Chương 699: 2011th Cycle's First Day

Hwiooooo— Time rewinds.

I feel slightly dumbfounded at the absurdity of my death.

'That strike from the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable... was quite literally fate.'

The secret blow unleashed at me by the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable hiding within the Origin Essence of Life with their Gandhara.

Because it was the power of the Annihilation Flower that forcibly imposes [Annihilation] upon its target, it was capable of reducing me to ruin regardless of whether I have established a new Immortal Cultivation system or reached Martial Pinnacle.

'No... if it had been Hyeon Mu, maybe she wouldn't have died even from that.'

In truth, it may simply come down to a difference in Martial Pinnacle proficiency.

'And in the first place, my Martial Pinnacle activates only when someone else is with me, so it's unstable on its own...'

Of course, I have succeeded in becoming the Immortal Beast King.

Jeon Myeong-hoon also awakened as a Heavenly King, so even if I regress now, there shouldn't be a problem.

Having acquired the Seat from the Heavenly Punishment Supreme Deity, even with regression, resurrection shouldn't be possible for the Heavenly Punishment Supreme Deity.

But...

'All of that is just an excuse.'

I grit my teeth.

These are unconscious excuses for dying such a futile death.

'I could have done so much more...'

The connections I formed with countless others, the time I spent with them—all of it has faded away.

Of course, I now know those timelines haven't been erased...

But I still can't help feeling bitter.

Hiding that bitterness, I feel the presence of 'half of Oh Hye-seo's spirit' mixed with Gracious Soul Filling the Heavens inside my body.

'Right now, Oh Hye-seo is like the lingering spirit I asked Song Jin to attach to my body during the first regression point.'

Since regression through the Radiance Mantra is something that is only possible for me alone, those below the Heavenly Venerable rank have their souls torn away if they come along with me.

'But... for some reason, this time feels a little different.'

Now, I have reached the ultimate of Martial Arts, and have even become the Immortal Beast King.

'At least a single spirit...!'

Woo-wooong!

I merge Oh Hye-seo's soul with my Gracious Soul Filling the Heavens and conceal it.

'I can bring with me...!'

Kugugugugu!

Then, the power of the Radiance Mantra collides with the law of causality that forms this world—Indra's Net.

The Radiance Mantra accepts me without issue and attempts to regress me, while Indra's Net, perhaps sensing that I'm bringing Oh Hye-seo's spirit along, tries to forcibly tear her spirit away from me.

Oh Hye-seo's spirit in my embrace is pulled between the two sides and suffers in pain, and seeing her like that, I use the power I've attained through Martial Pinnacle and as the Immortal Beast King.

Tssaaaaaah!

'I'll sever it.'

The Impermanence Sword appears to shine pure white.

In the next moment, I unfold the Sword God Dance and slash at the web of causality attempting to tear Oh Hye-seo away.

I cut off a part of Indra's Net.

Shukak!

Jjjjeeeong!

The world quakes, and the principle of Indra's Net that tries to pull away Oh Hye-seo's spirit gets rebounded.

'So this is how it's done. Restructuring the laws...'

I recall the time when the Underworld partially restructured the law concerning Enders, and I gain some insight into how to alter the laws of the world.

Thus, Oh Hye-seo's spirit, writhing from the pain caused by Indra's Net, begins to regress with me from within my embrace.

And just when I complete the verification of this regression with Oh Hye-seo's half spirit as a test subject,

'Hm?'

I see something wriggling toward me from the very edge of the river of time.

And soon, I realize what it is.

'...! Sal Tree...!'

It is the Gandhara of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, appearing like a massive wriggling worm made entirely of flowers.

At the very end of that worm-like Gandhara— A human-shaped face of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable blooms in the direction facing toward me.

That appearance even seemed to resemble the Candle Dragon Race that received my True Blood.

Seeing how they bothered to take that form, it seems to have been intentionally done to establish an attraction force between us.

'Still... the Candle Dragon Race wasn't this grotesque...'

As I watch the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable writhing and crawling up the river of time with their entire body covered in flowers and only their head taking human form, I frown.

Is it because those of Heavenly Venerable rank have become aware of regression?

Or is it because he has awakened some essence unknown even to himself?

The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, like the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld in the past, now chases me by directly going against the river of time and opens his mouth.

:: Please come. This old one shall allow you to understand your fate, and carry out the beginning, development, twist, and conclusion of that fate... I shall let you, too, properly wield the power of fate...!::

'At this rate, am I going to arrive at the regression point together with the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable?'

My regression point is the front courtyard of the Great Mountain Supreme Deity, and around it are Kim Yeon and Oh Hye-seo of that time point.

