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Chapter 696: Determinism
The residual traces of the [Spiraling White Snake] that unfolded with the first use of the Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade still coil around Mount Sumeru.
And now, I draw a double helix, carefully avoiding overlapping with the traces of that white snake as much as possible, becoming a dragon that draws spirals.
Kugugugugu!
Is it because the Radiance Eight Immortals perhaps know that the Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade is the Immortal Beast King advancement ritual?
They begin unleashing an all-out assault at me.
That's not all.
Countless prophecies of True Immortals pour down upon me.However, I attain the speed of Undying through the Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade and the power of my Martial Pinnacle, so not a single one of their prophecies can reach me.
: : Oh Hye-seo, Kim Yeon. : :
Toward the top of Flower Soul Filling the Heavens.
I speak to the two women now seated above my head.
: : Lend me your strength. : :
Kim Yeon gladly draws in the power of the Bright Cold Realm and breathes it into me.
But Oh Hye-seo only lets out a smirk.
"Why should I? Tell me, Seo Eun-hyun."
At Oh Hye-seo's words, the words 'to the Glass Peacock' rise to the tip of my tongue, but I hold them back and speak.
The direction of her hatred is clear.
She hates me.
'It's about time to address it at least once.'
Until now, Oh Hye-seo had been an obvious enemy, so there was no need to bother persuading her.
After all, I could have just compressed her with the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra or extract power from her using various other Immortal Arts when necessary.
But now, Oh Hye-seo has become one of my comrades.
Even if she doesn't like it, she is one of us.
I raise the Wheel above my head.
: : Seo Hweol was certainly killed by my hand. : :
"That's right."
: : And you resent me for that, don't you? : :
"..."
: : Even if you don't say your wish, I already know. : :
I speak to Oh Hye-seo.
: : You want Seo Hweol to be brought back to life. Using the power of my Wheel... : :
"...Yeah."
: : Sorry, but that's not possible. The Underworld will not allow it. : :
Oh Hye-seo's body trembles violently.
"...Then...what in the world..."
: : Instead, I'll show you Seo Hweol. : :
"...What...?"
: : Right now...the place I am headed to as the Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade nears completion is the Akashic Records. It is the repository that holds all the history of this world. : :
The completion of the Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade.
The Immortal Beast King advancement ritual is completed when the double helix engraved upon Mount Sumeru reaches the Akashic Records.
: : It's not just a cradle of information. There...the [past] actually exists. In other words...I can't reunite you with Seo Hweol, but I can let you witness the Seo Hweol of the past. : :
"...!"
: : And if it's you, then the moment you obtain the 'truth' about the past Seo Hweol, you should be able to use your authority to trace his history...and if my Wheel and your authority combine, a foundation will be created to find Seo Hweol's reincarnation. : :
To truly accept her as my comrade, I offer the best proposal I can give her.
: : Meet the Seo Hweol of the past. And lay the foundation to reunite with the Seo Hweol of the future. I can't bring your Seo Hweol back to life...but letting you meet him again...that much I can at least do. : :
"..."
For a moment, Oh Hye-seo hesitates, and Kim Yeon, who has been listening to our conversation during that moment, slaps Oh Hye-seo hard across the cheek.
Tchak!
"...!"
"Come to your senses, Hye-seo Unnie. I know your state...better than anyone. Because you're in a state just like my master, the Mad Lord."
She glares at Oh Hye-seo with fierce eyes and speaks.
"The Mad Lord lost his lover and went mad. To feel her touch just once more, he brought the past into reality. He devoted his entire life for that. And though it was only that much...even with just that, he was saved."
"..."
"To you, Seo Hweol must've been the Her to the Mad Lord. So what in the world are you hesitating for!?"
Taaak!
Kim Yeon pushes Oh Hye-seo's back hard and pours immense power into me.
Kugugugung!
At the same time, the Bright Cold Realm begins to be summoned behind her.
Kim Yeon drops from my back and merges into the Bright Cold Realm as she speaks.
