She opens her mouth.
: : I prophesize. : :
I furrow my brow and begin to exert my strength.
A deep pain in my chest starts tormenting me.
: : I prophesize. : :
Kururururung!
Above the sky of the Lightning Sacred Sea, one of the artificial stars inside my body begins to rise again.
'I can use 28 prophecies.'
If I imbue all 28 artificial stars under my control with prophecies, I would be left unable to do anything beyond that.'I must settle this within 28 prophecies.'
Pajijijik!
I further solidify my control over the Lightning Sacred Sea and attempt to confront the Golden Shaking Bird.
However, the power of the Lightning Sacred Sea starts to tilt even further toward Golden Shaking Bird.
It seems her countless millennia of experience in controlling the Lightning Sacred Sea cannot be ignored.
Golden Shaking Bird's prophecy emerges.
: : You will step forward, revealing your symbol. : :
I take a step forward and reach out towards the sky, embedding a future scene into one of my artificial stars.
Simultaneously, a portion of my essence reflects in Golden Shaking Bird's eyes.
"Crystal Glass Being Seo Eun-hyun. Is that your name?"
"...You will rise to the True Immortal Plane and be crushed within this Immortal's body."
As soon as my prophecy is infused into the artificial star, it is immediately sent into my main body in the True Immortal Plane by the Impermanence Sword.
However, Golden Shaking Bird sneers while rising into the void.
"Break (破)."
Kwaaaang!
With those words, the prophetic star of Golden Shaking Bird that had just risen into the sky shatters, scattering into the flower fields below.
"I prophesize."
I flinch in surprise and look up at Golden Shaking Bird.
'She isn't one of the Northern Dipper Seven Heavenly Lords, yet she's using another prophecy this quickly? This is...'
"Crystal Glass Being Seo Eun-hyun, when he leaves the pavilion, shall feel as if his heart is pounding."
Kurururung!
My consciousness extends to the first layer of the Lightning Sacred Sea.
In the sky there, another planet is rapidly forming.
I discover the Golden Shaking Bird's secret.
'As long as she has control over the Lightning Sacred Sea, she can borrow the power of each layer of the Tower of Trials to unleash prophecies without limit?'
"I prophesize again."
Golden Shaking Bird's prophecy materializes once more.
This time, it's in the sky of the second layer of the Lightning Sacred Sea.
"You, when your heart pounds three times, will have your body flush with color, and you will feel as if you are alive, clothed in human flesh."
'Is the number of prophecies she can use borrowing the power of the Tower of Trials...one prophecy per layer? That means...'
Golden Shaking Bird can roughly use 108 prophecies.
'I need to block 108 prophecies with only 28, huh. But more importantly...'
From within the pavilion, I glare at Golden Shaking Bird.
"I prophesize..."
In the third layer of the Tower of Trials, a prophetic star rises.
"You, when your body flushes with color and your face turns as red as these poppy petals, will truly gain vitality akin to that of a human, possessing a human metabolism and a human courage."
A conditional blessing directed at me is prophesied by her.
'Why is she...wasting her prophecies like that? Even if she can use a large number of them...'
On the fourth floor of the Tower of Trials, a star rises.
"You, to fight against this Immortal, will gain courage and come out to engage in battle."
"..."
With a hardened expression, I step outside the pavilion.
At this point, the control over the Lightning Sacred Sea has practically been handed over to Golden Shaking Bird.
There is no use clinging to it any longer.
When I step out of the pavilion, is it because of my tension? My heart begins to race.
Thump, thump, thump...
My heart seems to beat three times, then color starts flushing over my body.
My form, which had merely been imitating a human, begins to change.
I gradually feel as if I possess the fleshly body I had during my human body era.
At the same time, courage seems to surge up suddenly.
Hwarururuk!
I draw the Colorless Glass Sword and aim it at Golden Shaking Bird.
"Come. Show me what you got."
Let us fight properly.
Dukung!
And, right at that moment.
[Dammit. O my master.]
Yeo Hwi's voice rings out.
