The Final Knot of Farewell
In the center of the Aether Training Chamber.
Han Yujin sat in lotus position with his eyes closed, taking the final step toward completing the ultimate achievement of the Golden Core stage—Oral Golden Elixir.
Was the Golden Core stage truly deserving of its exalted name? Would the benefits truly match the effort invested? What advantages would it bring once he advanced to the Nascent Soul stage?
His anticipation and curiosity were immense, yet he had no mental capacity left for such thoughts right now.
Within the dantian that shimmered with a dreamlike violet hue and seemed to cradle an entire galactic nebula, the fleeting silhouette of a radiant five-colored dragon flickered past. The surface of that dantian was now being wrapped by nine revolving patterns that were on the verge of completion, radiating an incomparably mystical light.
The dense spiritual clouds that had formed around him were drawn inward along the flow of the Taiyi Five Elements Dao Scripture, only to flow out again. It truly felt as if the dantian itself had come to life and was breathing in a steady rhythm.
The circulation of the technique surged with a somewhat violent momentum, filling not only the dantian but every corner of his physical body.
From the outside, only a faint white glow leaked out. Inside, however, a fierce tempering was underway—one so intense that without sufficient foundational ability, it would undoubtedly cause severe damage.
And then, a short while later.
The nine revolving patterns, which had been faint and on the verge of fading, finally connected completely with one another and erupted in dazzling brilliance.
At the same time, a deep resonant sound that only he could hear reverberated through his being.
As the nine perfectly linked patterns stabilized from their blinding radiance, it felt as though a new sense was faintly awakening within him.
‘…Spatial-temporal perception?’
Even as he maintained his composure, his heart seemed to pound.
But after observing a little longer, he realized it was not quite that. Nevertheless, rather than disappointment, he felt only satisfaction and joy.
The sense that allowed him to resonate with the Primordial Origin—the connection point, so to speak—had become far clearer.
‘As expected…!’
Just this single benefit alone was enough to justify calling the completion of the Oral Golden Elixir the exalted Golden Core stage. Contemplating the Dao through seated meditation would become significantly easier, and the results would surely follow.
Perhaps because of that, an epiphany suddenly surfaced.
The clue to a problem he had been pondering for so long regarding the Yin-Yang Five Elements Force and the Origin Power Great Hand rose naturally, almost on its own. He even incorporated a technique he had never known before as material.
It was likely an unexpected stroke of fortune born from the deepened connection to the Primordial Origin.
For now, he carefully stored that insight in a corner of his mind and focused on stabilizing the newly completed Golden Core realm.
A pure white radiance, now carrying an even more profound and mysterious aura, gently enveloped him and shone in silence.
Stabilizing the Golden Core realm took only half a month. Since he had not resorted to any shortcuts, there were no particular points that required caution.
Although a successor for Winsfell had been found, the mission was postponed for the time being due to adaptation and training. Thanks to that, Han Yujin and Brenar were able to spend their remaining time together in leisure.
It was unmistakably their final rest in preparation for parting.
They did not travel anywhere to create memories. Having once been part of a space force exploration team and later worked with an expedition group after retiring, they had already accumulated far too many experiences similar to travel.
Instead, simply relaxing like this, enjoying the same hobbies, and acting lovey-dovey felt far more enjoyable and happy.
The reason he did not attempt to advance to the Nascent Soul stage while resting like this was to return to his original world in his current state and create a kind of ‘save point,’ just in case.
If an entirely unforeseen problem arose during the Nascent Soul breakthrough and he died, things could become severely complicated.
It was the same logic as when he had previously caused his dantian to run amok and died against that bastard from the Kamayus Empire—although negative, it had been treated as a form of ‘cultivation achievement.’ There was a chance it could cause issues when selecting his harvest.
Therefore, he had decided to halt any further cultivation.
Yet the reason he had not left was to study and research the insights regarding the Yin-Yang Five Elements Force and the Origin Power Great Hand that he had gained upon reaching the Golden Core stage.
‘…Truthfully, it’s only half an excuse.’
The idea that he needed to produce some tangible result from his research before leaving was only half true. It was because doing so would give him one more tool to achieve his goals more effectively in the next adventure.
In reality, he simply could not bring himself to leave right away. His true purpose was to organize his heart one last time.
And so, four months passed.
On an ordinary day when the sky was clear and everything remained peaceful without incident.
While the two of them sat together on a bench in the villa’s garden, Brenar spoke.
“Yujin, the gift is finally ready.”
“…What gift?”
“A parting gift, of course.”
She smiled faintly. Han Yujin felt as if his heart had turned to ice and closed his eyes for a moment.
