A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 474: Her (2)

Once upon a time, in the distant past.

An entity named Obsidian fell upon this land.

This being could not comprehend the thoughts of people.

It could not comprehend any taste, nor could it understand any pleasure.

It only felt a slight excitement when eating according to physical responses, sleeping when sleepy, and mating when in heat.

Nothing else could move Obsidian's heart.

At some point, Obsidian felt that it was a being devoid of its own soul.

And, it realized that to fill that missing part, it had no choice but to elevate its own spiritual realm through Immortal Cultivation.

It began to practice Immortal Cultivation.

Obsidian consumed animals.

Initially, it ate livestock, but later it ate wild beasts, birds, and fish.

Then it devoured people.

Then it ate ghosts, and after that, it ate spirits.

Having grown stronger by consuming demon spirits, mountains, fields, and seas, Obsidian eventually became a monster capable of devouring the sun, moon, stars, and even light.

At that point, Obsidian realized.

No matter how strong it became, the missing part inside its heart was not filled.

Even at the pinnacle of Immortal Cultivation, that depleted part could not be filled.

Then, Obsidian realized the reason.

Before it could supplement the lacking part of its soul through Immortal Cultivation, its existence had grown too large.

It was like regenerating a body without healing its scars.

The power it had consumed was so great that it suppressed the heart, making it so it could no longer recover.

Therefore, Obsidian made a decision.

To abandon all its authority and return to the beginning.

Thus, Obsidian used the ability it received when it first came to this world.

That ability was Reincarnation (還生).

Without the constraints of the Underworld, it could reincarnate at will—that was the authority it brought when it came to this world.

Through reincarnation, Obsidian abandoned all its authority and was reborn as a normal human baby.

And, Obsidian imposed restrictions on itself while reincarnating.

It arranged for its future self to 'suffer.'

It arranged for its future self to undergo hardships and gain enlightenment on the true heart, gaining ultimate power.

Obsidian vowed.

'I will, for 777 lifetimes, stand only on my hands upside down and chant the mantra symbolizing flawlessness.'

Thus, it reincarnated.

And in the next life, as soon as it was conceived in a woman's body, it crippled its own legs.

Born unable to use its legs, it walked on its hands, chanting the Flawless Mantra (無缺眞言) for its entire life.

People called Obsidian mad.

They also called it a pitiful bastard, insulted it for its ominous muttering, and some even tried to hang it to death.

In its first incarnation, Obsidian was stoned to death by people.

In the second incarnation, it again stood on its hands and chanted the mantra.

777 lifetimes passed like so.

Having spent 777 lifetimes standing on its hands chanting the Flawless Mantra, Obsidian obtained overwhelming power worthy of being called a divine among divines.

There was no being in the entire universe that could oppose Obsidian, and except for the two gods who created the wheel, no one did not tremble before it.

[TL: The wheel means the wheel on a cart, in other words, the cartwheel.]

Yet, Obsidian thought.

It still had not filled the missing part in its heart.

Thus, Obsidian went to the two gods who were not afraid of it.

The Gods of the Wheel and the Axis.

It asked them just how it could find the missing part of itself.

The God of the Wheel said this.

To commit suicide before them and rest for a long time. To rest for an almost eternal period within their domain and soothe its weary soul.

The God of the Axis said this.

If it brought the most precious and valuable thing in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds to them, they would tell it the method.

Following the words of the God of the Axis, Obsidian searched for the most valuable thing in the world.

But even after a long time, it could not understand what the most valuable thing was.

Eventually, Obsidian thought.

'Since my body and authority have become the most dreadful weapon in the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, I will cut off my body and bring it to them. I will cut off my lower half and bring it to the God of the Axis, and then I will walk on my hands upside down again.'

It reached a single small world and began to carve off its lower body.

With a sharp knife, it cut off its lower half, washed it in the river until it was clean, and repeated the process of flaying off its own lower half.

Eventually, Obsidian almost completely flayed its lower body.

And as Obsidian was flaying the last flesh of its lower half and moaning in pain,

It met a girl by the riverbank.

The girl gave the suffering Obsidian a remedy and handed it a bowl of milk porridge.

Caught off guard, Obsidian inadvertently scooped up the milk porridge and was struck by a lightning-like shock.

For the first time in 777 lifetimes, it wept uncontrollably over the 'taste' it experienced, burying its head in the milk porridge.

Ravenously licking the milk porridge, Obsidian pleaded with the girl.

To please just give it one more plate like this milk porridge.

The girl gladly gave it a plate, and Obsidian, upon eating that rice porridge, felt satisfaction for the first time and also, 'gratitude.'

With tears streaming down its face, it decided to repay this grace by following the girl while standing on its hands, blessing her for a lifetime.

However, seeing a monster without a lower body following the girl while standing upside down, everyone looked at the girl strangely, and she felt embarrassed.

But the kind-hearted girl, despite feeling embarrassed, did not chase Obsidian away. Instead, she brought a baby blanket and carried the upside-down Obsidian on her back.

From that day on, Obsidian accompanied the girl.

For the first time in a long while, Obsidian, being close to the ground but not standing upside down, could look directly at the world.

