Chương 580: Radiance Ten Heavens (光明十天) (9)

Inside a warm light.

I see a [yellow snake] illuminated within, feeling as if I am being drawn toward it.

And then, at some moment—

"... Huh?"

I suddenly snap to my senses.

Inside a dark, enclosed chamber.

I am hanging upside down.

'... Where... is this? Why am I like this?'

Kiiiiik!

Just as I am lost in thought, the door to the chamber creaks open, and a familiar face appears.

"Ah...! Master!"

It is Cheongmun Ryeong.

He glances down at me briefly before raising a six-sided club (육모 방망).

"Uh, Master?"

Before I can even ask a question, Cheongmun Ryeong begins beating me mercilessly with the six-sided club.

"Kuaaaaaaaagh! Master! Why in the world are you doing this!?"

Utterly unable to comprehend the situation, I cry out for an explanation.

"You scoundrel! Do you not know your own sins!?"

But Cheongmun Ryeong rebukes me coldly and continues to beat me relentlessly. I can do nothing but scream under my master's blows.

"Kuaaaaaaaagh! Master! Please spare me!"

"Keheuk... kugh..."

Strangely, the blows themselves are not particularly forceful.

Yet, my master's beating is excruciatingly painful.

I have always had a high tolerance for pain, but his blows bypass all my resistance as if landing directly on something fundamental within me.

After being beaten for a long time, I hang there, gasping for breath.

"Haa... haa, kuh..."

Chwaaak!

My master splashes water onto my upside-down body and asks,

"Do you not repent your sins even a little?"

"M-Master..."

I look at the six-sided club still in his hand and cry out urgently.

"Th-This disciple. I believe I have lost my memory. I truly do not know why I am being beaten. Please, tell me the reason."

"Hmm?"

Hearing my question, Master tilts his head, bending down to meet my eyes.

'... Huh?'

At that moment, I notice something strange.

The reflection of myself in Master's eyes looks... off.

'Why? Why do I feel strange?'

"... I see. You are not Gwak Am."

"Huh, pardon?"

At the mention of the name Gwak Am (गाॐ), a pain pierces my head.

For some reason, the bandaged face reflected in Cheongmun Ryeong's eyes feels strange and unfamiliar.

'... Who is Cheongmun Ryeong? My master's name is not Cheongmun Ryeong...'

My body trembles at the sudden surge of confusion.

"... No ordinary being could possess my disciple... That means someone with the same connection... I see. A disciple from the future? It is impossible for a future existence to come to the past, so... I see. Is it a lingering thought left in the past? I understand now. I was defeated, this is a dream. I am merely a lingering thought."

Muttering incomprehensible words, Master nods before waving his hand.

Tung, kwadadang!

The rope binding me is cut, and I am freed from my suspended state.

"M-Master?"

"Let's see... Regardless, to connect to my lingering thought, there must be a medium. What could it have been? Did you say you lost your memory? Do you remember the last thing you saw before that happened?"

"P-Pardon? Ah... I think I saw [yellow snake]."

"Hm, if it was a snake... it must be one of two things. Either you were in the middle of the Vestige Liberation Immortal cultivation, or you charged into the snake den and gazed directly into the Origin Essence of Light. If you intruded into the snake den, it could be an urgent situation, so... I will wake you."

"Pardon...?"

As I look up at Master, not understanding his words, he raises the six-sided club high, then brings it down onto the crown of my head with full force.

Kwaaang!

"Kuaaaaaaaagh!"

An overwhelming pain floods my entire body.

I clutch my head and roll on the floor.

Master clicks his tongue as he watches me.

"I intended to awaken you by amplifying your sense of crisis... but seeing as you don't feel any urgency, you must be in a safe place, simply cultivating as a Vestige Liberation Immortal. Your mind already looked somewhat unstable, so... you must have witnessed a great number of [snakes] during your cultivation."

"I-I don't understand what you mean. I can't remember... anything."

Master clicks his tongue and speaks.

"That's expected. If you saw the [snake] multiple times, this is inevitable. Whatever. If the outside is safe, there is no need to wake you immediately. Stay for a few days and reflect upon yourself."

Having finished speaking, Master leaves the room. Instinctively, I move to follow him.

"Master, let me go with you."

As I step out of the chamber, what I see is a small wooden storage shed.

Beside it stands an old thatched house, and Master sits on its wooden porch and begins grinding ink on an inkstone.

Watching him, I instinctively fetch water from a well and fill his water dropper.

It feels like a habit ingrained into my body.

Alongside the ink, Master prepares other pigments and begins painting something on paper.

It is a taenghwa.

As I silently watch him, Master patiently explains.

