Chapter 454: Yeon's Heart (7)

I peeked into the Mad Lord's memories.

And I came to know of his life.

"..."

Paaatt...

As I regain my senses, the true bodies of the Seven Esteemed Ones Of An Era are in the process of being summoned around the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Quietly, I raise my sword and aim it toward them.

Next to me, Seo Hweol appears with a faint smile.

Oh Hye-seo's aura has once again disappeared outside the Bright Cold Realm.

Now, the only thing left beside the Mad Lord is Kim Yeon's consciousness.

Seo Hweol smiles faintly and speaks.

"Quite turbulent, isn't it? The Old Man's life...because of that state, I couldn't use Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens on him."

I glare at Seo Hweol in silence and grip the Colorless Glass Sword.

At last, I understand the secret of Mad Lord's heart essence.

The reason why I felt countless cries and screams filled with agony when I previously entered his heart essence.

It was because Jo Yeon devoured the entire Jo Clan, embedding them wholly into his consciousness, much like my own Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

No matter how much he resented them, it was still an expression of the Mad Lord's own guilt for killing his blood relatives.

That is the true cause of the madness he harbors.

"You're the one who fed 'her' to Jo Yeon, aren't you?"

Seo Hweol shrugs his shoulders.

"Hoho. All I did was guide the Jo Clan to separate 'her' from Jo Yeon through Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens. The ones who actually did the deed were the Jo Clan, who treated everyone outside cultivators as livestock."

At his explanation, I let out a hollow laugh.

"They probably never truly understood why they were annihilated until the very end. From their perspective, they merely plucked a radish from the field they were cultivating."

"..."

The cultivation world is truly repulsive.

Leaving Seo Hweol behind, I charge toward the Seven Esteemed Ones Of An Era.

In this world, the strong devouring the weak is not only considered common sense but is rather regarded as the 'natural order.'

The belief that 'cultivation is essentially plunder' is the law of this world and the absolute truth."

As I face Esteemed One Swae Ryeong, who is spewing coral, I grit my teeth.

'O Owner of Salt Mountain.'

The being who pushed forward the truth that cultivation is repentant enlightenment.

I ask that being silently.

'Is it not you who is wrong?'

Pukwak!

With one slash, I fend off Esteemed One Swae Ryeong, the cut Esteemed One Gwi Ryuk and Esteemed One Yuk Nyeong who rush from behind.

'This world is insane.'

The notion that the strong eat the weak has gone beyond being considered merely natural and reached a level of madness.

'In this insane world, is it not you who proclaimed that cultivation is repentant enlightenment...the one who is truly insane?'

I swing my sword, gritting my teeth.

As I witnessed the Mad Lord's life, I felt it deep in my bones.

There is no hope, not in this world or anywhere else.

Watching the Mad Lord's life, where he devoured his lover with his own hands, I came to realize one thing.

This world is ultimately governed by fate.

And if that fate is the heavens,

Does that not mean that the heavens are a being that can become so cruel to a single person?

If that's the case, then isn't this world under those heavens nothing but hell?

The Salt Mountain, who shouted repentant enlightenment, was annihilated while the Owner of Great Mountain, who piled up mountains of slaughter, pain, despair, and grief, remains—isn't that proof?

Doesn't the death of the virtuous and noble Yu Hao Te, while Blood Yin remains, also prove it as well?

Clench...

I grip the Colorless Glass Sword even tighter.

When hearts connect with one another, shouldn't that be an infinite blessing?

There was a time when I thought that.

But look.

In this world, the connection of hearts can instead bring even more pain!

Is it because my own pain has surfaced while watching the Mad Lord's past?

Or is it because Blood Yin is amplifying my negative emotions?

I swing my sword with a gloomy heart as I face the Esteemed Ones.

I can sense the Mad Lord beginning to regain consciousness.

But suddenly, a thought crosses my mind.

Even if Yeon's Play is activated, the Bright Cold Realm is already no different from hell due to the tyranny of the Heaven and Earth Tribes.

If that's the case...

Wouldn't it be not so bad to let Blood Yin consume...

[Daoist Seo!]

Flinch!

I come back to my senses due to Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

The stickiness of his Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens clings to my mind, preventing me from falling completely into darkness.

[Reflect on yourself.]

"..."

As he says, I reflect on myself.

Blood devilish energy surges from my entire body.

My eyes are not just bloodshot; they've turned fully red.

'...Hah.'

I understand why my mind had briefly gone astray.

The Owner of the Blood Yin Realm.