'Saying he will carry out my beginning, development, twist, and conclusion... is he saying he will harm the Kim Yeon and Oh Hye-seo of that time? No, even if he doesn't harm them, just 'separating' them from me would be enough to advance the progression.'

I quickly finish my calculations and look at the grotesquely transformed Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.

'While regressing, the pressure of reversing time makes it hard to exert power properly. So... right after regression, I should blast the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable far away, grab Kim Yeon and Oh Hye-seo, and escape in one go to Mount Sumeru... all the way to the Underworld. That's probably the best move.'

In any case, like with Hyeon Mu, if someone like Hong Fan interferes with death, even if one has the power to slay a Heavenly Venerable, killing the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable would be impossible.

'If I can't kill, I'll avoid. There's no need to fight head-on.'

Having decided how to deal with the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, I quickly wait for the regression.

And shortly after— Paaaat!

At last, the regression to the 2, 011th cycle is complete.

Flash!

As I look around, familiar chaos spreads before me.

Immediately after, I thrust the Impermanence Sword toward the massive 'flower-covered worm with an old man's face' that appears in the void.

'That thing is...'

All of a sudden, the colors of the flowers blooming on the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable's body change.

The flowers that were a multitude of vibrant colors just moments ago, have all simultaneously turned black.

'All the flowers in the flower field have turned into Annihilation Flowers...!'

Then, aiming for this greatest vulnerable moment right after regression, he unleashes a bombardment of Annihilation Flowers.

'That was close.'

Had I not reached the ultimate of Martial Arts, I wouldn't have been able to block it. I would've been forced to infinitely regress again and again, like during the events with Great Mountain or Blood Yin.

But now is different.

Tssaaat!

'I am now the Immortal Beast King.'

The one who has the authority to access and borrow all ancient force.

And my Martial Pinnacle is a Martial Pinnacle that reaches the peak when borrowing another's heart.

'Here and now... I will borrow your ancient force.'

Woo-wooong— I attempt to read the ancient force of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, who has suffered through near-eternity across over a thousand cycles.

Tssaaaaaah!

Then, a portion of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable's history reveals itself to me.

'This is...!'

As I witness the 'great feat' of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, my eyes open wide.

[I] delved into Immortal Arts and explored the world, and during that pursuit, I discovered a new domain of Immortal Arts.

That domain was one where forgotten dreams—the dreams of marginalized existences—were sublimated into Immortal Arts, breathing life even into those forsaken dreams.

[I] reached that domain, listened to the stories held within the countless dreams, communed with them, and resolved the regrets they bore.

Numerous Emperors and Venerables called [my] method shamanism, and in the cultivation system that was originally divided into the Buddhist Family, the Immortal Family, and the Confucian Family, the Shamanic Family was established thanks to me.

[I] referred to these powers as Immortal Arts of endless potential—dreams that are merely yet to bloom, simply forgotten and forsaken—and refined them into the form of [Transparent Seeds], naming their power as Zero (零).

The Imperial Venerables praised [me] as the Namer of Zeros, the one who has reached the apex, and they called this realm of mine the Scenery of the Zero King.

It later became the realm known as the Immortal Beast King.

[I], $&$EasternHeavenlyVenerableFlowerMonarchOwnerofSalTreeGwanMyeong—&*%, thus fulfilled the feat required, and became a Heavenly Venerable.

Flash!

From the Impermanence Sword, the history of the ancient force read from the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable settles within, and collides with the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable alongside the Sword God Dance.

'This is...'

I am taken aback by the ancient force I read from the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.

Originally, I only intended to read the ancient force born from his encounter with me and the resulting regressions, but I ended up reading his fundamental 'memory'.

And, I realize that this memory too is a form of ancient force.

'The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable... These aren't his own memories. [Someone] tore out their own history, refined it into ancient force, and forcibly stuffed it into the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable... That is the current Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable...!'

It is the same truth I previously confirmed.

And, I cannot help but be appalled upon realizing what the [great feat of the being] embedded into the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable is.

'The First Immortal Beast King...! Did the very being who created the concept of the Immortal Beast King insert their own great feat...?'

The one who excavated the realm known as Immortal Beast King, named that realm, and created the new concept of the Shamanic Family.

Such a great feat alone is enough to rival the achievement of [Mount Sumeru Extermination] that was pasted on Hyeon Mu.

I cannot help but feel overwhelmed.

'There's a high chance... that the original owner of the achievements imposed on Hyeon Mu and the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable are one and the same... And most likely, that one is... the Future King...'

