Chapter 554: World Of Sun And Moon (5)
We arrive in Yanguo, and visit the cultivator faction that rules Yanguo, the Jin Royal Family.
As someone at the Qi Building stage, I receive an exceptionally hospitable welcome, looking down at the mortals being prosperously governed under the Jin Clan's rule.
"Haha, providing mortals with high-quality breeding environments is the duty of cultivators. They are decent workers, excellent laborers, and, occasionally, among them emerge individuals who possess spiritual roots, making them assets that cannot be ignored."
Flying across various parts of Yanguo governed by the Jin Clan, I listen to the explanations given by their envoy.
Gyeong-i seems bored, but I pay close attention to his words while flying across this strangely familiar land on a flying magic artifact.
"This is Lianshan City of Yanguo, which borders Byeokra..."
Suddenly, my gaze narrows as I look at Lianshan City under the Jin Clan's rule.
"Hahaha! Burn it! Pillage it!"The Jin Clan envoy, watching the scene, grits his teeth with an ashamed expression.
"...Ahem, I must apologize to our Qi Building distinguished guests. It is shameful to show you such a disgraceful scene of livestock fighting amongst themselves. I will ensure that the person in charge of this city is held accountable. For now, let's put aside the quarrel among the livestock and proceed to the next city..."
"The next city, you say. Are you just going to leave them like that?"
I narrow my eyes as I watch the bandits pillaging a small village outside the city.
"Wouldn't it be better to deal with them right now? Look, the mortals are being plundered."
"Ahem... It seems our guest is greatly displeased. My apologies. I will handle this immediately."
Clicking his tongue, the Jin Clan envoy waves his hand.
Since he is at the Great Perfection Qi Refining stage, with just a wave of his hand, the bandit group known as the 'Tuho Gang' is instantly incinerated into piles of ash.
"Kuaaaaak! F-Fire!"
"Fire is raining down!"
"Boss! Boss! Damn it, Boss! Stop taking drugs and wake up! Snap out of it!"
"W-We're all gonna die! We're all gonna die!"
I look down at the hairy man in the center of the bandit group, the one referred to as their boss.
The man, watching the rain of fire destroy them, mutters despondently.
"Truly...pain. This world is nothing but pain!"
Huarurururuk!
With those final words, the leader of the Tuho Gang is pitifully burned to death.
"Waaaahhh!"
"Immortals!"
"The immortals have delivered heavenly punishment upon those vile bandits!"
From the flying artifact, I watch the villagers who have been pillaged by the Toho Gang cheering below.
Among them is a couple holding a baby. The baby, perhaps startled by the rain of fire just moments ago, begins to cry loudly.
"Hey, Mr. Ju! Quiet your daughter!"
"That's right! How is it proper to let her cry like that after the immortals saved us?"
For some reason, I feel my gaze drawn to that couple and their baby.
A faint headache brushes through my mind.
I wave a small gesture of greeting to the couple and their child.
Immediately after, we move on to visit other cities under the guidance of the Jin Clan envoy.
Under the rule of the Jin Clan's royal family, Yanguo remains peaceful.
"Kae-hwa~ If you marry me, I'll make you happy! Let's get married!"
"Get lost, you oaf! I'll stab you!?"
In a rural village, I watch adolescent boys and girls playing a game of tag.
A girl named Kae-hwa irritably threatens a large boy chasing her with something like an awl.
"I'm going to catch a handsome young master and marry him! Do you think I'd marry a big oaf like you!?"
"Kae-hwa~ Don't be like that~"
"Ugh, seriously! Stop bothering me already!"
Watching the two run around peacefully, I feel a sense of warmth in my heart.
At the same time, I also feel an inexplicable headache and a chilling sensation wash over me.
In any case.
Having toured all of Yanguo, I finally leave after being treated with great hospitality.
Before long, Gyeong-i and I arrived in Shengzi.
During the three months it took to travel from Byeokra, where the Cheongmun Clan resides, to Shengzi, my cultivation realm has leapt forward, reaching the mid Qi Building stage.
"With the identity plaques we received from the Cheongmun Clan and the Jin Clan, we should have no trouble entering."
"Hmph! To think I would be the servant of a slave like you! You are not thinking of using this status of a servant to issue some cruel order for me to massage your shoulders, are you?"
"...Don't you enjoy massaging my shoulders?"
"What I enjoy is poking your shoulders and watching you squirm. But if you order me to massage them properly, then I would have to obey and massage them, would I not?"
