Chapter 170 - Those That Are Lost (4)

Gadak…

Jeon Myeon-hoon stares at me.

But why does his eyes not seem to belong to the living?

Those eyes look... akin to those of the dead.

Behind those lifelessly dark eyes, something fervent seems to slumber.

Overall, he appears dead and gloomy, with his hair disheveled and long.

His skin has become much paler than before, with dark shadows under his eyes.

He looks like a corpse, as if he might die at any moment.

Yet, from this corpse-like appearance, I sense a volcano about to erupt.

Right now, he is like a bomb on the verge of exploding.

"Jeon Myeong-hoon, are you alri—"

Woosh!

And then.

The next moment, a fiery red lightning bolt strikes towards my chin.

"…!"

I split the lightning with the Formless Sword enveloping my body and back away to create some distance.

But in the next instant.

Kugugugu!

As if thunder roars, he suddenly appears in front of me, extending his palm towards my face.

In that instant, he literally became lightning itself!

Crack, boom!

Around him, seven spears made of red lightning forms, aiming at me.

Above, below, front, back, left, right!

The red spears aim at me from the six directions, and the last spear is thrown directly at me by Jeon Myeong-hoon.

Vroom!

The last spear, transcending planes, fly towards me!

Each one is as fast as lightning!

'But, they're not actual lightning.'

I recognize the six directions and extend my hand.

Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom!

Boom!

Just once!

With a single gesture, six lightning spears are sliced, and I dodge the last one by moving my body.

Zip!

In an instant, I charge in front of Jeon Myeong-hoon and throw a punch.

He tries to defend by crossing his arms, but the moment my fist touches his defense.

Jeon Myeong-hun's upper body is cleanly cleaved in half.

Slash!

"…Hmm, it's a bit regrettable that our reunion and greetings turned out like this after such a long time."

Zip, zap!

Crackle!

However, from Jeon Myeong-hoon's severed body, lightning sparkles, and shortly after, his body reattaches itself.

Then, Jeon Myeong-hoon, with his corpse-like eyes, spoke.

"Quite…impressive."

"…?"

Sensing something odd, I question him.

"Hey… do you not recognize who I am?"

Clearly, his mental state is somewhat unstable.

Actually, very unstable.

To my question, Jeon Myeong-hoon looks at me with his dead eyes and replies.

"8th occupied territory... Aren't you the provincial governor? I know because I tortured the soul of the inspector."

"…I'm Seo Eun-hyun. Do you really not remember?"

"Seo Eun-hyun…?"

"From the same place as you! Remember where you come from!"

"The same… place…"

At those words, Jeon Myeong-hoon suddenly clutches his head.

"Ah, aah… Aaaaaaah! Huaaaaaaah!"

Crackle, crackle!

Streams of multicolored lightning begin to flow from his entire body.

"Aaargh!"

Kugugugugugu!

Behind him, six faint flags begin to appear.

The six flags are stuck on Jeon Myeong-hun's back, like wings.

'Is that... a technique he learned?'

It seems like some sort of restriction, but the flow of spiritual energy is quite natural, suggesting it’s simply characteristic of his own technique.

After screaming and emitting lightning in all directions for a while, he calms down.

And then, those corpse-like eyes look at me once more.

"…Seo… Eun-hyun. Yes, I remember."

He smirks.

"It's been a while. Ever since facing [That], my mind hasn't been right, hence the disgraceful behavior. Try to understand, will you?"

"[That]?"

"Shut up! Just shut it! I'll kill you! Definitely! I'll grind and chew you into bits!!!"

Kugugugugu!

Jeon Myeong-hoon's eyes tremble erratically and he begins to rampage.

Lightning strikes all around, and I dodge them while taking a moment to observe him.

Fortunately, Jeon Myeong-hoon stabilizes after a while.

Looking back at me with a gloomy expression, he opens his mouth again.

"... Well, no need for any chit-chat, I came looking for you, Provincial Governor of the 8th occupied territory, Seo Eun-hyun."

"What's the matter?"

"Did a disciple of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect named 'Yeon Jin' come by the 8th occupied territory? Where did he go now?"

"Yeon Jin? If you mean Yeon Jin... he said he was going to the mainland of Bright Cold Realm to find you..."

"The mainland...? Ha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Jeon Myeong-hoon bursts into mad laughter at my words.

"Hahahaha! The mainland! He went to the Bright Cold Realm! Are you saying we missed each other!?"

Tears stream from his eyes.

"Why! Why the hell! Why is this happening!!!"

Kugugugugu!

From Jeon Myeong-hun's body, crimson lightning bursts forth.

"Look, Jeon Myeong-hoon. Calm down and..."

"Enough!!!"

Before I can say anything more.

Jeon Myeong-hoon screams, scattering red lightning in all directions.

"Let them all die! Everyone! All of them!!!"

Kugugugugu!

‘What…!’

Lightning strikes envelop the area.

"Everything on this land, all of it, worthless! All, all of it, die!!!"

It isn't about the color of Jeon Myeong-hoon's lightning. His consciousness itself is drenched in a bloody red hue.

Rage.

He is violently spewing out his anger like molten lava.

"Hold, hold on a moment…!”

Simultaneously, the lightning he scatters starts to split and directly penetrate the barrier.

'So letting in the Human Race means all the techniques performed by the Human Race also get through!'

I swiftly move with the Flying Escape Technique inside the barrier, blocking all the falling lightning with my Formless Sword.

Below, I can see the Devil Race, still trapped, bustling about

'If even one of those lightning bolts hit where the devils are...'

It would be total annihilation!

Kugugugu!

Thunder and lightning violently erupts from Jeon Myeong-hoon.

'But still, if it's only that much, I can find a gap and subdue him...'

Shhhhhh…

The next moment.

The head of the inspector that Jeon Myeong-hoon is holding turns to ashes and scatters.

From the six flags embedded in his back.

A purple flag is pulled out and melts into his lightning.

As one flag is removed, the quantity and quality of the lightning bursting from his body drastically increases!

'Is, is this...!'

Each strike is equivalent to a late Nascent Soul stage cultivator's attack!

Koooong!

And then, another flag is pulled from his back.

A blue flag is removed and melts into his lightning.

Kugugugugu!

I grit my teeth.

The lightning grows even stronger.

'Considering the inspector was a Four-Axis stage cultivator, killing him means…’

If all the flags are pulled out, he will reach power equivalent to the Four-Axis stage!

'It seems like a consumable power, but the explosiveness is absurdly high! It's likely to end in a short-term battle rather than a long one!'

Keep calm.

I compose myself and contemplate the Nascent Soul I have just acquired.

The concept of planes began to become visible.

'That's right...'

Upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage, every cultivator realizes a certain truth, which aligns with the enlightenment of a Nascent Soul cultivator and also aligns with the laws of the world.

'Qi (氣) is essentially Intent (意).'

There are high and low planes in this world.

And these planes are broadly divided into three categories.

The plane of Qi (氣), which has a profound impact on the material and life force of the world.

The plane of Soul (魂), guiding the direction of all things from a position higher than Qi's plane.

And even higher in a remote place, the plane of Fate (命), guiding the truths of the world.

The world is made of these three planes.

Depending on the dimension's hierarchy, existence manifests as Qi, Soul, or Fate.

Essentially, Qi, Soul, and Fate are the same.

'This aligns with the enlightenment of Beyond the Path to Heavens...'

All manifestations are one.

That is, Heaven, Earth, and Man are one, the principle reached by Beyond the Path to Heavens.

Similarly, all essences are fundamentally one.

It's just that the manifestation varies depending on the level of the dimension.

‘Yes, now I understand why all the races in the Bright Cold Realm are categorized into three.’

Why the Heart Tribe, far from reaching the heights of the Heaven Tribe and Earth Tribe, are included among the 'Three Great Tribes.'

It isn't merely about 'vision.'

‘The Earth Tribe gathers spiritual energy to the extreme within the plane of Qi and builds up their cultivation, while the Heaven Tribe directs their rituals towards the plane of Fate, elevating their existence towards it. The Heart Tribe roams freely within the plane of Soul.’

It’s only after I became aware of the planes that I finally understand how humans cultivate to become true immortals.

‘From the plane of Qi to the plane of Fate, elevating one's existence from the Qi-born mortals to the realm of Fate, becoming what is known as a True Immortal.’

I grasp the principle behind the creation of Nascent Soul.

‘Gathering pure Qi from the plane of Qi and ascending to the plane of Soul, merging the Soul and Qi. No, that’s not it.'

Spiritual energy and the soul are originally one.

They are just divided differently according to the hierarchy of planes.

Elevating spiritual energy, crossing the hierarchy of planes to connect with 'essence'!

That is the Nascent Soul!

Thus, Qi is indeed Intent!

Why is it necessary to cultivate spiritual power and mystical abilities, and learn techniques for mental cultivation?

Why does gathering 'energy' increase a cultivator's 'consciousness' along with their realm?

Qi is both the Soul and Intent.

They are essentially the same, hence such phenomena occurred.

"Ahaha, now I finally understand."

Back in the day when I just became a peak master,

I saw red lines even from jiangshi.

But upon surpassing the peak, I felt that theoretically, jiangshi, not being living creatures, shouldn't have red lines of intent.

Why did I see red lines of intent even from jiangshi without consciousness?

Because energy is consciousness, even if jiangshi lack souls, if they possess Qi, they can possess faint intent.

‘Now I see more clearly than before.’

The planes of 'Qi' and 'Soul' are distinctly separated.

With the vision of demon beasts seeing the flow of spiritual energy,

Combined with the vision of Beyond the Path to Heaven seeing the color and essence of intent, I can delve deeper into the essence of the world than before.

‘They merge…’

Upon realizing that Qi and Intent are the same.

The visions I had gained from demon beasts and Beyond the Path to Heavens slowly melds into one.

The colors of intent merge with the yin and yang of spiritual energy, creating an indescribable metaphysical landscape.

I look up at the sky.

Still, the vision of reading celestial energy from the Heaven Tribe hasn't melted into this vision.

‘Upon becoming a True Immortal, becoming fate itself, will that sight merge into this vision?’

The source of life, spiritual energy.

The source of mind, heart essence.

The source of fate, celestial energy.

What will be seen in a vision that combines all of that?

After briefly imagining it, I focus my sight and glare at Jeon Myeong-hoon.

His power is becoming stronger.

But...

‘I see it.’

Calmly organizing my enlightenment and adjusting my vision, I begin to see!

The pattern of heaven and earth.

The pattern of heaven and earth mixed with human consciousness, birthing all processes under the name of supernatural abilities.

In that process, the numerous vulnerabilities of opponents are seen!

A vision only I, having both the sight of demon beasts and Treading Heaven, can see!

Wo-woong!

I aim the Formless Sword at the precise gap of the lightning Jeon Myeong-hoon is emitting.

Chwack!

The lightning is split right through.

At the same time, I can almost predict where Jeon Myeong-hoon's thunderbolts will head next, and within that foresight, I find gaps in his attacks.

‘Shall we dance.’

I hold the Formless Sword and begin to perform a sword dance in the void.

With the sword dance, the Formless Sword scatters.

What a monstrous power it is to traverse planes.

Only after reaching the Nascent Soul stage do I realize the magnitude of this power.

To disregard the planes of Qi and soul, and to be able to slice through Nascent Soul without any constraints is a dreadful monstrosity!

That is the Formless Sword!

And now, I finally obtained the 'eyes' to properly wield this monstrosity!

If the Pure Spiritual Force obtained during the Qi Building stage supplies infinite energy to Beyond the Path to Heaven,

The 'eyes' obtained in the Nascent Soul stage precisely guides where Beyond the Path to Heaven should head.

They complement each other.

Added to this, the physical strength obtained through body cultivation, the Formless Sword, drawing on the power of the plane of Qi, possesses overwhelming dominance and transcends to a higher plane, cutting through the essence of the lightning in its very dimension.

Charak!

An azure flag is pulled from Jeon Myeong-hoon's back.

Now, every single lightning strike is of the Heavenly Being stage!

However, with the strength of the physical body.

The eyes of the Nascent Soul.

And the capabilities of the Formless Sword combined, my Formless Sword precisely hits the weak points of Jeon Myeong-hoon's lightning, slicing through it directly.

Slice!

‘Shall we see how far it goes?’

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

Stepping forward, I draw a circle around me with my sword.

His lightning continues to gradually grow stronger.

It starts to require slightly more effort to slice through the lightning.

In other words, until now, slicing through lightning of Heavenly Being stage required no effort at all!

Kung, kung kung!

Green and yellow flags are simultaneously pulled from Jeon Myeong-hoon's back, and each of his lightning strikes elevate to the level of Heavenly Being Great Perfection.

Kwoong!

At that point, my sword feels heavier.

Despite finding his weakness, wielding the sword that cuts through everything with the powerful force of the physical body, there's a limit when the power gap becomes too great.

However, I smile, deciding to test my limits now that I have reached the Nascent Soul stage.

Gradually, greater strength begins to attach to my Formless Sword.

The sword dance becomes faster.

This is the state of Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains!

Woogwoogwoog!

I continue to channel the strength of Jeon Myeong-hoon's lightning into my Formless Sword, repeatedly reflecting its force.

Though the strain on my entire body gradually intensifies, the realm of Nascent Soul combined with the physical body tempered through body refining tightly holds together what should have ended in an explosion.

Kwaang, Kwaang!

The barrier laid out by Wi Ryeong-seon is trembling from our clash.

Gradually, the colorless sword begins to push back against the red lightning.

Pwook!

Finally, the last orange flag is pulled from Jeon Myeong-hoon's back, melting into the lightning.

Kururung!

The already red lightning shines even more violently red as it shoots towards me.

The lightning directly cuts through space!

‘This might be a bit too much... but still…’

I look up at the sky with a smirk.

‘Let's give it a try!’

Kuguguguruk!

Stars swirl around my entire body.

Azure Spirit Starlight Quintessence Great Method!

I utilize the starlight and blue light to the extreme, infusing these energies into my Formless Sword.

Wo-woong!

The Formless Sword dyes with starlight.

Tstsstsstsst!

My Formless Sword becomes a strand of the Milky Way.

What I hold is no longer emptiness.

The Galaxy.

A small Milky Way is held in my hand.

The ultimate technique of the Azure Spirit Starlight Quintessence Great Method.

The technique of Azure Wing Heavenly Shatter, finely tuned to the extreme and blown into the Formless Sword.

Releasing all the power in my body in one strike!

‘Ah…’

At this moment.

I feel like there is nothing I cannot cut through.

Phshhhhh!

With Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains, the attack power of the Formless Sword soars to the extreme, and with the added power of Azure Wing Heavenly Shatter, it sweeps the sky clear.

That is the end.

Fwoah!

The baptism of red lightning that covered the sky is swept away in one go.

I smile and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Using Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains is fatal.

Or, it used to be.

"Curse, reversal!"

Pwaah!

The pressure of Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains that filled my body is all redirected back to Yuan Yu.

Pwook!

Down below, Yuan Yu, who had been protecting the Devil Race from getting swept away by my command, explodes as a curse doll.

His body, having reached the Core Formation Great Perfection, took on all the load that had been on me.

Wo-woong!

Then, Yuan Yu quickly rises to our location and lifts a skull staff towards Jeon Myeong-hoon, who is unable to regain his senses after spilling all the lightning.

Tsrrrrrk!

His vital energy is sucked into Yuan Yu.

Gradually, Yuan Yu absorbs Jeon Myeong-hoon's energy, regenerating his exploded body.

Jeon Myeong-hun staggers and falls below the barrier, drained of energy by Yuan Yu.

Whish!

I have Yuan Yu catch him and bring him slowly down to the ground.

"Hey, Jeon Myeong-hoon."

I ask him, who had unleashed all his power along with his madness in one go.

"Are you okay?"

Jeon Myeong-hoon looks at me and says,

"Shut up."

"What?"

"Don't pretend to understand..."

He clenches his teeth.

"Kill me... If I recover my strength, I will kill all living beings in this area without exception."

Fury blazes in his eyes.

"No matter how much I pour out, this pain and rage doesn’t subside... My heart feels like it's burning...! I can't stand it unless I kill everything in sight...! So, if you want to stop me, kill me now, Seo Eun-hyun!"

"... Calm down, anger is not resolved by killing others."

"You!"

He shouts and lunges at me, angrily grabbing my collar.

"What do you know? Have you ever lost a lover right before your eyes? Have you experienced being helpless as your teacher, friends, loved ones, and all acquaintances are swept away like insects by an unstoppable entity? Do you know the misery of being unable to do anything as your precious ones die? What do you know about me? Shut up! Just shut up!!! I..."

Tears of blood flow from Jeon Myeong-hoon's eyes.

"I've lost everything!!!"

Kwarururung!

From his body, red lightning bursts out once more, sweeping the surroundings.