She, having been significantly refined through the Glass True Fire, calls out from within me with a tone as if she would die from frustration.
[I feel like I'm going to die from frustration. It seems you've learned from some high-ranking Great Immortal, but...having no real combat experience, you are walking right into their setup. May I offer some guidance?]
Flinch!
I tremble for a moment, and Hong Fan also speaks from within one of the artificial stars in my body.
[Master, this is your first real fight against a proper True Immortal since your advancement. Perhaps it would be worth listening to the advice of a seasoned True Person.]
"...Understood."
At those words, I release another artificial star into the sky and, following Yeo Hwi's advice, softly utter a prophecy into it.
"I prophesize. When Golden Shaking Bird raises ten prophetic stars, the planes of the Lightning Sacred Sea will distort."
Chwararararak!
Simultaneously, Golden Shaking Bird's body begins to grow larger.
Soon, a colossal hummingbird appears before me.
Made of thunder and lightning, the hummingbird flaps its wings forcefully, gradually revealing bird faces across its body.
The bird faces quickly open their mouths and begin spitting out prophecies.
I leap into the air with this body, which is only at the 7th star of Qi Refining, and quickly swing Glass True Fire.
Hwarururuk!
The Impermanence Sword, which transcends planes and cuts its target, slices through the heads of Golden Shaking Bird without regard for the difference in power.
However, each time a head is severed, the prophecies pour forth endlessly.
[Your sword strikes will become faster and stronger.
[The stronger your power, the stronger your human body will become, developing accordingly.
[The developed flesh will age as much as you swing your sword. Yet, its sharpness will not fade easily.
[You will succeed in inflicting a severe wound on this Immortal with a powerful strike.]
Kurururung!
With a single slash, my sword splits Golden Shaking Bird's body in half.
But Golden Shaking Bird merely smirks before collapsing on the spot.
Her body, formed of lightning, shatters into countless fragments and dissipates into the surrounding environment.
I succeeded in destroying Golden Shaking Bird's physical body.
However...I frown.
[I prophesize. The aged you will feel death drawing closer and closer.]
Thump, thump, thump...
My Transformation body, aged completely due to Golden Shaking Bird's prophecy, hears the thumping of a heartbeat.
At the same time, I feel as though I could die at any moment.
[Once again, I prophesize. You will find this Immortal's presence, deliver your final strike, and half your fate will be complete (命).]
Paaatt!
Through my sense of Qi, I detect the presence of Golden Shaking Bird.
Dragging my decrepit and aged body, I move swiftly like the wind and find a lump of flesh 'growing' in a corner of the poppy field. I grip the Colorless Glass Sword tightly.
'Even after killing the body and cutting off the escape route for the soul, she revives so easily.'
A simple sword strike will not suffice.
Tsuahhh—
The Impermanence Sword is infused with a black aura.
Impermanence Sword.
Twin Flowers.
Black Impermanence.
A colossal curse giant emanating black aura emerges from the Impermanence Sword and slams its palm towards Golden Shaking Bird.
Jjeooong!
The overwhelming aura of curses and pain is absorbed into Golden Shaking Bird, and her screams echo across the entire Lightning Sacred Sea.
: : KIYAAAAAAAAH!!! : :
'Once again. I killed her physical body and completely crushed her soul. I even prevented her from moving to a new body for resurrection, but...'
[Once again, I prophesize...]
Once again, a lump of flesh writhes behind my back, and Golden Shaking Bird begins to grow anew.
Thousands of lightning spells blanket the sky of the flower fields.
A rain of lightning begins to fall.
I permeate through the rain of lightning entirely and approach Golden Shaking Bird.
From her body, dozens of talismans emerge, transforming into a golden wave that divides the space between her and me.
Chwaak!
As I cut through the wave, she, fully revived once again, utters a prophecy.
[This Immortal will live, and the Crystal Glass Being Seo Eun-hyun will die.]
A ridiculous prophecy demanding immediate death.
