HBWnovel Chapter 523: Seo Hweol's Origin (本) (4)
Chapter 523: Seo Hweol's Origin (本) (4)
chapter 523: seo hweol's origin (本) (4)
chapter 523: seo hweol's origin (本) (4)
seo hweol's plan 1.
the first plan involves using yuan yu.
for some reason, seo eun-hyun seems to feel a certain longing when looking at yuan yu, and because of this, he still hasn't completely discarded yuan yu's blood body.
he merely embedded it deep within his colorless sword enclosure.
seo hweol took advantage of that point.
from the moment oh hye-seo reincarnated into the body of the candle dragon race, seo hweol gradually shaped oh hye-seo—essentially 'seo hye'—to resemble yuan li as seo hweol remembers him, and made it resonate with yuan yu's blood body embedded within seo eun-hyun's colorless sword enclosure.
at that time, seo hye and yuan yu were learning compatible methods, and through seo hye, it was possible to harmonize with the spiritual energy waves emitted by yuan yu, thereby activating the secret art within yuan yu.
devilish spell tainted soul sacred blood (濁魂聖血).
borrowing the power of the blood yin realm, this spell combines the blood yin realm's devilish energy with seo hweol's tainted soul filling the heavens to transform the area where tainted soul holy sacred is activated into a dimensional gate.
he modified it into a method called summoning wind, sacred blood transformation and had oh hye-seo learn it. seo hweol even slightly lowered its difficulty and power to make yuan li learn it as well.
however, because seo eun-hyun did not cultivate yuan yu's blood body through summoning wind, sacred blood transformation, it created a tricky situation. nevertheless, it doesn't matter.
after all, the very spell constituting yuan yu's blood body originates from the blood yin realm, making its degree of resonance with the blood yin realm no different from having learned summoning wind, sacred blood transformation.
thus, seo hweol's original plan was to resonate seo hye and yuan yu's blood devilish energy to activate tainted soul sacred blood within their bodies.
if successful, seo eun-hyun's heart essence world—specifically, the interior of the colorless sword enclosure—would be immediately pierced by a dimensional gate directly connecting to the blood yin realm. seo eun-hyun would then be captured by blood yin and reduced to his immortal treasure.
no matter how much he uses his three great ultimates or whatever to exert entering nirvana-level power, resisting when a dimensional gate connecting to a true immortal is opened would be impossible.
however, seo hweol believes that the success rate of this plan is not high.
the biggest issue is the changed attitude of blood yin.
blood yin, who should have normally charged forward with frenzied madness at the mere sight of the karmic fire, instead observed calmly as seo eun-hyun revealed both the karmic fire and clear scale armor.
this is far from a normal situation.
thus, seo hweol calculated a low success rate for plan 1 due to blood yin's change in attitude.
on top of that, with oh hye-seo being captured by seo eun-hyun, the plan to activate tainted soul sacred blood through yuan yu's blood body also became difficult.
however...
an opportunity arose. seo eun-hyun showed an opening.
moreover, if paired with this new plan, the success rate of the first plan would significantly increase.
'i've made contact with oh hye-seo.'
seo hweol whispers into the mind of oh hye-seo, who has wandered endlessly in the same space for thousands of years, trapped inside seo eun-hyun's colorless sword enclosure.
[first, it was wise of you not to call my name carelessly.]
"ah... aaaah... uaaah..."
of course, the reason oh hye-seo didn't call seo hweol's name is simply because, after wandering for thousands of years in solitude, she momentarily forgot human language. but to seo hweol, such details are irrelevant.
[seo eun-hyun doesn't seem to have noticed. he likely interprets your outburst as part of your erratic behavior. for now...just follow my instructions. if you do, we can finally gain freedom and drag that seo eun-hyun, who is soaring high in the sky, down into the mud.]
at seo hweol's whisper, oh hye-seo nods tearfully.
wo-woong—
after quickly conveying several instructions to oh hye-seo, seo hweol cuts off.
'the blood body of yuan li, which i prepared for activating tainted soul sacred blood, can only be used for communication for now. but it doesn't matter.'
having already made contact with oh hye-seo, he left behind tainted soul filling the heavens in her heart essence.
he can now communicate with her whenever needed.
though there is a risk of being detected while communicating within seo eun-hyun's heart essence, it doesn't matter.
