Ting—
The first sword strike, which carries no internal energy, spiritual power, or attraction force, is deflected by the first spell that Buk Hyang-hwa sends out.
'What is this?'
I feel a strange sense of déjà vu from her and adjust my stance again.
—Are you really sure about this?
Ever since I reached Void Shattering, even if my opponent isn't at Entering Heavens, I can still hear responses through heart language as long as they allow it.
Her reply reaches me.
—I'm truly sure.
Whoosh!
I leap toward her as if flying.Facing her, whose level is at the Nascent Soul stage, I am confident I can win by merely wielding the Colorless Glass Sword.
Thus, I confront her while sealing all my spiritual power and internal energy.
Swish!
In an instant, I rush towards her, aiming the sword at Buk Hyang-hwa's neck.
But at that moment, I feel a sudden chill, and using only my physical strength, I use the rebounding bow technique (弓身彈影).
[TL/N: A movement technique where one bends their body backward like a bow in midair, then springs forward using the rebound to propel themselves]
Thud!
A tingling runs up my ankle.
I feel a single strand of my hair get cut.
'What was that, just now?'
Just a moment ago, a basic spell whirled around Buk Hyang-hwa at a spin-chilling speed, cutting through my hair.
Although I feel sorry for her, Buk Hyang-hwa is merely an expert in crafting magical artifacts, not skilled in spellcasting, so I am struck by a sense of dissonance.
'Is it her magic artifact? Is she fighting using a magic artifact? No...this is...'
I look around, searching for any hidden magic artifacts, and finally realize what it is.
'So it was that.'
Zuuuung—
The norigae in her hand shines brightly.
A soft, jade light radiates around her, casting spells on her behalf.
'So this is the source of the dissonance. A magic artifact that casts spells for her...'
Yet, something feels off.
'...No. This isn't all.'
There is something more, something hidden that I am not aware of.
'...Is that it...?'
It is then that I understand why Buk Hyang-hwa challenged me to this duel.
This déjà vu.
She wants me to realize 'something' through this familiar feeling.
'If that's the case, I should oblige her.'
With my current strength, I can end this match against Buk Hyang-hwa in less than a second.
But to understand what Buk Hyang-hwa is trying to convey through this duel, I seal my power even further.
While sealing my spiritual power, internal energy, and attraction force, I also seal my consciousness.
Simultaneously, I seal my sight, and briefly puncture my eardrums to seal my hearing.
I breathe through my mouth instead of my nose, sealing my sense of smell, and I block my foresight, the senses of the Demon Race, and the vision of my intent as well.
Now, all that remains is my sense of touch.
I feel the grip of my sword and the vibrations of the ground.
I feel the flow of the wind.
And in that state, holding the Colorless Glass Sword, I launch myself once more toward Buk Hyang-hwa.
Sururuk—
I can feel it.
A vibration resonates from Buk Hyang-hwa's norigae.
I sense the thousands upon thousands of circuits inscribed within that norigae, seamlessly exchanging power, weaving together spells.
'It wasn't just one.'
I am surprised by the overwhelming capabilities of the norigae.
The norigae receives spiritual energy from Buk Hyang-hwa and spews out tens of thousands of spells per second, encircling her.
Chuarara!
I can feel it through the vibration of the air.
Right now, tens of thousands of spells are being generated around her, taking the form of spell characters that surround her.
Simultaneously, the spell characters begin to revolve around her in a cycle.
Just like the rings of rock orbiting around Jupiter or Saturn.
A 'ring' of spell characters appears around her.
Piiiiing—
The rotation of the 'ring' displaces the air, exuding a fierce momentum.
This level of spell manipulation is absurd.
'Just what did you do to that norigae?'
I let out a hearty laugh and take a deep breath.
Huuub—
In an instant, oxygen floods into the muscles of my entire body.
My muscles seem to expand momentarily, drawing out explosive strength.
Boom!
In the next instant, I break the sound barrier using only my physical strength.
