The True Person, who had been silent for a moment, clicks his tongue at me while looking at me as if in disbelief.
[...I see. I didn't realize it since the scale of attraction force seen in the foresight was absurdly large, but could it be that you're in the Star Shattering stage? Your mental state doesn't seem that well, but to think such an existence like you would appear...]
He strokes his beard, appearing intrigued by me.
"...I don't quite understand what you mean."
I furrow my brows, trying to grasp the meaning of what the True Person is saying.
Since what stands before me is not the real physical body but an incarnation, I can't read any biological reactions, nor can I read his intent since he's a True Person beyond the Star Shattering stage where intent transforms into attraction force.
The True Person laughs while stroking his beard.
[Esteemed Ones gradually begin to transform their consciousness into attraction force. I've seen quite a few who, unable to adapt to this change, end up suffering from Qi Deviation and Inner Demons... How about you? Are you afraid?]
"...I'm not sure."
I respond expressionlessly, stroking my chin.
"In the past...emotions seemed quite important, but honestly, I'm not sure right now. I don't know why I put so much effort into these things."
I also can't quite grasp why I had sought powers like the Three Great Ultimates or Void Shattering.
'Instead, if I had focused solely on Heaven and Earth Cultivation, I would have reached the Sacred Vessel stage by now.'
He strokes his beard again and then abruptly introduces himself.
[Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself. I am Jinlu Gok, the representative of the Human Race 500,000 years ago and the Lofty Dragon Care High Priest, who served the Immortal Beast Lofty Dragon as my master in the past. And...]
I gaze at him with a bit of curiosity at his continued words.
[...A man once called a master of consciousness methods 500,000 years ago...who, at one point, reached the third stage of Manifestation as a member of the Heart Tribe. Though I've now forgotten Manifestation, so I'm neither Heart Tribe or anything of the sort.]
"...Hm. That is surprising. Mastering the skills of the Heart Tribe is not easy..."
[What's difficult about it? I even received direct teachings in the consciousness method from the Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King over 500,000 years ago.]
He smiles faintly and claps his hands together.
Clap!
[And...speaking as a master of such consciousness methods, I'd say that those with Manifestation in the Heart Tribe experience their consciousness turning into attraction force at a faster rate and to a more intense degree once they reach the realm of an Esteemed One.]
"Hmm...that's interesting."
Shouldn't those who train in Manifestation from the Heart Tribe be able to maintain their emotions for a longer time even after becoming Esteemed Ones?
But Jinlu Gok explains that part quite clearly, making it easy for me to understand.
[Have you ever built a sandcastle?]
"Yes, well. I used to do it sometimes when I was a child."
[I see. Then, when you build that sandcastle, is the shadow of a large sandcastle small, or is the shadow of a small sandcastle small?]
I catch on to what he's trying to say.
"...You're saying that the size of the shadow corresponds to the size of the heart built through Manifestation?"
[Seven points out of ten. Think it over again carefully.]
"Hmm..."
I take a moment to reflect and carefully reconsider his question.
Suddenly, I sense something strange.
'Wait, the size of the shadow?'
"...The size of the shadow varies depending on the position of the sun, doesn't it?"
[Exactly. The correct answer isn't the size, but the 'light.' While the size does have some influence, it's minimal. Ultimately, a larger and longer shadow means being closer to the sun.]
He tells me this with a profound expression.
[In other words, the closer you get to the light, the bigger the shadow becomes. If we consider the sandcastle you built as the 'cultivation of the Heart Tribe,' then the cultivation of a Heaven Tribe cultivator that 'cultivates attraction force' is an 'act of approaching the light.' Of course, all beings inevitably draw closer to the light through cultivation, so that's not the issue. The real issue lies with those who, like you or I, have built sandcastles, or even sand mountains, in their hearts. Ordinary Heaven, Earth cultivators are like flatlands.]
"Hmm... So, that's why people like us experience a much faster and more intense transformation of intent into attraction force compared to regular cultivators?"
[You could say so. Ordinary Star Shattering stage cultivators only have their consciousness briefly turn into attraction force whenever they use spells...and their consciousness gradually transforms over time. But for us, once our consciousness shifts into attraction force, our very mind changes into attraction force at once. Just like what you're experiencing now.]
"Hm..."
I contemplate, looking inward at myself.
'Indeed, I have been feeling somewhat emotionless lately.'.
I have become indifferent to the realm of Void Shattering, but if I keep going like this and forget Manifestation, it would be a significant loss of power.
