The Divine Sovereign of Samokdo
At the peak of Yuri Samok Mountain.
Before a glass-like jade throne filled with polar auroras and thick fog.
Two beings faced each other there.
The man in white robes sat upon the throne, as if looking down upon the entire world.
And the man in blue robes looked up at him with a completely expressionless face while seated on the throne.
[Twenty-one thousand nine hundred twenty-three loops. No, now it’s twenty-four. This is the method you used to find Seo Ran from me. Not a single one succeeded, and even the last resort I sent, Oh Hye-seo’s main body, is already in my grasp. What will you do now? What is left?]
The man in white robes.
Seo Eun-hyun looked down at the expressionless existence before him.
He spoke while gazing at Seo Hyoel.
Seo Hyoel replied with an emotionless expression.
“…I understand that you cherish Seo Ran. I already knew that the coercion you used on me earlier was a lie. You cannot kill Seo Ran. Is that not correct?”
[Correct.]
Seo Eun-hyun readily admitted it.
[Then what will you do?]
However, he laughed lightly.
[I am already at completion. In this realm, I am no different from a True Immortal. Yet you wish to take Seo Ran from me for such a minor matter?]
“…Even if you exhaust all ‘others,’ I know that no matter how complete you are, you cannot guarantee victory.”
The heavens’ Seo Hyoel having grown a long tongue showed that things had truly fallen apart. Heh heh… Go ahead. Exhaust all thousands, hundreds of millions, trillions, and quintillions of Seo Hyoels and brainwash me until this world itself collapses. While you are busy, I will contact Hyeol-eum and tell him everything about your danger.
Seo Hyoel lowered his eyes at Seo Eun-hyun’s words.
“….”
[With your current level, Hyeol-eum has already prepared a countermeasure. He can impose some restrictions. But opposing me while you exhaust everything to face him? Haha, you will die bursting before Hyeol-eum’s eyes. No matter how much he is toyed with, he is still a True Immortal.]
This was the testimony of one who had faced Hyeol-eum directly.
It may not have been perfect, but it was never an exaggeration.
[Swear upon the Hyeon-go Paper to your main body and swear loyalty to me. And spill all your past to me. If you do so, I will aid you to the best of my ability, help you achieve your goal, and assist you in cleansing your sins as far as my hand can reach.]
Seo Eun-hyun extended his hand to Seo Hyoel.
[Follow me, Seo Hyoel. I hate you. You disgust me, and I want to kill you. But… I still intend to give you a chance. If you follow me, you will be forgiven whenever, and you will perfectly achieve your goal.]
It was an enormous decision on his part.
Even if Seo Hyoel had been the one to approach him, he had witnessed in past lives the miserable fate Seo Hyoel met—being transformed into a blue earthworm and such.
Furthermore, through the process of achieving Seo Hyoel’s goal, such as the Water Realm brainwash, they could learn the secrets of Seo Eun-hyun and the other Terminating Ones.
And Seo Hyoel laughed.
“…I agree to cooperate.”
[What new scheme are you planning now? Fine. Struggle all you want.]
The next instant.
Seo Hyoel fired a blood qi beam toward the inside of Seo Eun-hyun’s embrace.
Kwaaang!
Following that, parts of Seo Hyoel before him exploded.
Red beams erupted from Seo Hyoel’s entire body, staining the surroundings.
Ttak!
However, the moment Seo Eun-hyun snapped his fingers, the beams vanished without a trace.
Seo Eun-hyun blinked.
[Is it Takhon Mancheon again? It suits the fog camouflage well. And this is… Black Ghost Valley sorcery.]
Chiii-
Seo Eun-hyun swept away the Black Ghost Valley qi trying to invade his surroundings and clenched his fist in the void.
Kwaak!
The next instant, the Takhon Mancheon fragments hidden in the darkness gathered en masse before Seo Eun-hyun under his force of attraction.
The fragments reformed into Seo Hyoel’s shape.
[Give up. You cannot surpass me now.]
Seo Hyoel smiled faintly.
[Do you know why there is no average among the powers of the Seongban stage cultivators?]
[Because we have no substance.]
Seo Eun-hyun said it casually.
[We who have become the very essence of personality are now, in truth, entities of the universe’s ‘flow.’
