NOVEL NEXT Chapter 264
264 Chapter: Purest Life Force (순극생기)
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!”
A horrific scream echoed.
The universe crumbled and flipped. The energy of heaven and earth was reversed. Every power direction flipped upside down.
Thud-thud-thud!
The Reverse Heaven’s Universe created by Hyulma collapsed, and the Three Thousand Great Heaven World fell apart.
Amidst the rubble, the ground appeared. Baekdusan loomed above. The sky lay beneath my feet, painted red with Reverse Heaven.
And in the center was that guy. Hyulma.
His eyes were bloodshot.
“How! How could this be!!”
Hyulma wailed hideously. I raised my left hand of Extreme Sound and right hand of Extreme Yang.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
My dantian roared like an 8-bit engine. The reversal of Yin and Yang, the overwhelming power rising from the Primordial Harmony Technique seized me.
Overwhelming life energy flipped heaven and earth.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!!
With a loud noise, the primordial energy that erupted from my body pierced through the sky of Baekdusan above.
I flicked my fingers. At that moment.
The light of Ascending Spirit drew closer to me. The infinite mindscape froze right in front of me. The perfected Primordial Harmony Technique was the greatest martial technique, defying even the laws of physics. As I froze the infinite mindscape, I flicked my left hand.
Thwang!
With a loud noise, the light of Ascending Spirit, the infinite mindscape, struck Hyulma in reverse.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!!
The moment the Ascending Spirit struck Hyulma, a flash illuminated the space. The water of the Baekdusan sky above trembled like a waterfall below. It was a world turned upside down. The sky beneath rang as it split apart.
A roaring noise erupted.
The infinite mindscape I sent back pierced through Hyulma’s vessel.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Red cracks appeared on his body. Vital blood energy leaked from his flesh. His vessel had shattered. No matter how skilled he was at manipulating nature’s energies, as a being dwelling in the Boundary of Life and Death, having an engine to control his power was essential.
That engine was precisely the vessel of the body. But my perfected Primordial Harmony Technique pierced through his vessel.
That’s why power was leaking out of Hyulma’s body now.
He had received a fatal blow.
Hyulma screamed.
“This is not possible. It can’t be. I have waited three thousand years. To ascend to the heavens, no, to become the heavens. I have waited for a long time to dominate the Three Thousand Great Heaven World and possess every possibility in this world. Heh, heh heh heh heh, yes, this cannot be. I am the heavens.”
Hyulma laughed. His mockery shook the skies. He raised his hand. Infinite tentacles sprouted from behind him.
Hyulma.
His final resistance had begun.
“Do you think you will lose to a mere specter of the Primordial Sword Technique now? I have lived for three thousand years. oh specter from the future, you may have lived for some time, but compared to me, you are nothing more than a child with some cotton candy. Now, let me show you.”
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
An overwhelming pressure surged from Hyulma’s body. The blood energy of Reverse Heaven scattered in all directions. Nature’s energies trembled.
His body turned a dark crimson and soon morphed into complete darkness. A void of existence surrounded him as light from the universe rippled around his figure. Energy from the entire world began to absorb into him. I waved my hand.
With the energies of the Primordial Harmony Technique rising, the flow of power was controlled my way. Hyulma laughed upon seeing this.
“I’m curious. Lee Cheol-soo. Whether you can withstand the three thousand years I have built up.”
Zzzzzt.
A red light flickered in Hyulma’s eyes like an LED.
He spoke.
“Can you endure the accumulated three thousand years of my time? Lee Cheol-soo. Show me. The new cycle I have refined over three hundred years to crush your Primordial Harmony Technique.”
A universe appeared above his head. It was his mindscape. His mindscape was overlaying the grand universe.
Mind Martial Arts.
No, this was not Mind Martial Arts.
The Boundary of Life and Death transcended the mini-universe and altered the principles of the grand universe. He was twisting the principles by projecting his own mini-universe into the grand universe.
In simpler terms, it was the realm of inscribing one’s own mindscape upon the heavens–the Heavenly Path.
While Mind Martial Arts inscribes words into the world, Heavenly Path inscribes the mindscape upon the heavens.
The power of entering the divine, flipping the natural law of heaven with one’s own mindscape.
That was the Heavenly Path.
Hyulma.
He was burning through all the time he had amassed thus far. And in doing so, he was suppressing my unleashed Primordial Harmony Technique.
