The world is being eroded by Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.
It is such a secretive erosion that even the Sacred Masters, who are the owners of the world, are unaware of the erosion occurring within their own realms.
The full-scale erosion by Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, carried out over four thousand years!
With that erosion, everything begins to laugh.
Even the living beings with ordinary mortal fates.
Even the cultivators walking the path of Immortal Cultivation.
Even the supervisors managing the scene, and the monsters living in the Chaos Realm regions.
All of them let out 'hoho' while staring at one place.
It is the place where the stone structure they have built over 4,000 years is located.Towards that place, everyone laughs with a hoho.
Paaaatt!
At the center of the circular structure.
Something is being projected there.
Wo-woong—
It is the image of Cedarwood Painting.
The image of Cedarwood Painting has been reduced to a small size and is being reflected beneath the sky of the Bright Cold Realm.
As this image is gradually absorbed as a part of the Bright Cold Realm, it fades due to the cultures and consciousness, lives and histories, as well as the fates of the living beings.
However, the moment Seo Hweol starts to laugh.
Wo-woong!
The fading image of Cedarwood Painting becomes distinct and starts to grow in size.
It is not just in the Bright Cold Realm.
The same is happening in the Ancient Force Realm, Purple Gold Realm, and True Devil Realm, where Cedarwood Painting is currently being eroded.
In those places as well, living beings have gathered in a Chaos Realm region, the Deep Sea, and other such places to construct structures, projecting the image of Cedarwood Painting at the center to integrate it into the Bright Cold Realm.
But at this very moment!
Dududududu!
The image of Cedarwood Painting seems to grow larger according to Seo Hweol's will before Cedarwood Painting itself truly rises into the sky above the Chaos Realm regions.
Wiiiiing—
Bright Cold Realm, True Devil Realm, Ancient Force Realm, and Purple Gold Realm.
The outskirts of these four worlds.
The Chaos Realm regions are being covered by the authority of Cedarwood Painting, and under Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, they begin to separate from each of their Middle Realms.
Originally, during the Bright Cold Realm's invasion of the True Devil Realm, the Vast Cold Jade eroded the True Devil Realm's devilish energy into the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy of the Bright Cold Realm, transforming the True Devil Realm into part of the Bright Cold Realm.
Similarly, the energy of Cedarwood Painting is now eroding the lands of the Bright Cold Realm and the other Middle Realms.
Chiiiii—
It is a glass-colored flame.
The glass-colored flame surges like a wave, engulfing the living beings captured for forced labor, and soon they are inhaling the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy of Cedarwood Painting along with its Glass True Fire.
By the time the Sacred Masters of the Middle Realms realize what is happening, it is already too late.
Kugugugugu!
Cedarwood Painting vibrates and begins to tear apart the Chaos Realm regions of each Middle Realm, as if a predator is ripping into chunks of flesh.
Chwararararak!
From Cedarwood Painting, thousands of Candle Dragons emerge.
Shrouded in Glass True Fire, they embed spiritual jade known as Cedarwood Advancing Jade (杉木進玉) into various places.
Just like with the Vast Cold Jade, the Cedarwood Advancing Jades begin to completely alter and erode the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy and spirit veins of the Bright Cold Realm from their very roots.
And then, in an instant,
Kududududu!
Earthquakes sweep across the Chaos Realm regions of each Middle Realm.
Baek Woon, enraged, forges a spear from clouds and hurls it at Cedarwood Painting.
Hae Lin crushes the armrest of the dragon throne, stirring the Deep Sea.
Ban Ta, glowing furiously, unleashes a beam of light from his mouth.
Ja Eum, expression serious, seems to be deep in thought about something.
However, none of them can stop Cedarwood Painting's erosion of the Middle Realms.
Without even rats or birds knowing, an Immortal Art that erodes everything by the time one notices.
That is precisely Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.
Chichichichichi—
Parts of the Middle Realms are torn away by Cedarwood Painting, and amidst the Sacred Masters' wrath, Cedarwood Painting Sacred Master Seo Eun-hyun smiles.
[At last, it is complete.]
Kugugugugu!
Portions of the Middle Realms.
And 2,800 [worlds] of Decaying Corpse Realms.
After nearly 5,000 years, a portion of Seo Eun-hyun's plan has finally come to fruition.
The Artificial Middle Realm Plan.
Devised based on the Liberation Law Talent of Kim Yeon, a human-made Middle Realm!
