Chapter 811 Chapter 807 808: Seo Eun-hyun ⟨End⟩
With a dazed expression, he walks through the city.
Shhhhhhhh...
The sound of rain sohow feels pleasant.
And at the end of the road he walks, letting the rain fall on him,
The person he sees even in his dreams is standing there.
No, perhaps it's more accurate to say she is floating.
"Hyang...hwa..."
With a thoroughly dried-up voice, he calls out to her.
Countless thoughts whirl through his head.
"How...?"
Suddenly, he feels so gaze and looks to the side.
There is no one there.
It seems it is just his imagination.
She smiles gently.
[How? I beca a wandering spirit, waiting for Orabeoni.]
"Surely...back then..."
Seo Eun-hyun still rembers the mont when her spirit ascended to the heavens.
Suddenly, she glances where Seo Eun-hyun had just looked, then looks back at him with a smile.
[More than that, isn't there sothing more important?]
"..."
Right.
One died, and one survived.
But their hearts are still connected.
Seo Eun-hyun imdiately understands what she ans.
[In Yeon-do City, I wanted to dance with Orabeoni, but it seems we end up dancing here.]
"...Please wait just a mont. I will prepare imdiately."
He draws the Colorless Glass Sword from his waist and squeezes all his strength into it, infusing it with spiritual power.
Wo-woong!
The Colorless Glass Swords were originally made as gravestones for the people living in Cheon-saek City.
Following Seo Eun-hyun's will, three thousand glass swords return to their respective graves.
After that, Seo Eun-hyun looks at her and holds out his hand.
The two smile at each other without words.
Since neither of them has a fan, they each pretend to hold one and take their stances.
There is no music, but the two dance slowly to the symphony of the rain, matching each other's steps.
They slowly begin to move in harmony.
In the pouring rain.
I watch that beautiful scene and smile.
The lovers who dance their steps within the sound of the rain...
No matter how many tis I see them again, no matter how many tis I watch...
They are heartbreakingly beautiful.
The many spirits who are watching them, slowly.
One by one, beco light and fly up to the sky.
I look at the familiar existence among them and smile.
Cheongmun Ryeong.
My master.
Tsuaaaaaaatt!
He is the one who had seized the Absolute of Miracle, collapsed, and perished completely.
There is no way to bring him back unless I beco an omnipotent one.
As a being who transcends countless spaceti, I give an order to the entire world.
Hwiooooooo!
In an instant, Cheongmun Ryeong directly takes in the power of omnipotence and cos to possess the possibility of resurrection.
He smiles.
And then he looks sowhere and opens his mouth.
—Rember. Everything...
I look toward the place he is casting his gaze and suddenly recall an old mory.
Only now do I understand what those words an.
Back then, he had bestowed a blessing on my past self so that I could rember the mories I had obtained during the 16th cycle.
'Thank you, Master.'
Imdiately after, Cheongmun Ryeong takes in my power and begins to leap toward the future.
From the current point in ti, it is the future.
And from my point of view, it is reality.
He will fly to that final battlefield where the Future King died and, by the Underworld, will obtain a complete chance at reincarnation.
: : Please go safely. Master. : :
If I were to expend more of the power of Omnipotence, I could have him revive right here and now, once more possessing the authority and true body of his pri.
However...
Now, even the power of Omnipotence is almost gone.
So giving him a chance not at complete annihilation but at reincarnation is the best that I, as I am now, can do.
He becos a halo of light and, toward , lets out one last sentence.
—If it is possible, I ask you to take care of those children as well.
Tsuaaaat!
Those children?
Who could he be talking about...
But soon, I understand right away.
Woong—
The one who cannot escape from the Head Realm.
It is the prospective Hyeon Rang, Song Jin.
I realize that the past Song Jin, in particular, is not able to leave this world.
'I see.'
Hong Fan is the Western Zero King.
For the sake of fabricating the Creator God's humaneness, he had made it so that all later Hyeon Rang were preserved in the Audience Chamber and made to wait for the ti when they would beco offerings.
Following my master's intention, I wave my hand toward the Hyeon Rang who, at the present point, would be preserved in the Audience Chamber.
More precisely, I emit attraction force toward the countless Hyeon Rangs who, having died without attaining Supre Deity, were taxidermized and fixed.
Kugugugugugu!
Near Cheon-saek City.
The gate of the Underworld forcibly opens, and all the Hyeon Rangs among those in the Audience Chamber who are taxidermized, having not managed to beco Supre Deities, flow into the Underworld all at once.
And,
Among them...
There is also an existence familiar to .
Song Jin.
Not the original Song Jin of the Nether Crossing Ship, but the Song Jin I know, the archive keeper of the Black Ghost Valley in the Head Realm.
He too is one who, after flowing into the Underworld, could not reincarnate and was seized by the Audience Chamber.
When I look at Song Jin, perhaps roughly realizing what kind of existence I am, Song Jin expresses deep thanks to .
Imdiately after,
He looks toward the east of the Heaven-Treading Desert.
That is, sowhere near the Black Castle, and with his body frozen, he trembles.
Song Jin looks at and makes a request.
—O great being. I beg of you. There is soone I must say farewell to. So please...grant just a little more ti...
Strictly speaking, I am the one who took out the Hyeon Rangs who were in the Audience Chamber.
I am also the one who dragged the Gate of the Underworld down into the depths of the Head Realm so they can reach the embrace of the Underworld.
As I am now, I am consuming power in real ti and intervening in the past to do this, so, strictly speaking, I have no reason to grant this request.
There is no gain for either.
However, I smile faintly and use more power, lengthening the ti that the gate of the Underworld stays open.
Song Jin, offering deep thanks, bows to , and in the anti.
At last, the present Seo Eun-hyun and Hyang-hwa, at the end of their dance steps, kiss.
[I love you. Not being able to say these words directly was my lingering regret lodged in my chest.]
Seo Eun-hyun embraces her, releasing the words that have knotted in his heart.
"I love you, too."
In that way, Seo Eun-hyun realizes the hidden aspect of the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation.
The black curse spells that have been attached all over his body begin to reverse.
Even if a person's life is filled with pain and curses.
If the hearts of people connect with one another.
Maybe that...can be an endless blessing.
The black curse spells reverse all at once, revealing what was hidden.
*
"Hmm?"
In the ruins of the Black Castle, where Yuan Li had died.
The Core Formation cultivators still scavenge through the remains for the treasures Yuan Li had hidden.
"Even when we keep searching and searching inside that Nascent Soul old monster's house, things just keep coming out."
"We almost died, but it was worth it... But where did Cultivator Seo Ran go?"
One of the cultivators looked for Seo Ran.
"Hmm, not sure. He just flew off sowhere in a hurry. Maybe he found sothing... I really wonder what kind of treasure he found for that guy, who always has that empty look on his face, to fly off madly like that."
"That is curious... Well, it doesn't matter. We've gathered enough for ourselves anyway."
As the chat and rummage through Yuan Li's residence, one of them senses sothing unusual.
"Hmm? Wait, that's..."
The Black Ghost Curse Banner used by Seo Eun-hyun to immobilize Yuan Li's body.
From the Black Ghost Curse Banner, a brilliant white light begins to emanate.
*
The sticks with black lumps hanging on it that Seo Eun-hyun planted into the ground and left behind all across the desert.
The tips of the lumps hanging from those sticks start to shine pure white.
And then,
Paaat!
The lumps burst open and bloom like flower buds.
The blooming flowers are covered in pure white, each with six petals.
