"Take off my clothes, you say...? Why is that necessary?"
I ask while eyeing Ho Woon's swaying tails suspiciously.
"Come now, are you so shy? There are hardly any among True Immortals who properly wear clothes anyway, so what is there to be embarrassed about? I need to examine your body, so stop talking nonsense and strip!"
"...Understood."
I have no choice but to comply with Ho Woon's order and begin removing the clothes draped over my Transformation body one by one.
Pasak, pasasak...
Each time I wave my hand, my white robe evaporates, exposing my upper body.
Just then.
Ho Woon, seemingly dumbfounded, flushes red in the face and shouts aloud."No! What are you doing right now! I told you to take off your clothes, so why are you just peeling off the outer shell bit by bit!"
"Pardon...? You told me to take off my clothes."
"No! Don't you know what clothes are? I mean the [shell]! Honestly, is it because you're some bumpkin from the backwater Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain that you know none of the common sense of the True Immortal Realm!?"
Ho Woon beats their chest with their fist in frustration, and as I listen to their explanation, I finally understand.
"For True Immortals, clothes refer to the kind of Transformation where you force your essence into the appearance of mortal beings! I'm telling you to discard that artificially adorned Transformation form and reveal your true body!"
"...!"
"Just what were you even thinking, you lecherous fool!?"
'That wasn't even included in Blood Yin's common knowledge...'
It seems it was too basic to be deliberately included.
Suddenly called lecherous out of nowhere, I feel somewhat wronged, but I let out a deep sigh and begin to reveal my true body.
'Come to think of it, is this the first time I'm revealing my true body as a Heaven-Earth Upper Immortal?'
Kugugugugugu!
My physical form distorts, surpassing the form of a mortal.
Woo-woooong!
The essence of a Heaven-Earth Upper Immortal bursts forth.
However, perhaps because the power of Heaven innately holds an advantage over the power of Earth, the essence of Heaven Upper Immortal emerges first.
As an Earth Upper Immortal, my body is composed of mist and the candle flame of Glass True Fire.
But as a Heaven Upper Immortal, my body is composed of swords and white light.
I am a Sword Mountain.
Kugugugugugu!
My size expands, gradually growing comparable to an entire stellar system.
At the same time, the symbol of a Pure White Three Great Ultimates naturally forms behind my head.
It feels as though the very shape of the Pure White Three Great Ultimates clings to my essence as a Heaven-Earth Upper Immortal.
My entire being is familiarly composed of sword mountains made of glass.
Those glass sword mountains gather to form a round collar robe (團領), and due to the Pure-White Three Great Ultimates, it appears like a white round collar robe.
Beneath the white round collar robe of glass sword mountains, a faint aurora covers me, making my form difficult to discern, and the same applies to my face.
On the chest area, a large white quince flower is prominently drawn, while at the shoes, a divine aurora swirls, supporting me.
Once my Heaven Upper Immortal essence fully emerges, my Earth Upper Immortal essence follows.
Beneath the white round collar robe of glass sword mountains, a dragon's tail made of hazy mist grows, my hands and feet become even more jagged, and on the bare flesh and face that had been only aurora, Glass True Fire begins to blaze.
Atop my head, the horn of Candle Shadow sprouts, and emitting a much fiercer presence than before, my body, once the size of a stellar system, grows even larger, to the point where I can hold an entire stellar system in one hand.
Puhwak!
As the powers of Heaven and Earth unite, my body grows so immense that I pierce straight through the purple nebula of the Purple Lotus Realm.
Finally, the recently acquired winged garment naturally settles upon my shoulders, and I reveal my complete true form as a Heaven and Earth Upper Immortal.
A half-human, half-beast giant god clad in a white round collar robe made of glass sword mountains!
That is the current me.
Woo-woong!
Ho Woon also casts off their Transformation form and reveals their true body before me.
A True Immortal of pale light, wearing a pale round collar robe with a fujin made of mountains and a sash of light.
Mortal beings would likely return to thee on the spot just by perceiving us, and the space where mortals reside would be swept away and destroyed.
Ho Woon's true body is only the size of my palm.
"Your weight class is terrifying. Damn it...I should've realized it back then and fled..."