"So that's not really a cruel order, is it...?"
We stay as guests of the Jinlu Clan, one of the factions ruling Shengzi, while waiting for the right time to join the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
The head of the Jinlu Clan, Jinlu Yeon-cheon, has already received an introduction letter about us from Cheongmun Jung-jin, the head of the Cheongmun Clan. Perhaps because of this, she treats us with extraordinary hospitality.
"Since you've come with a recommendation letter from Cheongmun Orabeoni, and because the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect has a strong relationship with our clan, we will do our utmost to help you join."
"I am deeply grateful for your kindness."
Thus, we spend about four months at the Jinlu Clan, preparing to enter the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
Four months later.
In that time, I have reached the late Qi Building stage.
Leaving behind Jinlu Yeon-cheon, who treated us so well, I am finally selected as an inner disciple of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, which was Gyeong-i's goal.
"To think you've reached the late Qi Building stage before even hitting sixty! At this rate, you'll definitely reach the Core Formation stage... No, no, you might even aim for the Nascent Soul stage!"
One of the elders of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect chuckles while patting around my body.
"Welcome to our Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect as an inner disciple."
In this way, thanks to my astonishingly fast cultivation progress which is unusual for my age, I am admitted into the sect without needing to undergo a formal entrance exam.
"This worked out really well, didn't it?"
"It seems that way."
"Now then, all we need to do is continue raising our realm while waiting for that [someone] you're looking for, right?"
"I suppose so."
"...Gyeong-ah."
"What is it?"
I look at Gyeong-i and speak.
"You once told me that the [someone] you are after is an ancient monster who has lived for ten thousand years. And...you also told me that this monster is such a terrifying existence that if you ever end up fighting it, I should run away no matter what. But...after spending all this time with you, I've been thinking."
With a serious expression, I continue.
"My cultivation is rising at an unbelievable pace right now. Of course, I'm still weaker than you, who's only at the 1st star of Qi Refining...but I'm stronger than others in the same realm as me. So...I'm going to keep advancing my realm. And one day, I'll become as strong as you. I'll become strong, and when the day comes that you have to fight that monster...I'll fight alongside you."
"...What?"
"I'm going to fight with you. I won't run away. Because..."
I feel slightly embarrassed.
"You've become someone precious to me."
"..."
Gyeong-i stares at me blankly for a long moment.
Thwack!
Then she slaps my hand away coldly and speaks with a frosty gaze.
"...Do not misunderstand. I have no intention of reproducing with you. I...have been entrusted with a great mission, and someday I must return beyond the heavens."
"Then I'll raise my realm and go with you. How about that?"
"...I..."
Gyeong-i suddenly speaks with a calm gaze.
It is a calm, deeply settled gaze I've never seen from her before.
"...Cannot cherish you. It is not that I dislike you, but...the path you and I walk are different. Starting with the fact that you use the Way of Salt, there are just too many aspects in which we are incompatible. Above all, I cannot treat emotions as anything more than tools. Up until now, I have made jokes with you. But all of that is merely part of my mask."
Gyeong strokes her mask as she speaks.
"I, no, 'we' are all the same. For us, possessing emotions is an evil sin that harms our very essence. Among all the beings in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, we must be the most fair and make the most correct decisions. That is why we absolutely cannot...have emotions. If your desire to follow me is not because you are inspired by 'our' ideology, but because of some emotional attachment, then I will not stay with you."
"..."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"...Gyeong-ah."
I call out to her in a warm voice, and for some reason, her body flinches at my call.
"I'm sorry. I don't really know much about ideologies. But what's important is...you've become someone precious to me. So...I will try my best in my own way to stand on the same level as you. Just know that."
"...How pitiful. Effort is a pitiful approach. It cannot be effort but fate for me to accept it. If it is not an absolute truth of the heavens determined from birth but that kind of pitiful method...you will never be able to follow me. Just know that."
After finishing her words, Gyeong turns around and heads deep into my cave residence.
For a moment, I watch her retreating figure, then let out a small sigh and begin practicing the basic Lightning Path Method provided by the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
In this way, another 10 years pass.
"Congratulations, Gyeong-ah!"
"...Are you mocking me right now?"
Gyeong-i has, finally, reached the 2nd star of the Qi Refining stage.
And I...am now in the Grand Perfection Nascent Soul stage.
Soon, I will be facing the Heavenly Being stage.
