Chương 622: Inverted World (3)

Kwarururururung!

The Twin Holding Heavenly Domain trembles.

The entire Heavenly Domain quakes as though an enormous sea of thunderclouds sweeps over it for a brief moment.

At the same time, a tremendous roar engulfs Heaven and Earth.

Countless True Immortals and minor gods gaze toward the source of the roar.

Kurururung!

Then, at the overwhelming momentum emanating from that source, all but a few flinch back.

Kwachijijik!

At that moment, a certain figure spreads across the entire Twin Holding Heavenly Domain.

It is the figure of a giant with three heads and eight arms.

That terrifying-faced giant brandishes its eight arms and lets out a roar.

Kururururung!

After roaring across the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain, the figure of the giant soon dissipates.

And all the True Immortals, as well as those at the Entering Nirvana and Sacred Vessel stages within the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain realize.

A new Middle Realm has been born within the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain.

In other words...

A new Great Net Immortal has been born.

Numerous True Immortals attempt to find and establish ties with the newly born Great Net Immortal.

However, strangely enough, the new Great Net Immortal cannot be found anywhere.

The True Immortals of the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain Merely assume the new Great Immortal is being cautious and, with that understanding, they return to their places.

Meanwhile, in one corner of the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain.

Purple Lotus Realm.

There, Jeon Myeong-hoon, who has finally reached the realm of Great Net Immortal, looks at the man before him with a hardened expression.

"... I have risen to Great Net Immortal."

"Congratulations, Jeon Myeong-hoon."

"... Are you going to continue?"

"Of course."

The man before him.

The Immortal Beast Candle Shadow, the Crystal Glass Being Seo Eun-hyun, smiles faintly, offering a congratulatory smile to the now Great Net Immortal Jeon Myeong-hoon.

Jeon Myeong-hoon turns away, smiling bitterly.

"... Now, it's Hyun-seok Hyung-nim's turn. And Kim Yeon as well, regardless of the circumstances, needs to cultivate the Seat itself, so she'll have to kill you. There are still... twelve more times left, Seo Eun-hyun."

"Is that so...?"

"..."

Finishing his words, Jeon Myeong-hoon turns around and walks away, and in front of Seo Eun-hyun, a burly man appears and stands.

"... Watching Myeong-hoon having to kill you in every lifetime, I always thought it must be painful."

"..."

"But... that, too, is your choice, isn't it? Seo Eun-hyun?"

"It is."

"In that case... I won't kill you with difficulty while looking at you."

Oh Hyun-seok smiles.

"I'll kill you while smiling. So... you shouldn't carry that burden in your heart either."

"Is that so...?"

Seo Eun-hyun gazes at Oh Hyun-seok with an ambiguous expression.

And immediately after, as if having made a decision, Seo Eun-hyun whispers something to Oh Hyun-seok.

A moment later, Oh Hyun-seok's face trembles slightly.

"... I see. Master... Azure Tiger Saint... Master has... Understood."

Oh Hyun-seok speaks with a hardened expression.

"I will use that one called Jun Jae as the key... and head to the Elephant Nose Heavenly Domain to ask. Ask what Master Heon Ryang... has done to Master Azure Tiger Saint."

Seo Eun-hyun nods as he looks at Oh Hyun-seok, and the two exchange words for a while.

A little while later, Oh Hyun-seok raises his fist and kills Seo Eun-hyun.

That, is Seo Eun-hyun's 7th reincarnation.

'Which number is it now?'

How many times have I died and been born again?

How many times have I despaired in a painful life, returning again and again through the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain's Krita Realm, Treta Realm, Dvapara Realm, and Kali Realm?

How many times have I come back, circling through the four Middle Realms?

'... Is that so? The eighteenth time, huh.'

I faintly smile as I at least see Jeon Myeong-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, and Kim Yeon, already reaching the realm of a Great Net Immortal, or levels equivalent to it.

Eighteen reincarnations.

Within each, I suffered endlessly and screamed.

Every time I retrieved my memories, the desire to give up surged over me like a great sea.

But...

Every time.

My comrades became my family.

Because the Flawless Mantra must be completed without 'assistance' granted by fate, my comrades always took the forms of mortal beings and took care of me.

They become my family, my parents.

'That's why, I cannot give up.'

Even if it's to achieve my comrades' goals together.

I can never give up.

Jeon Myeong-hoon's Immortal Dao is the Immortal Dao of Heavenly Punishment.