"This is a hobby a friend of mine taught me. A Buddhist taenghwa is not merely a depiction of divine beings. It captures the meanings they embody."

Suruk, sururuk...

Moving his brush slowly, he continues.

"All things in this world are shaped by meaning. Therefore, if one understands the meaning of the world, anything can be painted as a taenghwa. In a way, everything in the universe, every affair of this world... is a Buddha."

His words seem to carry an inexplicable wisdom.

"... There. It is finished."

Though it feels like he barely moved his brush, a completed taenghwa now rests beneath his hand.

At the center is a Wheel of starlight engraved with the Three Great Ultimates.

The Wheel burns above a small candle flame, while the shadows beneath the candle take the form of a black snake biting its tail, glaring at the Wheel of starlight.

"What do you see in my drawing?"

"..."

Master strokes his goatee and glances at me as he asks.

But I simply stare at the taenghwa for a long while, unable to open my mouth.

An inexplicable wisdom seems to be embedded in the drawing.

"I will ask again. What do you see in what I have drawn?"

"... Circle (圓)... I see three circles."

On the outermost, the [Black Snake Biting Its Tail].

In the middle, the [Wheel of Starlight].

At the very center, the [White Three Great Ultimates].

The three circles seem to be the core of this taenghwa.

"Your eyes are keen. You pierced through the diagram at a glance. It is a diagram that cannot be understood without effort to the point of bleeding from one's hands. You must be someone who has put in significant effort..."

"... Pardon?"

I cannot follow Master's words at all.

'Why is he speaking as if he's seeing me for the first time?'

"But is that all you see?"

"... When I focus on the center of the Three Great Ultimates, I seem to see something more. It seems to be using an optical illusion. As the curves of the drawing shift... it seems to show some kind of dharma statue. That dharma statue, which Buddha is it?"

"Well... That, I will not tell you. For now, take this."

"Yes."

I receive the taenghwa Master hands me.

"From today onward, always carry this taenghwa close to your chest. Whenever you have time, look at it. If you do so, you will one day understand the true identity of that dharma statue."

"Yes, I will follow your command."

"Then for now, let us do what we always do to recover your memories."

"Yes! Please teach me! This disciple will definitely recover my memories!"

"Sweep the yard."

"... Pardon?"

"I said, sweep the yard."

Following Master's command, I fetch a broom and begin sweeping the yard.

Inside the thatched house, there are one or two trees whose names I cannot recall, and their fallen leaves are scattered everywhere.

I sweep up all the leaves, making the yard spotless.

Once I finish sweeping, Master orders me to clean the rooms.

After cleaning the rooms, I carefully take out Master's valuables and wipe each one carefully, just as instructed.

Master carries an unusual number of mirrors, and I always make sure to wipe them thoroughly, keeping them clear.

Once cleaning is done, the evening marks the beginning of meditation time.

Master and I sit beneath a tree with a mirror in front of us, meeting our own gazes within the reflection as we meditate.

When I stare into the mirror for long enough, countless stray thoughts and anxieties arise.

Each time, Master instructs me to wipe them away just as I clean the mirrors and sweep the yard.

From evening until the next morning, we sit beneath the tree, endlessly reflecting on ourselves.

And so, several days pass.

Saak, saak...

That day, as always, I finish sweeping the yard before beginning to clean the rooms.

While cleaning the rooms, I suddenly discover something inside Master's wardrobe.

"... Hm?"

Two golden masks.

"What is this?"

For some reason, they are masks that feel familiar, as if I have seen them before.

Suruk, suruk...

Using the cloth I was wiping the mirrors with, I polish the surface of the masks.

A subtle golden radiance seems to emanate from them.

I do not know if they are made of real gold, but they appear extremely valuable.

Looking closely, I notice a barely visible engraving of a [yellow snake biting its tail] on the front of the masks.

The engraving is so faint that it would be impossible to notice without careful observation.

On the back of each mask, at the forehead area, the characters 'Mu (戊)' and 'Gi (己)' are etched.

For some reason, as I continue staring at the masks, I feel as though I am being sucked into them.

I feel an inexplicable impulse to put the mask on my face right away.

However, when I suddenly see my face reflected on the surface of the mask, I flinch and shudder.

'The meditation I have been doing in front of the mirror for the past few days...'

That meditation has helped.

I clear away the stray thoughts of wanting to wear the mask, just as if I were wiping a mirror or sweeping the yard, freeing myself from the desire the mask instills.

Just as I escape the mask's temptation, Master appears behind me.

"Why have you taken that out?"

"Ah, Master, you've arrived. I apologise. Somehow, looking at the mask brought back some thoughts... I was wondering if it might be connected to my memories, so I was looking at it for a moment."

