power flowing in circles between them as they press their hands together is at an immense level.
It is when they are chanting that suspicious formula-
Chijik, chijijijijik!
Suddenly, the six cultivators see a pure white light form at their center, from which a pillar of salt grows.
"O, 000000h!"
"A salt pillar, it is a salt pillar!"
"They have come!"
"S-Salt...please. The mighty salt of the great god..."
They lick at the salt fragments bouncing off the pillar of salt as if it's sacred water, fervently consuming them as they gaze at the pillar.
Before long, an apparition appears at the center of the salt pillar.
It is the apparition of a small boy.
That boy's face is that of Seo Gyeong, Wol Ryeong's senior brother.
And as Seo Gyeong's apparition appears inside the salt pillar, the cultivators bow on the spot and cry out.
"Eternal life, eternal life, eternal eternal life! We greet the envoy of the great Mountain God!"
"We greet the envoy of the Mountain God!"
[... The revelation of God has descended.]
"Oooo, from God!"
"O envoy, please let us hear the jade voice of God!"
[The Integration stage Senior Sister Bi Hwa has also joined our side. Soon, centered around Bi Hwa, we shall prepare here the descent formation that will summon the Star Shattering Esteemed Ones Baek Jin, Baek Eun, and Baek Geom who have gone too far away into the Astral Realm to subjugate the puppets of the Gi Clan in the Earth Boundary Heavenly Domain.]
Inside the dark chamber, within the pure white pillar of salt, Seo Gyeong continues speaking, his form shown only as an apparition.
[God intends to act through the descent formation of the Esteemed Ones. Therefore, when we unfold the descent formation, we will replace the summoned target of that formation with the divine body of the God.]
"Ooooooh!"
"Th-Then will God...personally descend to this Vast Cold Realm!?"
[Strictly speaking, it will not be God's main body, but only a part of God's divine body shall descend. Yet even that alone is enough to easily pacify the Vast Cold Realm and the Earth Boundary Heavenly Domain, and you shall obtain the qualifications to enter the divine nation. You shall cast off the frail flesh of humans and grasp the chance to become a higher race...]
"Ahhhh, O God!"
"God's white thing! Make the white thing even more...! Ahhh..!"
[...Do you really have to speak of salt in that w... Hoo...fine. Do as you please. Soon the time of revelation shall come upon this land. Now then, all of you, come close to this envoy...and be baptized by the [Eye] so that you may better see the will of God...] Newest update provided by novelFirｅ.net
At those words, the six cultivators crawl on all fours toward Seo Gyeong's apparition, and Seo Gyeong, briefly wondering why they have to crawl in such a way, sighs and reaches out a hand to them.
Before long,
In the eyes of the six cultivators, the pure white character for supervision is engraved.
It is the eye of God.
A few days later.
The seven members of the 'Esteemed One Descent Formation Installation Teams, centered on Bi Hwa, busily go about constructing the formation that will summon the Star Shattering Esteemed Ones.
:: This Immortal's divine body, go to the Earth Boundary Heavenly Domain and become the cornerstone that accomplishes this Immortal's grand plan. ::
Granting a fate to the dragon-shaped existence born from the hair, which possesses power at the Sacred Vessel stage and above from birth, the faceless White Collar Robe Mountain Divine Spirit reclines their body once more upon the throne of stars where they sit.
Flash!
Wol Ryeong, Seo Gyeong, and also Mu Geom, whose whole body was shattered but is in the process of recovering, traverse the Earth Tribe territory through the teleportation formation.
Even for Integration stage Grand Cultivators, one cannot recklessly use inter-territory teleportation formations, so once they use a teleportation formation, they must wait at least ten days before they can take the teleportation formation to the next region. Because of this, Wol Ryeong ends up having no choice but to take an unexpected tour of the Vast Cold Realm.
"This place is..."
"It looks to be a place called the Light Spirit Pond of race called the Cold Spirit Race."
Seo Gyeong smiles brightly as if he is feeling delighted as he looks around.
Wol Ryeong looks at the Cold Spirit Race, who are similar to the Human Race but have slightly bluer skin and exude cold energy.
"Hmm, but this is..."
But what catches her attention is the lake called the Light Spirit Pond.
A gigantic lake, made literally of life force itself!
Looking at that golden lake, Wol Ryeong cannot help but marvel at the strange beauty she is seeing for the first time.
"Mm...I didn't realize it then, but now I see the Light Spirit Pond was formed from heart fragments clumping together and sinking down toward the belly, where it later pooled divine blood. Their heart ruptured in an instant and the pieces clumped together. Just how did they get struck....?"
"...? Seo Gyeong, what did you say?"
"Ah, nothing. Just...letting my imagination run a little. Look, there's a guide tablet written over there, right?"
Where Seo Gyeong points, there is an inscription about the legend of how the Light Spirit Pond was created.
It is a legend about how in ancient times, when Heaven Immortals waged war, the bloodline spilled by one Heaven Immortal fell here and formed the Light Spirit Pond.
"Oho, the blood of a Heaven Immortal..."
Wol Ryeong, curious, approaches the Light Spirit Pond and buys a few drops of its water from a Cold Spirit Race selling it, and drinks it down.
"Mm...!"
Wol Ryeong instantly feels life force spreading through her entire body and smiles.
"Seo Gyeong, if we infuse this into Senior Brother Mu Geom, I think he will recover in no time."
"I think so too, Ryeong-ah."
Unexpectedly finding a miraculous elixir that can quickly heal Mu Geom within another race's territory, Wol Ryeong buys a large amount of Light Spirit Pond water and begins sightseeing cheerfully with Seo Gyeong.
The Cold Spirit Race's territory is indeed mysterious.
As befits a race that handles Cold Spirit, yin energy and cold energy are everywhere, but thanks to that refreshing chill, countless spirit herbs bloom around the Light Spirit Pond.
Fields of spirit herbs are spread all over, and if one goes a bit farther out of the territory, there is a dense jungle.
"It's beautiful. We should have looked around the True Dragon Alliance a bit more too."
"Haha, at your level you'll soon step into the Star Shattering stage and will be able to sightsee the True Dragon Alliance as much as you want."
"Ahaha, even for me, the Star Shattering stage is a little bit much. I'll challenge it in a few hundred years."
Chatting with Seo Gyeong, Wol Ryeong enjoys sightseeing as they fly through the jungle around the Light Spirit Pond.
After flying for some time around the Light Spirit Pond, Wol Ryeong suddenly sees ahead the unique cold energy of the Cold Spirit Race clashing with fearsome yin energy and ghostly energy.
"Huh, that's..."
"Someone is fighting. Let's go, it'll be fun."
Thinking it will be interesting, Wol Ryeong tucks Seo Gyeong at her waist and flies toward where the battle is taking place.
There, two groups are engaged in battle.
"Oh? Over there is...Black Ghost Valley?"
She spots a familiar banner on one side and flinches in surprise, then realizes that those fighting on the other side are the native forces of the Cold Spirit Race and feels puzzled.