The True Immortal Blood Yin directly took action against me, who is facing off the Esteemed Ones.

I feel my mind gradually sinking into the darkness.

'Is this the power of Blood Yin...'

However, I don't feel the same fierce urge to escape Blood Yin's authority like before.

Perhaps it's because I no longer feel the urge to deny the negative power that Blood Yin whispers.

I simply search, powerlessly, for that divine voice that had once whispered in my ear.

'O Salt Mountain. In this world. What meaning does repentant enlightenment have...?'

"What meaning do you think!?"

...Huh?

"Reflecting on oneself means cultivating oneself. If the strong eating the weak is the truth and plundering is absolute, then eventually those who consider it absolute will also be devoured and plundered by someone stronger."

Why...are you here...?

"But those who cultivate themselves and grow will, even if they perish, only perish due to their own selves. What they hold would not be taken from others. What they have nurtured will remain with them, even if the world itself perishes."

A familiar old man with a goat-like beard is angrily scolding in front of me.

"So get a grip! You dim-witted thing!"

Flash!

Upon seeing Cheongmun Ryeong, I snap back to my senses.

But as soon as I do, Cheongmun Ryeong vanishes from sight.

What remains is only...

The pure white light emanating from Buk Hyang-hwa's norigae.

"..."

I gaze at the norigae for a moment and then smile.

Was it Cheongmun Ryeong who answered me through the norigae?

Or was it...

The Owner of Salt Mountain who answered my question in the form of Cheongmun Ryeong?

'Ah...'

I know the answer immediately.

It wasn't given by someone else.

It was something within me.

The Cheongmun Ryeong within my Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections must have surely responded as such, showing me the vision as I have already come to that judgment myself.

The norigae was merely a trigger.

One who grows by plundering from others will, in the end, also be plundered.

But one who grows through repentant enlightenment will, even when the end comes, leave behind what they've built.

Now I finally understand why the Owner of Salt Mountain, who was said to have been annihilated, left behind so much authority.

It's because they did not grow by plundering others, but grew by cultivating themself, which is why so much still remains.

What is gained through repentant enlightenment will never perish!

Tssaaahhhhh!

A pure white light begins to radiate from my body.

Somehow, from far off in the distance.

From beyond even the universe, I feel the glare of someone vicious watching me.

But somehow, I feel that this 'someone,' though glaring at me, will not harm me.

Though they may hate me, I feel they acknowledge me as well.

Emboldened by that feeling, I drive out the Heart Demon awakening inside me.

"Hear this, Mad Lord."

I speak to the Mad Lord, who is just beginning to regain consciousness.

Kuung!

The forms of the Esteemed Ones in front of me begin to change.

:: Purple Soul Filling the Heavens. Six Harmonies Fully Blooming (六合滿開). ::

Esteemed One Hill Gi becomes iron.

Becoming a mountain of steel, they take their place in the western side of Heavenly Lotus Mountain.

Esteemed One Gwi Ryuk becomes a river.

Becoming a river of darkness, they take their place in the northern side of Heavenly Lotus Mountain.

Esteemed One Yuk Nyeong becomes a tree.

Sprouting from a body made of red soil, they become a blood tree in the eastern side.

Esteemed One Wi On becomes fire.

Burning their body away, they illuminate the southern side of Heavenly Lotus Mountain.

Esteemed One Gyeok Hal becomes the sky.

Becoming hideous stars that gaze down from above, they cover the sky.

Finally, Esteemed One Swae Ryeong becomes the land.

Kugugugugugu!

Their body made of red coral collapses, and coral begins to sprout across the entire continent of the Bright Cold Realm.

The mountain of irons hardens the corals, the river of darkness flows between the corals, the massive blood tree decays and nourishes the corals, and the flames provide warmth to the corals.

From the stars that have become the eyes of the sky, I feel a gaze.

It is no longer the gaze of Gyeok Hal.

:: Obey me. ::

Among the Blood Yin Realm Seven Esteemed Ones Of An Era,

Except for Gyu Cheon, who was born in the Bright Cold Realm and crossed over to the Blood Yin Realm, all the Esteemed Ones who became so in the Blood Yin Realm have lost themselves and become vessels that are no different than vessels for the authority of Blood Yin.

No, their situation is even more wretched than becoming vessels.

For they have lost themselves forever.

:: O Authority of Tridacna (硨磲; coral and shell). ::

The red tridacna, manifested from Esteemed One Swae Ryeong, spreads over the Bright Cold Realm, dyeing the entire world red.

I can feel it.

Soon, this world will become the Blood Yin Realm.