The power of body strengthening techniques like the body refining methods or the demon beast methods are already sealed, and using only the strength of 'Seo Eun-hyun,' the human, I've surpassed extreme speed.
'The one I need to face isn't Buk Hyang-hwa.'
It is the creation she holds in her hands.
Pang, pang, pang, pang!
I move swiftly between the trees of Cedar Wood Grove, striking towards the norigae with feints, as if I may or may not attack.
Each time, the norigae detects my movements and moves the spell characters at extreme speed to defend Buk Hyang-hwa.
'Let's see if it can really defend against this.'
Pang!
In the next moment, I feign a sword slash from the front, but I immediately shift to her rear, thrusting my sword at the norigae.
The norigae's spell manipulation falters slightly but soon begins to respond to me.
Sixteen spell characters shoot toward me, aiming at my feet, ankles, groin, solar plexus, neck, and philtrum.
'Faster.'
Huuub!
I take a deep breath in a single moment and push my muscles even further into overdrive.
Boom, boom, boom!
After thrusting at the line of incoming spell characters, I disrupt the flow of the 'ring' surrounding her.
Kwaaaaang!
My sword, having broken the sound barrier, clashes with the 'ring,' causing a massive explosion.
Meanwhile, the norigae deploys defensive spells to protect Buk Hyang-hwa, while simultaneously producing offensive spells from the defensive spells, demonstrating a seamless combination of offense and defense.
'What in the world...?'
To modify spells in real time and use them like this is a skill only a grandmaster of spells could pull off!
I can't help but laugh in disbelief at the idea that a mere norigae is pulling off such a feat.
At the same time, the sense of déjà vu grows stronger.
I exchange blows with the norigae.
Even though I'm clearly fighting an emotionless artifact, it strangely feels as though I'm battling a person.
Ting, ting, tang!
My sword deflects three spells and shatters Buk Hyang-hwa's defensive spell.
The norigae quickly casts seven layers of defensive spells over Buk Hyang-hwa again, and a wide-area sealing spell covers the surroundings with her as the center.
The entire dueling arena is engulfed in this restriction, making my body feel heavy.
'Why is this?'
Though I am clearly in the middle of a battle, I feel as if I am dancing.
'...So that's it...'
I am indeed dancing.
Between the movements of my sword, the scenery of that rainy day starts to flash before my eyes.
'So it wasn't a hallucination.'
The rain I saw when I first swung my sword.
It wasn't merely a nostalgic vision from my memories.
Kwagwagwang!
Her Nascent Soul-level spiritual power is being supplied to the norigae, and the norigae amplifies it into spells at the Heavenly Being level.
The surrounding terrain begins to change.
Due to a fire attribute spell, the ground melts, turning into a sea of lava.
Slam!
I plant one foot on a solid spot amidst the lava sea and spin my body, using the wind generated by my sword to quickly cool the lava.
Sararak—
'Even with my eyes closed...I can still see.'
What I see before me is not Buk Hyang-hwa, unleashing lava, torrential rain, and freezing cold.
It's her—the one who danced with me as she was dying.
The dream-like memory of that time fills my vision.
Shwaaaaaa—
The rain stops, and the dance between she and I also ceases.
I exchange words with her.
Exuding curses profusely and suffering with pain...
She says something to me.
And in the midst of it, we share a kiss.
Paaaatt!
The curse begins to reverse.
Tap, tap...
Like raindrops hitting the ground and bursting apart, the dark curses explode outward, transforming into a pure white blessing.
As I watch this process, I look up at the sky.
Rain (雨) is born in the sky and dies when it reaches the ground.
The sky that brought the rain becomes vast and empty, and the darkness disperses.
'...Come to think of it, she was always giving me water.'
When we first met in the desert.
When we met again for the second time.
When she made it rain when we parted for the last time...
And even now.
Shhhuuaaaa!
Lost in thought, I deflect each raindrop from the rainfall spell coming from the norigae with the Colorless Glass Sword.
What is Rain (雨)?
Rain is dispersion.
At the same time, it is the emptiness that follows after it falls.
...
Is that all?