Soon after, the cultivators of Black Ghost Valley notice Wol Ryeong's presence and brighten with smiles.
"Hahaha, it is a Grand Cultivator of the Human Race! Lord Grand Cultivator, please come here and hear our grievances!"
At those words, the faces of those on the Black Ghost Valley side brighten, while the faces of the Cold Spirit Race natives darken.
"What is going on here?"
"Greetings, Lord Grand Cultivator. I am a Black Grand Elder of Black Ghost Valley, Wei Jo."
"Mm...but you, are you truly human?"
"Ahaha, in truth my parents are ghostly creatures from the Nether Ghost Realm. My father is of jiangshi origin, but since the body that serves as the base of jiangshi is that of the Human Race, I am more or less treated as a member of the Human Race."
Looking at the burly man who introduces himself as Wei Jo, Seo Gyeong's eyes shine.
"Huhu, Black Ghost Cultivator Wei Jo. Nice to meet you. I am Seo Gyeong, a fellow disciple of Grand Cultivator Wol here."
"Ah, nice to meet you, Lord...Grand Cultivator Seo."
Wei Jo glances at Seo Gyeong, who is carried at Wol Ryeong's waist, sees that he is only at the early Integration stage, and pays him little mind before grinning at Wol Ryeong instead.
Since he possesses a cultivation that is a half a step beyond the Grand Perfection Four-Axis stage, he apparently does not wish to show much courtesy to Seo Gyeong who is only at the early Integration stage.
'This guy, did he fall for Wol Ryeong?"
Reading Wei Jo's attitude and intent, Seo Gyeong smirks, and Wol Ryeong, perhaps sensing a bit of Wei Jo's attitude as well, twitches her brows, steps back a pace, and speaks.
"Indeed, it is good to meet you, Wei Jo. So, what are you doing now with the Cold Spirit Race natives?"
"Ah, that... We purchased land in the Cold Spirit Race territory to open a Black Ghost Valley Cold Spirit Race branch within their territory. It was land the Cold Spirit Race themselves sold cheaply, saying it had been ruined hundreds of thousands of years ago. But when we actually developed the land and tried to establish the Black Ghost Valley branch, they opposed us to death! This land is land we of Black Ghost Valley purchased legitimately, yet no matter how many times we explained, they refused to vacate, so it came to a clash of force."
"Hm... Did you perhaps smash all the houses of the native forces living here and tell them to get out?"
"How could that be! They are people who believe the old superstitions of this land, and they are doing this because they claim some nightmare is buried beneath it! They are doing this because they believe a legend that if the power of that nightmare awakens, the Cold Spirit Race will be destroyed."
At Wei Jo's words, the Cold Spirit Race side shouts loudly.
"Do not lie, you ghostly creature bastard! If you were truly only building a branch, we would have stayed still. But did you not deliberately seek to awaken the nightmare sleeping beneath this land!!??"
"What nonsense! And whether I do awaken the nightmare or not, this land and everything in it is something I obtained through a legitimate transaction with the Cold Spirit Race Grand Cultivator! Who are you to stop me!?"
"That nightmare must never awaken! Lord Grand Cultivator, please hear our words. Our Cold Spirit Race, hundreds of thousands of years ago, suffered under the dreadful nightmare and..."
"Hmph, ridiculous talk! Hear Me! Since Lord Grand Cultivator has arrived, now is the time! Pour it!!"
When the Cold Spirit Race tries to say something, Wei Jo seems to watch Wol Ryeong's reaction, then gives an order to the other disciples of Black Ghost Valley.
At Wei Jo's order, the Black Ghost Valley disciples form hand seals and summon something.
One disciple flips the earth with the Earth Escape Technique, and another, through water-element spells, guides the 'water' they summon to flow precisely down into the overturned ground.
It is the water of the Light Spirit Pond.
Seeing this, the Cold Spirit Race natives cry out with eyes flipped.
"Insane Human Race bastards! Hear me, everyone, sweep away those lunatics!!!"
Kwarurururung!
Five Great Perfection Four-Axis cultivators on the other side unfold a Four-Axis Canopy and unleash powerful cold energy.
It is a clear killing move, and since the Black Ghost Valley side has only one Four-Axis Grand Perfection cultivator, Wei Jo, normally that one attack should have blown them all away.
However, seeing that killing move, Wol Ryeong has no choice but to stretch out her hand and block it.
"Lord Grand Cultivator! You must not!!!"
Chwarurururur!
And then, driven by the Black Ghost Valley disciples, the Light Spirit Water from the Light Spirit Pond they summon finally falls all the way down into the deep underground.
Wol Ryeong furrows her brows.
"You, did you use me?"
"I apologize, Lord Grand Cultivator. For this matter, Black Ghost Valley will compensate. Yet if this succeeds, the pitiable ghostly spirits who unjustly lost their bodies and wander within Black Ghost Valley can obtain salvation. Please show leniency."
"You..."
It is just when is about to draw out the radiance halberd to deal with Wei Jo, who tries to slip by with only an apology.
"Grand Elder! It is coming!! [That] has opened its eyes!"
Kugugugugu!
Wol Ryeong suddenly widens her eyes at the tremor that rises from the deep underground where the Light Spirit Water was poured down.
'This is...!'
It is unmistakably the wave of an Integration stage cultivator.
And in the instant she comes to that realization-
Kwarurururung!
Something bursts out from the deep underground.
It is a puppet in the form of a hunchbacked old man with the wings of a bee.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
Strange circuits flow across the puppet's surface, and along those circuits the power of the Light Spirit Water seeps in, awakening the puppet's strength.
Inside the puppet, countless mechanical devices begin to turn and activate.
Seeing this, Wei Jo lets out a scream of ecstasy.
"It has come out!!! At last!!! At last we succeeded in excavating [Nightmare]! Hahaha, thank you, Lord Grand Cultivator! With this, our Black Ghost Valley can take a great leap forward!"
"What? You, can you not speak clearly!? What is that puppet!?"
Wol Ryeong frowns at the puppet radiating unmistakable Integration stage fluctuations, while Seo Gyeong slips down from Wol Ryeong's hold, his eyes tinged with a look of reminiscence.
"...So that is buried here too."
Wei Jo throws back his head in mad laughter and speaks.
"From the ancient era of hundreds of thousands of years past, it is a legacy of the [Three Great Disasters] that once swept across this Vast Cold Realm. The existence who reached Star Shattering through the power of puppets alone...the relic of the Three Great Disasters, the Mad Lord! With this, Black Ghost Valley and the Human Race can turn the Heaven Tribe's Two Heads into Three!"
Clangclangclangclangclang...
But before Wei Jo even finishes speaking, an ominous clattering rings from within the puppet, and a red light bursts out.
The crimson glow gathers in the puppet's eyes, and from its mouth erupts a voice.
[Youyouyouyouyouyou...
YoudaretoawakenmelamthesubordinateofthegreatElder JoYeonhowdareanignorantbarbarianwithnoattainmentinpupp Youyouyouyouyouyou... Thief who activated the device without proper authorization shall be punished chijijijik... Punish, punish, nishpunishpunsih...chijijijijik...]