Yet even as ‘flow,’ we are quite weak. Of course, even compared to ordinary spirits, we have surpassed natural disasters. But viewed from the cosmic perspective, we are nothing but dust that can be swept away at any moment.
And since we have no substance, we must reside somewhere. In the Middle World, the Sub Sea Realm, the Star Realm— or we may reside in the will of the True Immortal and become a vessel representing them. We must reside somewhere to gain substance.]
With each of Seo Eun-hyun’s explanations, the laws of Samokdo bound Seo Hyoel tighter.
[And since we have no substance, we can connect anywhere. We can connect with other Seongban stage completions, with Gaeyeol True Immortals, with known Zunjas, Taes, or even those below Sachuk stage… or with the ‘places’ and ‘True Immortals’ we know. If connected to stronger existences, we may be captured as vessels, but if not, we can simply borrow their power. Therefore, we are the residing place. And because power varies greatly depending on the known knowledge and connections, we are entities without average strength.]
Seo Hyoel nodded at the words.
[Excellent. Because we can connect so easily with the known existences, we can borrow power anytime and anywhere. This is precisely why True Immortals who have gained substance cannot do so. Then, let me pose one question here. ‘We’… if we can connect with others, can we connect others to each other? Or not? Guess.]
Seo Eun-hyun was startled by the words and turned his gaze somewhere.
[Hah! You prepared such a scheme. As expected of Seo Hyoel!]
Seo Eun-hyun said with a small sigh of admiration and looked somewhere.
It was inside the colorless void of Seo Eun-hyun.
A world with an endless crimson blood-red ground.
Seeing Oh Hye-seo wandering and doing something there, Seo Eun-hyun grinned.
She was communicating with somewhere using her own ability.
‘Thinking about it, that makes sense.’
Seo Eun-hyun’s eyes sparkled.
Oh Hye-seo had clearly arrived in Samokdo as if she were a ‘split soul.’
But when he sensed her again, she was the ‘main body.’
Then how had she deceived him in the beginning?
The method was simple.
She had been connected to an existence in Samokdo ‘outside’ that had greater presence than herself.
Because she was connected to an existence with far greater presence than herself, she had been mistaken for the split soul!
‘Is she connecting with an existence possessing that enormous presence! Indeed, are you trying to summon even a True Immortal level existence!?’
And the next instant.
The entire Samokdo shook.
And Seo Eun-hyun vomited the Heaven-Earth-Nurturing qi from his mouth.
[Kuhk!]
Kuuuung!
A hazy white steam instantly covered the sky of Samokdo.
The steam enveloped not only Samokdo but also the colorless void of Seo Eun-hyun.
Oh Hye-seo gritted her teeth while looking at the steam and shouted.
“I, Oh Hye-seo the human, request of the primordial god Pan Gu! Holy Lord of the Upper Origin, the First Ancestor, the Heavenly Venerable of the Great Void, please listen! I carry out the previous oath, so please, as the arbiter of the oath and contract, return my flesh!”
The next instant.
The soul of Oh Hye-seo, who possessed the body of the Choryong tribe, was extracted from the body.
And her soul quickly flew toward some distant place in the universe.
Seo Eun-hyun watched the scene and understood what Seo Hyoel and Oh Hye-seo had done.
[Did you borrow power from the name owner from the very beginning? I see. You first removed Oh Hye-seo’s soul from her original flesh and filled the empty shell with the power of the name owner! And while the name owner’s power took over her body, Oh Hye-seo acted as Seo Hye and planned to escape by performing rituals at will using the power of the oath to ‘return’ the flesh! Hahaha!]
Seo Eun-hyun laughed with genuine delight.
Of course, Seo Eun-hyun could not prevent the act of Oh Hye-seo being sucked away by the [name owner]’s power.
However, Seo Eun-hyun floated a wheel behind his head and laughed.
Kiriirik-
The wheel began to turn.
[Excellent. As expected, it lives up to its reputation, Seo Hyoel.]
And Seo Eun-hyun reached out his hand.
Drrrrrrd!
The colorless void that had previously imprisoned Oh Hye-seo transformed, borrowing the power of Samokdo and manifesting a portion of the colorless void in reality.
[If the opponent had not been me, I could have easily prevented Oh Hye-seo from escaping.]