Chwarararak!
I sense the Divine Power of Rain activating within my embrace.
While facing Buk Hyang-hwa, as the memories of that time come back through the norigae, I finally comprehend all six divine powers of the Integration stage.
However, I have a gut feeling that this isn't the end.
—The heart is essentially death.
[Her] words linger in my ears.
Shwaaaaa...
The rain is starting to stop.
I flick the raindrops off my sword and point my blade at the final drop of rain.
Toooong—
The single droplet falls onto the tip of my sword.
But instead of letting it split apart, I rotate the tip of the sword.
Spinning in circles, I perform a sword dance.
Gradually, the tip of my sword lowers to the ground.
Carefully controlling my strength so that the droplet clinging to the sword's tip doesn't burst, I finally let the raindrop roll off the blade and onto the ground.
The droplet, having fallen from the sky, travels down my sword and flows into the ground.
And then, it merges with the countless streams of water in the surroundings, becoming part of the lake that has pooled on the floor of the dueling grounds.
I briefly sense the lake.
With sight, hearing, smell, and every sense sealed, I cannot rely on any senses.
In a state where all my senses are meaningless, except for touch,
I perceive the entire lake through the vibrations against my skin.
Paaaatt!
The norigae shoots spell characters at me once again.
—The heart is essentially death.
Raindrops are born in the sky and die on the ground.
The human heart is the same.
Born into this world, experiencing all of life's storms, it finally turns colorless and disperses away...
Just like raindrops.
Like the curses and pain I suffered in my tenth cycle....
—Was what I just gave you also a curse?
Flash!
I open my eyes.
Chwak!
With my single sword stroke, I slice through the spell characters and split the lake created by spells in half.
And then, at last, I sever her 'ring.'
Paaaatt!
The sword wind stirs Buk Hyang-hwa's hair wildly.
Gripping my sword, I smile and send her a heart message.
—So this was it, what you wanted to convey to me...
She silently nods with a faint smile.
I look at the waters of the lake, which have split and are now merging back together, and glance at the sky.
Raindrops are born in the sky.
And they descend to the ground.
But they do not die.
The rain born from the sky, upon reaching the ground, flows into streams, lakes, and eventually the sea.
Just as curses turn into blessings and rain becomes the sea,
Perhaps the end of the heart is not merely death.
Wo-woong!
I understand why the spells gather around Buk Hyang-hwa to form a 'ring.'
Wiiiiing!
In my mind, the formulas of the Vast Cold Heavenly Circle begin to glow.
In Spring, All Things Are Born (春則萬物始生).
In Summer, All Things Are Grown (夏則萬物長養).
In Autumn, All Things Are Matured (秋則萬物成熟).
In Winter, All Things Are Conserved (冬則萬物閉藏).
None Are Beyond The Merits Of The Four Seasons (無非四時之功也).
The Four Seasons are unending.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter are engraved in the flow of the Nascent Soul and the Four Seasons in the Heavenly Being stage correspond to human life.
The passage that pays tribute to the Four Seasons—None Are Beyond The Merits Of The Four Seasons—also has the meaning of paying tribute to a person’s life.
It means that life doesn't end with Acceptance at Fate's End (考終命) but continues in a never-ending cycle!
Kuuung!
I realize that the six formulas of Rain (雨), Sunlight (陽), Heat (燠), Cold (寒), Wind (風), and Time (時) resonate with the formulas of the Vast Cold Heavenly Circle as if they are alive.
'The formula that begins with Time ends with Rain. And when the rain falls, the clouds disperse, and time flows once again...'
The reverse is also true.
The formula that begins with Rain ends with Time, yet inevitably returns to Rain.
An endless cycle!
The formulas begin to revolve.
Kwarururung!
Lightning flashes across the sky, and once again, the weather turns cloudy and rain begins to fall.
It is the wind and rain I have called forth.
As the rain falls on me, I ask Buk Hyang-hwa.
—Have you reached that person?
She smiles while she nods.
I smile too.
And at the same time, tears fall from my eyes.
