Translator Notes: Making this announcement again and putting it here as some people had no idea (Some people don't read translator notes T.T). There is a subscription for RToC. It basically gives you access to all the current advanced chapters and the advanced chapters that will come out in the next 30 days or so.
Chapter 407: Bow Down In Prostration (4)
I did not give a name to my Integrated Dao Domain.
What meaning is there in naming the Integrated Dao Domain in a universe where no one else exists?
Moreover, since my Colorless Glass Sword is incomplete, the Integrated Dao Domain is also in an incomplete state, making it even more meaningless.
After dwelling in the darkness for a while, I retract the Integrated Dao Domain and step outside.
Shaaaaaa—
A planet lined with countless tombstones.
I am marking down on everyone I remember.
Because, after all, the vast majority of those who existed in this Heavenly Domain must have died.I still can't forget the sight of the five massive Middle Realms shrinking rapidly and disappearing into light and heat.
Moreover, even though the True Persons fled madly, none of them escaped the End brought about by the existence atop Great Mountain and all perished.
'I thought the Middle Realms and True Persons would be safe even in the End but...'
It seems it only applies to natural Ends.
After the End caused by the being atop Great Mountain, even the Middle Realms vanished, and the pre-existing True Persons all seem to have been utterly annihilated.
Wooooong—
As I move from one planet to another in search of Colorless Glass Sword shards, I see something resembling a caterpillar that looks like seven or eight planets stuck together swimming through the universe, prompting me to use the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts momentarily.
It seems to devour the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy and nebulae in the void, then soon after, it regurgitates a large planet from its stomach.
"..."
It doesn't particularly seem interested in me. Even as I approach it without using the Record of Transcending Cultivation and Exhausting Martial Arts, it pays me no attention.
However, I feel a chill as I sense the realm of that existence and realize what kind of being it is.
'Quasi-Immortal...'
It's a True Person at the Entering Nirvana stage.
I have seen them a few times before.
After the birth of this Heavenly Domain, I occasionally witnessed Quasi-Immortals wandering around, devouring nebulae and creating stars.
Maybe it's because they are True Persons, but there's something inherently terrifying about them who are younger than me in age, even when they seem to act purely on instinct without any intelligence or reason.
'The True Persons are creating stars.'
It isn't just them.
Occasionally, I also encountered Sacred Masters or Esteemed Ones while wandering.
These aren't beings who attained their realm through cultivation, but rather monsters who were born as Esteemed Ones, Sacred Masters, and Quasi-Immortals from the start.
I noticed that they weren't simply born randomly, but were given some kind of fate related to the stability of the Heavenly Domain.
Entering Nirvana stage Quasi-Immortal level beings create stars.
Sacred Vessel stage Sacred Master level beings find stars to organize laws, adjust the distance from fixed stars, and modify the orbits to make them more suitable for the birth of life.
Star Shattering stage Esteemed One level beings roam the cosmos, scattering bizarre celestial phenomena randomly throughout with Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, 'producing' the dust clouds that Quasi-Immortals eat to create stars.
Watching them, I can see that the Esteemed Ones, Sacred Masters, and Quasi-Immortals are all part of the fate that maintains the vast ecosystem called the universe.
Particularly, in the case of Sacred Masters, it's so evident that they were born with the explicit fate to bring life to the universe that it makes me slightly uneasy.
The only fortunate thing is that as long as I don't approach them first and interfere with their work, they remain indifferent to me.
I continue to avoid direct encounters with the Esteemed Ones, Sacred Masters, and Quasi-Immortals, occasionally observing them while continuing my search for the Colorless Glass Sword shards.
20,000 years pass.
If counting the years accumulated from my regressions, today marks my 50,000th birthday.
Cling, Clang...
I repair the Colorless Glass Sword by joining three shards I found on a previous planet.
The more of the Colorless Glass Sword shards I find, the faster the pace becomes.
Over the past 20,000 years, I have been able to restore ten Colorless Glass Swords.
Chuaaaaaa—
After attaching the shards, I activate the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.
The Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections has also been restored with remarkable precision, comparable to before.
From some point on, the graves of the Wuji Religious Order followers that I remember have covered more than half of the surface of the planet where I reside.
I look at them with sad eyes.
My 50,000th birthday.
If even one of them had been still alive, they might have congratulated me.
No, even if that isn't the case, I could have felt warmth and at least share a conversation.
Not much time has passed in the history of this new Heavenly Domain, and I am still the only one with reason in this world.
The Quasi-Immortals, Sacred Masters, and Esteemed Ones are still simply following their instincts, making the universe more prosperous.
It's cold.
The chill in my heart is so overwhelming, I feel like I might die.
"Ah...ahhh..."
I hold my chest and let out a groan.
"Aaaaaah..."
A faint, lifeless groan escapes my lips.
My chest hurts.
Even for me, for who the pain of having my testicles removed became within the range of what I can accept, and can endure any form of torture without blinking an eye, the pain is so unbearable that I can't help but groan.
I have fallen ill.
And the name of that illness is loneliness.
Another ten thousand years have passed.
I have restored one hundred Colorless Glass Swords.
The speed of restoring the Colorless Glass Sword increases by the day, and the attraction force of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections is gradually growing stronger.
Surprisingly, the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections harbors a powerful attraction force that even I hadn't been aware of.
As I restored the Colorless Glass Sword and the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, I acquired a deeper understanding of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections that I hadn't known before.
'The 31st move. If I restore the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, it will become much easier to control.'
I ponder as such with a calm expression.
Woo-ooong—
Afterward, I focus my consciousness on the Colorless Glass Sword, continuing to follow the countless links of attraction force attached to it, and restoring the sword.
