The Secret Record of Rebirth
> Secret Records of Fetal Theft - Initiating soul removal procedure for Mayfly.
> Warning: Beware of exposure to Chaos Energy.
In the empty factory, only the mechanical announcement echoed hollowly. The mass-produced human soldiers, known as Mayflies, moved along the conveyor belt, neatly secured in place. What awaited them was a solution where gray noise pooled like water, much like a television that had lost its signal. Due to the intense radiation of Chaos Energy, the space adjacent to the liquid shimmered with flickering gray static.
As the conveyor belt tilted sharply to carry the Mayflies into the solution, the liquid cleanly dismantled only the souls dwelling within their bodies, turning them into emotionless, soulless husks. Once they passed through the solution and rose to the other side along the belt, the cleaning process began. That was when Pyo Rip opened his eyes.
“Gah-huff.”
As he was doused in high-pressure cleaning fluid, he felt a sharp prick at the back of his neck.
> Consciousness awakening detected. Stabilizer injection complete.
“What in the…?”
Pyo Rip lost consciousness again.
> Proceeding with the learning process….
The machine’s voice faded into the depths of his eardrums. His consciousness sank. And then, suddenly, Pyo Rip opened his eyes again.
The phenomenon of an entire alien continent shifting over is called the Great Collision. Humanity has found a new order thanks to the other peoples who arrived during the Great Collision. The first Great Collision brought about a scientific revolution, and the second brought a new cultivation system called Martial Arts.
No, was "opened his eyes" really the right expression?
The Great Collision was certainly a great catastrophe, but for us descendants of the Goddess, it was also a blessing. However, not everything that came from the other world was good. There were countless invaders from other dimensions. We Mayflies are the vanguard standing against them….
This was nothing short of a forced awakening caused by knowledge being hammered directly into his brain.
“No, this is craaaazy….”
Perhaps because his brain function was being entirely diverted to learning, even the profanity that slipped out was drawn out long. Then, he felt that sting in his neck again.
> Consciousness awakening detected. Stabilizer injection complete.
“Shiiiit, agaiiiin….”
His consciousness drifted away. Without even having the time to grasp what kind of hellish situation this was, Pyo Rip, having lost his senses, woke up in yet another unknown place.
“Long live the great Elidoth.”
Pyo Rip opened his eyes, muttering nonsense. Everything was pitch black. All he knew was that he was lying down, his whole body ached so much he couldn't even exert any strength, and his head felt like it was splitting apart.
“Long live the great Elidoth…, no, damn it.”
Thousands of worms named "knowledge" were crawling through the folds of his brain. Knowledge and experiences he had never studied or undergone felt as vivid as if they were his own.
“Ugh….”
He didn't know the situation, and to make matters worse, he couldn't even move his own body.
“Dammit.”
Pyo Rip judged the current situation as a crisis where an unforeseen variable had occurred. Screw it, he decided, and started reciting a dharma seal.
A single thread of delusion arises from the heart,
The initial spirit is like playing the zither.
It was the Song of Mind Accordance, a basic dharma seal he had learned when he first entered the path of Cultivation in the Qingyu Continent. He had realized the Song of Mind Accordance as much as he could in the past, and he had already surpassed the entry-level realm. If this body had a Spiritual Root, he would be able to form a dharma-flower dantian immediately.
Gently drawing the spiritual spring, it flows along the meridians,
Holding a candle to the place I returned, the sunlight is deep in the window.
He recited the dharma seal for a while. There was no particular change. He could clearly feel the spiritual energy, and it moved as he intended, but the energy that was supposed to wrap around his dantian and form a dharma-flower simply scattered in vain.
‘There is no Spiritual Root.’
He had lamented his lack of talent so much in his previous life, but the next life was even worse—a body of a commoner without even a Spiritual Root. He had been born into a body that lacked even the essential talent for cultivation. However, Pyo Rip didn't care.
‘It’s fine. I have a plan for everything.’
His physical condition gradually improved. Even though he couldn't form a dharma-flower dantian, the effort of reciting the dharma seal for so long had been worth it. As his mind gained some breathing room, he was able to grasp the surrounding situation.
‘I’m trapped in some kind of coffin-like container.’
He could tell by fumbling around his surroundings. And the roaring engine sound, the vibrations, the clattering, and the inertia that occasionally threw his body—it was easy to infer that he was being transported by vehicle.
‘The technology is advanced enough to use vehicles, yet the spiritual energy is richer than in the Qingyu Continent.’
Remembering his past lives and repeating the cycle of reincarnation, Pyo Rip classified various worlds by genre. This was based on his memories as Kim Wu-hyun, a college student from the Republic of Korea in his very first life. It was rare, but Pyo Rip had experienced a world like this before.
‘Punk.’