'i have polluted myself.'
in doing so, seo hweol even defiled himself while offering a 'prayer' to yeon wei, and seo ran did the same, also offering a 'prayer' to yeon wei.
though seo hweol denies the heart, he broke his vow and acknowledged his emotions, offering a prayer filled with the heart of benevolence to yeon wei.
because of this, seo hweol's tainted soul filling the heavens embedded itself in yeon wei not as a 'configuration' but as the form of a 'heart.'
the extent of the shock and pain seo hweol experienced in this process was irrelevant.
what matters is...
seo hweol's 'heart' is embedded in yeon wei,
and seo ran's 'heart' is also embedded in yeon wei in the exact same way.
the hearts of seo hweol and seo ran,
at long last, have come together.
inside yeon wei!
and so...seo hweol waits for the moment when the heart is amplified to the peak, needing only to make contact with yeon wei once again.
if seo hweol and seo ran's hearts and prayers, now embedded in yeon wei, make contact, then seo hweol and seo ran will finally be able to reconnect!
so, when will that moment of the 'heart's peak amplification' arrive?
the answer is simple.
it is when living beings face death.
seo hweol does not yet understand the great enlightenment that the heart is ultimately death.
however, through experiential learning, he has learned that when the death of a living being approaches, its emotions are amplified to their peak.
'it doesn't necessarily have to be their own death. the death of someone close to them is enough to amplify a living being's emotions. therefore...'
seo hweol smiles faintly.
'yeon wei's descendant. yeon jin, was it? that would do nicely.'
let's bring yeon jin before yeon wei's eyes and kill him.
if that happens, yeon wei's emotions will undoubtedly amplify to its peak.
that moment will be seo hweol's opportunity to connect with seo ran.
though most of seo eun-hyun's comrades are said to be staying in cedarwood painting, a few remain outside.
a chief example is yeon jin.
yeon jin is diligently cultivating the lightning path method in the human race district of cedarwood grove in the bright cold realm.
this decision was not seo eun-hyun's but yeon jin's own will.
yeon jin believes it is necessary to remain in the bright cold realm, observe the situation, and ensure there is a place for seo eun-hyun's group to return to if seo eun-hyun is defeated.
pajijijijil!
having already reached the four-axis stage, yeon jin changes genders using the taiji quaking lightning body and generates lightning as he surveys cedar wood grove.
'cedar wood grove and its human race district are so peaceful, yet the outside of the bright cold realm is said to be a warzone.'
to be honest, it's hard for him to believe.
no, even seo eun-hyun was just a senior in the nascent soul stage at a similar level to himself a few thousand years ago.
yet before he realized it, seo eun-hyun became a sacred master and is now waging war across the entire universe.
in such a situation, the only thing yeon jin can do is his best to prevent public opinion about seo eun-hyun from worsening within the human race territory.
of course, it isn't so much that yeon jin is trying his best but rather that seo hweol is working desperately to conceal yeon jin's existence from baek woon.
otherwise, yeon jin would have long been captured by baek woon and used as a hostage.
whether yeon jin knows this or not, he adjusts his black-and-white hair and prepares to resume his taiji quaking lightning body cultivation.
it is at that moment.
"it has been a while, daoist yeon jin."
before yeon jin's eyes, seo hweol appears with a hoho.
yeon jin bows his waist to greet seo hweol.
"ah, sir sea dragon king. it has been a while."
as far as yeon jin knows, seo eun-hyun and yeon wei don't hold a favorable opinion of seo hweol.
however, from yeon jin's perspective, seo hweol is one of seo eun-hyun's loyal followers who takes care of seo eun-hyun's affairs, so yeon jin doesn't harbor much ill will towards him.
or rather...it would be more accurate to say that seo hweol 'adjusted' things to ensure that yeon jin doesn't feel any hostility toward him.
seo hweol smiles faintly and extends a hand toward yeon jin.
"that aside, daoist yeon jin. have you heard that daoist yeon wei's body is unwell?"
"ah, yes. i heard about it thanks to the letter sir sea dragon king delivered. i was already thinking of visiting the ancestor...but with the war between the bright cold realm and cedarwood painting, it doesn't seem possible right now. huuu..."
seo hweol shakes his head at yeon jin's words.
"hoho, that is not necessarily the case, daoist yeon. while it is true that there is war, it is entirely possible to enter cedarwood painting by passing through other realms that are unaffected by the conflict. for example, the nether ghost realm or the blood yin realm."
