A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 493: Eve of the End (終末前夜) (4)

Chapter 493: Eve of the End (終

'I' have become a very small being.

No, saying 'become' feels a bit strange.

I have been small from the moment I was born.

But something feels odd.

It's as if I used to be a big being.

A being capable of destroying the entire world, of moving between stars, possessing authority even greater than those of gods...

I don't know why, but I feel like I was that kind of being.

After all, I am merely a tiny microorganism.

I live by photosynthesizing, absorbing surrounding materials for nutrients, and in this way, I live my whole life.

Then, I die.

...

I have become a microorganism.

But this time, a slightly larger microorganism than before.

Now, I am able to prey on other microorganisms.

Unlike last time, I live by devouring microorganisms.

While doing so, I am eaten by a microorganism larger than myself and die.

...

When I come to my senses, I am once again a microorganism.

But this time, I am not just a slightly larger microorganism.

I exist as multiple microorganisms 'simultaneously.'

In other words, the microorganism at the eastern edge is me, and the microorganism at the western edge is also me.

I have become multiple microorganisms and gather them together.

As the collective consciousness of the microorganisms, I make them cooperate to find food.

This time, I am neither eaten as before, nor do I live as briefly as before.

But eventually, I also reach the end of my lifespan and die.

...

I come to my senses once again.

In this world, there are many beings like my previous self, entities that have become the collective consciousness of microorganisms.

And I, too, have become a part of one of those collective consciousnesses.

These beings with collective consciousness survive by consuming countless microorganisms.

Sometimes, there are even cases where one collective consciousness consumes another.

In the past, I think I once called these collectives of microorganisms 'bugs.'

...But what is a bug?

And what is a 'past'?

I can't quite remember.

While I am lost in other thoughts, I am eaten and killed by another 'bug.'

...

When I come to my senses again, I perceive that I have grown larger.

I have become a large bug.

I realize that I am able to prey on other bugs.

The moment I understand this, I keep moving to avoid being eaten by other bugs.

Endlessly, I devour other bugs, flee, and struggle to survive.

But then, I am crushed to death by a massive rock that falls from the sky.

...

When I come to my senses again, I am alive.

In front of me is a stone, and underneath it lies a small bug, crushed to death.

By the standards of the 'past' era, it's a stone smaller than a pinky finger, but to bugs, it's a large rock.

'What exactly is this past era standard? And what kind of organ is a pinky finger?'

I briefly drift into these other thoughts, but then I quickly stop myself.

In the Great Nature, losing myself in such thoughts could lead to death or being eaten at any moment.

I need to quickly prepare to survive.

As I move my body, I perceive that my 'domain' has expanded again.

I have become 'bugs.'

Just as I was once a collective consciousness of microorganisms, I have now become a collective consciousness of 'bugs.'

I lead the bugs that have become a part of me and set out to survive.

Though I end up dying again, death no longer fills me with dread.

In the days of being a microorganism, I didn't know this, but now I do.

I am gradually growing.

With each experience of death, I am gradually evolving.

So death is not something to fear; rather, it is just another opportunity.

Thus, there is no need to fear anything.

...

'I' continue to grow larger and larger.

At first, a microorganism.

Next, a bug.

Then, a big bug that eats other bugs.

After that, a small beast that preys on big bugs.

Then, a large beast.

An even larger beast.

A monster that devours beasts.

...

Eventually, I become the collective consciousness of monsters.

...

Huarururururuk!

The entire world is ablaze.

The place where 'I' live is right here.

The ground is mostly clear and transparent.

Of course, there are also many areas dyed in various colors.

But I have to be careful, as sharp and jagged things stick out across the ground.

If I'm not cautious, the body could be torn apart in an instant. 

But what I need to be even more cautious of is the 'mountain fire.'

The high places on the ground are called 'mountains,' and at the summit of these mountains, flames sometimes erupt that are the same color as the ground, turning the surroundings into a sea of fire. ȑ

When that fire touches my body, a pain as if my mind is being torn to shreds, no. Pain that is much more excruciating than that is felt.

Of course, it doesn't actually harm the physical body, so survival isn't a problem.

But if I remain in that fire, the pain grows so intense that I would rather die than live, so I must be cautious. 

If I'm not careful, merely touching that fire could be so painful that I might commit suicide.

If that fire is a threat to the 'mind,' then there is something else that is a threat to 'life'.

Kwarururururru.

A black stream flows before me.

It is a 'river.'

If any being comes into contact with that black stream, they slowly die, regardless of the reason.

Fortunately, there is no pain, but even so, it's terribly frightening.

The one small relief is that, over time, the black energy dissipates from the water, and it becomes just 'water.'

The 'water' created in this way is extremely precious.

Because that 'water' symbolizes life itself.

Fortunately, in the distance, I can see a lake where 'water' has pooled.

'I' lead the bodies towards the lake, guiding them to drink from it.

It is then.

Kugugugugu!

The sky turns bright red.

Curious about what's going on, I look up, only to see a ball of fire descending from the sky.

