Chapter 460: Change (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 460: Change (4)
He was dressed in white, a plum blossom emblem adorning his chest. A scar trailed from his neck up to his chin.
His eyes were fierce, his expression slightly furrowed, giving him the look of someone with a foul temperament.
Not that I was one to judge, but he certainly didn't resemble anyone from the Orthodox Faction, much less a Taoist.
In fact, he had the most disagreeable face I had ever seen in my life.
Technically, this was my first time laying eyes on him, yet I knew exactly who he was.
How could I not?
He was the very same old man who used to constantly shout inside my head.
I stared at the elder, who was regarding me with clear annoyance, and cautiously posed my question.
“Elder Shin?”
“Hmph.”
He scoffed aloud at my address.
I continued to rub the back of my head, the spot still stinging.
“Is it really you, Elder Shin?”
“Tsk, tsk… After all the times I’ve cleaned up your messes, you still have to ask?” The old man took a step toward me.
He was far taller than I had imagined, standing just shy of seven feet.
Was this truly Elder Shin? But why was he here? And why was I meeting him in this place?
“You’re getting distracted again, aren’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Do I need to smack your head again? Wake up!”
My whole body flinched at his shout. I wasn’t sure what he meant. Why tell me to wake up?
I didn’t understand what was happening, but my mind did feel clearer than before. Something was shifting.
As I pondered this strange sensation, Elder Shin continued in his irritated tone. “Sigh. This idiot.”
“…Why are you so angry with me already? Could you at least explain what’s going on?”
“Right. I always have to spoon-feed everything to you, you bastard.”
“…”
“Look at your chest.”
I tilted my head in confusion but complied, looking down.
Why was he suddenly telling me to— “…!”
My eyes widened, and my hand flew to my chest in a panic, frantically rubbing the spot.
It was a natural reaction.
Where my heart should have been, there was instead a small hole.
“What the hell?”
What was this? Why was there a hole in my chest? I stared down, bewildered.
Chuckle.
“That’s a good look on you.”
Elder Shin laughed out loud, as if my reaction amused him. It sounded almost like mockery.
“…What… is this?” I asked, demanding an explanation for my body’s state.
Elder Shin pointed a finger behind me.
I turned and saw the giant egg I had encountered before, now wrapped in plum blossoms.
“What about that…?”
“That thing used to be inside that hole in your chest.”
“…Pardon?”
I was shocked. That egg was inside my chest?
That’s…
“Isn’t that thing supposed to be my vessel…?” It wasn’t the physical form of my vessel?
“A vessel and a heart aren’t so different. They’re essentially the same.”
“…A vessel is located in the Dantian. How can you say they’re the same?”
“A person dies if either one breaks. So, what’s the difference?”
“…”
Well, he wasn’t wrong…
I was left speechless. Seeing me like this, Elder Shin let out a deep sigh.
“I went through all that trouble to hold it back, and you still managed to make a mess of things.”
“You’ve been doing what?”
I listened carefully. He was holding something back? Holding what back?
When I asked, Elder Shin suddenly strode toward me.
Slam-!
“Ugh!”
He struck me hard on the head with his fist.
The impact made me lose my balance and stagger. The pain was so intense I fell to the ground, clutching my head.
“Ughhh…”
As I groaned in pain, Elder Shin spoke. “The amount of Qi in your body is increasing, but your vessel can’t handle it. That means something must be done.”
“…That means…”
I recalled the Immortal Healer’s warning that my vessel was on the verge of breaking.
Did that mean Elder Shin had been preventing it all this time?
“S-Since when?”
“Judging by your expression, you already know the answer. Why bother asking?”
“…”
It started when Elder Shin stopped speaking to me, after I finished my solitary training.
I assume it was around then?
That was when I truly began to grow stronger. I had expected him to be gone for a few months, but it turned into years.
So that meant…
“…You’ve been preventing it ever since then?”
“It improved when you reached the Fusion Realm, but it didn’t last long.”
“But what about when you saved me in the secret vault?”
Elder Shin looked at me with a speechless expression.
“Should I have just let you die then?”
“…”
“Sigh. I help you, and you ask me why. You’re still a crazy bastard.”
I honestly had nothing to say to that.
As I averted my eyes, Elder Shin let out a small sigh and spoke. “Young brat. Your vessel isn’t small at all. It’s rather large, actually.”
He gazed at the egg behind me as he spoke.
“Even so, the fact that your vessel ended up like this shows how much you’ve consumed.”
He wasn’t referring to Qi when he said I’d consumed too much. If absorbing too much Qi was the problem, my vessel would have shattered many times in my past life.
Therefore, he was likely referring to all the different types of Qi I had inside me.
The Flame Qi from the Gu Flame Wheel Art.
Mount Hua’s Taoist Qi.
Demonic Qi.
Blood Qi.
And on top of all that, the Qi from the Heaven Destruction Art.