"ah...! so there was a way like that. come to think of it, the nether ghost realm was also once the headquarters of the wuji religious order."
yeon jin nods as he rises from his seat.
"in that case, is it possible to leave immediately? if the ancestor doesn't have much time left, it would be best to depart as soon as possible."
"as expected of daoist yeon jin. such deep filial piety. in that case, come with this king... we will pass through the blood yin realm to directly enter cedarwood painting"
"that sounds excellent, elder sea dragon king!"
wo-woong!
at yeon jin's words, seo hweol guides him into a secluded area of cedar wood grove and begins forming hand seals.
chiaaaaaaa—
ominous blood devilish energy begins to radiate from the surroundings, and the space around them begins to distort.
seo hweol is faintly opening an entrance to the blood yin realm using his authority.
"blood sacrifice consuming style..."
wo-woong!
a crimson circle gradually appears before seo hweol and yeon jin's eyes.
seo hweol sharpens his vertical pupils with a piercing gaze.
'the gate to the blood yin realm...i'll open it in seo eun-hyun's heart essence using oh hye-seo and yuan li's blood body. then, using the opportunity when seo eun-hyun falls into chaos, i will take yeon jin to yeon wei... if i kill her descendent before her eyes, my plan will be completely...'
it is at that moment.
yeon jin's chattering voice pierces seo hweol's ears.
"hoho... there's no need to rush so urgently. why not chat with me for a moment—"
"ten. i've counted. i'll kill you, seo hweol."
immediately after, jeon myeong-hoon charges at seo hweol.
that's when it happens.
wo-woong!
kwarururung!
a bolt of lightning powerful enough to shatter a planet descends, but jeon myeong-hoon's eyes widen in shock.
'distortion!?'
space distorts due to attraction force.
jeon myeong-hoon's single strike, twisted under the influence of attraction force, fails to reach seo hweol and veers off in the wrong direction.
seo hweol, still holding yeon wei's hair, spreads his arms wide and laughs.
"if you don't want to chat with me, then it can't be helped."
"how...how can someone like you wield this level of attraction force!?"
as jeon myeong-hoon watches seo hweol drag yeon wei by her hair towards an unknown destination, his eyes become bloodshot.
this can't be happening.
'there's no way his tainted soul filling the heavens can handle this level of attraction force. unless he's completely brainwashed cedarwood painting and put it within this grasp, it's impossible! how could someone without immortal arts specializing in attraction force do such a thing...!?'
[seo hweol! stop immediately!!!]
kurururung!
jeon myeong-hoon transforms into the three-headed six-armed lightning god and shouts at seo hweol.
however, his voice does not reach seo hweol.
peaceful cloud continent.
two-sided mountain range.
inside a large manor, one of seo hweol's clones smiles faintly.
"how surprising, hon won. to think you'd pretend to be forbidden from cultivating by the sacred master while secretly practicing immortal arts... well, i suppose it makes sense. sunlight, rain, heat, cold, wind, and time—the immortal art of various omens is something integration stage cultivators should naturally learn. so you've been diligently practicing all along?"
however, hon won, who hears seo hweol's words, does not respond.
it's because he is bloodied and battered, his topknot tightly seized by seo hweol.
hon won's tongue has already been ripped out by seo hweol, leaving him unable to speak.
"hoho. if you don't wish to respond, it can't be helped. no matter. i will assist you."
wo-woong!
seo hweol looks at the miserable hon won with a gentle smile and then pulls a head from his sleeve.
it is the head of a male from the horned devil race.
this head, too, has its eyes gouged out and mournfully calls out to someone in the language of the devil race.
crunch!
wo-woong!
seo hweol crushes the devil race head without hesitation, extracting the soul within and infusing it into hon won's baihui point.
and in the next moment.
hon won's eyes snap wide open.
shortly thereafter, tears of blood stream down his face as he cries out.
"ch-ch-ch...cheon ra (天羅)...!"
kwarururung!
deafening roars erupt from various points on seo hweol's face as his body begins to shatter apart.
simultaneously, from the cracks on his face, something resembling black pus oozes profusely.
a clear indication of being shaken.
yet, seo hweol remains unconcerned, smiling as he grabs hon won's topknot and drags him outside.
dududududu!
the shout earlier affected not only seo hweol.
