The Heartless Heaven's Gaze
"Of course I know. Isn't this secret realm the grave of you and Jegu?"
Although the other party had revealed himself to be Sangyoza, Jekyeong's attitude did not waver, nor did he show any of the deference due to a senior. For one, he could not trust the man. He claimed to be Sangyoza, but how could Jekyeong blindly believe those words? Sangyoza was a figure from seven thousand years ago; under normal circumstances, both his soul and his physical body should have dissolved into the passage of time. Yet this self-proclaimed Sangyoza—or rather, his remnant soul—spoke with such clarity that he was indistinguishable from a living cultivator. Naturally, Jekyeong was deeply suspicious.
Furthermore, even if this entity truly was Sangyoza, he was ultimately nothing more than a remnant soul, as he himself had admitted. Most importantly, his motives for approaching Jekyeong remained entirely unclear. How could he show respect to such an uncertain presence? Even now, Jekyeong was calculating how to expel this uninvited guest.
"It is only natural to be wary, but there is no need to overdo it. Our meeting is merely the result of coincidences overlapping with coincidences."
Jekyeong did not reply, but the self-proclaimed remnant soul of Sangyoza paid it no mind and continued.
"Since you seem to know of me, I assume you also know how I ended up in this state?"
"I do."
Jekyeong did not remain silent this time. Though he still did not trust the entity, he was curious to hear what it had to say.
"In my youth, I was brimming with confidence. Everything seemed to bend to my will, and the Nascent Soul realm felt as though it were just within arm's reach. But it was only after arriving here that I realized that bastard was harboring the exact same thoughts."
"That bastard? Do you mean Demon King Jegu?"
"Indeed. To my surprise, the beast was a worshipper of Taotie, and this secret realm was a trap he had meticulously prepared. Just as I was hunting him, he was hunting me. Ignorant of this, I confidently marched straight into his snare."
There was no anger or resentment in his voice. Only a faint, boundless wistfulness echoed in his words.
"He intended to borrow Taotie's power to subdue me and offer me as a sacrifice. Much like how that girl over there is trying to sacrifice all of you right now."
"But it seems he failed."
"Yes, he failed. I underestimated him, but he underestimated me as well. In that sense, we both committed the exact same folly."
The wistfulness vanished, replaced by a sudden amusement. For a remnant soul claiming to be seven thousand years old, he was remarkably expressive.
"The moment he summoned Taotie, I sealed myself inside my Grotto-heaven."
"A Grotto-heaven?"
Jekyeong knew what a Grotto-heaven was. A few senior cultivators in the Bulmangwon network possessed them, and he had caught glimpses of them from afar whenever the Bulmang assemblies were held.
"You know of Grotto-heavens? As expected of a Bulmang cultivator, your horizons are quite broad. Though, since you are merely a Great Yo-beast, your knowledge of them must be entirely secondhand."
"That is correct."
"A Grotto-heaven is not merely some oversized spatial Dharma treasure. It is a treasure intimately bound to a cultivator's soul. Its profound mysteries cannot be truly grasped by those who have never owned one. In fact, even most owners fail to fully comprehend their own Grotto-heavens. I, too, had only a slightly deeper understanding than others, rather than complete mastery. Yet, that sliver of comprehension was more than enough to deal a devastating blow to that bastard Jegu."
The self-proclaimed remnant soul of Sangyoza seemed to grow increasingly animated, his words flowing faster. However, because his rambling contained a wealth of valuable information, Jekyeong refrained from cutting him off. Instead, he offered brief nods of agreement, subtly prompting him to continue.
"I sealed the gates of my Grotto-heaven with a restriction that even I could not escape. No matter how cunning Jegu was, he was ultimately just a Core Formation cultivator. What could he possibly do?"
"If it was a restriction even you could not escape, isn't that no different from suicide?"
"It wasn't 'no different'—it was suicide. I decided that dying by my own hand was far better than sliding into Taotie's gullet and losing even the chance of reincarnation. And, of course, I wanted to leave Jegu with a parting gift."
He chuckled. But unlike before, this laughter was chillingly sinister.
"Looking at it now, it seems everything unfolded exactly as I wished. Hmph! Foolish bastard. Did he truly believe a lackey of an Evil God would meet a pleasant end?"
"Is Jegu dead?"
"Of course he is dead. Isn't the proof written plain as day on that girl's forehead?"
