Inside the cluster of pure white light.
I gaze at the new horizon as if spellbound.
However, I hesitate in swinging my sword.
"...No."
Instinct whispers.
This moment of enlightenment is now or never.
If I miss this moment, I will regret it for the rest of my life.
Memories of when I failed to achieve enlightenment to the pinnacle during my first-rate martial artist days flashes through my mind.
Am I going to repeat that same regret again?
Gradually, the brilliant white light surrounding me begins to fade.Instinct warns me more urgently.
Something whispers in my ear, shaking my heart violently.
Is this not the realm I've longed for all my life?
How can I stop here?
Has the belief that if I attain the Dao in the morning, I'm content with death in the evening faded within me?
Then, I shout back at the questions echoing inside my heart.
"It's not right after all"
Kwachang!
At that moment, the white world around me shatters.
I shout at the voice that has been whispering in my ear, trying to lead me somewhere.
"This is not my way!"
Tstststststs—
Simultaneously, the power that was boiling within me, as if ready to explode, begins to subside.
It might seem like a foolish situation where I've just missed a chance at enlightenment.
But only after overcoming this deadly temptation can I be sure.
Something is wrong.
'What went wrong?'
I ask myself.
'You could have reached a higher realm. You missed that opportunity! Just as you lost your chance to the pinnacle from first-rate and had to sacrifice a lifetime, you will waste this life as well!! It seems you'll have to endure another 190,000 years of suffering to wake up!'
I spit harsh words at myself.
But only after escaping the light and locking eyes with Kang Min-hee in the darkness do I understand.
The reason I suddenly kicked away my enlightenment.
It's...
"...Because she's not something I should cut down."
What I failed to cut down when I missed the enlightenment to the pinnacle was a leaf.
If I had cut that leaf, I would have reached the pinnacle.
But now, what I have to cut down is Kang Min-hee.
'What nonsense. Don't you have to sever all connections to rise to the Second Step Before the Throne?!'
I shout at myself.
'Cut it! Sever it! Cut off all attachments and regrets, and rise to the next realm!''
"...Wrong."
I answer my own questions and raise my sword.
What torments me the most is that, even though I've escaped the space of white light, the effects of the awakening I gained there linger, making countless possibilities of martial arts that start with the trajectory of Kang Min-hee's attack appear before my eyes.
If I keep unfolding the Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain based on these possibilities, I can surely cut her down.
I might even advance to the Second Step Before the Throne and kill the mindless Star Shattering stage Kang Min-hee.
But I don't do that.
Instead, I ignore the enlightenment descending from the domain of instinct and charge at Kang Min-hee.
'Cut it down, Seo Eun-hyun!'
"I will not cut."
'Isn't what you hold in your hand a sword?'
I look at my sword in response to my own shout.
The Colorless Glass Sword has become a Refining Void Dharma Treasure.
What are the characteristics of a Refining Void Dharma Treasure?
It is precisely that a Refining Void Dharma Treasure is partially assimilated with one's heart essence. Hence, even if it shatters or flies far away, as long as the form of the dharma treasure remains within the heart essence, it can be revived and retrieved through it.
The dharma treasure itself spans two planes, just like a cultivator's Nascent Soul.
And this means that it can transform freely, just like an axis.
My Colorless Glass Sword has already fully fused with the All-Heavens Sword at some point, transforming into a thin line.
A line is the optimal form for cutting.
It's as if I am holding the very concept of 'cutting' in my hand.
But is a line truly only meant for cutting?
Ignoring the voice in my heart urging me to cut down Kang Min-hee, I begin to enter into repentant enlightenment.
When Azure Tiger Saint and Oh Hyun-seok bought me time just moments ago,
I thought I needed their help because I found it hard to exert my full strength except by cutting.
When Heo Gwak and the Ghost Kings of Black Ghost Valley from the Head Realm self-destructed in front of Kang Min-hee just moments ago,
I thought there was no other way but to perform a sword dance.
But isn't it absurd?
Even if a sword is made for cutting and stabbing, shouldn't a true swordsman also know how to hit, block, and deflect?