Kang Min-hee's Immortal Dao is the Immortal Dao of Vice.

Oh Hyun-seok's Immortal Dao is the Immortal Dao of Seven Stars.

Kim Yeon, though she does not follow the system of Immortal Cultivation, says her own Immortal Dao is the Immortal Dao of End of the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord.

Before I knew it, my comrades had one by one reached the realm of a Great Net Immortal.

Woo-woong— And before I know it, As I look at my comrades, I begin to see visions of something gradually forming clearly behind them.

'What is that...?'

Behind Jeon Myeong-hoon, a red dharma statue with three heads and eight arms, bearing a fierce expression, becomes visible.

Behind Kang Min-hee stands a dharma statue holding a medicine bottle, wearing a serene face.

Behind Oh Hyun-seok stands a being performing the Vajra Mudra and Lotus Mudra. The being has one head with two faces, with one face opening its mouth as if pronouncing 'Ah (哦)', and the other as if pronouncing 'Hum (吽)'.

Behind Kim Yeon is an elegant figure, holding a lotus in one hand and wearing a treasure vase (寶甁) atop the crown of its head. The being is surrounded by radiant light imbued with infinite power and envelops Kim Yeon.

Watching those figures, I feel somehow as if my comrades are becoming more distant than before.

'But that's not what's important right now.'

What's important now is...

'My own cultivation.'

From here on, it is the beginning of cultivation for myself.

Thus, I take my own life for the sake of my Upper Immortal cultivation.

"... I'm glad I can see you."

As soon as I enter the Underworld, I look up at Kang Min-hee who is visible.

Before I know it, Kang Min-hee has become one of the Judges of the Underworld.

She looks at me with a sorrowful expression, yet still carries out my punishment alongside the other Judges.

Because she is the Judge of Vice who judges vice itself, she cannot exert much influence when it comes to executing my punishment.

After all, what great vice can someone like me, who merely walks around upside down on their hands, possibly commit?

At most, the only vice she can judge me for is the act of killing microorganisms.

But even so, I still like seeing Kang Min-hee's face briefly in the Underworld.

"Always be there in that seat."

"... Quiet. The sinner... must not show personal emotions."

Kang Min-hee judges me with a bitter smile, and I quickly pass by the other Judges, reaching my next life.

19th cycle.

20th cycle.

21st cycle...

As the cycles of reincarnation gradually accumulate, I continue my Upper Immortal cultivation quickly.

22nd cycle.

23rd cycle.

And then...

24th cycle!

At last, I realize that I have completed the Yin Pitch cultivation.

'Now, it's the late stage of Upper Immortal...'

All I need to do is prepare for the advancement ritual for Great Net Immortal and reach that realm.

But why, I wonder.

'What is this...?'

I blink as I look at myself arriving in the next life.

I live my 25th life, standing on my hands in an incomprehensible state, reciting the Flawless Mantra.

Then just like that, I reach the end of my lifespan and die.

And I come to understand what the problem is.

'I see now... The Immortal Dao of the Mountain hasn't grown sufficiently. That's why, even though it's as if I've annihilated six civilizations, I end up repeating it again.'

Realizing this, I once again utter a prophecy through the Immortal Dao of the Mountain.

:: I prophesize...:: This is a prophecy about my future, and at the same time, a revision.

:: In the place where this Immortal will reincarnate in the future, the mountain this Immortal has accumulated shall accompany... This Immortal shall end life near that mountain.:: Through the power of the Immortal Dao, I prophesize that a mountain will arise in the place where I will be born in the future.

Thus, the cultivation of the Mountain Immortal Dao and the cultivation of the Flawless Mantra resume to proceed side by side.

26th cycle, 27th cycle, 28th cycle, 29th cycle...

It's now the 30th cycle.

Before I know it, the power of my Immortal Dao of the Mountain has grown considerably stronger.

Furthermore, the 'fortune and virtue' accumulated every time I repeat my life also continues to strengthen my fate, and I can feel that my innate talent as a True Immortal is growing stronger.

'Even if I stop cultivating at this point, that alone will bring significant improvement in strength...'

However, there is a problem.

'Even now... the Immortal Dao of the Mountain hasn't grown enough' The talent may have grown, but my strength seems to be something separate.

'It can't be helped.'

I ask for understanding from my comrades.

They still seem emotionally burdened by following my painful lives...

Nevertheless, they continue to support me and become my family.

In this way, I continue reciting the Flawless Mantra.

