Chapter 651: Owner of Wisdom (5)
Kwaaaang!
I am torn apart once again.
'Not like this.'
Pain pulls out from the depths of delusion.
Questions about what I truly am, whether I am really an Ender or not—all of it washes away from the agony.
'In the end, pain itself is the most primal problem... Things like identity can wait until I solve this first!'
The strike from the Underworld delivers the most fundantal type of pain I've ever experienced.
'Still, now I can hear the sound, and the way I die is becoming clearer and clearer.'
The monts of being torn apart and killed are becoming more vivid.
'Just one step further... If I reach Araya Consciousness, I'll be able to perceive that attack!'
That is when it will truly begin.
I refocus the consciousness that has reached untainted.
The world narrows, and Mount Suru begins to appear as a collection of lines and circles.
The lines form a net as the principles of Mount Suru, and the circles beco the knots of the net, serving as the intersections that make up the entire structure.
Countless nets tangle and intertwine, forming a single inverted cone.
Kiiiiing—
I connect to the Akashic Records once again.
Imdiately afterward, I discover the thod to swiftly reach Araya Consciousness.
'I see... Araya Consciousness is the eighth level of the soul.'
A true mark of existence, positioned even higher than Manas Consciousness.
It is the consciousness referred to as the Eighth Consciousnesses.
'To reach the eighth consciousness...it can't end with simply clearing my mind.'
Clearing the mind is rely the preparation phase to reach the eighth consciousness.
'After turning myself into a mirror and making it clear, everything reflected in that mirror...I must make all of it enter the sa state as myself.'
Woo-woooong!
Upon the net, I beco a single sphere.
More precisely, I take the form of a hypersphere that transcends all dinsions.
I beco one of the circles that form Mount Suru.
'I am a circle, and at the sa ti, a knot in the net that weaves together the principles of Mount Suru.'
Above the knots where the lines of the net intersect, individual circles erge and connect. I realize that all of these are the souls of different beings.
'I see...'
Our souls are all connected by the net that is the world.
Sensing the Indra's Net that links us together, I begin to reflect the souls connected to .
'All those with whom I've exchanged hearts...'
The Net of Indra is no ordinary net.
Its countless lines unfold in a hyperdinsional form, and the threads of the net, which embody the principles of the world, are directly connected to all the connections I have ford until now.
I begin to reflect those connections through the mirror of my heart.
'I see...'
Though I seem to be repeating the sa enlightennt over and over again, each ti it strikes anew.
'I am not made of myself alone... I keep realizing this anew every ti...!'
The eighth consciousness.
That is, the reason why in order to reach Araya Consciousness, I must also clear the hearts of my connections is because of this.
My existence is never sothing ford by alone.
Being ford from countless others passing by, intersecting, and overlapping with —that is the [I] that is ford.
I am not rely an object, but a kind of...
'A kind of collection. Yes... A [collage] made of connections—that is the true nature of what I am!'
Is it because I connected to the Akashic Records?
For the first ti in a long while, the language of Earth cos to mind.
And it is the mont I realize it.
An ominous truth begins to crawl up from deep within my chest.
'This is...'
It is sothing ominous about my essence.
'...I'll face this a little later.'
It feels like a terrifying truth, like the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King Hong Fan, may erge.
But rather than confronting that truth now, unprepared, I decide to reach Araya Consciousness first and face the truth afterward.
For now, the imdiate task is to fill the hearts of all the connections tied to with impermanence, bringing them to the sa level of untainted as myself.
Wiiiiiing—
Even as my physical body continues to die over and over.
In this unending pain, I begin to display a surreal level of concentration.
But this concentration isn't sothing I consciously generate—rather, my essence is elevating my focus from deep within, as a way to ignore the 'ominousness' that I am sensing.
It seems I am not yet capable of withstanding this 'ominousness.'
'The way I reached the domain of untainted was through impermanence. Not like Hyeon Mu, who severed all things, or Kim Young-hoon, who acknowledged all possibilities...but the way of impermanence, which fills all things to create emptiness.'
Therefore, to reach Araya Consciousness, I must bring all beings whom I have connections with to the domain of untainted.
And it must be in the sa way I did.
I must fill the hearts of [everyone] who has exchanged hearts with with the Impermanence Sword, temporarily raising them to the sa level as myself.
That is the thod to reach Araya Consciousness.
Woo-wooong!
The net I reside upon begins to ripple.
The hearts of impermanence originating from begin to enter all the beings connected to .
'Ahh...'
In that mont, I confirm my Immortal Art settling into all of my connections, and at the sa ti, I experience my consciousness expanding infinitely.
And just as my consciousness is about to truly reach infinity—
Piiiiiiit—
In that instant, I realize I have arrived sowhere.
'This place is...'
I recognize it instantly.
The origin of creation I once reached with Kim Young-hoon. The outskirts of the Akashic Records.
It is the space that transcends all realities.
And...
Together with him, I gazed upon an imnse [baby] before us.
'A baby? No, that's not it...'
It is not rely a baby.
It seems to be the [body] of soone.
