Dudududu—
Goosebumps spread over my whole body, and my body keeps trembling.
However, the ones I worry about most are not me.
I look over the faces of my comrades.
Kim Young-hoon, having not been able to rest even after the Great Mountain Battle, is in tatters.
Jeon Myeong-hoon is likewise exhausted from warring against the Radiance Eight Immortals, and he still seems overstrained as he still keeps the Jade Pivot Forty-Eight Lightning Heavenly Great Immortals who aim to strike at his back in check even now.
Kang Min-hee is the very one who was directly sucked into the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea, and even amidst it, helped in the Great Mountain battle through Falling Flowers, so her fatigue has not faded.
Oh Hyun-seok looks the most energetic, but only relative to the others. His body was torn apart from the aftershocks of Great Mountain and my attacks, so there is no way his condition is normal.
Kim Yeon had her arm shattered while refining Ji Hwa, so her right arm is unusable, and she is also worn out since she was likewise blocking the Radiance Eight Immortals.
Oh Hye-seo did nothing in the battle, but she traversed the timeline itself and pierced through the veil of worldlines to move, so her body is in tatters.
Everyone except me, who was newly reborn as a Supreme Deity, is in the worst possible state.
As if reading my thoughts, the Underworld opens their mouth.
: : Come. Yeong Seung. : :
Kugugugu!
At that single utterance, Yeong Seung who is nearby appears around us, transforms into a Transformation form, and prostrates.
: : Please give me thy command, Owner of the Underworld. : :
: : I shall communicate with your master. : :
: : Yes, if that is your wish... : :
Tststststs...
Along with Yeong Seung's words, his gaze changes and becomes the same gaze as the Heavenly Venerable of Time.
: : It seems a rest period is needed. : :
Cheon Woon seems to grasp what I want at once and nods.
And the Underworld speaks to them.
: : Not only the Heavenly Kings, but also grant a spell by which even the Underworld Ten Great Kings inside his body can recover. Since I am borrowing your power anyway, it seems better to have even the Underworld Ten Great Kings recover so that they allow me to properly descend as well. : :
: : Good. I shall teach a secret art that can adjust time. A secret art of time that can give everyone time to recover... : :
: : I can manipulate time myself as well, however... : :
For those of our level, twisting spacetime with attraction force or explosions is nothing.
But the real problem is not manipulating spacetime, but that for beings of our level, spacetime manipulation has almost no effect.
No matter how we manipulate time to give comrades a period of rest...
They do not feel it.
Now that my comrades have risen to the Governing Immortal rank called Heavenly King, even if time is manipulated for them, it barely applies, and time is likely to glance off.
To begin with, the reason those of Governing Immortal rank are hardly affected by my regression is also because of that high rank.
However, Cheon Woon shakes their head as if they understand my concern, and speaks.
: : I know what you worry about. But what I recommend is a different secret art. : :
: : A different secret art...? : :
: : A secret art of time disjunction that is effective even on those of Heavenly Venerable rank like Heavenly Kings... : : :
: : Effective even on those of Heavenly Venerable rank...!? : :
: : Indeed. However, this secret art demands a sacrifice from the user. To grant time to existences of Heavenly King rank, an existence of the same Governing Immortal rank must sacrifice a soul. : :
I hear those words and nod.
: : I will do it. : :
: : ...Are you truly fine with it... : :
They look at the Underworld with worry, and the Underworld nods.
: : Look at his eyes, Time. He will never refuse sacrifice. : :
: : But, Underworld. If it is his soul, although even a portion can create time to aid the recovery of his comrades...yet before an important battle, would it not reduce the strength of the most important fighting power...? : :
: : If that worries you, how about you be the one to sacrifice? : :
: : ...You know it. I, who gave up the Gandhara, am now only nominally a Heavenly Venerable...far too lacking to be called a Governing Immortal... : :
: : I am not saying to sacrifice for the Enders. : :
The Underworld whispers something to Time, and Time nods with a slightly reluctant expression.
: : ...Well...if it is only one Immortal Lord...very well. I shall help. Then I will speak of the location where that secret art is recorded. : :
Wo-woong!
The Heavenly Venerable of Time extends their hand toward Radiance Hall, from which all True Immortals have now departed.
Kugugung!
Then, from deep within the palace, the gentle starlight of the Source River explodes and something pours down.
'A woodblock...?'
It is a gigantic woodblock.
I do not know what material this woodblock is made from, but it reeks of the musty, filthy smell of death, and a scent of hatred and resentment that seems to evoke the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea gushes forth.
