Geopcheon (2)
Block it.
That was the first thought Jeon Myeong-hoon had the moment he witnessed it.
The Jeokroe Cheongeop Gong, the voice of lightning, screamed from the depths of his soul to the very tips of his flesh.
Every single component that made up the existence called Jeon Myeong-hoon rang out in mad alarm.
‘Die die die die die die die die die die die if you don’t stop it you’ll die.’
“Hwaaaaaah!”
Jeon Myeong-hoon rushed toward Geum Byeok-ho faster than anyone else, snatched the Heavenly Thunder Banner from his hands, and poured his power into it like a man half-mad.
Qi. Soul. Life.
The instincts of all three realms guided him, forcibly engraving into his mind how to wield the power of the Jeokroe Cheongeop Gong and the ultimate authority of the Heavenly Golden Thunder Body.
Almost by instinct, he reinforced the seal on the Heavenly Thunder Banner while stimulating the realms with the power of heavenly thunder and tearing open the dimensional barrier.
The voice of lightning whispered to him.
That existence cannot fully descend here.
It has merely revealed its gaze using the Heavenly Thunder Banner as a coordinate.
Therefore, if you cast the Heavenly Thunder Banner outside the dimension, that existence will be unable to come here.
With his eyes rolled back and foam at his mouth, Jeon Myeong-hoon clutched the seal of the Heavenly Thunder Banner, ripped open the dimensional barrier, and tried to shove the banner inside.
But the Heavenly Thunder Banner would not enter.
A clear, ringing woman’s voice reached his ears.
[Ahahahahaha… Myeong-hoon-ah, Myeong-hoon-ah. My grateful Myeong-hoon-ah.]
Swish…
A white-haired woman with delicate jade-like hands suddenly appeared before him and stroked his cheek.
[I must destroy the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect. My master must see you. The great god of heavenly punishment must seize the remaining thread of destiny left by Geumsinja and erase his traces. So, lovely Myeong-hoon-ah, stop.]
“Krrrrgh!”
The moment he saw the white-haired woman whose face was not clearly visible, Jeon Myeong-hoon felt something burst inside his mind.
It was a memory.
The memory of hearing this woman’s name when he had entered Bongroedang long ago!
‘Why… why have I never paid attention to this memory until now?’
Even Jeon Myeong-hoon himself could not understand it.
Back then, on that day, Seo Eun-hyun had given him an ominous warning about the Heavenly Thunder Banner.
Even if it was not the truth, Jeon Myeong-hoon had lived almost forgetting the memory of that moment itself, except for her name.
But in this moment, looking at Jeong-ryeo, he understood.
“Myeong-hoon-ah, what are you doing!”
“Why are you suddenly snatching the Heavenly Thunder Banner!”
“Don’t tell me you’ve betrayed the sect like Seo Eun-hyun!”
And as he suddenly saw the elders of the sect shouting at him with strangely crazed eyes while he held the Heavenly Thunder Banner, he understood.
The Jeokroe Cheongeop Gong, the voice of lightning, was telling him.
Until now, every member of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, including himself, had been collectively bewitched by this monster.
Jeon Myeong-hoon remembered.
Until now, there had been two kinds of lightning voices.
The sticky, sinister voice that had taught him the Jeokroe Cheongeop Gong before Seo Eun-hyun’s betrayal.
And after Seo Eun-hyun fled with the Heavenly Thunder Banner, a much weaker and smaller voice than the sinister one, yet soft and pure.
Only now did he realize that the owner of the first voice was the being before his eyes.
“Jeon Myeong-hoon! Can you not hear the words of the sect’s respected elders!?”
As if they could not see the existence floating in the sky.
As if they could not see Jeong-ryeo, whose form was clearly revealed.
Geum Byeok-ho’s eyes rolled back as he attacked Jeon Myeong-hoon.
Rumble!
Geum Byeok-ho’s lightning struck Jeon Myeong-hoon.
The lightning was immediately absorbed, but Jeon Myeong-hoon felt his concentration on pushing the Heavenly Thunder Banner scatter.
“You bastard! Right now! Let go of the Heavenly Thunder Banner at once!”
“Do you think you’re Seo Eun-hyun, you ungrateful wretch!”
“You bastard!!!”
Jeon Myeong-hoon gritted his teeth.
His family was criticizing him.
Not of their own will, but because of the monster before his eyes!
Only the Jeokroe Cheongeop Gong and the pure voice of lightning protected him from Jeong-ryeo’s grasp.
But.
[Myeong-hoon-ah.]
When Jeong-ryeo called his name again, Jeon Myeong-hoon felt the strength gradually leaving his arms.
When she called his name, he wanted to entrust everything to her.
He wanted to offer everything to her.
He wanted to submit to her.
“Ah, no…”
Jeon Myeong-hoon gritted his teeth as he looked at the existence revealed in the sky.
He looked down at Geum So-hae gazing up at him from below.
“My… my family…!”
[Myeong-hoon-ah.]
When she called his name once more, Jeon Myeong-hoon was seized by a terrifying sensation.
Deep within his memories, his childhood suddenly surfaced.
He recalled his kindergarten days.
