Grasping Hands (5)
What does Sitting Liberation and Standing Death mean?
Literally, it means sitting and entering death. It refers to a term meaning one can freely control life and death, and freely perform out-of-body experiences. The 'One Strike' of Before-the-Throne was essentially a clone of mine, so calling that out-of-body experience is also accurate. However, there was something I did not understand, so I asked. “Why did you not name it and call it by name?”
“…When I alone reach the realm of Resolving the Tragic, what will I do? It is the realm reached by severing and cutting away. The intent is to comprehend, yet simply sitting comfortably and entering death is too filled with many events.”
“Is that so….”
Still, the guilt toward Cheongmun Ryeong seemed to be the reason he named the realm and yet did not properly call it by name. “Well, in any case, did you see anything else?”
“…I did see.”
Kim Young-hoon demonstrated it in the form of a dance. That was a clue to the next realm. And although I am slow, I had not wasted the time I held the sword thus far, so I could also grasp that clue. Beyond Sitting Liberation and Standing Death. To reach the place also called Before-the-Throne, we must draw out every possibility we possess. Just as Kim Young-hoon had laid veins across his own marrow and channels to ignite his latent potential. Just as Tae Yeol-jeon had drawn strength from the depths of her mind. Drawing out every usable possibility was the hint to the next realm. Then how, in the body of a mortal, to draw out other possibilities. Sitting Liberation and Standing Death was also Kim Young-hoon’s nickname for the martial method of this realm, and simultaneously the practice method itself. To enter death and simultaneously to enter death. One must forget. Or rather, one must sever. All attachments to one’s past, all fears regarding one’s fate. After severing and forgetting all of that, only the true Void remains, and that is how one reaches the beyond of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death. I understood why Kim Young-hoon had said he could not reach the next realm. “…You cannot sever it, can you?”
“….”
That was it. The way to reach that beyond was to sever and forget everything. Yet he had reached here thanks only to the emotion of longing. But telling him to forget everything was nothing different from telling him to discard his very identity. Kim Young-hoon looked at his own Dao with powerless eyes. “How… how can a person sever all their connections?”
“….”
Watching that, I let out a sigh. If severing everything was the key to the next realm, as Kim Young-hoon had said… ‘I also cannot reach the next realm.’ How could one say a person could sever all their connections without hesitation. Hearing his words, I felt increasingly melancholy. I had found the method to the next realm. But that method was impossible. “…Damn it.”
Kim Young-hoon made a desolate expression and swung his Dao. The surface of the dimension where he stood rippled according to the trajectory of his Dao. “That is why I asked Oh Hyun-seok to train me. No matter how hard I train… perhaps it is truly impossible to reach the next realm.”
“….”
With a bitter taste in his mouth, he stood still holding his Dao and headed toward the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok, stomping on the surface of the deep sea. “I came to fight this battle to confirm whether the realization I had gained was truly correct.”
“…You speak strangely. I am the first to hear the clue to the next realm from Brother Young-hoon, so why would I be the one to realize it through collision with you?”
“Well… you already embody the realization of the next realm, do you not?”
“Yes…?”
I asked in confusion, and Kim Young-hoon smiled faintly. “I do not seem to have realized it yet, but you already possess the same realization as me and have it completely embodied in your body. That is why I gained the realization through sparring with you.”
“Such….”
“There is no need to explain it in detail for you. If you have the means, you will realize it naturally, and self-realization is best. In any case, I have confirmed the realization. I… will go to Oh Hyun-seok and train a bit more with that Cycle-of-Life Art.”
After speaking, Kim Young-hoon returned to the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok as is. I stood rooted in place, unable to follow his words. The surrounding area still shimmered with countless phantoms. I understood why Kim Young-hoon had severed one of them. The night sea of Goryeok-yeok vaguely reflected the past of the target, and Kim Young-hoon had meant to sever his own past. Of course, he had returned after knowing it was impossible. “….”
I quietly remained in the night sea and looked around. “…The Ten-Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram.”
Tsk tsk tsk!