Although further training in Void Shattering is excessive, losing what I already have would be a disadvantage to me, so I ask Jinlu Gok for a solution.
"From what you're saying, it sounds like there's a way to avoid this once one reaches the realm beyond the Star Shattering stage."
[Of course there is.]
"What is it?"
I ask with a blank expression.
[But before I answer...I have something to ask you.]
"What is it?"
[What does the heart mean to you? Why do you seek to regain it?]
"Hmm..."
I ponder deeply.
'That's true, why am I trying to regain it?'
The heart is nothing but a source of distraction.
Even if I keep it within my chest, it's nothing more than a factory that produces Heart Demons, a source of pain that plagues me.
'From the start, isn't the heart essentially death?'
Recently, I have often been revolving the Three Great Ultimates to separate death energy from my body.
At first, it was hard to keep the Three Great Ultimates spinning constantly, but now I've gotten somewhat used to it.
After all, this is a matter of life and death, so I am literally staking my life on it.
'Diving deeply into the heart could cause the separated death energy to erupt and drag me to the Underworld...the heart? Why on earth do I need to cultivate such a thing?'
It's too dangerous.
At this point, it might be better to give up on Void Shattering altogether and focus solely on Heaven, Earth, and Puppet.
For some reason, Kim Yeon seems to have developed patterns similar to the Extraordinary Pattern Law Talent, which suggests that she lost her voice but gained something akin to the Extraordinary Pattern Law Talent in return.
If I could ask her to use that talent to create Sacred Vessel circuits or Entering Nirvana puppets, I could wield the strongest power in a more stable manner.
'...Wait, this is strange.'
However, in place of my lost emotions, my reason that has become extremely cold and rational detects a profound contradiction within myself.
—Why do you want to become the strongest?
'That's because...only by being the strongest can I protect my comrades.'
—Why do you want to protect your comrades?
'Only by being with them can I unravel the mystery of the existence known as Enders, and someday return to my homeland.'
—Why do you want to go back to your homeland? Couldn't you just indulge in ponds of alcohol and forests of meat and focus on reproduction here for all eternity?
'That's because...'
I suddenly find myself at a loss for words.
The question Jinlu Gok threw at me seems to cling to me, turning into a Heart Demon.
'No...this man. He's really done something to me. There's really a Heart Demon whispering within my consciousness... Jinlu Gok...did he cast some curse on me?'
I glare at Jinlu Gok for a moment, but I can't afford to engage in a confrontation against someone at a higher realm with a curse clinging to me.
Especially now, when even my Void Shattering is unstable, it's even more impossible.
'Since he doesn't have thoughts on attacking me for now, let's deal with this Heart Demon first. It's something I have to resolve anyway.'
I extricate myself from Jinlu Gok's planetary body, take a position in the cosmic space, and quickly begin to answer the contradictions that keep arising in my mind.
'My parents are back home...I have a job there... If I stay here, I'll be reported missing, and who knows what will happen to my social standing...'
—Why are you concerned with the culture of those mere bugs? You are already a star in itself. With just a little more cultivation, you'll reach the Sacred Vessel stage and enjoy a lifespan spanning in the billions. That's enough time for microorganisms to evolve and build a civilization. So why are you trying to return to a society so far beneath you?
'...Is that...so?'
It's a reasonable point.
Even my parents are ultimately just humans made of flesh and blood.
Moreover, the world I perceive is beyond the grasp of ordinary mortals.
As a Star Shattering Esteemed One, there is no longer any need to concern myself with the connection between parent and child.
My body is no longer even human, and having become a star, why should I still be concerned about such things?
I have transcended humanity.
'So it isn't a Heart Demon, but a blessing.'
It seems I have misunderstood Jinlu Gok.
Instead of something like a Heart Demon, he appears to have given me a stimulus or blessing to free my mind from the shackles of inferior humans, but I had mistaken it due to my paranoia.
'Let's throw away the shackles of race, and live freely as I roam the universe from now on.'
Honestly, why should I be entangled in such chains of this and that?
I no longer need comrades.
The annihilation of the Heavenly Domain?
With my current self, I feel like I could reach the Entering Nirvana stage within 500,000 years if don't care about the means and methods.
'I just need to repeat it 50 more times without dying.'
Then I would attain the true body of the Entering Nirvana stage, be able to withstand the destruction of the Heavenly Domain, and surviving that would guarantee at least hundreds of millions of years of cultivation time.
