Arrangement.
Not simply a matter of us fighting the Great Mountain Supreme Deity and dying, but preparations for when my regression is completely severed, and I fall into ruin to the point that no revival is possible.
Thump, thump...
I sense the ripples from outside Mount Sumeru.
Outside Mount Sumeru, the lingering reverberations of the Great Mountain Supreme Deity's Splitting Heaven Mantra that makes the Outer Sea stir seem to grow clearer with passing moment.
'I feel it...'
The Splitting Heaven Mantra is not a power that is less than the Wheel at all.
And that means...
'The Radiance Mantra, which is on par with the Wheel. In other words, my regression as well...'
It means that if I take a direct hit from the Splitting Heaven Mantra, there is a possibility I will be torn apart.
'No, not a possibility.'
Recalling Gwak Am's Annihilation Advancement Mu, I remind myself that the worst-case scenario is in fact not far at all.
'It's dangerous.'
Only a strike that reaches the Ultimate of Martial Arts can barely offset the simplified Splitting Heaven Mantra Annihilation Advancement Mu.
'The complete Splitting Heaven Mantra is...at least ten times that...'
And while in numbers it is tenfold, in reality, by the time he swallows the entirety of Mount Sumeru and condenses it into a single point, he will transcend all laws of this world.
'If that happens, even if it's only for a single moment, he will truly stand equal to the Absolute existence itself.'
Thinking of that terrifying possibility, I steel myself for the fact that this time, my regression may truly be shattered.
And feeling my resolve, my comrades also harden their own as well.
"...Everyone...thank you."
I give a faint smile to the comrades who, here and now, match my resolve and are ready to stake their lives alongside me.
After Seo Eun-hyun finishes speaking to the comrades about the arrangement, they all disperse and begin leaving behind their own arrangements.
Kururung!
Jeon Myeong-hoon ponders what arrangement he should leave behind.
"Golden Shaking Bird. If, by chance, I die..."
"Master!! Why in the world are you trying to go again!? You're saying you'll go and leave Golden Shaking Bird behind again!?"
In the form of a hummingbird, Golden Shaking Bird flutters, trembling all over atop Jeon Myeong-hoon's shoulder.
"Master, please, don't disappear again leaving Golden Shaking Bird behind! If you disappear again and leave me...I..."
"..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon gazes silently at the tearful Golden Shaking Bird for a moment.
Then, he gives a bitter smile.
"...You must have been lonely."
"...Master..."
"..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon gazes at Golden Shaking Bird for a long while.
"...What...do you think of Yang Su-jin?"
The Thunder Beast Golden Shaking Bird was created by pouring an entire sect called the Lightning Bird Golden Shaking Sect into its making.
Jeon Myeong-hoon still does not quite understand Golden Shaking Bird.
He cannot grasp what thoughts make Golden Shaking Bird follow him in the first place.
"Yang Su-jin...I mean, do you not resent me?"
"..."
At those words, Golden Shaking Bird flutters up, somersaults in the air, and transforms into her Transformation form.
"Hmm... First, to begin with, I should say that our Lightning Bird Golden Shaking Sect is, quite literally...a gathering of people saved by this one named Yang Su-jin."
Jeon Myeong-hoon listens in silence to Golden Shaking Bird's story.
The tale of how a sect called the Black Bird Star True Sect, which had served the Entering Nirvana Quasi-Immortal Yeo Hwi, withered under her tyranny until Yang Su-jin saved them.
The tale of how Yang Su-jin lived with them and comforted each one of them.
The tale of how Yang Su-jin shared with them the ideology of the world he came from, and through that ideology, bound the Lightning Bird Golden Shaking Sect together as one.
And the tale of how, one day, when the united Lightning Bird Golden Shaking Sect fell into the crisis of annihilation after being caught by one of the True Immortals of the Radiance Hall, Yang Su-jin, who happened to be too far away to help them directly, remotely cast the Lightning Beast Refining Technique to melt and fuse the sect into the 'Thunder Beast Golden Shaking Bird'.
