Chapter 542: True Immortal Advancement
Heaven and Earth distort.
For a moment, it feels difficult to understand what is what.
But in an instant, I am able to understand what the situation is.
'Blood Yin...self-destructed...?'
I remember that in the final moment, Blood Yin exploded with a dusk-like light, releasing [power] surpassing imagination.
And in those final moments, I remember my comrades being flung somewhere beyond the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain by Blood Yin's self-destruction.
Simultaneously, I realize what situation I am in right now.
'I... Ah...I see.'Everything has completely shattered.
My entire physical body, my authority, Heaven, Earth, Heart, Wheel, even the power added by Kim Yeon—everything.
I have been reduced to cosmic dust, only a single strand of consciousness remaining, and drifting aimlessly through the expanse of space.
Even in this state, I can feel [death] approaching closer with every passing moment.
Suddenly, futility washes over me.
In this 999th cycle, I have struggled so desperately with all my power to survive.
Yet, in the end, I couldn't avoid Blood Yin's self-destruction and now face such a futile death.
'Still...'
I fought with all my might.
Truly, it was a life where I gave everything, leaving nothing behind.
It's unbearably regretful...but still, I can accept this death.
It's then.
Woo-woong!
'...?'
Suddenly, I notice my consciousness being sucked in [somewhere].
'Th-This is...'
Startled, I look towards the place pulling me in.
There...a Sun (太陽), tinged a reddish yellow with a subtle crimson hue, glows with the light of dawn.
The Sun is beautiful.
Its light alone feels as though it illuminates and warms the entire universe.
However, the moment I see that Sun, I feel chills spreading deep inside my very soul.
Kugugugugugu!
The center of the Sun!
At its core, something is glowing.
It is a being adorned in ancient robes, wearing a mianguan on their head, with a reddish-yellow mask covering their face.
The moment I perceive this being, I realize through the [wisdom] radiating from them who they are.
Radiance Eight Immortals.
Third Seat.
Great Sun Heavenly Lord!
Wh-What is this...!?'
One of the rulers of the Radiance Hall is pulling in my soul.
The being's hands are raised to their chest, almost touching each other, and gathering light between them.
Within that light, a familiar energy is felt.
It's my [physical body]!
That being is reconstructing the body that Blood Yin reduced to cosmic dust, using it as a foundation to summon my soul back.
'Are they trying to revive me (蘇生)!?'
However, the closer I am pulled towards that being through attraction force, the more I realize that's not the case.
'Th-This is...!'
The moment I realize what that being is doing, I cannot help but be horrified.
'This, this madness... Is such a thing even possible!? No matter how high ranking of a True Immortal they are...how can they...how can they...!?'
Dududududu!
The heart begins to rapidly convert into attraction force.
From the Sacred Vessel stage, one can somewhat control the heart's change into attraction force that begins in the Star Shattering stage, and through the Immortal Arts of Eight Paths, make the attraction force-changed heart operate like a true heart.
From the Entering Nirvana stage, it even becomes possible to return the attraction force-changed heart back to its original state.
However, even though I have reached the Entering Nirvana stage, I cannot avoid the phenomena of my heart being changed into attraction force by the Great Heavenly Lord.
Why does the heart become attraction force starting from the Star Shattering stage?
Why does one formally step into the stages of Immortal Arts from that point?
It's perhaps...
Because the Star Shattering stage marks the beginning of the preparatory phase for the True Immortal advancement ritual.
The True Immortal advancement ritual proceeds as follows:
Just like when I previously stood before Jinlu Gok and released all the death energy of the Death Path Three Great Ultimates, the heart gradually changes into an attraction force, and that attraction force gradually reaches its peak.
At its peak, the heart's attraction force begins to contract, eventually compressing into a single point and annihilating everything about the cultivator.
Once compressed, the True Person's physical body and authority are released from their compression, entering the Interdimensional Void, where they gradually decompose and turn into a Vestige (尸).
Then, the soul of the True Person, having undergone complete annihilation, moves towards the [Domain of Death], uniting 'life and death' within the soul itself before unfolding the Immortal Art cultivated from the Star Shattering stage to the Entering Nirvana stage.
At the core of the Immortal Art, a being that has fully embraced and contained life and death is born.
In the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, such a being is called a True Immortal (眞仙).
In short:
From the Star Shattering stage, the heart begins changing into attraction force.
In the Sacred Vessel stage, one learns to control this attraction force through Immortal Arts.
In the Entering Nirvana stage, the attraction force reaches its peak.
Finally, the True Immortal advancement involves compressing this peak attraction force, annihilating oneself before shedding (脫殼) from one's life, and uniting life and death to become an entirely new existence.
This is the enlightenment I once realized in front of the Jinlu Gok, and at the same time, the True Immortal advancement ritual I cross-verified with Yeo Hwi.
And now...