Ho Woon, seemingly aghast, circles around me and inspects various parts of my Immortal Body.
"Let's see... The flow of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy seems stable, the internal world appears healthy, and the powers of prophecy and revision are at appropriate levels. For an Immortal Beast, you seem to have almost no Salt Crystal, but considering you've just advanced and have the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra, I suppose it doesn't matter... Hmmm..."
Ho Woon circles around me, occasionally shooting small energies into my body, inserting planets, and even briefly entering my internal world to look around.
After some time, they let out a long sigh and speak.
"...It's done. I've found the cause."
"What is it?"
"...It's you..."
Ho Woon sighs so deeply it seems the ground itself sinks.
"You've been cultivating the Immortal Dao of the Mountain...in an utterly inefficient manner. For a being who has reached Heaven and Earth Upper Immortal, to think your cultivation of the Immortal Dao is this poor...I would never have imagined it."
"...Pardon?"
I, who had vaguely assumed something was blocking the distribution of the Immortal Crown, am taken aback at the unexpected words and mouth hang open.
At my request, we return to our Transformation forms and begin a brief lesson.
"First of all, you're in an extremely malformed state right now. I don't know how you became an Upper Immortal, but I can only assume you advanced through the most unorthodox of unorthodox methods."
"..."
"And this is just my guess, but...you. Aside from the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra, you know other mantras too, don't you?"
"Yes..."
The Wheel, the Flawless Mantra, and the Impermanence Sword.
"Including the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra, I am cultivating about four mantras."
"...You lunatic... You absolute lunatic..."
Ho Woon rubs their forehead as they speak.
"Most True Immortals usually take around ten million years to obtain just one mantra, and you've got four... Then, by any chance, what's the rank of your mantras? No, never mind. Forget it. There's no way you'd understand if I ask like that... Have you ever felt as though the mantras are 'alive and moving'?"
"Pardon...? Of course, I feel that every moment."
"...Do the mantras ever speak to you on their own?"
"Since mantras are innate True Immortals, isn't it natural for them to speak to their master?"
"...Then have your mantras ever moved on their own without your command?"
"Hmm...not every moment, but quite often."
"..."
Ho Woon looks up at the sky with a dumbfounded expression.
"...You...madman."
"Pardon...?"
"Mantras that even after millions of years of groveling beneath Supreme Deities or Heavenly Venerables would be difficult to obtain...you have four of them..."
"Hmm... Judging by the characteristics you've mentioned...they sound like indicators of rather exceptional mantras...?"
"...It's beyond exceptional, you backwater bumpkin from the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain!! Right now, you're carrying four mantras at the level of a Supreme Deity! Moreover, that wave I feel from your body..."
Ho Woon points at me, their hand trembling.
"You've already made two of those four Supreme Deity-level mantras completely your own...!!"
"Yes, well, something like that. And, there seems to be a misunderstanding. One of them is actually my Natal Immortal Art that I created myself."
"...!!"
The 'mantras I made my own' that Ho Woon speaks of are the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra and the Impermanence Sword.
From the very beginning, the Impermanence Sword is no different from my own clone, and the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra is something I have used with the recognition from its original owner, the Salt Sea Supreme Deity. Moreover, after receiving violent teachings from the Great Mountain Supreme Deity and continuously subjecting myself to repentant enlightenment, I have now made more than ninety percent of it my own.
However, no matter how hard I try, the Flawless Mantra and the mantra of the [Wheel] do not seem to completely permit me.
In the case of the Flawless Mantra, it feels like my proficiency is lacking, while the mantra of the Wheel seems to simply not acknowledge me yet.
'Someday, I'll have to properly master both of them...'
As I am thinking this—
Ho Woon stares at me with their mouth agape.
"Y-You made it...? One of them...?"
"That's correct, but...?"
"..."
Ho Woon stares at me dumbly for a long while.
Then, regaining their senses after some time, they smile bitterly.
"No wonder Radiance Hall called you the return of Vast Cold and put out a bounty on you... You monstrous bastard... Undoubtedly, you'll become an enormous obstruction to Radiance Hall's future..."
Killing intent flickers in Ho Woon's eyes.
"...It's making me wonder if it would be right to sacrifice my life right here and now and scatter into ash in order to deal you a fatal blow."