"Go, Oh Hye-seo! With no regrets left behind!"
"..."
Oh Hye-seo trembles as she looks at Kim Yeon.
For some reason, there is fear in her gaze as she stares at Kim Yeon.
Though the reason is unclear, she is now afraid of Kim Yeon.
"...How can you...be like that...?"
Bududuk...
Kururung!
Kim Yeon, now one with the Bright Cold Realm, descends from the mid-point of Mount Sumeru, takes the full brunt of the True Immortals' prophecy bombardment, and grabs the Heavenly King Heavenly Domain with one hand.
Kugugugugu!
Then, she, now dwelling with the Bright Cold Realm, begins to move the Heavenly King Heavenly Domain with one hand.
The True Immortals of the Three Heavens Great Thousand World begin to scream.
: : !!!!! : :
Indescribable screams unfold throughout all of creation, and with Kim Yeon's single utterance, the flesh of the Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King begins to exert power on the present world.
But what is truly terrifying are Kim Yeon's next words.
: : Immortal Art, Yeon's Play. : :
The history of the Bright Cold Realm trembles, and the 'past' of a distant age is drawn into the present by Kim Yeon's power.
An Immortal Art that recreates the distant past overlays the Bright Cold Realm,
And the history from hundreds of thousands of years ago begins to play out once more.
Shiver!
I get goosebumps in shock, recalling the ominous dread and awe I once felt from the Gandhara of the Underworld.
As the past reenacts upon the body of Vast Cold...
For just a single moment,
The Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King,
The authority of their prime self makes a second coming upon Mount Sumeru.
Clang!!
It is a massive shackle.
At the same time, it is the pen that protects all things of all phenomena, and the power of a being who once loved the entirety of Mount Sumeru.
: : From this moment on. : :
Kim Yeon's voice, overlapping Vast Cold, resounds throughout Heaven and Earth.
: : To every being in this world, harming another is now forbidden. : :
Jjeoooooong!
I break out into a cold sweat.
Just like what Underworld once did...
Kim Yeon, bringing forth the second coming of the Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King's power, has temporarily restructured the law of 'everything of True Immortals bring harm to Enders'.
Unlike Bong Hwa, who had to accept the 'trials' of the Underworld, the law Kim Yeon restructured bears no such constraints.
The countless prophecies bombarded at me by the True Immortals are now all turned into blessings, accelerating me to the limit.
A power truly worthy of being called the ultimate of non-killing has been enforced upon the world.
On top of that, as the authority of the Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King envelops me infinitely, it begins accelerating me beyond measure.
Twin Holding Heavenly Domain.
There, Hong Fan, who has completely turned the Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity into an Immortal Treasure along with the other Immortal Treasures of Seo Eun-hyun, glares sharply in one direction.
"...This power..."
Deepest depths of the Underworld.
The Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld Bong Hwa looks up at Kim Yeon with a dumbfounded expression.
"...This is..."
As she strokes a taenghwa she once drew long ago, she lets out a hearty laugh.
"An authority that...doesn't replace the Immortal Art Immortal Cultivation with a proper orthodox method like Seo Eun-hyun's, but just pushes it away with brute force... How incredible. To think the authority of Vast Cold could be reproduced even for a single second."
She recalls the deed Vast Cold once committed.
Using their seemingly infinite power, they had forcibly filled all beings of Mount Sumeru—whether they wanted it or not—with the power of love, briefly turning all beings into undying entities like True Immortals, and then violently pushed away the Immortal Art Immortal Cultivation.
For such madness, the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord incurred the hatred of Radiance Hall, and even after death, their body was designated as a special management subject, having even the name of the Vast Cold Realm restricted.
'I miss those days.'
She clicks her tongue quietly, remembering the deeds of Vast Cold that had 'once' annihilated Radiance Hall.
'Back then, when Vast Cold exchanged full moves with the Four Heavenly Venerables, and then, exhausted, turned and wiped out the entirety of the Radiance Eight Immortals who came to strike them from behind... It was at that time that I truly...thought that hope lay before our eyes.'