At that grotesque sight, Wol Ryeong glares at Wei Jo.
"... You claim this is safe? Celestial energy shows me nothing but visions of it attacking us."
"Haha, please do not worry. Through the method my father taught me of seizing the [circuit), if it's me, I can make that puppet into my very own body. I will show you. Beneath there, other than that one, there are many Integration stage puppets buried... If I succeed, Black Ghost Valley can mass-produce the Integration stage at-"
Kwaaang!
Before Wei Jo can finish, the hunchbacked puppet with bee wings smashes its fist into Wei Jo's face.
Jjeoooooong!
Wei Jo is struck and sent flying far away, and the disciples of Black Ghost Valley, who lost their boss in an instant, fall into panic.
[Youyouyouyou... I shall turn you all into the soldiers of the Fortress. Factory, activate!]
Kugugugugugu!
At the puppet's voice, from deep underground comes the roar of something starting up, and a violent tremor shakes the ground.
Seo Gyeong, as if recalling unpleasant memories, speaks with a bitter expression.
"... That is a General Puppet with administrator authority right. Ryeong-ah, let's retreat for now and request aid from the Cold Spirit Race Grand Cultivator. A General Puppet is extremely..."
"Step aside, Gyeong-ah."
But Wol Ryeong, with the face of someone who has found an interesting toy, draws out the radiance halberd and tempers the Integrated Dao Domain into its blade.
"A relic of the ancient disasters, is it? Shall we see what it can do."
Clang!
The General Puppet opens its mouth and spews out a light beam, and Wol Ryeong, smirking, deflects the beam.
"So this is the acclaimed power of the so-called Three Great Disasters of antiquity..."
Immediately after, having its attack repelled, the General Puppet opens its mouth again, and through the summoning formation inscribed inside, calls forth something.
Kwaaaang!
Right after, Wol Ryeong is struck by the combined assault of fifty Integration stage Grand Cultivator-class bio-puppets summoned from the hunchbacked puppet's mouth, and like Wei Jo, has her limbs smashed apart and sent flying far into the distance.
-x-X-x-
Clang, clang-
Seo Gyeong looks at the hunchbacked puppet standing before him for the first time in a long while.
'... Was it the 11th cycle?'
The first puppet the Mad Lord sent to apprehend Seo Eun-hyun.
That puppet was that very hunchbacked puppet resembling the Mad Lord.
[According to the Elder's order, the plan to occupy the Bright Cold Realm shall begin. Commence collecting 'materials' for factory operation. Chijijijik... 'Materials' found. Early Integration stage Grand Cultivator. Begin capture...chijijik...begin...chijik...shishishishishi...youyouyouyouyou...]
The hunchbacked general puppet keeps crackling and staggering, then reaches out a hand toward Seo Eun-hyun, and Seo Eun-hyun reaches out his hand in return and sends a voice transmission.
"Authority, Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress Main Castle's general puppet. Unit name [General Seo]. As a general puppet of the Upper Fortress, I request transfer of administrator authority."
And with Seo Eun-hyun's words, the transparent [circuit] he emits connects to the general puppet.
Soon after, so that the others watching them do not suspect anything, the general puppet and Seo Eun- hyun begin to converse by voice transmission.
[General Seo. This is an unregistered unit name.]
[It is a unit that was rapidly constructed at the Upper Fortress. I also bring the command letter of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress's main castle.]
Wo-woong-
Through Seo Gyeong's body, Seo Eun-hyun assembles information entities he obtained long ago at the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress and hands them to the general puppet.
[Chijijik... Confirming the unit name and orders of the general puppet [General Seo], possessing acting administrator authority of the Castle Lord [Mad Lord Jo Yeon]. From now on, the administrator authority of the [Wonderfully Mysterious Castle's Mass-Production Integration-Class Puppet Production Factory Branch] is transferred to [General Seo].]
"...Mass-Production Integration-Class Puppet Factory..."
At that terrifying name, Seo Eun-hyun clicks his tongue.
'So after building [Her] to the Star Shattering Stage, he made these and scattered them all over the Vast Cold Realm. If he had been given a few tens of thousands of more years...the Integration stage puppets [mass-produced] under the Mad Lord might have swarmed over the Vast Cold Realm like a cloud of
bees.'
Seo Eun-hyun shudders as he imagines hundreds of billions of mass-produced Integration stage puppets blanketing the Vast Cold Realm like a swarm of locusts.
No matter how great the gap between the Star Shattering stage and the Integration stage is, if hundreds of billions of Integration stage puppets are mass-produced, it could be dangerous even for Sacred Vessels.
Moreover, considering the Mad Lord's genius and disposition, there is no way he would command such a huge number of puppets with mere attrition tactics. He would have devised some plan through the puppets without fail.
'If the Mad Lord remained alive, the insane act of pushing aside the Sacred Master through hundreds of billions of Integration stage puppets and installing the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress in the Sacred Master seat might have been possible...'
That is the might of the being called the Mad Lord.
What was always frightening about the Mad Lord was not the powerful puppet [Her], but the [factories] the Mad Lord created.
At first, he mass-produced Heavenly Being stage puppets, then Four-Axis stage puppets, then Integration stage puppets, and after [She] was built, he might have even attempted to mass-produce Star Shattering stage puppets.
If Jo Yeon's goal was not Yeon's Play but rather to confront Seo Hweol, then surely that would have been the case.
'All of that is now just a memory too...'
Seo Eun-hyun, using the administrator authority, cancels the 'Integration stage puppet mass-production plan' of the 'Mass-Production Integration-Class Puppet Factory' eroding the underground.
Now this puppet factory will only operate for the purpose of repairing the approximately fifty Integration stage puppets here.
'If a few tens of millions of years pass like that, just as spirit fruits, spirit woods, and spirit stones develop spiritual nature and become part of the Earth Tribe, these fellows too might join the Earth Tribe.'
Thinking that someday such a day might come, Seo Eun-hyun, leaving out about three Integration-class puppets, embeds a [prophecy] within the remaining puppets so that no one can detect them.
Originally, these puppets were not within calculation, so it wasn't planned, but...
If they are defeated, and the next Enders arrive, perhaps it will become another arrangement to give to them.
The prophecy and command that Seo Eun-hyun embeds in the puppets are as follows.
[Someday, if existences from an otherworld come, protect them, and if they possess a certain qualification, serve them as your owner and be loyal.]
Leaving an arrangement so that, at roughly the Core Formation level, one can become the owner of these puppets, Seo Eun-hyun smiles faintly.
The term otherworld does not mean merely another Middle Realm or Heavenly Domain, but a completely different world, so it will one day help the Enders who come from another world.
Memories with the Mad Lord that he never expected to recall flash through his head.
Back then, they were so heartbreakingly painful it felt like death...
But as always, wounds turn into nostalgic memories once time passes.
Now, both the Mad Lord and Seo Hweol are nothing more than one of his nostalgic memories.
[By administrator authority, I command. From this moment...]