I speak again to the Mad Lord.

"Can you hear me, Mad Lord?"

The Mad Lord's consciousness returns.

Recalling the enlightenment I gained upon witnessing the Mad Lord's life, and seeing the vision of Cheong Mun Ryeong and overcoming the Heart Demon, I speak.

"You are a sinner. You plundered the lives and hearts of countless people to create the evil structure known as the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress. For your goal, you pushed hundreds of millions, trillions of living beings into the sufferings of hell. Therefore, you are undeniably a villain and a plunderer."

There is no response from the Mad Lord.

For some reason, his consciousness feels powerless.

I raise my sword as I gaze at the world changing before my eyes.

All around, monsters, including Heart Heavenly Demons, begin to appear.

"But..."

These Heart Heavenly Demons are different from the ones before.

Empowered by the might of Blood Yin, they possess even more terrifying authority as they eye the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Kugwagwagwang!

The onslaught of Blood Yin strikes the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

It seems as though there is a will to completely crush the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, which has the potential to summon the power of Vast Cold.

"Your Her, on the other hand, built everything up solely by herself. So..."

Even as I feel the terrifying army of Heart Heavenly Demons and the gaze of Blood Yin, I loudly convey my enlightenment to the Mad Lord.

"Within you, the power she has passed on—her heart—remains whole!"

I had thought the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress had regained its consciousness in front of me while fighting [Her] and took [Her] away.

I thought some 'consciousness' I hadn't known before had emerged in the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

But no.

I merely didn't hear it before.

"Your Her has never once left your side! Not even once!!!"

The heart I gained enlightenment on from seeing the vision of the Cheongmun Ryeong.

The heart of a master remains in the heart of their disciple, even after the master's death.

The heart of one who repentantly enlightens upon themself while living. The heart that learns from one another...

Never disappears and stays within themself.

If that is the case, then the Mad Lord's Her as well.

Her heart must have remained within the Mad Lord, spanning over two thousand years!

The Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, conveys the heart I gained enlightenment on to the Mad Lord's consciousness.

The Mad Lord's gaze trembles violently as he receives my heart.

Then, tears flow from his eyes.

Finally understanding the feelings of Kim Young-hoon of that time, who once told me to 'swing,' I shout.

"Unfold it! It's already within you!!!"

The Mad Lord wipes his tears.

He can feel it.

Through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, his disciple is connecting Seo Eun-hyun to him.

Through Seo Eun-hyun's consciousness, his heart is fully conveyed to the Mad Lord.

Receiving a fragment of Seo Eun-hyun's enlightenment, the Mad Lord rises and forms a hand seal.

"...It would have been nice if someone had told me a bit earlier..."

A smile filled with indescribable emotions appears on the lips of the Mad Lord, Jo Yeon.

"...Did you call this Entering Heavens Beyond the Path?"

The realm Wol Ha-eun yearned for two thousand years ago.

Having received Seo Eun-hyun's enlightenment, the Mad Lord can finally set foot into that realm.

The Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, which he had believed to have reached great completion, now enters a new realm.

Paaaatt!

The Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress shines, and through Kim Yeon and Jo Yeon, Yeon's Play begins to unfold.

The fortress's body glows, and golden branches extend into the air.

The Mad Lord's fortress becomes a golden, ancient tree, illuminating the world of Blood Yin.

Then, the Mad Lord begins to dance.

He looks at Kim Yeon's consciousness body, which conveyed Seo Eun-hyun's heart to him.

In the eyes of the Mad Lord, who has reached great completion in the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, Kim Yeon's true heart is transparently reflected.

'Disciple, you too don't know your own heart yet.'

In that case, even though it is embarrassing to even call myself your master.

Still, as the one who carries that title.

I will impart my final teaching through this dance.

'I will teach my disciple and depart. This last teaching to my disciple...will be sufficient repayment for your grace. So...don't just rush ahead, but look back at my disciple who follows you as well. Seo Eun-hyun.'

The heart of Yeon (然/As thus, natural or to be expected).

The heart of Yeon (緣/Fate).

And the heart of Yeon (戀/Yearning).

"Entering Heavens Beyond the Path."

All combined, it becomes the heart of love.

"Heart of Love (戀心)."

The wonderfully mysterious past summoned by the monster husband unravels in the present.

And the threads of the Mad Lord's consciousness begin to be dyed a light pink, scattering across the Four Directions and Heaven and Earth.

From the tips of the golden branches of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress,

The light pink threads flow down, blossoming the Mad Lord's heart beneath the blood-red sky.