"Hmmm..."
Woo-wooong!
I reassemble the surrounding particles and create a solid six-sided club.
Tak, tak!
Tapping the club a few times in my hand, I glance at Ho Woon.
'Are all foxes the type that only listens after being beaten a little...?'
Just then,
"...Well, whatever. What could I possibly accomplish by fighting you? Given the difference in weight class I saw earlier, I wouldn't even be able to inflict decent damage and would just die. Just make sure you properly reveal the true will of Radiance Hall someday."
"Of course, you need not worry about that."
"Then fine. Anyway, continuing the explanation... Normal Immortals grow by following the Immortal Dao they have chosen and using the power aligned to that Immortal Dao. Through their chosen Immortal Dao, they use Immortal Arts to construct the Radiance Ten Heavens, and through the Radiance Ten Heavens, they rise to Upper Immortal..."
"I see."
"But you...you must have either practiced the Radiance Ten Heavens cultivation itself in a strange way, or perhaps you simply brute-forced through the cultivation using the power of your mantras alone; isn't that right?"
"...That's right."
Both are true.
I didn't cultivate the Radiance Ten Heavens in the orthodox manner, and I did push through with the power of my mantras.
"The power of the mantras you possess is so overwhelming that it has led to this disaster... Any ordinary prophecy, even if it wasn't part of the Immortal Dao you walk, would have been overwhelmed just by your sheer weight class, and there wouldn't have been any need to use the ordinary power of the Immortal Dao as just roughly forcing through with the mantras alone would have been enough. As a result, there would have been no reason to look back on your own Immortal Dao. On top of that, since it's said there's hardly any True Immortals in the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain...there would have been no one to tell you what's gone wrong."
"Ummmm..."
I let out a low murmur.
Indeed, I have been walking the Immortal Dao of the Mountain, but unlike before, I often felt that I wasn't following the proper method of Understanding before Breakthrough.
'So it was because of this.'
"Haah...damn it. Thanks to my promise to teach you 'with utmost sincerity and wholeheartedness,' I can't even pretend not to notice this."
Ho Woon lets out a deep sigh and speaks to me.
"The power of your Immortal Dao itself is currently...at the early Vestige Liberation Immortal-level. You've simply climbed to this realm by brute force thanks to the overwhelming strength of your mantras. From now on, while undergoing the cultivation of Heaven and Earth Upper Immortal together with me, you will focus solely on cultivating the power of your own Immortal Dao. You need to solidify your fundamentals; understood?"
"Yes, thank you. I will learn diligently."
"Good, then... Huu, damn it. I don't even know where to start teaching you. The future is dark."
Having my problem diagnosed by Ho Woon, from that day on, I begin earnest cultivation alongside Ho Woon to accumulate the Immortal Dao of the Mountain.
"First...what do you think the Immortal Dao of the Mountain is?"
"I believe it is the Immortal Dao of the 'power of accumulation'."
"That's right. Slowly accumulating to create something. That is the Mountain Immortal Dao. Then, what do you think is the most necessary thing to accumulate the Immortal Dao of the Mountain?"
"It would be to accumulate something, I suppose."
"Correct. You know well. Then you understand what you need to do from now on, don't you?"
"So you're telling me to accumulate a great mountain."
"No, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Ho Woon shakes their head repeatedly.
"Don't talk about flying when you can't even walk yet. You're in the position of crawling...no. Of an infant who needs to flip over."
They point to the ground.
Kwaduduk!
At the spot they point, a circle with a diameter of ten cun is drawn.
"Starting today, regardless of what material you use, accumulate a mountain inside that circle. Well, rather than a mountain...it would be more fitting to call it a sandcastle."
"That's really simple."
I crush nearby stones into powder and pour the sand into the circle.
But at that moment, Ho Woon swings their tail.
Cheolpeok!
Their thick, soft tail swiftly strikes and scatters the sand lump I made.
"...What are you doing?"
"Who told you to accumulate a sandcastle by moving directly yourself? Do you think you're some six-year-old mortal brat? Even if you're a baby now, you're still a baby at True Immortality."
Cheok!
Ho Woon points to the sky.