The limits of the sword are not the limits of cutting.
'But it is a weapon made for cutting and stabbing.'
That is also true.
This is an instrument designed for cutting, stabbing, and killing.
However, cutting, stabbing, and killing all differ depending on the purpose.
Being able to slice vegetables or meat to make fried rice, cut through the air to perform a sword dance, and even sever through one's own limits for training—that is the sword.
In the end, even if the sword is meant for cutting, stabbing, and killing, it is the person who wields it.
As the person holding the sword, I declare.
"I do not sever my connections!"
Paaatt!
And with those words, I feel something inside me shatter.
'Is that so...?'
It's the Heavenly Lotus Fruit.
What I just mistook for enlightenment is, in fact, the Heart Demon created by the fruit of True Immortals, the Heavenly Lotus Fruit.
The insidiousness of this Heart Demon is so deep that while most other Heart Demons would be devoured by me, the one from the Heavenly Lotus Fruit is so intricate that it's indistinguishable from my own thoughts.
Intricate and powerful.
The Heart Demon from the Heavenly Lotus Fruit is shocked upon hearing my response.
However, instead of disappearing completely, it displays the possibility of a new realm right before my eyes.
The increasingly certain power of Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain.
The increasingly liberated potential of Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain!
It's a possibility so undeniably certain.
But I ignore the possibilities presented by the Heavenly Lotus Fruit and completely let go of what I hold in my hand.
'A swordsman letting go of his sword? Have you gone mad, Seo Eun-hyun!'
"It's already within me. I have never let it go even once."
The Heart Demon shakes my heart powerfully.
Letting go of the sword just now feels incredibly foolish and stupid.
But I don't care and continue advancing towards Kang Min-hee, swordless.
'You let go of your sword, so how will you block Kang Min-hee!'
Yet, as I ignite Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain around me, I speak.
"It's already within me. I can block her with this."
The hazy cloud of Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain, which manifests the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, covers the area around me.
'Wrong...letting go of the sword means abandoning the act of cutting. Your Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain will not be able to cut through anything!'
Indeed. Without the sword, the unfolding technique's sharp energy has disappeared.
Originally, this is a technique that manifests the mist of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections through the cloud of sword energy.
But this time, what unfolds seems to be just a simple ashen mist.
Half-closing my eyes, I realize as I plunge into the cloud of vengeful souls enveloping Kang Min-hee.
This is no longer just a conflict between Kang Min-hee and myself.
Now, my actions have become a battle between me and my Heart Demon.
Realizing that all the connections with Kim Yeon, which were tied by the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, have been severed by the Heart Demon, I speak to it.
"Did you sever the connections?"
'The one who severed it is you. Because you need to cut off all connections and ties and become emotionless to advance to the next stage, you unconsciously detached Kim Yeon's consciousness yourself!'
"...Severing is not the only way to reach Emptiness."
I start to fend off the vengeful spirits rushing toward me.
The hazy cloud begins to part as I carve a path towards Kang Min-hee at the center.
"Embrace all connections and become impermanence. This is the enlightenment of a being who reached the pinnacle of the world."
'Aren't you just reciting words that you yourself haven't truly understood? That's not enlightenment, it's just a chant (呪文)!'
"...You're right. I don't fully grasp the meaning of the mantra."
Thud!
I repel another vengeful soul.
Since I'm only repelling and not cutting them down to destroy them, the number of vengeful souls attacking me is gradually increasing.
As the ones I fend off return, it becomes increasingly difficult to hold my ground.
"But one thing is certain."
Attaining the Dao in the morning, content with death in the evening.
The Dao is ultimately a path.
It signifies the road I must travel.
And the meaning of 'If I attain the Dao in the morning, I am content with death in the evening' is that finding the path I must travel is of greater value than even life itself.
"My path is one where I cannot sever connections!"
Therefore.
"If it's for my connections to not be severed, I don't care about the next realm!"
Pasasak-
With that, I stop listening to the Heart Demon's words and charge forward.
Instead, I begin to feel.
I feel the connection I have at this moment.
I feel the essence between Kang Min-hee and myself.