But the result was this.
Bong Hwa's subordinates and Vast Cold were defeated, and the destruction of the obliterated Radiance Hall became revised history, leaving behind the dust-sized remnant of the Rain Dew Heavenly Lord, who became the survivor.
'O Tridacna of the present...will you be able to rise to the heights of Vast Cold? Please...if you could follow just to the tip of their toes, I will offer all hope for the sake of you all...'
Each time she returns from the Audience Chamber, history is extracted and her memories are lost, yet through the battle of Vast Cold, one truth was confirmed.
'No matter how many monsters of Vast Cold's level are brought to the Future King...we can never win with just strength. We must...raise all seven Enders to the level of Governing Immortals. That is the only method where hope can be seen!'
With hope in her embrace, the Underworld closes her eyes.
And in the fleeting instant when the Underworld's gaze is lifted from Mount Sumeru.
From the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain, five [black chains] leap onto Seo Eun-hyun's spiral and begin chasing after him.
The chain at the very front seems to resemble a black snake.
Tremble, tremble, tremble-tremble-tremble...
The Rain Dew Heavenly Lord trembles more violently than any of the other Eight Immortals as they watch the second coming of Vast Cold through Kim Yeon's Yeon's Play.
: : Rain Dew, Rain Dew! Get a hold of yourself, Rain Dew! : :
Though Rain Dew is supposed to erase all emotion, in this one moment alone, they cannot suppress it.
A nightmare from long ago is eating away at the Rain Dew Heavenly Lord.
—In the name of Vast Cold, I declare: the representative Great Forest shall possess the compassion to watch over all.
—In the name of Vast Cold, I declare: the arbiter Great Sun shall carry warmth as bright as their name.
—In the name of Vast Cold, I declare: the vanguard Sword Spear shall possess the heart that does not simply reach out first and connect, but first gains understanding, and only then connects.
—In the name of Vast Cold, I declare: the executor Rain Dew shall...
A colossal giant god of pink light looks down upon the bug-like Radiance Eight Immortals and issues commands.
—...doubt their comrades, but also trust them with a heart as vast as the sky...
The blessings of True Immortals become calamity to Enders.
The strongest Ender Vast Cold was a being who could freely twist such laws and even flip them around in reverse.
The blessings of Enders became calamities to True Immortals.
Due to the principles of the world changed by Vast Cold at that time, the blessings Vast Cold delivered to the Radiance Eight Immortals became calamities that annihilate them.
To this day, Rain Dew still cannot understand how they survived Vast Cold's 'blessings'.
It must have been by coincidence.
But whether by coincidence or fate, they remember one thing.
: : Dodge!!! : :
Kim Yeon raises Vast Cold's arm.
The Rain Dew Heavenly Lord cries out with desperate resolve.
The Great Forest Heavenly Lord, bearing the experience of the Underworld, respects Rain Dew's words and pulls the Eight Immortals back.
: : The Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly Lord has been reenacted!!! Do not confront under any circumstances!!! : :
Kugugugugu!
As the authority of Vast Cold rises, multiple 'Heavenly Domains' begin to 'form' from where Vast Cold's hand reaches toward.
The entire mass of Mount Sumeru increases by severalfold, and all the True Immortals positioned in the path of Vast Cold's strike are struck by the expansions of the newly created Heavenly Domains, sent flying in unison.
Then, those True Immortals touched by the Heavenly Domains created by Vast Cold's power, as if brainwashed, collapse on the spot and begin wailing like mortals.
: : How, how could I have forgotten this heart!? : :
: : Ah, O Vast Cold! Were you the true god all along!? : :
: : Ahh, O God. O God!!! :
Countless Heaven Immortals and Earth Immortals realize the 'futility of battle' and enlighten to the 'benefits of love', losing all will to fight. They begin to disperse their cultivation and share it with the mortal beings of the Lower Realm.