The first Martial God and the first Immortal Beast King.

'No, back then, was it called the Zero King... In any case, even one of these great feats is overwhelming, yet this is a being who has stacked up [several] such feats...'

Kugugugugu!

Borrowing the power of the ancient force overlaid on the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, I clash against him and grit my teeth.

'No, there's no need to despair.'

What's important is the present.

I decide to stop staring at the door to a future I can't yet comprehend, and as I confront the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, I glance at a corner of the world of chaos.

'The Great Mountain Supreme Deity... still hasn't reacted. Or perhaps, after seeing my Sword God Dance, he judged that there's no point in shooting Annihilation Advancement Mu.'

But I can't let my guard down.

Chwarararara!

At that moment, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable begins to 'scatter', blooming Annihilation Flowers across his entire body.

Within the world of chaos, the Annihilation Flowers that form the body of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable start scattering petal by petal, swirling violently.

I realize what the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable is aiming for.

'He's targeting Kim Yeon and Oh Hye-seo.'

Chwarararak!

I immediately transform into spiraling light and collide with the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.

'Not a chance.'

Sea of chaos.

Within it, a tornado of white light continuously strikes against the tide of dark petals, completely blocking all of the grasping hands of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.

Kugugugu!

The white whirlwind and the wave of petals entwine, pushing away the surrounding chaos.

In our clash, the surrounding chaos is forced into a spherical boundary, forming an immeasurable space.

And as I strike away the power of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, I understand.

'Evenly matched...'

The level of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, who has awakened and descended with their Gandhara, and my own, are completely equal.

At this rate, this won't be a battle of a thousand days, but might become a battle of a thousand years.

'No, I'm at a disadvantage.'

I have something to protect, and unlike me, who still retains the concept of [death], the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable is a being to whom the very concept of [death] is not permitted.

'I need help. Just a little...'

It is at that moment.

Hwiooooooo!

Something suddenly appears at the center of my being, which has become a white whirlwind.

That being bears a familiar face, and their entire body scatters gentle starlight.

:: Time...?:: I see that being.

As I look at the Owner of Time, the Southern Heavenly Venerable, the True Ultimate Eternal Life Great Emperor, I shout out in confusion.

The Owner of Time, Cheon Woon, has sent a projection to this place.

And soon, the Heavenly Venerable of Time looks at the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable and speaks with a gloomy expression.

:: Activate the Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flag. I will link it with my Gandhara...::::...!:: The moment Time finishes speaking, I feel my Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flags resonate, and I sense a connection forming between me and the Source River that spans Mount Sumeru.

The Source River.

The main body of the Heavenly Venerable of Time. From the deep depths of his Gandhara...

I feel a powerful ancient force, as strong as that of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.

Cheon Woon looks bitterly at the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable and murmurs.

:: O pitiful friend. Please escape from fate... Even if our essence has been imposed upon us, what chose that essence is our personalities that have lived until now.:: And the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable only smiles grotesquely at Cheon Woon.

:: O Southern Sal Tree. We are merely the Twin Sal Trees. Know that we are to linger only until the arrival of the Perfectly Enlightened One (正覺者). You and I are not friends, but originally the same being. The East is mine, the South is yours, the North is Gang's (罡), and the West is the Zero King's. Have you forgotten that we are to take root in the four directions and bless that day?:::: My friend...:: With each word from the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, pain fills Cheon Woon's face.

:: I... am not a Sal Tree... None of us... want to live like this...:: Tsuwaaaaaaah!

The power of ancient force surging from the Heavenly Venerable of Time fills into my sword.

At the same time, the ancient force of the great feat imposed on the Heavenly Venerable of Time begins tempering my mind, strengthening the Sword God Dance.

As I read the history of the great feat imposed upon Time, I strongly grip my sword.

The first [world] was nothing but a pile of unstable trash scattered here and there.

Heavenly Domains...

The worlds called universes were all scattered throughout chaos, each becoming a different time and dimension, creating their own separate realities.

The Imperial Venerables who ruled each universe...

Or the cultivators called Chief Gods, each governed their own universe, yet they were merely lost children of chaos endlessly drifting.

None ever thought of connecting with one another, nor had the slightest interest in each other...

No... they didn't even care that the universes they ruled were being crushed and destroyed within the chaos.

That is why, [I] decided to link them. Because [I] hoped that even without the governance of the Chief Gods, the worlds they ruled would stabilize.

[I] journeyed and sailed across all of chaos.

And finding all the Heavenly Domains that existed in this world of chaos, I began connecting them with attraction force.