After recalling memories for a while, Seo Eun-hyun looks toward Wol Ryeong flying from afar and issues orders to the three puppets remaining.
The hunchbacked puppet.
The Supreme Tiger Race puppet.
The Western Flame Race puppet.
Wol Ryeong grits her teeth.
It is humiliating.
'I let my guard down.'
She should have listened to Seo Gyeong's words.
She never expected such an ability.
Even her short-term foresight through celestial energy failed to read it.
'I was overconfident, without thinking properly about the functions of puppets from the beginning.'
It has only been two months since she repelled the God of Heavenly Punishment, who resides at the apex
of the Immortal Cultivation system.
Because of that, her confidence rose too high.
As she quickly returns to where she originally was, she bites her lips hard.
'Please, please let nothing have happened. Please...!'
And then.
Finally returning to her original position, Wol Ryeong feels as if her insides turn upside down.
Bududuk...
"...What are you doing...?"
She growls as she sees puppets placing Seo Gyeong, disciples of Black Ghost Valley, and the Cold Spirit Race natives all into machine-like devices and violently extracting Heaven and Earth spiritual energy from
them.
[Can you not see? I am collecting power sources.]
"...Power sources?"
[The life force of Integration stage Grand Cultivators, including Four-Axis stage and Heavenly Being stage cultivators, is in itself an eternal power source for puppets. By extracting power from them, I am going to begin the operation of my [factory].]
"...Let him go."
[What?]
"Release...Seo Gyeong!"
Bo-oong-
In an instant, Wol Ryeong grips the radiance halberd in her hand and charges at the puppet.
The radiance halberd collides with the hunchbacked puppet's arm.
And Wol Ryeong cannot help but be startled.
'Th-This guy...'
Wiiiiiing-
The fifty Integration stage puppets that ambushed her have disappeared, but the hunchbacked puppet is
still summoning the power of those fifty Integration stage puppet comrades with one arm.
And that is not the end.
Clang clang clang!
The Supreme Tiger Race puppet, the Western Flame Race puppet.
The hunchbacked puppet draws the Three Powers Formation, each forming a hand seal.
[Heaven ().]
[Earth (tt).]
[Puppet (().]
Kugugung!
In that moment, as if the form of the Three Great Ultimates appears within their Three Powers Formation,
an overwhelming amplification of power erupts and crashes down upon Wol Ryeong.
[Kkuuuugh!]
Even with her dimensional slash wrapped with her Integrated Dao Domain, Wol Ryeong realizes she cannot resist at all before this [power] so immeasurably massive.
Kwaaang!
Immediately, Wol Ryeong is flung away together with her Integrated Dao Domain again by the force of the
puppets.
'The dimensional slash compressed with the Integrated Dao Domain...is advantageous when facing the 'absolute' power of transcendent beings, but against a mass attack of overwhelming numbers beneath
that, it is not so useful.'
Then what must she do?
'Unlike the Lightning God Battle, this time I must release my power.'
But she furrows her brows.
'Damn it...Three Great Disasters? Just what kind of bastards are they?'
Even if she releases her full strength as a Quasi-Star Shattering stage cultivator, she does not think she
can overcome that amplification of power.
The Mad Lord system puppets possess such absurd performance that even she cannot dare to reach.
'...Not compression.'
That is why she does not release power, but instead once again focuses her consciousness into the
dimensional slash.
'This blade mounted on the halberd...'
Kiiiiiing-
She does not spread it wide.
Rather, she hones that sharp energy to the utmost and sheaths it over her own body.
She makes the radiance halberd and herself become one!
Patstststststs!
Wol Ryeong's eyes shine.
'I will force those things into close combat.'
The divine power of this dimensional slash compressed by the Integrated Dao Domain can cut through
everything.
But though it can cut everything, it cannot defend against everything.
Therefore, it is useless against puppets that summon such brute force and rain down brute
bombardments.
Therefore, she wraps that sharpness around her entire body.
She becomes the halberd itself.
[Huuuu...]
She feels as if her mind itself is becoming a blade, and in that moment, she realizes something.
'From here, if I take just one more step...'
It feels like her mind, her soul, itself will truly become a blade.
It feels like she will become a woman of iron.
But she is afraid to reach that realm.
'If I become iron, will I still be able to hold Seo Gyeong in my arms?'
To become unable to embrace the one she likes.
She is incredibly afraid of that.
'Not yet...I can't reach this domain yet. Instead...'
Chuaaat!
She takes one step closer toward the paper flower flickering before her eyes.
'I will come a little closer to there.'
Woo-woong-
Her consciousness domain, for an instant, becomes a blade.
Kugugugu!
Keeping her consciousness domain turned into a blade as it is, she drops down upon the three puppets
below who are drawing the Three Great Ultimates, and at last.
Jjeoeoong!
She directly cancels out all the beams they emit and arrives before the hunchbacked puppet that is
extracting energy from Seo Gyeong and the others.
"Hand over Seo Gyeong."
[Crush the intruder...]
Wajijik...
There is resistance from the hunchbacked puppet, but her arm, having become the halberd itself, pierces
straight through the puppet's barrier and arm and every defensive motion, into the puppet's interior.
It reaches the place that appears to be the puppet's power core.
Wajijik!
And at last, after she crushes the power core, she grinds up the remaining two puppets in an instant and approaches Seo Gyeong.
Kwaang!
Rescuing Seo Gyeong, who had been briefly contained inside a strange test tube-like device, Wol Ryeong embraces him and speaks.
"It's okay, Gyeong-ah. I'm here."
"...Ryeong-ah."
"...I'm sorry. For not being able to protect you."
Wol Ryeong feels as if her chest is tearing apart.
Why is it?
Why is it that even though it is another who is in pain, her own chest aches.
She does not know the reason.
But she at least knows this much-that it's the heart of a person.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
"...It is okay. You still protect me in the end. Thank you, Ryeong-ah."
She resents her own heart for melting away at that single phrase.
But she can tell.
'As long as Seo Gyeong exists...I can avoid becoming iron.'
As long as Seo Gyeong exists, she can remain human.
That truth leads her into deep relief.
And along with that truth, Wol Ryeong realizes something.
'So that is how it is...'
She discovered someone who will keep her a person.
This is, in a sense, the key to crossing into the Star Shattering stage.
'Thank you, Gyeong-ah.'
As she embraces Seo Gyeong, she knows that even if she finally crosses into the Star Shattering stage, she will not scatter into dust, but can remain human.
Kwarururung!
The ruins of the Mad Lord are, by Wol Ryeong, driven even deeper and eroded into the underground.
Now, no matter how much Light Spirit Water is poured in, those puppets will never emerge again.
"To try excavating something so dangerous without even properly assessing the danger. The Cold Spirit Race quite literally almost faced annihilation!"
"...I am sorry."
Wol Ryeong scolds Wei Jo.
It is the truth.
If fifty at the Integration stage suddenly appeared and swept through the surroundings, the Cold Spirit Race would have literally been destroyed, and even the nearby Heaven Tribes would have been swept in the disaster.