The Colorless Glass Sword rang and sent forth a hazy mist. On the surface of the sea of Goryeok-yeok, a hazy water mist appeared. And within that mist, countless connections filled with longing emerged. Uwoong—
Whatever resonated with the nature of Goryeok-yeok, the entire Ten-Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram harmonized with the deep sea. Of course, it was not awakening any hidden power or potential, but simply harmonizing normally. For some time I floated above the night sea and reached out my hand to them. Sreuk—
My hand pierced their phantoms. It was not caught. They were clearly the connections I had achieved before, yet now they were mere illusions that could not be caught. Stretching my hand blankly into the Void while recalling old memories was already a habit of mine. At first glance it seemed foolish, but I could not stop. If I kept reaching out, perhaps one day they would be caught. When I was in difficulty, blabbering nonsense like ‘Earthling from the civilized world’ had not been without reason. Even if meaningless, if I kept repeating it, perhaps I could return there. This action was the same. Even if meaningless, if I kept gesturing, perhaps I could catch them again. But… to reach the next realm, one must sever this…? “…Impossible.”
Psaak—
When I reached out my hand, the hazy mist dispersed. In the end the surroundings were once again the night sea. I felt Kim Young-hoon had understood the paradox of being trapped. To return home, whether through martial arts or cultivation, one had to hone oneself to an even higher realm. Yet if one did not abandon the initial goal, one could not reach the next realm. A belly bigger than the belly. However, what was one to do. “…Up to Integration is still bearable.”
Up to Integration one could still endure, piling up merits and comprehending the Six Poles to complete the Foundation, reaching a point where it would somehow be possible. However, the Star Shattering. And beyond Sitting Liberation and Standing Death, I could not grasp anything at all. Would I truly be able to reach it? Even just the difference between Star Shattering and below was already insane. I had thought that pushing the Triple Taiji to the extreme would allow a good matchup with beings two realms above, yet even reaching Integration Grand Completion with the Triple Taiji, I was unsure whether I could bear the madness of Kang Min-hee. “…Why am I like this.”
Suddenly a fundamental question arose in my mind: why I was doing this. Because I was alone at night and doing this. Unwanted thoughts intruded, and my mind began to be gnawed at by my heart demon. ―Why do you live?
The phantom of another me rose before my eyes. ―Even if you live, it is not a life worth living. You have no interest in anything except severing the regression. You pour yourself into becoming strong your entire life, run until your feet sweat to save those like Kang Min-hee and Kim Yeon even though you know it will never work… do you know how foolish you look when watched from the side?“….”
―What changes if you save them that way? You already know fate is fixed. Even if you save them, they will just suffer again. Why not discard all those meaningless connections, lock yourself away in some remote place, cultivate for thousands of years until you become a True Immortal, then regress and save everyone? Huh? You already know that is the best method. Do you not?“….”
The phantom of ‘me’ wore black clothes and had nineteen heads. It whispered to me. ―So why not commit suicide right now and use a more optimized method than this…. “So?”
However, I looked at the heart demon before my eyes with empty eyes. I had not told others, but heart demons of this type frequently tormented my mind. Yet I had never been devoured by any of them. “So, if I die? What then?”
I looked down at the heart demon with hollow, empty eyes. It gradually began to shrink in size. Even in death one would revive. I did not know how intensely jealous and enraged it was to watch Seo Lip calmly smile as he died. I had been envious of him. The reasons for immortals cultivating were various. Immortality and eternal life, infinite power, vast knowledge, new truths. Exploration of the world, or complex karma. To avoid being swayed by others, or perhaps it simply suited one’s aptitude and advanced rapidly. But I dare assert that the reason I cultivated was different from any of the three-thousand worlds and was alien. “I want to die…!” Kwad!
I grabbed the heart demon before my eyes and opened my mouth. Waud, wad deuk, wad!
The heart demon with nineteen heads was caught in my hand and torn from my mouth. It struggled, but I did not let go. The reason I had met countless heart demons before without going mad was because I myself was my greatest heart demon. Going mad was useless. In the first loop I had screamed about the Earthling from the civilized world and gone mad. Useless. It had all become nonexistent. The next time I had been a little dissatisfied but almost achieved it while going mad over matters. Useless. It had all become nonexistent. I grew strong, learned the secrets of the world, had my position recognized, lost precious people and gained them again only to lose them, obtained precious experiences, made precious friends, acquired much truth and power, and my position rose sharply once more…. All useless. All nonexistent. Still, I had succeeded in catching a few connections because a few loops had become fixed. But! “Still! It remains!” The regression! Had not disappeared! Ultimately, because of Yang Su-jin’s warning, I had not spoken the word regression aloud. But precisely because of that, my chest burned more. Chwaaa!