"If you are a True Immortal, control attraction force. Raise stars, and use the power of prophecy to accumulate the sandcastle. Of course, since you are an Upper Immortal, you can use revision instead of prophecy. However, you are absolutely forbidden from directly interfering with reality. Understood?"
"...So, you're telling me to use prophecy and revision...to accumulate a mere sandcastle? One that fits inside that circle?"
When I ask back, incredulous, Ho Woon's face contorts at once.
"What...? A mere sandcastle...? Have you lost your mind?"
Ho Woon's eyes flip, and they snatch the six-sided club from my hand and start beating me like crazy.
"Kuugh! Wh-What are you—"
"Shut up! No matter how strong you are, right now, I am standing here as your Immortal Realm senior who is helping you!"
Peok! Pak!
They strike me fiercely with the six-sided club, lecturing me.
"There is no such thing as 'mere'! I don't know how arrogantly you strutted about during your mortal days. But as we cultivate the Immortal Dao and raise our realms, there is something we all come to realize. That in this world, there is nothing that is insignificant!
"Every single speck of dust beneath our feet, every single grain of sand, is a foundation that forms the world! From the True Persons who reached the pinnacle of mortal beings to the Vestige Liberation Immortals, there are plenty of arrogant ones. Why? Because they lived thinking they were the best, and entered the Immortal Family that way. To them, everything in this world looks trivial, like mere grains of sand!
"However! At the very least, we must not be like that. Because the Immortal Dao of the Mountain, all the mountains in this world, are ultimately formed by the accumulation of the grains of sand we deem trivial!"
Peok! Peok! Peok!
"Once you accumulate grains of sand into a mountain, then you may be arrogant. Because having accumulated a mountain means you have learned how to cherish each grain of sand. After that, it's fine to look down on mountains lower than yours! You'll have no choice but to look down on them anyway.
"But! Someone like you, who has nothing besides mantras, must not be arrogant! Lower your head! Get down and observe each grain of sand! That! That is the task you must do right now! Throw away your conceited heart and prepare yourself to properly accumulate!"
Peok!
Ho Woon's six-sided club is sharp.
By my standards, that strength feels like a child smacking me with a reed leaf, but the truth within it is sharp, so I respectfully kneel on my knees.
"...I have misspoken. Please withdraw your anger."
"Hmph! If you understand, hurry up and start."
Kugugugugung!
I immediately rise and make a prophecy.
: : I prophesize...In this place, a sand mountain one chi high shall be accumulated. : :
Kugugugugu!
A star is born within my body, and the newborn star emerges into the cosmic space, beginning to alter reality.
Kugugugung!
I can sense the time when the prophecy of fate will be realized.
"Four hundred years..."
For piling a single sand mountain, the time is overwhelmingly long.
"Fate, without exception, tries to guide reality in the most natural way possible. Therefore, to avoid disturbing that divine providence, it takes considerable time for a prophecy to come true. If you want to shorten the time it takes, scatter prophecies frequently and lay the groundwork, aligning the branches of the future so it doesn't deviate from divine providence."
"I see..."
Until now, I've only used prophecy in combat, so a prophecy that takes this long feels somewhat unfamiliar to me.
"However, since you are in the position of cultivating now, I'll impose restrictions on you. For each mountain you accumulate, you may use prophecy and revision only twice each. If you use both prophecy and revision together, only one of each is allowed."
"Understood."
Woo-woong!
I gather a Taiji in both hands.
In the next moment, I detonate the Taiji.
Since the Taiji explodes in a place within the Plane of Qi far away from even the material realm, no explosion occurs in reality.
History revision.
: : The soil around where the sand mountain will be accumulated has been, since the time this Immortal created this land, the optimal soil for accumulating a mountain. : :
Since I am the one who created this land, revision regarding the landmass is easy.
Woo-woong!
Divine providence becomes natural by my revision, and the likelihood of the prophecy being fulfilled rises.
As a result, I perceive that the time needed for the prophecy to be realized has shortened to two hundred years.
"Alright, then enough observing here. Let's rise to the True Immortal Realm. Even just having your main body observe causes enormous influence. If you really want, you can leave one incarnation behind."
"Understood."
Woo-woong!