Soon after, realizing how amusing his own reaction was, he opened them again.
“I’m sorry. Even though I’d already made up my mind, it seems I dragged my feet too long.”
“It’s fine. Actually… I finished the gift more than two months ago.”
Jjik…?
Mu-yong, who had been lazily sprawled across both their laps, belatedly sensed the strange atmosphere and lifted her head.
While naturally stroking Mu-yong’s fur, Brenar took something out of her spacer ring.
It looked at first glance like a modern Earth tumbler.
Visually it seemed like plastic, but his divine sense confirmed it was metal. Complex ether circuits were engraved inside.
“I named it Infimix.”
“You made it yourself?”
“There are similar products on the market, but I modified one. Basically…”
In short, it was a kind of cocktail bottle that could generate liquid contents resembling alcohol and, through repeated spiritual transformations, impart over a hundred unique flavors.
Moreover, if external alcohol was used as a base, it could create entirely new tastes.
“It’s nothing more than a luxury item, but since Baek-neung loves alcohol, this should ensure she never runs out no matter where she is.”
Jjik! Jjijik! Jjik—!
Upon hearing the explanation, Mu-yong went into a frenzy. Although she was still in beast form, having reached the Dharma Soul stage meant she had more than enough ability to use it herself.
“Thank you.”
Jjik! Jjik!
When Han Yujin expressed gratitude on her behalf, Mu-yong quickly came to her senses. She leaped into Brenar’s arms and rubbed her head against her. It was a display of affection she only showed when truly happy, causing Brenar to burst into laughter.
“There’s one more.”
With those words, another object emerged from the spacer ring.
This one was clearly extraordinary at first sight. It was a metal ingot that appeared white at times yet flashed black at others, radiating a hue remarkably similar to Brenar’s own power.
“Baek-neung will be able to possess a spiritual treasure once she reaches the Golden Core stage, right?”
“Is this the material?”
She nodded and gave a brief explanation.
It was called nano-chronium—or nano-chronum—a remarkable metal that possessed spatial-temporal properties and could change shape at the nano level.
It was also a metal produced by the Ebenrak Family after receiving a unique secret technique from the Emperor.
“Are you really allowed to give me something like this?”
“What does it matter? I’m not teaching you the manufacturing method. There’s no secret that could be exposed just by researching it. Even if someone somehow learns about it, it can’t be made anywhere except here. That’s also why I’m not telling you the secret recipe.”
After a moment of hesitation, he eventually accepted the item without protest. For Mu-yong’s sake, he did not want to refuse this special material.
“I’ll give you the rest at home, so open the entrance for a moment.”
Although it was an open garden, there was no one around. No one was likely to visit, and outsiders had no chance of intruding.
Thus, he readily opened the Mountain Sea Pearl. Holding Mu-yong in his arms, he entered together with Brenar. He then closed the entrance to make it less noticeable.
When the entrance was closed from the inside, only the Mountain Sea Pearl would remain floating outside. Even so, that state would be far less conspicuous than leaving the entrance open.
The place they arrived at was the house Brenar had personally designed down to the architectural blueprints, selecting every material herself.
It blended seamlessly with the surrounding nature while retaining the elegant, sci-fi aesthetic unique to the Galactic Empire. The structure had three floors including the basement.
The basement contained a maturation room filled with the nectar and fine liquors the two had brewed together, along with a storage room for various tools and spare parts. The first floor was an open, spacious area, while the second floor held private spaces such as the bedroom and study.
Brenar, leading the way, went up to the second floor and stopped in front of a bare wall in the living room. It looked as though it had been prepared specifically to hang something.
“First… this.”
With a trace of hesitation in her expression, she took out a large painting from her spacer ring.
It was an extraordinary painting that inspired pure admiration regardless of its subject.
In a grand and splendid hall, Han Yujin and Brenar stood facing each other in the Galactic Empire’s traditional wedding attire, smiling.
Whatever materials had been used, though it was clearly a painting, it possessed an incomparably vivid sense of life and realism while simultaneously offering a dreamlike beauty that felt almost unreal.
The light pouring down from above as if to bless them even carried a faint trace of divinity.
“I learned how to paint it myself.”
After briefly explaining the technique and materials, she hung the painting on the empty wall. It fit the space perfectly, as if she had planned it from the beginning, and harmonized beautifully with its surroundings.
“With this painting, let’s consider ourselves married.”
“…Hm?”
“You’re not going to say no, are you?”
Knowing about the issue of his deceased wife, she glanced at him cautiously.
