Chapter 475: Heavenly Evil, Cheon Yura (4)
True Martiality, Bright Net Virtuous Flow.
After narrowly escaping death multiple times, I awakened the Earth Sage Body, and using it as a stepping stone, I finally stepped into the realm of True Martiality.
At that moment, I instinctively realized one thing.
‘If I completely master this True Martiality, I will no longer be able to walk this world.’
Though it presents itself as martial arts, this is the perfect domain of a god.
The moment I complete the True Martiality, all the divine protections that had shielded me before, would be rendered void, and like the Cheontae-jong, I too would surely be forcibly exiled to the Higher Realm.
‘Of course, I’ll be safe for now.’
For the time being, the qi of that Heavenly Evil, which had stained the entire world crimson, would protect me.
Ironically, the heavenly calamity itself would serve as a breakwater to shield me.
But in the end, it was only a temporary reprieve.
Once the Heavenly Evil was eliminated and the Heavenly Qi receded, the conclusion I would face would remain unchanged.
Then, should I complete the True Martiality, or should I leave it unfinished?
The answer was simple.
“I must complete it, no matter what.”
The Heavenly Demon Founder let out a faint smile upon hearing my answer.
“Huhu, how grandly arrogant.”
I thought that smile was a mocking one.
Indeed, this was a realm that could rightfully be called the pinnacle of martial arts.
A realm that even the so-called world’s best of any era, let alone the vast majority of martial artists, would pass through life without even recognizing its existence.
To claim I was judging whether to complete such a realm—if I were in his shoes, as my master, I too would be dumbfounded.
But unexpectedly, he wasn’t mocking me.
“To think a disciple who’s stepped into the domain of the gods still chooses to live for the sake of others… I envy you.”
“……”
From his eyes, I felt a sincere envy directed at me.
And to such words, the answer had always been the same.
“Realms are merely means. My purpose has never changed, not from the beginning until now.”
All this hardship, I endured for the sake of one person alone.
And.
“Isn’t that the same for you as well, Master?”
“……”
The Heavenly Demon Founder, too, like other martial artists, had not pioneered realms for his own sake.
His expression, which had carried a smile, slightly dimmed at my words.
“…Who knows.”
A self-deprecating murmur escaped his lips.
“Unlike you, who resolved to turn the entire world into an enemy for the sake of one person, I became ensnared by the ideal of saving the world and failed to properly see that one person.”
While we both pursued martial arts as a means, the paths walked by the Heavenly Demon Founder and I stood on completely opposite extremes.
“That is why, as I’ve said before, I hope your conclusion is different from mine.”
I responded to those words with self-mockery.
If only things could go the way we wished.
Just then—
Tsssss—
Suddenly, the body of the Heavenly Demon Founder began to be dyed in darkness.
“To bring about that ending, as your master, I shall now fulfill my final role.”
Crack! Crack!
Suddenly, spiderweb-like cracks began forming throughout the surrounding space.
That was the sign that Heaven of Sacred Spirits had begun to collapse.
“…Master.”
“Truly, I have lived far too long.”
This place was a realm disconnected from the original flow of time.
Accordingly, the units of time that passed here differed greatly from the real world.
When the Heavenly Demon Founder spoke of ‘too long,’ it surely did not refer to mere centuries.
“I apologize, disciple. Though I call it my role, in the end, I’ve placed yet another burden on you.”
His eyes slowly closed.
“Farewell. And…”
—■■■
The Heavenly Demon Founder conveyed a few parting words via telepathy.
I nodded, savoring his words.
“Yes, I will remember them.”
“Huhu, good. I’ve said all I needed to. Now, at last…”
His slowly closing eyes fell upon the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword that I held in my grasp.
“Please take care of the youngest, everyone.”
His eyes closed completely, and soon, a new eye began to open on his forehead.
Kugugugung!
A massive quake shook all of heaven and earth, and the once peaceful Heaven of Sacred Spirits began to overturn.
I watched as the being that had once been the Heavenly Demon Founder grew ever larger.
Having shed the persona of the Heavenly Demon Founder completely, he was now the end that he had originally met in history—
A fallen fragment of the Earth Sage Body, or perhaps the entity once called the Demon Immortal.
In a single moment, the soul crossed beyond the current world and headed somewhere else.
In that fleeting instant, as I finished a brief flashback to the past, I opened my eyes—naked—in an unknown place.
A location where a massive pillar of light stood.
A place unlike both the material realm and the Higher Realm—a metaphysical realm that did not exist in reality.
A place where the mind, qi, and body must all surpass singularities to reach—called the Divine Domain by some, and the Formless Realm by others.
Among the mortals of this age, I alone had reached this place.
I slowly extended my hand toward the pillar of light unfolding before me.
The moment I reached out and resonated with that pillar, I would be able to manifest my own ideal in the lower world, in the form of True Martiality.
Just as I was about to activate Bright Net Virtuous Flow—
—So, you have transcended humanity and finally reached this place?
“……!”
A voice was heard that should not have been.
A presence that should not exist was now felt beside me.
I slowly turned my gaze toward the source of the presence that had appeared.
There stood a naked figure, seemingly in the shape of Yura, staring in this direction.
I called it Yura’s shape and not Yura herself because, unlike me, her face was covered by a pure white mask.
Although I could not see her expression, I could tell she was mocking me.
—What’s wrong? Did you truly believe you alone were qualified to come here?
‘…How?’
This place was the Divine Domain.
Since it was a divine realm called Heavenly Evil, she certainly had the qualifications…
‘But Yura’s physical body shouldn’t be able to reach this place?’
