Chapter 163: Who Is This?

In a world that endlessly circulated without beginning or end.

From afar, Taecheong Divine Sovereign spoke.

【Do you know where this is?】

Overwhelmed by the mystical sight, Jang Woo-hyun steadied his mind and opened his mouth.

“This would be the space called the Microcosm…”

The internal Microcosm, also referred to as the Mental World or the Depth Realm.

Jang Woo-hyun had once experienced another person’s Microcosm through Cheon Heo-jin.

【Correct. Upon reaching the Immortal Realm or in some special cases of the Realm of Wish, one can manifest their own Microcosm into the world like this.】

Even while directly experiencing it, Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“This isn’t… some kind of illusion, right?”

【It’s neither an illusion nor a fantasy. You can consider it a real, new world created temporarily.】

“How… is this even possible?”

The idea of opening a human’s Microcosm to create a new space was incomprehensible to Jang Woo-hyun. The fact that this was the power of a martial artist was even more unfathomable.

【I anticipated such a reaction, which is why I’m showing you this place.】

Jang Woo-hyun thought that Taecheong Divine Sovereign, far off in the distance, was smiling.

【Let me ask you one thing. Do you understand the next realm?】

Jang Woo-hyun’s current realm was the Boundless Realm.

The next stages were the Realm of Wish and the Immortal Realm.

“No.”

Jang Woo-hyun shook his head. He didn’t understand them at all.

Even when Gwak Yu-chan explained it, or when he read the [Introduction to Central Heavens Martial Arts] given by Taecheong Divine Sovereign at the bookstore, he could not grasp the realms of Wish and Immortality.

The realms before that had been easy for Jang Woo-hyun to understand.

Second-rate. He created a Dantian and accumulated Internal Energy.

First-rate allowed one to imbue weapons or fists and legs with Internal Energy.

Master Level was the realm of projecting one’s energy to distant targets, and Supreme Peak involved imbuing Will-Form Qi into Internal Energy to produce Qi Projection.

The Absolute Realm neared perfection and allowed one to step into a new world.

Transcendence gifted new senses and speed, and Boundless enabled endless expansion of one’s Will-Form Qi. It was a realm where one could kill with will alone.

However—

The next two stages weren’t clearly explained, and he couldn’t comprehend them.

Realm of Wish.

The stage where the laws of the Microcosm within the human are projected into the world. It was said one could apply their laws to the world and alter the Law of Nature.

Immortal Realm.

Like what Taecheong Divine Sovereign had shown—opening one’s Microcosm to create a new world.

Wish and Immortality weren’t intuitive, nor were they tied directly to physical movement.

Jang Woo-hyun, unable to understand these two stages at all, had set a new goal upon returning to the Central Heavens Realm.

His own method.

Accumulate Internal Energy, move the body to dodge attacks, and swing the sword to face enemies.

That was the path Jang Woo-hyun envisioned. And he believed it wasn’t wrong.

【I don’t think it’s wrong either.】

Taecheong Divine Sovereign spoke as though he had read Jang Woo-hyun’s thoughts.

【But it’s not an ideal situation either.】

At some point, Taecheong Divine Sovereign had approached and was now standing before Jang Woo-hyun.

【Show me your power.】

At the request, Jang Woo-hyun drew Mukya. Then, he unleashed all his power.

From within the space Taecheong Divine Sovereign created, energy stretched in all directions.

Countless arrows were shot, and numerous swords seemed to slash in every direction around Jang Woo-hyun.

Taecheong Divine Sovereign’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he watched.

‘To think he’d be this strong.’

It was unexpected. Jang Woo-hyun was far stronger than Taecheong Divine Sovereign had anticipated—abnormally so.

‘Which makes him all the more dangerous.’

Someone who grew at this speed could veer off in the wrong direction faster than anyone if not properly guided.

“That’s enough now.”

At Taecheong Divine Sovereign’s words, Jang Woo-hyun’s energy quickly dissipated. The two returned to their original location.

“Uwah!”

At the same time, Jin Ha-un’s scream rang out.

“Hyung-nim, what was that just now? I went to this weird world! It wasn’t just like the seasons passing quickly—the flow of time felt like everything was happening at once. What was that? Wait, did the Divine Sovereign… no, Elder show us that… ahem. I’ll shut up now.”

Having been dragged into Taecheong Divine Sovereign’s Microcosm and returned, Jin Ha-un closed his mouth after reading the atmosphere between the two. He judged that this wasn’t a space for him.

Jang Woo-hyun clenched and opened his hand at the sudden dissipation of energy. It had vanished with a pop.