His mindscape was a vast cosmos. A brilliant landscape of the universe unfolded again. Three thousand years. Yes. His mindscape built over three thousand years was as immense and heavy as Sumeru Mountain discussed in Buddhism.
Above his head rose the heavens. It resembled the Pure Land of Buddhism. Clouds billowed beautifully above vibrant lands, lotus blossoms, and the Udumbara.
This was Hyulma’s Heavenly Path.
A purgatory where the future Buddha resides.
[Heavenly Terrace]
Hyulma stood upon the Heavenly Terrace, smiling.
“I am the future of the Three Thousand Worlds, salvation itself. My ascension and the post-heaven transformation are destined to occur.”
He spoke true.
Even in the Boundary of Life and Death, the weight of the mindscape differed.
Even in a broken vessel, he was holding this much power.
I knew this was his last ditch effort. He was making one final struggle before death. But like the brightest star dying, his power burned even brighter than before.
“Moreover, I am the greatest of all time. In the ancient times, in the present, and even in the future. I will lend this life to you! But even if I do, I will take you with me. I will bury your perfected Primordial Harmony Technique into darkness! Just like the moment at Payang Lake! Because I am the savior of the Three Thousand World!”
Flash!
A bright light emerged. The darkness loomed. The heaven and earth I had flipped reverted back to their original alignment. The flow of power returned to Hyulma. Baekdusan returned beneath my feet again, with the heavens above centered on his Heavenly Terrace.
A brightness ignited in Hyulma’s eyes.
“No matter how perfected your Primordial Harmony Technique may be, you cannot defeat my three thousand years of karma. You will die crushed under the weight of three thousand years. You despicable phantom of the Primordial Sword Technique.”
Hyulma raised his hand. An explosion like a supernova burst forth from his fingertips.
“Is this your last struggle? Hyulma. Pathetic. I have no intention of playing along with your death throes.”
I extended both hands.
Yes.
I anticipated this. I suspected that a single strike of the Primordial Harmony Technique would not be enough to kill him. Hyulma.
He would not have been idle for the last three hundred years. If he had a brain, he would have made some countermeasures against the Primordial Harmony Technique.
But so what?
No matter how hard he struggled, the outcome of this battle was already decided. It was my victory.
Whooooooo!
Ten Years Polished One Sword cried out. From the towering heart of the world, the Extreme Yang energy erupted and pierced the heavens.
Swishhhhhhh!
One Piece of Ice Heart howled as snowflakes dance beautifully from the great tree of sound.
I drew the reverse Taiji again with both hands.
And with that, my mindscape inscribed into the Heavenly Path.
[Primordial Harmony Technique]
The pattern of reverse Taiji rose beneath my feet. Along with that, a colossal tree arose behind me.
It was the World Tree, or rather a cosmic tree that defied imagination. Glimmering stars hung like fruit on its branches.
It was the Tree of Life.
A divine tree symbolizing birth, growth, and death.
Yggdrasil, the divine tree, the tree of Sephirot, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The cosmic tree— the source of life tree myths that resonates across the world.
A colossal tree supporting the universe rose behind me.
[Cosmic Tree]
The Yin-Yang Reversal. The Yin-Yang energies flipped. The ascendance of water and earth. My head cooled while my dantian heated.
Overwhelming life energy surged from my body.
And I realized.
‘This is truly Purest Life Force.’
The culmination of Gongdongpa Mugong.
I had finally obtained Purest Life Force, the ultimate life energy. Overwhelming vigor surged within me.
Behind me stood the tree of life, or rather, a tree of vigor.
Yes.
I had finally grasped absolute vitality that could enjoy the Three Story Tea House and the pleasures of Cloud and Rain for seven long nights without fatigue.
“Is that all you have? With that, you cannot overcome my three thousand years of mindscape!!”
Hyulma shouted. His Heavenly Terrace extended its domain. Three thousand years. During that long time, his mindscape began to consume the grand universe.
Though my tree of vigor, the Cosmic Tree, shimmered defiantly, it was overwhelmed by his Heavenly Terrace. A prideful smirk spread across Hyulma’s face.
Looking at him, I said.
“True. You’re right. Alone, I cannot defeat you.”
“You finally admit it. The phantom of the future.”
Hyulma sneered at me. He said.
“I acknowledge you. Lee Cheol-soo. You have been the strongest among the masters I’ve encountered. Without me, you might have become the greatest of all time. Remember me, Lee Cheol-soo. Cherish this moment! Hahahahahahahaha!”