Accompanying the girl, it experienced anew the countless beauties and precious things of the world.

And one morning,

Waking up while sleeping together with the girl, it finally understood what the 'most valuable thing in the world,' as mentioned by the God of the Axis, was.

The most valuable thing did not exist.

Because everything in this world, as long as it has a heart, is too precious to be valued.

It realized why the milk porridge the girl gave it on the first day was delicious.

It must have been because it was the first 'pure kindness' it had received in this world.

Realizing this, it wept.

At the same time, it realized it had fallen in love with the girl and, after regrowing its lower body, it shared a bed with her.

It finally felt its depleted soul was filled.

It had understood the meaning of its existence in this world.

After happily hugging his wife, he left briefly for a distant world to gather the remnants he had shed over 777 lifetimes to make her a god.

And the very next day.

When Obsidian returned with a gift for his wife, he found her dead, bitten by a snake.

"Snake?"

I ask Yu Oh.

"Obsidian, who had become a being that could control the heavens and the earth, allowed his wife to be killed by something like a snake?"

"I'm not sure myself. It might be a metaphor for something poisonous or...perhaps a metaphor for some treacherous being among the Heavenly Kings. I wasn't there, so I don't know exactly. Obsidian had sealed off that entire dimension, preventing beings like me from even coming close, so how could I know the true circumstances of that time?"

"Hmm...I see."

"If you're satisfied, let's continue the story."

Obsidian wept bitterly over his dead wife.

At the same time, he finally understood the identity of what had been missing in his heart.

It was 'desire (갈구/渴求).'

[TL: More specifically, a very strong and deep desire/craving.]

To realize desire, he had devoured countless suns, moons, and stars, and inflicted pain on himself over 777 lifetimes.

But he finally understood the true meaning of desire.

He always knew,

Before and after reincarnation,

That he would not be utterly annihilated, so he had never truly desired for anything wholeheartedly.

But now, he started to desire wholeheartedly.

For the [outside] of the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds.

For his homeland.

If it was the world of the undyings, his wife would not have died.

Having been fundamentally undying since he first fell to this world, Obsidian, who had never known any anxiety or fear, finally understood 'death' painfully.

Finally, he made his resolve.

To burn all of himself, who had never even come close to death, and leave this world.

No...

Leaving was not the end.

He decided to bring salvation to the world.

To bring salvation to this world and bring it to his homeland, the world of undyings, to free all beings from the terror of death.

Obsidian activated an Immortal Art that would swallow all phenomena.

At the same time, he sought out an ominous place during the activation of the Immortal Art, fell its gatekeeper, and headed beyond.

To leave while taking everything from this world.

To liberate everyone in this world from fear, anxiety, and the so-called fate.

Thus, he disappeared beyond the ominous world.

"...That concludes the tale of Obsidian, also known as the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King, one of the Seven Brilliances Kings."

I listen to the story of the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King and let out a sigh.

Setting aside his terrifying deeds...

"...Do you not know the story beyond this?"

"I do not know either. That person's story ends here. And furthermore..."

She laughs.

"The end of the stories for all Heavenly Kings are very much alike. The same for the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord, and the same for the Golden Divine. Ultimately, they all return to the most ominous place in the entire Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, the place that has remained intact since time immemorial, enduring countless Ends...they return to the Head Realm."

"..."

"By the way, how do you feel about it?"

She pours tea as she speaks.

"It's a story about fate. In the beginning, 'Obsidian falls into a strange world and continues his cultivation,'

"In the development, 'he meets a loved one and learns about the heart',

"In the twist, 'he inevitably loses his loved one,'

"And in the conclusion, 'he reaches enlightenment on a truth that permeates his entire life. In other words, he realizes his fate.' This is the story of Obsidian... Was it a bit interesting to you?"

"...Setting interest aside...it's a bit unpleasant to hear."

I make a slightly bitter expression.

Feeling a bitter taste in my mouth, I gulp down black plum tea to wash it away and say,

"The phrase 'beginning, development, twist, and conclusion' feels as if the life of the existence known as Obsidian itself is like a section of a novel... It's somewhat uncomfortable."

"If you find the words uncomfortable, there is another expression. How about Heavenly Circle?"

"Heavenly Circle?"

She smiles faintly.

"The formula of the Heavenly Circle used when rising to the Heavenly Circle stage. You must know about the formula of the Heavenly Circle stage, right?"

"Yes, well...I know as much as others do."

"In the formula of the Heavenly Circle, there are Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, the Four Seasons. Doesn't thinking of it as Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter rather than beginning, development, twist, conclusion make it a little less unpleasant?"

"..."

"Every being lives through the Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter of life, and acknowledging that is the end of the Minor Boundary, the Heavenly Circle stage. To be born (Spring), to grow (Summer), to mature (Autumn), to lie down (Winter), and in the end, to be grateful to fate and peacefully fall asleep under the heavens (Acceptance at Fate's End). This is the truth realized by everyone in the Minor Boundary. It's just that I personally prefer the term beginning, development, twist, conclusion, and that's why I use it."

Her words continue.