The Great Sun Heavenly Lord is forcibly pulling my soul, [scooping up] the power of the [Domain of Death], forcefully merging it with me, and attempting to forcibly advance me.
'Ah, no...!'
I recall the warnings of countless high beings, including Yang Su-jin.
Be wary of the light!
'I can't get caught by the Great Sun Heavenly Lord...!'
I can feel it.
That being is not pulling me in to advance me because they favor me.
I can feel earnest malice.
And I realize that malice is connected to the Northern Dipper Seven Heavenly Lords I annihilated.
'The Northern Dipper Seven Heavenly Lords... Did they have some contract with the Radiance Hall? Because I destroyed their projections, is this being trying to do something to me?'
I cannot be certain.
But one thing is clear. I must never allow myself to advance at the hands of the Great Sun Heavenly Lord.
'If I advance through the Great Sun Heavenly Lord, I won't need to die.'
I can feel that being drawing up the power of death and performing the advancement ritual in my stead.
However, I recall Blood Yin's words.
That every prophecy comes with a price.
And I recall the [wisdom] etched into me by him.
—Every prophecy comes with a price.
—And the forces of Light, known to sit at the pinnacle of prophecies, are always infamous for forcing their prices onto others.
If I advance to True Immortality through that being, I foresee a future where I am bound by a leash to the Radiance Hall for eternity, paying the price for advancement.
I would be even less than an Immortal Treasure, treated like livestock.
'I must escape...!'
Woo-woong!
With desperate determination, I struggle to break free from the Great Sun Heavenly Lord's grasp.
But because they are reconstructing my physical body and forming attraction force, I realize escape is not so simple.
In my current state with only my soul remaining, the only thing I can do is...
Woooooooo—
The four dimensions overlapping the Astral Realm.
It is to cross into one of them.
'Th-This damn...'
I stare at the four dimensions in stunned disbelief.
In the Source River, the will of the Northern Dipper Seven Heavenly Lords is rampaging madly.
Given that they are often referred to as the direct disciples of the Heavenly Venerable of Time, I realize that crossing into the Source River would only result in being captured by them.
I gaze at the Eastern Heaven Flower Field and the Underworld.
Kugugugugugu!
A [Deep and Old Darkness], incomparable to the [likes] of the Great Sun Heavenly Lord or the Northern Dipper Seven Heavenly Lords fills that place.
Even the Eastern Heaven Flower Field, which is not even part of the Underworld's domain, seems to have been eroded by the darkness of the [Oldest One], leaving it pitch black.
"Ah, no..."
I can feel it.
Being caught by the Great Sun Heavenly Lord and advancing with the power of the forces of Light.
Or entering the embrace of the [Oldest One] and accepting life and death with my own strength to advance.
I must choose between the two.
'If I choose the domain of life, I would be captured by the Great Sun Heavenly Lord and become a slave of the Radiance Hall. It would be an endless hell of having my shoulder toyed with by the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord everyday. But if I choose the domain of death, I'll be caught by the [Oldest One] and be taxidermized for all eternity...'
It is quite literally a choice between life and death!
'If I die now...will I regress...?'
I ponder, but I sense that things won't go that smoothly.
The [Oldest One] can chase through regression.
Moreover, that being has now abandoned Their previously disinterested attitude, even eroding the domain of the Eastern Heaven Flower Field and pushing Their will to the outskirts of the Underworld in an effort to capture me.
'If I regress, I'll be caught!'
For what feels like an eternity within an instant, countless thoughts race through my mind.
But soon, I realize something.
'...Come to think of it, it's always been like this.'
Yes.
I've always been forced to make cruel choices, agonizing over the path laid out before me.
But upon reflection, there have always been other paths.
It was simply that I hadn't been able to risk everything and challenge that other path.
'...Can I do it?'
I turn my gaze away from the Netherworld and the Great Sun Heavenly Lord, looking instead at another dimension.
The Interdimensional Void.
The domain of death closest to the realm of purity.
In a way, this challenge might lead me to eternal annihilation.
Death.
True and complete death.
'Can I throw away my life...?'"
I look back on my past lives.
From the 0th cycle before regression, to the 1st cycle of the first regression.
And all the way to my current life, the 999th cycle.
In every one of those lives, I had truly given it my all.
'If I enter the Radiance Hall, I would live like a slave for life, but I would survive with hope for someday. If I enter the Underworld...I don't know. There's even less information about that place. But one thing is clear. Even there, I would spend a suffocatingly long time. I can endure it, but...'
I don't see much hope of seeing my comrades after passing that long time.
'...As expected.'
No matter which choice I make, I would eventually grow distant from my connections.
However...
If I enter the true domain of death, I will be able to hold onto an even stronger hope.
'Even if I were to die here...'
I will leave my mark in the Interdimensional Void.
A trace of the life I have lived, so that one day those who know me may see it.
And...
The greatest truth in this world.
I will become the stepping stone that allows my comrades to reach the domain of purity, which rivals fate itself.