And it's not just one.

Instinctively, I sense that I must not get hit by those fireballs and try to avoid them, but they crash into the distant mountain slope before I can even react.

Kugwagwagwa!

Along with that, the world trembles.

A massive shockwave sweeps us all away, and every race, without exception, is completely wiped out.

...

Gradually, life begins to sprout on the ground.

And as expected, 'I' return as well.

However, 'I' sense something has changed.

The bodies gradually stop listening to me.

These bodies now possess something unlike before.

"Uu! Uu! Uu!"

"Uwoah! Uwoah!"

They are beings with scales on their bodies, hair on their heads, and smooth faces.

My bodies use their tails to bring 'fire' and manipulate it.

At the same time, they combine 'river' and 'fire' to create unusual phenomena.

They begin to combine the black river and the colorless fire to refine the earth, creating something called 'tools'.

Around this time, I realize why the bodies don't listen to me.

It is because they have developed something called 'ego.'

Now, I can only guide their 'ego.' I can no longer control them directly.

However, after discovering their ego, I feel my boundaries expand, growing wider and broader.

My mind melts into their ego, becoming them themselves.

I am both a mother and a father to someone, and a child and parent to another.

I am their prey and their predator, their daily sustenance and their tool, all at once.

As 'they' gradually grow stronger in ego and reason, they use tools and begin to use 'writing.'

For some reason, the writing is Hangul.

...

What is Hangul again?

I think I remembered it once, but it doesn't seem very important.

In any case, I evolve together with them, struggle alongside them, and at times, harmonize with them.

As their ego develops and their intelligence arises, I gradually melt even deeply within them.

To the point where I can no longer even remember my original self.

...

My original self?

Just what exactly is that supposed to be?

It's of no concern. 

It doesn't seem important.

What's important is that they are me, and I am them.

They are constantly filled with fear.

It's due to the primal terror of death.

But I am not afraid.

Because I know that death is merely a part of the process by which I am reborn.

I whisper wisdom to them.

Among them, the perceptive ones receive my wisdom and, at the same time, try to seek out me who gave them the wisdom.

Of course, they can never find me.

Because I am them.

But when they fail to find me, they create a symbol to represent 'me' and begin to worship it.

Before I know it, 'I' have become their God (神).

Those who worship me as their god offer me their prayers and analyze my wisdom.

For the sake of those who seek me, I whisper even more wisdom.

Countless years pass.

Having obtained my wisdom, they begin to start something.

And then, some time later.

The most perceptive among them breathes out fire from their mouth.

The others grow even more fearful and reverent of that being, growing a deeper worship for 'me.'

The one who first breathed fire passes down the method to their kin.

The kin record the method in writing and organize it, refine it, and practice it.

Before long, they are able to wield increasingly greater amounts of fire.

Among those who wield fire, the clever ones improve and evolve the technique, discovering ever more superior methods.

Then, at a certain moment, they are struck by lightning falling from the sky.

Kwarurururung!

Those struck by lightning have an image of their younger forms etched within them, their appearance transforming into something never seen before.

Their faces remain the same, but their bodies, once nothing but scales and tails, now grow arms and legs, and the scales and tails vanish.

They are both amazed and frightened by this change, and soon they give a name to this form.

They call it 'Transformation (化形)'.

Soon, those who achieve Transformation become leaders among them, ruling over the entire world.

At this point, I confirm the true nature of this world.

This world is round.

And as it spins, it brings about day and night.

Before I know it, my mind now pervades this entire world, and I feel my mind connecting with 'something.'

It is yet another 'me.'

Another being, just like myself.

It turns out there are six other beings like myself, with minds encompassing an entire world.

I instinctively know that they and I are the same kind of existence.

At the same time, I sense that when my mind expands and grows enough to fully connect with them, something monumental will occur.

I want to know what that event might be.

More years pass again.

'Them.'

Those 'other selves of mine' who call themselves the Candle Dragon Race (燭龍族) have now reached the highest pinnacle, even surpassing Transformation.

They call this level the 'Earth Axis stage'.

As the number of Candle Dragons cultivating the 'Earth Axis stage' increases, my mental domain also grows larger and larger, until I am now nearly indistinguishable from the star itself.

Then, at a certain moment.

One of the Candle Dragons who reached the Earth Axis stage decides they can no longer cultivate on this star and rises into the sky.

They soar into the sky, pierce through the domain of void, and advance to the world of attraction force calling for them.

Yes, they have ascended.

And it's when the first ascender emerges from 'me.'

'...Ahhh...'

I am finally able to understand who I am.

Tststststststs!

My mind that has been divided among seven stars finally reconnects.

Simultaneously, the [Wheel] above me takes on a complete form.

From the central axis of the wheel, eight spokes extend outward, connecting to the wheel's rim.

The Wheel is at last complete.

Simultaneously, I finally recover the memories of 'me' that I have forgotten.

Kugugugugugu!

The stars display strange phenomena.

