Chương 519: Festival Of The Eve (前夜祭) (5)

Some might wish to argue against it, but...

I am not actually a fool.

Of course, there are times when I exhibit symptoms akin to dementia, especially when searching for specific memories amidst the overwhelming volume stored within the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

However, I have never forgotten the memories of the important moments in my life.

Naturally, I still remember every detail of the time when I opened my mouth recklessly, leading to the entire Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and the sky island being grinded to dust.

At the same time, I also remember that the Owner of Heavenly Punishment wasn't even detectable by my mere Nascent Soul stage celestial energy foresight.

No, to be honest, it is only natural for even beings on the level of Sacred Masters to fail in predicting the movements of Governing Immortals.

Thus, the reason I summoned the projection of the Owner of Heavenly Punishment isn't because of divination but something else entirely.

It is the knowledge I gained in my previous life, as I was becoming the [Annihilation Flower].

When I became the Annihilation Flower of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, I perceived that Seo Hweol turned into a worm.

Afterwards, as the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable [awakened] me, I regained all the memories I had [forgotten] throughout my cycles.

... Of course, the memories of the 16th cycle still remain completely absent.

In any case, what matters is that I regained all of the memories I had lost while facing immensely powerful beings.

And... among those memories is the true identity of the [entity that had inhabited Jeon Myeong-hoon's body] during the 998th cycle.

Logically speaking, there is only one being capable of possessing Jeon Myeong-hoon's body and evoking such horror in Golden Shaking Bird.

The Owner of Heavenly Punishment!

Without a doubt, it must have been Them who inhabited Jeon Myeong-hoon's body.

Back then, the overwhelming presence of the Owner of Heavenly Punishment had completely paralyzed my thoughts, rendering it impossible to deduce Their true identity properly.

No... perhaps the more accurate expression is that my very origin refused to acknowledge it.

I distinctly remember the attitude the Owner of Heavenly Punishment displayed towards me while inside Jeon Myeong-hoon's body.

It was unmistakably goodwill.

At that time, the Owner of Heavenly Punishment had shown goodwill towards me.

I don't know why, but despite my rather rude and presumptuous behavior towards Them, They neither tortured nor threatened me in any way. Considering this, I can only infer that Their goodwill towards me runs quite deep.

Of course, that alone is not enough to ascertain the true nature of Their goodwill. So, I performed a divination.

A mere Sacred Master's divination naturally cannot reveal the matters of Governing Immortals.

But if it's a Sacred Master, it's possible to establish a [connection].

Hence, I connected to the Owner of Heavenly Punishment.

Shrouded in the power of the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens, created by the Golden Divine, I prepared myself to endure all misfortunes should anything go awry.

After all, when facing True Persons, one must gamble at least that much.

Then...

Connecting to a single strand of the Owner of Heavenly Punishment's will through divination, I received a [revelation].

Although Sacred Masters rarely fall asleep easily, that night, I passed out almost instantly. In my dream, Zhengli appeared and stomped on my head with her foot, saying, 'They will permit it [once].'

When I awoke, the soft sensation of her foot was still vivid, so I immediately began preparing to borrow Their power.

The result is this.

[HGHUAAAAHH!!!] The spears embedded in Baek Woon's main body seem to resonate.

The seven-colored thunder spears resonate, as if engulfing Baek Woon's entire body.

But that is not the end.

Oooooohhh!

Return... Return... I... return to thee...

AcceptthewillofthegreatHeavenlyPunishment...

The True Persons!

Beings each and every one worthy of being called sovereigns of the universe!

Each and every one crazily emits light and begins to transform into lightning!

Pajik, pakijijik...

I feel the tips of my fingers gradually turning into lightning as well.

However, the process is noticeably slower compared to the True Persons, and judging by the impacted area, it seems that the lightning transformation itself will soon cease altogether.

It must be because of the goodwill of the Owner of Heavenly Punishment.

I stare at the beings before me.

The True Persons, after convulsing in the cosmic space, begin quickly entering a dormant state one by one.

It seems they are trying to endure the lightning transformation by focusing solely on recovering their strength while in this dormant state.

However, apart from Baek Woon, the other Sacred Masters Ja Eum, Ban Ta, and Hae Lin appear to be less affected than the True Persons, as I see them expel the lightning from their bodies.

Borrowing the power of the Middle Realms plays a part, but it seems the Sacred Masters themselves are far less vulnerable to the power of True Immortals compared to the True Persons.

Pajik, pajijijik!