She is someone with deep feelings and great empathy.
Although she might appear prickly and unsociable, her heart is always warm.
When something irritating happens, she may act tough on the outside, but in private, she softens.
It's precisely because she is like this that she embraced the resentment of countless vengeful spirits into her heart.
In the end, it's Kang Min-hee who has a heart so broad that she can embrace the pain of these resentful ghosts.
However, if she carries the pain of others herself...
Who, then, will bear her own pain?
Kurung!
I finally break through the vengeful spirits and reach the barrier enveloping Kang Min-hee.
A barrier formed by the gathered souls of Ghost Kings.
To cross through this barrier, I must ultimately cut it.
But perhaps due to the influence of the Heart Demon, the sharp energy in my attack has vanished.
I must break through this wall without cutting or stabbing it.
It seems like an impossible task.
Yes, just like...
The task Jang Ik gave me, to cut through a star.
I recall the All-Heavens Sword that I threw into the sky.
At any time, I can summon the All-Heavens Sword.
And if I were to slash with the All-Heavens Sword, I would be able to break through the barrier.
But I don't do that.
'You fool. Are you just going to stand here and die a meaningless death without doing anything?'
"It's not a meaningless death."
I respond to the Heart Demon, my eyes gleaming.
Kang Min-hee's ghost claw flies toward me.
Dodging the slash, I shout.
"No matter who, how, or for what reason someone dies, there's no such thing as a meaningless death in this world!"
All deaths have meaning.
Because the life that led to that death holds meaning.
Why does life have meaning?
A life that seems empty and hollow. What meaning is there in a life that from the perspective of death, is so transparent that neither blessings nor curses can be seen?
—Like combining all intents turns them colorless, embrace all connections and become impermanence.
Perhaps, life is not something empty but something full, and that fullness gives it meaning.
Perhaps, there's no fundamental difference between emptiness and fullness.
Just as the combining of all intents creates the meaning of colorless.
Perhaps, combining connections creates the meaning of impermanence!
Therefore,
I will not die here.
Paaaatt!
Light begins to emanate from my body.
The faint mist of Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain, the hazy mist that manifests the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, shines brightly.
That light expels all the light of the Heavenly Lotus Fruit from my body.
Ironically, the Heavenly Lotus Fruit was only ever a hindrance to me, apart from replenishing my energy.
The nourishment of True Immortals became a calamity for me, turning the Heavenly Lotus Fruit into a terrifying Heart Demon mass.
Twitch, twitch...
I identify the true nature of the Heart Demon within the Heavenly Lotus Fruit.
More precisely, I realize the 'cause' that gave birth to the Heart Demon.
It's a small, dark-red mist.
Thinking about it, no matter how ancient and miraculous the Heavenly Lotus Fruit is, it's still the fruit of a tree that sealed the authority of Blood Yin, the leftover of Yu Hao Te, for tens of thousands of years.
There's no way it could have remained untouched by the aura of Blood Yin.
Thinking back, I should have been suspicious from the moment Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens slipped out from my shadow and activated the 'Blood Sacrifice Ritual,' forming an attraction force with Blood Yin.
Before I knew it, I was led by Seo Hweol to eat the Heavenly Lotus Fruit, which has been contaminated by Blood Yin.
That must have been what created the Heart Demon.
But it doesn't matter.
In the end, I found the answer after overcoming the Heart Demon.
Flash!
Light swirls, and the next moment, I rise to the Plane of Soul along with the clouds!
My entire body.
My entire domain!
Steps fully into the realm beyond the First Step.
This, is the stage that some call the Second Step Before the Throne.
Within the radiant light, standing firmly in the Plane of Soul, I draw the sword from within my heart.
Without cutting anyone, the sword forms a sword veil (劍幕), sending Kang Min-hee's barrier and the countless vengeful spirits surrounding it flying away with a powerful burst of light.
Tststststststs!
Finally, I charge towards the chest of Kang Min-hee, who has grown to the size of a Sky Island after absorbing the energy of the ghosts within the barrier.
Chwak!
Inside Kang Min-hee's chest.