* * *
Oh Hye-seo flew rapidly through the universe toward her main body.
Seo Hyoel said.
-[The name owner]’s power is impossible to completely block, no matter how great Seo Eun-hyun is. Even if you are caught at the last moment, you can escape. What will you do?
She had never trusted Seo Hyoel.
She only moved for him when she judged it logically and safely for herself.
And because the escape method Seo Hyoel proposed, the situation he faced, the rewards he promised, and the rewards she could gain from this incident were too attractive, she had moved.
That was it.
According to Seo Hyoel’s judgment and Oh Hye-seo’s verification, Oh Hye-seo should have been safe.
However….
-Oh Hye-seo! I will speak my final words. Immediately tear your soul apart and scatter it! That is the only hope!
‘Don’t talk crazy! You said it would be safe! And if you tear your soul into pieces like that, who among them will be the main body! It means I am disappearing!’
-Time is up! Hurry!
‘You said it would be safe! You…!’
However, Oh Hye-seo noticed something chasing her soul from behind as it leaped hundreds of light years.
[Wh-what is that thing?!]
It was a [hand]!
A giant glass [hand] with protruding glass swords pursuing her over hundreds of light years.
[Go away! Go away, I say!!!]
Oh Hye-seo’s soul’s face paled as she summoned countless sword figures around her.
Because the Choryong tribe body and the sword figures of her consciousness area and soul themselves had reached a higher realm than before.
The sword figures she summoned looked far stronger and more powerful than before.
Furthermore, since this universe space was not inside Seo Eun-hyun’s world, he should not be able to exert such absolute power normally.
: : Oh Hye-seo : :
[Fwaaaaaah!!!]
Oh Hye-seo, terrified, charged the sword figures toward the [hand] pursuing her.
However, it was useless.
The sword figures were all torn apart, and the [hand] shredded the light and projection of the glass craftsman as if nothing, then pursued her fiercely.
‘Monster child, monster child…! Why are you chasing me, you stupid reptilian bastard who was terrifying me since Earth…!’
When Oh Hye-seo had incarnated as [Seo Eun-hyun’s descendant] according to Seo Hyoel’s words.
She had faced an incredibly terrifying situation.
Clearly, the [Seo Eun-hyun’s descendant] from Earth had been those strangely monstrous Choryong tribe beings.
She had shown some dazed appearance from Earth, but she had at least thought of Seo Eun-hyun as Homo sapiens sapiens.
But a monster with a human face and everything below being snakes, who was [Seo Eun-hyun’s descendant]?
Logically, the answer was one.
Seo Eun-hyun was actually the reptilian who had been terrifying and faking it since Earth!
‘I was all deceived by that monster bastard! From the very beginning, he was a monster!’
Oh Hye-seo’s ability to track the origin of the sword lineage allowed her to trace the Choryong tribe origin as naturally as could be expected.
And Oh Hye-seo’s ability identified Seo Eun-hyun as an existence that was [no different from the Choryong tribe].
[Go away, you monster!!!]
The sword Taeseong figure growled as it reached toward the [hand].
However, the [hand] instantly tore apart the Taeseong figure and pursued her.
Now the distance between the [hand] and her was only ten li!
The [hand] gradually closed in.
Seven li!
‘If this continues, it will catch up to the place where the main body is! No way! Seo Hyoel! You said this useless bastard could not catch up here, but it was all wrong!’
The sword Heukryong figure charged at the [hand].
A massive dragon wave pushed Seo Eun-hyun away along with Taeseong’s power.
However, nine hundred ninety-nine ghost heads seemed to sprout from Seo Eun-hyun’s arm, devouring all the yin qi and pursuing Oh Hye-seo again.
Five li!
Oh Hye-seo felt her spine freezing in fear.
She was the type of person who used her curiosity to explore everything from teeth to the entire body of her opponent.
Naturally, she had also analyzed the skull shapes of Seo Eun-hyun and his colleagues.
‘Crazy bastard, you are using your own 999 skulls as sorcery? A madman who has repeated skull slicing nine hundred ninety-nine times.’
Seven li!
The [hand] of Seo Eun-hyun closed in again.
Hot glass evolution flickered, powerfully attracting Oh Hye-seo.