Lightning writhes within my brain.

I have long since passed the stage of thinking through electrical signals, yet for some reason, I feel excitement bubbling within me.

I feel an inexplicable urge to torment the beings before me.

I just want to scatter malice upon these beings who seem to be on the brink of death!

[Come forth, Jeon Myeong-hoon. Elixirs are scattered across the heavens.] Normally, once the True Persons have been reduced to this state, there would be no need to torment them further... But for some reason, I want to crush them even more thoroughly.

And then...

At my words, the Star Shattering Esteemed One who's been on standby, Jeon Myeong-hoon steps forwards.

Jeon Myeong-hoon has already reached the mid Star Shattering stage before I knew it.

He begins to exert his power.

Kwarururung!

A Three-Headed Six-Armed Lightning God emerges in the cosmic space and opens its three mouths wide.

With it, the True Persons who entered a dormant state to resist the lightning transformation begin to be pulled into Jeon Myeong-hoon's mouths all at once.

In matters of lightning and tribulation, Jeon Myeong-hoon displays dominance comparable to that of Kang Min-hee.

[—————!] [——!] [!!!!] The True Persons are struck with fear and engage in numerous exchanges of communication among themselves before they start fleeing, seemingly in an attempt to escape the surroundings.

Woo-woong!

They madly leap across spacetime, as if trying to escape from the grasp of Jeon Myeong-hoon.

But Jeon Myeong-hoon stretches out his six arms.

Red Lightning Heavenly Tribulation.

Indra's Net!

Kwajijijik!

Red lightning forms a vast net, covering all of Heaven and Earth.

The fleeing True Persons, afflicted with the curse of lightning transformation, are ensnared in Indra's Net and bound in place.

They roar in fury, unleashing their attacks on Jeon Myeong-hoon, but all are blocked by the Clear Scale Armor, Karmic Fire, and the absoluteness of the Cedarwood Painting.

Kwajijijik!

The True Persons, twisting their bodies in unison, employ the divine powers they have mastered over hundreds of thousands of years, as well as their respective Immortal Arts and Immortal Treasures, and finally break free from Jeon Myeong-hoon's grasp.

But by this point, Jeon Myeong-hoon has already consumed plenty of the lightning transformed flesh of the True Persons, cursed with lightning transformation.

Kurururung!

[It feels like I could fly.] Exuding an aura far more menacing than before he absorbed the True Persons, he smiles with a satisfied expression.

[That aside, it seems like something has taken root in your head.] As he speaks, his hand stretches towards my head.

Pajijijik...

Something like a lightning bolt escapes from my head and is seized in Jeon Myeong-hoon's grasp.

Only then do I feel my mind clear.

'Just now, my mind was strange.'

[Thanks, Jeon Myeong-hoon.] I shake my head vigorously.

I thought I gained the goodwill of the Owner of Heavenly Punishment... but as expected, the goodwill of a True Immortal is, in itself, a misfortune.

It's fortunate that Jeon Myeong-hoon noticed quickly this time, but if he had been even slightly slower, I might have gone completely mad and suddenly unleashed Heavenly Tribulation upon my comrades, killing them.

'... As expected, borrowing the power of Governing Immortals frequently is dangerous.'

Even though the goodwill of Governing Immortals brings misfortune to us, I had thought that the power we acquire directly from them would be fine.

While my Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra was obtained as a fragment from the Salt Sea Supreme Deity, it's something I 'acquired' rather than something They 'bestowed' upon me.

Similarly, the current Yeon's Play is something I 'acquired' from the Mad Lord, and used to summon the memories of when I had seen Them, so I thought it was fine.

But in reality, it seems that something more is at work.

'Perhaps, from the moment the Owner of Heavenly Punishment's gaze landed on this place, it would have been natural for everything here, including myself, to have been completely annihilated. It might be because of Their goodwill that my curse ended with just this...'

I shake my head and look down at Cedarwood Painting.

Once no larger than a single Human Race Sky Island, Cedarwood Painting has grown considerably larger over the past 400 years.

Though it cannot compare to a Middle Realm, it now appears comparable to the Human Race territory.

'The completion of the Artificial Middle Realm is now about 4, 600 years away.'

The Artificial Middle Realm plan is expected to take around 5, 000 years.

Once the Artificial Middle Realm is completed, there should no longer be a need to dangerously project the existence of Governing Immortals or True Immortals through history in this manner.

'Until then... may we endure without becoming corrupted by the Governing Immortals...'