The darkness formed by ghostly energy is thick and sticky.
This darkness is connected to the Plane of Soul, making it even more of an obstacle for me, who has fully entered the Plane of Soul.
But I pay no mind, piercing through all the obstacles in a straight line and diving deep into her depths.
And finally.
Paaatt!
I arrive at a familiar place, shrouded in misty clouds.
Kang Min-hee's domain.
Pure white clouds amidst a boundless sunset.
At the center of those clouds, Kang Min-hee's true form is crying.
She, having turned into a dark shadow, is shedding blue tears.
I slowly approach her.
—Don't come.
I hear Kang Min-hee's inner voice.
—I don't want you to get hurt.
With my eyes having already entered the realm of the soul, I can perceive even the thoughts she wishes to hide within her heart.
—Please, just go.
Paat!
As Kang Min-hee swings her hand, a powerful repulsive force surges towards me.
I continue approaching, undeterred.
She unleashes an attack against me.
I advance, enduring the assaults.
And when I stand just three zhang away from her.
Paaatt!
A thorn extending from her body pierces my chest.
Pukwak!
This thorn, drenched in the energy of death and deeply anchored within the Plane of Soul, pierces my chest and penetrates through my back, tearing apart my domain and leaving a massive scar.
—Don't come!
And yet, I begin to walk forward.
Step, step...
Even with the thorn embedded in my chest, even as the thorn sinks deeper into my body.
Even as she pushes me away, even as she causes me greater pain.
Finally, standing before her, I kneel and tightly embrace Kang Min-hee.
Paaaatt!
Having reached the realm of the soul, I use only my will to fill Kang Min-hee's heart with the Sea of Righteousness and Mountain of Grace.
She momentarily regains consciousness and cries.
"What are you doing...stupid?"
Instead of answering, I hug her even tighter.
If there is someone who can embrace all the pain and resentment of every departed soul in the world, who will embrace that person's own pain and resentment?
"Kang Min-hee."
The phrase 'Attaining the Dao in the morning, content with death in the evening' does not simply mean using any means necessary to become stronger.
"Stay still."
"...Don't do it, Seo Eun-hyun."
It means having the courage to throw away one's life, or even something more precious than life, to find one's own path.
If you have already found your path, then risking everything to achieve it is 'Attaining the Dao in the morning, content with death in the evening.'
The pain of one who embraces the suffering of all, can be given to the embrace of the connection they hold.
My path is connection.
'I'm sorry, everyone.'
I feel it.
Ever since I expelled the Heart Demon from the Heavenly Lotus Fruit, the being that was trying to take over my body through the Heart Demon has been overtly exerting its attraction force and trying to come over to this side.
The remnants of the Heart Demon are forming an attraction force between that being and myself.
It's highly likely that it's the [Being Who Governs the Blood Yin Realm].
At this rate, not only me but Kang Min-hee and our comrades will all be swept away.
To prevent a repeat of the Owner of Great Mountain incident.
And...to protect Kang Min-hee from suffering, at least in this lifetime...
I activate the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens.
As I offer myself as a sacrifice, the surrounding clouds darken and storm clouds envelop us,
Smiling as I hold her, I whisper.
"Come down."
The next moment.
"All-Heavens."
Pukwak!
The All-Heavens Sword, which I threw into the sky, pierces through the vengeful spirits, the barrier, Kang Min-hee's domain, and the storm clouds of the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens, descending from the heavens towards her.
Beyond Seated Detachment, Standing Oblivion, in the realm Jang Ik calls Second Step Before the Throne, my first single strike becomes a pillar of light that pierces us both simultaneously.
Holding her, I collapse. With my sword, along with Tribulating Heavens, I sever the connection felt deep within her soul that reaches the depths of the Netherworld, filling the void within her.
I smile even amidst the pain.
She said life is sorrow.
But what does a person live for?
A person lives to attain the Dao in the morning.
What is the Dao that the person can attain?
The name of that Dao is connection.
Even if life is full of sorrow, as long as there is connection, it won't be completely sorrowful.
That is my twenty-first return.