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Chapter 822: Side Story - New Fate and Upheaval (3)
In the darkness.
Makli Hyun-ah, in a dazed state, floats about deep within his own unconscious and thinks.
'What is the situation outside...? How long do I have to stay deep in my unconscious? Is there no way to get out...?'
At that moment,
Suddenly, toward the domain of the unconscious he belongs to...
Makli Hyun-ah feels something approaching.
Soon, what enters Makli Hyun-ah's eyes are countless 'chains'.
"You are...?"
Makli Hyun-ah flinches in surprise as he looks at the chains.
Before he fainted, he felt like he saw something similar.
And then, when a voice like it is possessed by an insect echoes out from within the chains,
Makli Hyun-ah feels goosebumps rise over his whole body.
[I am called ■■, who starting today, will live in the same house as you. Nice to meet you. Is this the Extreme Ghost Path Body...? If the realm and conditions match well, I can even descend to the lower realm with my main body...!]
"Wh-Who are you? How did you enter my unconscious?"
[I am...one who serves the Lord. One who can lend you strength.]
Makli Hyun-ah feels, for some reason, that the existence beyond the chains is laughing.
[If you want power, accept me. My Lord governs all power... He can give you everything you want. Now...take my hand. If you do so, you will obtain everything...!]
Its words have a bewitching power that sucks people in, and Makli Hyun-ah inevitably begins to reach his hand toward those chains, hoping for the strength to defeat the bear, and for a realm where he can see his older sister, Lee Seo-ah, again.
That is when it happens.
—Come to your senses, Makli Hyun-jok!
Makli Hyun-ah comes to his senses within Jegal Mikhail's shout.
[Ahahaha... Is that possible with a pinch of madness? Good. When you reach the Heavenly Being stage, it will be worth seeing!]
—Makli Hyun-jok, fall back! You have to run away! Run away and get a hold of yourself!
Jegal Mikhail's illusion seizes Makli Hyun-ah's consciousness and flies off somewhere, and as it watches them, the existence beyond the chains extends countless chains.
[How foolish. O new fate, do you not know that simply being born with a strong fate and miracles does not dare allow you to oppose me...? Quietly accept power and authority. That is what my Lord desires!]
Chwararararak!
Makli Hyun-ah looks at the chains chasing him, calms his startled heart, and looks at Jegal Mikhail's illusion leading him.
"Mister Jegal Mikhail...what...is going on? Is it because I have trauma left from you dying in front of my eyes that I am seeing you, or are you really...alive inside my consciousness...?"
An illusion that is far too vivid.
A gaze that looks as if it has a clear self-awareness makes Makli Hyun-ah have no choice but to ask such a question.
Jegal Mikhail avoids the chains and brings Makli Hyun-ah to the boundary of the unconscious.
To the domain far away, where a pure white light is visible.
—...Well, maybe...
Jegal Mikhail, for some reason, lets out a sorrowful smile.
—When you reach the realm called the Heavenly Being stage, you will come to know.
Jegal Mikhail's illusion, toward beyond the light that is visible ahead.
Toward the boundary of consciousness, throws Makli Hyun-ah's consciousness with all his strength.
Makli Hyun-ah shouts as she watches that sight.
"Mister Jegal Mikhail, tell me! Why are you remaining inside me!?"
—Haha...saying something like that is not cool and sexy.
Jegal Mikhail's illusion looks at Makli Hyun-ah as he grows distant, and for some reason forms a sorrowful smile.
—Figure it out yourself. This place called Penglai Star is perhaps a cruel world more than you think.
"Mister Jegal Mikhail!!"
Tsuaaaaaat!
Makli Hyun-ah watches Jegal Mikhail's illusion growing into a distant blur, and from the black world of the unconscious, finally escapes.
***
"Heok!"
Once again, it is a ceiling he sees for the first time.
"...I feel like I just had a dream..."
Makli Hyun-ah thinks he saw Makli Cheon-sa and Jegal Mikhail in the dream.
It feels like he had a dream, but he doesn't remember the contents well.
It feels like he exchanged some serious questions and answers with Jegal Mikhail, but he forgot everything.
