Chapter 331: Axis (5)

Chapter 331: Axis (5)

Editors: Z0Rel, BlueMangoAde, Resnut

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Chapter 331: Axis (5)

"B-Buddhist family methods...! Senior may not have heard of it before...uh, what was it...it's a method system based on beings known as the Seven Brilliances Kings, but it's not a very popular cultivation system, so it's almost obsolete now."

"..."

It seems that the existence of Buddhist Family Methods has not completely disappeared.

'Well, there were temples in the Lower Realm too.'

I stare at her for a moment.

"...Fine. Let's stop here."

I sigh, suppressing my killing intent.

It would be impossible for her, Tae Yeol-jeon, to be acting while deceiving even her own heart essence.

Unlike the previous life's Tae Yeol-jeon's heart essence, hers is chaotic and desolate, like the abandoned temple.

"You, what do you think of the Heart Tribe? For example...the Heaven-Collapsing Esteemed One Jang Ik..."

"Oh, you mean the leader of those spies?"

"..."

No matter how you look at it, she isn't Tae Yeol-jeon.

As I sigh from a headache, I realize I feel a sense of déjà vu from this room.

'Ah, that's right...'

It's too messy and unmaintained for me to recognize at first.

However, this is the room I had come to rest in briefly when I felt dizzy in front of Tae Yeol-jeon in the previous cycle.

Previously, there had been Taenghwa paintings all over this room, but now there are none to be found.

While looking around, I find the fairy tale book I had seen before.

'This fairy tale book is still here...'

It's a children's book based on the theme of "Sincerity Moves the Heaven."

Everything symbolizing Tae Yeol-jeon, like the Taenghwas, have disappeared, but it appears that Buddhist Family Methods and such fairy tales still remain.

Of course, the book itself seems to have been neglected for a long time.

It's worn out in many places and has traces of insects having gnawed at it.

The table of contents is familiar.

A fairy tale that spread from the Head Realm.

There are fairy tales that have spread, slightly changed here and there, throughout the Head Realm and even in the Bright Cold Realm.

Even when I asked Su In and Hong Yeon before, they said it was in the True Devil Realm too, showing that places where people live are all the same.

They are fundamentally fairy tales with the lesson that "Sincerity Moves the Heaven."

'I miss my master.'

These were the fairy tales I found in the library when I sought a way to overcome the Seven Star Ritual with Cheongmun Ryeong.

They are very nostalgic...

'...Wait.'

Looking at this fairy tale and the current situation where Tae Yeol-jeon disappeared, I remember [something similar in the past] that had happened before.

'Wasn't there a similar incident in the past?'

Chaaaaa—

A chill runs down my spine.

But for some reason, I can't clearly remember 'what' it is.

'What is it?'

'Something similar' happened before.

But I can't recall what it is.

Seeing the fairy tale book triggered the memory, so it must be related to this book...

"...Hey."

"Y-Yes, Senior!"UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

I ask this woman from Grand Nirvana Temple

"Do you know anything about this fairy tale?"

"Ah...well, aren't they common fairy tales? I once learned the common language of the Bright Cold Realm from my master and read them for fun. They should be in the deep libraries of other sects as well, not just our temple. Actually, they might even be found in ordinary households."

"Hmmm..."

I frown, trying to recall the memory that keeps surfacing in my mind.

I feel like I'm about to remember something.

Fairy tale book.

The vanished Tae Yeol-jeon.

This strange sense of incongruity.

"...This fairy tale. Is it supposed to end at [Chapter 7]? Shouldn't there be a [Chapter 8]?"

"Pardon?"

Finally, as I'm flipping through the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, I remember the source of this incongruity.

I have definitely seen a fairy tale book before that went up to [Chapter 8], not 7.

The first story was definitely not something about a carp or whatever!

There is a [missing] fairy tale from this list!

That fairy tale is important!

She scratches her head and says,

"Um...I apologize, I'm not really sure. Well, different regions might have their own contents tailored to their own region?"

"...Hmm..."

Come to think of it, that is true.

The environments of the Bright Cold Realm and the Head Realm are fundamentally different so what am I even trying to find?

Yet, I can't shake off this bizarre feeling.

Something is off.

But I don't know what it is.

'I can't remember [it]!'

Thump, thump, thump...

My heart is pounding.

I'm shivering.

Just 'what' exactly did I forget?

Thump, thump, thump...

For some reason, I feel a pain in my heart.

'...This is dangerous.'

I feel chills down my spine.

I feel a strong sense that it will be better for my well-being not to think any further.

It's different from the time I mentioned the titles of Governing Immortals to harm Seo Hweol. An ominous sense of doom coming from deep with my soul dominates me.

If I'm not careful, something terrible will happen.

Let's not dig any deeper.

'Maybe, when I reach a higher realm, I'll remember.'

I decide to bury the unremembered memory for now.

He must have cultivated this formula for hundreds of years before me, yet among the insights Seo Li passed down, there's no mention that the main Nascent Soul becomes akin to an Axis through the new Heavenly Circle formula.

In other words, Seo Li was unaware that the main Nascent Soul will transform into an Axis.

While thinking about the differences between myself and Seo Li, something flashes through my mind.

'Heart (心).'

That's right.

Seo Li was considerably less adept at handling heart essence compared to me.

Although I don't know the exact reason, I feel that this new formula of the Heavenly Circle is significantly related to the heart.

'Ah, I see.'

Wiiiing―

The Great Desert to Dead Sea responds so naturally.

'Seo Li didn't know it himself, but he was unconsciously applying this formula to the Great Desert to Dead Sea.'

The spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth is a given, but theoretically, it could also seize the spiritual energy of others. That is the Great Desert to Dead Sea.

Though I would never use it in such a way due to my personality, even excluding that, the technique that ravenously devours Heaven and Earth spiritual energy to the point of desertifying an area is exactly the Great Desert to Dead Sea.

But if such a convenient devilish art is possible, why haven't other races or sects developed such a devilish art sooner?

Seo Li had unconsciously applied this formula to create the Great Desert to Dead Sea.

As a formula that creates an Axis out of the Nascent Soul, it allows for wielding a vast amount of attraction force, even more so than others of the same realm. It unconsciously uses the attraction force to voraciously absorb Heaven and Earth spiritual energy and directly infuse it into the Nascent Soul.

As I observe the Nascent Soul emitting attraction force within me, I fall into thought.

'The reason the Axis has attraction force is because it itself is a kind of 'symbol,' and thus part of nature."

Of course, all objects have attraction force, but the reason an Axis has a stronger attraction force is that creating a Nascent Soul as a 'symbol' maximizes the attraction force within the 'symbol.'

Then there arises a problem here.

What exactly does this new Axis symbolize?

Kuguguguk―

I feel the attraction force emanating from my Nascent Soul.

'A formula that allows wielding the power of the Four-Axis stage within the Heavenly Being stage...'

However, it doesn't harmonize with other Four-Axis stage formulas.

It's an extremely peculiar matter.

'I'll have to investigate this more closely while accumulating more Axes.'

After seven days and nights.

I perform a ritual with the Great Desert to Dead Sea and elevate my Heaven Tribe cultivation to the Four-Axis stage.

Kururung―

Having withstood the Heavenly Tribulation, my entire body radiates an immense attraction force, and my eyes gleam.

The attraction force obtained with the new formula of the Heavenly Circle,

The attraction force gained upon reaching the Four-Axis stage,

And the attraction force acquired through the Axis of Wealth following my regression.

Additionally, the power exuding from the perfectly harmonized Three Great Ultimates.

It's clearly at the late Integration level.

"Now...shall I go reclaim the position of a Grand Cultivator?"

No precedent is needed.

No permission is required.

If there is no Tae Yeol-jeon, then I will become the first Grand Cultivator of the Heart Tribe.

I prepare everything and ascend to Heavenly Human Island.

Tadatt!

Heavenly Human Island is thriving as usual.

The voices of bustling cultivators reverberate everywhere, and the markets are bustling with activity.

It's when I ascend to the outskirts of Heavenly Human Island, to the marketplace.

Zzzt―

A tingling killing intent pierces my whole body.

Step.

I take a step forward and naturally draw my Colorless Glass Sword.

My consciousness accelerates so very naturally.

Heaven and Earth slows down.

'Three in front, two behind, one on the left.'

My consciousness quickly sweeps the surroundings.

Passersby passing by me.

A dharma treasure vendor selling a compass-shaped dharma treasure to customers.

An artist under a canopy, painting and receiving money while avoiding the sunlight.

Hyeon Gwi, walking around with a snack in his mouth, chatting with other members of the Mystical Scaled Fish Commanding Sect as if on a mission.

Seeing Hyeon Gwi startles me a bit, but it appears like a coincidence, so I set him aside for now.

These people are within a two-zhang radius of me.

Up to five zhang away, there are children running around, a group of cultivators examining flying sword magic artifacts, a body cultivator promoting body refining methods, and a flock of low-level spirit beasts resembling pigeons fluttering their wings as they take flight.

In a fleeting moment, in a brief instant where even calling it feeting is insufficient, I imprint everything within a five-zhang radius into my mind.

But it isn't enough.

The range of a martial artist expands even further.

Ten zhang.

An old man carrying a flower basket, looking around.

A man testing a chariot-shaped dharma treasure, a child reading a method book while holding an apple in one hand, a couple holding hands and laughing happily, an old woman at the Core Formation stage with a resigned expression as if she has little time left.

I calculate even the trajectory of every dust particle they kick up into my sword path.

Twenty zhang.

Thirty zhang, forty zhang, one hundred zhang!

Chwaaaak!

With a speed that seems to match light, I gradually read every movement within my domain while grasping the Starting Form.

A world where time slows down due to acceleration.

The world seems to darken.

Within that, my eyes gleam fiercely.

And then.

Flash!

The leader of the Human Race Grand Alliance, a Grand Perfection Integration stage Grand Cultivator, and head of the Grand Cultivator Association, Jun Jae, using the Flying Escape Technique, dashes towards me like a streak of light in the frozen world.

[Got you, Heart Tribe spy!]

I move my sword with a bitter smile.

All six Grand Cultivators of the Human Race Grand Alliance, excluding Hon Won, come at me.

The Grand Cultivator Battle (太修戰) has begun.

Translator Notes: All 7 fairy tales have roots in Korean/Chinese folk tales. For example, the goblin's hat (in the appearance of a tanggeon) is from a traditional Korean folk tale of a poor man who got a goblin's hat that allowed his body and other objects that would identify him to become invisible. The man would then use the invisibility to steal from others to gain wealth.

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