: : Long ago, I took the ancient Agate as a disciple and taught them the secret arts of time. It was a favor I granted, thinking their authority could move the Heavenly Void Furnace and become a key to seize the control rights of the Head Realm from the Torch Candle Heavenly Lord...but in the end, my good will became calamity, becoming the first step by which they were caught and killed by the Radiance Ten Heavens. : :
The dark-red stele-like woodblock exudes ominous energy, but at the same time, that energy is at best at the Vestige Liberation Immortal level, so it does not look that threatening.
: : It was my greed. In the end, the very first Ender I took as a disciple was caught before even reaching Upper Immortal and was refined by the Castle Wall Heavenly Lord, in turn becoming a case where only the Source River secret arts they learned from me were offered up as tribute to Radiance Hall. Perhaps from then on, the Source River entered the grasp of Radiance Hall... This is my original sin, so I give it to you Enders. : :
I take hold of the woodblock.
'I guess they are handing it over indirectly because if they directly transmit the secret art, even a speck could become a calamity...'
Wo-woong—
I look over the secret arts of the Source River inscribed on the woodblock and nod.
Back in my Sword Mountain Devil Lord days, a few of the sealing arts the Radiance Eight Immortals used to seal me were in fact derived and slightly modified from these secret arts.
: : Indeed...they are secret arts that can bring calamity upon us. It is powerful. : :
Especially the secret art they proposed to grant us rest time.
This Immortal Art called [Seed Plot (苗垈) of Disjunction (乖離)] is so powerful that, had I received it directly from Time, even I would receive a mild calamity to the level where the tip of my pinky finger would feel itchy from time to time.
'If I add a bit of flesh here and there, it rather comes close to a mantra.'
Even so, since it is an Immortal Art of rank lower than not only the Impermanence Sword but also the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique and Mahayuga, having become a Supreme Deity, I can grasp it right away without much difficulty.
Having mastered the Immortal Art in an instant, I become familiar with it through two or three practices, then look at my comrades.
"...Right. For now, let's rest and hear the situation."
Kim Young-hoon, exhausted from flying from the past to the present, immediately nods, and the other comrades also all agree in unison.
: : In that case...everyone, please come into my body for a moment. : :
Huuuu—
I exhale and transfer my comrades into my body for a while.
Wo-woong—
—It would be nice if you put me in as well. I too...need some time to talk.
A faint silver divine spirit's phantom shimmers beside me, and the Sword Extreme Heavenly Sword rings.
It is Ji Hwa.
She meets eyes with Wol Ryeong, who stands at the forefront of the spiraling halo of light circling around me, and speaks.
I nod and also place Wol Ryeong and Ji Hwa into my body.
Then, I begin to activate the secret art in earnest.
Woong!
The Seven Stars Harnessing God Banner circles around me.
Immortal Art.
: : Seed Plot of Disjunction. : :
Immediately after, the Seven Stars Harnessing God Banner all at once burrow into my flesh.
Kwajijijik!
A portion of my spirit.
Rather than spirit, a portion of consciousness so faint that it should rather be called mental strength is torn away, and it activates Seed Plot of Disjunction.
Kugugugu!
As the consciousness made into a Heavenly Domain is torn, a part of my Heavenly Domain collapses.
The secret art of Seed Plot of Disjunction is to inject a divine object imbued with a part of my spirit into whatever space I desire, and twist the time flow of that space through that divine object.
Through it, I can make the spacetime of that space flow thousands of times faster, or thousands of times slower.
Udududuk...
The time flow of the space within my body speeds up.
Udududuk...
But at the same time, is it because those who feel that time flow are Heavenly Kings?
The one strand of my spirit used in the Immortal Art quickly collapses.
'The Seed Plot of Disjunction is a secret art that disjoints the time flow of the desired space and, through that disjunction, seizes the spacetime of that space.'
It is a pity that my spirit collapses quickly.
But in any case, for the Sixth Form of the Severing Heaven Sword Form, which aims at suppressing spacetime and is in the process of completion, a similar secret art like this is needed, so it is not a waste.
At the same time, I feel a thousand years flow swiftly inside my body.
My comrades recover from their critical wounds and enter a period of recuperation to some extent.
Ududuk...
'Twisting spacetime inside my body...makes my stomach not feel good.'
If it were simply twisting the time of mortal being, there would be no problem, but the problem is the spacetime of my comrades.
Since they have become Heavenly Kings, their mass is huge, so the pain of my intestines truly twisting assaults me from time to time.
Of course...
'At this level, it is just ticklish.'
I calmly savor the pain and take a step toward the Head Realm that pulls me.
First step.