Gradually, the power of my Immortal Dao of the Mountain grows.

I unendingly kick away my fortune and virtue, living life repeatedly like a madman, standing upside down on my hands and chanting the Flawless Mantra.

At the same time, through prophecy and revision, I create mountains in the places where I will be born.

As time passes, as the cycles repeat, those mountains gradually grow larger.

My Immortal Dao is steadily growing more powerful.

And, as I continue growing mountains, I come to realize that at some point I have gone beyond merely growing mountains and can even create an island.

50th cycle.

I gaze down at the Four Great Middle Realms of the Twin Holding Heavenly Domain.

By now, there are quite a few islands that I have created in the sea of the Four Great Middle Realms.

"Well now... They say one becomes incredibly powerful after learning the Flawless Mantra, but how is it that you, even after repeating 50 lives, are still only at that level?"

One day, Ho Woon came to find me.

"Anyway... now that you've reached the stage where you've moved from 'mountain' to 'island,' you should be starting to feel it. Does your Immortal Crown still show no response?"

"Well, I still... do not feel the Immortal Crown."

"Huu... This is quite... troubling. Still, if you keep at it steadily, there will be results."

"Yes. Thank you. By the way..."

I look at Ho Woon and ask.

"You will be reaching Great Net Immortal anytime now.

"Yeah. Though I can't betray you because every one of your comrades is too much of a monster... stay alert. The moment your comrades lose interest in you, I will betray you."

"Haha, you're honest. But I think... Senior will never be able to betray me."

"Hmph. Anyway, if you've succeeded in going from building mountains to creating islands, the next step is a 'continent'. Accumulate mountains upon mountains and make a continent."

Finishing their words, Ho Woon disappears before my eyes.

I engrave Ho Woon's teaching in my heart and head toward my next life.

The more lives I head towards, I gradually notice that because of the Flawless Mantra, the inherent value of the race I reincarnate into begins to change.

At first, I am nothing more than a lowly human commoner, but before long, as I continue to receive, and receive, and receive fortune and virtue, eventually, my very birth becomes that of an incredibly powerful being.

Kururururung!

At some point, I find myself born directly as a Nascent Soul stage cultivator from the start.

Of course, as soon as I am born as a Nascent Soul cultivator, I become targeted by other cultivators to be used as pill ingredients or as a body to seize.

However, my comrades continue to become my family and protect me.

I keep repeating the prophecy of creating islands, strengthening the power of my Immortal Dao, and ensuring I end up on the isolated islands I created, spending my life there.

Thus, I continue to go to the isolated islands I have made through the power of the Immortal Dao, and in each and every life, I endlessly chant the Flawless Mantra.

And finally, when I reach my 100th reincarnation.

'Ah...'

By now, my fortune and virtue overflows, reaching the point where I am born directly at the Grand Perfection Integration stage.

At this point, there are no longer any beings who trouble me.

Only some True Immortals show mild interest, and my comrades begin to protect me from those True Immortals.

Also, is it perhaps because the Integration stage is when one steps into the door of Immortal Arts?

I obtain a unique Immortal Art through the Flawless Mantra.

"Ah... Aaah..."

The moment I am born, I marvel at the sight before my eyes.

It is Mount Sumeru.

The entirety of Mount Sumeru fits within my eyes.

It is different from the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra.

The 100th life.

From the moment I am born, I obtain an Immortal Art that allows me to observe all of Mount Sumeru within my view.

And I realize something.

'Ah... I see.'

At some point, I began thinking that I was merely repeating being born and dying through the Flawless Mantra.

But that was not it.

The Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity!

At some point, I have come under the influence of the Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity, endlessly repeating this history under the authority of [history repetition] like the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King.

150th cycle.

My Immortal Dao grows steadily stronger, now reaching the state where I can create a continent with a single prophecy.

At my single prophecy, the ground rises, a continent forms, and a natural ecosystem is born.

200th cycle.

Before I know it, I am born as an innate Star Shattering Esteemed One.

=== Author's Note: I'm sorry that I couldn't post more chapters on Hangeul Day! I'll try to make up for it soon! Agh!

By the way, the Heavenly Kings attached to the Enders are each: Jeon Myeong-hoon – based on the Vajra That Removes Filth (穢跡金剛) Kang Min-hee – based on the Medicine Buddha (藥師如來).

Oh Hyun-seok – based on the Benevolent Kings (仁王/金剛力士).

Kim Yeon – based on Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva (大勢至菩薩)!