The Irresistible Temptation of the Soul-Stealing Technique

p>The chant of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens resonated within me!

p>I channeled the technique's incantation, and a shiver ran through my inner energy core.

p>Then, in an instant, my inner energy core flickered with a deep purple hue, and I felt it undergo a profound, alien transformation.

p>“This is…?”

p>I could feel it.

p>Right now, my inner energy core had become the very form best suited for devouring another's body.

p>“So this is what Purple Soul Filling the Heavens truly is—a forbidden art that steals flesh?”

p>I furrowed my brows, probing the technique a little deeper.

p>And just as I began to explore further, when I tried to operate Purple Soul Filling the Heavens once more.

p>Whoosh—

p>Pachit!

p>“...!”

p>My inner energy core, now dyed purple, suddenly convulsed and unleashed a surge of spiritual power.

p>After a moment, the inner energy core released every trace of the spiritual energy it had absorbed, then reverted to its original state.

p>The property of the inner energy core that had been altered by Purple Soul Filling the Heavens had simply returned to normal.

p>‘What the…’

p>Yet I focused not on the technique's failure, but on something far stranger.

p>‘The incantation itself had reacted as if alive the moment I tried to activate it.’

p>How utterly bizarre.

p>‘That’s why Jin Ma-yeol said we could never obtain Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.’

p>To activate any technique, one must infuse spiritual energy into the incantation and then trigger it.

p>But when I tried to do so with the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, the incantation itself—now feeling alive—refused to obey and unravelled.

p>‘Incantations cannot truly be alive. Even if spiritual energy is infused into them, they are merely a mass of energy. How can something that is not a soul still move by itself?’

p>I actually knew something similar.

p>‘They’re like the monsters of the Deep Sea.’

p>Within the Deep Sea of Goryeok Realm.

p>Beasts born from the gathered memories and histories of a fallen world.

p>Those were the Deep Sea monsters of Goryeok Realm.

p>‘That’s why Jin Ma-yeol tried so hard to steal a Sea Dragon body and then use the Sea Dragon Transformation Technique on him.’

p>The Sea Dragon race could navigate the Deep Sea because they were native to it.

p>And just as the Deep Sea monsters were born from condensed memories, so too was the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens—something I had hoped the Sea Dragon race might be able to control in some way.

p>But after sensing the incantation, I shook my head.

p>‘Even if one is a Sea Dragon, could they possibly control a technique as similar to a Deep Sea monster as this?’

p>Honestly, the odds seemed very slim.

p>‘But Yuk Rin is using it. So Jin Ma-yeol must be planning to approach him and ask for the method.’

p>In that case, Purple Soul Filling the Heavens was undeniably connected to the Sea Dragon race.

p>‘Purple Soul Filling the Heavens…’

p>Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.

p>Muddy Soul Filling the Heavens.

p>The Sea Dragon King, Seo Hyoel.

p>Yuk Rin, who possesses the flesh of a Sea Dragon.

p>Salt Crystal Norigae.

p>Yuk Yo.

p>Bongrae Island and the Salt Crystal.

p>Goryeok Realm.

p>…

p>‘Everything seems connected in some way.’

p>But I still could not understand the precise criteria of that connection.

p>It was deeply frustrating.

p>While pondering, I could find no answer, so I resolved to move my Sitting Liberation and Standing Death doppelgänger.

p>And that was when—

p>“Wait a moment.”

p>I suddenly recalled the doppelgänger I had intended to move, then remembered the incantation of Purple Soul Filling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Heavens.

p>“Wait, wait, wait…!”

p>Something was about to surface.

p>Sitting Liberation and Standing Death doppelgänger.

p>And the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.

p>And how Yuk Rin had hidden his doppelgänger using Purple Soul Filling the Heavens to avoid Kim Young-hoon’s eyes in the Mirror Soul Realm!

p>That’s it!

p>Purple Soul Filling the Heavens is exactly the same as a single strike of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death—completely sealed within the Mirror Soul Realm!

p>Whoosh—

p>I focused my consciousness, chanted the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, and dyed my inner energy core.

p>The very next instant, I gathered that inner energy core into my Chongcheon-geom and swung it straight toward the empty void!

p>A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠single strike of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death!

p>Whoosh—

p>The inner energy core rose completely into the Mirror Soul Realm, guided by the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens and the power of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death.

p>Whoosh—

p>‘I see it.’

p>The deeper I rose into the Mirror Soul Realm, the clearer it became.

p>The structure of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens!

p>‘By tying spiritual energy to the soul.’

p>Spiritual energy carried history within it.

p>In other words, spiritual energy was information.

p>I could now see it from within the Mirror Soul Realm.

