Seo Hyeol's True Self (1)
The wicked Sage of Samokdo, Seo Eun-hyun, who seeks to end the universe.
To stop him, the living beings of Gwanghan Realm gathered today in a single spot within the Nan-gye area.
No, more precisely, what they were building was not exactly a building, but rather a kind of structure.
A massive rock formation.
Rocks stacked to form a circle.
At the same time, members of the Jang-mok clan harvested superior timber, chopped it, and used it to create something resembling a fence.
The stones that made up the stela-like structure were enormous, each reaching three li in length, covered densely with talismanic inscriptions.
Hey! Go receive this!
This way, this way!
The construction drew upon Nascent Soul cultivators from every race.
Six hundred years had passed since work began.
The war with the Sage of Samokdo had only just entered its thousandth year.
Regardless of clan, the cultivators were sent to the construction site. They moved massive rocks for their respective races in their own ways.
Hehe, to be honest, I still don't know why we're expending our strength.
One Yeopta-clan Nascent Soul cultivator grumbled while tying spiritual energy threads to the rocks with a spell and hauling them down from the sky.
Beside him, a Cheong-geon-clan cultivator stuck out his tongue in confusion.
Why not! Because the Sage commanded it!
My point exactly. I can't figure out why the Sage tasks us like this. Honestly, if the Sage or the Venerables used their power, they'd finish this structure in an instant. Why force us to do it?
Hmm... listening to you, it does make sense...
And honestly, the Sage of this so-called Samokdo place is supposed to destroy the world we live in... but from what I can see, the end is still far off. Honestly, how many thousands of years will creatures like us live? Is it really right to do all this to prevent some future apocalypse?
Hey, Yeopta-clan! Even for the sake of future generations, we must stop the world's end.
But if that's the case, why call us instead of those young ones?
The Yeopta-clan Nascent Soul cultivator looked down at the Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators below, who were busily contributing to the construction.
Calling in the Core Formation juniors is understandable enough, but what exactly do the Qi and Foundation Establishment brats do to earn being dragged here for labor? They're supposed to become the race's descendants!
The Yeopta cultivator muttered in frustration at the Sage Baek-woon's paradoxical mobilization.
At those words, the Cheong-geon cultivator suddenly smiled faintly.
Hehe, now that you mention it, I recall something from the Yeo-clan's records. About wars between Sages.
Wars between Sages?
Precisely. The Sages, who are the very flow of this vast universe, do not fight crudely like in previous eras. They prophesy fates or manipulate the world's flow. And... we are merely a part of that flow.
The Cheong-geon cultivator pointed downward while chuckling.
Gwanghan Realm cultivators flooding into the Nan-gye area. Working together here for one purpose, building homes, resting, laughing, chatting. In doing so, we cultivate our own culture. That... is the Sages' 'attack'.
Umm... too high a concept; I can't quite grasp it.
Don't worry. You'll understand soon enough. Hehe...
...Why do you keep laughing? Hehe? Huh. It's strangely addictive. Hehe...
The two cultivators began chatting with others, spreading the rumor of Baek-woon's 'cultural attack' across the entire construction site in an instant.
Kugugugu!
Center of Samokdo.
From the heights of Yuri Samok Mountain, Seo Eun-hyun half-opened his eyes.
Whoosh!
As he inhaled, the spiritual energy of Samokdo dried up.
Whoosh!
As he exhaled, it surged upward.
Simultaneously, on the opposite side of the universe, in the depths of Pyeongun Continent, light began to bloom.
It was the concentration of stellar nebulae.
The nebula bearing the name [Seo Eun-hyun] gathered, its center filling with light and heat.
And eight symbols rose from all directions of the condensing nebula.
Eat, Wealth, Sacrifice, Steward, Minister, Judge, Guest, Teacher.
Eight engraved light waves blazed brightly.
At the same time, the light split into two directions and divided into sixteen.
The eight concepts that had kept [Seo Eun-hyun] human now expanded dramatically, transforming the existence into something greater than an object into a whole.
Among the sixteen symbols, the lower ones became Qi.
The eight symbols became pure Qi clusters that radiated.
Each one condensed to the level of the Heavenly Lotus he had eaten before, enough that an ordinary person would instantly reach the Four Pillars stage upon consuming them!
Seo Eun-hyun realized he could manipulate the eight Qi clusters he had created to alter the Heaven-Earth spiritual energy and lives of Samokdo in eight forms.
In his hands, he held the power to modify the genetic information of life: Eat, Wealth, Sacrifice, Steward, Minister, Judge, Guest, Teacher.
Eight pieces of information and histories.
Among the sixteen symbols, the upper ones became Fate.
Eight clusters of intangible human influence fell into his palms.
Seo Eun-hyun realized he could touch the Fate of the living beings in Samokdo corresponding to Eat, Wealth, Sacrifice, Steward, Minister, Judge, Guest, Teacher.
Now he could control how many children they would have and what nutrients they would be born with.
At the same time, he could decide which beings would eat 'what', 'in what way', 'with whom', 'why', and 'for what reason'.
He understood the power of Eat.
He could now control what greed they would be born with, what they would desire, what they would feel joy from through exchange.
Simultaneously, he could decide how life forms would trade goods and advance their economies.
He understood the power of Wealth.
He could also determine the size of the talents possessed by living beings.
He could choose what spiritual roots they would be born with and how much Heaven-Earth energy they could absorb.
When celestial beings performed sacrifices, he could adjust the success probability.
It was the power of Sacrifice.
He could control what spiritual energy and crops would thrive in their lands and domains.
He could also decide what would become of that land and whether the disciples cultivating there could remain.
The power of Steward fell into his hands.
Next, he understood the authority to control the wisdom of living beings. He could now intervene in the intelligence of those being born.
At the same time, he could interfere in every process of what they heard, saw, and understood.
Those with goodwill would have increased talent; those with malice would see theirs diminished to nothing.
It was the power of Minister.
He also acquired the method to draw out the absolute nature of the world itself.
For the safety of the living beings, he could move Samokdo beings to desired locations, foresee calamities, and understand how to thicken the dimension veil by manipulating the world's absolute nature for their protection.
The power of the True Immortal Star Plate Sage had improved immensely.
The power of Judge bowed to him.
He also acquired language, communication, and culture.
He could transform the world through the cultures and languages of the living beings and, conversely, transform the world to alter their cultures, languages, and communication.
He could also control how their cultural, linguistic, and communicative methods would evolve.
It was the power of Guest.
Finally, Seo Eun-hyun realized he could decide how the living beings of Samokdo would struggle.
He could control the intensity of their battles and the flow of the battlefield. He could also change species through 'struggle' and cause them to change in his hand.
He could roughly set how the species would fight and evolve in the future.
It was the power of Teacher.
Kiiiiing!
The sixteen Qi and Fate symbols were sucked into the center of the nebula, the heart of light.
Tzutzutzutzu!
Flash!
At the same time, the world trembled. A star was born from the center of the nebula.
And its owner, the being dwelling within Samokdo.
Seo Eun-hyun clenched his fist at the center of the star and looked upward.
In the secret space of Samokdo on the opposite side of Pyeongun Continent.
He gazed at the enormous mandala etched in the rear of Samokdo.
'It's speeding up.'
Declaring war on the true immortals and Sages who had come to him was not merely because he was mad.
He had also sensed the power contained in the will of Samokdo.
'The battles with the Sages... the cultivation speed is gradually accelerating as it intensifies.'
Now, in the mid-Star Plate Sage realm, he gazed down at the star beneath his feet and communed with the will of Samokdo.
The will of Samokdo simply desired one thing from Seo Eun-hyun.
Struggle!
And the more one struggled, the more one collided with others!
Seo Eun-hyun's cultivation speed had 'accelerated'.
The more he looked at the power of Samokdo, the more he thought of Kim Young-hoon.
Of course, unlike Kim Young-hoon, it was not pure physical speed, but...