I struck my fist hard. The power I had accumulated until now invoked pressure and the deep sea rippled as is. After devouring the heart demon, I realized with a sad expression why a heart demon had suddenly come to me. ‘…Because I heard the words that I must sever.’ It was not severable. I had already lost everything countless times in the flow of time. Countless times because of the curse of regression! I knew Kim Young-hoon was not lying about the next realm. When he gave a clue to the next realm, it was truth. Therefore, his words that one must sever everything to reach the next realm were also true. And now I sensed the Triple Taiji rising behind my back. It had seemed familiar lately. ‘The cultivation method of the Heavenly Spirit Clan is gradually becoming similar.’ Up to Heavenly Person the cultivation methods of the Heavenly Spirit Clan diverged, but from Four Pillars onward, even if Heavenly Spirit Dual Breath, the path of power and the expression of power differed only in the amount of power one could store in the body; the way of cultivation did not change greatly. And according to what was passed down, when reaching Star Shattering the cultivation methods of the Heavenly Spirit Clan were almost indistinguishable. Also, I knew the Star Shattering promotion ceremony well. In the Taesu Convention everything had been made public so that those who wished to surpass Taesu and become Venerables could use it. However, the later Jin-mu Daeje Hyeonmu, the later Gol-maek, and even Heon-won, who had once been later, had only remained at the later stage of Integration and had not attempted to become Venerables. ‘The Star Shattering promotion ceremony is also similar to the method Kim Young-hoon spoke of.’ Interestingly, though the ranks of Ki, Hun, and Myeong were one, the cultivation method of Heavenly Spirit Heart also became more similar as it went later. I did not know whether it was Marrying-Return-to-Clan or something else. But now, to go to the next realm, there was only one method. To discard! The thing I absolutely could not discard, to discard without mercy! That was the method to rise even higher. “How… to discard….”
The reason the heart demon had come and spoken nonsense to me and been devoured was one. Because there was no answer. The realm was higher, but the path was unclear. No matter how much time I spent! Could I really use that method? Previously there had been an unspoken expectation that even if the realm was completely unclear, pounding it with time would work. However, I knew there were things to which time could not be applied. Like the heart demon’s nonsense, no matter how many thousands or even millions of years one poured in, that method was impossible. At least for me! After facing the heart demon many times and being frustrated many times, I could predict my next action. Nevertheless, I would cultivate as is and challenge the limit of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death. Then I would raise all cultivation realms to Integration. If I raised Heavenly Spirit Heart to Integration Grand Completion, it would be quite usable. Perhaps I might become strong enough to attempt the Dao even before Star Shattering. However, I knew that ending. I would once again be blocked by a wall and howl for thousands or even millions of years. It was not a problem of talent. It was the problem of whether I could discard. “…Damn it.”
I looked back at the deep sea I had returned to and cursed. Below, something coiled and coiled. It seemed the deep-sea monster was targeting me. Chwaaa!
Above the Void, a whale-like monster covered in countless phantoms opened its mouth and leaped toward me. Buwoong!
It was a Four-Pillars Grand Completion level monster, but I roughly split it and took out only the core of the head inside. Deep-sea monsters were said to be not living creatures but a kind of ‘record’ that had taken shape from the accumulation of histories in countless dimensions. Therefore, the thing had hovered above the deep sea for a few days, then melted and disappeared as is. Tsk tsk tsk—
The deep-sea monster made of past records melted into the Void as is, and its corpse melted and scattered into the Void. Countless remnants of the past scattered from inside the deep-sea monster. At that moment I was blankly staring at the sight. Suddenly, a remnant emitting a faint greenish light brushed past in front of me. And within that remnant, I saw the landscape of a certain family of neighbors carrying a large coffin up a mountain with someone. The family was a middle-aged couple, and they were climbing the mountain with a small girl. The girl was the daughter of the neighbor house. “…Wait a moment.”