"If you managed to survive as a remnant soul, then surely he..."
"Impossible. He and I are different," the self-proclaimed remnant soul of Sangyoza asserted flatly. "I simply died, but that bastard Jegu undoubtedly fell straight into Taotie's stomach. That is the common end for Taotie's lackeys. Moreover, he initiated the ritual but failed to deliver the promised sacrifice. Naturally, he had to offer himself instead."
"An Evil God devours his own worshippers?"
"Do you think an Evil God is called an 'Evil God' for nothing? Of course, Taotie is exceptionally unique. He is the very incarnation of gluttony, and his appetite knows no bounds. Sooner or later, all of Taotie's worshippers meet a similar fate. That girl is no exception. It may have been a choice born of desperation, but when the time comes to pay the toll, she will surely regret today's decision."
The self-proclaimed remnant soul of Sangyoza was as relaxed as a spectator watching a fire from across a river, but Jekyeong could not afford such leisure. He was still not entirely certain if this entity was truly Sangyoza's remnant soul, but that no longer mattered. Genuine or not, this being possessed an immense wealth of knowledge.
"A fascinating tale. However, you have yet to tell me the most important part."
"Oh?"
"Why did you go out of your way to approach me and speak?"
"As I said, it was a mere coincidence. As Taotie's shadow cast over this place once more, my faded remnant soul was stirred awake. Upon waking, I simply found myself intrigued by the Bulmang cultivator I discovered."
"How did you recognize me as a Bulmang cultivator?"
"I associated with them during my lifetime, so I am somewhat familiar with their unique nature. Of course, it is also thanks to the special perception I acquired in this state. In my current form, I can discern a cultivator's soul at a single glance."
By now, Jekyeong had shed a significant portion of his suspicion toward this self-proclaimed remnant soul of Sangyoza. At the very least, the entity's words had been seamless, carrying no contradictions or jarring inconsistencies. It sounded entirely sincere.
"What is it you want?"
"Nothing."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Whether you believe it or not is of no concern to me, but it is the truth. I am Sangyoza, yet at the same time, I am not him. I am merely a remnant soul. My survival to this day and my awakening now are nothing more than pleasant coincidences that occurred entirely outside my will."
"A pleasant coincidence?"
"Thanks to it, I learned that the bastard Jegu died a miserable death, and I even gained an entertaining spectacle to watch. How is this not a pleasant coincidence?"
It was said that the most difficult opponent to deal with was one who desired nothing. Now, Jekyeong finally understood the weight of those words. He wished to borrow the entity's wisdom, but he possessed no leverage or reward to offer in return. Yet, he could not simply fold his hands and do nothing. After racking his brain to no avail, Jekyeong decided to adopt a shameless front.
"Senior may find this entertaining, but I am on the verge of death."
"Hmph. You possess quite a thick skin," the remnant soul of Sangyoza sneered, but Jekyeong replied without missing a beat.
"That is the nature of all cultivators."
"Sly bastard. I know what you wish to ask, but even I have no solution. Besides, don't you already have a card up your sleeve?"
Jekyeong was not in the least surprised that Sangyoza's remnant soul had seen through his—or rather, their—plan. He did not know exactly when the soul had awakened, but if it had observed the unfolding situation even briefly, a Core Formation cultivator's sharp perception would have easily pieced it together.
"Will it succeed?"
"I do not know. It depends entirely on how deeply that half-demon lad is favored by the Heavenly Dao. But the probability is quite high. There have been more than a few such precedents in the past."
At those words, Jekyeong unconsciously raised his head to look up at the sky. Taotie's envoy was now nearly at the altar, its colossal form more than ninety percent materialized. Yet, what Jekyeong gazed upon was not that grotesque mass of flesh, but the sky above it, heavily laden with dark, churning clouds.
"The common folk view tribulations as punishments and trials. They are not entirely wrong, but they often overlook that a tribulation is also a form of divine favor and attention. Think about it. Is the Heavenly Dao so idle? Idle enough to cast its gaze upon those it cares nothing for and test them one by one?"
Rumble! The dark sky finally began to cry out. The corruption bleeding from Taotie's domain and the darkness it had spread paled before the roar of the tribulation clouds, yielding their ground. For even if this secret realm was connected to Taotie's domain, it remained a part of the Changram Realm. The sky here was still the sky of the Changram Realm, and thus, it naturally fell under the absolute dominion of the Heavenly Dao.