'Even if it takes hundreds of millions of years, I will surely become a True Immortal.'
I would become a True Immortal, and truly achieve eternal life.
'...'
Then, I realize something strange.
The [blessing] that Jinlu Gok gave me is whispering to me once again.
—Why do you need to achieve eternal life?
'That's...'
When [She] showed me the destruction of the universe.
My heart truly sank.
To think my cultivation was accelerating the end of the universe!
But, when I thought about it again, it was strange.
Certainly, when attraction force reaches its peak, the universe meets its end.
But...
Isn't a new universe born at the same time?
I recall the End Heavenly Circle that ends with Acceptance at Fate's End, and the Vast Cold Heavenly Circle that concludes with the cycle of the Four Seasons, and I half-close my eyes.
'It is not the end.'
Chwararararara—
The power of [death] that had been layered within my soul scatters, transforming into pure Heaven and Earth spiritual energy that envelops the surroundings.
'It can also be a new beginning.'
I understand why the heart turns into attraction force during the Star Shattering stage.
At the Star Shattering stage, the heart becomes attraction force, and that force begins to reach its peak as cultivation progresses.
Ultimately, the attraction force coalesces once more, bringing about the End, and beyond that End, a new [heart] is born.
'What I just experienced was akin to a preview of that process.'
Of course, since I did not go through the [real] process, I don't know what problems might arise when I truly reach that stage and attempt to go through it.
But...
One thing is certain.
'Whether at the Sacred Vessel stage or Entering Nirvana stage, there will definitely come a time when this experience proves useful!'
I realize that, due to the recent attraction force and explosion, I vaporized and dispersed the power of death that had accumulated within my soul, and I smile.
The transformation of the heart to attraction force.
And the attraction force of the Underworld.
Having resolved both, I swim through the still-lingering radiance of the explosion to bow to Jinlu Gok.
As I wade through the cluster of light, I suddenly feel a strange sensation.
'Why...isn't this space of light ending?'
At that moment, I sense delicate, jade-like hands appear behind me and gently stroke my cheek.
Chills!
Despite having reached the level of an Esteemed One, I failed to detect any signs.
I freeze in place, feeling the delicate jade-like hands toy with my cheek.
The delicate, jade-like hands trace my cheek, then slide down to caress my nape, and finally rest on my shoulder.
Flinch!
As soon as the hand touches my shoulder, I snap to my senses and try to move my body.
But my body doesn't respond, as if paralyzed.
The delicate, jade-like hands continue to tease my shoulder.
Since the 15th cycle, no one has persistently toyed with my shoulder like this.
I grit my teeth in humiliation and shame, letting my shoulder be touched by a presence I did not permit.
Then, the [Will] echoes.
: : Delightful thing. : :
The Will teases my shoulder as it speaks.
: : As expected, you are far too desirable. : :
Tingle!
Feeling the sensation on my shoulder, my body trembles as if struck by a Heavenly Tribulation.
Pukwak!
[Someone], not stopping with just teasing, bites down on my shoulder with their teeth.
I feel my hands and feet trembling in humiliation, and my face turning bright red.
: : You belong to this Lord. When you eventually come to the Heavenly King Heavenly Domain, you will inevitably be mine. : :
With those words, the [Someone] vanishes abruptly.
At the same time, I emerge from the glow of the explosion.
"...!"
I clutch my shoulder, bending over from the intense, sharp pain radiating from it.
The pain I feel in my shoulder is so intense that even I, of all people, momentarily consider it unbearable.
Fortunately, it isn't a persistent pain but something that seems to have occurred momentarily.
'This, this is...!'
When I remove my hand from my shoulder, I see a long sword scar etched on my left shoulder.
Pasasasasa!
Even after dispersing my incarnation and reforming it, the result is the same.
No matter how I recreate my incarnation, the sword scar remains etched upon it.
'This, this crazy...'
Thinking about the being who engraved the mark on me and left, I feel my hair stand on end.
[Sword Spear Heavenly Lord].
'D-Did They come after witnessing me overcome death? Or after seeing the explosion? Just what exactly did They see to come find me...damn it."
This is not good.
A being of Light has not only sought me out but even left their own mark behind.
'I won't be dragged to the Sword Spear Heavenly Lord instead of the Heavenly Venerable of the Underworld when I die, right?'
I feel a cold sweat forming as I sigh.
For now, I decide to find a way to remove this mark later and approach Jinlu Gok.
"Elder. I offer my deep gratitude for your teachings."