'the entire world is shaking. is it because of the original owner of the phenomena extinguishing mantra? hoho...'
gik, gigigik, gigigigik!
at the same time, an immense attraction force begins to form around hon won.
it seems to be an attraction force meant to merge with [someone] far away.
seo hweol looks up at the sky with a faint smile.
"...from the star shattering stage and onwards—that is, the stage where one gradually approaches the principles of true immortals—the heart begins to transform into attraction force. however...this means that for true immortals, attraction force is essentially the heart. when one thinks about how immortal arts activated by attraction force and those activated by the heart are fundamentally the same, it's a simple principle."
gigigigik!
hon won and the someone far away.
the attraction force with yeon wei begins to grow stronger.
"in short, being able to control attraction force means being able to move the hearts of true immortals. the world is ultimately nothing more than a dream woven by true immortals. we are merely their toys, clowns performing on their stage. therefore, our own hearts are ultimately meaningless. the only thing that holds meaning is...the heart of the being that dreams."
seo hweol, his face somehow bloodshot, looks up at the sky.
indeed.
this is not just a soliloquy.
he is speaking to seo eun-hyun, who is no different from the entire world itself.
"attraction force is essentially the heart. therefore, if i obtain the ultimate attraction force, all the hearts in the world will fall into my grasp!"
in the next moment! seo hweol stretches out his hand.
all the seo hweols hidden throughout cedarwood painting form hand seals in unison.
gigigigigik!
the names of in and yeon imprinted upon yeon wei and hon won's minds wail and strive to merge with each other.
simultaneously, an overwhelming attraction force arises within cedarwood painting, and at the moment when that attraction force reaches its peak—
paaaatt!
seo hweol disappears from cedarwood painting.
and the place where seo hweol reappears is none other than the colorless sword enclosure.
it is the place where oh hye-seo, acting under seo hweol's orders, rampages madly.
kurururung!
"ah, ahahaha! you're here, you're here, seo hweol?"
as soon as she sees seo hweol, oh hye-seo throws herself into the arms of one of his clones.
seo hweol pats oh hye-seo's head and looks towards the direction she came from.
there stands a massive altar.
the altar is engraved with countless carvings of immortal beasts, and the eyes of the immortal beasts all glow simultaneously.
and...at the very top of all the immortal beasts are two figures.
one is an [immortal beast shrouded in deep darkness], and the other is an [immortal beast in human form]. among them, the figure of the [immortal beast in human form] is moving under the influence of oh hye-seo's authority.
"is the ritual preparation complete, hye-seo?"
"yes, yes, seo hweol. i did everything as you said. i sacrificed my lifespan and offered it to the high spirit grand dao nine heavens overseeing fate preserving life celestial great emperor. that being, that being, as the covenantor and arbiter, promised to hide the fate here. did you, did you bring them?"
seo hweol smiles faintly.
one of seo hweol's clones is holding yeon wei by her hair.
another drags hon won by his topknot.
and...yet another of seo hweol's clones is gripping seo ran by his nape and bringing him to this very spot.
"finally...we have succeeded, hye-seo."
by targeting the moment when the attraction force of in and yeon reaches its peak, seo hweol connected to seo ran through the 'hearts of himself and seo ran' imprinted within yeon wei, finally capturing seo ran.
oh hye-seo, with a face brimming with joy, clings to seo hweol's embrace and weeps.
"th-then we can leave now, right, seo hweol? now we can finally leave and really escape from the belly of this seo eun-hyun, right? seo hweol?"
"i can't make any guarantees, but i will make it so. now then..."
clench!
seo hweol grips seo ran's head and laughs.
"disappear. fake."
charararararak!
at that exact moment, all of the seo hweols, except for the ones holding yeon wei and hon won, are sucked into seo ran's body.
however, even as seo hweol's elaborate plans near completion, oh hye-seo cannot bring herself to be happy.
'seo hweol, you said it was all coming together. but why...?'
why...
'why is that seo ran able to remain so composed, even with you standing before him?'
seo ran is showing no signs of fear whatsoever.
instead, he is smiling warmly.
and then—
urururung!
"hic!"
the colorless sword enclosure shakes violently, and seo eun-hyun's figure appears before oh hye-seo.
it is seo eun-hyun wielding the colorless glass sword, with seo eun-hyun draped in winged garments standing behind.
with a hardened expression, seo eun-hyun speaks.
"you will never succeed, seo hweol."