Even more, if those insane puppets had succeeded in activating that thing called a [factory]...
'I don't want to imagine it.'
The fragment of the Three Great Disasters would likely have descended upon the Vast Cold Realm. "...But I thought I could control the-"
Jjaak!
At Wei Jo's excuse, Wol Ryeong slaps Wei Jo's cheek.
"Enough! If you make any more excuses, I will execute you on the spot as the representative of the Grand Cultivator Association. With that one reckless act, you placed not only the Cold Spirit Race, but the entire Heaven Tribe in danger. However...be grateful that, at Seo Gyeong's request, instead of imposing capital punishment, it will end with only dismissal from the Elder position of Black Ghost Valley!"
"...Yes, Lord Grand Cultivator."
Perhaps cowed by Wol Ryeong's fierce scolding, Wei Jo lowers his head, and Wol Ryeong turns away from him, intending to return to the Light Spirit Pond.
Meanwhile, Seo Gyeong approaches Wei Jo and asks him a question.
"...By the way, you said your parents are ghostly creatures, correct?"
"...That is correct."
"Are your parents well?"
"Yes, since both of them are ghostly creatures, their lifespans are far longer than those of the Human Race. Their relationship is still strong. Thanks to that, I have many younger siblings."
"Haha, that is a relief. Take this and pass it along when you meet your parents."
"This is..."
Wei Jo receives the pouch handed by Seo Gyeong, and as he checks the contents, he makes a puzzled expression.
What is inside is nothing but a simple lump of salt.
"If you say it is from a connection from the days of the Order, they will understand. It is an elixir fitting for your parents who are ghostly creatures, so just show it to them once."
"Yes...thank you ver...urk..."
As he looks at the salt, Wei Jo suddenly becomes confused about who the being giving him the pouch of salt is.
"By the way...the distinguished one's name is...huh?"
And at last, he scratches his head with a strange feeling.
"...Who did I just meet?"
He forgets that the one he has met is Seo Gyeong.
Information about the being called Seo Gyeong seems pulled out of his mind.
"...Hmm...I don't know. At any rate, though I don't know what it is, judging from the energy it gives, I should bring it to my parents. Their bodies are weak lately, so they will be pleased if it helps replenish their vitality."
Wei Jo looks at the receding Wol Ryeong in the distance and gives a bitter smile.
He does not spare a thought for the boy by Wol Ryeong's side and only feels a pain in his chest.
"...I want to look good to the Grand Cultivator, but...life is not easy..."
Wol Ryeong glances back at Wei Jo and asks Seo Gyeong.
"Why did you go and give an elixir to that punk-like guy?"
She does not know what Seo Gyeong gave him, but judging by the spiritual energy she senses, she guesses it's an elixir.
"...Ah, it's just...because he resembles a friend I knew when I was younger."
"If it's when you were younger, that's when we entered the Radiance Spirit Sect together."
"Even younger than that."
"What, why don't I know about your childhood? Tsk, you rascal, Seo Gyeong."
Wol Ryeong kneads Seo Gyeong's soft cheek, and thus they return to the Human Race territory.
Kurung, kurururung—
A dark Heavenly Escape Realm.
In that Heavenly Escape Realm, some dragon-shaped existence is transforming in front of a descent formation that connects to the distant dimension of the Vast Cold Realm.
Wriggle, squirm...
That existence is one that is influenced by the ideology, emotions, and thoughts of the [Great God] who gave birth to it, and the reason it is transforming now is because the God who gave birth to it is immersed
in some particular thought.
Squirm...
At last, that existence transforms into human form.
It is the form that the one who gave it birth believes to be the best for unfolding Martial Arts.
According to the thoughts of the transcendent who gave birth to it, the dragon-shaped existence takes a
certain movement.
It is a hand blade.
And then, the voice of the transcendent existence shakes the Heavenly Escape Realm.
:: Through the hand blade, crush the heart and send it down toward the dantian. : :
A certain existence gazes with a transcendent sight toward the Light Spirit Pond in the distant Vast Cold Realm and mutters.
That figure looks as if, by looking at the traces of damage on a corpse, they are thinking about in what manner the opponent killed the corpse.
:: Downward strike. : :
And then, the single strike that smashed Vast Cold's heart in one blow, bunched it up, and sent it down to
the dantian.
The existence who traces back along those traces and analyzes them defines the identity of that single
strike.
The dragon-shaped existence takes a posture of bringing the hand blade down as if bringing a sword
down.
However, the transcendent existence seems dissatisfied, as if thinking something over.
Then, at a certain moment, the transcendent seems to figure something out and their eyes shine.
:: It is not just a downward strike. This is...::
Woo-woong-
According to the consciousness of the transcendent existence, before the dragon-shaped being that
moves like a puppet, a flow of attraction force arises.
Swishak!
Aiming at that flow of attraction force, as it brings the hand blade down, something astonishing happens.
Kukwagwagwang!
Just like that, a part of the Heavenly Escape Realm's dimension is cut away and a massive scar is made in
the void.
::...Is this the technique of the Emperor? ::
The transcendent clicks their tongue and closely observes the technique they have reconstructed. Attraction force that any cultivator at the Middle Boundary or higher can wield.
A decisive technique of adjusting the direction of that attraction force and swinging an attack to match it.
Considering that the downward strike's power is magnified by the addition of attraction force, it is literally the orthodox form of a downward strike.
And the transcendent recalls the traces on Vast Cold's corpse and senses the dangerousness of this
technique.
'A technique through attraction force can be resisted with attraction force. But it was impossible for Vast Cold. It was at the level of just taking the hit as it came. If so...'
It means that if one stands before the being they are thinking of, one cannot use attraction force.
'The opponent is the Owner of Fate and Attraction Force. To face them...attraction force alone is not enough to deliver a decisive blow.'
Therefore, their eyes shine as they speak toward the void.
:: Are you prepared? ::
From the distant void, a sinister wind blows in, and the Empress of Ghosts, who leads vast ghostly
energies, responds.
[Prepared. Now, if we help Yeon and together with the shadow of the Artificial Gandhara, engrave upon
the world...this will forever be the space where Enders can inscribe their arrangements.]
:: | see. ::
They nod at her words, then gazes at the pale pink existence who is constructing the Artificial Gandhara
outside Mount Sumeru, gathering the gazes of the Radiance Eight Immortals.
:: She too seems prepared. Then now, let us gradually begin the preparations. : :
Kugugugu!
The transcendent's gaze turns toward the distant Vast Cold Realm.
Toward Wol Ryeong, who, together with the being named Seo Gyeong, has returned to the Human Race
territory and is preparing for the Star Shattering advancement.
:: Now...the arrangement of this Immortal has taken its first step. : :
The arrangement that will surely become a help to the distant future existences...
And the key that will be the greatest aid in facing the Great Mountain Supreme Deity Gwak Am.
At the same time, while crafting the arrangement that may perhaps become a way to strike at the Owner
of Fate, the God of Sword Mountain rises from their seat.
Paaaaaaat!