"Aish, you carp-brained guy...haaah, forget it. What does a dream like that even matter?"
Thinking thus, Makli Hyun-ah carefully looks around.
"Where is this...? Don't tell me we lost to the Seogyeong Makli Clan, the clan got absorbed, and I got captured and brought here."
But fortunately, that suspicion gets resolved in an instant.
"Ah, Makli Hyun-ah. You woke up?"
It is because Makli Nobi comes into the room and asks.
'Fortunately, judging by his expression and complexion, it doesn't seem that serious:'
Since Makli Hyun-ah is someone who, since he was young, could read other people's moods unbelievably well, he can tell by reading the mood that the current situation is not that bad.
"Oh, Senior Makli Nobi. How long has it been since I fainted? Did that Heavenly Transfer Plan go well?"
"Yeah, the Heavenly Transfer Plan was completed safely, and we settled into the Righteous Dao Immortal Sect Alliance now, and we also officially joined the alliance. Now the Devilish Path bastards can't attack us recklessly. But..."
Makli Nobi continues with a slightly bad expression.
"You...woke up after 14 years."
Makli Hyun-ah is startled, but he soon reads his face and realizes he is teasing him.
"Hmph, don't lie. If 14 years passed, Senior Makli Nobi should have aged a lot!"
"Originally, cultivators don't age much. They only start to get old after half their lifespan passes."
"Uh...is that so...? But anyway, don't ignore my keen eyes. It's a lie, isn't it?"
"Tch...no fun. Yeah, 14 years is a lie. But even accounting for that, you still fainted for a long time. You lied on the bed for 14 months and wandered on the brink of death."
Makli Hyun-ah looks at Makli Nobi's but 14 months doesn't seem like a joke.
"No, but my body is this fine? Does it make sense to be this refreshed when I've lived down for 14 months and just got up?"
"That's because...the clan's healing formation autonomously expelled the waste products inside your body for 14 months, and made your digestion and various metabolisms operate actively. And the biggest reason is...because you accepted the consciousness of Ancestor Makli Cheon-sa and were possessed by her."
"Ah..."
Makli Hyun-ah nods at the appearance of Makli Cheon-sa that he saw in the dream.
'So up to Makli Cheon-sa, it wasn't a dream.'
"Because of that person's strong consciousness and spiritual energy, you suffered divine fever for 14 months. The reason your body condition feels good is because for 14 months you absorbed the spiritual energy and the power of consciousness of a Heavenly Being stage cultivator into your body, raising your potential."
"S-Such a..."
Makli Hyun-ah cannot believe that just because a being called a Heavenly Being stage cultivator descended into him for a moment, he fainted for that long and suffered divine fever.
"For now, get up. If there's no problem walking, I will explain what happened over the past year or so while we walk for a bit."
"Uh, yes..."
Makli Hyun-ah gets up together with Makli Nobi and comes out of the building.
The building Makli Hyun-ah comes out of is called Makli Clan's new healing center.
"After you fell asleep. The Seogyeong Makli Clan was ruined by the karmic retribution they accumulated all this time. Martial artists of the Blooming realm who have many grudges against the Devilish Path bastards, and another devilish sect. And the clans of the orthodox factions that were plundered by them...even the forces of the righteous sects that fought them before, jointly attacked the Seogyeong Mali Clan, and so they ended up collapsing and getting completely ruined.
"In the process, with something like the Shaman Family Method or whatever, they summoned and used the power of monsters from other words and an Upper Realm Four-Axis stage cultivator, and while doing so they also inflicted irreparable damage on the forces that attacked them. It was practically mutual destruction. Anyway, like that...our roots collapsed, and now our Lianshan Makli line has become the only Makli Clan."
"Ohhh...then now, when we distinguish between the two, without saying Lianshan Makli or Seogyeong Makli, if we say Makli Clan it is unconditionally our Lianshan Makli Clan?"
"Yes, now that the main family has collapsed, we are the main family. From now on, on the continent, people will think the Makli Clan means us."
"It was confusing to distinguish, so this works out well."
"I think so too."
Makli Hyun-ah looks around at the buildings of the Makli Clan's 'main family' that changed here and there.