p>Whoosh—

p>‘The incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens gathers spiritual energy on its own and then condenses it into information bodies within, giving them a role resembling a human soul.’

p>And those artificial souls, moving like Deep Sea monsters, were trying to escape my control.

p>Kugugugug!

p>I seized the information bodies with my inner energy core and my Sitting Liberation and Standing Death doppelgänger, pulling them completely into the Mirror Soul Realm.

p>Kugugugug!

p>The information bodies generated by the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens thrashed wildly, struggling to break free from my grasp.

p>But once the doppelgänger of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death was combined, the information bodies were finally subdued.

p>Kwaddeuk!

p>I held the barely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suppressed information bodies firmly and focused my consciousness.

p>When I opened my eyes again, they seemed to be trying to slip away from my control, yet I had somehow managed to seize Purple Soul Filling the Heavens that still listened to me.

p>‘Hah… Jin Ma-yeol.’

p>If he knew this, his eyes would probably burst with rage.

p>‘Anyone who has reached Sitting Liberation and Standing Death can easily master Purple Soul Filling the Heavens. At first…’

p>Of course, I had not yet fully controlled the technique. I was still barely holding the reins.

p>It seemed impossible to completely master it, yet Purple Soul Filling the Heavens still raged wildly.

p>I was only able to move it by sheer brute force, pressing it down from within the Mirror Soul Realm.

p>‘Without the power of the Mirror Soul Realm, would mastering it even be possible?’

p>I operated Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, closed my eyes, and moved the purple-dyed inner energy core through the empty void.

p>Whoosh—

p>The inner energy core melted into the darkness as if dissolving and reappeared in an instant a hundred li away.

p>“...I see!”

p>Only now could I understand the principle by which Seo Hyoel had once poured his Takhon Mancheon into my “shadow.”

p>With Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, movement in the form of the Sea Race’s heart-speech through darkness was possible.

p>Assuming Purple Soul Filling the Heavens and Takhon Mancheon shared the same origin, Seo Hyoel had hidden his Takhon Mancheon in darkness and attached it to my shadow like heart-speech.

p>‘And that is the same reason Yuk Rin was able to invade my mind the moment I sat on the throne of the Bongrae Kingdom palace.’

p>Yuk Rin had probably hidden his Purple Soul Filling the Heavens doppelgänger within the shadow of the Sea Dragon statue.

p>And the instant my shadow and the statue’s shadow merged, he invaded my mind.

p>‘He didn’t just conveniently appear from behind the statue to look suspicious.’

p>Sleek, sleek, sleek…

p>Bongrae Island was currently submerged deep within the Deep Sea, so the surroundings were quite dark.

p>Thanks to that, I experimented with using the inner energy core I had dyed with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens to perform instantaneous movement across Bongrae Island as if teleporting.

p>‘In darkness, this is a forbidden art that allows instant movement anywhere in the form of the Sea Race’s heart-speech.’

p>That was only a part of what Purple Soul Filling the Heavens could do.

p>‘It seems I’ve learned another piece of the principle behind Takhon Mancheon.’

p>Within the endless darkness of Seo Hyoel’s mindscape.

p>The reason the countless mindscapes of the distant Seo Hyoel could converse across boundless space and exchange offerings was because Takhon Mancheon, like Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, allowed movement anywhere in the form of heart-speech through darkness.

p>I gathered my inner energy core back to myself, then activated Purple Soul Filling the Heavens once more.

p>Sleeeeee—

p>My body itself was not yet part of the Mirror Soul Realm, so it had not vanished completely, but it could now hide instantly within the darkness as if melting into it.

p>‘And in this state.’

p>I swung my Chongcheon-geom toward the empty void.

p>Whoosh!

p>Stealth and Illusion Technique!

p>In the darkness where no gaze could reach, I unfolded the Moon Water Palace Record, cutting even the perception of those who dwelled within the darkness.

p>“Hwa, hahaha hahaha!”

p>And I laughed.

p>It was not a pointless laugh.

p>With Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, I could now enter the same darkness as Seo Hyoel.

p>Once we could stand in the same darkness, what remained was to identify one another within it!

p>And I had the Moon Water Palace Record!

p>“Hahahahahaha!!”

p>Seo Hyoel.

p>Now you have nothing to fear when you come looking for me!

p>I had obtained a very valuable weapon.

p>A truly precious experience.

p>Sasak—

p>Of course, there was a drawback.

p>Because Purple Soul Filling the Heavens raged wildly, I needed tremendous mental fortitude just to hold it down.

p>‘Using Purple Soul Filling the Heavens would certainly restrict my martial techniques.’

p>The number of times I could unleash a single strike of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death would have decreased.

p>‘But against Seo Hyoel, it was more useful than anything else.’