Seeing that remnant, my eyes widened as I approached it. At that moment. Ptsutssut!
The remnant that emerged from the body of the deep-sea monster gathered in the Void and became a beast of green light. The information body that had emerged from the body of the deep-sea monster gathered again and became a small deep-sea monster. “Wait, wait!”
I rushed toward the green beast. It had the shape of a deer, and as I rushed it immediately began to flee. Toong— toong—
I looked at the deep-sea monster with eyes wide open. “…Wait, what are you?”
I began chasing the deer. Above the mysterious night sea of Goryeok-yeok. There, the pursuit between me and the green deer began. The deer jumped lightly on the sea surface like Kim Young-hoon. I chased the back of the deer, but the deer strangely only grew farther instead of coming closer. “There! Stop there! Stop there!”
I chased the suddenly appearing deer with bloodshot eyes. “Stop there!!! Stop there right now!!!”
Chwaaa!
I mobilized every method I had—Divine Step, Immobility Technique, Floating Technique, hovering flight, and so on—to chase the deer. However, the deer never came close to me. Gritting my teeth, I shouted at the deer. “Come back! Come back!!!”
However, the deer fled far away from me, and I only floated on the dark sea and lost the deer. “…What is that….”
It was strange. I had run with all my power for a long time. I had flown at the speed of repeating the same region back and forth many times, and the sea was endless. “What did I see?”
Upon coming to my senses, I had not gone far from the place where I had caught the whale-shaped deep-sea monster. “Tell me too.”
“It is fine. The deep-sea monster was showing an illusion.”
I sighed and pressed my head. ‘Did I really go mad?’ If Kim Young-hoon had been nearby I would have prepared even if I fell into the illusion, but after he left and I was alone in the night sea of Goryeok-yeok, I had briefly fallen into the illusion. “…Almost a disaster.”
I shook my head. It seemed the reason Kim Young-hoon had warned me to keep staring at the night sea of Goryeok-yeok was not dangerous. I looked back and looked at the place where I had caught the whale monster. All phantoms had dispersed, and only the sea of the dimension rippled. “…I should return.”
I had thought one deep-sea monster was not very dangerous, but seeing the last strange phantom made me think differently. I used the Immobility Technique as is and returned to the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok. Kugugug!
The far realm of Gwangeum-yeok had reached the edge of an air bubble. The wall of the void now lay right in front of me. Chwaaa!
The end of the pitch-black ‘horizon’ I had seen in Seorando was before my eyes. ‘It looks like the scenery of Suyeh.’ Like Suyeh, the end of the horizon was cut off here as well. However, in Suyeh the World-Cycle Power had blocked the end of the world, whereas here the ‘sea water’ rose vertically and formed a wall of ‘deep sea’ while extending endlessly into the sky to form the void. To cross to another realm, I had to cross this wall. ‘Let me see… around the time I cross the wall, one of Yeon Wi or Seo Ran or Siho or Buk Hyang-hwa asked to be called….’ Seo Ran and Siho seemed very busy, and Buk Hyang-hwa was soaking in alcohol and nibbling the hair of the similarly drunk Kim Yeon. I shook my head and looked toward Yeon Wi. Fortunately, Yeon Wi was playing a board game with Yuk Yo, who had been somewhat healed. “I should ask Yeon Wi.”
I sent her a thought transmission, and she, who had been in split form, overturned the board she had been playing on and entered the room where Jeon Myeong-hoon and Yeon-jin were cultivating with the winnings. Some time later, a brief argument erupted from inside, and Yeon Wi who had taken Yeon-jin’s body flew toward me. “Ah, you have already arrived at the edge of the region?”
“Yes, please cool your body a little.”
“It is fine. It is not my body anyway. Hoo, he said the young master of the Conqueror King is the same as before, so with my help it should be enough to cross.”
Yeon Wi wiped sweat and looked at the vast void wall before her eyes. “First, do you have a core?”
“Here it is.”
I crumbled the core I had just caught and handed it to her. Yeon Wi grasped a handful of the core and performed a seal. Paaaat!
The core spewed light in the Void and changed into a compass-like model. The compass-like model clicked in the Void and pointed to one place on the wall of the void. “Move the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok to the front.”
“Yes.”