I leave one incarnation behind, making it face the circle Ho Woon has drawn, and rise together with Ho Woon to the True Immortal Realm.
Kugugugung!
The familiar True Immortal Realm greets me.
'Something is different from before.'
But as I look around the True Immortal Realm, I realize the scenery has somehow changed compared to before.
'It's not just darkness!'
It resembles a night sky.
Just as stars are densely embedded in a dark night sky, within the attraction force of the endlessly vast Mount Sumeru, lights are twinkling.
They are probably all True Immortals.
Having risen to Heaven and Earth Upper Immortal, my senses have strengthened, and I seem to perceive True Immortals more clearly.
When I first rose to the True Immortal Realm—
I thought the True Immortal Realm was truly desolate.
I thought it was a cold and empty place.
But I was wrong.
'Here and there...scattered throughout the True Immortal Realm, scattered all across Mount Sumeru, everyone is living.'
Nearby, a red light.
A little farther away, a dark blue light.
Then again, nearby, purple light and pale pink light shine.
They are all comrades who have each reached True Immortality or realms corresponding to it.
I do not see the light that appears to be Kim Young-hoon, but since his physical body is near us, I can feel his presence.
'His mind, I heard, is wandering outside Mount Sumeru...in the Outer Sea.'
However, since there is the guarantee of the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld, we will meet again eventually.
'Having risen in realm...it looks a little more beautiful than before.'
I smile as I look around at the approximately ten thousand True Immortals scattered like stars across the darkness-covered Mount Sumeru.
'Let's continue moving upward.'
Our goal can only be attained by advancing upward.
It is when I am taking in the scenery of the True Immortal Realm after a long time.
"Truly, the True Immortal Domain is comfortable. The Saha World is far too restrictive."
"...!"
I flinch in surprise as I glance at the main body of Ho Woon standing right beside me.
"Hm!? I heard that originally in the True Immortal Realm, even if we are close in the Lower Realm, we would be distanced due to our respective domains..."
"Isn't that obvious? What do you think is the root of domains, internal worlds, and Immortal Bodies in the first place? Ultimately, our Immortal Bodies and domains are greatly influenced by the Immortal Dao we walk. Since we are walking the same Immortal Dao, if we are close together in the Saha World, we end up staying close together in the True Immortal Realm as well."
"Hooh..."
"Now then, from now on, watch the Saha World quietly from the True Immortal Domain and you see whether your prophecy is fulfilled while practicing repentant enlightenment. That is the surest way to develop your fundamentals."
Kugugugung!
At that moment, Ho Woon suddenly places their hand on my arm.
Paaatt!
Ho Woon's Immortal Body connects with mine, and in an instant, our worlds touch.
"Is this your world?"
I blink as I gaze at Ho Woon's internal world.
An endlessly stretching Snow Mountain!
A night world where eternal blizzards blow through endlessly connected snow mountains, and stars densely fill the sky—that is the interior of Ho Woon's Immortal Body.
Woo-woong!
Ho Woon appears at the boundary of my world in their Transformation form, clicking their tongue as they observe my world.
"What a crazy world... A world of glass sword mountains. I had suspected it ever since I saw that your true body had no face, but just what kind of painful life have you lived?"
"Haha, who knows. But I couldn't see a face on Senior Ho Woon's true body as well?"
"Hmph. That's none of your business. Anyway, show your Transformation form."
I emerge my Transformation form inside my Immortal Body, facing Ho Woon at the boundary of my world.
"Since we'll be idle for a few hundred years anyway, how about we play some Go to pass the time?"
Kuuung!
A go board flies in from somewhere and spreads out between the boundaries of Ho Woon's and my Immortal Body.
Ho Woon gathers their energy to form go stones and speaks.
"Sit down. Do you play some Go?"
"Mm... Actually, I don't know the rules."
"What!? How can someone who is a True Immortal not know how to play Go!? Truly, you are a fellow who lacks elegance!"
"Emm..."
As I'm flustered, Ho Woon clicks their tongue and clenches the go stones.
The go stones change shape, transforming into octagons and growing larger.
The grid lines on the go board change as well.
"Then surely you know how to play Janggi, right?"
The shapes and patterns of the janggi pieces differ from those of our world, and the design of the janggi board is also slightly different as well.