"So, how do you feel about it, Heavenly King designate Esteemed One Seo?"

"...Heavenly King designate..."

Her words suggest that I, too, will inevitably experience such a fate.

'No, I've already experienced it.'

I think back to the 10th cycle and smile bitterly.

In fact, if I hadn't met Buk Hyang-hwa at the end of the 10th cycle or if I hadn't properly handled Yuan Li, I don't know what would have become of me.

A fate of falling in love and [inevitably] parting with them.

Isn't that such a cruel fate?

Feeling bitter, I speak.

"So you're saying this is the inevitable fate that all the Seven Brilliances Kings, that is, all the Heavenly Kings, go through. Then, the Heavenly Rejected who have experienced this fate are all called 'Heavenly Kings'?"

Yu Oh shakes her head to my question.

"There are two conditions to be called a Heavenly King."

"Two conditions?"

"Yes. The first is, as I just mentioned, to undergo the fate of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, the Beginning, Development, Twist, Conclusion, and come to know their fate. The second is...to reach the extreme limit, the pinnacle of True Immortality. Those who meet these two conditions are called Heavenly Kings, and the Heavenly Rejected bearing the title of Heavenly Kings...in truth..."

Yu Oh glances at Seo Ran briefly before speaking.

"Can become one of the most distinguished beings even among the True Immortals."

[Receive the treatment of Heavenly Venerables.]

Perhaps worried that Seo Ran might melt like candle wax, she whispers the information about Governing Immortals to me alone via voice transmission.

"Hmm...!"

I swallow a gulp.

'So, a Heavenly King is a kind of special Governing Immortal.'

Tingle!

At that moment, I suddenly recall the beings I saw in the taenghwa at Grand Nirvana Temple and understand the full extent of what I felt then.

'So, that's it. The feeling of 'being real entities' I got from those taenghwa was because the Heavenly Kings in the taenghwa were essentially Enders who had reached the level of Governing Immortals.'

Chills!

Feeling that realization, I suddenly instinctively sense a crisis.

"Heot...!"

I suddenly stand up, ready for the shock, but Yu Oh and Seo Ran just look at me strangely.

Nothing particular happens.

"Em...did you not like the tea much?"

"No, it's not that..."

I feel puzzled about how to explain it.

'You receive a shock when perceiving Governing Immortals.'

Of course, after perceiving several times, resistance develops to some extent. But if there is a completely new being perceived, the shock is felt without any resistance.

However, the existence of Governing Immortals itself is not shocking.

For example, the [Light] warned by Yang Su-jin, and the [Owner of Great Mountain] each govern light and mountains respectively.

Yet, ordinary humans do not melt like candle wax simply by seeing light or climbing a mountain.

Light and mountains are within the domain of the Governing Immortals, but humans typically do not perceive that far.

Since they are unaware of their true nature, there is no significant issue in seeing light or mountains.

However, what if those who know the true nature of [Light] or the [Owner of Great Mountain] see such things?

'Every time they see it, they get shocked.'

If I hadn't gone crazy once in the past and hadn't developed resistance from recognizing Governing Immortals too many times, I would have gone mad long ago.

But, being mad or developing resistance does not mean one stops being shocked by Governing Immortals.

If someone who has never built up any resistance hears about Governing Immortals like the [Seven Brilliances Kings] and recalls them, they would naturally experience great shock and pain.

'But...why am I alright?'

I ponder for a moment before asking.

"Perceiving True Immortals causes a great shock to the mind. But recalling the mentioned Seven Brilliances Kings...seems fine to me."

She looks into her black plum tea for a moment and says,

"The reason for receiving shock when perceiving True Immortals is because of [wisdom]."

"Wisdom?"

"Yes. When a mediocre being directly faces a vastly superior being, they gain profound [wisdom]. From now on...ordinary Qi Building and Core Formation cultivators will be able to gain the 'wisdom of condensing stars' when directly facing Esteemed One Seo's main body. Most formulas for the next stages are obtained in that manner."

"..."

I let out a low groan.

Now I too have become a being that imparts some knowledge merely by perceiving my main body.

"Moreover, beings too weak cannot even accept that wisdom and end up exploding and dying. For example...what would happen to a slave race that lacks even the consciousness domain, if they were to embody the 'the sense of using the consciousness domain to identify planes and draw Heaven and Earth energy from hundreds of li'?"

"...Their heads would explode and die. Probably the same would happen to the Qi Refining stage, not just the slave race."

Beings of lower realms cannot comprehend the dimensions inhabited by beings of higher realms.

For example, on paper.

If one tries to explain a 3D 'apple' to a 2D 'picture' drawn in black and white by smearing apple juice on it, what would happen?

Naturally, the picture would either melt or become a mess.

In this way, knowledge about higher-dimensional beings can be so powerful it could melt lower-dimensional beings.

"You understand well. That's right. Ultimately, the reason lower-dimensional beings are shocked upon seeing higher-dimensional beings is [wisdom]. Directly facing True Immortals grants [wisdom], and one melts away because they cannot handle that [wisdom]. Moreover, while one receives a shock from facing True Immortals, there is one reason for being safe even after knowing the reality of the Seven