From the center of the God of Sword Mountain, the silver-white light that resonates with their divinity,
brought by the Fifth Seat of the Radiance Eight Immortals, the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord, bursts forth
with light.
At the center of that silver-white light, a faint black shadow appears, and that shadow rather looks like a [Black Snake Biting Its Tail].
Inside the Black Snake Biting Its Tail is a Wheel of Starlight.
And within the Wheel of Starlight rests a white Three Great Ultimates, like a radiant halo.
:: Now then. Before facing Great Mountain, to fully seize the Radiance Mantra...shall we wage war against
Radiance Hall? ::
Kugugugugu―
At the declaration of the Divine Spirit of Sword Mountain, behind them, red, blue, purple, pale pink, and
dark-red lights begin to line up.
Kugugung-
At last, the great Divine Spirit of Sword Mountain, who for years shut themselves away in the Heavenly
Escape Realm to leave behind their arrangement, begins to step forth beyond it.
Tstststst-
But why is it?
The being called the wicked Mountain Divine Spirit shows a measure of control over the power of the
[Black Snake Biting Its Tail]...
And they even seem as if they are eroding part of the domain of light.
Inheriting the lineage of Salt Mountain and eroding the power of Radiance Hall, that existence looks as if
they are transforming into some transcendent being who unites light and salt.
[Let us advance. It is seven days until the end of Radiance Hall.]
The red light cries out in excitement, and the presence of the Divine Spirit of Sword Mountain begins to
spread outside the Heavenly Escape Realm.
It pervades the entirety of Mount Sumeru.
:: Come, O Light. For now...I am Light and Salt!!! ::
Seeing that declaration, among the lights that follow them, some rejoice, but some voice concern.
It is the purple light.
[But is it right to face them again so soon?]
:: Even if only to unravel the two Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flags embedded within this body... ::
But the Divine Spirit of Sword Mountain exudes confidence as they mutter.
:: War must be waged. ::
With the weaving of arrangements stabilized to some degree, the Divine Spirit of Sword Mountain
declares a proclamation of war toward the forces of light.
Though the mortal being Wol Ryeong does not know, beyond the Vast Cold Realm, in a distant world-
Above the Plane of True Immortals, with the cry of the evil Devil God, war thus begins.
-x-X-x-
Center of the Heavenly King Heavenly Domain.
Palace of Radiance.
Inside, eight colossal Giant Gods of Light sit around a round table, holding a council.
:: That Devil Immortal has declared war on us. ::
:: What a madman. Are they saying they will face us before facing the Great Mountain Supreme Deity? :: :: It must be an unspoken protest asking us to draw the Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flag. ::
:: That must not be allowed! We must aim to use poison against poison between the Great Mountain Supreme Deity and that Devil Immortal. We cannot carelessly loosen that one's leash. : :
:: Then what shall we do? Must we expend all the God-Killing Spears we have accumulated before even fighting the Great Mountain Supreme Deity? ::
:: That is not right. It is an inferior strategy. ::
The gazes of the Eight Immortals turn to the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord and Pearl Jade Heavenly Lord, who take on the military strategist role of Radiance Hall.
:: What should be done, Sword Spear, Pearl Jade? ::
:: It is too early to use our hidden stratagem. Therefore, weakening the opponent is correct. : :
At Sword Spear's words, all nod.
:: What is the best method? ::
At Rain Dew's question, Pearl Jade answers.
:: [Name]. ::
:: Name? ::
:: That Mountain Divine Spirit currently has no Immortal Title. There is no currently Naming Supreme Deity to begin with, so it is a difficult situation to compose an Immortal Title. Therefore...if we instead confer an Immortal Title upon them and fix their attributes, we can weaken them. ::
:: What is the current situation of the Seat of Naming? ::
:: The Great Net Immortals of the Naming Immortal Dao who were in hiding are struggling to ascend to Immortal Lord. ::
:: Torch Candle Heavenly Lord, can you temporarily occupy the Naming Seat? ::
:: It is possible. However, I will have to go on an expedition into the inner Immortal Domain of the Naming Immortal Dao. ::
:: Immediately after the council, go to the Immortal Domain of Naming and occupy the Naming Seat. After that, if the Mountain God invades the Heavenly King Heavenly Domain, we will lure them here and forcibly bestow a name upon them. ::
The council of the Radiance Eight Immortals.
There, they thus conclude to confer a new Immortal Title upon the Mountain Divine Spirit through the Naming Immortal Dao.
:: Then what name should we confer upon them? ::
:: We must attach a name that is antagonistically weak to light. A name that, when receiving light, can melt them down violently suits them... : :
:: In that case...a name containing Devil () is good. ::
:: Right, all Devils() lose their power before Clear Righteousness (IE)...::
:: They are currently an Immortal Beast King. We also need a name that degrades the power of Immortal Beast King. ::
:: In truth, only their realm is of Heaven-Earth Great Net. They are in essence a Governing Immortal! We must pull down the rank of that Governing Immortal. : :
:: We cannot drag them down blindly below Great Net Immortal. Even by the power of Names, it is at best uncertain whether we can pull them down one step. : :
:: Then...let us grant them the title of Lord (). Though it is an honorific too grand for a Heaven-Earth Great Net...it will be enough to drag their authority, which is to some degree at the Governing Immortal weight class, down to the Immortal Lord level. : :
:: Then, for now, do we all agree to attach the name Devil Lord (A)? : :
:: Agreed. ::
:: Agreed. ::
Thus, in the council of the Eight Immortals, the shackle and name to be attached to the Divine Spirit of Sword Mountain is decided.
:: Weakening their power is one thing, but if the name does not fit them, in the end that one can shake off the power of the name themselves. ::
:: We must include a name that is not awkward for them, one that explains their identity. : :
:: Mountain must be included no matter what. That mountain spirit bastard... : :
:: At least one more character is needed. What symbol do they have? ::
:: They go around taking the Wheel, Salt, and Glass as their symbols. For the Earth Tribe, it seems their symbol is a 'Spiraling Candle Dragon'. : :
:: How about Candle Mountain Devil Lord. Attaching the character Candle (*), that is. ::
:: Good. But if we do so, it will overlap with the Immortal Title of Torch Candle Heavenly Lord. The domain of Torch Candle will become important. Can you handle it, Torch Candle? ::
At those words, the newly appointed Torch Candle Heavenly Lord clears their throat as if lacking a little confidence.
In fact, after the Naming Supreme Deity War, the one who wielded the Heavenly Void Furnace, anchored it in the Head Realm, and then died is the Torch Candle Heavenly Lord again, so a new Torch Candle Heavenly Lord has been selected once more.
In such a situation, being given another burdensome role immediately makes the new Torch Candle Heavenly Lord appear flustered.
At that moment, the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord steps forward.
:: That one is a being who wields the sword (J). Then let this Immortal divide the power of my symbol so that Sword (J) enters into that one's Immortal Title. : :
:: Such a thing, Sword Spear. This means as much of the power of the Immortal Title weakens them, that much of your power will be pulled away. Will you be fine? ::
:: This Lord is the martial force of Radiance Hall. I am a being that does not easily collapse. Do not worry, Rain Dew. ::
:: Sword Spear! Ahhh... O Sword of Radiance Hall...! ::
Rain Dew lets out an exclamation in awe of Sword Spear's sacrifice, and the other Radiance Eight Immortals also exhale silent exclamations at their sacrifice.