In an instant, the True Immortals affiliated with Radiance Hall fall to the level of the Integration stage, and every living being below the Star Shattering stage across Mount Sumeru sees their cultivation rise by two entire realms.
Thus,
The True Immortals of Radiance Hall—excluding the Thirty-Three Envoys of the Final Age of Dharma, the Thirty-Three Heavenly Resplendent Treasure Immortals, and the Eight Radiance Immortals—
Excluding a total of 74 True Immortals, all True Immortals numbering over six thousand fall to mortality.
The entire combat strength of Radiance Hall vanishes.
And they do so voluntarily at that.
Through Kim Yeon's Yeon's Play,
This is the result of the innate Ender authority of the prime Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King—Heaven Manifestation—being unleashed.
In the instant when countless True Immortals are annihilated,
The five chains, led by the chain in the form of a black snake, wrap around and follow Seo Eun-hyun's spiral, reaching the mid-slope of Mount Sumeru.
Dududududu!
As I gasp at the immeasurable power flooding into my entire body, I even divine descent Oh Hye-seo's heart into myself.
Kurururung!
At the same time, at my behind that has been continuing to trace a double helix across the entirety of Mount Sumeru, a dark-red curve and a light pink curve begin drawing a hyperbola along with the double helix.
Woo-wooong!
Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade.
Sword God Dance.
The authorities of Kim Yeon and Oh Hye-seo, divine descended through the Sword God Dance!
Combining all of them...
: : Reach! : :
At last, I arrive at the Middle Realm region of the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain. Then, I reach at the vertex that lies above it.
I arrive right before the Head Realm.
Kurururung!
Kim Yeon's love flows into me.
The love Oh Hye-seo holds for Seo Hweol is felt within me.
As I embrace both loves inside me,
And catch sight of the [five black chains] that have chased right up behind me and flinch,
I crash into the Head Realm with full force.
Kiririririk—
'What...is this?'
The Radiance Mantra is activating.
'Am I regressing...?'
The phenomenon unfolding before my eyes resembles regression so surprisingly closely that I almost mistake it for regression.
Had I not sensed the strange movement of the Wheel adjusting the surroundings, I would have been completely convinced.
'It isn't regression...!'
Woo-woooong!
Holding Oh Hye-seo in one arm, I rise upstream against the distant flow of history.
'This is...'
And as I travel upstream through history, I can tell.
"Am I...moving through time?"
Having currently collided with the Akashic Records, and aided by the power of the Radiance Mantra and the Wheel, I am truly traveling through time into the actual past.
Kugugugugugu!
At the same time, from far away, a familiar aura begins to be felt.
We realize we have arrived at a point in time 'forty thousand years before' we fell into Mount Sumeru, and each of us wears a different expression.
Oh Hye-seo's eyes tremble, my lips tremble, and Hong Fan wipes his sweat as his breath trembles.
Woo-woooong!
As I rise through the river of history, a thought occurs to me.
'...What must be done for there to be no contradiction or paradox in time travel?'
The answer is simple.
This world just needs to be deterministic.
I, carrying the [Wheel] that is shining pure white under the influence of Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade on my back,
Together with Oh Hye-seo, arrive at the moment of Seo Hweol's first birth.
Though I have never seen it directly, nor has it yet occurred—
The moment I arrive at this place, I can understand everything.
How I and Oh Hye-seo will act from this point forward, and how everything at this point in time will be determined.
"You look like you've got a lot of thoughts on your mind, Master."
Hong Fan asks with a concerned expression and I smile bitterly as I step, together with Oh Hye-seo, into the [past of Seo Hweol] reached through the Akashic Records.
"...It's just that...I'm starting to lose grasp on how we're supposed to defeat the Future King."
If everything up until now is the Future King's fate and vision...
Then just how are we supposed to defeat him?
Thus,
We descend into the virtual world left behind by Oh Hye-seo's predecessor, Agate, and begin to observe this world.