The First Day of the Eighth Cycle

p>I slowly opened my eyes.

p>The familiar scent of the forest filled my nostrils.

p>“…You cruel man.”

p>Why do you keep bringing me back again and again?

p>I immediately used sleep arts to knock out my colleagues who were about to wake up and regain consciousness.

p>Puff, puff, puff…

p>I recalled the final moments of my past life.

p>I had faced the Heavenly Thunder that fell from the sky, awakened to the principle of Oneness, and reached the fourteenth layer of Qi Condensation.

p>That awakening still remained within me.

p>The sky was a solitary one, eternal.

p>And to contain the principle of that oneness within myself.

p>Perhaps the path of cultivation was simply the way of becoming like the sky.

p>I had already contained the principle of the sky within me.

p>Now I had reached the peak of Qi Condensation.

p>After completing the Wugeuk Victory Cloud, it would be time to challenge the Tribulation of Immortal Cultivation.

p>And that was when it happened.

p>Zip!

p>“Kueuk…”

p>Suddenly blood spurted from my nose.

p>Drip, plop…

p>My head began to throb unbearably.

p>It felt as if my eyeballs were about to pop out.

p>“Kkue… uuuugh…”

p>My upper dantian was creaking!

p>‘The consciousness that had reached the peak of Qi Condensation had come back with me upon regression.’

p>This could be a major problem.

p>I rushed toward the three corpses and hurriedly scooped them up with the soil and swallowed them whole.

p>Cud, cud…

p>Kugugug!

p>As I quickly consumed the corpses, the power of the Dragon Vein Gong surged through my entire body.

p>I began the body reconstruction process with substantial inner energy, at the same time achieving the peak of the Five Qi Consorting with the Origin.

p>Uduk, uuddduk!

p>The bones and muscles throughout my body twisted, completing the optimal harmonious physique.

p>The harmony of the upper, middle, and lower dantians was perfectly aligned!

p>And finally.

p>Paaat!

p>Golden light flowed from my eyes, and the excruciating pain in my upper dantian subsided.

p>“Huuu…”

p>I decided to go all the way and formed an inner pill in the void.

p>The strong energy intertwined and formed a strong core.

p>I slowly absorbed the strong core and settled it into my dantian.

p>At the same time, the strong core sprouted and fully took root in the dantian.

p>Uuuung!

p>The strong core mixed with the nature of the dantian, became completely fixed, and evolved anew.

p>After a while, I confirmed the inner pill that had settled at the center of my dantian.

p>I had once again obtained a body almost identical to the one in my previous life.

p>“Huu…”

p>Although not much time had passed since my regression, there was almost ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no tempering, but it did not matter.

p>‘With this, the urgent matter was settled.’

p>Suddenly, a worry arose: if my consciousness continued to grow like this, what would happen?

p>‘Would it mean that eventually, right after regression, my head would explode and I would regress again…?’

p>I seemed to need to find a way.

p>This was rather dangerous.

p>I recalled my problems regarding consciousness and first remembered the Heavenly Thunder that had struck me in my past life.

p>‘When I fought desperately with full resolve, it felt like it was trying to kill me with full resolve.’

p>Even a fool could understand.

p>The sky was not a living creature.

p>‘No, perhaps that enormous Heavenly Void was just a living creature.’

p>However, the flow of the vast Heavenly and Earthly Spirit Qi flowing through the sky, the flow of fate, was like a living thing and sought to crush and destroy anything that defied it.

p>And I would have to continue facing that sky and climbing higher from now on.

p>“…First, I should move the others.”

p>I lifted each of my colleagues one by one so they would not get wet from the dew and carried them to the cave, laying them down.

p>***

p>Every time something happened in the early stages of regression, it was always the same.

p>I knocked out my colleagues, ate the three corpses, and underwent body reconstruction.

p>The next day a fox would come and deliciously tear at my arm.

p>This was a cycle that had never changed so far.

p>However.

p>Udd!

p>The event that was happening now was a completely new situation.

p>The fox was glaring at me.

p>[…You.]

p>“Yes.”

p>[Hmph… Interesting. Interesting. You smell faintly of the bizarre.]

p>The fox ignored my colleagues who were about to wake up and continued speaking in a language I did not understand.

p>[Originally, I would have torn out your throat the moment I saw you, but since you paid respects by recognizing me as the master of this forest, I will spare you for now.]

p>I expressed gratitude to the fox, but I felt something strangely off.

p>The fox’s emotions were different from before.

p>[You have an aura of the bizarre. Then get out of the way. I will tear one limb from each of these humans and taste it.]

p>“…?”

p>After the fox flicked me away with a paw.

p>I turned my gaze toward the six: Kim Young-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Kang Min-hee, Oh Hye-seo, and Kim Yeon.