The kindergarten teacher from back then, Jeong-ryeo, stroked his entire body and whispered.
—Myeong-hoon-ah, you must listen to me well.
‘No, no. There was no teacher like you!’
Elementary school days.
His homeroom teachers from first to sixth grade came to mind.
All of Jeon Myeong-hoon’s homeroom teachers had been white-haired women.
‘No, don’t say such nonsense!’
In middle school, Jeon Myeong-hoon recalled his desk partner, a white-haired girl.
And his homeroom teacher throughout all three years of middle school had also been a white-haired woman.
‘Ah, no…’
During high school.
Jeon Myeong-hoon recalled the hairstyle that had been popular in his class.
Back then, all the girls had come to school with long white hair.
Thinking carefully, it seemed all the female teachers at his school had also had long white hair and identical appearances.
‘Huu, huuah…’
During university.
Jeon Myeong-hoon had been an outcast.
Because every single person at the university except Jeon Myeong-hoon had been a white-haired woman.
[Myeong-hoon-ah.]
Stroking his cheek with her delicate jade-like hands, the white-haired woman whispered into his ear.
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s eyes began to narrow sharply.
The faces of everyone he knew were changing into white-haired women.
He recalled his colleagues at SJD Company.
The white-haired department head and deputy head both liked hiking.
His two white-haired coworkers who joined at the same time as him had both gotten along poorly with him.
The new hire was also a white-haired woman.
‘Ah, no!’
Jeon Myeong-hoon kept digging through his memories.
Gradually, the figures of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect also came to mind.
“Stop! Don’t come into my head!”
[Myeong-hoon-ah…]
The woman he loved most.
So-hae’s face…
And finally.
Jeon Myeong-hoon shed tears and screamed, abandoning the attempt to push Jeong-ryeo into the dimensional rift.
[Hwaaaaaah!]
Letting out a scream so loud it carried spiritual energy, he rushed toward Geum So-hae and looked at her face.
Fortunately, it was the original Geum So-hae, not a white-haired one.
“Jeon Myeong-hoon…? What’s wrong?”
“So, So-so… So-hae…”
And then.
Ziiing!
Jeon Myeong-hoon suddenly felt that the “voice of lightning” advising him had changed.
The soft yet pure voice of lightning, unlike Jeong-ryeo’s sinister and ominous tone.
That voice of lightning had always guided him down the right path.
Though Jeong-ryeo’s voice always felt repulsive, he had believed this voice of lightning to be the true voice of lightning and had relied on it from the depths of his heart.
But the next moment.
Jeon Myeong-hoon doubted his own ears.
—Submit…
The once weak yet pure voice of lightning suddenly began repeating strange words as if it had lost its mind.
—Submit…
—Submit…
—Submit…
Suddenly, it felt as though the lightning, which was merely a phenomenon, had gone mad.
But that was not the end.
“Kwaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaah!”
“Hwaaaaaah!”
When that existence fully descended through the guidance of the Heavenly Thunder Banner, the elders and grand elders of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, who had not perceived it despite seeing it due to the banner’s hypnosis, all screamed at once.
“―――――!”
Jeon Myeong-hoon also let out an indescribably loud scream.
‘What is that what is that what is that what is that what is that what is that what is that what is that what is that…’
Where the gaze of the great existence fell, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to surge explosively.
Crack, crackle!
At the same time, the bodies of the grand elders who had absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began exploding one by one.
Yet even if their bodies exploded, their nascent souls should have remained to plan for the future.
However, none of their nascent souls could escape that place.
Whether they were Nascent Soul-stage elders or Heavenly Person-stage grand elders, the nascent souls of those who burst remained fixed in place, kneeling in a reverent posture with their hands clasped and heads bowed.
At that grotesque sight, Jeon Myeong-hoon did not even realize that the entire Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect had been covered in black curse characters.
* * *
Ziiing!
[Ah, my master…]
Far away, Jeong-ryeo rose into the sky.
I looked up at the sky with great difficulty through the Myeolsin Geopcheon and gritted my teeth.
Though it was merely a single eye, and even while activating the Myeolsin Geopcheon that carried Yang Su-jin’s will, I felt my mind on the verge of collapsing.
Perhaps if someone else had learned the Myeolsin Geopcheon, they would have long since lost their mind and cried out to submit.
‘It begins now.’
I barely held my collapsing mind together and tried to control my trembling body to activate the ritual.
‘Move, body! Please move!’
It was then, as I forced my body to move while in a state of panic.
Ziiing!
A sharp, ringing sound reached me.
At the same time, I heard a certain will.
This is… this is…!!!
—Thegreatone’swillhasfoundmeintheGoldenHeavenlyPunishment’sdivinepunishmentbodyandthethreeimmortalsofthissideoftheworldmustsubmit.
“Hwaaaaaaaaah!!!”
I felt blood gushing from my seven orifices.
I can hear it!
I can hear it!
I can hear the will of the great one!
“Sub, sub, sub… mit…”
Shedding tears along with blood, I sobbed and tried to clasp my hands together.
It was so clearly audible.