After [I] was born, during my mortal days, I split in half and killed the Chief God who ruled this place. Then, centering around the universe I named the 'Bright (明) Universe', I linked the five Heavenly Domains governed by the Chief Gods of the Five Elements.

Thus, six nearby Heavenly Domains were gathered and linked, uniting six universes into one, stabilizing them.

The [Six Interconnected Universes] each shined like bright stars.

[I] then began adjusting the attraction force of the six Heavenly Domains to trace the curvature of a [cone].

I wanted to make a mountain.

Be^%#cause%$only@%@[promise]$&^^I$#must$#kept.

&#%%%%$^ & &(^)(&*) #@! $^...

...

...

... I decided to name the mountain Sumeru.

[I], through#$^$#greatfeatbecame %^ ^$OwnerofTimeSouthernHeavenlyVenerableTrueUltimateEternalLifeGreatEmperorCheonWoon$*&%.

Bududuk...

Just a simple viewing of the history contained within the [great feat] causes my mind to shudder and my soul to overload.

For a moment, I nearly mistake myself for the narrator who exists within that ancient force.

The history is so overwhelming that had it not been me, but someone of ordinary True Immortal level, they would have likely have been brainwashed the moment they accessed this history, completely convinced they are that narrator inside the ancient force.

Simply focusing my mind so I don't lose myself while reading the ancient force's history brings me a level of exhaustion comparable to when I fought with all my strength against Hyeon Mu's Gandhara.

The hearts contained within the ancient forces of Sal Tree and Time settle into the Dance of the Sword God.

Sword God Dance, Revised.

The enlightenment of Martial Pinnacle that borrows the hearts of connections and rebirths the sword anew.

The dance of the half-baked Martial Pinnacle that divine descends all of phenomena unfolds in my hand.

Six Stars Zero King (六星零王).

Devil Sword.

For an instant, I become a Devil God.

The moment I infuse the hearts of the great feats imposed upon the two Heavenly Venerables into the Impermanence Sword, it becomes the apex of the ominous and the devilish—comparable to the Great Mountain Supreme Deity.

It becomes the extreme of the Killing Star: one that slaughters all, cuts and rends, severs flesh and bone, and even tears a Supreme Deity apart with just human flesh and blood—unleashing a heart of endless suffering with a single sword.

Nameless Rending.

The Impermanence Sword becomes a savage fang, a venomous tooth, and violently crashes toward the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.

Jjeoeeok!

One strike.

That is all.

However, the instant that devilish sword is unleashed, the grotesque monstrous god resembling a wriggling worm that is the Flower Monarch fails to endure the furiously sweeping power of the devilish sword and becomes trapped within the sword's momentum.

At this rate, I will grind down the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable and gift him every pain before killing him.

'No...!'

But I barely manage to restrain the sword's killing nature, knocking the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable away with the flat of the blade.

Tukwang!

Jjeoooeeoook!

The sea of chaos splits wide open, and the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable is flung far beyond the distant chaos.

:: Wait for me... I shall return to see you once more...:: With a grotesque appearance, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable gives a slight smile and simply disappears.

Chiiiii— And I, unable to even pay attention to the vanishing Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, turn into my Transformation form and gasp for breath.

It isn't difficult to drive away the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, but what's troubling is the devilish sword unleashed from my hands.

And... the original owner of the heart that allowed me to wield that devilish sword.

The presence of the one who overlaid the great feats onto the Southern, Eastern, and Northern Heavenly Venerables fills my mind completely, and I must expel it by any means.

"Keheok... Huk... Heok... Wueeegh..."

I descend into the Flower Soul Filling the Heavens of this time point where Kim Yeon and Oh Hye-seo are in, and the Flower Soul Filling the Heavens merges with my Gracious Soul Filling the Heavens.

Oh Hye-seo, perhaps connecting with her spirit of another timeline, is unable to recall her memories but seems to have inherited the 'heart,' as the way she looks at me suddenly changes, and Kim Yeon hastily rushes over and infuses me with an Immortal Art to stabilise me.

Kugugugugu!

I begin returning to Mount Sumeru through Gracious Soul Filling the Heavens, which transcends spacetime and pierces even the Origin Essence of Life, and strangely, the Great Mountain Supreme Deity has not even once cast a single glance at me all this while.

Then...

To me, who is emptying the presence that has dwelled within me, the projection of the Heavenly Venerable of Time approaches and speaks bitterly.

[You saw it, didn't you.]

"... Yes."

Thinking of the monstrous being who pioneered the realm of the First Immortal Beast King, created Mountain Sumeru, and massacred all beings within it, I nod heavily.

"Is that being... the Heavens?"