Five different types of Qi resided within my body, and my vessel was reaching its limit because of it.
…It really is a lot, now that I think about it.
For an ordinary person, having even two different types of Qi was impossible, so this outcome was hardly surprising.
“That isn’t the only problem either…”
“What?”
“But that’s not important right now. I’ll tell you this first.”
Swish.
Elder Shin reached out his hand toward the egg wrapped in plum blossoms. When his hand made contact,
Swooosh-!
The plum flowers began to change.
The petals enveloping the egg turned transparent, revealing the egg within.
“…”
The egg’s condition was poor, just as before. Cracks covered its surface, making it look so fragile it would break at the slightest touch. A strange liquid continued to seep from the bottom.
Thankfully, the plum blossoms wrapped around it seemed to be barely holding it together.
It had been in this state the entire time, yet I had been unaware.
“Wrong.”
I turned to Elder Shin in shock.
“…Are you reading my mind or something?” I hadn’t spoken a word. How did he know what I was thinking?
“As I’ve always said, your expression makes you far too easy to read.”
Elder Shin stared at me with a disappointed tone.
“You’ve always been a good-for-nothing.”
Did a Taoist just say ‘good-for-nothing’? I felt a true Taoist would never utter such words.
“It’s correct to say this incident has accelerated the process.”
“This incident?”
What did he mean by that?
Does he mean something happened to me?
Seeing my confused expression, Elder Shin looked at me with something akin to pity.
“Try to remember before it’s too late. You don’t have much time left.”
“What do you… “
“Or perhaps, you want to forget?”
“It’s been so long, yet you keep saying things I don’t understand…”
“I’m telling you to remember how you ended up in this place.”
Why I was in this place?
Huh.
Why was I here?
Why was my chest in this state, and what did he mean by this incident accelerating the process?
He seemed to know, judging by his words, but I didn’t. I couldn’t remember a thing.
My recently cleared mind began to grow foggy again.
Watching me struggle, Elder Shin added, “If losing everything and regretting it after wasting your time thinking is your decision, then I’ll respect it.”
“Losing everything?”
Lose it.
That phrase struck a chord deep within me for some reason.
What would I lose?
The reason why I came here…
“Ugh…”
A sudden headache made me grab my head. It felt like memories were surfacing along with the pain.
Shortly after…
“Hah…!”
I gasped and instinctively rubbed my chest with my hand. I remembered the sensation of a sharp blade piercing my heart.
Only then did everything start coming back to me, one by one.
The Heavenly Venerable had ambushed me, and I died without being able to put up a fight.
I also remembered the Heavenly Venerable advancing toward the Demonic Sword, radiating killing intent.
It started to vibrate.
Woong-!
The sound came from the giant egg before me.
Seeing this, I asked Elder Shin, “…Did… I die?”
“Not yet. However, you will soon enough.”
“…”
My heart had been stabbed.
My vessel was in a critical state, and Elder Shin said the breaking process had accelerated after that event.
I didn’t have much time left before it shattered completely.
With that in mind, I gazed at Elder Shin.
“What am I supposed to do?”
I asked for his help. Elder Shin gave me a speechless look.
“You’re about to die any second, and you’re asking me for advice?”
“Aren’t you here because you know what I should do?”
“Hah.”
I didn’t even know what this place was.
Whether I was inside my mind or somewhere else entirely didn’t matter. The important thing was that Elder Shin was here, talking to me.
“Look at you, you shameless bastard. Now you’re outright asking me to clean up your mess.”
“Yes, I am. You might as well clean up one more on the way. Please?”
“Sigh.”
I was being as shameless as possible. I knew time was running out.
Slam.
I felt a harsher tremor from the egg.
It truly felt on the verge of breaking, but Elder Shin was preventing it with his Qi.
“What must I do?”
“…Why do you think I have the answer?”
“Isn’t that why you have that look on your face?”
“…”
Elder Shin’s expression darkened.
“Judging from your expression, it seems there is one thing I could do, though it’s not very preferable.”
“…Now you’re the one reading my mind.”
“Your expression makes you really easy to read.”
Chuckle…
Elder Shin chuckled bitterly at my words.
It was the first time I’d seen this expression on his face, yet it felt familiar after all our time together.
Putting that aside, I needed to know what to do.
“…Please tell me how to overcome this, Elder Shin.”
If I had been killed by a stab to the heart, what could I do to survive?
Staring into my eyes, Elder Shin spoke with a smirk. “You were spacing out until now, but you come to your senses when reminded of a girl. Tsk, tsk.”
“…”
“A solution… yes, there is indeed something you could do.”
I listened intently.
What was it? Expand the vessel since it was about to break? Or was he going to give me his own energy? The thought was nerve-wracking, considering I already had too much Qi…
“I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but it’s impossible for you to expand your vessel.”
He seemed to have read my expression again as he answered.