However, I am someone whose body has grown old, death has drawn near, and has received the prophecy that my fate will be complete after delivering my final strike.
'So has the groundwork been sufficiently laid...'
Thump—
I can feel death encroaching upon me.
'Using restricted prophecies to gradually lay the groundwork, then guiding the opponent into the [scene] they desire...'
This, is what battles amongst True Immortals are.
Then,
Kuuung!
Raising my dead body that is collapsing on the ground, I stare at Golden Shaking Bird.
There is panic in Golden Shaking Bird's eyes.
"What...!? Your fate has been completed, so how...!? Through the prophecy, you should have been forcibly dragged into the domain of the Underworld...!"
"...Death. Death, huh..."
I grin and lift the Colorless Glass Sword.
It feels as though a plum is in my mouth.
At some point, chest pain has completely overtaken my entire body.
Twisting the principles of the world with my heart, I let out a grin.
"I'm rather good at enduring, you see."
A prophecy laid out with this level of groundwork doesn't scare me at all.
If anything, the time when Cheongmun Ryeong stuffed a plum into my mouth and withered my body to the brink of death over numerous days was far more painful and grueling.
A death brought about by this kind of groundwork can never send me to the Underworld.
"Ha!!!"
The prophecy bestowed upon me by Golden Shaking Bird is outright negated.
Kwaaaang!
As the prophecy twists, the star of prophecy that Golden Shaking Bird conferred to me explodes.
"Kuheokk! Kuheoheok!"
Golden Shaking Bird staggers backward, coughing up a handful of crimson spiritual energy.
It seems the negation of her prophecy brought an overwhelming shock.
Kugugugugu!
I perceive that the planes around me have become distorted.
'Golden Shaking Bird's prophetic stars now number ten.'
The prophecy I laid as groundwork has been fulfilled.
"I prophesize."
Wo-woong!
Another artificial star begins to rise into the sky.
[Wait, Master. It's still a bit early!]
'It's fine.'
"If Golden Shaking Bird returns the sphere of lightning she received from this Immortal, the distortion of the planes shall be normalized. However, should she refuse, the distortion of the planes shall accelerate even further."
A choice is forced upon Golden Shaking Bird.
As I utter another prophecy, the chest pain intensifies. Yet, since the 'choice' has now passed to Golden Shaking Bird, the pain feels considerably lighter.
'So this is what it feels like to enforce a price.'
True to the teachings I learned from Blood Yin, Golden Shaking Bird distances herself from me and chooses the 'latter.'
'This should do it, right?'
Through Golden Shaking Bird's 'choice,' my prophecy is realized.
The planes of the Lightning Sacred Sea's management layer begins to distort wildly and bizarrely.
[...Yes, well...fine. Master's adaptability is great.]
Yeo Hwi clicks her tongue and grants her approval, while I utter the two prophecies I had prepared in advance.
Two artificial stars rise into the sky.
[I prophesize.]
[The Lightning Sacred Sea shall properly welcome the descendant of the Golden Divine, who has mastered the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique.]
[The Lightning Sacred Sea, where two Immortals are currently dancing, shall for a brief moment become like the True Immortal Domain!]
Kurururururu!
The already distorted planes completely lose their function.
Simultaneously, for the briefest instant, the battlefield between Golden Shaking Bird and I transforms into the True Immortal Realm.
[Do you really think your desperation will allow you to defeat me?]
Golden Shaking Bird charges at me.
A monstrous entity that flows like a river with thousands of bird heads.
That seems to be Golden Shaking Bird's true form.
She spews out countless prophecies from her thousands of heads as she swiftly closes in on me.
I, gazing at Golden Shaking Bird who is rushing towards me, raise the Impermanence Sword.
As the Impermanence Sword overlays onto the Colorless Glass Sword, which has changed into Glass True Fire, the Colorless Glass Sword begins to blaze even more fiercely.
I slash downward.
That alone will be sufficient.
[In this battle, I prophesize for the last time.]
With calm eyes, I watch Golden Shaking Bird's true form rushing at me.