“I don’t know how you’ve lived, nor do I know exactly how you’ve trained. But there’s one thing I can say with certainty.”

He could guess how Jang Woo-hyun had become strong. There were rare individuals like him.

“You’ve grown through battle. Without stopping.”

Jang Woo-hyun lifted his head and looked at Taecheong Divine Sovereign.

His lowered eyelids hid his pupils, but Jang Woo-hyun knew.

The giant named Taecheong Divine Sovereign was seeing through him.

“How about taking a look at your own inner self here?”

“Excuse me?”

Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t respond properly to the sudden suggestion.

“I’m asking you to stay with me for a while.”

“……”

But he couldn’t easily decide, since there were still many things he had to do.

“I don’t intend to take much of your time. I don’t have much left either.”

“What?”

At those words, Jang Woo-hyun’s face stiffened, and Jin Ha-un’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘He doesn’t have much time left?’

‘No way…’

Noticing the two’s thoughts, Taecheong Divine Sovereign laughed. What he said just moments ago could certainly have caused a misunderstanding.

“Hoho, I’m not going to ascend or die, so don’t get the wrong idea. I just meant I don’t have much time because I’ve got things to do.”

Jang Woo-hyun’s expression relaxed, and Jin Ha-un let out a long sigh.

“Young folks are so faint-hearted. And this old man disappearing—is that really such a big deal?”

Though he said it lightly, there was a smile on Taecheong Divine Sovereign’s face.

“Now that I’ve met you, I understand why I wanted to see you. I just wanted to help someone with outstanding talent in the little time I have left. So how about staying here for a while?”

Still smiling, he asked. And Jang Woo-hyun fell into thought.

In truth, if Taecheong Divine Sovereign had wanted, he could’ve locked Jang Woo-hyun up and trained him through beatings.

But he made a request. He was the one sitting at the very peak.

“Why are you doing this for me? There’s no need for you to go this far.”

“No particular reason. Just want to help a junior as someone who walked this path first.”

Though it didn’t feel like he had shared everything, this was another opportunity.

So Jang Woo-hyun decided to accept Taecheong Divine Sovereign’s offer.

In a corner of the Demonic Spirit Realm.

A white monkey was trudging through a forest filled with upside-down trees—roots pointing to the sky and branches reaching the earth.

“What a strange place to live.”

It was a location that even high-tier monsters rarely visited, but the monkey monster didn’t seem to mind.

The deeper it went, the more bizarre the forest became.

Branches spiraled like a vortex. Creatures that seemed to be a mix of various animals. Flowers and grass made of flesh that bled. Rocks shaped like sea urchins or triangles. It was a place where nothing looked normal.

The beasts nearby ran deeper into the forest the moment they saw the White Monkey Monster.

Leisurely walking, the Monkey Monster arrived at the center of the forest.

There stood a single upside-down tree.

Beneath its branches, which extended toward the ground, was a large boulder with a hole at its center.

“You home?”

The White Monkey. Wind-Passing Great Sage called out to someone.

A moment later.

A blue-furred monkey wearing clothing so gaudy—red, blue, yellow, green—that it made one dizzy to look at, stepped outside.

“What brings you here, hyung-nim?”

“Why are you living in such a freakish place? I nearly lost my mind on the way.”

“Better than that bleak rocky mountain you call home. What brings you here?”

“Wanted to ask something.”

“Well, well. The Demonic Spirit Realm might collapse tomorrow. For you to come all the way here to ask me something. What is it?”

“Heavenly Venerable of the Silver Radiance and Universal Transformation of the Three Pure Ones.”

He uttered the name casually.

But the weight of that name was not light.

Just saying it caused an unseen gravitational force to press down, and an overwhelming power descended from the sky.

Grinning—

Wind-Passing Great Sage reached out and clenched the air.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

With a thunderous roar, space itself tore apart.

Above the forest, forces collided in the sky. Wind-Passing Great Sage had shredded the descending force of the True Immortal along with space itself.

When he waved his hand again, the remaining impact of the force fell to one side of the forest.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

Even the aftermath of that collision wiped out a part of the inverted forest.

Wind-Passing Great Sage looked up with piercing blue eyes and stared at the sky.

“If you’re going to do something, come down, you bastard. Otherwise, sit still.”

Uuuuuu—

The sky groaned briefly and then fell silent again.

“What the hell are you doing? Trying to destroy my home, hyung-nim?”

“It wasn’t me. That guy up there did it. Ever heard of Heavenly Venerable of the Silver Radiance and Universal Transformation of the Three Pure Ones?”

“Who’s that?”