p>I briefly experimented with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, then advanced further in moving through darkness.

p>Purple Soul Filling the Heavens gathered spiritual energy from the spiritual energy realm and formed information bodies with them, raising them to the Mirror Soul Realm.

p>And thanks to those information bodies in the Mirror Soul Realm, my inner energy core had turned purple.

p>‘And if I could gather these information bodies…’

p>Whoosh—

p>Kugugug!

p>A purple mist began to swirl around the inner energy core I had activated with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.

p>That purple mist howled like a fierce beast, struggling to break free from my control.

p>“Stay still.”

p>I controlled the mist with the power of Sitting Liberation and Standing Death, then hurled a single strike through the Bongrae Island barrier and ejected one doppelgänger outside the island.

p>Kugugug!

p>Through the doppelgänger, I stirred through several dimensions of the Deep Sea.

p>Boom, flash!

p>With every strike of the doppelgänger, the dimensions crumbled one after another.

p>Like a World of Ten Thousand Terraces, there were dimensions filled with mountains and rivers, dimensions of salt jade where flames roared, dimensions where pitch-black oil flowed endlessly, and terrifying dimensions where poisonous gases billowed.

p>Kugung, kugugug!

p>I had passed through dimensions similar to those of Integration and Unity investigators.

p>Kurrrung!

p>Inside one dimension fragment, I sensed vibrations that shook the entire Deep Sea.

p>And a moment later, as the space above the dimension I had just shattered with the doppelgänger cracked open, a creature resembling a whale let out a roar.

p>[Beep beep beep beep—]

p>It was a Deep Sea monster.

p>I sent the information bodies I controlled through the Mirror Soul Realm to the doppelgänger.

p>Kugugug!

p>A purple mist bloomed around the doppelgänger.

p>[Beep beep beep beep—]

p>“Quiet.”

p>Tat!

p>I instantly flew into the empty void, split the Deep Sea monster in half, then unleashed the raging power of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens that screamed toward it.

p>Crack!

p>The purple mist of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens broke free as expected and instantly enveloped the corpse of the Deep Sea monster.

p>‘I feel it.’

p>The purple mist began to dismantle the information and histories that made up the Deep Sea monster.

p>Knowledge of the countless pieces of information and history that composed the Deep Sea monster was reconstructed within the purple mist.

p>And the next instant.

p>Sasasa—

p>The purple mist sank, and from within it emerged a whale-shaped Deep Sea monster, now entirely covered in purple, glaring at me.

p>The wounds I had split were gone.

p>[Kieeeeeeeek!]

p>Kugugug!

p>The creature rushed at me again.

p>I tested it with a rough attack and realized—

p>‘It’s become stronger than before.’

p>Purple Soul Filling the Heavens had entered its body, taken over the Deep Sea monster, expelled the bad parts, and condensed the good parts to evolve.

p>I briefly fought the creature, then split it in half once more.

p>Kwoong!

p>On the spot where the Deep Sea monster fell, a fist-sized piece of jade remained, and the purple mist drifted in the empty void before clinging to the jade as if absorbing it.

p>‘This is…’

p>And a line of the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens rose above the jade.

p>Whoosh—

p>I trembled as I read the incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens that had risen above the jade.

p>The incantation had changed.

p>I chanted the changed incantation of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens and activated it once more.

p>And I understood.

p>‘Purple Soul Filling the Heavens has evolved once!’

p>Of course, it had not evolved enormously—only one line had been added to the incantation regarding “methods of countering counterattacks.” But it was still evolution.

p>A technique that disintegrated and absorbed the opponent’s soul and information, then evolved.

p>‘Is this what Purple Soul Filling the Heavens truly is?’

p>Originally it was not the mist of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, but a technique that perfectly merged my inner energy core with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, devouring and eradicating the opponent while I evolved.

p>However, I had not yet fully merged my inner energy core with Purple Soul Filling the Heavens, so I could not yet devour.

p>‘With this, I have gained some control over Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.’

p>“It’s a pity I can’t evolve by devouring the opponent, but I didn’t want that in the first place. And above all, I can move freely in darkness… Baek Rin should be able to obtain it quickly.”

p>I smiled faintly and tried to pass the newly gained power of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens to the doppelgänger floating on the sea surface.

p>And I trembled.

p>“...Wait a moment.”

p>A thought suddenly surfaced.

p>Purple Soul Filling the Heavens was a forbidden art that disintegrated the opponent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to absorb and devour, causing them to evolve.

p>And Takhon Mancheon was a forbidden art that disintegrated the self to infect the opponent.

p>If that were the case, could I not absorb Seo Hyoel’s Takhon Mancheon array using Purple Soul Filling the Heavens?