Kuuung!
Inside my body, another thousand years pass.
My comrades complete their recuperation to a certain extent, and now they stabilize their body and mind.
Wol Ryeong and Sword Spear talk for a long time, and wander the mountains and rivers inside my body.
At times they even hold in-depth debates about my shoulders, and they restore the relationship that in the past had not always been amicable.
Second step.
Kuuuug!
Inside me, the Underworld Ten Great Kings who had exhausted their strength helping me in the Great Mountain Battle fully recover their strength and come back out again.
They help the Gandhara of the Underworld descend fully upon Mount Sumeru, and while the Underworld's main body challenges the Audience Chamber, they instantly create a domain that temporarily serves the role of the afterlife.
In total, three thousand years pass inside me, the bodies and minds of my comrades recover considerably, and now they begin to recover their energy.
Jeon Myeong-hoon regains the martial might to kneel once more the Jade Pivot Forty-Eight Lightning Heavenly Great Immortals, who have been constantly aiming for his back.
Third step.
Kuuuung!
Inside my body, four thousand years pass.
My comrades restore all their energy, and within the time of these past years in which they have run without rest, they further repentantly enlighten themselves on their own authorities and take time to look back on their own lives.
Fourth step.
Kuuung!
Within my body, five thousand years pass.
From this point, I also involve myself in my comrades' rest.
No matter how disjointed the time is, if I accelerate my consciousness, it is at a level I can easily catch up to. So, for a thousand years, I unwind with my comrades, share the affection I could not share in all kinds of places with Yeon, and, from time to time, reminisce about the old days in the same house with Kang Min-hee and share a deep and steady friendship.
We also try rebuilding modern civilization under the lead of Kim Yeon.
Of course, we do not create living beings. We only try restoring cities across the Earth.
By Kim Young-hoon's memories, Shanghai in China.
By Jeon Myeong-hoon's memories, Tokyo.
By Kang Min-hee, Washington in the United States.
By Oh Hyun-seok, Berlin in Germany.
By Kim Yeon, the South Pole and the North Pole, and Greenland.
By Oh Hye-seo, the whole of Korea, the whole of India, the whole of Primorsky Krai, and the whole of the United Kingdom are restored.
I manifest the magic artifacts and dharma treasures used in modern civilization.
I manifest the magic artifacts that run even without horses, the magic artifacts that fly in the sky, and the square voice transmission magic artifacts, and after a long time I enjoy fun amusements with my comrades.
Although the names do not readily come to mind, my comrades who have lived in Mount Sumeru for hundreds of thousands of years are in the same boat, so everyone turns off their concern about the names and decides to call them however is convenient.
"No, are you saying none of you even remember Excel, you useless brats!?"
Oh Hye-seo, though she herself does not properly remember, pretends to remember and tries to deceive us, but I ignore it as I decided not to be fooled by her.
With the six-sided club game I learned from my master, together with the comrades who hold grudges, we hung upside down and thoroughly beat the prankster Oh Hye-seo who made trouble for us all this time, and we resolved the small grudges that remained.
I also hear a sincere apology from Oh Hye-seo, and after extracting films, novels, plays, and the like from her memories, whose memory is on the good side,
We even gather like a family and watch movies together as a group.
It is a bit hard because words of Earth we cannot understand come out from time to time, but with understanding that reaches Governing Immortal we all grasp the context without any problem, and while studying Earth words again as we appreciate them, it feels rather good.
We travel all around the world, go to the moon, and even make a simulated stellar system of the star system where Earth used to be and visit places like Jupiter and the Sun.
We also go on trips to places we want to visit.
Fifth step.
Kuuung!
Six thousand year mark.
Led by Wol Ryeong, the Wuji Religious Order is reconstituted.
The Corpse Mountain Blood Sea that had swallowed the Wuji Religious Order, now under Wol Ryeong's lead, becomes once again an order that serves me.
Wol Ryeong becomes my first believer and begins to pray for me.
From that day, while I unwind with my companions, I also hear the prayers of those who pray to me.
The majority are from the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea, but there are also ordinary living beings in the Sumeru Three Heavens Great Thousand World who offer prayers to me, the newly born Star Genesis Supreme Deity.
—O God of Stars, I marvel at your enlightenment.
—O Owner of Stars, I, Yoon of the Entering Nirvana stage, who is learning the Shamanistic Methods, serve you.