p>“Hey, wait. Master of the forest, how about my arm?”

p>I would let it slide because my body had been damaged so much.

p>But for them, this was their first encounter with true horror.

p>However, the fox glared at me and growled.

p>[How dare a member of the forest oppose the words of the forest master? If you don’t want to become my meal, shut your mouth. I want to taste these humans.]

p>“…?”

p>Members of the forest?

p>What did that even mean?

p>I did not understand the fox’s words.

p>Was there some change I had not noticed?

p>The others sat down in their seats in terror.

p>The fox tore off Oh Hye-seo’s arm and ate it.

p>“Kyaak!”

p>Wadduk, wadduk…

p>“Senior Oh!”

p>I rushed over to her and used sleep arts to knock her out, then applied medicine with pain-relief effects to the wound.

p>[Hmph, not bad. It wasn’t tasty. I don’t want to eat that again. Then I’ll be going.]

p>The fox turned and jumped away leisurely, leaving me bewildered.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

p>I looked at the fox in shock and prepared medicine with pain-relief effects for Senior Oh.

p>But the strange thing was not only the fox.

p>Ssssst—

p>A two-headed red snake.

p>The red snake flicked its tongue at me.

p>[Hmph… Interesting. What on earth is this? It smells like a human… or not a human? Confusing…]

p>‘Not a human?’

p>Me?

p>Filled with confusion, I asked the red snake.

p>“…If I am not human, then what am I?”

p>[I don’t know. I don’t know what you are at all. Well… that’s enough. I’ll go taste the blood or the meat of these other humans.]

p>The snake, like before, bit a sip of Jeon Myeong-hoon’s blood and left, saying it was not tasty.

p>“…W-what is it, damn it…”

p>Jeon Myeong-hoon clenched his teeth while clutching his bitten arm.

p>“…I will go gather some herbs. Wait here.”

p>I said I would go gather herbs for Jeon Myeong-hoon and entered the trees, using the Wansuigungmurok.

p>And from that position, I rushed toward the distant two-headed snake.

p>This snake was at the early stage of the Tribulation of Immortal Cultivation.

p>Paaaat!

p>Kwaaang!

p>The strong core I had formed in my palm flew toward the snake.

p>The snake briefly glanced at me, checked the power of the strong core, and immediately rolled its body to dodge.

p>‘Consciousness Link.’

p>After forming one strong core, I absorbed that consciousness.

p>The two consciousnesses linked, doubling the thinking speed.

p>Pit!

p>After one step, space itself seemed to shrink.

p>The snake must ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have felt as if I had suddenly cut time and appeared right in front of him.

p>Kwaaang!

p>I kicked the snake’s waist and sent it flying into the air.

p>[…!]

p>The snake screamed and bared its fangs at me.

p>However, I cut off its perception with the Wansuigungmurok once more.

p>Taking advantage of its confusion, I approached and struck the knee into one of its heads.

p>[Kueueueue!]

p>“Hmph, is this the end?”

p>The two-headed snake that had seemed so distant before now did not look that strong.

p>Of course, the fox was still terrifying, but at least this one was something I could handle.

p>Stomp!

p>I stomped on one of the snake’s heads and asked.

p>“Speak. If I am not human, what am I?”

p>[Sissit, sississit!]

p>The snake was flustered and flicked its tongue.

p>It seemed to be pondering the words from the color of its thoughts.

p>As someone who had just regressed, I needed to figure out why the fox and the snake were treating me this way, so I had been rather ruthless.

p>“If you don’t speak immediately, one head will…”

p>[I-I-I’ll speak!]

p>The two-headed red snake flicked its tongue and said with eyes full of fear.

p>[You… feel like kin to us. That is why the forest master and I did not harm you without reason!]

p>Kin?

p>The moment the word left my mouth, I felt absurd.

p>What on earth did I and this snake have in common?

p>But the snake seemed to be telling the truth.

p>I hesitated briefly and received a small amount of the snake’s poison from it before letting it go.

p>Unlike the fox, which had been greedily devouring my arm until now.

p>This snake had the decency to eat only a sip of blood and leave, so I did not kill it.

p>‘Seeing that the fox is also included among kin, perhaps it thought of me as a kind of monster, not a snake.’

p>But why?

p>Why suddenly was I being treated as a monster?

p>What had I done?

p>I returned to the vicinity of the cave, filled with an odd feeling.

p>After that, I decided to first create the Lotus Formation and prepare to face the Heavenly Person cultivators who would come later.

p>***

p>Two days passed.

p>I successfully created the entire Lotus Formation and activated one vein by reciting the Spirit Vein Incantation.

p>I had entered the first layer of Qi Condensation.

p>And that was the moment I successfully activated the Spirit Vein Incantation.

p>Flash!

p>Once again, familiar faces descended from the sky.

p>Geum Byeok-ho, Baekgol Gwima, and Changhoza.

p>Whether lucky or unlucky, nothing had changed here.

p>Changhoza regenerated Senior Oh’s arm with blue healing spiritual energy.

p>The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three of them each pulled toward themselves Jeon Myeong-hoon, who had the Heavenly Golden Lightning Physique, Kang Min-hee who had awakened the Ghost Dao Sound Flower Root, and Oh Hyun-seok who had the One Gate Body.

p>And when Geum Byeok-ho examined my entire body with his vicious spiritual root inspection, it was filled with Heavenly and Earthly Spirit Qi.

p>“Hmph…?”

p>A look of surprise appeared on Geum Byeok-ho’s face.

p>“What’s this now? Are you a monster?”

p>Again.

p>‘Why are you calling me a monster?’

p>Because of the size of my consciousness?

p>Or perhaps the Heavenly Person cultivators could see the soul of the target, revealing my spiritual world, which was different from ordinary people’s?

p>But Geum Byeok-ho, Baekgol Gwima, and Changhoza placed me near them as if it did not matter to them.

p>“Hmph, an interesting talent. However, even just having the One Gate Body is too much for our sect to take you. We will grant you the recommendation of a branch lineage.”

p>Changhoza snapped his fingers and handed me the recommendation seal from the Cheongmun Clan.

p>I politely refused Changhoza’s offer and cautiously asked Geum Byeok-ho.

p>“I humbly ask the great cultivator. I am a person who has always admired the reputation of the Geumsincheonloemun Sect, and I have admired the founder of the Geumsincheonloemun Sect, the Geumsinja Yang Su-jin, beyond measure. I humbly request that the Supreme Sect Master of the Geumsincheonloemun Sect grant me the blessing of copying only the records of the founding ancestor…?”

p>When I asked him in the Seongje Kingdom language, Geum Byeok-ho flinched and answered in the Seongje Kingdom language.

p>“Why would I do that?”

p>“I will receive Geumsinja-nim’s records and preserve them for ten thousand years and more. I will make the countless lives here praise Geumsinja-nim and the reputation of the Geumsincheonloemun Sect!”

p>“……”

p>Geum Byeok-ho seemed to think for a moment and answered shortly.

p>“No.”

p>“…Why not?”

p>“Hmph, if it’s no, then it’s no. You talk too much! But good. It seems like you have some respect for the main sect. If you’re curious about the history of the main sect, go to the Shattered Heaven Peak in the Dae-san Mountains where the main Geumsincheonloemun Sect was located.

p>There are several stone caves storing history there. If you find them, they will be worth reading. Compared to the history books that are rarely transmitted in the private sector, it will be quite detailed.”

p>“…! Thank you, thank you again!”

p>I prostrated myself before Geum Byeok-ho and offered a bow.

p>He did not seem to care about me, but I felt he was pleased internally.

p>This time, he did not drop lightning for no reason.

p>‘Anyway, it was fortunate that things went well.’

p>Geum Byeok-ho and Baekgol Gwima were the type who, if they survived the matter, got along well.

p>And the next day came again.

p>Before the next day arrived, I put back into my memory the knowledge I had given my past self in my previous life. Including the Woldowolmurok of the records and trials that my past self Kim Young-hoon had added.

p>The knowledge would manifest in a few days.

p>And the next day came.

p>Kureung, kururung…

p>The sky was covered with dark clouds.

p>Now the Dragon King Haeryong would come to take Senior Oh away.

p>And I had decided to entrust Kim Yeon to the Dragon King, send Kim Young-hoon elsewhere, and then leave after ten years or so of training in the Deungsunhyang.

p>Kureung, kururung!

p>In an instant, lightning covered the sky.

p>In that moment, I saw that the Dragon King Haeryong had already entered the cave and was examining Senior Oh’s pulse.

p>“You are…”

p>“This king is called the Dragon King Seo Hyoel. I came because I was curious about the Heavenly Phenomenon this person caused… Well, what about you?”

p>His eyes, which had seemed about to say something, met mine.

p>Flinch!

p>And he furrowed his brows.

p>“…You.”

p>He approached me.

p>“Hmph, interesting. Are you perhaps a hybrid of a human and a monster?”

p>“…Yes?”

p>“I asked if you are a hybrid of humans and monsters. There are such beings sometimes.”

p>I did not understand the question and answered blankly for a moment.

p>“No. Why do you, Dragon King, feel an aura of a monster from me?”

p>Upon hearing this, Seo Hyoel asked with even more surprise.

p>“Not a hybrid? Then what are you? Is it not that the guy who has a Monster Pill in his belly is not a monster?”

p>“…Yes?”

p>Monster Pill?

p>I heard a word I had never imagined.