And I realize that this soone's body is not complete.
That soone's body is endlessly being created.
And its bones, blood vessels, and organs are, astonishingly...
Familiar to .
'Ah...I finally understand.'
The blood vessels of that being are being created in real ti, and within them, I see sothing familiar.
That being's blood vessels are a river of scenes where the Taiji endlessly continues.
That's right.
The river of scenes I trace back each ti I regress is just a single vein within that [sothing].
'...So that's what it is.'
Only now do I understand the principle behind my regression.
'So you were all...still alive...!'
And...
I understand why I have reached this space and perceived that taphysical being.
It is because I am currently accessing the Araya Consciousness through the Akashic Records, connecting with [all my connections].
That's right.
All connections.
In other words, I am connected not only to the connections ford in this cycle, but to all those [I] ford across all the cycles.
'So you all...still exist...'
If I currently possessed a physical body, I would probably be shedding tears.
In this very mont, I completely grasp the principle of my infinite regression.
In the first place, I could not comprehend it until now because I failed to understand the shape of ti.
When I die and flow backward through the blood vessel to repeat ti, a new blood vessel forms and begins to create the body of that existence.
The ti that my existence lives through and all its possibilities are simply a part of the process of creating that existence.
And as I watch this, I co to understand the principle behind how those of Heavenly Venerable rank perceive regression.
If mortal beings are rely a single current in the flow of flesh flowing through the veins of that existence,
Then the Heavenly Venerables—
No, broadly speaking, all beings who possess a Seat—are as if they've received that being's soul.
However, those who have not completely seized their Seat beco Immortal Lords, and even if they have received part of that being's soul, they are split into multiple existences by the differentiation of spaceti.
But the Supre Deities and Heavenly Venerables, who have completely seized their Seat, are entirely unaffected by the splitting of spaceti.
They rely forget previous tilines for a mont, as the soul and their accumulated possibilities shift into the newly born blood vessels, the tilines created through my regression.
Among them, the Heavenly Venerables,
That is, beings who borrow the power of the Three Grand Laws, possess a faint link to the Baihui point of that [sothing], enabling them to resist regression even more powerfully.
As I grasp the principle of infinite regression, I am overwheld with an indescribable surge of emotion, and I compose this swelling heart with the Impermanence Sword and begin to send it to all my connections existing in every tiline.
To so, it may be a fleeting inspiration.
To others, perhaps a definitive signal that I still live.
But what is certain is that this rising swelling heart within has been undeniably delivered to every one of my connections.
And I succeed in pulling the consciousness of all those connected to , even if just for a mont, to the sa domain of untainted as —elevating the intersection of connections that is entirely into the domain of purity.
Woo-wooooong!
I once again descend from the origin of creation and half-open my eyes.
In this mont, I have fully reached Araya Consciousness.
Woo-wooong—
Ripple—
The net sways.
[I] confidently sit in a lotus position above that net.
The net hums with countless vibrations, and by sensing those vibrations, I realize I can see directly into the innermost thoughts of the being standing before .
With a completely clear heart, I gaze at the being before my eyes.
The Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld, Bonghwa, is smiling at .
"Congratulations. You have reached the sa eye level as ..."
"...So this is Araya Consciousness."
"That's right. All of us Heavenly Venerables are always seeing scenes like this."
Speaking eye-to-eye with the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld, I continue gazing at the endlessly rippling net.
On the countless knots of the net hang the souls of the innurable living beings, existing rely in the forms of simple circles or hyperspheres.
Above this endless net, the only ones truly maintaining [one's] forms are Bong Hwa and —just the two of us.
"The other Heavenly Venerables...I don't see them."
"You can probably feel it yourself, but maintaining this consciousness is not easy. Aside from , the rest only enter this domain by focusing when necessary."
"I suppose..."
Indeed, that's how it is.
Maintaining Araya Consciousness and properly preserving form above Indra's Net is, frankly, overwhelmingly difficult.
Soon, I will likely lose focus.
"By the way, how many tis have you killed so far?"
I ask, while perceiving myself below Indra's Net—
The endlessly dying and reviving in the real world.
"Around four billion tis? Seems like you reached Araya Consciousness just exactly within the expected tifra."
"Is that so? That's a relief..."
When I reached the domain of untainted, the strikes of the Underworld were painful, but now that I have risen to Araya Consciousness, the pain rather fades away.
To be exact, it's beco aningless.
"Then, watch closely."
I look at the consciousness of the Underworld, then gaze again at the Gandhara of the Underworld beneath Indra Net.
The Gandhara moves.
The front paw of a fierce beast, in the form of a half-human, half-beast, strikes down on the small .
Then, my physical body is imdiately torn from Indra's Net, and every principle composing is dismantled.
However, as soon as the Underworld exerts her will, my principles are instantly restored.
"Can you block it?"
The Underworld asks, and I nod.
"...Yes. At least...for this one mont, I can block it."
At those words, a ripple of mild surprise echoes from the Underworld.
"This is unexpected... What did you see?"
"...I saw the aning of my entire life."