Not only the healing center, but the locations of the Beast Stable and so on also all changed.
"Anyway, we've become the orthodox Makli Clan, and afterwards, we joined the Righteous Dao Immortal Sect Alliance. We are now clearly a righteous faction."
"Ohhhh...I see."
'In the survey, I choose the Devilish tendency though...,'
As Makli Hyun-ah feels a bit of irony, Makli Nobi continues speaking while sending a slightly apologetic look.
"And...I have nothing I can say to you, but as a condition for the Makli Clan to join the Righteous Dao Immortal Sect Alliance, we handed over part of the formula of your Innate True Method, the Naming Dao Conferring Gods Canon, to the Alliance. Thanks to that, the Righteous Dao Immortal Sect Alliance also came to know about what is called the 'Naming Family Method'... On behalf of the clan, I apologize for taking your method without permission."
"Ah, no. Wasn't the Makli Clan's anyway?"
"From what I hear...it is an Upper Realm method you personally received from Elder Makli Cheon-sa?"
"Pardon?"
It is when Makli Hyun-ah is about to feel puzzled.
"Back then, when you took the three method books with white covers from the library, you flew into a strange other-dimensional space."
A beautiful woman in a blue robe approaches nearby.
She places her hands on Makli Nobi and Makli Hyun-ah's shoulders and naturally continues speaking.
"What you obtained there was clearly Ancestor Makli Cheon-sa calling you into that other-dimensional space and giving you a wordless gift."
"Pardon? Uh...is that so?"
"That is how it is."
Makli Hye-seo, who comes up to them and joins the conversation, speaks to Makli Nobi.
"I will explain about the compensation, so go on. You worked hard taking care of Makli Hyun-ah all this time."
At those words, Makli Nobi's face suddenly turns bright red as he clears his throat awkwardly and bows his head to Makli Hye-seo.
"Ah, it was nothing. Then, I will be going now!"
"Alright."
Makli Hyun-ah watches that and asks Makli Hye-seo.
"Uh...has Senior Makli Nobi been nursing me all this time?"
"It wasn't to the point of nursing. Just when the healing formation of the healing center drew the waste in your body out through your skin, Makli Nobi was the one who came and wiped down your body here and there."
"Ah, I see. I should express my thanks later."
"That is a good thought."
Makli Hye-seo looks at Makli Hyun-ah and speaks.
"First, I should explain more about your constitution, the Extreme Ghost Path Body. Hweol-ah explained about your constitution to you last time, yes?"
"Ah yes, I heard roughly that it is a medium constitution that is good for powerful ghosts or spirits to descend into."
"Right. A typical 'Ghost Path Body' is like that. But among those Ghost Path Bodies, you, whose purity is at the utmost extreme as an 'Extreme Ghost Path Body', are not merely targeted by simple divine spirits or ghosts. Some kind of phenomenon, or law...forgotten history...things like ancient force also become naturally captivated by you and come looking for you."
"...?"
"In short...the method books you obtained in the library are not the Makli Clan's method books."
Makli Hyun-ah trembles as he realizes the identity of the strange sense of incongruity he felt when he chose those method books.
"Th-Then, just what..."
"They are forgotten powers that took an interest in you. This is a fact only the clan head and I know. To others, they are recognized as Upper Realm methods that Ancestor Makli Cheon-sa gave, so know it that way and answer that way. As for forgotten powers, there is no good in having many people know."
"Uh...isn't it good if many people know?"
"I also thought that once, but...they say that if you come to know to whom the forgotten power was forgotten by, you cannot accept that terror and will go insane."
To [whom] it was forgotten? Then does that mean there is something that made things like the Naming Family Method or the Confucian Family Method be forgotten?'
"Th-There is such an existence?"
"Who knows. They say it is the one who made the Immortal Cultivation system...I do not know the details either. Anyway, that is not what's important... From now on, go around saying it is an Upper Realm method. Do you understand?"
"Uh...yes."
"Good. Then...anyway, that method book is something the Makli Clan obtained because of your constitution. And while you were unconscious, we leaked the method book that you rightfully obtained through your own fortunate encounter and talent to an outside force. As the price for that, the Makli Clan, at the clan level, intends to grant you what you want. Is there something you want?"