Paat, paat, paat!
Following the path Seo Eun-hyun had walked, hundreds of white magnolias began to sprout in the desert.
And...
Following that path of white magnolias, Seo Ran flies toward the person who is waiting for him at the end of that path.
"Aaah... M-Master. Master. Master...!"
Seo Ran's Master, who protected Seo Ran and laid down his life in the battle with Yuan Li.
Song Jin, in a neat appearance almost no different from his appearance in life, waits for Seo Ran.
And, outside Cheon-saek City...
He pulls his disciple into his arms with all his strength.
"Master...!"
—Don't make such a fuss. You brat. Are you saying I died or sothing? You brat...!
Seo Ran, who lost all his family in the battle with Yuan Li...
Hugging his Master Song Jin, whom he has co to et again like this, sobs loudly.
"I don't know how I am supposed to go on living. It hurts so much. I don't know at all...what is left in my life, Master...! In my life...there is no one left. If even you disappear, Master, then just where am I supposed to look as I move forward!?"
Seo Ran and Song Jin.
The reunion of Master and disciple takes place.
Song Jin looks at his disciple.
Feeling the warmth of his disciple, Song Jin looks up at the sky for a mont, then looks at for a mont, and then looks back at Seo Ran.
—Ran-ah. Look at for a mont.
"Master...!"
—Ran-ah. I am soone who must soon depart.
"Master, what in the world do you an!? Have you not co back like this!?"
—I have not completely returned. If the dead just freely co back to life into the world, what kind of chaos do you think would arise? Black Ghost Valley is a place that prolongs death as much as possible, not a place that performs Heaven-Defying acts of reviving those who are completely dead.
"Then..."
—It is only...that so exalted transcendent being has taken pity on and given a chance, Ran-ah. From now on, you must live in this world without .
"How can this disciple be without Master...?"
—Enough! Do not be bound by the past. Look ahead and move forward. Certainly, I have loved you and treasured you. You in turn have respected and followed . However, there are tis when those who must part simply must part. So accept it. But...even so, you will not be able to accept it, will you? How can a heart so easily change like a reed? So, Ran-ah. Through the truth I have co to know after death...I have found the one you are to look to and move toward. This is your Master's will, so you must obey it without fail!
Song Jin sternly scolds Seo Ran.
Seo Ran, trembling, accepts it.
"...Disciple Seo Ran...will uphold Master's will..."
And, at the words of Song Jin that follow, I also flinch in surprise.
—After I died, I went to a place called the Audience Chamber. It is a terrifying place you do not need to know about. But though that place is a terrifying domain, it is also a place filled with countless wisdoms. There, I found...a certain existence...that could be called the origin of your mother...
"...Pardon?"
—Go farther to the west. In a certain country farther west than Byeokra. There is an existence that has given birth to your mother...
Song Jin points toward sowhere far in the west.
At the sa ti, a certain fragrance blooms from his touch.
It is the fragrance of [Nas].
Through the power of nas he obtained by awakening his essence in the Audience Chamber, he tells Seo Ran the place where the one Seo Ran must seek is.
The na of that fragrance.
It is called Goodwill (善意).
—Seek out that existence and travel together with that existence. If you do so, soday you will surely...be able to obtain even more precious things. Things even more precious than ...
With those words, Song Jin begins to rise up into the sky.
The other spirits are the sa.
Hyang-hwa, who has been dancing together with Seo Eun-hyun in Cheon-saek City, now also gradually begins to rise into the air, answering the call of the Underworld.
Paaaatt!
[Look at that, since you are alive, you even created a new thod.]
"It's just the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation, expressed with the feelings I share with you."
[Co on, it is a completely different thod.]
They chat and laugh together.
It is his first ti laughing in two hundred years, but strangely, it doesn't feel awkward at all.
[If I may suggest, as a fellow co-creator of this one thod, may this girl na this thod?]
"Do as you wish."
She reaches out towards the floating blessings, which seem to be sublimating into the shape of white magnolias.
[White Orchid Blessing Incantation. Would that be all right?]
Seo Eun-hyun of the present rests his hand beneath hers and speaks.
"I will rember it."
The two, who watch the blessings float into the sky for a while, et each other's eyes.
Her soul is becoming increasingly transparent, rising into the air.
[I won't forget either.]
"...Yes."
Seo Eun-hyun cannot hold back his trembling voice and looks at her.
His chest hurts just like when Seo Ran looked at Song Jin.
However, unlike before, his eyes are not sunk in emptiness as he looks up at her and sheds tears.
"...They say that when the immortals of the Upper Realm form a bond of husband and wife, they do this."
A bottle of White Red Wine is in Seo Eun-hyun's hand.
"Will it be alright?"
As she gradually floats higher, she nods.
Seo Eun-hyun rummages through his storage artifact.
There are no cups.
Substituting by pouring half of the White-Red Wine before her grave, Seo Eun-hyun of the present drinks the remaining half of the White-Red Wine in front of her.
Wo-woong!
As the White-Red Wine enters the nearly shattered Golden Core, its effects activate, reconnecting the link with his dharma treasures.
Wo-woong!
The three thousand Colorless Glass Swords planted in all directions around begin vibrating.
And then,
With that as the last, her spirit body becos a small cluster of light and completely loses its form.
Seo Eun-hyun endlessly looks up at that figure.
I leave behind the of days past and fly up toward her as she soars into the air, reaching out my hand.
Seo Eun-hyun of the present does not perceive .
I also feel the gaze of another past who peeks at through the Radiance Mantra, but the present , though I am not the Fate Supre Deity, is in any case the Owner of the Crystal Throne.
I am the Crystal King Star Genesis Supre Deity.
I feel that the who is peeking into this point in the past suffers as he watches .
Thinking about it now, they all are aningful pasts.
Leaving all of those pasts behind, I finally...
Across a long and long ti, I speak to Hyang-hwa once more.
"Now, would you keep company one more ti."
Hyang-hwa, who has been perceiving since earlier by my permission, smiles brightly.
"All right. Orabeoni."
Woooong—
There are fans in her hand and mine.
They are manifested through the projection of the Immortal Beast King.
We begin once more to continue the Twin Immortals Dance, done even more properly than the one we weren't able to do below.
I take three steps to the left and spin once.
She likewise moves just like and turns once around, with the tips of our fans brushing past each other.
We, like so,
Continue our dance, drawing a spiral as we rise toward the Underworld.
*
A certain existence stands before the end of the tenth cycle.
It is the Seo Eun-hyun of this era looking up at the sky.
The cluster of light rises toward the sky and spins round and round in the air.
As if she is dancing the Twin Immortals Dance once more with soone...
'Perhaps she is recalling the mories of those days when she was alive...and the mories of those happy monts...'
He cannot know the answer.
He only gazes endlessly at the sky, then slowly sits down.
Now, all of his strength is leaving.
He takes her norigae from his waist.
Then, squeezing out his last strength, he heats the norigae with Dan Fire and turns the norigae into a dharma treasure.
Seo Eun-hyun closes his eyes and brings the norigae deeply to his chest.
Whether it's the lingering effects of the White-Red Wine or the norigae itself, he feels the norigae forming a strong connection with himself.
His strength begins to ebb away.
Yuan Li's last desperate cry echoes in his mind.
'What is the difference between a blessing and a curse?'
Maybe the difference between blessings and curses isn't life and death.
Perhaps, if the hearts of people connect, that is a blessing.
And if the hearts are severed, that is a curse.