The countless prophecies she utters weigh down my body and gradually sap away my strength.
But it doesn't matter.
From the moment I laid the groundwork up to here based on Yeo Hwi's advice, Golden Shaking Bird was already defeated.
[Forget the Golden Divine entirely and achieve enlightenment, spirits of the Thunder Bird Golden Shaking Sect. Otherwise, this Immortal's true body shall descend upon this land.]
A choice is given to her.
However, the first option is undoubtedly one she can never accept.
Thus, the choice she will make is...
[Descend if you dare! I fought not in the True Immortal Domain but here in the Lightning Sacred Sea because I cherish my master's land. Yet, you think someone like you, who has clearly just recently advanced, can defeat this Immortal with your...]
My true body descends!
[...true...]
And with that, this battle ends.
[...body...?]
A single downward slash.
That is all it takes.
My true body stands behind me and adds its power to the strike.
The true body of Golden Shaking Bird.
And the countless prophecies spoken from her lips.
Her prophetic stars.
All of them burst apart simultaneously.
Golden Shaking Bird frantically regenerates her body.
However, she no longer dares to reveal her true body.
Her true body shrivels under my presence, leaving only her Transformation body behind.
Golden Shaking Bird looks up at me as if in disbelief.
Huarurururuk!
A milky-white candle flame that burns as if alive, fused from glass and aurora.
My human form is absorbed into that candle flame.
Yeo Hwi snickers within me, mocking Golden Shaking Bird, while Hong Fan is already celebrating my victory.
Golden Shaking Bird only stares up at me with a blank expression.
"...H-How...? To someone who just advanced..."
I transform into my combat technique form.
"...The size of this Vestige Liberation Immortal...is Great Net..."
Before she can finish her words.
I throw a punch.
Kwaaaang!
Golden Shaking Bird's body bursts apart.
But that is not all.
The entirety of the management layer.
This entire world, filled with poppy flowers, collapses.
Kwarururung!
There is no longer any need for Martial Arts to deal with Golden Shaking Bird.
Though I am at the level of Qi Refining 7th star after descending into the lower realm, my true body in the True Immortal Domain is feared enough to be called the return of the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord, striking terror into the Radiance Hall.
Kwaaaang!
Once again, I approach Golden Shaking Bird and throw another punch.
With just that, she is miserably flung away and crashes straight into the location of the Tower of Trials.
The layer where the Tower of Trials resides.
I carefully avoid touching the Immortal Treasure Great Desolate Path, grabbing Golden Shaking Bird by the face and smashing her into the 99th layer of the Tower of Trials.
The Thunder Bee Queen senses her mother's danger and charges toward me.
However, as soon as the Thunder Bee Queen, still at the Entering Nirvana stage, locks eyes with me, something resembling both a candle flame and a blade begins to sprout all over her body, transforming her into a mountain made of glass right where she stands.
Since she is not a true Entering Nirvana, she narrowly avoided advancing to True Immortality. However, unless I permit her to regain her original form, she will live out countless eons neither dead nor alive, existing forever as a glass sword mountain.
[I prophesize...]
Golden Shaking Bird casts a star of prophecy on the lower layers.
A prophetic star rises on the 30th floor, revealing a scene.
I lift her by the face and momentarily hold her up before slamming her back down onto the floor of the 99th layer.
Kwaaaaang!!!
The Tower of Trials splits in half.
I slam Golden Shaking Bird's body into the ground of the first layer of the Tower of Trials, shattering all of the prophetic stars she created.
As the stars of prophecy are destroyed, she again pours out crimson spiritual energy, trembling.
Chiiiiii—
: : It's over. : :
I look down at Golden Shaking Bird.
Now, it seems she no longer has the strength to even lift a single finger. With a blank expression, she sheds tears while staring up at the sky.
Pajijijijik...
With a flick of my hand, the lightning sphere she took is drawn back into my hand.
I take out the black lightning sphere she created.
For some reason, the black lightning sphere in my possession has turned more than 90 percent colorless.
