Wo-woong—
The technique that has evolved to the point of being able to raze an entire territory is the current Severing Mountain.
Despite the immense power of this terrifying technique exploding at a single point, Seo Hweol reappears behind me, flashing that obnoxious smile.
"What is it now?"
I ask as I look at him.
In the past, I would have been nervous, afraid of falling prey to his Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens. But now, it no longer scares me as much as it once did.
Seo Hweol seems to have realized this too, as I can feel him openly using Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens to brainwash me.
"It won't work anymore. Stop your pointless efforts and state your purpose."
[Hoho, this is quite...you used to be such a nice person, but how you've changed...it's truly lamentable.]
His words make my eyes twitch.This too is just another attempt to test my resolve.
But he isn't wrong.
My heart is just a pile of ashes, my soul the charred remains.
Why am I no longer afraid of Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens?
Is it because I obtained the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens? Because I have the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra? Or because I gained the possibility of the Second Step Before the Throne?
All those things are merely external factors.
The truth is simple.
Now, I too have become a broken human being, one that would never fall behind the likes of the Mad Lord and Seo Hweol.
"Shut up and just tell me why you're here, you blind leech."
Bo-woong!
I swing my hand, slicing through the Seo Hweol before me.
But even though he's cut down in one strike, his form seems to scatter in the air before reappearing elsewhere.
'A projection? No, it feels too real to be just a projection...'
The place where Seo Hweol has fallen still holds his corpse.
However, I suddenly realize that something is off about the state of the body and understand the principle behind how he is appearing around me like a ghost.
'The corpse is only anchored in the Plane of Qi.'
Everything in this world exists across the three planes of Qi, Soul, and Fate.
Even inanimate objects are no exception.
The soil has its own spirit, mountains have their souls, and even stars have their essence.
Even lifeless objects exist in the Plane of Soul, and as seen through the Star Vein Eye, all things are also anchored in the Plane of Fate.
However, I see in front of me the corpse of Seo Hweol composed solely of the flow of Yin and Yang in the Plane of Qi.
"Oh Hye-seo, I see. Did she lend you her abilities to send this projection using her power?"
It's undoubtedly Oh Hye-seo's power.
Seo Hweol smiles faintly and says,
[As expected of Daoist Seo. That's right. She helped me.]
"If you were going to come, you should have brought Oh Hye-seo along. With her personality, she wouldn't have missed the chance to witness something as entertaining as this."
Recalling the first time I was betrayed by Oh Hye-seo, she appears to be someone who chases after stimulation and excitement.
Given that, in a situation like this where the territory of the Heaven Tribe is being destroyed by Kang Min-hee, it wouldn't be surprising for her to come just to watch. Yet, I can't sense her presence anywhere within hundreds of thousands of li.
[Hoho, it seems that after our last encounter, she's learned a bit about what fear is.]
"..."
Indeed. At this point, Oh Hye-seo witnessed the terrifying existence known as the Chief Judge.
Even someone whose emotions are as unreadable as her must have found it difficult to bear the sight of such a transcendent being's power.
[Thanks to that, she's become quite dependent on me lately. We've become quite essential to each other.]
At Seo Hweol's words, I recall the events a thousand years in.
'She was called his madam.'
It seems she married Seo Hweol after all.
Back then, I thought she was brainwashed, but it appears that somehow fate has always intended for the two to be bound together.
"So, what do you want?"
But such things are none of my concern.
I growl, glaring at Seo Hweol.
Wriggle, wriggle!
As my emotions flare up, something begins to writhe violently, as if trying to escape from the depths of my shadow.
My Heart Demons seem to be manifesting through a curse, trying to flee from me.
[Hoho...originally, she and I were merely in a relationship of mutual exploitation. We were constantly experimenting on each other, always ready to betray one another. But after my sight was sealed and her mind was scarred, we became necessary existences to each other and had to form an alliance. Do you understand, Daoist Seo?]
His words make my eyes twitch.
[Those who have lost their blessings can band together to fill each other's voids. You, as much as me and Old Man Jo, have a broken heart...we can form an alliance that compensates for each other's deficiencies.]
I laugh as I look at Seo Hweol.
"That almost sounds like you're admitting you have a heart."
[Haha...you didn't really think I have no heart at all, right?]
I read the will hidden behind Seo Hweol's words.
—A heart is something that can be either present or absent, depending on necessity.
It seems he is pretending to acknowledge his heart because he needs to persuade me now.
In the past, I would have noticed this and simply dismissed it.
Seo Hweol is a monster without a heart, after all.
But now, at the level I've reached, I can see something different.
After tens of thousands of years and having been broken down by unbearable pain, I understand something.
Seo Hweol, just perhaps, might be someone who desperately needs to deny the existence of a heart.
A heart is undoubtedly something sacred and beautiful, but...at the same time, it can also bring about hellish torment.
If he is as broken as I am, perhaps the reason he denies his heart is because he wants to escape this pain more than anyone else...
As I perceive this essence of Seo Hweol, I smile bitterly.
"I understand. I understand, so go ahead and wag your tongue, pitiful Seo Hweol. I'll listen for just a moment."
I speak in a tone laced with pity, sympathizing with him.
And whatever part of Seo Hweol this sympathy touched,
He stops smirking and opens his eyes.
His eyes are so dull and unfocused that it's impossible to tell what he is looking at.
Though his emotionless gaze is eerie, I realize that 'sympathizing with him' has hit him harder than any provocation I'd ever made.
[...]
He stops smiling and seems to look in my direction for a moment.
[...As expected, you're a higher being, Daoist Seo...how far have you seen through?]