'Brother Young-hoon, the more high-quality experiences he gained and the more he clashed with strong opponents, the faster he grew...'.
Samokdo seemed to be granting the same talent to the being who became its Sage as Kim Young-hoon.
'This means I can reach Star Plate Grand Completion and challenge Fissure Opening promotion within seven thousand years.'
Seo Eun-hyun savored the sensation of the power flowing in his palm for a moment.
Now he could knead the lives of Samokdo beings like clay to his will.
He could even toy with the very existence of one person as a chess piece.
No, not just one person, but the fate of every group and organization in this world would depend solely on Seo Eun-hyun's will.
This was the power of the Sages who had no equal to True Immortals in the face of their assigned face!
'The erosions of the Central Kyong border have all been repelled by Seo Hyeol, and instead the Central Kyong border will be absorbed into Samokdo... no problem.'
If this assault by the Sages was absorbed by Seo Hyeol, Samokdo would become far larger than before and the artificial Central Kyong plan could be accelerated greatly.
However, Seo Eun-hyun's gaze now turned to something else entirely.
Whoooong!
Above his hand, the heat of the star bloomed into a flower shape.
It was Hwahon Mancheon.
Sreureuk!
His Hwahon Mancheon slipped into the darkness and traced back through history.
Ten Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram. Flower Soul Filling the Heavens. Star Messenger's Power.
The Ten Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram that recorded Seo Eun-hyun's history.
The completed Hwahon Mancheon transmitted by Ryeo-hwa to him.
The power of the Sage to read history within Samokdo.
[...And also, Oh Hye-seo's power... and my Asim-geom!]
In his mind, Seo Eun-hyun pulled out Oh Hye-seo's power and forged Asim-geom in the air, eyes wide open.
[This should allow tracking.]
His senses close to the field near Samokdo captured the locations of Seo Hyeol's Takhon Mancheon.
Even the Takhon Mancheon of Seo Hyeol had not yet noticed this rear world of Samokdo.
Siiiiii!
Through his Asim-geom, the powers he had held in his mouth all flowed in.
Ten Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram, Hwahon Mancheon, Star Messenger's Power.
And the Asim-geom containing Oh Hye-seo's power slipped deep into the soul of Seo Ran, who had thought of him by chance moments ago, at Seo Eun-hyun's will.
Paaaaat!
In the deepest part of Seo Ran's soul, Seo Eun-hyun discovered a curse and a binding technique.
One was the curse placed by the King of Hell, Yemajin-gun, upon Seo Hyeol.
The other was the binding technique 'Fixing the Will' that Gwagwam had placed upon Seo Ran in the world of Bongrae-do.
Seo Eun-hyun's will easily bypassed the binding technique left by Gwagwam in the depths of Seo Ran's soul and reached the curse imposed by Yemajin-gun.
A pitch-black darkness greeted him.
[Now I can reach you, Seo Hyeol.]
Seo Eun-hyun began to recall the history of Seo Ran.
The powers of Oh Hye-seo, the Star Messenger's Power, the Ten Thousand Phenomena Affinity Diagram, and Hwahon Mancheon all seeped deep into the core of Seo Ran's soul.
[I must show you my true story.]
Thud!
Thus, one step forward from the depths of Seo Ran's mind toward Yemajin-gun's curse.
Beyond that curse lay the true depths of Seo Hyeol's Takhon Mancheon.
The place where he had hidden everything.
'To reach Seo Hyeol's core after leaping over the 'veil' created by Yemajin-gun's curse... six thousand years.'
Six thousand years from now, every story of Seo Hyeol would be revealed by Seo Eun-hyun.
And four thousand years had passed.
* * *
Hahaha...
In the Central Kyong Nan-gye region that covered Samokdo.
The living beings who had immigrated to that Nan-gye region were secretly infiltrated by Seo Hyeol's Takhon Mancheon to a degree that even the Sages of each face found hard to notice.
They all burst into laughter at once.
Hehe...
One of the Seo Hyeol raised his hand and activated the Takhon Mancheon meant to offer some of the Central Kyong regions to Seo Eun-hyun.