"Still, one star every ten years isn't bad. It's a steady climb, right? Besides...I still can't beat you."
"Hmph! Of course. Even if you reach the Heavenly Being stage, you cannot defeat me."
Though her cultivation is only at the 2nd star of Qi Refining, Gyeong-i's pure martial prowess can arguably be called the strongest in this world.
Not even the Dragon King of the Sea Dragon Race, that rules the Black Wind Sea in the south, Dragon King Jeon Hyang.
Nor the Eastern King who dominates the east, Manli Min-lap,
Nor the Northern King who rules the north, Wol Ryang,
Nor the Sect Leader of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect that governs the west, Jin Hae-min.
None of them, who have reached the Grand Perfection Heavenly Being stage, seem capable of defeating Gyeong.
Shwiring, shwiririring!
She manipulates several flying swords with basic spells, gently stroking the blades.
Gyeong-i is a sword cultivator.
But she is not just a sword cultivator. She wields all weapon-type magic artifacts and dharma treasures with a transcendental divine authority.
I have seen her flying swords before.
Her flying swords...were less like swords and more like intercontinental ballistic missiles from Earth, boasting immense destructive power.
"By the way, have you still not found the [someone] you mentioned?"
"Ahaha, do not worry. As my cultivation slowly rises, my memories are returning. Most likely...that old monster is hiding in disguise as a human. Once my memories fully return, I will be able to find and capture that monster in human disguise."
"I see..."
Now, only two stages remain.
Once she reaches the 4th star of Qi Refining, she said she will fully capture the monster and leave this world.
'...I need to raise my realm even faster.'
I will raise my cultivation even more quickly, and I will follow her.
Together, we will go to that world full of light where she says she came from.
Another 19 years pass.
It has been 49 years since I came to this world.
"Is there anyone who objects to the appointment of Seo Eun-hyun as the sect leader of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect!?"
"There are none!"
49 years since I've come to this world.
By now, I have reached the Grand Perfection Heavenly Being stage and have comprehended the enlightenment of the Four-Axis stage. If not for the dimensional pressure of this world, I would have already reached the Four-Axis stage.
'On top of that, since I am stronger than others of the same realm...my actual combat power is effectively at the late Four-Axis stage.'
I smile with satisfaction as I look at myself, who has now become one of the strongest.
"I hereby appoint you as this generation's sect leader of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect... To the ancestral tablets...we shall offer our respects..."
In front of the former sect leader—now the Supreme Head—Jin Hae-min, I smile with more pride than ever.
To be honest, the position of sect leader of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect doesn't mean much to me. For some reason, it doesn't stir much excitement deep in my heart.
What I am truly proud of is...
That my actual combat power is now at the late Four-Axis stage.
'Finally!'
At last, I have reached a level that is more or less similar to Gyeong-i.
Gyeong-i is currently at the 3rd star of Qi Refining.
To be precise, she is at Grand Perfection 3rd star of Qi Refining.
Soon, she too will reach 4th star and recover her memories.
'Her realm will probably advance rapidly and she will grow even stronger.'
When that happens, she will quickly regain her original realm, and we will ascend together.
'We will ascend together, and I will follow her.'
Having reached the 3rd star of the Qi Refining stage, she says she has recovered quite a bit of her memory.
Of course, she also says that she hasn't recovered even a fraction of her true original memories yet...but even so, the memories she has regained are still memories.
She has grown much stronger and even more dignified.
As I proceed with the ceremony for becoming the sect leader, I glance behind me.
The disciples of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, who have been with me for the past 20 years.
'Together with them as well...'
We will ascend as a group.
With Gyeong-i, them,
And I.
Together with her, we will go to the world of light.
'I'll follow you, Gyeong-ah. Because you are...precious to me.'
After completing the sect leader inauguration ceremony, I glance towards the cave residence where Gyeong-i resides.
She had confidently assured me that by the time my ceremony is over, she too will have reached the 4th star of Qi Refining.
So, after she reaches the 4th star of Qi Refining, finds the [old monster] she has been searching for, and kills it,
We will be together.
With those hopeful thoughts for the future, I follow Jin Hae-min towards the ancestral shrine where the ancestral tablets are enshrined.
"Bow before the Golden Divine and...this one here...and over here, this one is Elder Jin Byuk-ho..."
I bow in front of the many ancestral tablets, following his lead.
That's when it happens.