This life had been hell.
But at the end of this hell, he shared his heart.
Maybe hell and heaven.
Curses and blessings.
Are determined by the connection between people's hearts.
With this greatest enlightennt, he escapes from the last cry of Yuan Li.
"I loved you... Thank you. For...passing that heart on to ."
With a faint smile, all energy drains completely from his body.
The ridians and Golden Core, which should have collapsed long ago, begin to lose their strength.
Thus, at the edge of hell, he peacefully closes his eyes.
Right after...
Countless Colorless Glass Swords fly toward Seo Eun-hyun, pierce into him, and begin to return into his whole body.
*
Just as I did back then at Cheon-saek City, I bring my hand to her face.
Since there is no muslin cloth, the tips of my fingers lightly brush her face.
There is no thin veil, so my fingertips lightly brush her face.
Once again, the tips of our fingers brush.
And at last,
Watching my last monts in this cycle...
I sit with Hyang-hwa on the clouds at the edge of the Head Realm's sky and smile.
"I have missed you."
"What has happened?"
Hyang-hwa looks at and asks as if puzzled.
Looking at her like that...
I don't know where to begin explaining, so for a mont I only open and close my mouth without speaking.
And then...
I begin to explain.
The 10th cycle.
How the who realized gratitude for the heart down below turns out afterward.
The paths I tread transcend countless tilines and beco trajectories of green light.
As I show her my trajectories that transcend countless tilines,
I tell her, one by one, stories about myself.
As the story goes on, Hyang-hwa is very surprised, sotis sad, sotis pinches my side, and sotis laughs as if it is very fun.
And finally...
At the end of all the stories, I finish telling everything about how I have co back to her.
"This is the journey up to now."
"...You have truly, truly suffered a lot."
Hyang-hwa looks at and gently strokes my cheek.
"Hyang-hwa."
I ask her.
"Will you go with ?"
The power of Omnipotence still remains.
To save just her and take her along is no problem.
However...
Hyang-hwa smiles and shakes her head.
"No. When I finished the dance with you down below, I wanted to co back alive if I could. But...after hearing your whole story, I have co to know that is not right."
She looks at and speaks with a face mixed with many emotions.
"Do not let yourself be trapped in the past. Please do not, like the person called Hong Fan, accomplish everything with your own hands and treat this world like a toy. Please accept your own imperfections as well. That is...the request I give to you."
More than the wish to co back to life and be with again, she has the wish that I do not fall into corruption like the archenemy of the story.
At that gentle and deep heart, I smile deeply together with Hyang-hwa.
It is sad.
The fact that we cannot be together again makes my chest feel tight.
However...
Even so, I will accept it.
Because accepting pain ans that I am still imperfect.
And...
Because life is, from the beginning, sothing imperfect.
I have already made up my mind to live within that.
Amid countless agonies and worries, reigning over innurable impulses and overcoming desire,
I take Hyang-hwa's hand and finally answer.
A small tear gathers at the corner of my eye.
"...Yes. I will do so."
Squeeze...
Hyang-hwa grips my hand.
I ask her.
"Now...it is ti for to go as well."
If I stay too long in a single ti period, Requiem Filling the Heavens will stop running.
"For the last ti, is there anywhere you want to go?"
"...To all of you. Please just let convey a single sentence to you."
At those words, I take her hand and transcend spaceti with Requiem Filling the Heavens.
She looks at the in the nearest ti period, the one who suffers the most intensely.
20th cycle.
It is at the point when I am being tortured by Yeong Seung.
She strokes the deer of Requiem Filling the Heavens and, reaching toward the of that ti, makes contact with him.
"Was what I just gave you also a curse?"
By breathing blessing into the human called Seo Eun-hyun, she becos the pillar that lets endure the adversity imposed by Yeong Seung and countless other beings.
"I will always be cheering for all of you."
Hyang-hwa speaks toward the beyond all tilines.
"So...please, keep looking ahead and move forward. I...love all of you."
With those words as the end,
She finally flies toward the Underworld.
The end of the final decisive battle with Hong Fan.
The ti when I used Splitting Emperor Splitting Heaven Separate Heaven Martial Arts.
Buk Hyang-hwa alone did not appear within my connections to help .
Hong Fan likewise was anticipating Buk Hyang-hwa, and it was because Gu Ju suddenly jumped out and sent out the Void Sword that he showed an opening.
Only now do I know the reason.
'It is not that she didn't help at that ti.'
She has already beco my life itself.
She already ca to symbolize the very blessing of life that I feel.
Therefore...
Precisely because she beca so natural she was unseen.
The will of blessing and love that the present Hyang-hwa sends to all the ''s of all the tilines perhaps settled in unconsciously at the ti I use the Separate Heaven Martial Arts.
"Farewell. Seo Gaga."
"Farewell."
Looking at her, who is the true savior of my life...
I truly exchange my final farewell.
Soday we will et again.
Because Mount Suru is that kind of place.
But now she will reincarnate and live her life as a different existence, no longer as Buk Hyang-hwa.
"My miracle..."
But I must let her go.
Just as Hong Fan in the end, by my hand, let go of Omnipotence.
I too let go of the salvation called Hyang-hwa and acknowledge it.
If eting is also a connection and a miracle,
Then parting is surely also a miracle and a connection.
Soday we will et again in another form.
So now, I only let her go.
Thus, I,
Graduate from the salvation called Hyang-hwa.
*
Buk Hyang-hwa's mother.
The grave of Yeon, wife of Buk Joong-ho.
In front of the magnolia tree that stands there, two trees have grown large.
Over 200 years of ti, the two trees that, sohow, did not die and kept growing, coincidently bloom on the sa day.
A quince tree and a white magnolia.
From the two flowering trees, a single blossom each falls down.
The flowers of the two trees land upon the wedding altar that soone prepared 200 years ago.
But at so mont,
Whooooosh!
A gust of wind from inside the tomb carries the quince flower away from the altar, to sowhere into the desert.
The white magnolia remains there, holding its place, and only the quince blossom flies off to so place unknown.
I beco the wind, taking the scent of this mont into my heart...
And continue on as I sll the fragrance of the flowers.
Once more,
At the end of a long connection, I et again an ill-connection that has now beco sothing cute.
The last day of the 9th cycle.
Chwaaaaak!
The of the 9th cycle explodes.
Bloodwood Practitioner Yuan Li's divine power, Bloodwood, hits directly, and I explode and take root as a single bloodwood tree.
In the place where I am, a bright-red tree stands and brings forth a single living flower that contains my spiritual power and life force.
"...What a monstrous bastard."
Yuan Li mutters as he sweeps off his mask.
I look at him like that and laugh.
In the past, I thought of him as a devil beyond saving.
However...
Before , who has seen far more terrifying existences such as Blood Yin, the Great Mountain Supre Deity, or even Hong Fan Gu Ju, this guy now is an existence no different from a wildflower by the roadside.
'I should also settle the ill-connection with you.'
I have sent Hyang-hwa away.
Yuan Li is an ill-connection, but I now decide not to be bound by that grudge anymore.
To him as well...
I make up my mind to grant salvation.
"Good thing I eradicated him before he could grow stronger and survive longer. No need to worry about him anymore. Now, to the Longevity Fruit..."
When he turns his head toward the Longevity Tree.
I step into the reality of the 9th cycle, pluck the living flower of the blood tree that has co from my body, and sll its scent.
"...What...?"
That guy, seeing the Longevity tree that has rotted away due to the last curse the of the 9th cycle had cast, boils with rage and tries to turn back to .