The coexistence of technology and mystery. Among them, worlds classified as Arcane Punk were like this. He hadn't seen yet if magic or spirits were developed in this world, but since it was a world rich in spiritual power, mystery was like needle and thread—it was a given.
‘Of course, I’ll keep the possibility of it being a different genre in mind.’
Pyo Rip posted on the Past Life Gallery in his imagination.
Pyo Rip took a deep breath, listening to the sighs of his past-life selves. He intended to utilize the arrangements he had prepared in his previous life. He would have preferred to have some leisure in a quiet place, but the situation was not favorable. Given the factory-like place earlier and the current situation, it seemed he wasn't a baby born normally from parents sharing love.
His actions were as quick as his decisions. Closing his eyes, Pyo Rip focused his mind. If cultivators of the Qingyu Continent saw him, they would wonder what a mere commoner was trying to do by focusing his mind… but Pyo Rip did it. An act that anyone would have called impossible for a commoner who had achieved nothing.
Heart embraces the Great Void, all things return to me.
He had unleashed a Divine Ability.
Whoosh-!
He felt a sound and a sensation. Even though his eyes were closed, his vision went pitch black for a moment. Immediately after the sensation of falling through the floor, Pyo Rip realized that for some reason, he was standing.
“….”
When he gently opened his eyes, he saw a small room. Dark-colored wooden walls were lined with bookshelves on all four sides. In the center, a small table and a single cushion were placed, with only a candle flickering dimly on top.
Nangseo Study. It was a mental space of divine ability where the books and jade slips collected by the former Lord of Nangseo Pavilion over tens of thousands of years were stored. At the time, the former Lord had designated Pyo Rip, who had helped him resolve his Inner Demon, as his successor and transplanted the entire divine ability into Pyo Rip's soul, and thus, Pyo Rip had inherited the Nangseo Study as well.
Transplanting a divine ability—such a thing shouldn't have been generally possible, and Pyo Rip didn't know how it was done, but the former Lord had done it so easily.
-With your soul, such a thing is possible. I will take it back later when you ascend.
With such meaningful words. Pyo Rip, who had been thinking of the former Lord for a moment, looked around the Nangseo Study.
“Hmm.”
The space was humble, and the collection was meager for something collected over tens of thousands of years. However, it was the divine ability of a Half-Immortal in the Tribulation Transcendence realm who had finally become a True Immortal. One shouldn't think simply based on what they saw.
Pyo Rip pulled the cushion and sat in front of the table. The cushion helped align his body and mind without him even being conscious of it, and the table was a treasure that increased concentration and inspiration. They were named the Peace Cushion and the Enlightenment Table, respectively. Pyo Rip gently stroked the edge of the Enlightenment Table with his hand. He had already mastered how to use the Nangseo Study in his previous life.
As Pyo Rip's intent moved, a book was immediately placed on the table. The title was written in quite a fine hand.
Secret Records of Fetal Theft
A secret record for the me who will be reborn.
“Ahem….”
Was the title a bit cringey? It had been a desperate and cool title back then, but seeing it now, it felt a bit… off. Pyo Rip's face flushed slightly, as if he had created a dark history. It felt as if the uproarious laughter of his past-life selves was ringing in his ears. However, the content wasn't embarrassing.
As he opened the book, he saw the introduction on the first page.
[The realm permitted by my Dao Heart was only the Foundation Establishment stage, so I arrange for my next life.]
A short sentence. Here, "Dao Heart" refers to the contemplation of how to live as a cultivator. It is a very important concept for preventing inner demons in the rise of realms. Also, Foundation Establishment is the realm after the Qi Condensation stage, which can be called the entry level. In other words, it is the realm where one is barely recognized as a cultivator.
‘To interpret, I have no talent, so I can only go this far, but I will not fall into the Demonic Path. Instead, I will arrange for my next life.’
Memories of when he wrote this book came back vividly. A plan to prepare for his next life as much as possible without violating his Dao Heart. The Secret Records of Fetal Theft was a record organized so that he wouldn't forget the devices his next self had arranged. Putting his emotions aside, Pyo Rip turned the page.
[The Lord of Nangseo Pavilion engraved a divine ability into my soul. Perhaps this divine ability could be carried over to my next life? There is no uniqueness in a soul that has not achieved the Great Dao, so the souls of all things scatter and are reborn within the Primordial Chaos. However, I, who remember my past lives, can be said to be free from this for reasons unknown. Since there are countless dharma arts to engrave something onto a soul, I should be able to take what is engraved on my soul to my next life. Thus, all arrangements are predicated on this.]
A brief introduction to the background of his inspiration and the resulting plan followed. And on the next page, the first arrangement.
[I refine the Spiritual Elixir of the Demonic Path in the manner of the Righteous Path.]
There was a breakthrough within the limits of not violating his Dao Heart.