"Hm, as if that could be the case. It has nothing to do with you."

Master strokes his goatee and clicks his tongue.

Staring at the mask, I ask in puzzlement.

"What is this mask?"

"One is a retirement keepsake I took from my old workplace. The other is something I stripped from Gwak Am. I warned Gwak Am never to put it on again, but who knows if Gwak Am is obeying that now."

"Umm..."

"If you understand, put it back where it belongs. I may have crushed the snake's form and put it in my palm, but a snake is still a snake. If you're careless, it will bewitch you."

Following my master's command, I return the masks to their place and wipe down the other mirrors.

After finishing the room cleaning and stepping outside, I see Master drawing another taenghwa.

"What are you drawing, Master?"

"Seeing that mask just now brought back old memories. So, I decided to paint a scene from the past."

In Master's taenghwa, two figures resembling kings are depicted—each clad in golden dragon robes, wearing golden mianguans, and donning golden masks.

One figure's robe bears the character Mu (戊), while the other's bears the character Gi (己).

"This is..."

"This is from when I was in the snake den. The one beside me is Gwak Am. Back then, there was nothing I feared in the world... but once I left the snake den, I realized how terrifying the world truly is."

"Em, the place called the snake den... it sounds like Master's old workplace. It seems like a good place, so why did Master leave?"

"Because I was too curious. The secret of the heart my friend who taught me about the taenghwa whispered to me, the truth of this world, the miracles that occur when a person meets another... I was unbearably curious. That is why I left the snake den with the mask, took it off with my own hands, and started everything anew."

Master's past begins to unfold from his lips.

"A being who reaches the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao and attains a Seat—if they abandon that Seat, their cultivation resets. Even if one has reached the realm of Immortal Lord, they would fall to become a Vestige Liberation Immortal. Of course, that applies to ordinary Seats. The stronger the power of one's Seat, the greater the loss in realm. The Seat I stood upon in the snake den was far too powerful, so the moment I abandoned the Seat of the snake, I fell all the way to the third star of the Qi Refining stage."

Whenever I hear terms like Seat, Immortal Lord, or Vestige Liberation Immortal, it feels like my memories are vaguely stirring.

"But even though I had fallen to the third star of Qi Refining, I did not give up. I built everything again from the beginning. My former comrades in the snake den all expected me to die like a bug, but... I endured countless trials and rose again, eventually re-entering the Immortal Family, and stepping once more onto the Immortal Dao. Thus... I attained another Seat. Attaining a Seat not belonging to the snake, I at last surpassed the me of the past when I was in the snake den."

As if an amusing thought has come to mind, Master starts chuckling.

"The reactions of my former comrades back then were priceless. It's because while the mask I took as a retirement keepsake isn't the main body of the Seat, it is a crucial key needed to enter the Seat of the snake den. The entire snake den was thrown into chaos. They thought I had died like a bug and that they could retrieve the key, but out of nowhere, I ended up being enthroned as a Supreme Deity, making them believe they had lost the key for good. So, they decided to go to war with me."

Master strokes the taenghwa.

"If it wasn't for my friend, I would have died without a doubt. My friend helped me. They helped me find refuge in a place untouched by light, and thanks to that, I was not killed. In that place, I shared many enlightenments with my friend, and gradually interpreted the Seat while growing my skills. The snake den was in an uproar. Because the key was never retrieved and my skills only kept getting stronger... they started sending assassins."

Master's hand, which had been stroking the taenghwa, now touches the figure beside the one marked with Mu (戊).

"Of course, not a single assassin ever reached me. The snake den where the venom reached its peak eventually sent the strongest being within their ranks at the time as an assassin. And that was..."

Master, who had been stroking the taenghwa of the figure inscribed with Gi (己), suddenly pats my shoulder.

For some reason, even though my shoulder is being touched, I feel my heart being at ease.

"The newly appointed Field Garden Heavenly Lord. Gwak Am."

"...!"

No memories surface, but I instinctively feel that this story is of immense importance.

"The snake den always operates in pairs. Great Forest and Flower Plant. Great Sun and Torch Candle. Castle Wall and Field Garden. Sword Spear and Pearl Jade. Great Sea and Rain Dew. Of course, in emergencies, such rules are often ignored, but... Regardless, each pair forms a unit, and the sins of one are also borne by the other. So, to capture me—the one who defected from the snake den—my former partner was sent."

"..."

"Back then, that one was known as the strongest in the snake den. The only one who could fight a Governing Immortal in a one-on-one battle and win. But after I fought that one fairly and grasped victory... I, in the end, took them as my disciple. I also took their mask and kept it. Kukuk... I can still remember the snake den foaming at the mouth over it."