Of course, janggi is something one becomes accustomed to after a few games, so even if the appearance differs and the rules vary slightly, it wouldn't be a problem—but there is another issue.
"...Actually, I don't know the rules of Janggi either."
Indeed.
Even back on Earth, I have never played Janggi.
So how could I possibly play Mount Sumeru's Janggi?
Ho Woon's face turns bright red.
"You ignorant fool! To think you don't even know how to play Janggi. You truly know not a single way to enjoy elegance! Fine, then surely you know how to play Seven Stones?"
"If it's Seven Stones..."
Listening to Ho Woon's explanation, I realize it's a game quite similar to Five Stones (오목; gomoku) from Earth.
[Editor: Gomoku involves taking turns placing stones on a 15x15 grid. The winner is the one who is first to get a five-in-a-row, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.]
However, unlike Earth's version, it seems to be a game where one aligns seven stones instead of five.
"I'm at the level of understanding the rules."
"Good! That's something at least. You're of some age, so surely you've played quite a bit of Seven Stones. For someone our age to say they understand the rules means they can play decently, right?"
"...Actually, I've never played Seven Stones before, and even with Five Stones, which lowers the number of stones, I've only played it exactly five times in my life."
Five Stones wasn't interesting, so after learning it during school days, I never played it again.
At my words, Ho Woon speaks with an utterly dumbfounded expression.
"...What in the world do you know how to play, then?"
"Uhmm..."
I feel a little embarrassed but suddenly think of a good idea.
"I've played a lot of Alkkagi. How about Alkkagi?"
"..."
And I get to see Ho Woon's face twist up completely.
[TL/N: It's a game played on the go board where you flick your stones to knock the opponent's stones off the board.]
Two hundred years have passed.
"My territory is bigger. This is my victory."
For two hundred years, I learned Go, Janggi, and Seven Stones from Ho Woon, and while continuing my personal cultivation, advanced my skills rapidly.
Before I know it, after two hundred years, I have reached the level where I can beat Ho Woon in Go.
"...You madman. In just two hundred years...against this Immortal with three hundred thousand years of experience..."
Ho Woon trembles, their nine tails quivering.
"It's an area where I have more talent than I thought, so I'm a bit surprised myself. Haha!"
Games like Go, where one destroys the opponent's territory and captures their stones, and Janggi, where one kills the opponent's pieces and captures the king, turn out to be areas where I possess overwhelming talent.
Especially in Go, where I destroy the opponent's territory, plunder their domain, and devour their stones, I seem to bloom with talent as if possessed by a god.
At first, I always picked up the black stones, but at some point, I began playing white stones against Ho Woon.
The one game I lack talent in is Seven Stones, but Ho Woon actually finds Seven Stones crude and dislikes it, so for two hundred years, we only played Janggi and Go without end.
'How fascinating. To discover unexpected talent in something like this...'
Whenever I play Go, every time I plunder the opponent's territory and domain, an indescribable thrill surges within me, and it feels as if someone is whispering the correct moves in my ear.
'So it's this enjoyable to plunder the opponent's domain...'
Through playing Go, I come to understand the true fun of Go.
Amidst countless possibilities, picking the moves most favorable to me, progressing step by step, snatching what belongs to the opponent, and devouring it—this pleasure!
It delivers a powerful exhilaration to me.
And as I feel it, I come to a realization.
'Ah, I see. Maybe my fate and abilities as an Ender...have been specialized in playing Go all along.'
Suddenly, I think that if I had become a Go player instead of a martial artist, I might have realized my fate much sooner.
'But the problem is, I can't become stronger through Go alone.'
Feeling a tinge of regret, I conclude the game with Ho Woon.
"Anyway, it's finally been two hundred years."
"...Right."
I focus my mind on the Saha World, in other words, the Lower Realm, that I have been looking downwards at even while playing Go.
Hwiiiiiiiii!
Wind is blowing over the landmass I have created.
And at the center of that landmass.
Around the spot where Ho Woon drew a circle, several clumps are gathered together.
There are chunks of stone, and heaps of soil piled up like small hills.
This is the result of two hundred years of twisting divine providence with a prophetic star to fulfill the prophecy.