His thoughts co through to .
—I tried to kindly send his spirit to the Yellow Springs...and he dared to pull sothing like this...!
I look at the living flower and decide Yuan Li's judgent.
'I've decided.'
I will give Yuan Li a chance to atone as well.
If he goes to the Underworld, he is soone who will burn in the Karmic Fire of pain for eternity amid terrible tornt.
Therefore, through the power of Flawless Mantra, I decide to imdiately reincarnate Yuan Li.
The guy turns back.
And his complexion changes.
"Uh...?"
He cannot understand how I am still standing here alive even though he clearly killed .
"What, what's this...? I obviously. N-No. "
For a mont he is flustered, but then, quickly working his sly mind and reading the mood, he grasps that I am not the Seo Eun-hyun of the 9th cycle whom he had just killed, and he bows and fawns toward .
"Who are you?
Pukwak!
I do not listen any further, and imdiately reincarnate Yuan Li.
He blooms as a single living flower and puts down roots in the ground.
"Beco a flower."
From now on, until you can reflect on the price of your sins, repeat being born and dying as a flower...
During every lifeti in which you live a life as a flower, reflect and attain repentant enlightennt.
That is the chance and the rcy I grant to Yuan Li.
If he cos to realize all his sins, only then will he be able to go to the Underworld.
And...
In the Underworld, he will accept the price of his sins with far less resentnt and look ahead to his next life.
That guy too will co to know the preciousness of life.
"I will look forward to the day when your fragrance also becos beautiful."
It is not only the Yuan Li of this life.
All the Yuan Lis up to now et the sa result.
As I fix the predetermined ending for the Yuan Lis,
I move over to the next tiline and make the grave of Seo Eun-hyun of the current cycle.
On the last day of the 8th cycle,
I burn within heavenly lightning and die.
The grave of Seo Eun-hyun, where only bone powder remains.
I once again make his grave and take the next step.
On the last day of the 7th cycle,
This ti as well, I burn within heavenly lightning.
I make the grave just as before.
And...
Within that enlightennt, I smile as I see that the soul of Kim Young-hoon has returned from the future to around this ti.
On the last day of the 6th cycle,
'Ah...'
I see my master with my corpse laid before him.
While the light of dawn dyes the sky.
The master, who has received his disciple's bow, sheds tears and speaks to the disciple who is now growing cold.
"You were the giant tree of my heart."
I hear my master's heart.
At first, it was clearly a small sprout that annoyingly pestered him.
But ten years passed.
Twenty years passed.
The sprout grew and beca a tree.
It grew and grew.
And now, it has beco a giant tree that cannot be ignored.
That giant tree is the pillar that supports Cheongmun Ryeong's heart.
However, now that giant tree is gone.
"Rest in peace."
A disciple who has strived all his life.
Cheongmun Ryeong prays that the disciple may at least be at ease after death, and properly lays down the body that died while prostrating.
Cheongmun Ryeong takes out a single seed from his storage pouch and places it on the disciple's chest.
As he infuses wood elent spiritual energy into it, the seed begins to react.
Paaaat!
Kugugugu!
The seed sprouts and rapidly grows.
Soon the roots that co out from the seed cover the disciple's body and grow into a giant tree.
Before long, when the tree grows so huge that it cannot be compared to any other trees in the nearby forest, only then does Cheongmun Ryeong take his hands off.
The tree is a quince tree.
Cheongmun Ryeong strokes the tree that so closely resembles his disciple and speaks.
“I will never forget you.”
I look at Cheongmun Ryeong.
'I too will never forget you. No...'
I will not be able to forget.
I see that the soul of Cheongmun Ryeong, whose lifespan is nearing its end, is being led toward the future.
The soul of the Salt Sea Supre Deity is pulling in its own shattered essences.
'I will see you again.'
At that ti, I will say all the words I have not been able to say until now.
Whooosh!
I beco a single gust of wind, sweep around Cheongmun Ryeong, and once more head onward.
*
As if the soul of Seo Eun-hyun is ascending, a strong wind blows from the base of the quince tree up into the heavens.
Cheongmun Ryeong looks up at the sky that shines through between the quince branches.
In the far future and in tomorrow,
For so reason, he naturally cos to know that he will be able to et the disciple he has sent off once again.
"In the future, let us et again."
Is it due to the death?
Or is it rely a conventional phrase toward a hope that will never arrive?
But what is certain is this.
After the oppressor of hope disappeared,
The being that despised tomorrow also ca to accept the principle of tomorrow and hope.
*
The last day of the 5th cycle cos into view.
Kwaching!
The barrier of Makli Wangshin, who killed , shatters.
Beyond the barrier, the eyes of my disciples, who inherit the will of the current Seo Eun-hyun, glare at Makli Wangshin with the exact sa light as the dead Seo Eun-hyun.
Beyond the great mountain called Seo Eun-hyun, mountains continue unceasingly.
"I, I want to live."
Man-ho's great sword decapitates Makli Wangshin.
Pukwak!
In that mont, the life of Makli Wangshin who stubbornly survived by forcefully taking over his descendant, the current emperor Makli Jung, cos to an end.
"Huu... Huu..."
The founding emperor Makli Wangshin.
And the current emperor Makli Jung.
Man Ho, who has cut off his neck, holds Makli Jung's head and looks at the still-standing dead body of Seo Eun-hyun.
The corpse of Seo Eun-hyun has its eyes closed.
On his lips, there is a faint smile as if he is satisfied.
"...You watched till the end."
Manho, with tears falling, offers Makri Wangshin's head before him.
And he kneels.
Kae-hwa, Cheong-ya, Yeok-san, Yeol-ya, Gwak-gisu, Seo-hun...
All three hundred or so disciples, one after another, kneel.
"Please go peacefully!"
The disciples of the present Seo Eun-hyun bow together, bidding their master a final farewell.
I look back at them and raise my hand.
Fragrance also spreads from them.
"Thank you."
Whoooosh—
I bestow blessings upon their fate.
From now on, whatever may happen, they will not beco excessively miserable.
Only joys enough to repay all the hardship and pain until now will await you.
"Farewell, my disciples."
I once again beco wind, cool down the heat of the disciples who are burning hot, and head beyond.
The corpse of the of this ti will be taken care of by the disciples.
The last day of the 4th cycle cos into view.
I rember cutting off the neck of that brat, the crown prince of Yanguo, but whether he is Makli Jeong-in, Makli Hyun, or Makli Hyun-ah, I hardly even rember.
"You worked hard."
I attach the neck of the of this ti, and carry my corpse to a sunny spot nearby.
Afterward, I use a martial technique to make a grave, and gently pat the grave.
Looking at the will of my own self who, after endlessly tempering himself, at last reached Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, I reminisce mories of long ago.
'This too...is now a mory.'
I once again beco the wind.
Whoooosh—
The last day of the 3rd cycle.
The old is facing a jiangshi made from the body of my master, Kim Young-hoon.
Kim Young-hoon of the present stands by my side, looking at the scene from the past together with a bitter smile.
With the final move of Severing Mountain,
I, whose every bit of strength and life force is exhausted, close my eyes.
That is the end of the of the 3rd cycle.
A cultivator of Makli Clan becos enraged and tries to refine into a jiangshi, and I quietly step forward and turn that cultivator as well into a peaceful flower.
Peobeong!
The connections of the jiangshi that are being controlled by him are broken all at once.
Together with Kim Young-hoon, I intervene in this cycle.