I look at the remaining prophecies left by the True Persons.

Although all the True Persons have all fled and entered dormancy, their prophecies remain.

With only the remaining Sacred Masters, it is impossible to create prophecies about me.

No, it may technically be possible, but it would require drawing heavily on the power of the Middle Realms, placing a significant burden on them.

Therefore, it would be impossible to indiscriminately unleash attacks imbued with the same kind of absoluteness as before.

At last, Baek Woon, having drawn on the power of the Bright Cold Realm to temporarily push the curse of lightning transformation into the 'future,' glares at me as if to kill.

[So, you truly intend to settle this with us to the death.] [When was it ever otherwise?] At my question, Baek Woon grits her teeth and raises one hand, clenching the void.

Tingle, tingle...

I heighten my tension.

Though the True Persons have disappeared, I feel that the real fight is about to begin now.

[Let the stars of the nations hear!] Baek Woon's eyes burn.

She draws upon the power of the Bright Cold Realm, weaving the light of all the stars across Heaven and Earth to construct a formation of star veins.

It is a summoning formation.

Kugugugugu!

Something massive begins to be summoned within the cosmic space.

Jjeooooook!

The Interdimensional Void parts its mouth, revealing the colossal something hidden within.

It is a [world]!

Baek Woon is summoning a part of the Chaos Realm region of the Bright Cold Realm into this place.

But that is not the end.

Ja Eum, Ban Ta, and Hae Lin also begin summoning portions of the True Devil Realm, Purple Gold Realm, and Ancient Force Realm with their respective authorities.

The Sacred Masters of the Middle Realms are summoning parts of their own worlds onto the battlefield.

This undoubtedly signifies their decision to fully unleash genuine True Immortal rank authority.

Dududududu!

A portion of the Bright Cold Realm Chaos Region.

A portion of the Purple Gold Realm Chaos Region.

A portion of the True Devil Realm Ominous Place.

A portion of the Ancient Force Realm Deep Sea descends into the place, blocking the surrounding starlight and directly colliding with the protective barrier of Karmic Fire and Clear Scale Armor.

The Karmic Fire burns but does not spread. Instead, it flickers briefly before its reaction dissipates.

What need does a [world] itself have for karma or punishment?

Because it's not an entity, the Karmic Fire that punishes beings is useless against a world.

'This is a bit troublesome...'

The four worlds encircle Cedarwood Painting, completely enveloping it.

In this state, it is impossible to proceed with the Artificial Middle Realm plan.

Because the Decaying Corpse Realms that I summon will only be devoured by the pieces of the Middle Realms.

It's as if the Sacred Masters are to benefit at our expense.

Kugugugugu!

The four portions of the Middle Realms pierce through the Karmic Fire and Clear Scale Armor before latching onto Cedarwood Painting and beginning to erode it.

Although the will of the Sacred Masters cannot enter the area protected by the Karmic Fire and Clear Scale Armor, the portions of the Middle Realms following their will 'pass through' the Karmic Fire like a ship catching a fair wind.

The Karma Fire and the Clear Scale Armor remain in place, yet the portions of the Middle Realm press forward.

At this rate, Cedarwood Painting will be entirely consumed by the four Middle Realms over the course of thousands of years.

But I do not worry.

[The reason you didn't pull this out when the True Persons were present must be because you feared the Middle Realms might be eroded by them. But... did you never consider that the Middle Realms might be eroded by me?] They ignore my words and continue to erode Cedarwood Painting with the Middle Realms.

[No matter how much of a Sacred Master of True Person-level you are, no matter if you are worthy of being called a Half-Immortal, a Sacred Vessel is still just a Sacred Vessel. You do not possess the unique authority needed to erode the Middle Realms!] At Ban Ta's cold remark, I nod.

[Indeed... that is true.] I cannot counter-erode them.

The Decaying Corpse Realm is of a lower tier than the Middle Realms.

Just as water cannot flow back up a waterfall, a world of lower rank cannot erode one of higher rank.

Perhaps if the difference was more 'somewhat' balanced, like that between the Bright Cold Realm and the True Devil Realm, it might be a different story.

But...

[What does it matter?] That is only the case when one lacks a specialized technique for erosion.

[Come forth, Seo Hweol.] I send a voice transmission to Seo Hweol without letting Ja Eum detect it.

The ultimate weapon of erosion, bound by the leash named Seo Ran, reveals itself at my command.

[Devour the Middle Realms.] Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens begins to exert its power for our side.