At last, the wind blowing over the landmass carries a few grains of sand, dropping them inside the circle Ho Woon has drawn.
Woo-woooong!
At that moment, I feel something growing within my chest.
Chiiiii—
In reality, somewhere within my Colorless Sword Enclosure, a mound of sand identical in form to that mound of sand manifests.
My prophecy has been realized.
My revision has succeeded.
Finally...
After two hundred years, a tiny sand mountain has been completed.
"...It's done now. What should I do next?"
Ho Woon, who is tidying up the Go stones, speaks as they gaze down at the Saha World with me.
"You've taken your first step. Congratulations. You've managed to flip over as a baby."
Giving me a short compliment, Ho Woon proceeds to explain what I must do next.
"Because of the achievement just now, that sand mountain itself has become your Immortal Art. It is a sand mountain you accumulated yourself, after all. From now on, you can use that sand mountain as your Immortal Art at anytime without needing prophecy."
"Hmm...!"
Indeed, it is so.
That small sand mountain manifested inside my body is now a part of my strength.
"Then, the next stage. The Immortal Art of that sand mound is now the power of your Immortal Dao. The prophecies of True Immortals can only be imbued into the source of attraction force. That's why True Immortals usually imbue their prophecies into stars. And...since that sand mound has now become your Immortal Art, it has become a source of attraction force. In the Saha World, it's just a pile of sand, but because it originates from you, it is pulling you."
Ho Woon points at the sand mound as they speak.
"Pour in your strength, whether it is prophecy or revision, into that sand mound. Then, next to that sand mound, accumulate an even bigger sand mound. Once the larger sand mound is completed, repeat the same process again."
Hearing Ho Woon's words, I come to understand what it truly means to cultivate the Immortal Dao.
I understand why this is called solidifying the 'foundations'.
"Keep repeating this 'accumulation' over and over again. Gradually grow your mountain in this way. And one day, when you create a mountain that covers the entire land, that will be the foundation of the Immortal Dao of the Mountain."
I bow my head at Ho Woon's advice and continue cultivating my Immortal Art.
Like so, around eight hundred years pass.
Kururururung!
Hong Fan advances to the Entering Nirvana stage, and before I realize it, I have created an Immortal Art that builds mountains the size of neighborhood hills.
As I watch Hong Fan conducting his Entering Nirvana advancement ritual, I gather together the continents where I have accumulated numerous mountains and compress them into a small star.
Far away, the suns of the Radiance Ten Heavens, created by Jeon Myeong-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, and others, shine down upon this star.
Kurururung!
The star vein emitted by Hong Fan pierces into the star I have created.
The dragon vein across the entire star activates, and life begins to sprout on the surface of the star.
It will not be long before the lifeforms evolve, and civilization and intelligence begin to emerge.
"A bit slow, but you are steadily growing, I see."
"That seems to be the case."
"Then, starting today, cultivate both the Immortal Dao of the Mountain and the Upper Immortal cultivation together."
"Ohoh, may I do that now?"
Originally, I had intended to pursue Upper Immortal cultivation alongside the Immortal Dao cultivation much earlier.
However, Ho Woon scolded me, saying it was far too soon to attempt both at once, so I refrained.
"...Well, now that your Immortal Art has grown this much, it's about time you learn to gaze down upon mortal beings. Besides, the cultivation ahead aligns well with the Upper Immortal cultivation."
"Is that so...?"
I recall the contents of the Upper Immortal cultivation and smile bitterly.
The formula of the Upper Immortal cultivation consists of two methods: Yang Pitch (陽律) and Yin Pitch (陰呂), and one can cultivate by following either method.
The formula of Yang Pitch is simple.
It involves either flourishing six different races and civilizations within a single Heavenly Domain, or flourishing a single race across six different Heavenly Domains.
However, the problem lies with Yin Pitch.
Yin Pitch entails erasing six different civilizations and races within a single Heavenly Domain entirely, or erasing one civilization and race from six different Heavenly Domains.
And in the case of Yang Pitch, there is an additional condition: the race and civilization must be [races and civilizations that have never existed before].
A malicious way of cultivation designed to be easier to advance one's realm through destruction alone.
That is the formula of the Upper Immortal cultivation—Yang Pitch and Yin Pitch.