And for the dead body of , the shattered body of Kim Young-hoon,
And for all the bodies of the jiangshi that have been controlled by the Makli Clan cultivator, I make graves for every one of them.
"You worked hard."
I say a word to the of the 3rd cycle, and once again beco the wind.
Whoooosh—
The last day of the 2nd cycle,
I see the of this cycle.
The , who endlessly swings his sword and trains himself in order to resist fate.
The who swings my word, embodying the heart of being content with death in the evening if I hear the Dao in the morning...
Advancing toward an even slightly higher realm...
Thus dies, swinging my sword.
Thud—
His sword path is cut off, and the of the 2nd cycle dies standing.
"...You worked hard."
The one who never rested even once in his entire life is the of the 2nd cycle.
And the of the 2nd cycle, as he passes on into the 3rd cycle, again cannot rest.
However, I will at least let his body rest.
I will let it be buried in the soil.
I bury the body of the of the 2nd cycle in a sunny spot at his house.
This ti, I do not dig up the ground with Gang Qi through martial arts and quickly cover it with soil.
Putting in a bit more sincerity, I take a shovel out from the storage and bury him myself with my own hands.
After the sunlight cos down well, letting myself rest in the soil...
I once again beco the wind.
Whoosh—
The last day of the 1st cycle approaches.
An old man who is still dying from a cold.
That is .
I am regretting my life up until now.
If only I had worked harder.
If only I had tried more!
More, more, more, more!
If only I had done sothing more!
Then I would have been able to confirm what lies beyond the sky!
While dying with such regrets...
The of the 1st cycle, who has lived a stubborn life doing everything he can,
Thus dies like that.
"...You worked...hard."
I wipe away the faint tears that hang in the eyes of the of the 1st cycle.
"Do not regret it. You surely...lived a aningful life."
I look at the corpse of my 1st-cycle self and smile.
Just what aning this smile has...
Even I myself cannot know.
Right.
Let us just say I am simply smiling.
Although I received a new chance, the of this ti is still bound by the past.
I look at my old corpse, and once again bring a shovel and bury him in a sunny place in my estate.
I tell the servants of the estate to appropriately handle the inheritance and also hold the funeral.
Although it is laughable to hold the funeral after the burial, I have no desire to be bound by worldly customs and such.
I look at the of the 1st cycle, who at last has closed his eyes, then take my eyes off him.
And for the last ti,
Heading toward the beginning of my everyone, I beco the final wind and fly.
The power of Requiem Filling the Heavens is running out.
The power of Omnipotence now also crumbles.
The Creator Gods of the otherworlds, whom I have restored by reversing ti, have also recovered considerably.
At the sa ti, as I head toward the first life of us all.
And as I move my steps toward the ti period when not that much ti has yet passed since we left Earth...
We all fall silent.
And...
I at last reach the place I call the 0th cycle.
I reach the first life.
Whoooosh—
The wind blows.
From an old thatched house, a girl walks out.
A good scent drifts out.
The girl looks at , then flinches in surprise.
"Wh-Who...are you...? That over there is Grandpa Seo's house..."
Tuk—
I pat the girl's head.
"Thank you for the boiled potatoes."
"Pardon...?"
"I am...sothing like a distant blood relative of Grandpa Seo's family. It must be cold, go on inside."
She is the daughter of the Ju family next door.
The child looks at with a puzzled expression, then, pushing through the blizzard, goes into the house.
I walk toward the thatched house.
Inside,
The of the 0th cycle is still coughing without his breath having yet stopped.
So that the of the 0th cycle does not get startled, I do not go straight into the house, but instead lean against the outer wall from outside, listening to his breathing as I look up at the sky where the blizzard rages.
The thoughts of the first are heard.
—Why...? I...
—Why...even though I work so hard...only had things taken away from ...?
The thought that I did my utmost in this world.
However, the thought that this world completely denied all of my best.
—What do you...want from ...!?
The old of the 0th cycle sheds tears of injustice and quietly sobs on the bed.
—If only...I had even a little more chance...just a little...
He, filled with such thoughts.
In the cold winter.
Lying on the bed with a cold, he ends the stubborn life he has continued for fifty years.
Step, step...
A black sothing passes , who is leaning outside, and goes into the thatched house.
It is Hong Fan.
Because it is not a complete body, it does not perceive , who is using the power of Omnipotence, and is rely a record of history that moves as predetermined and performs the predetermined actions.
Hong Fan reaches out his hand toward , but in the end, he has his mind taken away due to Ego-Preservation and ends up spitting out the Radiance Mantra.
And thus, the consciousness of the of the 0th cycle passes over to another tiline.
At the mont when the Absolute Fragnt and the consciousness of the of the 0th cycle pass over beyond,
Only then do I...
Slowly go into the thatched house.
Perhaps because Hong Fan's body was sothing that was made temporarily, it simply turns into black energy and scatters, and all that is left in that spot is just alone.
I,
Take the hand of my dead 0th-cycle self...
And pull up his blanket to cover his face.
"...You...worked...really hard."
Tears fall.
I don't know why.
Just because.
It just feels that way.
Perhaps...
It might be because of the promise with Yu Hao Te.
That promise that I will only cry with an easy heart when everything is over.
Keuk...kkeuheuheuuk...
In front of the body of my first life, who died miserably,
I endlessly shed tears whose reason I cannot clearly explain.
It is over.
Now...
Everything is really over.
My body shakes.
Without even knowing why I am crying...
I, shedding tears like that,
Put into my mouth the boiled potatoes the daughter of the Ju family has given and left behind.
My throat blocks up.
I start to feel a bit sorry for stuffing Hong Fan with potatoes without even water.
I eat the potato.
My throat gets blocked.
But even as I gag and choke, taking the now-cold potatoes the Ju family daughter has given and left behind...
I cram them into my mouth, squeezing out all my tears.
"Thank you. Thank you, Seo Eun-hyun...thank you..."
Inside this bastard called life,
Just for having held out...
I am so grateful.
I feel a presence behind my back.
It is my comrades and the Ju family.
Because my comrades are at a higher plane, the Ju family cannot notice them.
However, they all stand together in one place, looking at with worried eyes.
And,
They co up and pat my shoulder.
My comrades, all with expressions that are a little stung without saying anything...
And the Ju family also with equally complicated faces...
"Are you the son? You look exactly the sa as that old soap-maker when he was young."
Mr. Ju speaks as he wipes away his tears.
"...Well..."
Not knowing what I should say, I open and close my mouth...
And I answer.
"Sothing...like that."
Because the of now, in the end, began from the of this ti.
Mr. Ju, perhaps thinking I have complicated family relations, clears his throat and speaks.
"Well...with it being this cold a winter, it'll be hard to bury him... What should we...?"
Swaaaaaa—
By my will, the sky changes.
The winter weather loosens all at once, and clear weather and sunlight instantly shine down on this Lianshan City.
"Uh..."
Mr. Ju, with a slightly dazed face, looks up at the sky together with his wife and daughter.
I speak to them.
"I will offer compensation...so I hope you can help a little with this person's funeral."
"Ah, ahhh...what a wonder. The sky suddenly cleared. Does snow usually lt this fast...? Heh heh, it is the marvel of heaven. It seems old man Seo is a man with so blessing after all..."
Mr. Ju, amazed by the wondrous phenonon, sticks out his tongue and nods.
"Compensation is not necessary."
"I will make you plenty of soap."