If we cannot meet in life, then let me reach my connections through death.
I let go of my heart.
From the beginning, I have never been attached to life.
What I have longed for has always been a place where I can rest in peace.
Kiririririk!
Centered around my soul, an intangible haze begins to arise.
This is Aurora (極光; Polar Light).
I can sense the Great Sun Heavenly Lord flinching.
Even to such a powerful being, my choice seems unbelievable.
From the domain of the [Oldest One], a deep and meaningful vibration seems to resonate.
Though I don't know Their thoughts, I can tell my decision has slightly deviated from what They originally expected.
'Let's go, Impermanence Sword.'
Woo-woong!
I transform into the form of Aurora, and with the Immortal Art that cloaks my soul.
Enveloping my entire life, I surge towards the Interdimensional Void.
Passing through the Astral Realm and reaching the Interdimensional Void, only then do I finally realize something I hadn't before.
'My Severing Heaven...is incomplete.'
Just as the True Immortal advancement is done by the overlap of life and death, Severing Heaven must also experience both life and death to become complete.
'...Let's go.'
To the pure domain of death.
I steel my heart to enter a completely new domain of purity, escaping the gaze of both the Light and the Netherworld.
The deepest place where neither life nor death can be found.
The technique designed to enter the domain of purity.
Kunlun!
And so, I arrive in the domain of death for the Immortal Ascension (昇仙) ritual.
I do not know if this will sever regression and allow me to enter eternal rest.
If I fail, my regression will probably end, and I will enter eternal rest. Later, my comrades will arrive in this domain of purity and I will become their stepping stone to escape from the heavens.
If I succeed, I will advance to True Immortality and live again.
Either way, it does not matter.
Kirik, kiriririririk...!
I feel something unpleasant pulling me in.
This is undoubtedly the sensation of regression.
As I feel my mind breaking apart within the domain of purity, I begin to completely perish myself, resisting the authority of regression pulling me.
Will regression win, or will Kunlun prevail?
If regression wins, I will face the first day of my 1,000th cycle.
If I win, I will find complete eternal rest.
Either outcome satisfies me, and so I slip into the domain purity and close my eyes.
That is my 1,000th return and, simultaneously, my Immortal Ascension ritual.
* * *
* * *
*
* * *
'...This place is...?'
I open my eyes.
And what appears before my eyes is a candle emitting a pure white light.
Somehow, that light seems similar to the one I saw on Penglai Island.
Saaaa—
The surroundings are an empty, dark space, with nothing but that candle.
Suddenly, I realize that the clothes I'm wearing are the employee uniforms during the early days of Ascension Path.
My body is that of Seo Eun-hyun from Earth, a body untouched by any training, and I can't feel a trace of spiritual power or energy within me.
It doesn't merely feel like I've been invited to an 'illusory dream world' similar to Penglai Island.
This feels...much more fundamental than that.
This is...yes...
It feels as if my soul has been trapped entirely by my own history, by the possibilities of my past.
As spoon as I realize this, I feel goosebumps spreading across my entire body.
'Th-This is...'
I can't breathe.
Because I've definitely experienced something familiar before.
Flicker...flicker...
The white candle in front of me flickers and seems to create an illusion before my eyes.
It looks like an illusion of a girl living in the mountains, struggling to survive and working at a noble's house. Or perhaps an illusion of a nun who spent her life pursuing the truth. It even feels like an illusion of a ruler with two heads.
However, more terrifying than those illusions is the being [beyond the illusion].
"Heok...heok..."
Under a suffocating pressure that feels like my heart is being squeezed, I unknowingly fall to the ground in prostration.
Unlike when I prostrated under Yeong Seung's pressure before, this comes from deep within my heart.
No, it's a fear rising from the depths of my very essence.
Sarak, sarak...
The being beyond the illusion is [drawing] something.
What I faintly see beyond the candle is...a taenghwa (幀畫).
Sarararak—
When that being finishes drawing the taenghwa, the flickering illusion before my eyes fixes in place.
It is [someone] with Kim Yeon's face.
The being opens their mouth.
"Has your journey thus far...been satisfying?"
I tremble as cold sweat pours down.
It seems that the move of Kunlun has ended in failure.
"No, perhaps it succeeded, which is why you've arrived here."
The illusion of the candle, wearing Kim Yeon's face, smiles faintly and speaks.
'It's reading me...'
Rather than attempting a clumsy scheme, I lower my head in respect towards the presence before me.
"This small one of the Human Path, Seo Eun-hyun, greets the [Oldest One]."
The women who twisted history itself every time they were encountered.
The Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld, who chased through regressions by perusing history.
The [Palace Lord of the Black Ghost Valley], whom Yu Oh spoke of.
They were all one and the same being.
The Deepest and Greatest Darkness.
The Oldest One.
The Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld.
The God of Death.
They are...
The Owner of the Netherworld.