As I reclaim my ego, the surfaces of the stars tremble as if writhing.

Forgotten memories from ages past resurface.

After creating the Heavenly Rain Great Star, I slowly cultivated my incarnation up to the Grand Perfection Integration stage before detonating it to create the Heavenly Clearing Great Star.

It was easier than the first Esteemed One advancement ritual.

After all, I was not detonating my entire being but rather only a clone.

During the advancement of the Heavenly Clearing Great Star, I created a circle following the formula of the Flawless Mantra.

Simultaneously, this circle spun the nebula, and with the rotational force, drew in the surrounding dust clouds.

Through the attraction force of my main body, the Heavenly Clearing Great Star reached the same mass as the Heavenly Rain Great Star before it became complete.

Normally, it would have taken a considerable amount of time to gather the nebula, but the Flawless Mantra minimized that duration.

While reciting the Flawless Mantra, I continued to create the next stars.

Heavenly Cloudiness Great Star.

Heavenly Want of Connection Great Star.

Heavenly Crossing Great Star.

I completed the five stars symbolizing Rain, Clearing, Cloudiness, Want of Connection, and Crossing.

At that moment, I briefly regained consciousness and told my comrades that I would walk the 'path' ahead.

Afterwards, I returned to the state of trance and created the Heavenly Inner Diagram Great Star and the Heavenly Outer Diagram Great Star.

The five stars orbited around the fixed star, finally aligning in a straight line.

The five stars, having received the fixed star's authority and in a state connected through star veins, formed the sixth star.

Once the sixth star was created, the six stars orbited around the fixed star and revolved.

This rotation drew in the surrounding nebula, and by using that nebula to complete the final star, I finally entered the Grand Perfection Star Shattering Stage with the seven stars symbolizing Rain, Clearing, Cloudiness, Want of Connection, Crossing, Inner Diagram, and Outer Diagram.

Moreover, a Grand Perfection with all seven stars possessing the rings of Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation.

After entering the Grand Perfection Star Shattering stage...

My consciousness shattered into fragments.

'So that's how it was...'

I recall when the 'first' me remembered the 'past.'

The version of me as a microorganism remembered the me of the Star Shattering stage.

My memories continue to trace back further into the past.

This time, it's memories from the Integration stage.

During the Integration stage, I remember adventuring with my comrades and rising to Void Shattering.

I even recall those 190,000 years spent drifting through the universe back then.

My memories go even further back.

To the Four-Axis, no. To the Earth Axis stage.

To when the Great Mountain Supreme Deity crushed the Wuji Religious Order to death.

To when I conducted Axis Foundation Practice in the Ancient Force Realm and the Nether Ghost Realm...

Heavenly Being stage.

The time when I split into Seo Li...

When the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect was destroyed by Heavenly Punishment.

Nascent Soul stage, Core Formation stage, Qi Building stage, Qi Refining stage...

My memories even reach back to those distant and nostalgic times.

Five Energies Converging to the Origin, Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, Pinnacle, first-rate, second-rate, third-rate...

And to that past when I was completely ignorant, first falling onto Ascension Path.

I realize that this phenomenon of tracing back my memories is not a simple recollection of the past.

Just like when I advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, this is a part of the advancement ritual where I trace my entire life back.

'Ah...I see.'

Following the orbit of the seven stars, my consciousness has transformed into an orbit around the fixed star in the shape of an outer rim of a disc (盤/vessel)

My soul is reincarnating around the fixed star, drawing a circle.

And with each rotation my consciousness completes within that circle, a memory from a certain realm or a certain stage of my life returns to me.

As I revisit the stages of my life, I remember my life.

The memories are as vivid and intricate as those in the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

'Now...should I reach the time before I came to Ascension Path...'

As I look at my memories from the present all the way to the earliest moments in Ascension Path, I set my heart on tracing back to my days on Earth.

Just then.

'...Huh.'

I suddenly realize that there is a part of my life that [was not recorded in the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections].

That was...

The 14th cycle.

The time when I joined the Azure Heaven Creation Sect and met Esteemed One Swae Ryeong in the True Devil Realm.

When I created the 25th move of Severing Mountain Swordsmanship, Sea of Righteousness and Mountain of Grace, and glimpsed Kim Yeon's consciousness, peering into [something] within her memory.

That memory was definitely [the moment right before reaching Ascension Path].

'Ah...'

Finally, my consciousness arrives at that point in the past as well.

Just before reaching Ascension Path.

'That is...'

Right after we were engulfed by a landslide.

I vaguely remember that time.

Within the darkness of the buried soil.

We, who were on the brink of death in that place...

Suddenly, as if we had been reborn, reached a new space.

Emerging from the darkness into a place of light, we all squinted our eyes and gazed directly at [It].

There, we saw...

The [Black Snake Biting Its Tail].

The being that brought us to this place is the [Black Snake Biting Its Tail]!!!

: : ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!

With the piercing pain and pressure inflicted on my mind, I scream a wail that resonates throughout the entire universe.

'Don't think.