Master, stroking his goatee and laughing, places his finger on the completed taenghwa.

At that moment, I flinch in surprise.

Chiiiiik...

The taenghwa begins to burn.

Smoke rises from Master's fingertip, and soon, flames engulf the taenghwa.

"Wh-Why are you burning it?"

"I drew it out of nostalgia, but drawing the past when I wore the mask is unpleasant. Is there a problem?"

"Master put a lot of effort into drawing it. It feels like a shame."

"A shame... huh. Is it really a shame?"

"... Pardon?"

Master gazes at me with sharp eyes and asks,

"Is it not that you are ensnared by the venom of the snake and wish to gaze upon its symbol longer?"

"... What are you...?"

"The snake den is Radiance Hall. They are the owners of light."

Wo-woong!

For some reason, my head starts hurting.

The moment I hear those words, something submerged deep within me begins to rise.

Something in my memories begins to resurface.

"Only after leaving the snake den did I realize. They follow fate. They sincerely believe they are following the proper fate and guiding the world righteously. But... they are wrong. We believed we acted of our own free will, but in truth, from the very beginning, we were being controlled. Are you not the same!?"

"Master! Disciple is not being controlled!"

"Then why are you still here, you dull-witted brat! Do you still not understand the meaning of the taenghwa I gave you?"

Master suddenly flares up at me and rises from his seat.

At some point, a six-sided club is already in his grasp.

That six-sided club is so painful that even I, who have grown accustomed to pain, can barely endure it. Frightened, I plead.

"Master! Please forgive me. Your disciple is too dull-witted to grasp your words. Disciple merely wiped the mirror and swept the yard as Master commanded!"

"Wiped and swept, you say... Do you even know what kind of tree the leaves you've been sweeping came from?"

I look at the trees Master points to and shake my head.

"Disciple's discernment is shallow, so I do not know. Please enlighten me."

"That is called the Bodhi (菩提) tree. I will ask again. Do you know what it is you have been sweeping and wiping?"

"... Bodhi (菩提)..."

Hearing that word, I feel something aching in my head.

What is it that have I been sweeping and wiping all this time?

Is it not obviously mirrors and the Bodhi tree?

Yet, for some reason, I have a feeling that this is not the answer Master wants.

I rack my brain desperately.

To avoid the six-sided club.

To avoid pain!

As I strain my thoughts, a certain scene comes to mind.

—All things in this world are shaped by meaning. Therefore, if one understands the meaning of the world, anything can be painted as a taenghwa. In a way, everything in the universe, every affair of this world... is a Buddha.

These are words Master once spoke to me.

And in that instant, as if thunder strikes my mind, I look up at him.

If all things are meaning, then what I have been wiping and sweeping are not mirrors and the Bodhi tree.

In the end, I have merely been cleansing and cleaning my meaning.

My vision blurs.

The surroundings begin to distort like a fading dream.

'Meaning... In this world, there is nothing but meaning. Then... what is that meaning? What meaning exists in this world? In this world...'

Suddenly, something flashes through my mind like lightning.

Cheongmun Ryeong.

The name Cheongmun Ryeong.

And I recall what I have learned under that name.

The long years of study, from the 1st to the 14th star of Qi Refining.

The enlightenment of all dharma formulas, from the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends to One Origin One Convergence.

Yes.

All formulas within Qi Refining ultimately return to One Origin.

All meanings ultimately return to a single meaning.

'If all meanings are, in truth, one... I see. Neither the mirrors nor the Bodhi tree truly existed.'

Tears stream down my face as I bow before the being in front of me.

"... Thank you, Master."

"... Have you understood?"

A warm smile appears on their face.

The figure before me is not Master in the form of Cheongmun Ryeong.

It is the symbol of the [yellow snake].

That snake is not biting its tail to form a circle; instead, it draws a circle by spiraling outward.

Yes, this snake is forming a helix (螺旋).

"All spells are, in truth, one. Qi, Soul, Fate are all one. All meanings are also one... everything is one. The essence of Immortal Arts is connecting with that 'one'."

Before I realize it, my body has returned to that of 'Seo Eun-hyun,' clad in a white robe.

"Radiance Ten Heavens or whatever... do not be bound by formulas. Only reaching the 'one'... is the true way to reach the ultimate."

"... Yes. I will... do so without fail."

With deep enlightenment, I shed tears and bow to my master.

They are Cheongmun Ryeong, the Salt Sea Supreme Deity, the Yellow Snake, and also the Fifth Seat of the Radiance Ten Heavens, Castle Wall Heavenly Lord.

At last, I open my eyes.

Before me, six suns have appeared.

Six million years have passed.