That must have been why she had hesitated slightly when taking out the painting. Or perhaps she had simply felt a little embarrassed.
“As if I would.”
Even as he thought of Eun Miryeong, Han Yujin smiled at the Brenar before him.
“When I spoke about it before, I hadn’t fully organized my heart yet… but now it’s fine. It’s been quite a long time.”
He knew full well that marrying Brenar now did not mean betraying Eun Miryeong or erasing and forgetting the memories they had shared.
If he had only understood it intellectually before, now he could accept that truth from the depths of his heart.
“So… yes. Let’s consider ourselves married. Whether we hold the actual ceremony when we meet again is up to us.”
“Good.”
Though she tried to appear calm, she could not hide the excitement in her expression.
Then she took out yet another item from her spacer ring.
“There’s this too.”
It was a thin, elegant stand made of high-grade stone.
On the velvet-covered base rested a simple platinum necklace. A jewel crafted to perfectly match the color of Brenar’s hair and eyes adorned it.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary object. A simple ether circuit—expressed in cultivation terms as a technique—was embedded within, but its only functions were to slightly increase durability and prevent contamination.
“It’s the first gift my mother ever gave me.”
“Ah.”
In that case, the object was a one-of-a-kind treasure to her in the entire world.
“I’ll leave it here.”
She placed the necklace stand beneath the portrait and turned around.
“I was not even ten years old. My mother tricked me. She told me it was an incredible imperial treasure that would bring tremendous luck.”
“……”
“I found out years later that I had been deceived, but I continued to carry it with me. I told myself it might truly bring me luck, because it was something my mother had given me while playfully joking around.”
“Something so precious… how could I possibly…”
“If I leave it here, you’ll be able to share in that luck as well. After all, this is ‘our’ home.”
Suddenly.
At those words, Han Yujin felt an inexplicable sting in his nose, as if tears might fall.
As someone who had reached the Golden Core stage, he could suppress such emotional turbulence if he wished. However, this was not an emotion he wanted to suppress.
“Don’t get too moved.”
She spoke then with a faint, teasing tone.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be apart… but even if you inevitably meet other women during that time, this is my way of telling you never to forget me.”
“Wait, are you saying I’m going to cheat?”
She shook her head, still smiling.
“You might have no choice but to accept a woman. For example, if a powerful cultivation clan that covets your talent proposes marriage.”
“I won’t accept such an offer merely for the sake of profit.”
“What if refusing would create enmity?”
Since it would be a world he visited through his awakening ability anyway, he could simply endure it and overcome it. Even if he died, he could simply start the adventure over from the beginning.
But Brenar did not know that.
And what she said next would have been the same even if she had known.
“Even if it’s not that serious, if it seems like you’ll suffer a burdensome loss, just accept it without hesitation.”
“Brenar, I…”
“I don’t want you to be put in danger or suffer loss because of me. If, by some chance, you really die because of me… that would be the true betrayal.”
Her voice was low yet resolute.
“If we’re being precise, I’m the one who took the place of your deceased wife. So, for your sake, I can yield that much without hesitation.”
To the slightly dazed Han Yujin, she added,
“Make a promise to me here and now. Promise that you won’t unnecessarily distance yourself from women because of me and suffer pointless losses or danger. Promise that you will return safely no matter what.”
In the end.
He closed his eyes and slightly lowered his head.
He wondered how he had come to meet only such wonderful connections. The desire not to part from them swelled in his chest until it felt like it would burst.
Yet paradoxically, at the same time, his resolve to part grew firmer than ever.
If he failed to become a True Immortal due to insufficient effort or time.
If this situation—whether reality or simulation—ultimately remained fake and he could never meet Eun Miryeong or the Brenar standing before him again.
He was no longer confident that he could forgive himself and endure it.
When a single tear finally rolled down his cheek, Brenar’s expression also grew slightly tearful.
Jjik! Jjijik—! Jjik!
And Mu-yong, who had already been sobbing uncontrollably, leaped out of Han Yujin’s arms and into Brenar’s. She held Mu-yong with familiar ease and stroked her more tenderly than ever before.
“Baek-neung, you mustn’t forget me. Understand?”
Jjik! Jjijik…!
“Keep an eye on whether your master keeps his promises. I’m counting on you, okay?”
Jjik…! Jjik!
While the two of them exchanged their farewells.
Having barely regained control of his emotions, Han Yujin spoke in a calm tone that carried a resolve firmer than ever before.
“I will return. No matter what happens… we will definitely meet again.”
With a face still wet with unshed tears, she smiled brightly and nodded.
And so.
The final knot of their farewell was tied.