Buk Hyang-hwa has finally succeeded in reaching the [place connected to the norigae].
Seo Ran, Shi Ho, Kim Young-hoon.
And Kim Yeon too.
All of them are shedding tears in the rain.
She has burned the last of her life to open the path to the world where Cheongmun Ryeong exists.
Paaaatt!
The norigae in her grasp turns pure white in an instant.
A bright white light, like salt.
She limps forward to me and hands over the norigae.
Then, she opens her mouth.
Her eyes are dull, her whole body trembling, but she slowly forces out her voice.
"Teacher...Cheongmun Ryeong...is alive."
"...I know."
As I accept the norigae, I speak both with heart language and my voice, so that Buk Hyang-hwa and the others can all understand.
"From...the moment...I sealed...the stone from his body into the norigae, I sought a way to retrieve it. But that stone vanished without a trace, leaving only a passage to a mysterious space… When I met Daoist Seo, I only thought the stone was connected to Daoist's divine power."
She loses strength and collapses on the spot.
I help her up.
"However, with Yeon Unnie's help...by interpreting the power along with the Vast Cold Heavenly Circle, I was able to understand. From the very beginning, what came from Teacher Cheongmun Ryeong's body was merely a passage connected to another world. That passage merely fused with the norigae..."
[TL/N: Teacher as in a respectful form of address, not as in the actual teacher/master.]
Wo-woong!
As she places the norigae into my hand, she continues speaking.
"As this norigae is connected to Daoist Seo's divine power...Daoist Seo's divine power is...directly connected to the world where Teacher Cheongmun Ryeong resides."
Shhhwaaaaaaa—
I unfold the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.
A hazy mist spreads out around us.
As I listen to Buk Hyang-hwa's words, I grip the norigae even tighter.
'So that's how it is...?'
After Buk Hyang-hwa placed Cheongmun Ryeong's strange stone into the norigae and time passed,
My Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections itself became a passage to 'somewhere.'
I peer into the far distance within the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.
From there, a very familiar energy is emanating.
Penglai Island.
The world atop Salt Mountain where Yuk Yo and Baek Rin had headed.
According to Yuk Yo, the place where Cheongmun Ryeong is located may be 'another dream,' but...
The essence is likely the same.
At this moment, I finally begin to understand how Kim Yeon came to possess the Ritual Worship Scripture of Love of Virtue.
Woong, wo-woong!
Just as the norigae surrounded Buk Hyang-hwa's body with spells in the form of a ring, the dream world atop Salt Mountain is deeply connected to the power of Samsara (輪回/cyclic change/reincarnation).
Though no one had managed to claim any treasures within Penglai Island that day, the reason Kim Yeon alone obtained what she desired was because she possessed the Vast Cold Heavenly Circle.
"I...have always dreamed, from a young age, of being crushed beneath a massive bird."
Gradually, our comrades began to gather around us.
Seo Ran, Shi Ho, Kim Young-hoon, Kim Yeon, and others.
Everyone close to Buk Hyang-hwa gathers nearby.
"When I think about it...it wasn't a dream of being crushed. The bird...was simply watching me. I only mistook the pressure for being crushed... That great bird had always been whispering inspirations to me...and I only came to realize when my death was near."
Tststststst!
Two patterns appear on Buk Hyang-hwa's face.
One is golden, the other silver.
"...My fate. Through the norigae, after consulting with Teacher Cheongmun Ryeong... after asking that person, I came to learn the truth. A great being gave birth to a living fate, and this fate spread throughout the world, giving birth to beings who 'become the greatest artisans within the land they dwell, but if they leave that land, they die for various reasons.' This living fate is precisely the true nature of the Extraordinary Pattern Law Talent..."
Buk Hyang-hwa's breath becomes labored.
I can feel her entire nervous system gradually paralyzing.
"My curse...the Heavenly Punishment that began acting up recently, isn't because of the calamity we encountered back then."
She looks at me as she speaks.