"Um..."
At those words, Makli Hyun-ah scratches his head.
'What I want...'
For now, what he wants most is of course to ascend and take back his older sister, Lee Seo-ah, but since it is something the Makli Clan cannot grant, he sets it aside.
Second, what he wants is to beat up the bear bastard that ate Jegal Mikhail and the guild members and turn it into bear soup. But from what he heard from Makli Hweol, that bear is a demon beast that lives in a place called the Ascension Forest of Ascension Path, so even getting there is hard, and if it is a Grand Perfection Core Formation stage demon beast, even hunting it at present seems close to impossible.
In the end, to achieve those two things, there is nothing but Makli Hyun-ah's own realm becoming stronger.
'Then the best way for me to become strong is...'
Makli Hyun-ah understands first that, in order to defeat that bear, he has to surpass the Core Formation stage.
Because even if he becomes the Core Formation stage by cultivating for several decades,
By that point, the bear, who is already at the Grand Perfection Core Formation stage, will accumulate cultivation and reach at least the half-step Nascent Soul stage, or in the worst case reach the Nascent Soul stage.
'In other words...I have to think of a method that can cultivate to the Core Formation stage and beyond.'
Among the methods that can be learned starting from the Core Formation stage or higher, first there is the Confucian Family Method called the Pacifying Myriad Demons under the Heavens Survey.
And for cultivating that Confucian Family Method, there is something indispensable.
"High-intelligence demon beasts...and a wide expanse of land to command such demon beasts is needed."
"Hmm...if it is highly intelligent demon beasts, are you talking about something like that raccoon-dog?"
"That kind of guy is fine too, but I would like ones that are even smarter."
"Hmm...then demon beasts that possess Immortal Beast bloodline are suitable. Representative ones are the Sea Dragon Race, Sacred Peng Race, and Great Tiger Race. Those ones have intelligence no different from humans starting from the Qi Refining stage"
"Hm?"
Makli Hyun-ah recalls the demon beasts of the Sea Dragon Race in the Makli Clan.
"But the Blue-Eyes Sea Dragons do not really speak human words like my Badger either...nor do they seem to be able to communicate..."
"That is...they have human intelligence, but because they are still young fellows, they speak only in Demon Speech, so to them, human language is no different from a hard-to-learn alien language, Even humans have difficulty becoming fluent in a foreign language from childhood, so how much more so for the Demon Race?"
"Ah...if it's a foreign language, it can't be helped."
Makli Hyun-ah scratches his head and asks her a question.
"Then it seems I should learn the Demon Race language."
"I ask because I am curious, but...why are those things needed? I am asking because I am curious about your purpose, and if I know your purpose, the clan can also support you more usefully and efficiently."
He nods at those words, and decides to reveal his goal quickly.
'The cultivation method of the Confucian Family Method, Pacifying Myriad Demons, is not simple.'
"Nation establishment."
Founding a country.
At first, the Confucian Family Method starts with becoming a local tiger of a small territory, or as a powerful landlord with authority.
Then, as one gradually expands influence, broadens territory, one grows while receiving respect and recognition from all beings.
Thus, when one attains the level of a feudal lord or warlord, one reaches the Nascent Soul stage, and at last, when one establishes a country and can call themselves king...
Only then do they reach the Heavenly Being stage.
'Up to the Heavenly Being stage is something I have to progress over for quite a long time...but to catch the bear, I have to rise at least to a realm that corresponds to the Nascent Soul stage.'
"Is that the cultivation method of that Confucian Family Method you discovered?"
"That is so."
"Hmm...good. If it is territory, there is one sea region that the Righteous Dao Immortal Sect Alliance tossed to us as if doing us a favor, so I can entrust the governance right of that place to you. However, as that place has almost no spirit veins or resources, and is a rough and worthless place where only sea demon beasts including the Sea Dragon Race live in abundance...if you just go, cultivation is almost impossible. Therefore...