Though it remains far inferior in absoluteness compared to a true Middle Realm, and much more fragile and crude, its weight class has now reached a point where it can no longer be dismissed.
Woo-woooong!
At the center of Cedarwood Painting, now using the vastly increased weight class of Cedarwood Painting, Seo Eun-hyun leaps to the next stage of the plan.
Flash!
Seo Eun-hyun's fixed star, having reached the end of its lifespan, begins to dim with light gradually fading. However, its volume starts to expand.
From the center of the fixed star, Seo Eun-hyun half-opens his eyes.
[Correctness.]
At his single utterance, the 'light' of the entire Cedarwood Painting transforms.
The light, which had previously shone down uniformly, now intensifies with even greater brilliance.
Seo Eun-hyun recalls the years that have passed.
The four thousand years after reaching the mid Sacred Vessel stage, when he obtained the authority of the Eight Paths and used it to desperately resist the erosion of the four Middle Realms.
Now, those years are behind him.
And with those years, through refining his abilities, he has also fully grasped the formula of the mid Sacred Vessel stage, the formula of Correctness and Straightforwardness (正直).
If the formulae of the early Sacred Vessel Stage—Year (歲), Month (月), Day (日), Hour (辰), Calendar (歷)—are about evenly distributing the world's light,
Then the mid-stage formula of Correctness and Straightforwardness is about letting the light shine down upon the world correctly and straightforwardly.
'The authority of a Sacred Vessel Sacred Master is derived entirely from light.'
The authority of the Eight Paths they wield.
In other words, the ability to freely manipulate the eight concepts of the world they inhabit originates entirely from the 'power of light.'
Thus, to grow as a Sacred Master means to grow one's ability to wield light.
'I'm almost there.'
Light is an indispensable existence for life.
To living beings, light is everything.
It is both a blessing and grace, a guide that helps countless living beings continue surviving in this world.
That is why Sacred Masters gain the authority to control the lives of living beings in exchange for providing them with light.
Seo Eun-hyun perceives that because he has been 'correctly and straightforwardly' supplying light, he can now 'correctly and straightforwardly' seize control over the fate of Cedarwood Painting.
'Now it's time for the late Sacred Vessel stage, Strong Rule (剛克).'
The formula for Strong Rule is to supply 'light strongly.'
By strongly supplying the living beings of Cedarwood Painting with light, grace, and blessings, he can in return obtain an even stronger authority to forcefully control their lives.
This is the cultivation of the late Sacred Vessel stage.
To control someone's fate and history, one must first bestow grace upon them.
'Because it becomes possible to strongly control one's world even more forcefully from the late Sacred Vessel stage, the precision of one's control over the world increases considerably.'
While even more actively bestowing Cedarwood Painting with light, blessings, and good fortune, Seo Eun-hyun opens his eyes.
Cedarwood Painting, which has been turned into a vast Middle Realm by Seo Hweol, feels like it's firmly within the palm of his hand.
'Only one step to the Grand Perfection Sacred Vessel stage... But I can do it even now.'
Seo Eun-hyun's eyes gleam.
Generally, it is standard to reach a realm's 'Grand Perfection' before progressing to the next realm.
However, a standard is just a standard.
'It is possible to advance to the next realm directly from the late stage.'
At the late Qi Building stage, it is possible to challenge the Golden Core stage directly because one has already created 21 stars, completing three-quarters of the Heavenly Sphere Diagram necessary to lay the foundation for the Golden Core.
At the late Core Formation stage, it is possible to directly challenge the Nascent Soul stage because one has already completely taken control of their body's spiritual energy and thoroughly made their entire selves into an altar.
At the late Nascent Soul stage, it is also possible to challenge the Heavenly Being stage because the Five Elements have already been added to the Yin-Yang Spirit.
For the Heavenly Being stage, even without the formulas of Acceptance at Fate's End or the Vast Cold Heavenly Circle, it is possible to progress to the next realm because the cycle of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter has already been completed.
Similarly, for the late Four-Axis stage, the completion of the Four-Axis Canopy allows for advancement to the Integration stage without issue.
In truth, for every realm, even without achieving Grand Perfection, it is possible to progress to the next realm during the late stage—though the success rate will be significantly lower!
'If combined with the power of Cedarwood Painting...it's possible to immediately challenge the Entering Nirvana stage. Furthermore...'
Seo Eun-hyun smiles faintly.