In my previous life, Geum Byeok-ho had heard that one’s jade voice, but I had not.
Why?
It was obvious.
Because back then Geum Byeok-ho had been walking the great path of the Lightning Dao, while I had been a lowly wretch who did not even know the character for lightning in lightning arts.
That’s right!
Now that I had also learned the Myeolsin Geopcheon, a lightning art, I could hear that one’s jade voice and submit…
‘Myeolsin Geopcheon!!!’
Ziiing!
The moment I thought of “Myeolsin Geopcheon,” I felt my mind clear and stopped my hands from moving into a praying posture of their own accord.
“Huu, huu huu…”
Cold sweat flowed.
That one—no, that existence—had no intention of controlling me or any malice.
It had merely transmitted a vast will to Jeong-ryeo in an ordinary manner, and I had happened to overhear that will because I had learned a lightning art.
Even understanding the meaning of the will was not the case.
Yet merely overhearing a will without any malice had nearly shattered all my resolve and determination, turning me into a cripple.
‘This is… the gap between me and an Imperial Immortal…’
I barely raised my trembling body and continued looking at the sky.
Pop!
Both my eyeballs burst.
It did not matter.
I quickly regenerated my eyeballs and used the energy of the Myeolsin Geopcheon to prevent them from bursting again.
In the darkness, I began the ritual.
Wuuuung!
When I activated the Myeolsin Geopcheon, the heavenly energy began to change.
Rumble, rumble…
At the same time, extremely familiar beings began to poke their heads out.
Dark storm clouds.
The ones that had always interfered with my cultivation.
During my Qi Condensation days, how much despair had those dark clouds brought me?
Rumble rumble rumble!
It was no ordinary heavenly phenomenon.
The dark storm clouds summoned by the Myeolsin Geopcheon carried the exact same feeling as the dark storm clouds that had triggered my heavenly tribulation during my Qi Condensation days.
Those were clouds formed of destiny.
More precisely, clouds formed of calamity.
When the master of heavenly punishment’s gaze was momentarily obscured by the dark storm clouds and communication with the master was cut off, Jeong-ryeo, who had been looking up at the sky, turned her gaze toward me.
Calamities gathered and gathered until they became a power strong enough to twist the destiny of the heavens.
A ritual that was by no means auspicious.
Therefore, to safely complete this ritual, a sacrificial offering was needed.
“I offer.”
The offerings of the ritual were limited to those who possessed the power of “Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder.”
And being expelled from the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect did not simply mean being driven out of the sect.
It meant being separated from the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and becoming “another Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect” in itself.
This was also the basis on which I had asked Heon-wi to recognize me as another Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
Offering sacrifices that possessed the power of another Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder as a Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
That was the Myeolsin Geopcheon.
But that also meant that “oneself” was included within the range of offerings.
I reversed part of the incantation of the Myeolsin Geopcheon.
Shwaaaat!
Just as the essence of curse and blessing was merely the presence or absence of intent.
Perhaps the difference between demonic arts and righteous arts was also merely a difference in how intent flowed.
Contrary to what Yang Su-jin had intended, the Myeolsin Geopcheon began unfolding in a completely different form.
Zzt zzt zzt zzt!
I unified the power of the Myeolsin Geopcheon with the Eumhon Gwijumun inside my nascent soul through the Uihye Eunsan.
At the same time, I reversed the activated Eumhon Gwijumun and Baekran Chukseongmun.
Flash!
At the same time, the curse characters that had covered the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect in the form of the great yin all reversed into blessing characters at once,
and the blessing characters that had anchored the center of the great yin in the form of the lesser yang became the center of the great yang in the form of the lesser yin.
As yin and yang reversed, the Myeolsin Geopcheon that had unified with them also reversed!
Crackle crackle!
Along with the white orchids blooming everywhere, I reached my hand toward the sky.
Originally, it was a ritual that sacrificed everything to complete oneself.
But at this moment, Yang Su-jin’s will was shattered.
Because some madman who sacrificed himself to protect everything had inherited his will.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The calamity-filled dark storm clouds in the sky began pouring down toward me.
“I offer myself as the sacrifice, O destiny. Please!”
Crash, rumble!
Azure lightning flashed throughout the dark storm clouds and began striking the entire Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
“Let the destiny of destruction be averted!”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Azure lightning struck from all directions.
The blue lightning that had always blocked my cultivation and tried to kill me now struck everyone in the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect just enough not to kill them, changing the heavenly energy bestowed upon them.
Rumble rumble rumble!
I felt the dark storm clouds all enter me and broke into a cold sweat.
My heavenly energy was changing.
It was no ordinary great misfortune.
I had never seen such a calamitous disaster before.
And as the dark storm clouds entered me and the sky became visible again,
I could meet the gaze of the master of heavenly punishment.
‘Ah…’
I understood.
The master of heavenly punishment was enraged.
At the same time, Jeong-ryeo, who had been looking at me since earlier, reached her hand toward me.
[Seo Eun-hyun.]
“…!”
[Seo Eun-hyun.]
I raised my tension and watched Jeong-ryeo.
[Seo Eun-hyun.]
Jeong-ryeo called my name three times in succession.