"We will communicate at the clan level with the Sea Dragon Race and ensure friendly relations are formed with the Makli Clan. We will try to tell them as much as possible that you are the ruler of that territory. Of course, afterwards, whether you can or cannot receive their recognition, found a country, do this and that, and properly cultivate the method depends on your own realm. Do not neglect tempering and cultivation."
"Yes!"
"And I will have Hweol-ah teach you about the Demon Race language later as well.
"Yes, thank you very much!"
Thus, Makli Hyun-ah hears about compensation from Makli Hye-seo, and continues cultivation in the Makli Clan.
Like so, 50 years pass.
***
Kurururung!
Black clouds gather in the sky, and from one place in the territory of the Makli Clan, a sound of thunder rings out.
And soon,
Kwarurung!
From the sky, 'black lightning' strikes down and falls onto a single spot.
Kwagwagwang!
At the same time, from the place where the lightning falls, Makli Hyun-ah stretches out both arms and scatters talismans into the air.
From inside the talismans, phantoms of countless numbers of demon beasts appear and block the black lightning.
However, the black lightning strikes down without end, and soon the phantoms of the demon beasts also scatter.
But then, when Makli Hyun-ah raises his arm, countless 'names' begin to float up over Makli Hyun-ah's skin.
With names and letters floating over his whole body, when Makli Hyun-ah widens his eyes, countless names stretch out from Makli Hyun-ah's hand and fill the air.
A gigantic black lightning strikes those names head-on.
Soon those names scatter and vanish in an instant, but as many new names fill the place as the vanished names, and they block the black lightning.
And finally,
Kwagwagwang!
After a powerful black lightning strikes down one last time,
The sky begins to clear, and the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy around Makli Hyun-ah begins to surge.
Tsuaaaaaaat!
Around Makli Hyun-ah, thousands, tens of thousands of [names] surge like grains of sand in waves and cover Makli Hyun-ah, and soon those names are sucked into Makli Hyun-ah's body.
The absorbed names gather into one around his dantian, and create one black-colored core.
A pitch-black core made only of names!
The moment the Black Core is completed, Makli Hyun-ah's consciousness domain and momentum strengthen exponentially and press down on the surroundings.
Kururururung!
Makli Hyun-ah succeeds in advancement.
"Hoho, you succeed in the advancement. Congratulations on becoming a Core Formation cultivator, Daoist Makli Hyun-ah."
At Makli Hyun-ah's success, Makli Hweol, who stood nearby as Makli Hyun-ah's law protector, approaches with a hoho and claps for him.
Makli Hyun-ah clears his throat and speaks.
"It's been really long...50 years..."
Even though he does recognize that 50 years is not a long time to a cultivator, still, when he experiences it in reality, it is a time long enough to make him go mad.
"Usually, when reaching the Nascent Soul stage, I know that the lightning tribulation brings down golden lightning or blue lightning...but when Daoist Makli Hyun-ah reached the Qi Building stage and the Core Formation stage, black lightning stormed in. Is it because of the Naming Family Method that you cultivate?"
"Uh...that's probably it, isn't it?"
Makli Hyun-ah thinks that because he learned the power of a completely different system, it seems the heavens also drop a completely different Heavenly Tribulation.
'It was like that even at the seventh star of the Qi Refining stage. I tried to receive a bit of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, and black clouds rose up...if I hadn't prepared one thousand demon beast talismans, I would have failed the Seven Stars Ritual right then.'
There were even times when it felt like the world is tormenting him.
"But anyway, I endured even the lightning tribulation and finally rose to the Core Formation stage!"
It was a long time.
For 50 years, if he wasn't absorbed in the Talisman War tournament, he definitely would've gone crazy.
"Hoho, congratulations. Now, at last, you can receive the governance right of the western sea region that Elder Makli Hye-seo promised."
"Yes. Now I can finally cultivate Pacifying Myriad Demons under the Heavens Survey too. And..."
Makli Hyun-ah recalls the bear that ate Jegal Mikhail, and his gaze flares.
'There's not that much time left until I make that bear bastard into bear soup.'
Makli Hyun-ah thus vows revenge, goes around with Makli Hweol to give greetings throughout the Makli Clan, receives the title of Elder of the clan, and at last is acknowledged as a Core Formation cultivator of the Makli Clan.