He has broken through an insane level of difficulty to reach the Sacred Vessel stage through Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation.
Thus, even if he reaches the Entering Nirvana stage as a Heaven Tribe or Earth Tribe, the 'remaining path' would still be in the Sacred Vessel stage.
This means that, even after reaching the Entering Nirvana stage, he would still be able to cultivate as a Sacred Master, making him a one-of-a-kind existence within the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain!
'If I reach the Entering Nirvana stage...combined with the authority of Cedarwood Painting, I'll be able to touch the Plane of Fate.'
Just as the other True Persons had done by combining their powers, Seo Eun-hyun would also be able to perform 'prophecies.'
'If I can just achieve that...my plan will undoubtedly succeed.'
'It's not impossible. But...'
Seo Eun-hyun looks at Seo Hweol, who had just helped him complete the artificial Middle Realm using Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.
Seo Hweol seems unaware of Seo Eun-hyun's gaze.
No, perhaps he notices but is pretending not to.
'I just can't figure out what that guy is thinking.'
Although Seo Eun-hyun is capable of reading the thoughts of the living beings within this plane, Seo Hweol's true thoughts remain beyond him.
This is because Seo Hweol's thoughts reside only within his most hidden place.
It does not leave the deepest recesses of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.
Aside from that, the only thoughts Seo Eun-hyun can read in Seo Hweol's mind are those filled with trivialities like flame-grilled sea cucumbers or grilled eel rice bowls prepared by Oh Hye-seo.
[...This glutton who thinks of nothing but food. Could it really be that nothing else occupies his head?]
Seo Eun-hyun jokingly grumbles about Seo Hweol.
Of course, Seo Hweol wouldn't hear him, but Seo Eun-hyun does so just in case.
'The bastard can't be trusted.'
The advancement to the Entering Nirvana stage inevitably creates a moment of vulnerability.
Will Seo Hweol truly do nothing during Seo Eun-hyun's advancement, or will he attempt something?
Not being able to know that uncertainty is the biggest issue.
After pondering for a moment, Seo Eun-hyun finally makes a decision.
'...Fine. For now, let's challenge the Entering Nirvana advancement ritual.'
However...
He decides to keep this a secret from Seo Hweol and his other comrades.
He must complete the advancement to the Entering Nirvana stage in complete secrecy, without anyone knowing.
'The path to advance... The Earth Tribe path seems best.'
Advancing through the Heaven Tribe path is cumbersome, requiring numerous procedures.
In contrast, the Earth Tribe advancement ritual, which focuses on explosions—and only explosions, is much simpler.
'With my current state...the time required for advancing to the Entering Nirvana stage should be roughly 1,800 to 2,000 years.'
Seo Eun-hyun calculates the timeline and narrows his eyes.
'It will likely coincide with the time I reach the deepest depths of Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.'
Whether Seo Eun-hyun can successfully advance to the Entering Nirvana stage in secret without anyone knowing, reach the deepest recesses of Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, seize Seo Hweol's everything, and bring his plans to fruition—
Or whether Seo Hweol will discover him midway and execute the move he is undoubtedly preparing right now.
That will decide the outcome of this duel.
'I know what you're preparing right now, Seo Hweol.'
Seo Eun-hyun's eyes glint.
At some point, Seo Hweol began pretending to cooperate with Seo Eun-hyun while secretly searching for the whereabouts of Oh Hye-seo's split soul, 'Seo Hye,' which escaped from Seo Eun-hyun's grasp.
Seo Hye's location is already on the verge of being captured by Seo Hweol's information network.
It seems he intends to use Seo Hye to connect to Seo Ran in some way, but Seo Eun-hyun smiles faintly.
'It's already too late, Seo Hweol. Seo Hye is already...nearly completing Seo Ran's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.'
Whatever Seo Hweol is scheming, he will not be able to obtain what he desires.
Believing this, Seo Eun-hyun splits himself into two.
The flow of the entity known as Seo Eun-hyun divides into three.
Heaven Tribe, Earth Tribe, and the Martial Artist Seo Eun-hyun.
Among them, the Martial Artist Seo Eun-hyun uses Hidden Heavens Beyond the Path on the Earth Tribe Seo Eun-hyun.
The existence of the Earth Tribe Seo Eun-hyun reaches the domain of purity, almost vanishing entirely from the world.
Thus, hidden from everyone's sight, the Earth Tribe Seo Eun-hyun begins his advancement to the Entering Nirvana stage.