:: You need not do so, Sword Spear. : :
:: You are our martial strength. ::
:: Your sacrifice may instead become an even greater threat to Radiance Hall. : :
However, even at everyone's dissuasion, Sword Spear shakes their head.
: : It is fine. This Immortal is the vanguard of the Radiance Eight Immortals. In every dangerous matter, I have always gone ahead. This time is no different. : :
Cheok-
Woo-wooooong!
When the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord stretches out their hand, silver-white light extends from their palm and gathers in the void.
Then, centering on Sword Spear's light, part of the light of the Eight Immortals also gathers and engraves
a certain [Name] into the void.
Sword Mountain Devil Lord (U).
That is the shackle of the Eight Immortals created to weaken the Immortal Beast King Seo Eun-hyun, and his new Immortal Title.
It is the Mountain Divine Spirit's new name. ::
:: Torch Candle. You head with Great Sun to the Immortal Domain of Naming. : :
Kugugugu!
The Great Sun Heavenly Lord and Torch Candle Heavenly Lord rise from their seats.
Shortly after, they sweep their hands through the void, and before them unfolds a completely different otherworld.
A world of the Immortal Dao of the Naming Seat that only those who tread the Naming Immortal Dao can
enter.
It is the Naming Immortal Domain.
Tsuaaat!
Yet, though they are not ones who walk the Dao of Naming, by the power of the Radiance Eight Immortals they ignore the rules and step into the Naming Immortal Domain.
Immediately after, the Eight Immortals rise from their seats.
Great Forest speaks.
:: Now when Great Sun and Torch Candle return after occupying the Naming Seat, we will all combine strengths and prepare a trap to bestow an Immortal Title upon the Mountain Divine Spirit. Until then, each of you, return to your own residence and prepare. : :
After Great Forest's words, the Rain Dew Heavenly Lord clasps their palms together and bows toward the Seat of Radiance shining brilliantly above them.
:: Glory to the Radiance Supreme Deity. ::
:: Glory! ::
With those words, the Eight Immortals each return to their residences at the speed of light.
The council hall of the Eight Immortals falls empty.
But after a while, a cluster of light gathers.
Patststststst!
Great Forest, Flower Plant, Pearl Jade, Great Sea, Rain Dew.
Great Sun and Torch Candle, who have gone to occupy the Immortal Domain of Naming.
All except the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord, who has gone to their dwelling, now gather separately.
:: You have seen it. : :
The Rain Dew Heavenly Lord speaks coldly.
At their words, all the Heavenly Lords let out silent sighs.
:: Sword Spear is bewitched by the Mountain Divine Spirit. Even this time, wishing to cling stubbornly to
the Mountain Divine Spirit, they contributed their own power into the Immortal Title that can exert the greatest influence on the Mountain Divine Spirit. Now, they must be executed. ::
::...
The Rain Dew Heavenly Lord particularly looks toward the Pearl Jade Heavenly Lord, who governs Metal
() as Sword Spear does.
:: All the evidence this Immortal speaks of has been laid bare. Though Sword Spear represents martial force, with a great battle imminent, they have meddled needlessly in matters that other Heavenly Lords should do, even consuming their own martial force, showing an 'irrational' appearance.
:: Furthermore, look at Sword Spear's light. Is it not gradually diminishing? Above all, that strangely emotional demeanor. The sense of incongruity about Sword Spear that comes as memories of past timelines return... All of it shows that whether they are bewitched by the Mountain Divine Spirit, or have joined hands with the Underworld and betrayed us...it is showing proof that they are a traitor. ::
:: Even having come to this point, will you still oppose the execution of Sword Spear, Pearl Jade? ::
::...O Executor Rain Dew Heavenly Lord. Sword Spear and I are one body. I symbolize the Yin (B) of Metal() among the Five Elements, and Sword Spear symbolizes the Yang (B). We as Taiji () have always moved as one body, and we have always together repelled the enemies of Radiance Hall... : :
:: Pearl Jade. That is emotion. It is true that we must understand emotion, but we must not be consumed by it. We must judge with reason. : :
:: This Immortal...is rational. Rather, to begin with, Rain Dew, is not the very fact that you do not unilaterally execute Sword Spear but instead seek our opinion because the evidence of Sword Spear's betrayal is insufficient? ::
:: Has it not already been confirmed that the [Wheel] was used to tamper with our memories of other
timelines? ::
The Rain Dew Heavenly Lord's eyes gleam.
The timeline in which the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord slayed the Mountain Divine Spirit Seo Eun-hyun with the Filling the Heavens Sword Rain.
From that timeline onward, it is felt that the Underworld has twisted their history in a subtle way through
the Wheel.
Because of that, the Radiance Eight Immortals have still yet to fully recover their complete memories.
:: At the center of that manipulation of memory is Sword Spear. : :
:: To begin with, even the so-called other timelines are due to the strange authority of the Ender. Are we
not still seeking a way to determine whether it is real? This Immortal believes that only after the decisive battle with the Great Mountain Supreme Deity is over, and before we deal with the weakened Sword Mountain Devil Lord, should that matter be investigated. ::
:: And if Sword Spear betrays us before then? If at the crucial moment they put a blade to our throats? ::
:: ...Sword Spear...will never do so. I...have walked with the Sword Spear of that era since our mortal
beings days, so I know Yang Ji-hwang well. : :
:: Pearl Jade. That is... ::
:: I know. I do not harbor emotion beyond what is necessary. But it is true that the evidence of Sword Spear's betrayal is insufficient, and until decisive proof is found...I will defend her. : :
::...If, even after decisive proof comes forth, you still shield Sword Spear, then I will have no choice but to
execute you as well, Pearl Jade. ::
:: I know. If I witness decisive proof...then I will seize the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord with my own hands
and deliver them before you, Rain Dew. ::
Suruk...
The Pearl Jade Heavenly Lord removes the mask covering their face, lifts their gaze to the Seat of Radiance, and makes an oath.
:: I, the Pearl Jade Heavenly Lord, upon the true name of Pal Hwang (/), swear before the Radiance
Supreme Deity. ::
Outside Mount Sumeru.
The Outer Sea.
In that sea of chaos, someone is creating something.
What looks at times like a spirit of pale pink, or like a huge spool of thread, is tens of thousands, hundreds
of millions of pale pink cloths gathered and fluttering.
At the center of those fluttering strips of cloth.
There, a woman is moving the cloths, creating something.
It is a domain existing outside Mount Sumeru.
That domain, comparable to several Heavenly Domains, is gradually coming to completion in her hands.
Its name is Artificial Gandhara.
The being creating it is the one known as the successor of Vast Cold, Kim Yeon.
Kim Yeon, with her eyes closed, ceaselessly manipulates the cloths and weaves a dimension through
them.