"This...!"
The moment the tribulation clouds unleashed their thunderous roar, Gwak Yeon, who had been staring at Taotie's envoy in a state of tense anxiety, finally realized that something had gone terribly wrong. She froze in a daze for a brief second before snapping back to reality. Scanning her surroundings, she frantically searched for Myeong-ha, who had vanished from sight. But by then, Myeong-ha was already wiping the blood from his lips, a faint, knowing smile playing on his face.
The history of the cultivation world was deeper than anyone could fathom, yet countless mysteries remained unsolved. The prime example of this was the Tribulation. Of course, if one were to ask the vast majority of cultivators—who would never experience a tribulation in their entire lives—what it was, they would merely spout shallow, secondhand knowledge. A test from heaven, a trial, a punishment meted out to cultivators who defy the natural order. Grand words, but hollow. Those who babbled such phrases did not even comprehend the weight of their own words. It was only natural. Some things could never be truly understood until they were experienced firsthand. Verbal teachings were of little use. No matter how many times others warned that fire was hot, one could never truly grasp the meaning of that heat until they were burned by it.
Though, in that regard, I am not much different.
Myeong-ha gazed up at the thick tribulation clouds hanging heavily in the sky, overcome with a wave of emotion. He had always known he would face it one day, but he had never dreamed it would happen under these circumstances. Surely, even this isn't the will of heaven?
How utterly exhausting.
He had been born flawed from the very beginning. He had long since resigned himself to his fate, growing thoroughly accustomed to it, yet a foul taste still filled his mouth whenever he dwelled on it.
Tell me. Do you still count an abandoned child as your own?
The gathering of the tribulation clouds signified that the Tribulation—specifically, the Heavenly Tribulation—was imminent. The Heavenly Tribulation was also known as the Lightning Tribulation. The descending lightning was heaven's sentence, a brutal judgment that a cultivator had to endure to ascend to a higher realm. Some argued that it was not a judgment, but a baptism. They claimed that heaven struck down with lightning to cleanse the impurities accumulated within the cultivator's body and soul.
Having never experienced it himself, Myeong-ha personally considered such notions to be absolute rubbish. Cleansing impurities? Heaven was never so benevolent. It viewed all things crawling upon the earth as utterly insignificant; there was no reason for it to bestow any grace upon them. Heaven is heartless, and that is why it is heaven. It was a phrase often parroted by those who loved to boast, yet very few truly understood its depth. But Myeong-ha, who had been born with an extraordinary aura and had weathered countless storms throughout his life—whether he wanted to or not—prided himself on understanding those words better than anyone. For he had lived through it. Thus, his current state of mind was a bizarre tangle of emotions. He felt anger, joy, and a sense of profound absurdity all at once.
"No..."
Gwak Yeon was initially thrown into a panic, but she quickly grasped the reality of the situation. Naturally, she had never experienced a tribulation, but her lack of firsthand experience did not mean she was ignorant of its nature. Tribulation clouds! How can there be tribulation clouds?! The ominous energy swelling within the tribulation clouds made her heart sink.
Ominousness was a relative concept. Depending on where one stood, the exact same phenomenon could be perceived as an auspicious sign or a disastrous omen. Had she been outside the secret realm, Gwak Yeon would have looked upon the power within those clouds with nothing but awe. Perhaps she would have used it as motivation, steeling her resolve with the hope that she, too, would one day receive that heavenly baptism. But not now. She had already strayed onto a different path. The Heavenly Dao would never tolerate a traitor like her.
The Ghost Spider! How dare he!
It was blindingly obvious who had summoned the tribulation clouds. No other culprit even crossed her mind. Yet, even as she felt certain, she could not comprehend how a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could possibly summon a lightning tribulation. But comprehension mattered little in the face of immediate catastrophe; she had to resolve this disaster right now. The gathering of the tribulation clouds meant that the secret realm had already drawn the gaze of the Heavenly Dao. If the 'path' opened now and connected the secret realm to Taotie's domain...
What do I do? What should I...
Gwak Yeon cast her gaze in every direction and spread her Divine Sense, desperately searching for the hidden Myeong-ha. Yet, even as she searched, she was plagued by another terrifying thought: even if she managed to eliminate Myeong-ha, how could she ever hope to deflect the gaze of the Heavenly Dao that had already locked onto them?