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, I notice an extremely familiar name among the ancestral tablets.
[Six Extremes Ghost King Jin Myeong-hoon]
"This person was expected to bring the sect to its greatest revival after the Golden Divine and is one of the middle ancestors of the sect, the great master Jin Myeong-hoon. Pay your respects."
However, I cannot kneel.
Because...
The portrait of Jin Myeong-hoon is identical to that of someone I know.
'Jeon Myeong-hoon...?'
It's Jeon Myeong-hun, one of my colleagues from work.
In confusion and dismay, I bow towards Jeon Myeong-hun's portrait and ancestral tablet.
'What's going on? Why is Jeon Myeong-hoon there...Could it be that the reason I couldn't find Jeon Myeong-hoon is because...he fell into this world ten thousand years ago? Did all my other colleagues fall into this world too, but each at different points in time!?'
Various thoughts race through my mind.
But when I see the next ancestral tablet, I feel an inexplicable blankness wash over me.
"And this person is..."
There, my own portrait.
And my name.
"Hmm, come to think of it, the way they look, and even their name... It's just like you! Hahaha, Seo Eun-hyun. Could it be that you are this person's reincarnation? Ahahaha!"
The Supreme Sect Master laughs heartily, glancing back and forth between [the portrait with my face] and me.
I swallow dryly, feeling dumbfounded, and bow before my own portrait and ancestral tablet.
'What in the world is going on?'
This place is a shrine that only the sect leaders can enter, where the ancestral tablets and portraits of all past sect leaders of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect are enshrined.
The portraits displayed here are not recorded in the sect's general historical records. So when I heard there was a middle ancestor named [Seo Eun-hyun], I dismissed it as a coincidence of having the same name.
But upon seeing the portrait, I am so shocked that I can't help but fall into confusion.
Ziiiiiing!
And at that moment, the [headache] that has intermittently tormented me for the past 49 years strikes with extreme intensity.
'Ah, it hurts...! More than ever before...! It hurts so much...!'
Even when I inhaled the venomous mist from the two-headed snake on Ascension Path.
Even when I played a prank on Gyeong-i and was hung upside down and beaten.
Even when I electrocuted myself while practicing the Lightning Path Method of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
None of it was as painful as this headache!
'I-It hurts...! B-But I can't show it...I have to endure. Right now, I'm bowing...to the ancestors of the sect...!'
Finally, when I step away from [Seo Eun-hyun]'s portrait and arrive at the one next to it.
As I look at that portrait, I feel my headache worsen, and a deep ache stirs from deep within my chest.
"This is Elder Yeon Wei. This person was..."
Before Jin Hae-min can even finish his words,
I bow towards her ancestral tablet.
At that exact moment, the headache becomes even more intense, and a profound sense of fulfillment blossoms in my chest.
'Ah, so that's it.'
Now, I finally understand.
I have come to this world [for this exact moment].
Ziiiiiiiiiing!!!!!!
An overwhelming pain crashes through my mind, and I lift my upper body to look up at Yeon Wei.
"It's been a while, Elder Yeon Wei."
Through the headache, I smile.
At last, I remember.
The first day I fell into Ascension Path.
That moment, when it felt like I had been dreaming a long, long dream.
The contents of that dream now start swirling faintly in my mind.
I am Seo Eun-hyun.
And I have come to this world to bow before my dear past connections, who are slumbering in the Head Realm.
Not as a split soul, but to pay my respects with my true soul.
Kwarururung!
Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, Shattered Heaven Peak.
Inside Seo Eun-hyun's cave residence.
There, Gyeong, who holds the position of Seo Eun-hyun's servant, half-opens her eyes.
"...Ah."
In a dry, emotionless tone, she mutters briefly.
"At last, I've regained my memories."
Then, she lifts her gaze towards the top of Shattered Heaven Peak and speaks again with a chillingly emotionless voice.
"...And at last, I've found you. Seo Eun-hyun."
Radiance Eight Immortals.
Fifth Seat.
The entity presiding over the symbol of Gyeong (庚) of the Ten Heavenly Stems.
The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord opens her eyes halfway and raises her sword.
"I will...capture you. The one who creates miracles in the world and forges a path to the heavens..."
As she rises, the entire Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect hums and vibrates.
"The one who allows the unchosen to reach the heavens..."
However, even though she has found her purpose.
Why is it?
The Sword Spear Heavenly Lord's gaze does not appear joyous.
"...O Ender."