Chapter 242
Chapter 242
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 242
Chapter Title: Mountain of the Cultivator (16)
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It felt like a dream.
He had climbed the tower endlessly while wielding the Absolute's power.
He was intoxicated by the strength and craved it infinitely.
The sensation of transcending limits and reaching all things in existence.
It was as if he had become a god.
And the result...
The True Owner of the Cradle spoke—the black goat that had died and revived dozens of times.
The being who had kept its mouth shut even in the face of its own deaths.
It opened its mouth with a tone of pity.
Unlike any demons or demon lords he had faced before.
-That power of yours once filled us with dread: the Absolute, the Evil God Baal. If you continue to crave strength, your soul will eventually be devoured by Baal. Do you truly think the things inside you can stand against Baal once he awakens?
It seemed to have seen right through him.
It had discerned the countless foreign entities within Park Chan-woo.
Yet it was convinced that blocking Baal's soul devouring wouldn't be easy.
Because...
The Evil God Baal was...
-One of the Four Beasts of the Primordial Creation. No matter how you struggle, once it starts devouring you, it's over. The things inside you aren't truly yours either, so in the end, Baal will awaken.
After all, it was one of the true Creator's Four Beasts.
The Owner of the Cradle had learned through dying over and over.
About the human named Park Chan-woo and the nature of the things dwelling within him.
But it did not voice it.
It knew that speaking it aloud would make them emerge and interfere.
They would erode the mind of Park Chan-woo, backed into a corner, and drive him toward a more certain "death."
-The things you possess are not for your sake.
The Dragon God's Heart.
The Demon-Sealing God's Chalice.
And death itself.
They did not exist for the human Park Chan-woo.
They were never meant to be contained within a human like him.
Coincidences upon coincidences, miracles upon miracles had overlapped, finding balance within him—but it was nothing more than a time bomb.
In a word, the human Park Chan-woo, that existence, was merely a shell for the "explosion."
That must be why.
Park Chan-woo was acting so recklessly.
Instinctively knowing he would burst anyway, he was swinging himself wildly.
It was a death throe.
Even accepting and using the Evil God Baal's power was the same.
At least this power came from equipment he had personally obtained.
With that thought, he seemed to crave strength even more madly.
But he was mistaken.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't something he had obtained himself.
Without the things inherent within him, he couldn't have acquired it in the first place.
-The more you wield what is not yours, the more it will run rampant.
The mountain-like black goat, the Owner of the Cradle, warned.
The Owner of the Cradle was a being on an entirely different level from the "Creator of the Cradle."
Normally, its appearance here would be impossible.
But the final hidden piece of the hidden piece... "Cradle" had been completed.
Because an absolutely unattainable condition, one no one could surpass, had been fulfilled, a "non-existent place" had emerged, and it had appeared as well.
...The problem was.
The Owner of the Cradle was not there to be overcome or to impose trials.
Only those who had honed themselves to an inconceivable degree could meet the "Owner of the Cradle."
In other words, it signified that he was originally at the end of enlightenment.
Moreover, the Owner of the Cradle was a mirror.
Taking the form of an ominous black goat meant that Park Chan-woo's true nature was no different.
Park Chan-woo had not honed himself to the point of meeting the Owner of the Cradle.
He had simply reached this point easily thanks to becoming a negative level for some reason.
Therefore...
-I am the one who grants wisdom at the very end. Another beginning. Since you have met me as a result, for whatever reason...
Park Chan-woo was lost in the power.
Unable to fully wield the Absolute's power, he had lost his reason.
He was simply surrendering himself to a force he should have feared and approached with caution.
The Owner of the Cradle shook its head.
Even amid the countless deaths.
In truth, the concept of "death" didn't resonate with him much.
At that moment, suddenly...
The Owner of the Cradle thought.
...Perhaps even this human meeting him was part of some intent.
However... not everything was foreign to Park Chan-woo.
He clearly possessed "potential."
The things dwelling within him weren't his to have, yet they maintained a delicate balance inside the human Park Chan-woo.
What did that mean?
It meant his potential was keeping them silent.