"Ah...that is sothing I do need a bit. If you give it, I will gratefully accept. But even without that, I was already planning to bury old man Seo once the weather warms. After all...we were neighbors living next door who truly shared thick and thin together."
I look at Mr. Ju and smile.
"Thank you."
Without using spells or martial arts, I, together with Mr. Ju, build the coffin with my own hands.
A few days pass.
For a few days, I slightly twist the celestial energy and wait for the ground to thaw.
And then, I place my corpse inside that coffin.
"In life...he liked going up that back mountain to gather dicinal herbs. He often made and drank herb liquor too... On the path where he went to pick herbs, there is a rock where the old man often sat to rest."
"Yes."
I know where that is.
"Let us bury him there. The old man will probably be satisfied."
"Yes...he will surely be satisfied. Truly."
Like that, I, together with Mr. Ju's family, carry the coffin and go up the back mountain.
After so ti,
Midway up the path on the back mountain where I went to gather herbs,
Behind the rock where I often sat and rested in my first life,
There is a sunny spot.
I, together with Mr. Ju's family, make a grave site there.
I do not use martial arts.
I do not use qi, either.
I make the grave site purely by shoveling, and after placing the coffin into the grave, I heap up the mound.
"Old man, you worked hard. Rest now."
Mr. Ju, together with his family, bows toward my grave.
As I watch them bow to ...
I feel a fragrance.
'Ah...'
And,
I recall the fragrance that Song Jin spoke of.
The fragrance of nas.
The scent of goodwill...
After they finish all the funeral rites, the Ju family turns to look at .
"Your household is..."
"...I am only in a relationship sowhat like kin to the deceased person. In any case, I hold the rights regarding that person's property."
I ntion the several patches of land I bought in my first life, the seed soy sauce that was in my house, the herbal liquor, and various other sauces and foods.
After ntioning the few coins as well, I speak to Mr. Ju.
"Please take it all. It is the funeral cost."
"No, we already got plenty of soap while making the coffin..."
"Please accept it. Your daughter will have to prepare her dowry soday, and it will help at least a little."
"Hrrm, this is really..."
Because the Ju family is also a struggling household just the sa, in the end Mr. Ju does not refuse my offer and takes the rights to my house and everything inside it.
I breathe fate into my house.
And, as I pat Mr. Ju's little daughter's head, I ask.
"What was your na?"
"I am Ju Soo Ryeon."
"...I see."
Soo Ryeon answers with bright, clear eyes.
I can tell at once who she is.
And I can also know what the identity of this fragrance is.
The fragrance of infinite goodwill that she holds in her heart...
She is the Seat Holder of Good.
One of the Five Blessing Immortals in her previous life whom Vast Cold brought with them to give happiness to the Heavens.
Rembering the pure goodwill that child showed in the past life, I smile.
"Be happy."
"Yes!"
In the 0th cycle, I pour out fortune and virtue upon Ju Soo Ryeon.
It is a fortune and virtue such that, perhaps, she will pick up so herb by the roadside and eat it and gain spiritual roots, or by playfully making a neighborhood friend eat dirt, gain an indescribable heavenly body and even ascend.
I do not know what choices this child will make or how she will use the fortune and virtue.
But what is certain is that she will use them for good.
"And..."
I shout once more to the Ju Family as they go down the mountain.
"The boiled potatoes, thank you very much!"
They wave their hands at .
I look at them and smile.
After they disappear, I sit in front of my grave.
I gave all the property of the house to them, but I brought one jar of herbal liquor.
I pour the herbal liquor into a cup.
The countless things of the past...
The many connections and the events that ca from those connections co to mind.
Before I realize it, my comrades materialize behind and sit down.
I slowly pour the herbal liquor rippling in the cup onto my grave.
"A lot happened..."
Hong Fan wanted to rest.
Perhaps...
Maybe I am the sa.
Only, so many things that happened within the great miracle called life made move, so I simply have not been able to rest.
However,
At any ti, I was able to choose according to my own will.
I chose not to rest, and I have co all the way here.
Yet...
It is always true that too much is as bad as too little.
Hong Fan, to the very end, chose not to rest.
He chose not to beco happy.
He might have thought he had no qualification.
But if so, who grants that qualification?
The heavens?
The earth?
The connection of people?
A person's life is a miracle.
Everything is so worthy of gratitude and so precious.
Because everything is equally sothing to be grateful for...
There is no correct answer in this world.
Because everything is the right answer.
So...
We cannot know who gave qualifications to this thing called life, and what choices they have continued to make.
In life there is no right answer, no truth, and nothing complete.
Only, while the incomplete ones ponder about such things...
They rejoice, grow angry, feel sorrow, feel pleasure, love, hate, and yearn for one another.
Therefore, no one has the qualification or the responsibility to decide such things for anyone else.
Perhaps there are those who think that even my wishing for happiness is sothing I have no qualification for.
But...
Even if I have no qualification, from now on I will choose happiness.
I am going to experience this thing called rest.
Since I have been running without resting, I am going to live while resting, even if it is inconsistent.
That will be a life filled with imperfection.
...
In truth, I don't even need all these various reasons.
It's simply that now, I just want to rest.
Just because.
That is the most straightforward way to explain this thing called the heart.
An answer that seems more insincere than anything else.
But...if a person's heart truly reaches the root of the Dao, then following that heart is the true Dao.
Immortal Cultivation is a journey to seek the Dao.
"You've worked hard, Seo Eun-hyun."
So...
This 'just because' is perhaps the answer that lies at the end of Immortal Cultivation.
"Now, let's rest deeply."
Tok—
As I pour the very last drop of herbal liquor onto the grave, I stand up.
All of us.
Together with the deer that has been waiting for us, we begin to move toward our ho star, toward the era in which we have been living.
We are immortals who grew up on Mount Suru.
But now, we are people who go down into the mundane world to once again seek the roots of our hearts...
We are people of civilization.
I am Seo Eun-hyun.
I am Seo Eun-hyun, who is going to return to a civilized society.
⟨A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation (回歸修仙傳), End (完)⟩
Chapter 808: Afterword.
Hello, dear readers.
This is Trendous.
After a long and longer ti, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation has co to an end.
Truly...
I feel both light and strangely wistful deep in my chest.
While writing this, I think I had fun.
Of course, if soone told , "You enjoyed it so much, go back and write it all over again!"
I feel like my ntal state would just collapse on the spot.
Anyway...
If I had to write it again, it would be hard, but it really was a story I found joyful and fulfilling.
Especially the self-actualization.
There were so many scenes I thought, "I absolutely have to write this," and...
I was so happy to be able to put those scenes into words.
The thematic core of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation, which I also ntioned in the setting notes I gave to the webtoon artist, is...
"Gratitude for life."
Not a single thing we enjoy...
Not a ray of sunlight, not a breath of air, not even a single grain of sand, is actually sothing we're guaranteed to have.
Honestly, the very fact that the planet hasn't been wiped out by a teor, or that a solar storm hasn't obliterated Earth is itself a miracle.
Each and every detail of us being alive at all is a coincidence and a miracle...
So, I wanted to express gratitude toward this world.
A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation is sothing created while searching for reasons to be grateful for life.
You can think of the main the as pondering why we should be grateful for life.
Under the question, "Why must we be grateful to this thing called life?" I kept throwing questions at Seo Eun-hyun again and again.
And the answer to that is...
Because there are so many precious chances.
Because ti that has passed will never return.
Because even though there are bad connections, good connections undeniably exist as well.
Because the very act of rejoicing, raging, grieving, enjoying, loving, hating, and desiring within life is itself sothing to be deeply grateful for.
Because there is soone or sothing we can bla.
And even when there is no such target of bla, the simple act of us incomplete people searching for answers together is itself happiness.
Because life is a miracle.
And maybe, simply...
Just because we can be grateful.
"Because this world is a miracle, everything in it is also a miracle" is what I wanted to discuss together with you, the readers, through A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
And I think I was happy just to be able to pull so many scenes that discuss "life is a miracle" into reality and offer them to you all.
Seo Eun-hyun beheading Makli Hyeon.
Seo Eun-hyun defeating Makli Wangshin and giving his disciples a chance.
Seo Eun-hyun offering thanks beneath the giant tree.
Seo Eun-hyun climbing to Ultimate Pinnacle, breaking through the Heavenly Rejection phenonon, and reflecting again on the preciousness of connections.
Seo Eun-hyun cutting through the Heavenly Tribulation and rising beneath the heavens alongside the Formless Sword.
Seo Eun-hyun, together with Buk Hyang-hwa, realizing that life is a miracle and letting her go...
And beyond that, Jeon Myeong-hoon, shouting his fury as he witnesses the fall of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
The elders of Black Ghost Valley sacrificing themselves to protect the Black Ghost Valley that is heading toward ruin because of Kang Min-hee.
Azure Tiger Saint exploding and showing what it ans to beco a star.
The Mad Lord's Entering Heavens Beyond the Path, Heart of Love.
(Heart of Yeon (然/Nature), Heart of Yeon (緣/Fate), Heart of Yeon (戀/Yearning) all combined into Heart of Yeon (戀/Love)—this is a line I've been dying to write since the early days of the work.)
The scene where Yeon Wei and Hon Won forgive each other, reconcile, and reunite inside a burning mansion.
Seo Hweol's final monts—Goodbye, Daoist Seo...
And also, the Star Genesis Supre Deity's advancent!
I wanted to write the Star Genesis Supre Deity's advancent and the Owner of Myriad Stars so badly that every ti it felt like A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation itself was speaking to to the point I wanted to scream...
I rember wanting to write it so intensely I thought I'd lose my mind.
"Star Genesis Supre Deity, Star Genesis Supre Deity has to be written.
"Even if the process gets wrecked, at least Star Genesis Supre Deity no matter what!"
With that kind of madness, I ran all the way here.
It was also fun setting up the villains.
Yuan Li, as the boss that closes out the very first main episode, was a bit difficult.
But wrapping up characters like the Mad Lord, Seo Hweol, and the Great Mountain Supre Deity was genuinely fun.
Sa with Hong Fan.
In a way, the villains are where I projected myself.
So I think I've always ended up rooting for the villains more than Seo Eun-hyun, projecting myself into them, and having them stand against Seo Eun-hyun.
The Mad Lord with his grotesque appearance (the author looks kind of funny too), and Seo Hweol, who controls information so the opponent can never see what's really going on.
Hong Fan, who is still just a young child and soft on the inside...
All the villains who carried A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
They were all .
Truly...
It's been a long journey.
At the end of it all, I feel like I managed to land the ending well...so a lot of different emotions are hitting .
I feel proud, a little sad, wistful...
Also refreshed.
Of course...
To be honest, if I'm going to spill so TMI about the ending and everything around it:
In the early stages, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation did not have its settings and details, its ending, or its final boss so clearly defined like they are now.
The setting and ending for A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation were set around the 4th or 5th cycle...
You could say I locked them in while writing around Chapter 25. (*Of course, not the core the. The core the was there from the mont this beca an infinite-regression story...)
And if you ask, "Then what did you an when you said you prepared it four years ago?"...
What I had back then was the worldbuilding that would form the skeleton of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
Various other settings.
The idea of a protagonist who wields a transparent sword.
The narrative of a protagonist who never gives up and, with a kind of madness, reaches a single goal.
But that protagonist was not 'Seo Eun-hyun'.
I think the first ti the world of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation and the protagonist Seo Eun-hyun really got decided as cores of the worldbuilding that would unfold those ideas was...when he beheaded Makli Hyun.
And it was probably when he awakened through his disciples and showed you Endless Mountains Beyond Mountains that the worldbuilding was finally confird for good.
"Ah, this is going to work, I can tell. If it's this story, if it's this guy as the protagonist, he can reach the end. In worldbuilding this, I should pour in all the settings I've created, the cast, the growth route I planned for the protagonist...everything."
And what was completed was the world of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
The original worldbuilding I'd made wasn't sothing created for any one specific story.
So of the settings were even things I'd intended to use in a completely different work.
But once I finally had a protagonist who looked like he would never break all the way to the end...
I realized Seo Eun-hyun could shoulder all of these settings and stories.
So I started taking the settings I'd ant to use in other stories and grafting them into the existing world, sticking them on, building the logic to make it all hold together...
And that's why I went on hiatus a lot in the early days.
Early readers will know this: before the series went paid, my release schedule was a total wreck, and I went on week-long breaks, then just dumped chapters on weekends...it was a ss.
Even now, if you look back at the early Munpia release schedule, you can see how chaotic it was.
Part of it is that I'm an avoidant type of person, and I used to be lazy before I got into the groove.
But the reason the schedule was that disastrous was because, at that ti, I was doing a massive amount of worldbuilding readjustnt and creating the internal story logic.
*Of course, the April 1st break wasn't an April Fools' joke. My father really did drag off to Gangwon Province to dig up potatoes, and dragged all the way out to a potato field at the far end of Gangwon, so I had no choice.
Maybe that's why I ended up writing those scenes where, instead of just leaving potatoes as a small symbol of kindness, I forcibly stuffed them down Hong Fan's throat...maybe that was my grudge showing.
Honestly, because of that potato-digging trip, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation could have been discontinued right there.
Thinking about it again, even I find it ridiculous...
Potatoes are delicious, but that mory is dizzying.
I'd taken the whole week off to align the settings and finish the big plot structure, planning to do a release spree on the weekend—then got hauled off to dig potatoes on that very weekend.
If, at that ti, the readers had gotten angry and dropped the series, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation would really have ended right there...
I can only be deeply grateful to those who didn't get angry and didn't remove it from their favorites during the potato-digging incident.
In any case, after that, the lesson "Right now. This very mont. I don't need so vague hope that might or might not co in the future" really got carved [to the bone] into my heart.
If you drag your feet, you'll be too late.
In the future, you never know when you'll get dragged off to a potato field, or dragged off sowhere else.
I learned very clearly that going on hiatus while making excuses like "I'll do a release spree later" can be unbelievably dangerous, and that let build a supporting the that completes the main core them.
Anyway, one way or another...
It's true that the early stages of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation had settings that were very different from now, and much to be completed taking those early breaks.
Of course, the idea that the final boss would be related to a black snake, and that this black snake would follow the protagonist from the beginning and finally awaken as the final boss in the end—that narrative itself has been there ever since the fairy tale's appearance.
You could say the major plot of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation was almost entirely planned out by around the 6th cycle.
The core the was there from the very start as well (I'm the type who believes a full-length novel absolutely needs a central the...though if it's not that long, I do think the story itself can be enough on its own).
The worldbuilding was all settled around chapter 25,
And the plot was more than 80 percent finished before chapter 50 (before the 6th cycle).
But when it cos to character arcs...
Things really, really changed a lot along the way.
Most notably, Salt Sea was changed in the 17th cycle to be the sa person as Cheongmun Ryeong.
And the Great Mountain Supre Deity and Silver Basket were originally the sa person.
Silver Basket, who was the Creator God of another world, couldn't stand watching the self-torturing acts of the final boss of the world A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation and that suffocating behavior of trying to run away from the answer, so he was going to invade the world, take the Seat of the Mountain, give advice to Seo Eun-hyun, then pass the seat of the mountain on to Seo Eun-hyun...
I think he was loosely set up as a character that was basically Salt Sea Great Mountain Silver Basket mashed into one.
But I thought the Great Mountain Supre Deity should have an impact as big as his na sounds, so to give him that impact, I went with a developnt where he completely wipes out the protagonist's party and twisted it into a narrative of conflict between senior brother and junior brother.
So originally, the latter half of the True Immortal Realm wasn't going to be separated from the Audience Chamber arc, and Heuk Sa was supposed to show up as the final boss.
But I ended up splitting it off from the Audience Chamber arc and made the Great Mountain Supre Deity the final boss of the True Immortal Realm arc.
Also, Heuk Sa was originally actually the sa person as the Heavenly Punishnt Supre Deity,
He was also planned to have far less presence than he does now.
The ending I had in mind was that he'd drag himself along in a pathetic, ugly way like Yuan Li, and then be defeated by the protagonist's group.
But after the 6th cycle, I just didn't want to write a final boss who was only pitiful and ugly.
And just as I'd given several character endings that, even to , felt beautiful...
I worried the story's ending would beco too crude, so I borrowed the strength of many characters and completely revised the finale.
If I'd gone with the original idea, then probably...
The ending of the story would have turned out far more vulgar.
Even thinking back on it now, the current ending is much better.
Really...
I think it was a good story.
Calling it a 'dragon's head and a dragon's tail' feels a bit too much, even to ...
It feels more like the head of an imoogi, the body of a snake, and only at the very end did it finally grow a dragon's tail.
Sothing like mangdu-sache-yongmi (蟒頭蛇體龍尾/python's head, snake's body, dragon's tail) is probably exactly the level A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation sits at.
But well...
In the end, isn't the ending what matters most in a work?
It's a bit awkward to say this with my own mouth, but.
Even I think that for the ending...at least for the ending, I poured my heart and blood into it.
Staying up countless nights, feeling my lifespan get shaved away by coffee and iced aricanos with extra shots, unable to even eat three als a day like a proper human, losing any sense of day or night and just going "uhhh, ughhh" while writing in a daze.
Even I think...
It was hard to run all the way here.
And I managed to bring the ending out just the way I'd first envisioned it.
As for the foreshadowing I laid out, I only scattered what I could handle, so I think I picked up almost everything that needed picking up.
If there are any foreshadowing that still haven't been resolved, they'll either be dealt with in the afterword stories, or, if they never get resolved, you can think of them as "there's a setting like this too"—details that were just there to explain the world.
You can think of them as not even being MacGuffins, not even proper foreshadowing.
Oh, of course, there are real MacGuffins like Old Man Eom of Cheongnan Library, but well...
[TL/N: Eomcheongnan ans Trendous.]
What work in this world doesn't have a MacGuffin anyway?
But taking all of that into account,
Even I think!
The ending of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation turned out well!
Huaaaaaaaah!!!
And!!!
I also know very well that none of this was achieved by my strength alone.
Even if I was the one who observed the story,
It was Munpia who helped tell the world what I observed!
And Raon E&M, who signed a contract with !
I want to thank Seong-in Hyung, who gave the very first contact in the form of an ultra-long, incredibly sincere ssage, and who kept persistently leaving comnts on that contact post so that the contract offer notification would keep popping up for .
You may be at Munpia now, but the title of 'my first ever editor in charge' is yours, Hyung.
In my heart, you'll always be my number one editor.
And CEO Lee Jae-hwan, who has now founded the company Storywave, gave so many pieces of advice back when he was a division director at Raon E&M—words that were truly like gold and jade.
I think the reason so many people were able to co to A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation through Series might well be thanks to the advice he gave about the cover.
And on the webtoon side as well, the CEO really ran all over the place and did so many things behind the scenes that I think that's why the webtoon could turn out this well.
In my opinion, when it cos to webnovels, the person with the best eye for them is probably the CEO.
I am truly grateful.
I also want to offer very deep thanks to Director Kwak Seong-yong, who beca the second editor in charge of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation. I can only feel sorry for all the tis I delayed turning in the manuscript because I was trying to increase the length.
Thank you for staying with over that long year and a half, accompanying all the way to the ending of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation, for handling the webtoon adaptation so well, and for teaching so many of the things I was curious about.
I'll of course greet the three of you properly in person, but I'd like to bow my head once more here in advance.
Thank you so much for everything up to now.
And I'd also like to send words of support to Artist Kim Moo-hyun of Haksan Publishing, who is now beginning the webtoon serialization. Once again, thank you for preparing such a wonderful webtoon for nearly two years...and then finally setting it off with a bang.
Every ti you drew an episode of the first cycle, you always sent the draft to Raon for checking—that loving care you showed makes at a loss for how to even express my thanks.
All I can say is that I did my utmost with the original story so that, even if only a few parts are adapted, you can still reach a satisfying conclusion, and I hope that can return at least a small part of my gratitude.
And besides them,
PD Kim Ki-hyun of Munpia.
Back when A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation first got contacted, you were one of the final two competitors along with Seong-in Hyung, so I want to say thank you for always loving A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation that much.
Also, the person who bought als the most (including all managent, across the board) was PD Kim Ki-hyun, so whenever I think of Munpia now, PD Kim's image is the first thing that cos to mind.
Going forward as well, I'll be in your care for the next work.
In addition to them, Raon E&M's CEO, Author Song Hyun-woo, and many other editors and staff.
Munpia CEO Son Je-ho, the Munpia martial arts-fantasy team lead and division head, and even the part lead who handed a business card at the neighboring seat yesterday—thank you all so much.
And to the person in charge of uploading to Series, though we've never t even once, my thanks to you as well.
To all the many people who had a hard ti because of every ti, I offer my deepest thanks.
To illustrator mucuzi, who drew the first cover and illustrations.
To illustrator Seril (세릴), who drew the second and third covers and illustrations.
To illustrator failose, who drew the character illustrations.
To all of you, I bow my head in gratitude.
The illustrators helped imnsely in conveying the images of the characters of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation to the readers.
And lastly, illustrator failose (실패배), really...
I want to thank you for gifting with an unbelievable quantity of absolutely incredible fanart.
True to your nickna, you're the Taenghwa Heavenly Venerable.
Thank you.
Beyond those illustrators, countless other illustrators drew fanart of the characters of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
I can only be so, so, so thankful that you chose to display such golden-handed skill here, on this work...
I have nothing I can dare offer all of you except the words: Thank you so much."
No matter how much a writer is the one who observes the story and brings the tale into reality...
The number one reason A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation was able to co this far is because the readers were there.
I was able to serialize it because there was a platform.
I was able to monetize it because of the managent.
And I think it beca known because of the illustrators and the golden hands of so many people.
Thank you, and thank you again.
Thanks to everyone, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation was able to co into the world.
Thank you.
And with the 25-year commorative Trendous author-avatar comic drawn by illustrator failose, I'll offer my thanks and bring this to a close.
Soday, a few epilogues and side stories will go up.
And we'll et again—also soday, perhaps—in the next work that might co.
I love you.
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