I scatter the colorless portion and absorb the black lightning into the lightning sphere, completing Yang Su-jin's secret art.
Pasasasasa—
The body of Golden Shaking Bird, which has been utterly wrecked by me, begins to gradually collapse.
: : You are dying, Golden Shaking Bird. Make your choice... Will you simply perish, or will you liberate...the souls of the Thunder Bird Golden Shaking Sect within you? : :
She is dying.
She, who revived without issue even after her true body was cleaved in half, her spirit annihilated, and her repeated resurrections blocked, is now truly on the verge of death.
Through her, I finally understand how True Immortals die.
And how they revive.
True Immortals.
To be precise, True Immortals who deal with fate—must constantly prophesize fate.
If an Entering Nirvana True Person offers a ritual to the Heavenly Domain to receive their lifespan,
A True Immortal gains lifespan each time they speak a prophecy.
Having transcended both life and death, only prophecies become the milestones that bear witness to our existence.
Even if our spirit is completely obliterated, as long as our prophecies remain in this world!
Even if reduced to a pill and consumed by a Qi Refining 3rd star cultivator, we can resurrect within their body alongside our prophecy.
As long as we dream towards the future, we can never truly die.
And that also means—
If all prophecies are denied, we are ultimately destroyed.
Thus, Golden Shaking Bird, who has been trapped in the Lightning Sacred Sea and had no chance to leave prophecies elsewhere, now finds every one of her prophecies shattered and obliterated by me.
"...I will die like this. The vengeful spirits of the Thunder Bird Golden Shaking Sect...I will not release them."
Chijijijik...
I lower my rank slightly and sternly question her with my physical voice.
"Why? Yang Su-jin wanted this."
And then, she screams.
"I too!!! Wanted it!!!"
Tears flow from Golden Shaking Bird's eyes.
"I...we too...wanted him... We...knew..."
Golden Shaking Bird sobs bitterly.
"We knew...that Master went to die. We...wanted him to live. If not that, then at least to die together with him... But until the end...until the very end, he acted as he pleased. Even after death, he still does so! You must already know, don't you? Since if someone other than Master's direct disciples or Thunder Beasts learns the Extinguishing Divines Tribulating Heavens Technique, they can meet Master's lingering remnant. And, the condition for meeting his lingering remnant is...for Master to have completely perished from this world..."
She cries.
"From the moment you appeared with the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique, I suspected it. I just wanted to go to the Head Realm and throw myself to die. But why...? Why...would he make it so that I, who yearns for Master this much, could not even die...!? Why...!!??"
Golden Shaking Bird wails.
"Why did you abandon me!!?? My Master!!!"
Golden Shaking Bird is not the only one weeping.
Every being of the Thunder Bird Golden Shaking Sect.
Every spirit that once followed the Golden Divine wails sorrowfully from within, yearning for him.
"...Please, kill me like this. He always acted as he pleased to the very end. So, at the very least, I don't want my final act to go according to his will. Please...grant me...this one last mercy..."
Pajijijik...
I look at the lightning sphere and let out a low sigh.
Then, letting out a deep groan, I scatter the sphere of lightning.
"Are you...granting mercy?"
"This is not mercy."
I step closer to Golden Shaking Bird.
'I am sorry, Yang Su-jin.'
"I will give you a chance."
'I will deceive your subordinate.'
This is the least I can do as someone from the same Earth.
"I don't need it. I..."
"A chance to witness the return of the Golden Divine."
It seems the Heavenly Domain I will head to after finishing matters in the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain has already been decided.
The first Heavenly Domain I will visit is the Bearing Tree Heavenly Domain.
The place where Jeon Myeong-hoon resides.
"Take my hand."
At my words, Golden Shaking Bird blankly stares at me.
"I will take you to where your dream lies."
"..."
Tears begin to fall from her eyes.
For a True Immortal who deals with fate, they die when they can no longer dream.
So that a True Immortal who has lost all her dreams can hold on to one, I decide to hand over a faint glimmer of hope.