"...We hold no grudge at all against the one called Yang Su-jin. On the contrary...compared to the useless days as the Lightning Bird Golden Shaking Sect, we are satisfied that, by becoming the existence known as Golden Shaking Bird, we can be of even greater help to him."
"..."
"In the first place, the creation of a Thunder Beast...is not something with a high success rate. If even one member of the sect making the Thunder Beast does not love and respect the Thunder Beast's creator, the creation fails, and the spirits used in the process go straight to the Underworld."
Golden Shaking Bird kneels demurely before Jeon Myeong-hoon and smiles.
"Please do not trouble your heart, Master. As I say once again...we have all loved you, and none of us have ever disliked or hated you. So...there is no need for you to blame or reproach yourself too much. If there was ever a time we hated Master, there was only one."
At Golden Shaking Bird's words, Jeon Myeong-hoon smiles bitterly.
"It was when you did not die with us, but died alone and perished. So please...do not even speak of suddenly going off somewhere on your own again."
After locking eyes with Golden Shaking Bird for a while, Jeon Myeong-hoon smiles.
"...Alright. I understand. I promise."
Jeon Myeong-hoon, who has been debating whether to reveal to this cycle's Golden Shaking Bird that he is not Yang Su-jin, simply nods with a bitter smile.
Through his conversation with Golden Shaking Bird, he realizes what he must leave behind.
"...Do not leave behind anything with feelings or a heart."
Jeon Myeong-hoon decides not to leave behind Thunder Beasts like Golden Shaking Bird, as Yang Su-jin did.
He will leave only 'teachings' that have no heart and no pain.
"...With one hundred and ten thousand years, it should be enough time to found a sect and raise disciples."
Just as Yang Su-jin once left behind the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, Jeon Myeong-hoon decides to leave behind a new sect as well as the Red Pearl Cycling Heavenly King.
It seems Jeon Myeong-hoon is going to create his own sect.
Forming one's own sect also seems like a good idea.
'Something like the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect...an Immortal Dao sect that can help us in the early stages would be good to have.'
I decide to join in as well.
Wo-woong—
I send one of my Gang Sphere clones over to Jeon Myeong-hoon to try creating a sect together with him.
"What kind of sect are you going to make?"
"Hmm..."
Jeon Myeong-hoon seems to ponder over the sect's name, then after a while, comes up with something decent.
"I'm debating between naming it Thunder Resonance Valley (雷呂谷) or Lightning Resonance Valley (電呂谷)..."
"Thunder Resonance Valley? Lightning Resonance Valley? Those aren't great...how about Lightning Roar Valley (電鳴谷)? Since you're Jeon Myeong-hoon."
[TL/N: Lightning Roar Valley uses the same Hangul as Jeon Myeong-hoon's name.]
"..."
It seems Jeon Myeong-hoon does not like that name, as he ignores my words entirely, sits in lotus position on a suitable spot of a suitable planet inside the Heavenly Escape Realm where we are hiding, and closes his eyes.
Huuuuu—
Jeon Myeong-hoon closes his eyes and blows out his breath, and from his breath, powerful [wisdom] bursts forth. That [wisdom] is contained in his winged garment and, following his will, flies out to somewhere beyond the Heavenly Escape Domain.
I also sit beside him, and in the same way, I place my wisdom into my winged garment and send it together with his winged garment beyond the Heavenly Escape Realm.
: : I, as the Owner of the Seat of Heavenly Punishment, command... : :
Kururung!
Lightning gathers before Jeon Myeong-hoon, forming into a small bundle wrapped in thunder and lightning that floats in front of him.
He then lifts the lightning bundle into the void and begins his prophecy.
: : In the Sumeru Three Heavens Great Thousand World...there shall surely be, within a thousand li above the ground, one who follows my will. : :
Kugugugung!
The prophetic star imbued with Jeon Myeong-hoon's prophecy rises into the sky, gradually beginning to become a true star. Watching him, I too begin my prophecy.