“Even if you stabilize your Fusion Realm, your vessel won’t be able to handle everything.”
“…Then what’s the solution?”
Elder Shin pointed at the egg again.
I wondered why he was pointing at it.
“If it’s so full it can’t contain any more, then just let it flow out.”
“Pardon…?”
Let it all out? Was he telling me to let my vessel break?
“Won’t I die if my vessel breaks?”
“You will.”
“Then what’s the— “
“As a human, that is.”
“…!”
My eyes widened.
I would die as a human? What did that mean…?
“You know yourself, don’t you? It’s hard to call you human.”
“…”
“That egg is the last frame keeping you human.”
The last frame.
“…My vessel is the last thing keeping me human?”
“Moreover, it’s your desire that’s making you endure so stubbornly, preventing your vessel from breaking.”
“Desire…?”
“Yes, your final desire—to live as a human.”
Squeeze.
My hand curled into a fist.
Desire?
Wanting to remain human was my desire?
The liquid flowing from the egg soaked the ground. The egg containing that liquid was my last desire.
“…I don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t. The important part… is the decision you must make now.”
“…Elder Shin.”
“The only reason I prevented your vessel from breaking was due to my own greed.”
“Your greed?”
“You desired to remain human, and it was my greed that wanted to keep you as one.”
“…”
“I wanted you to remain human.”
Elder Shin’s tone was bitter.
“But now, you must make a decision.”
What decision did I have to make? I stared at Elder Shin, not hiding the shake in my pupils.
“If you desire it, you can die here forever as a human.”
“…!”
Plum blossom petals gathered at Elder Shin’s fingertip as he spoke, forming into the shape of a sword.
A sword materialized in his hand, and he pointed it at me.
“So choose. Either die here as a human, or give up living as one.”
“…”
To live or die.
The answer naturally leaned to one side.
Wasn’t it obvious? Everyone wants to live.
Yet, knowing that, I couldn’t answer easily.
To not become human.
The weight of those words silenced me.
“…If not human… what would I become?”
“I don’t know. The only thing I know is that you will certainly regret this decision.”
“But if I choose this, I will continue to live?”
“I’m not sure about that either.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Your body will live on, but I don’t know if you will continue to live inside that shell.”
His answer couldn’t have been more horrifying.
I won’t be me anymore?
If it isn’t me, does that mean something else will take over my body?
Moreover, Elder Shin said I would certainly regret it.
I had believed I could give up anything for peace, but now it seemed that wasn’t entirely true.
I see.
I looked at the crumbling egg.
It seems I did want to live as a human after all.
I lived as a Demonic Human in my past life. I suppose I truly desired an ordinary human life in this timeline—a desire I hadn’t even been fully aware of.
And I would regret giving up that desire.
Yes, I certainly would.
Yet.
I began to walk forward, my expression unchanged.
“…” Elder Shin said nothing as I approached. He simply watched me silently.
I walked toward the egg.
Up close, I could see it was in a horrific state, ready to shatter at any moment. It almost seemed to represent my life—a ruined existence filled with many colors. This egg symbolized my life as a human.
I slowly reached out to it.
Tap.
It felt rough, without a single soft spot. It truly resembled its owner.
Ignoring the sensation, I pushed my hand in deeper.
Crack-!
The shell broke, and my hand slipped inside. It felt strangely warm within.
“…Child.”
Elder Shin called out to me, his tone uncharacteristically soft.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you won’t regret this decision?”
I smiled at his question.
Would I regret it?
“No, I would love to stop.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“I have things more important than my pride.”
More important than my desire to live proudly as a human was using my damned life to bring peace to those people.
“It would have been an easier choice if I had to choose between my life and the world.”
I valued my pride more than saving the world, so I would have chosen my life without hesitation.
Unfortunately, I faced a much harder choice.
“…Hah.”
Elder Shin laughed at my response.
“You really are still the same, huh.”
“The same goes for you, Elder Shin.”
“What about me?”
“You still have a nasty personality.”
“…What did you say, you bastard?”
Grrrk-
As Elder Shin started toward me with an angry expression,
Craaack-!
Massive cracks spread from where my hand had entered the shell.
Liquid gushed from the fissures tearing the egg apart.
“…”
I expected something monumental to happen soon.
Hiding my fear, I spoke.
“Oh, right, Elder Shin.”
“What is it.”
“If we ever see each other again,”
“Huh?”
The shell shattered completely as I spoke, and liquid erupted from it.
Kwaaaaa-!
Before my body was swept away by the incredible deluge, I smiled faintly at Elder Shin.
“Let’s talk about your relationship with Lady Tang Jaemoon.”
“…”
Elder Shin’s expression shifted to one of amusement at the mention of Tang Jaemoon.
That alone was satisfaction enough for me.
I won’t lose myself, so I can tease that old man again.
For now, that was enough.