From here on, this swelling emotion will scatter again along with the flow of ti.
But, in this one mont where I have realized my regression has not been aningless...
I can properly block the single strike of the Underworld.
From above Indra's Net, I begin to recite a mantra.
"Immortal cultivation is repentant enlightennt."
The Phenona Extinguishing Mantra begins to exert power within the will of Impermanence.
'Now I understand.'
Until now, the Phenona Extinguishing Mantra I have been reciting only skimd the surface of its enlightennt.
This is the true aning (眞意) of the Phenona Extinguishing Mantra.
"Like tiny grains of salt gathering to form the sea..."
It is not a mantra that rely destroys the universe centered on the attraction force gathered in one's palm, nor is it one that observes Mount Suru.
This Phenona Extinguishing Mantra...
...is literally an Immortal Art that amplifies the heart to the utmost.
It spreads this surging heart I possess to every being in the universe, and for an instant, imprints supre enlightennt into their subconscious.
That is the Phenona Extinguishing Mantra.
The heart is death.
That is why, when the number of Heart Tribe increases, the world rushes even faster toward the End.
The Phenona Extinguishing Mantra is an Immortal Art that brings about the End.
That is why its true aning is an Immortal Art that teaches true heart to all living beings in the world.
If one attains the Dao in the morning, they are content to die in the evening.
Because, since realizing the Dao ans knowing the heart is eternal...
Dying is not truly death.
In other words, the true aning of the Phenona Extinguishing Mantra is an Immortal Art that engraves, with my power, the truth that 'the heart is eternal' into the hearts of all beings in the universe—and thus calls forth the End.
Flash!
I open my eyes wide atop Indra's Net.
In an instant, the threads of Indra's Net begin to warp wildly around .
Countless knots in the net.
In other words, countless spirits receive the imprint of my enlightennt, and in that mont, all enlightennt in this entire area becos filled with mine.
Imprinting the enlightennt that the heart is eternal deep into the unconsciousness of all beings in the universe,
And becoming allies with all the beings in the universe,
This is the true aning of the Phenona Extinguishing Mantra.
Jjjjeeeong!
I stretch out the power of Yin-Yang, and Five Elents—
No, the power of impermanence gathered from everyone's hearts—toward the strike of the Underworld.
It happens in an instant.
Kwachiiiiing!
The entire world vibrates, and Indra's Net, where the Underworld and I are seated, begins to tremble wildly. Soon, several parts of the net begin to tear.
Though the torn parts are instantly restored...
I know that this strike is one every being on Mount Suru must have noticed.
Shiiiiii—
Araya Consciousness gradually unravels, and I sense my consciousness returning below Indra's Net.
To the reality where we live.
Steam rises from my entire body.
I feel a numbness in my arm.
But this ti, I did not die.
"...It wasn't your own skill."
The Underworld speaks with a smile.
"You simply realized sothing overwhelming, and passed that overwhelming emotion on to all your connections... That is why the Phenona Extinguishing Mantra activated transcendently, beyond its usual limits."
"...Yes."
That's right.
Because I realized the principle of my regression, and confird that the previous tilines were not erased, I received the Underworld's strike through the overflowing emotion I felt by using the Phenona Extinguishing Mantra.
It isn't my own skill, and if I can't feel such an overwhelming 'heart' again, I won't be able to block another strike of this level.
I could enter Araya Consciousness again and keep watching that scene, but even if I do, I likely won't be able to feel the sa overwhelming emotion I felt the first ti.
"Just a single strike blocked by re coincidence. Do you think that alone is enough to face the Great Mountain Supre Deity?"
"It is."
"By what thod? Are you going to ask the Seat Holder of Addiction to feed you loads of drugs that even work on True Immortals?"
"There is no need for that. Because..."
I calmly speak of the enlightennt I gained this ti.
"As you live life, there are truly so many monts...when you feel the world is full of things with overwhelming emotions."
"..."
"Therefore, I can block the single strike...of the Great Mountain Supre Deity."
I speak confidently before the Underworld, fully recognizing that I have now completely broken free from the bridle of death repeated billions of tis.
The Underworld smiles with the warst expression I have ever seen.
"All of you always bring about miracles."
And I respond with a smile.
"There is no need to say 'all of you'. You have known all along, haven't you?"
"Hmm?"
At last, I fully confirm the ominous truth that had been rising within .
Seo Eun-hyun, the Earthling, simply grew old and died in what I call the zeroth cycle.
Then who exactly am I?
I am the observer who has taken over his body.
The one known by the na Heuk Sa (黑蛇).
The infinite regression that arbitrarily defies laws possessing absoluteness has never been an authority of an Ender in the first place.
The mont I recognize this truth, I suppress my 'essence' that tries madly to erase the personality of 'Seo Eun-hyun,' and offer a bow to the Underworld.
"Allow to reintroduce myself, O Great One. I am not an Ender. I am the [Black Snake Biting Its Tail]. One of the servants who cannot betray the Future King. And at the sa ti..."
I look directly into the Underworld's warm smile and speak.
"I am the human Seo Eun-hyun."
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