"I've seen enough to understand that you're a somewhat pitiable being."
[...That will make our conversation easier.]
Seo Hweol turns his emotionless face towards Kang Min-hee, who is flying towards us.
[At first, I thought it would be better to let that being run rampant and leave it be. But after witnessing its unexpected power, I've changed my mind. While some chaos is necessary for my goal...I don't need complete destruction. So, how about joining forces with me to expel it outside the Bright Cold Realm?]
"..."
I ponder Seo Hweol's proposal.
Normally, I would have dismissed any suggestion from Seo Hweol without a second thought, but this time is different.
'If we expel Kang Min-hee to the Interdimensional Void or the Astral Realm, there will be far fewer casualties.'
In truth, the Heavenly Domain is primarily composed of the Astral Realm.
The Middle Realms are only considered as such because, as the Sacred Master said, they are the corpses of great beings, and they possess attraction force that influences the entire Astral Realm.
The vastness of the Middle Realms can never be compared to the breadth of the Astral Realm, which is an endlessly expanding universe.
The reason I was able to collect the shards of the Colorless Glass Sword in the previous cycle was because it was a time shortly after the creation of the world. If it had been tens of thousands of years later, I would never have been able to find the Colorless Glass Sword.
In that sense, if we send Kang Min-hee into that infinitely vast Astral Realm or the Interdimensional Void with only Vestiges, the casualties will be minimized.
At the very least, sending her outside the Bright Cold Realm will buy me time until I can challenge the Star Shattering stage.
"...It's a good idea, but..."
As Kang Min-hee gradually approaches, I ask while fleeing.
Seo Hweol, perhaps having merged with the dragon veins itself with the help of Oh Hye-seo, continues to project his form from the ground where the dragon veins are, maintaining conversation.
"How do you realistically expect to expel Kang Min-hee, who is at the Star Shattering stage, from the Bright Cold Realm?"
[I will pull together with my wife in the Astral Realm. Daoist Seo will push from this side.]
'Is Oh Hye-seo currently in the Astral Realm?'
I ask with a serious expression.
"She won't just quietly be expelled into the Astral Realm. You must have a plan, right?"
[Yes...well. It wasn't what I desired, but a being capable of holding that being down when it struggles has somehow come into existence.]
"...No way."
I look at Seo Hweol and let out a hollow laugh.
[I think I know what you're thinking. Yes, it's exactly that.]
"You want to join forces with the Mad Lord Jo Yeon?"
I ask in disbelief.
Indeed, at this point, the Mad Lord has two puppets beyond the Integration level.
[She] and the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress are exactly that.
And through the connection between [Her] and the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, the Mad Lord can currently exert power at the Quasi-Star Shattering level.
Moreover, a thousand years in, both [She] and the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress would individually rise to the Quasi-Star Shattering level, meaning the Mad Lord would have two puppets at the Quasi-Star Shattering stage by then.
In terms of raw power, if I, Seo Hweol, and the Mad Lord join forces, expelling Kang Min-hee from the Bright Cold Realm wouldn't be an empty boast.
But the Mad Lord is not sane.
How could anyone persuade such a person?
Seo Hweol continues speaking.
[First, Daoist Seo. You know the name and ability of the secret art I use, don't you?]
"...Yes."
[My Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens cannot brainwash you or the Mad Lord. Both of you are madmen, so even if I infuse my configurations, it won't take root because your consciousnesses don't follow a normal flow.]
"..."
[However, the inability to brainwash doesn't mean that 'my Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens cannot enter.']
"What are you trying to say?"
[Daoist Seo, you are a member of the Heart Tribe, correct? And your comrade is a disciple who has learned the Mad Lord's consciousness method. If you, I, my wife, and your comrade join forces, we can temporarily return the Mad Lord's consciousness to normal.]
'If I, Kim Yeon, Oh Hye-seo, and Seo Hweol combine our strengths, we can temporarily restore the Mad Lord's consciousness to normal...huh?'
It sounds suspicious.
"There's no guarantee that you won't brainwash the Mad Lord while his consciousness is temporarily restored, is there?"
[Hoho...you don't need to worry about that. I won't brainwash the Mad Lord.]
—I can't do it anyway.
I feel slightly reassured as I read the hidden meaning behind Seo Hweol's words.
'The Mad Lord's madness will likely recur thanks to the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, even if it is temporarily reversed, so brainwashing him would be pointless for Seo Hweol.'
But then again, who knows?
Seo Hweol is someone who might always be hiding something.
"How can I trust you?"
[...It's something I figured by analyzing the curse placed on me with my wife. The curse that the great being cast on my eyes extends its duration in real-time according to my 'evil deeds.' Initially, it was a mere thousand years, but now...it has increased to roughly 2 billion years.]
"..."
[And I realized there's only one way to break this curse. The curse isn't on my main body but on my 'mask'. In other words, if I erase all personalities other than my main body and start anew, I can break the curse.]
"You're telling me this because...it's related to that curse?"
[That's right, Daoist Seo. Because of this curse, it's impossible for me to find my main body. The curse placed by that great being doesn't merely block my sight; it prevents me from ever finding my main body.]
I instinctively know that Seo Hweol is telling the truth.
It isn't just because his actions and heart essence align.
It's because he has never lied about matters related to his essence.
As he continues speaking, my eyes glint.
[Therefore, I propose this, Daoist Seo. After we expel that being from the Bright Cold Realm, help me find my main body.]
This is a chance to find Seo Hweol's main body.
He returns his expressionless face to its usual self and gives a faint smile.
[Until we find my main body, I promise I will never betray you, Daoist Seo.]