: : I...Seo Eun-hyun, command... : :
Earth Axis Heavenly Domain.
A planet called Pancheon Star.
One day, an unusual phenomenon appears there.
Kurururung!
Two massive balls of light fall from the sky, striking one place on Pancheon Star, creating two celestial phenomena.
The first celestial phenomenon is Lightning Sea (雷海).
From the place where the ball of light falls, an immense energy of lightning flows out, forming a small sea of lightning.
The second celestial phenomenon is Sword Mountain (劍山).
All throughout the Lightning Sea, mountains of glass, crystal, and jade rise up like swords, and from those mountains, sharp sword energy flows like the wind.
All the Immortal Dao sects of Pancheon Star are astonished, rushing to the site of the Lightning Sea and Sword Mountain in search of fortune.
Indeed, in the place where the celestial phenomena of Lightning Sea and Sword Mountain unfold, immense Heaven and Earth spiritual energy and new energies surge forth, bringing enormous help to cultivation.
Before long, a hundred years have passed since the Lightning Sea and Sword Mountain appeared on Pancheon Star.
One day, a young martial artist living near the Lightning Sea Sword Mountain, pursued endlessly by a sect due to a grudge of resentment, loses his master and enters the Lightning Sea Sword Mountain. Inside, he hears a [voice] and accepts the fortune it offers, becoming within ten years a cultivator of the Core Formation stage with immense strength.
Following the guidance of the [voice] felt inside the Lightning Sea Sword Mountain, he resolves his grudge and gradually accepts the fortune of the Lightning Sea Sword Mountain. One day, he finally seizes the center of the Lightning Sea Sword Mountain—the very source of its power—and gains strength surpassing more than two realms.
Many praise him as the one who has mastered both the power of Lightning and the power of the Sword Mountain, calling him the Lightning Sword High Person (電劍上人).
In time, the Lightning Sword High Person refines his power and gathers those who praise him to establish his own Immortal Dao sect.
The Lightning Sword High Person names his sect [Thunder Resonance Valley], and after passing down his Lightning Path Method to most of its members, he teaches a few with exceptional talent or an obsession bordering on madness the Sword Path Method related to the sword.
Those in Thunder Resonance Valley who receive the Lightning Path Method become known as the Thunder Lightning Faction, making up nine-tenths of the sect. Those who receive the Sword Path Method become known as the Colorless Faction, making up the remaining tenth, and they cultivate their strength in the Sword Dao within Thunder Resonance Valley.
Not only on Pancheon Star, but across every Astral Realm and every Middle Realm in all Heavenly Domains, similar Immortal Dao sects arise and begin to walk similar paths.
I can feel it.
Across the universe, our prophecy scatters, and Thunder Resonance Valleys spring up like bamboo shoots after rain.
'So this...is the power of a Great Net Immortal and beyond.'
More than killing, destroying, and wreaking havoc with the power of a Great Net Immortal, the way a single prophecy affects all of Mount Sumeru makes me feel the power of a Great Net Immortal even more strongly.
'When I think about it, it makes sense.'
From the beginning, True Immortality was never simply a realm for fighting.
We are gods.
Beings who wish to change the world according to their own will.
With a single word from us, the fates of entire worlds arise and are influenced.
'I can feel it...'
From within Jeon Myeong-hoon's Thunder Resonance Valley, every being that reads the Sword Dao Method—a part of the wisdom that flows from—feels as if they are within my grasp.
On that distant Pancheon Star, a sword cultivator of the Colorless Faction is calling to me while performing a method that depicts my true body.
—O Immortal Beast King! Grant me your strength!
Just as in the Black Ghost Valley there were methods like the Yama Hidden Inheritance Will that calls upon Yan Luo to borrow strength, there are also methods that depict my true body, call my name, and borrow my power.
I watch as my power flows to those who call upon it, feeling as though I am orchestrating countless lives and fates.
Thus, I sit quietly with Jeon Myeong-hoon and, as a Gang Sphere clone, begin shaping the world together with him.