The shell that was Park Chan-woo was firmly holding back phenomena that could erupt at any moment.
In other words...
-Open your eyes.
......If Park Chan-woo truly opened his eyes to his own potential, it would be possible to truly wield those things.
'The Mandate of Heaven rebounds (天道之則反).'
One of the Twelve Heavenly Kings he met in the cave.
The Defiant Monk had interpreted "The Mandate of Heaven rebounds" in his own way.
Its original meaning was "Excess is dangerous." It was akin to "overdoing it leads to failure."
For example, it could be used as "Working too hard harms your health."
But the Defiant Monk expressed his realization that craving strength made one purer, and endlessly pursuing power was natural.
And that was...
......The same for Park Chan-woo himself.
The Defiant Monk's interpretation was quite impressive.
Wasn't desiring power wrong?
On the contrary, without desire, one wouldn't even be a living being.
Without power, nothing could be done.
Whether crushing someone or saving them, only those with power had that choice.
Park Chan-woo had witnessed such scenes countless times.
That the cries of the powerless were the most futile.
Thus, he wielded the "Absolute."
Intoxicated by power, he desired more.
He was also curious how far he could go.
But...
-Open your eyes.
The moment he heard those words, his mind snapped awake.
When he opened his eyes, the "black goat" had already vanished.
In its place was a mirror.
A massive mirror.
His own reflection within it.
"...Pathetic."
He had rampaged madly in frenzy.
He couldn't contain the power spilling out uncontrollably.
Was this what the Twelve Heavenly King meant by "desire for power"?
'No way.'
He realized he had misinterpreted the Defiant Monk's words on "The Mandate of Heaven rebounds."
Not others', but his own.
Infinitely craving what was truly his, what he could wield.
If he couldn't wield it, keep challenging until he could wield it perfectly, until he completed the "Divine Art."
This realization wasn't limited to the "Divine Art Absolute Learning" passed down by the Twelve Heavenly Kings.
It was a story about the entire life of the human Park Chan-woo.
Have I desired myself?
Have I fully accepted, cherished, and loved myself?
Have I ever tried to truly know and explore myself?
'No. Never.'
His entire body trembled.
The remnants of the frenzy began to fade.
The black Absolute's aura gradually receded.
Finally, Park Chan-woo had "opened his eyes."
"......Where is this?"
Why had the will of magic power sent him here?
To inform him of the corruption in the Pantheon?
It couldn't be just that.
Then, to convey a god's intent, or some story?
That wasn't it either.
This place.
This mountain...
"......A place to hear my own story."
It was a place sent to hone himself.
The time had come to listen to and convey not others' stories, but his own.
At the same time.
Pure Martial Arts was studying oneself.
The true Arhats had each pursued only their own studies.
Thus, the effect of "Weakest," which forcibly set pure stats to 1, had no choice but to weaken.
Until now, he had absorbed curses with "Elysion" to raise only pure magic power, but as he completed "Divine Art Absolute Learning," he could raise other pure stats as well.
And as he wished.
"Who are you?"
Park Chan-woo asked, gazing at the mirror.
Though he had achieved the realization alone, without the "True Owner of the Cradle" telling him to open his eyes, he would have ended in frenzy.
But no answer came, no matter how long he waited.
As if it had done all it needed to.
It had simply left behind the lone mirror.
Park Chan-woo reached out toward the mirror.
Then.
You have acquired "Park Chan-woo's Mirror."
It is said that looking into the mirror once when you feel like you're losing yourself will help you find yourself again.
The description was brief.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
He had certainly met some mystical being.
One of a kind he had never encountered before... akin to an immortal sage.
Thanks to that, one thing had become clear.
He now had a clear reason to climb this Mountain of the Cultivator.
'Not as the Heavenly Demon, but as myself, I will stand at the peak.'
He was sorry to Chiwoo, but he wouldn't climb to proclaim the Heavenly Demon's name again.
He, Park Chan-woo, was climbing this mountain.
Solely to engrave his own story.
It was at that moment.
"Ugh......"
Strength drained from his entire body.
The aftermath of the frenzy had finally arrived.