Then, she suddenly feels a certain resonance ringing in her chest and half-opens her eyes.
"... You are..."
Tsuat!
Before her eyes, silver-white light appears to gather, and someone in a pure white silver robe and a silver
mask appears.
It is the Fifth Seat of the Radiance Eight Immortals, the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord.
Resonating with the paper flowers blooming within Kim Yeon's Full Blossom, the Sword Spear Heavenly
Lord thus arrived before her.
"I have...something to ask of you."
"What shall I help you with?"
There is no small talk between the two.
Since they both already carry the same paper flower and are so closely connected to the owner of that
paper flower...
Trivial small talk and curiosities and the like are things they can know just by looking into each other's
eyes.
"The Rain Dew Heavenly Lord has, bit by bit, caught my tail. But perhaps they are not yet certain, as they
seem to be in discussion with the other Eight Immortals."
The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord, Ji Hwa, looks at Kim Yeon and takes off her mask.
Ji Hwa's bare face and Kim Yeon's face meet.
After facing Kim Yeon for a while and briefly looking at Kim Yeon's hand, she smiles faintly.
"Refine...me..."
"Pardon...?"
"You are an artisan. I am metal. Seo Eun-hyun is fire. With his fire, refine me and make me into his sword."
Wo-woong-
Ji Hwa opens her mouth and vomits out something pure white.
Kim Yeon realizes what it is and widens her eyes.
It is Ji Hwa's soul.
"I am soon to be killed by the other Eight Immortals before long. I will not even be able to revive with the
Heart Dao Blooming system. The God-Killing Spear is a mantra for killing the undying. All means of revival are useless. Therefore...even if I die, let me be Seo Eun-hyun's sword, wielded within his hand...so that I
can eat his fire and be born again. Make my soul into a sword."
Kugugugugu!
Receiving Ji Hwa's spirit, which radiates an overwhelming presence, Kim Yeon looks at her.
"You...have given me nine-tenths of your soul."
"Yes."
"Do you...trust me?"
Kim Yeon asks carefully.
Though they have come to know each other through the connection of Seo Eun-hyun, the two originally
met as enemies.
The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord has the fate to annihilate Kim Yeon.
And...
Even as a friend of the human named Seo Eun-hyun, the two are archrivals.
To call them love rivals is also correct.
But Ji Hwa smiles brightly.
"I trust you."
She knows Seo Eun-hyun.
Because she has seen everything of Seo Eun-hyun.
Because she knows with what heart Seo Eun-hyun accepted Kim Yeon.
She knows what kind of person Kim Yeon is.
"Because he trusts you."
Step, step...
Approaching Kim Yeon slowly, Ji Hwa continues.
"Because he loves you."
Cheok-
At last, having come right before Kim Yeon, Ji Hwa presses her forehead against Kim Yeon's and
affectionately strokes her head.
"And...because I know him. If it is love chosen by someone as pure as he is...then I believe that you too
are surely even purer and more lovable than him."
Kugugugugu!
Sword Spear's spirit is sucked into Ji Hwa's hand.
Before long, Ji Hwa's soul becomes a lump in her hand.
"I will trust in the sword you make. So...with his fire, burn my soul...and forge the sword. I will die later, but
my soul will be wielded in his hand...and surely, feeding on his heat, shall awaken again."
Handing the lump of steel held in her hand to Kim Yeon, Sword Spear speaks.
"I have heard of your power. They say you inherited part of the power of Vast Cold. Please...with your
power, strike down hard on my soul. Whatever sword it becomes, I will be grateful to you."
"...Yes."
Kim Yeon trembles.
In a way, there's never been interaction between the two.
To the point that today is the first time the two of them have talked like this alone.
Has she ever received such trust from someone she's met for the first time?
Not even Seo Eun-hyun did so.
At this trust, she grips the soul of iron held in her hand and speaks.
"...Yes. I promise."
Her eyes blaze.
As one who inherited the talent of the Mad Lord Jo Yeon.
As one who inherited the heart of Buk Hyang-hwa.
She...
Will forge this iron into something stronger than any dharma treasure, stronger than any Immortal
Treasure.
"I will make the greatest sword. So that Eun-hyun Orabeoni...uses it more than any other sword."
Thus, outside Mount Sumeru, one Heavenly Lord and one Heavenly King designate form a covenant
firmer than any other, bound in trust.
Thus, amidst the conspiracy of the Eight Immortals and the secret pact between Sword Spear and
Tridacna...
At last, the Devil Lord of Sword Mountain begins to raise their sword toward Radiance Hall.
It is the outbreak of the first Bright Sword Great War (9).
Countless Middle Realm Sacred Masters, Immortal Treasures, and Entering Nirvana Quasi-Immortals
tremble in terror, and within that mythic war, those who inherit the bloodline of myths begin to receive
ominous revelations.
"Huk...!"
Wol Ryeong rises from her chamber, gasping for breath.
Normally, once one reaches the Nascent Soul stage, sleep is no longer necessary, but she is different.
Sleeping and dreaming is the most effective way to digest [wisdom] gained from directly perceiving existences such as the Moonlight Immortal Wol Woon or the Lightning God, so she prefers sleeping in
order to absorb the wisdom of True Immortals.
However, because of what she has just seen in her dream, she has to gulp down cold water and steady
her trembling body.
'What is this...?'
Wol Ryeong steps outside her cave residence and reads the celestial energy.
"The celestial energy...is not visible...?"
In her dream, she saw eight immense lights clash with a wicked mountain god, and she understands that
some great event has befallen this world.
Right away, the fact that the celestial energy has become invisible is the first sign.
'The celestial energy has vanished.'
And immediately, she finds the answer revealed by her fate.
'Some...transcendent existences are contending with each other above the heavens...!'
Sensing that all the celestial energy she can read is being severed by the steps of those transcendent
beings, Wol Ryeong bites her lips tightly.
'I am still...weak. Far too weak...'
She looks back at Seo Gyeong, whom she dragged into her cave residence and is sleeping soundly, and
thinks.
The incident with the Mad Lord's puppets not long ago.
The decisive battle with the Lightning God.
She is still far too weak.
'I must become stronger.'
The world has fallen into chaos.
Therefore, she recognizes she must become even stronger.
'Let's rise...Star Shattering stage...'
There is no time to wait for her master to come.
Before her master, Esteemed One Baek Geom, descends twenty years from now,
She firmly vows to reach the Star Shattering stage with her own strength alone beneath the sky.
'To protect Seo Gyeong...'
And to stand before Baek Geom and place her hand proudly on Seo Gyeong's shoulder. Wol Ryeong enters her cave residence, ceases her sleep of digesting the wisdom of True Immortals,
repentantly enlightens on what she has, sits in a lotus position, and enters cultivation.
Thus, twenty years pass in an instant.
In the Human Race territory of the Vast Cold Realm, Heavenly Human Island.
There, at last, the descent formation to summon Esteemed One Baek Geom and the other Star Shattering stage Esteemed Ones of the Radiance Spirit Sect is completed.