“A True Immortal. You know more about that side of things.”

“I don’t know them all. There are too many, and they’re barely related to us.”

“Huh? You don’t know? Then who should I ask?”

“Why ask anyone? Doesn’t seem like someone famous. What’s the name again?”

“Heavenly Venerable of the Silver Radiance and Universal Transformation of the Three Pure Ones.”

Perhaps Wind-Passing Great Sage’s intimidation worked. Now, even when he said the name, nothing happened.

“Any features?”

“Silver. A silver giant. A massive silver hand. Something like that.”

“Hah, what is that? Did you meet them yourself? Doesn’t sound like it.”

“I didn’t see it myself either. Just heard the story.”

“Then go find out properly. Don’t cause trouble at someone else’s home.”

“That’s it though.”

At Wind-Passing Great Sage’s response, Blue Monkey Monster, Gu Shin-daeseong, grimaced.

“Hah, just go. Go on! What are you doing, seriously?”

“You really don’t know?”

“I said I don’t. Just go.”

Gu Shin-daeseong turned toward the ruined forest. A space that looked to be ten ri in diameter had vanished in an instant.

Frowning and sighing, he glared at the source of this chaos.

“Wait a second. Hyung-nim, are you trying to fight a True Immortal?”

“No, nothing like that. Someone just asked me to look into it.”

“Don’t say such nonsense. Who would ask you about a True Immortal? Hyung-nim, seriously, no! Even you can’t mess with those upper realm folks! This is part of the pact Daehyeong signed. It involves the elders of the Demonic Spirit Realm too. You have to be careful.”

“What elders? They’re just a bunch of old fossils holed up in their own homes.”

“Daehyeong might kill you. You need to be careful.”

He meant it as a warning, but Wind-Passing Great Sage began laughing, as if he found it all amusing. Threats like that wouldn’t work on him. If anything, they’d just make him more eager to fight.

“Ah, seriously. No! Don’t do it! Absolutely not! Don’t fight! I won’t stay still either! Me too, I’ll…!”

“Oh! You won’t stay still? Should we go at it for old times’ sake?”

Grinning and raising his hand, Wind-Passing Great Sage looked delighted. Gu Shin-daeseong shut his eyes tightly. How could anyone reason with this insane monster?

‘There’s no choice.’

There was only one way to subdue this lunatic. Even if he took some damage himself, this was the only way.

“…I’ll contact noona right now.”

“……”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage’s energy, which had been spreading everywhere, abruptly died out.

“Hey, that’s really uncalled for.”

“What do you mean uncalled for? You’re about to cause another disaster.”

“No, I was just asking. Why is it so hard to trust someone—no, some monster?”

Gu Shin-daeseong’s face twisted grotesquely. Was he seriously asking to be believed?

“Whatever. You don’t know. That’s no fun. I thought you might. Then I’m off.”

“Hyung-nim, don’t get involved! I mean it! Be careful. This isn’t just our problem, so you really need to be careful! Ah, seriously, don’t do it! Hey, you bastard! Wind-Passing Great Sage! Monkey Monster! You crazy bastard! You really mustn’t do it!”

He yelled in half-threat, half-plea, but Wind-Passing Great Sage just waved his hand lazily and left without even turning around.

Watching him go, Gu Shin-daeseong let out deep sighs. What kind of trouble was that maniac up to now?

After staring at the demolished part of the forest, Gu Shin-daeseong approached the large boulder.

“Silver, a massive silver hand, huh.”

He hadn’t mentioned it because he feared Wind-Passing Great Sage would cause trouble, but one thing did come to mind.

‘Could it be the Emperor’s Gauntlet?’

The Immortal Emperors, also called the Heaven Emperors—true gods who had reached the highest peaks even in the Upper Realm.

Some True Immortals became the wielders of their Dharma Treasures, and among them, there was one called the Silver Light Thousand Hands.

The Emperor’s Gauntlet and also a massive True Immortal with countless arms.

Gu Shin-daeseong recalled that being.

‘How did he get involved with that thing? I better investigate before hyung-nim causes a real mess.’

As he began walking, Gu Shin-daeseong looked up at the sky.

‘Is something going on? It’s been oddly quiet.’

Those who had ascended to the Upper Realm occasionally sparked small conflicts with the gods stationed in the Demonic Spirit Realm under the terms of the pact. Be it a True Immortal from the Spiritual Realm or a Martial God from the Murim Realm.

But lately, it had been eerily quiet.

Finding it strange, Gu Shin-daeseong resolved to investigate the matter concerning his sworn brother in detail.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep