The Namesake One (3)
The spiritual root of the answer was clearly different from that of ordinary Heavenly School cultivation methods, but it was still worth paying attention to.
The Heavenly Race and Earth Race cultivation methods had fused harmoniously.
‘At the very peak of the decision, I gathered the pure qi within the golden pill and leaped to the realm of the soul’s order.’
That was the way of the Heavenly Race at the nascent soul stage.
Then, what about the nascent soul in the Earth Race’s Water Race method?
‘I compressed myself and my consciousness until they became the same shape, forcing the consciousness all the way into the golden pill.’
When my consciousness itself condensed into the shape of my childhood inside the golden pill, that was precisely the nascent soul of the Earth Race.
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Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law
Booong!
Right now my golden pill was in an extremely strange state.
A normal Heavenly Race Golden Pill glowed with gold, its surface engraved with the Constellation Fields of the Twenty-Eight Mansions and the Three Originals, the Heavenly Star Train Pattern.
And when a normal Earth Race Water Race golden pill transformed into gold, it glowed with gold, its surface engraved with the shape of the Grand Ultimate.
However, on my golden pill both the Heavenly Race’s constellations and the Earth Race’s Grand Ultimate were engraved.
‘Using both the Heavenly Race and Earth Race methods at the same time… condense the nascent soul.’
Uwooong!
Through the Gwanghan Realm, the Changreong Seonggwang Ochaebop fully converted into the Water Race method and the Ten Thousand Scales Tree Ocean cultivation manual exploded at the same time. They left the realm of qi order and reached beyond it!
Keying!
My consciousness was compressed inward, and at the same moment the qi that had gathered inside the golden pill leaped to the soul’s order.
Flash!
Looking at the pure white light bursting from my dantian, I saw a scene I knew all too well again.
Yin and yang revolved.
And following that rotation, I swept through the past scenes in a blur.
Before, I had not understood what this rotation of yin and yang was when I reached the nascent soul.
But now that I had mastered the Water Race method, I understood it perfectly.
‘The genes of life all contain the power of yin and yang.’
And between that yin and yang power, the information of life was recorded and passed down.
In the same way, human life also revolved within the yin and yang spiritual energy and was recorded across the very world itself.
‘Even within my soul there existed the qi of yin and yang, and between that yin and yang power was recorded my own history….’
In the nascent soul stage where the order of qi and soul intertwined, what appeared was exactly the essence of the burning lamp wheel.
Qi was life.
And life was history.
By reaching the nascent soul through the Water Race method and the Earth Race method, I finally felt I could understand just a little of what the Black Dragon had said.
So I traced my own history backward and arrived once more at the record of when I had been born.
Normal nascent soul cultivators would have received the nascent soul at this very moment and known nothing of the gratitude at being born.
However, because of my memories from past lives, I knew what kind of blessing awaited a life when it was born, so I paused there for a moment.
A man and a woman smiled while holding a baby.
I smiled at the sight.
It was a scene I had seen before, yet even after seeing it again it still stirred something deep inside me.
‘Thank you.’
For giving me this life.
All things in this world were formed from yin and yang and the Grand Ultimate.
Yin and yang could even be interpreted as heaven and earth.
I expressed my deepest gratitude to heaven and earth who had brought me into being, then once more stepped onto the path of the nascent soul stage.
Flash!
This place was outside the Sea Dragon Palace, above a small mountain range far from the Yunsim Lake.
The surroundings were perfectly protected by formations, so no one could disturb me.
Paaat!
From the center of my dantian a pure white light erupted, announcing the birth of the infant-shaped nascent soul.
Every living thing, or at least the vast majority of living things, was born from their parents.
And for organisms that reproduced sexually, the living thing was born from the mother’s yin essence.
Yin essence, male, had always been expressed as yang.
Among them, the male symbolized yang and the female yin.
That was why, at the initial stage of the nascent soul, the nascent soul formed based on memories of the very moment of birth from the mother became the yin god and settled into the golden pill.
And when that yin god grew, began to interact with the outside world, and started to accept light, the yang quality was added to the nascent soul’s nature. At the middle stage of the nascent soul, one could handle both the yin and yang gods.
This process was represented by the yin god as the moon and the yang god as the sun.
The major formula of the nascent soul realm was expressed as follows.
Initial nascent soul: like the moon, forever.
Complete the yin god, and complete the night in the Twenty-Eight Mansions and the Three Originals Star Chart I had built so far.
Middle nascent soul: like the sun, rising.
Complete the yang god and create the morning sun that rises beyond the night, forming the day and dividing the sky into two parts to shape the yin and yang gods.
Final nascent soul: like the Five Peaks, longevity.
After completing the yin and yang gods, create the Five Peaks that support the completed sky and make them the pillars supporting the sky.
At this point the Five Peaks had to correspond to the Five Elements, so those attempting the final nascent soul had to absorb the power of the Five Elements within their body.
A cultivator attempting the final nascent soul with a single spiritual root had to absorb a law body corresponding to one of the Five Elements in this realm in order to properly cultivate, and make that into the Five Peaks.
And the power of the Five Elements absorbed at this time would later play a major role when forming the axis during the Four Pillars stage.
Final nascent soul: not burning, not collapsing.
Place the yin god on the right upper side as the moon.
Place the yang god on the left upper side as the sun.
Place the Five Elements at the central emperor seat and draw the Sun-Moon-Five-Peaks Diagram, then sit at the emperor seat of that drawn Sun-Moon-Five-Peaks Diagram and merge the power of yin, yang, and the Five Elements within the body to complete the nascent soul.
That was how one performed the method of the nascent soul stage.
‘The Changreong Seonggwang Ochaebop really was the most optimized cultivation method for the nascent soul stage from the very beginning.’
The Changreong Gakwonjeol symbolized the day, and the Seonggwang Hochegong symbolized the night.
And the Ohaeng Jangwonjeon was the foundation that allowed the Five Elements to form the Five Peaks.
I observed the nascent soul I had created by fusing the two methods.
Pasusu…
The consciousness that had been focused inside my dantian to form the nascent soul spread out again.
At the same time I looked up at the sky.
Kureung, kururung!
Toward the inverse heavens that had formed the nascent soul.
The sky was trying to pour down golden heavenly lightning.
At the same time, toward the rebellious one who had tried to escape fate, the sky prepared blue heavenly lightning as well.
Dual-colored lightning flickered in the sky and prepared to fall upon me.
Flash!
A column of light carrying immense power fell from the sky.
However, what I felt was more concerned with something other than the dual-colored light that covered me.
‘That is….’
Yin and yang, the Grand Ultimate, revolved in the sky.
This was the vision of the Earth Race.
‘The flow of yin and yang is even clearer.’
Yin and yang formed all things.
And beyond all things, it created order and formed space.
Yes. Through the Earth Race’s vision I could see that space had been formed according to the principle of yin and yang.
Through that vision I could cut across space as it was.
‘No, that is not the end.’
The Grand Ultimate revolved in the sky.
And yin and yang exchanged power, and between them heavenly lightning formed and fell toward me.
Yes, I could see with my own eyes the process by which heavenly tribulation was being formed.
‘I see it.’
The result of the outcome of yin and yang.
And the principle itself by which heavenly lightning formed became clear.
‘So if I simply trace the power of the heavenly lightning formed between yin and yang backward….’
Kurururung!
I rotated the power of the Supreme Yin within the Black Dragon’s true blood in the opposite direction of the Grand Ultimate rotating in the sky right now and shot it into the sky.
Kururung!
The yin power of the thunderbolt was neutralized by the Black Dragon’s Supreme Yin, and only the yang power remained and fell upon me.
However, upon receiving that power black dragon scales sprouted across my entire body.
At the same moment, following the formula of the Seonggwang Hochegong, faint starlight dwelled throughout my body.
‘If I used the answer realm it would be even easier, but….’
This was right in the middle of the Earth Race domain, near the Black Dragon’s base, so I refrained from using the answer realm.
Instead, I shot straight into the sky the single strike of the fused Heavenly Race and Earth Race methods.
For an instant the Black Dragon’s qi seemed to seep into my arm, and four black wings sprouted behind my back.
‘The Changik Cheonsa had mutated.’
I poured the Black Dragon’s power and the Changik Cheonsa into one arm and thrust my fist straight into the sky.
‘Take this!’
And that was the end.
―――!
The black clouds that had filled the sky were torn open and revealed a clear blue sky, and I smiled while bathing in the sunlight.
Today I had finally recovered the realm of my past life.
No, with the Black Dragon’s power added I could say I had transcended.
Clap clap clap clap――
“Heuk…!”
Clapping sounded from beside me.
The owner of the applause was Seo Hyul.
“Ah, you have arrived, Lord Seo.”
‘He had obviously filled the surroundings with formations and barriers to prevent disturbances while challenging the nascent soul stage….’
It seemed even Four Pillars cultivators had no use for formations and barriers.
While I was condensing the nascent soul, Seo Hyul had quietly approached and was laughing while clapping.
However, if Seo Hyul had truly approached alone from beside me and thrust his face forward while clapping, I would have felt a chill. Fortunately, Seo Hyul was not clapping alone.
“Truly amazing. Lord Seo, you were right.”
Gyu-ryeon was clapping beside Seo Hyul with a smile of admiration as she looked at me, who had obtained the nascent soul for the first time in seven years of regression.
Nearly seven years.
I had often invited Gyu-ryeon to the Sea Dragon Palace and made places for her and Seo Hyul to be together.
There had been a promise between me and Gyu-ryeon, but it was also to draw Seo Hyul’s attention away from myself.
Because of that, over the past seven years Seo Hyul and Gyu-ryeon had grown quite close, and recently Gyu-ryeon had practically stuck to him.
“I am grateful for your high praise.”
“No, you really should receive high praise. A nascent soul after seven years! Before, ten thousand years, now ten thousand years again. There will never be another genius like you!”
“….”
“Perhaps another Star Shattering Saint from the Earth Race will be born. You know you must not forget him when the time comes, right?”
“Yes, Senior Gyu-ryeon has always been a benefactor to me.”
While I chatted with Gyu-ryeon, Seo Hyul secretly slipped between us and gently hugged her.
“Of course, she is someone I have been watching closely. Of course, even if you are too close, it is fine.”
For some reason the tone in which I spoke warmly with Gyu-ryeon felt like jealousy, so Gyu-ryeon’s face was beaming with happiness, and I felt a chill.
‘Recently my intuition is not reading well, but… even if the mood is calm, these kinds of remarks always give me a chill.’
It was nothing but jealousy or longing. There was nothing else.
It was simply that something dark was writhing, like someone wearing a human skin and imitating people, and it was quite disgusting.
“Hmph, humph. I see. Heum heum. By the way, Lord Seo. It’s about time you told me, isn’t it?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Gyu-ryeon said with her cheeks flushed as she looked at Seo Hyul.
Seo Hyul nodded.
‘Is there something to say?’
I raised my tension and listened carefully to what Seo Hyul was about to say.
“This lord is going to leave the Earth Race realm for the next few years and travel outside.”
“Ah….”
I almost laughed out loud, but I refrained and listened to the end of Seo Hyul’s words.
“Upon arriving in the Gwanghan Realm I reached the Four Pillars stage and succeeded in stabilizing my realm for nearly seven years, so now I have to establish an axis and raise my realm.”
“Ah, so you plan to begin basic axis cultivation.”
In the Four Pillars stage one cultivated by establishing four axes.
“That’s right. And judging by recent rumors that the Jinma-gye is being eyed by the Human Race side as well, I intend to collect the materials for the orthodox basic axis from another dimension before any war breaks out between the two sides.”
The cultivation of the Four Pillars was divided into orthodox basic axis and heretical basic axis.
In the Four Pillars stage one established four axes and accumulated cultivation.
In the final nascent soul stage one absorbed one of the Five Elements received at that time and made it his own, placed the remaining four elements in the four directions, completed a four-axis centered on himself, and completed the foundation of his unique domain. That was the foundation of the Four Pillars stage.
And every time one formed an axis, one performed the basic axis cultivation by offering sacrifices based on the power of the Five Elements received during the nascent soul stage.
This basic axis cultivation was the heretical basic axis, where one killed a cultivator of the same realm and stole his element to use as the axis for the sacrifice.
And there was also the orthodox basic axis, where one collected the materials oneself and performed the sacrifice properly to form the axis.
“Seo Eun-hyun, you are also a genius beyond imagination, but Lord Seo is quite a talent as well. If he, like me, used the orthodox basic axis instead of the heretical basic axis and brought the best materials, the Dragon Race would enter a golden age we have never seen before!”
Gyu-ryeon said with a satisfied expression as she looked at Seo Hyul.
It seemed that cultivators who reached the Four Pillars stage through the orthodox basic axis were even rarer.
It was probably because it was a thousand times easier to steal someone else’s material than to gather and sacrifice oneself.
‘To fill one axis with the heretical basic axis, one would only have to kill one Four Pillars cultivator of the same realm, or a hundred Heavenly Person cultivators, or ten thousand nascent soul cultivators and extract their element to form the axis… even ordinary cultivators would find this a difficult temptation.’
Especially for the Earth Race, since the vast majority were Water Race, in the ruthless Water Race society killing and being killed was commonplace.
Because of that, there were overwhelmingly more heretical basic axes.
“Moreover, Lord Seo is going to that other dimension to collect the top material for the orthodox basic axis, so how amazing is that?”
“Ah… you mean another dimension?”
“Yes, as you know, the five intermediate realms correspond to the Five Elements.”
Gyu-ryeon’s explanation continued.
“Gwanghan is earth, Jinma is fire, Jigeum is metal, Myeonggui is water, and Goryeok is wood. As you know, the five intermediate realms correspond to the Five Elements, and each has a more favorable environment for cultivating the symbolic element.”
Kkurul.
Seo Hyul’s facial muscles twitched slightly at Gyu-ryeon’s words.
“And because of that, the top materials for the orthodox basic axis are things that carry the qi of those five element dimensions.”
“…So you are going to another dimension to gather the qi, Lord Seo?”
“Yes. The reason the orthodox basic axis is far superior to the heretical basic axis is that the quality of the material used for the sacrifice makes it much stronger than a normal Four Pillars cultivator. And if it is qi from another dimension, there is nothing more symbolic for realizing the Five Elements, so it is the best material!”
Kkurul.
Again Seo Hyul’s facial muscles twitched slightly.
I focused my intuition on Seo Hyul’s thoughts as much as possible and tried to figure out his true intention.
‘That thought….’
It seemed there was something he wanted to correct in Gyu-ryeon’s words.
But he did not correct her at all and stayed silent.
‘Is there something he is hiding?’
I recalled the moment Seo Hyul had reacted to Gyu-ryeon’s words.
‘When each dimension was said to correspond to the Five Elements, he mainly showed his intuition.’
Perhaps, like Gyu-ryeon said, each dimension was not simply related to the Five Elements.
“By the way, as far as I know, apart from the Jinma Realm the other dimensions are quite far from the Gwanghan Realm….”
“Yes, it will take about twenty years at the fastest, or about a hundred years at the slowest. Until then I will not be able to see Senior Gyu-ryeon, so it is a pity.”
Seo Hyul looked at her with a sad face as if it was truly a pity that he would be apart from Gyu-ryeon.
‘That is a lie.’
When he spoke of time his intuition twitched, so it was actually either faster or slower than that.
He turned his gaze back to me.
“So before I go this time I came to ask you for a favor.”
“Yes, as you command.”
Seo Hyul said with a smile and handed me a jade vial.
“This is the vial containing my true blood. The Sea Dragon Clan is also a branch of the Black Dragon Clan, so there will be no duplication of my superior blood. I have not fully accepted you as a Sea Dragon Clan member until now and kept you wandering in the inner court. I am sorry I could not look after you. From now on I have decided to give you my blood so that you can be properly accepted as a member of the Sea Dragon Clan. With the superior Black Dragon blood, the nascent soul you condensed after seven years, and my blood as well, no one will be able to look down on you anymore.”
“….”
“If you accept my blood, even if I wander in distant dimensions I can contact you through the blood. You will become the contact between Senior Gyu-ryeon and me.”
Seo Hyul smiled faintly and pressed the jade vial toward me.
Gyu-ryeon also blushed and said, “If you become the contact between Lord Seo and me, I will not be unhappy with the reward either.”
Up until now I had invited Gyu-ryeon countless times to the Sea Dragon Palace and controlled Seo Hyul’s actions toward me.
But now Seo Hyul was trying to inject his blood into me on the pretext of a connection with Gyu-ryeon.
It was unbearably unsettling.
But the problem was that I had no excuse to refuse Seo Hyul’s blood.
“If you accept even the Sea Dragon true blood and transform, I will engrave you as a formal vassal of the Sea Dragon Palace and push your name into the Dragon Name Book.”
Gyu-ryeon sent me a subtle glance with a blushing face, and Seo Hyul pressed the jade vial toward me with a smile.
“Your name will spread throughout the entire Dragon Race. Please accept my goodwill?”