‘No! No! No! No! No!!! That glass evolution is really painful! If the inferior version, the Choryong fire, were aimed at my soul, I would have thought I was dying, but if it is real glass evolution, I cannot do anything!’
The heat of the glass evolution already made her soul ache, and her mind began to go strange.
‘Surviving the heat of glass evolution with Choryong tribe power? No way! The owner of the Choryong tribe is that reptilian bastard. I will be captured immediately. Then…’
The sword Cheongbong, the sword Baekik Cheonma figures enveloped Oh Hye-seo.
Her speed toward the main body increased further.
Seo Eun-hyun’s [hand] also gradually seemed to fall.
However, the next instant.
Wiing!
The Triple Taiji rose above the arm and narrowed the distance to Oh Hye-seo again!
Three li!
She felt as if her mind would snap from fear and the heat of glass evolution.
‘Seo Hyoel! Seo Hyoel! Seo Hyoel! Do something!!!’
-I am caught.
‘Helpful bastard!!!’
She cursed at Seo Hyoel and threw the sword figures of other sword lineages into self-destruction.
Despite damaging her own origin, the [hand] narrowed the distance as if nothing.
Three li!
[Seo Eun-hyun, let me talk for a moment. Actually, I already knew everything about you and Kang Min-hee being in a relationship. You! You liked me, didn’t you?]
One li!
She tried every sweet talk to seduce Seo Eun-hyun, but it was useless.
The distance gradually narrowed, and now only one li remained.
Oh Hye-seo gritted her teeth with bloodshot eyes.
[You must use it! Because I took the risk following Seo Hyoel’s words, and here I almost lose everything!]
She bit her lip tightly in frustration while in her soul state.
Now the giant [hand] of Seo Eun-hyun was only ten zhang away from her.
She spread both arms in her soul state and shouted.
[I request of the Holy Lord of the Upper Origin, the First Ancestor, the Heavenly Venerable of the Great Void! Please show that power!!!]
The next instant, hazy white steam rose wildly around her.
And a [hand] of steam far larger than Seo Eun-hyun’s [hand] appeared, grasping a fist.
Seo Eun-hyun’s [hand] twitched.
Oh Hye-seo laughed sinisterly and shouted.
[No matter what you are, if it is the power of that person…]
However, that was the moment.
Pubeong!
Seo Eun-hyun’s [hand] easily pierced the [hand] of the [name owner] as if it were nothing.
The [hand] of Seo Eun-hyun, scattering the steam without hesitation, advanced toward Oh Hye-seo without pause.
Oh Hye-seo looked at the scene and finally felt her brain stop.
The afterimage of Seo Eun-hyun seemed to pass before her eyes.
Seo Eun-hyun looked down on Oh Hye-seo arrogantly.
[…You cannot escape…]
The gap between them had already become too wide.
Even Seo Hyoel could not help, and even using all the power she had and the borrowed power, it was impossible. Seo Eun-hyun had already become an outlier.
[Cannot… escape…]
She gritted her teeth.
Cannot escape.
Then, the only thing she could do was this.
The [hand] of the [name owner] that was being torn apart terribly.
As if it did not match the power of the Choryong.
It was the [hand] being torn apart by the hazy smoke emitted by Seo Eun-hyun’s arm, but it was a [hand] that bought her a little time through its own mass.
Oh Hye-seo gritted her teeth while looking at the scene.
Chwaaak!
The next instant, she tore her own soul apart.
She had to do as Seo Hyoel said.
Bunhon!
Even this split soul had to escape!!!
Oh Hye-seo squeezed all the steam of the name owner and the power of the other sword lineages into the split soul and sent the split soul flying toward her original body.
Paaat!
Because the mass itself had decreased, Oh Hye-seo’s split soul disappeared much faster and lighter from her sight.
Puk!
Immediately after, the steam finally pierced through, and Seo Eun-hyun’s [hand] covered Oh Hye-seo.
Oh Hye-seo opened her mouth with a despairing face.
[…You won, you monster bastard.]
Kwaaak!
Seo Eun-hyun’s arm grabbed the main body of Oh Hye-seo’s soul.
All schemes of Seo Hyoel and Oh Hye-seo had collapsed.
Only the soul portion of ‘Seo Hye’ that Oh Hye-seo had sent from her own soul returned as the main body and could glimpse a little hope from the god of Samokdo.