Chapter 636: Heavenly Venerable Hunting (2)
The time remaining until the descent of the Heavenly Venerable of Void is a total of 108 days.
Within that time, we must refine everything we can.
"First, the fastest way to grow would be for you to receive a [name] from this Immortal."
Hyeon Rang proposes this to Kim Young-hoon, but Kim Young-hoon rejects it immediately.
"I don't need it. Power gained through such unorthodox methods just ends up being cumbersome because I can't adapt to it."
"Well, do as you wish. In that case, let me recommend a way for you all to strengthen yourselves in a short time."
He looks around at each of us in turn and continues speaking.
"First, Golden Speed Heavenly King. You say you don't need unorthodox methods since you can't adapt to them...but what about a [weapon]?""A weapon?"
"Yes. I know where a weapon perfectly suited for you is."
"Where is it?"
"The place you all came from. The Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain."
Hyeon Rang points somewhere as he smiles.
"I heard you all created a place called Cedarwood Painting in the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain; isn't that right?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
"On the reverse side of that Cedarwood Painting...lies the enlightenment of the previous Golden Body Heavenly King."
"Enlightenment...? Something like that exists?"
"Yes. To be exact...Red Lotus. Prajna. Dragon Flower... It is an enlightenment regarding the Manifestation of the Heart Tribe of the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld."
"...!"
I learn something new.
The realms of Red Lotus, Prajna, and Dragon Flower all refer to stages of Heart Tribe manifestation used by the Underworld's side.
"Your predecessor Golden Body Heavenly King had a different authority than you, so their level of Manifestation only reached Red Lotus... However, they completely mastered the method of Manifestation through the unorthodox method used by the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld, and recorded that enlightenment in a mandala there."
"...I see."
I come to understand the truth behind the mandala of Cedarwood Painting that I once researched with Kim Young-hoon.
"Go seek out that mandala and look at it again. If you do so, you will be able to see what you couldn't see before...and you will be able to refine the mandala left behind by the previous Golden Body into a weapon suitable for you. That itself...was a preparation made for the future Golden Body."
"Thank you for the advice."
Kim Young-hoon nods and begins to stretch, seemingly preparing to head to Cedarwood Painting.
Hyeon Rang then turns to Jeon Myeong-hoon.
"The fastest way you can become stronger in a short time is...the treasure vault of Yang Su-jin. I assume you've already searched its interior?"
"I have. There were many Immortal Treasures Yang Su-jin left behind. Though without the main rituals, I'd have to capture some Sacred Masters or something..."
"Use the treasure vault of Yang Su-jin itself."
"Hmm?"
"I'm a bit sorry to Heavenly Punishment, but...given the situation, I have to tell you this. Yang Su-jin's treasure vault is, in and of itself, also a prison meant for the Heavenly Lightning Banner."
"...!!"
"Through Yang Su-jin's treasure vault, find the Heavenly Lightning Banner and abduct her. Then, using the suppressive power of the treasure vault, subdue the Heavenly Lightning Banner and extract only Zhengli's power for your use. That is the way for you to become the strongest in the shortest time."
At those words, Jeon Myeong-hoon's eyes blaze.
The corners of his mouth lift up as if tearing.
"...Truly, I am grateful to you... Kuk... Kukuk... Kuhuhuhuhu..."
"Sure, then next... The current Lapis Lazuli Protecting Heavenly King should be studying well under the Imperial Venerable, and Hyun-seok just needs to summon my soul and invoke divine descent into his body, so there's no issue. The current Tridacna, as for you..."
He turns his gaze to Kim Yeon.
"You too should go to the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain. The fastest way for you to grow in a short time...is to receive support from the flesh of Vast Cold and move their physical body. If you were still a mortal being, that would've been impossible, but now that you've reached the level of a Great Net Immortal, you should be able to draw out at least six tenths of the power of Vast Cold's body."
"Mm!"
Kim Yeon nods, and Hyeon Rang's eyes finally turn to me.
"You've learned the Flawless Mantra. If you've learned the Flawless Mantra...then given about four hundred million years, you could fully turn the Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity into an Immortal Treasure. But since we don't have the Heavenly Venerable of Time, and Yeong Seung doesn't have the right, that would be difficult. Hm, since you haven't awakened your fate, I can't tell whether you are Agate or Obsidian."