If he hadn't cast the Heart Demon curse on me, I wouldn't have attained this enlightenment.
Jinlu Gok looks at me for a moment, then lets out a deep sigh and dispels his incarnation as he speaks.
[Originally, I only intended to give Junior a bit of enlightenment so you wouldn't suffer from inner demons...but your Sudden Enlightenment has exceeded my expectations. Go on.]
"Elder mentioned you had questions regarding Purple Soul Filling the Heavens or Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade..."
[I don't want to talk to you. I've roughly understood what kind of beings you're entangled with. Just go and take care of your business. I have no more curiosity.]
"Hmm...! I understand that there might be some misunderstanding, but I am by no means in the kind of relationship you are thinking of with the [Owner of Great Mountain] or the [Fifth Seat of the Radiance Eight Immortals, Sword Spear Heavenly Lord]..."
[Kuaaaaaaghl!!!]
Jinlu Gok screams and shouts.
[Get out! Do not let them form an attraction force with me, and quickly disappear! Hurry and get lost!]
"Ah..."
I thought he could withstand it since he's at the Entering Nirvana stage, but unexpectedly, even the name of True Immortals seems to be fatal to those in the Entering Nirvana stage.
'No, maybe it's even more fatal because he's at the Entering Nirvana stage. I didn't think of that.'
Smacking my lips, I head to the teleportation array on the surface of Jinlu Gok's planet and activate it.
"I apologize for disturbing your rest. I will visit later to apologize properly."
[No need! Just get lost!]
He seems to want to get rid of me immediately, but thinking I have formidable backers, he refrains from using force.
I give a bitter smile, bow to him, and before transferring to another True Person's body, I ask him a question.
"I'd like to ask one last question... Do you know why the 'Path of the Stars' made by Lofty Dragon True Person exists, and why it is connected to the Lightning Sacred Sea?"
He replies curtly to my question.
[Shouldn't you ask the Divine Spirit you serve?]
"As I mentioned, the Mountain..."
[I got it, you brat! I'll just say it, okay!? During the Blood Yin Great War, the entire Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain was caught up in that conflict. Lofty Dragon True Person took pity on the living beings of the domain and created a path for them to escape to other Heavenly Domains. If you follow this Path of the Stars, at its end lies the 'starting point' of this Heavenly Domain!]
"...!"
The starting point of the Heavenly Domain.
It's the place I arrived at in my 19th cycle, guided by the awakening of the Star Vein Eye under the arrangements of Yeong Seung, the Immortal Treasure of the Heavenly Venerable of Time.
The starting point of the Heavenly Domain is where the Heavenly Domain first exploded. It is also a direct path to the deepest part of the domain of the Heavenly Venerable of Time, and at the same time, serves as the 'gateway to travel between different Heavenly Domains.'
'I see. The Path of the Stars guides the living beings to the starting point of the Heavenly Domain, allowing them to escape the domain whenever needed.'
[...And 120,000 years ago, if that [madman] hadn't stuck his ring finger into the starting point of the Heavenly Domain and blocked the path, our Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain would have been able to freely interact with other Heavenly Domains, but...thanks to the remains left by that madman, even if the End comes, we can't escape the domain to flee. Likewise, 'beings from other Heavenly Domains' also cannot meddle freely in this Heavenly Domain!]
"...It's Golden Divine, isn't it?"
Considering all the chaos he's caused, it's not surprising anymore.
[This is the truth regarding the Path of Stars. At the other end of the Path of Stars, it connects to the Sea King Hall of the Ancient Force Realm. When a crisis erupts in the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain, the descendant of Lofty Dragon's superior, Hae Yu, will open the path, activating it so 'the living beings within the body of Lofty Dragon's superior' will be the first to exit the Heavenly Domain. From that point onward, the Path of Stars served as an emergency escape network, allowing the living beings of the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain to evacuate to adjacent Heavenly Domains through the Ancient Force Realm in case of emergency.]
As I learn the truth of the Path of Stars, I nod.
"Thank you for sharing this information. I will repay you someday."
[The best way to repay me is to never come looking for me again. I don't want to get involved with you. Now go! Get out of here!]
Jinlu Gok no longer associates with me as if I'm something terrible.
With a bitter smile, I give him one last bow before activating the teleportation array.
Paaaatt!
Several days have passed.
After passing through dozens of teleportation arrays, I have finally reached the Lightning Sacred Sea.
I arrived at the ring finger of Yang Su-jin.