—O Owner of Myriad Stars! I am Ban Ta! I have heard that a new great Owner of Divine Providence has been born. Please, please listen to my pra—
—O Owner of Myriad Stars. This Baek Woon prays to you. This time...my direct descendant challenges the Star Shattering stage. They entered the Black Ghost Valley that follows the will of the Underworld and accumulated cultivation, and I made them accumulate good deeds so they resemble thee. I implore the great Star Divine Spirit to protect them...
—Uuuut, uuuut! Uuugh, ugggk! D-Did you hear, Glass? They say a star divine spirit has been newly born. Now...all the stars are like their eyes. If we do it under the stars, it is no different from countless eyes watching us. Come, let us show them! Let us show ourselves clearly to those countless star-eyes! Behold, Star Divine Spirit!
One living spirit of the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea.
Yoon of the Entering Nirvana stage.
Baek Woon's voice that I heard after a long time.
Azure Peng, who now wrings Glass Peacock, putting a chain on their neck, and in the form of a sultry Horsehead Nebula, is intermingling with Peacock.
Important prayers and useless prayers alike pour endlessly into me.
And as I listen to the prayers of the countless living spirits of Mount Sumeru, I can come to understand how many, to heavens or to the stars, offer prayers.
: : Huuuu... : :
With my breath, I bless them.
I scatter, together with starlight, the light of repentant enlightenment so that they can know that the light of the heavens to which they pray, and the myriad stars to which their prayers reach, are not unreachable wishes but the very ground they tread.
Kugugung!
And the Underworld's Gandhara main body, which the Underworld Ten Great Kings diligently began summoning when I took three steps, at last begins to appear.
: : O Karmic Mirror, reflect the sacred body of the Imperial Venerable! : :
The Underworld Ten Great Kings, lined up in proper ritual, all raise their hands before the enormous mirror summoned by Yan Luo.
Beyond that mirror, cosmic darkness is reflected.
Immediately after the mirror breaks away, and the being beyond the mirror begins to cross over to Mount Sumeru.
Tudududu!
It does not force its way by tearing the boundary, but the Underworld's Gandhara descends by formally following the procedure.
Their presence spreads throughout the entire Sumeru Three Heavens Great Thousand World.
Spirits move to the temporary Underworld, and the Underworld's Wheel remains there and governs the reincarnation of the spirits.
: : Do you intend to leave the Wheel behind? : :
: : If I am to borrow power from the circulation of spirits within Mount Sumeru, rather than taking it directly, it is in instead better to transmit power from here. Do not worry, if it is my Gandhara, it does not fall behind Vast Cold. And... : :
The Underworld looks at me and speaks.
: : As you are now...though in pure weight class you may fall a little short of Vast Cold, in true full power you can seize the initiative against them. And... : :
She points out several forces I am hiding and speaks.
: : Perhaps with your authority as Immortal Beast King, the power of Martial Pinnacle, and those sentient beings of that Corpse Mountain Blood Sea left by the Great Mountain Supreme Deity...and the power of those whom you call Wuji, you can push everything into a rampant state and even guarantee victory against Vast Cold who surpasses this girl as she is now. : :
: : You are gilding my face. : :
: : Excessive modesty is also arrogance. You objectively possess that force. And...if you add that as well, you can even contend with this girl's total power. : :
: : ... : :
I sigh as I gauge the Underworld's insight and the power she hides.
'...Even though powers of this degree are added, and there is even word from Silver Basket to join...'
I cannot even guess whether we can win against the being beyond the Audience Chamber.
And at last, I take the sixth step.
Kuuung!
Inside my body, seven thousand years of time pass.
Kung, kung, kung, kung, kung, kung!
My comrades, each prepared in perfect readiness, appear at my side all at once.
I hold the Sword Extreme Heavenly Sword, and the spirits of the Wuji Religious Order that used to be the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea follow behind me.
At the same time, when the Underworld snaps her fingers, I feel my soul that was spent on twisting my comrades' time quickly recover.
'This is...!'
Sensing the coupling of Glass Peacock and Azure Peng that I heard during the prayers, I come to understand.
The Underworld asked the Heavenly Venerable of Time to set up the Seed Plot of Disjunction on the two who together are one Immortal Lord, making their time flow quickly, and she injected into me the power of life that gushed from that union.
I give the Underworld a brief nod, then I glance back for a moment.
'Ah...truly...'
It was a life with many things.
The Underworld, summoned in complete form, steps forward with a hardened expression.
I also take the final step, and at the center of the brow of the Head Realm that begins to open,
I reach out my hand toward the strange fissure that appears as the Head Realm splits in half.
'Let's go.'
Thus, within seven steps I shake off all lingering attachments and advance toward that [Gate].
'Toward the Audience Chamber...!'
By us, the [Gate] begins to swing open.