"Em..."
I speak while pondering.
"I think I'm probably the Agate Heavenly King."
"Haw... I see...Master."
Hong Fan exhales deeply as if intrigued and nods, while I look back on my past lives.
My regressions, filled with nothing but pain.
And, according to what I once heard from the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld who took the form of Tae Yeol-jeon, the Agate Hatred Heavenly King symbolizes pain.
That being the case, with my life steeped in suffering, I'm highly likely to be the current designate for the Agate Hatred Heavenly King.
'Oh Hye-seo is the one with a blackened heart, so she's probably the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King of this generation.'
At that, Hyeon Rang clicks his tongue in regret.
"Tsk... If it's Agate, then things have gotten even more troublesome. The powers most suitable for Agate are either the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea in the Earth Axis Heavenly Domain of the Great Mountain Supreme Deity...or the power of the previous Agate. But all previous Agates had their preparations completely devoured by the Head Realm, so there's nothing left. As for the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea..."
"I'd rather refuse that one myself."
"Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped. I'll just...teach you how to use ancient force in a short time."
Thus, we each part ways in order to refine our powers in a limited time.
"Ancient force is forgotten history, the remnant of a destroyed world."
A faint mist rises over Hyeon Rang's hand.
Within the mist, countless scenes seem to appear.
Together with Oh Hyun-seok, I focus on Hyeon Rang's lesson.
"Normally, ancient force can be harvested from the center of a planet. This is because forgotten histories and dreams are pulled in by the attraction force toward the center. Memories and histories that could not be remembered by sentient beings...such ancient forces gather and form Salt Crystal. Of course, they didn't used to take the form of Salt Crystals, but ever since the appearance of the Salt Sea Supreme Deity, ancient forces have become fixed in the form of Salt Crystals..."
Kiririk!
The mist above Hyeon Rang's hand gathers and condenses into a mineral that looks like a small lump of salt.
"In any case, ancient force, which would originally form in small amounts naturally inside planets, began to be produced in much greater quantities due to Immortals. For instance, what would happen if an Earth Upper Immortal annihilates a dynasty and revises history as [only villains existed in that dynasty, and so it was rightly destroyed by Heavenly Punishment]? What about the good people who lived in that dynasty? Who remembers their dreams and histories?"
Wo-woong!
From the Salt Crystal visible in Hyeon Rang's hand, a scream echoes forth.
"In this way, the cherished wishes of those whose very histories were buried by transcendental Earth Upper Immortals...appear as ancient force. And as a result, ever since Earth Upper Immortals began roaming freely, ever since history revision began, ancient force has been gushing forth in large quantities.
"In short, ancient force can be said to be the power of [forgotten beings of the past reaching out to beings of the present, asking to be remembered]."
"..."
'In that case...the reason why the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections is considered as ancient force is...'
I reflect deeply as I recall my Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.
Kirik, kiriririk!
The Salt Crystal at the tip of Hyeon Rang's finger begins to change.
"That is why the Head Realm is the origin of all ancient force, and the cradle where all ancient force gathers. More precisely, it's the Akashic Records in the Head Realm that serves as the origin. Since [all history] is recorded in the Akashic Records, it is the only existence that acknowledges forgotten history, at least to the extent of what is recorded in it. That is why...it is said that the power of ancient force obtained by Earth Upper Immortals all originates from the Head Realm. After all, in the end it is the Akashic Records that store the forgotten histories, and Earth Upper Immortals who excavate those forgotten histories recorded in the Akashic Records and refine them into the form of ancient force..."
Kiiiiiiing!
The form of Salt Crystal at the tip of Hyeon Rang's finger is shaved down and compressed, taking on the shape of a small skull.
It is the appearance of the Head Realm.
"You know that Immortal Beasts can temporarily transcend reality through explosion and are able to access a place known as the [River of Scenes], right?"
"Yes."
"That place is not actually the Source River."
"Pardon...?"
"The Source River is nothing more than a parasite that imitates that place and feeds off its power...The [River of Scenes] that Immortal Beasts access is..."
At Hyeon Rang's continuing words, my eyes widen so much they nearly pop out.
"It is the Akashic Records. More precisely, it's connected to a certain facet of the Akashic Records, allowing one to see scenes flowing like a river. In other words, Immortal Beasts are beings that possess the fundamental right to access the Akashic Records."