He mockingly laughed at me. I stared at him and replied.
“Unlike you, a pathetic beta male, I am a charismatic alpha male!”
I closed my eyes.
“What? I don’t understand what that means, but are those insulting words?”
Ignoring Hyulma’s words, I contemplated my mindscape.
The Primordial Harmony Technique and the Gongdong Sect Martial Arts were parts of me. I advanced a step by inheriting the gains of the Primordial Sword Technique.
But my current mindscape was not simply composed of the Gongdong Sect Martial Arts and the gains from the Primordial Sword Technique.
“I am the master of the Color Spectrum.”
Color Spectrum.
The Great Way I founded.
The awakening that led me into the Boundary of Life and Death was also the realization of the Color Spectrum. Now, I had achieved great success in the Color Spectrum.
So now, I was not alone.
I could not bear three thousand years by myself.
But what if I add the strength of the women connected through the Color Spectrum?
Then, I could certainly defeat Hyulma.
I opened my eyes.
Hyulma’s Heavenly Terrace had already encroached dangerously close. While the tree of life glimmered, it could not fend off his encroachment.
But not anymore.
“I will crush you along with the ties of the Color Spectrum that I’ve built up until now.”
“What utter nonsense…”
As Hyulma babbled, I summoned the mindscapes of the women tied to my heart.
[Disciple! I’m here! I will protect you!]
The voice of my sister rang out. Her white apparition floated beside me.
[Gaga! The girl has come to help!]
The voice of Jeoksawol resonated. Her mindscape settled beside me.
As the sixty years lived by Jeoksawol added to the battle, Hyulma’s Heavenly Path began to retreat, bit by bit, very slowly.
“What, what is this!?”
Hyulma panicked. His expression faltered.
But I did not stop.
[Disciple! I am back!]
[Master! Hehe, I have come too!]
[I, this little hero! I missed you!]
[Big Brother! Even Spirit of the Afterlife is here.]
[Brother! You can’t lose!]
[Hmph. You are the man I acknowledge. If you fail, I will not leave you be.]
My little sister Seoharin, Geombong Seomun Cheong-ha, So Geom-hu Cheon Sobin, Goeui Dang Yeong-ryeong, Heuksaryong Wi Soryeon, So Cheonma Baek Cheon-hwa.
As the spirits of the five girls joined forces, Hyulma’s Heavenly Terrace began to retreat even further.
“Ughhh!!”
Hyulma clenched his teeth.
But there was nothing he could do.
[Upper Official. I have arrived. The enemy of the Upper Official is the enemy of this girl. I will serve the Upper Official faithfully as a virtuous wife.]
Boom!
The apparition of Geumhu appeared. As it did, the beads of sweat began to collect on Hyulma’s face.
[Dad! Jiyagi has also come! I will crush the bad devil that torments you!]
The apparition of the female title So Sumahu appeared. As she waved her hand, the ground trembled.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud!
With a loud noise, the boundary of Heavenly Terrace shook violently and retreated significantly.
[Noya. I have arrived. I will always be on your side. I will share all three lives with you.]
Boom!
Finally, Hwang Sang appeared. From her apparition, the energy of Reverse Heaven surged. The Rebirth Great Method. The energy of Reverse Heaven inscribed through reincarnation.
The energy of Reverse Heaven I possessed resonated with Hwang Sang’s energy.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
As the energy of Reverse Heaven resonated, the heavens of the Heavenly Terrace trembled, cracking apart.
“It’s, it’s impossible! This, this is…!!”
Hyulma’s face shattered. He began to exhibit comical facial distortions.
Everyone had come together. All their apparitions looked at me. I smiled as I gazed at the distraught Hyulma.
“It’s over now, you pathetic son of a male beta who doesn’t deserve to be called an ordinary man.”
“No, this cannot be, this cannot be…!!”
I finally contracted and expanded the muscles in my lower body. As the Kegel Exercise filled the last of my life energy into the vessel of my body.
Boom!
The Everest, signifying my absolute vitality, roared from my lower half. The overwhelming life force, no— the energy of vigor blazed within my body, no, the grand universe.
I raised my right hand. Extreme Yang energy bloomed on my thumb while Extreme Sound energy flared on my index finger.
The moment the revered image of the great obstetrician Arnold Kegel and the ancestor of the Primordial Sword Technique appeared above the Heavenly Terrace.
I flicked my thumb and index finger.
Whack!
And then, there was light.