Then, one day
Kugugugu!
On a sulfur sea on a planet where sulfur boils relentlessly,
On an island within the center of that sea, I find a Colorless Glass Sword shard beneath a rock and discover something strange.
"...This is...?"
Startled, I reach out towards it with trembling hands.
Clang—
Chills!
I suddenly feel chills run down my entire body.
The reason? Because what I found is a red sword.
On the blade of the sword, the characters Calendar Calculations (曆數) are engraved in an auspicious manner.
As I look at this extremely auspicious-looking treasure sword, I shudder.
"How...how could this...?"
It's a trace of civilization.
And a very advanced civilization at that!
This is not an ordinary sword, but a truly terrifying Divine Sword.
'If that's the case...does that mean that somewhere in this world, there exists a civilization...or a being with 'reason' capable of creating such a sword?!'
But just then,
Woo-wooong!
I suddenly feel a powerful resonance coming from an object inside my storage scroll.
Although I'm not entirely sure how I was revived, my clothing and storage scroll were restored along with me, and except for my natal dharma treasure, the Colorless Glass Sword, most of my dharma treasures are intact.
I take out a pristine, pure white divine sword made of Salt Crystal, known as Reforming Calendar.
Reforming Calendar (改曆) and Calendar Calculations (曆數).
I know the moment I see them.
These two were created as a pair.
"...Huh..."
I am slightly dumbfounded.
If these were made as a pair, then the sword called Calendar Calculations is a replica of an immortal treasure.
And yet, despite being a failed attempt at that, it has survived the End and remains in this place.
"...Just what...?"
I find it hard to believe that Reforming Calendar and Calendar Calculations are failed replicas, not even worthy of being called immortal treasures.
'I would believe it even if someone told me they are real immortal treasures.'
No matter how precious Salt Crystal might be, just what kind of dharma treasure can withstand the End?
Feeling absurd, I place Reforming Calendar and Calendar Calculations back into my storage scroll for now.
Five thousand years have passed.
I have now gathered a thousand Colorless Glass Swords.
Wo-woong!
Now, more than eighty percent of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections has been restored, and I can tell,
'From now on, within 500 years, I can find all the Colorless Glass Sword shards.'
It's no longer just a matter of certainty in the attraction force; I can gradually feel the shards of the Colorless Glass Sword being drawn back to me by attraction force.
It likely won't take much longer.
I gaze bitterly into the void.
This is the longest cycle I've ever survived.
But at the same time, it's been one of the most painful and agonizing lives I've ever lived.
What does it matter if I live for a hundred thousand or a million years?
In the end, people are beings that swim within the ties of connection.
In a place devoid of connections, one cannot grow.
In the coming tens of thousands of years, in this world where only those monstrous Quasi-Immortals, Sacred Masters, and Esteemed Ones exist, I would remain unchanged, just as before.
Kugugung!
Finally, after tens of thousands of years, I have gathered all three thousand Colorless Glass Swords that had been scattered across the entire Heavenly Domain.
Clang—
One of the last shards of the Colorless Glass Sword is fitted into place.
However, 'gathering all the swords' does not mean 'fully restoring the Colorless Glass Sword.'
I let out a sigh.
The very last piece of the Colorless Glass Sword, the tip of the blade.
I still haven't found the tiny fragment that forms the final point.
I rise from the cave where I found the last shard.
Wo-woong!
Through the attraction force of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, I focus my consciousness to search for the very last, final fragment of the Colorless Glass Sword.
And, just then,
"Hmm?"
Something is strange.
I can definitely feel that the last piece of the Colorless Glass Sword is in this world.
It exists somewhere in this Heavenly Domain.
But even with the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, I can't find it.
It's just the one, very last piece, and yet!
Greatly alarmed, I once again raise the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections to sense through its attraction force.
'Is it because it's too far away?'
But it's strange.
Even though the Heavenly Domain is expanding in real time, growing larger, the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections has always managed to track the shards of the Colorless Glass Sword.
This is an incredibly bizarre occurrence.
Greatly taken aback, I stomp my foot in frustration.
Kwagwagwagwagwang!
With my stomp, the continent of this planet splits apart, causing earthquakes and tsunamis.
The cave I am in collapses completely and disappears.
Just before the cave crumbled, in that fleeting moment, I avoided all the falling rocks and escaped, letting out a scream filled with rage.
"Where is it!!??"
The Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, my Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, must be restored at all costs.
Even if I have already restored over 99 percent, it isn't enough unless it's perfect.
My Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections is, yes,
It's Seo Eun-hyun.
It is the essence of myself.
To lose even a speck of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections would be like forgetting a speck of my own connections.
"No...I have to find it...I must find it...!"
I don't want to forget even the smallest connection!
I can't let even a speck of memory slip through my fingers!
"I will definitely get it back in my hands. No matter what it takes!"
I shout with bloodshot eyes.
And then,
Kugugugugu!
In the debris of the collapsed cave, I discover something.
"...That is...?"
It's clearly an artificially made large disc.
It also looks like a shield.
Again.
Again, something like this appears before my eyes.
I stand in front of the disc with an uncomfortable expression.
There is no name on the disc.
It's merely a disk, nothing more.
But it's clearly something created by a civilization.
And since I am the only being with reason in this universe right now, there is only one possibility.
Either someone scattered it in front of me,
Or, like Reforming Calendar and Calendar Calculations, it's an object that has transcended the End.
And then,
Wo-woong!
As I look at Reforming Calendar and Calendar Calculations howling wildly within my storage scroll, I realize it's the latter.