Kugugug!
After some time the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok moved there, and Yeon Wi nodded. “Straighten the attraction force toward the direction indicated by the Goryeok Method.”
Uwoowoong!
When I did as she said and spewed the attraction force. “Hmm?”
Suddenly I felt a sensation as if my attraction force and consciousness were being pulled somewhere indicated by the compass. And at some moment, my attraction force and consciousness connected with somewhere beyond the wall of the void. “Connected?”
“Yes. It is connected….”
“I will teach you the seal. Speak the incantation according to this seal and pull!”
Uwoong!
I spoke the incantation according to her meaning and pulled the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok and the corresponding place with the attraction force. At the same time, the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok was embedded in the wall of the void as is. Kugugugug!
Countless fragments of dimensions rippled like a shattered porcelain bowl. ‘This is the trace of the fallen world….’ The sense of distance rippled, and it felt as if I would lose my way at any moment. However, something connected to me steadily pulled me, telling me the way we were going, so I led the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok forward without panic. And some time later. Bling!
Kugugugug!
The far realm of Gwangeum-yeok entered somewhere as is. “…Is this another realm?”
I looked around. It was surprisingly a narrow space. The far realm of Gwangeum-yeok, the size of the Indian Ocean, was a space that could be filled. Of course that was not small, but compared to the ‘realm’ I knew it was very narrow. However, Yeon Wi shook her head. “This is the mid-region.”
“Mid-region?”
“Yes. Because the realms and between realms have considerable mixing of dimensions, one might swim between those realms for too long and lose the way. Therefore, at appropriate distances many Integration-level experts or Venerables have created ‘mid-regions’. A kind of inter-realm relay. Read the flow of attraction force surrounding this space. It is interpreted like this. Well….”
I read the flow of attraction force surrounding this inter-dimensional space according to the interpretation she had shown. “Do you not feel the flow of attraction? In that flow of attraction force, the coordinates of the region I know and the coordinates of another realm will be felt. Repeat what I just did toward the coordinates of the opposite realm I am aiming for.”
“….”
“Are you listening to me?”
I listened to her words and trembled in my eyes. ‘This flow of attraction force… this technique engraved in this inter-space….’ “This guy, Seo Eun-hyun! Listen when I speak!”
‘This is….’
Suddenly I recalled a certain realm. The formation and jade belt under the valley in that realm. ‘The world where Ham-jin had been…!’ If I activated the formation in that world, that area of the formation would change like an air bubble and separate from the realm, and strange attraction force would cover the surroundings of the other realm. Previously I had not known what it was, but today I could know. ‘That which had been in Ham-jin’s world was a ‘mid-region’!’ And I read the flow of attraction force at that time by incorporating the attraction force interpretation method Yeon Wi had shown. “This bastard! If it had been my time, I would have hit you on the cheek for that attitude toward the senior!”
The mid-region of the world where Ham-jin had been. The coordinates engraved in that mid-region were two places. One was here, Goryeok-yeok. And the other coordinate, its name was Noe-seong-hae, the Thunder Star Sea. I removed Yeon Wi, who was dangling on my shoulder, and my eyes sparkled. ‘…Yes, thinking about it, there was her.’ I obtained the coordinates of Noe-seong-hae by the interpretation method she had shown. And according to Seo Hyoel, Noe-seong-hae was the distant place where Venerables had gone on expedition. Among them was Jang Ik. Kugugug!
I moved the far realm of Gwangeum-yeok quickly to a completely different realm and turned my head. ‘If severing everything really is the method to the beyond, as Kim Young-hoon said, then what did he do to Jang Ik?’ The feeling that he had discarded all suffering and attachments did not come. There had been a feeling of transcendence, yet he was still fighting for the rights of the Heart Tribe. How could a being who had discarded everything do such a thing? I did not think Kim Young-hoon’s method was wrong, but seeing Jang Ik’s example. ‘Clearly, there may be another method that does not require discarding everything!’
I thought with sparkling eyes. ‘Let me go meet Jang Ik.’ Perhaps if I went to him I might discover another path. A little sore shoulder rubbed, and I decided to meet Jang Ik in the black sea realm where the main fleet of Buk Hyang-hwa’s fleet was.