"..."
'That means...'
The River of Scenes I connect to every time I regress is not actually the Source River, but...
'It was the Akashic Records all along!?'
That's right.
The River of Scenes I enter every time I regress is not the Source River, but the Akashic Records.
'Then...every time I experience death...'
With every regression, I access the Akashic Records.
In other words,
It is no different from entering and exiting the Head Realm.
I can't help but open my mouth at the shocking truth.
'I see... Those [threads] I saw then...the ones constantly connecting me to the Head Realm...'
They were all proof that I was connected to the Akashic Records.
In other words, to the Head Realm.
As I tremble at the horrifying truth, Hyeon Rang begins to speak even more shocking truths.
"Forgotten histories born of history revision become ancient force, and it is said the way to obtain that ancient force is by accessing the Akashic Records and thoroughly investigating the forgotten histories recorded there. If so, one might think what Hyun-seok is thinking right now: 'Can just a few bug-like Earth Upper Immortals twisting history really generate that much ancient force?'"
"Ahem, forgive me, Master...I don't think of Earth Upper Immortals as bugs."
"Well, anyway, the important point is this. Just a few Earth Upper Immortals...have not been the ones revising the world until now."
Wooo-woooong!
The model of the Head Realm above Hyeon Rang's hand begins to [duplicate].
"Great Net Immortals, Immortal Lords, Supreme Deities...and even the Heavenly Venerables. All those countless Immortals have ceaselessly revised history until now, and the result is the current world. Do you know how much the Supreme Deities and True Lords who followed the history pathway revised Mount Sumeru and created forgotten histories?
"Do you know how many past Enders, how many Heavenly Kings...have buried history?"
Swaaaaaaaa!
In an instant, the surroundings become a sandy shore made entirely of Salt Crystals in the form of the Head Realm.
"Especially Radiance Hall...They have deliberately buried the truths of this world, the histories, deep within the Head Realm, deep within the Akashic Records."
Hyeon Rang continues speaking with a hardened face.
"The Heavenly Domains of Supreme Deities who died resisting Radiance Hall are fed to the Head Realm after a long time. Even the defeated Supreme Deities are fed to the Head Realm...
"There have even been Enders who were born already possessing the authority of [universe creation]...or Heavenly Kings who awakened authorities like [Mount Sumeru replication], or [Origin Essence generation]. The Heavenly Domains they created, the replicated Mount Sumerus, the countless Origin Essences they made...the countless civilizations they cultivated..."
With every word Hyeon Rang speaks, his expression darkens further.
"All those brilliant histories...were crushed by Radiance Hall and turned into leftovers of the Head Realm. Buried deep in the Akashic Records, the replicated Mount Sumerus, the newly created Origin Essences and civilizations, the Heavenly Domains born from the hands of Enders—everything was annihilated and buried deep beneath. And Radiance Hall holds what they call the Supreme Deity Banquet, and through a ritual that erases the ancient forces created in such a way, they have been burying those histories even deeper into the abyss of the Akashic Records."
He clenches his fist.
Paaaaaatt!
With that single gesture, countless Salt Crystals rush toward Hyeon Rang's grip and explode.
Kwaaaaang!
From the explosion formed in Hyeon Rang's hand, I feel something shake.
It is 'reality' itself.
The very history we stand upon right now is faintly trembling.
"That is why...the true power of ancient force is only displayed when it is [properly recorded]. Even a forgotten history, as long as a single person remembers it...that history is never truly forgotten. It becomes the strength of Immortal Beasts, and the key to transforming this reality that has been twisted by endless revisions."
Wooo-woooong!
A faint mist begins to spill out again from Hyeon Rang's hand, and I flinch in surprise as I look at him.
Because that power...
It is far too similar to the power of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.
"From now on, what you must do is record your history from beginning to end, without leaving anything out, and transmute it into Immortal Art. If you can leave behind your own history as Immortal Art and prove your own existence through it...then that becomes the most optimal and shortest path to strengthening your authority as an Immortal Beast!"
That's right.
The Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections I created during the Nascent Soul stage...
Turns out to be the optimal Immortal Art for Immortal Beasts recommended by the former Immortal Beast King Hyeon Rang.
And so, from that day on, I begin to restore the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections that I collapsed with my own hands.