Even if she had the Divine Demon Body, her physical form itself had not yet reached its pinnacle.
Originally, it should have been impossible for her to reach here.
—Curious about the reason? I suppose I could tell you.
She tapped the mask she wore lightly.
—……!
Now that I looked, something unusual was emanating from that mask.
After a moment of focus, I finally understood the true nature of that mask.
‘The body of Heavenly Evil that had fallen in Heaven of Sacred Spirits!’
She had used that body to cheat her way into this place!
—Impressive. To think a being of the lower realm could reach this far. Not even that one from a thousand years ago or the two from four hundred years ago made it here.
She slowly reached out toward the pillar of light.
—But now is the most perfect time in all of history. Blame your misfortune on being born in the wrong era.
At that moment, I instinctively sensed that something had activated alongside Bright Net Virtuous Flow.
—True Word, Erasure of Karmic Hindrance.
At the moment Bright Net Virtuous Flow was activated.
Something also activated from Yura’s entire body.
A pure white light enveloped us, and that light soon transformed into a massive pillar soaring toward the sky.
Kugugugugung!
A tremendous resonance shook the world.
The resonance that echoed through the heavens and earth lasted about one moment, then vanished.
Yura and I were gripping each other’s collars, staring into each other’s eyes.
Surprisingly, despite everything that had occurred, nothing had happened between us.
No—there was exactly one thing that had happened.
The disappearance of the subspace created through Mirror of Karma.
Before we realized it, she and I had been flung to some place on Mount Tai.
“Amazing.”
Sssk.
Yura was the first to release her grip from my collar as she spoke.
“The power to erase karmic hindrances from countless lives. For you, it’s practically a natural enemy. Yet you managed to counter it with a mutual annihilation.”
“……”
Countless lives.
The most fitting way to describe my current self.
“You called it Bright Net Virtuous Flow? Indeed, that technique is a natural enemy to what I am now.”
She didn’t immediately follow up with another move and took a breath instead.
From her expression, I could sense she was slightly fatigued.
Even though her essence had grown close to Heavenly Evil, that True Word just now had clearly consumed an enormous amount of energy from her.
However, that didn’t mean the current situation was particularly advantageous for me.
“What now? You won’t be able to set foot there again any time soon, will you?”
As she said, True Martiality was not something I could activate twice in a short span, even now.
This was a desperate secret art that twisted and distorted the laws of all creation—one that had to be used with the resolve that it was all or nothing.
And I would also have to brace for the backlash if it didn’t succeed.
She raised her sword and smiled.
“Would you mind just letting yourself be devoured now? I’m starting to grow weary of dealing with you.”
Heavenly Net.
The blade of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, imbued with two spirals, shot forth.
“……Kuh!”
I hastily defended with the Heavenly Demon Seal, but her blade shattered it and drove straight into my abdomen.
Chwarururuk!
I gave my all to stop it from completely piercing through, but in the end, I couldn’t avoid being driven into the cliff’s edge, leaving a long trail behind.
“Hahaha! It’s clear as day who’s more exhausted.”
“Huu, huu…!”
I gasped for breath as I roughly pulled the sword blade lodged in my abdomen.
“Of course, with your current self, you could recover from such a wound easily enough. However….”
She slowly approached as she spoke.
“You feel it too, don’t you? What will happen if this fight goes to the end. At best, it’ll end in mutual destruction, but that’s precisely why it favors me more.”
“……”
“You won’t be able to save Cheon Yura. In that case….”
Now standing before me again, she reached out and lightly grasped my chin.
She smiled seductively.
“Wouldn’t it be better to become one with me by being devoured?”
“To become one…”
I examined her face closely.
Her eyes now emitted that ominous, pure white light unique to Heavenly Evil.
“Yes. If I take you, I will be perfectly reborn. No, I will be reborn as an even more transcendent divine being by gaining the power of the Earth Sage.”
Her lips slowly moved closer to mine.
“Don’t worry. You will live forevermore in happiness, dreaming alongside the Cheon Yura you love.”
To live with Yura for eternity in happiness...
“That wouldn’t be so bad, admittedly.”
“Right?”
Her smile deepened.
Just as her cherry-like lips were about to press completely against mine—
“Still, some things just can’t be allowed.”
Thwip!
Two fingers covered in dirt blocked the space between our lips.
“……”
I gave a faint, slightly different smirk from hers.
“My lips are only for Yura.”
“I am Cheon Yura. Even if you keep denying it…”
“No.”
I cut her off.
“That may have been true up until a moment ago, but at least now, it’s not.”
“…What?”
I could be sure of it.
Earlier, I truly couldn’t distinguish between Yura and Heavenly Evil.
But the moment that being wore the mask and used what was called the True Word, Yura and Heavenly Evil—the two entities—had become too unstable to be called a single whole.
I spoke to ‘that’ whose expression was gradually hardening.
“My master said it. That everything I had prepared might not work.”
“……”
“If that happens, I’ll pay an enormous price… but I’ll definitely have at least one solid chance.”
I then roughly grabbed her mouth.
“He said the moment you stepped into the Divine Domain like me would be the most decisive opportunity.”
I feared it might happen, but it really did.
I would never let this opportunity slip away.
“The first is sense, the second is vitality.”
Fwoosh!
The three blessings I was born with in this world activated once again.
The sense I had already awakened became maximized, the vitality I had once lost became reactivated through my heart,
And the final third blessing, which had previously failed to activate, now revealed its full power.
“The third is fate.”
“…You bastard!”
Crack! Craack!
I slowly grabbed its head and rose to my feet.
“I will twist fate and save Yura.”
Even if it costs me everything.