"It isn't your fault either. It's simply...because as I researched the norigae, I began to step outside the bounds of my fate. It's not just about leaving one's physical homeland. Breaking free from the fate imposed on us—that is the true condition for the curse's activation..."
Tstststst—
Gradually, her body begins to shine.
At the same time, I can sense her light flowing into the norigae.
No, more precisely, within the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections inside it,
Her soul is moving beyond—towards the world of Salt Mountain.
"I...will go to where...Teacher Cheongmun Ryeong is. Escaping my fate, achieving true liberation..."
Kim Yeon bursts into tears.
She tightly grasps Buk Hyang-hwa's hand, and I, summoning all the attraction force, spiritual power, internal energy, and all my senses, try to hold onto her soul.
But it's no use.
Like salt dissolving into seawater, she drifts beyond the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, towards the world where Cheongmun Ryeong resides.
"And so..."
Pasasasasa—
Buk Hyang-hwa begins to break apart.
Her body turns into salt.
"Please don't be too sad."
With those final words, she closes her eyes completely.
"I loved you all...truly."
"Don't go...!"
With Kim Yeon's cry, she completely turns to salt and disappears.
I stare blankly at the salt that Buk Hyang-hwa has become.
Kim Yeon wails, and I tremble.
The salt that she has turned into does not possess any mystical power, like that of Cheongmun Ryeong.
It's just ordinary salt.
I stroke that plain salt and stand up.
The rain falling from the sky quickly ceases.
Kim Yeon clutches the salt to her chest and cries, but the salt just slips through her fingers, again and again.
Next to me, Hong Fan speaks bitterly.
"Miss Hyang-hwa...should have already been dead. But until the very end, with the sole intent to save Sir Cheongmun Ryeong...with the sole intent to unravel the secret of the norigae, she extended her life by borrowing the power of the norigae."
"..."
"Perhaps as the price of borrowing the power from another world, she turned to salt when she passed..."
He lets out a low hum as he mourns Buk Hyang-hwa by my side, while I clutch the norigae, now turned pure white.
The norigae has turned into a familiar material.
Salt Crystal!
Just like the palace atop Salt Mountain...
It has become a passage to another world.
Shi Ho carefully places a hand on Kim Yeon's shoulder and speaks.
"Lady Kim Yeon...it's time to let go. We must prepare a funeral."
"Quiet! There's still, still something...hope..."
"Lady Kim Yeon..."
At that, I turn around and speak.
"She's not dead yet."
Everyone's eyes widen at my words.
I recall how the rainwater falls to the ground and becomes a lake.
Though the form may change, nothing ever truly perishes.
The heart does not end with death.
Even if its form changes, it is unending.
And in the same manner...Buk Hyang-hwa's soul has only moved to another world.
"We can meet her again. Don't hold a funeral."
Kim Yeon stumbles as she stands up.
The salt crumbles from her hands.
"...How...what must we do...? Are you saying there's a method to go to the place Hyang-hwa spoke of? It's a place we can only reach by dying. Hyang-hwa's research proved that!"
"That's right. We cannot go there."
"Then how...?"
"That's why we have to bring 'that world' here."
"...What?"
She and the others look at me with eyes filled with confusion.
The world connected through the norigae and the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections feels different from Penglai Island's world.
It's only with the immense Salt Mountain, gigantic Salt Crystals, and the help of Penglai Island's formation that we barely managed to enter the world of Penglai Island.
In contrast, this norigae is too small.
At best, it can only accommodate a person's soul.
That's why no living person can enter the world connected to this norigae.
However, that doesn't mean there's no way.
If we cannot go there, then we simply need to call that world here.
And...
I already know a spell to summon an entirely different time and space into the one we are in.
"Follow me."
Yeon's Play.
If it's that...
We can bring back Buk Hyang-hwa.
Feeling the six divine powers fully settled within my body, I can tell.
Even with just the cultivation of Heaven and Earth, I am now at the Quasi-Star Shattering stage.
"Let's go end the Mad Lord."
The pitiful play of the Mad Lord, which has continued for thousands of years.
It is time to bring its curtains down.