Chapter 289: Bizarre Phenomenon
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Jin So-myeong, who was chewing over Gon-ak’s words, narrowed his brow.
Although it was full of uncertainties, there was a high probability that it was at least true that Gon-ak would lose his sanity if he went out of the sub-space.
Had he not failed to awaken for a span of time as long as five million years, in any case?
If so… the possibility of Gon-ak becoming a threat was considerably low.
For simply opening the sub-space and throwing him out would make him lose his sanity.
And perhaps this situation would not change even if he went out of the Limitless Pure Land.
‘He spoke in a way that there is no place under heaven where that person’s gaze does not reach.’
Besides Jin So-myeong, there were many people who had excavated earth from the Limitless Pure Land.
Yet, since they had still not regained their senses, the problem would not be resolved just because they were outside the secret realm.
‘Does it mean he will be reduced to a lowly creature the moment he goes out of the sub-space anywhere… He will not be of help in battle.’
Jin So-myeong, who continued his thoughts, asked the most important question.
“Before deciding on Senior’s treatment, there is something I want to ask.”
“Speak.”
“Just who on earth is the one who made Senior like that?”
Among the rumors Jin So-myeong had heard after reaching the Void Refinement stage, there were some that were truly bizarre.
It was said that the Great Vehicle stage was freed from the constraints of lifespan and lived eternally.
This meant that the one who had reduced Gon-ak to that state five million years ago might still be alive.
If so, being associated with Gon-ak could be considerably dangerous.
“…”
Gon-ak, who did not readily answer, stared blankly at him before opening his mouth.
“You. Since you are one who holds a sword, your life would not have been easy.”
He narrowed his brow at the random question that returned instead of an answer.
“It has been that way.”
“What is the reason you raise your realm while enduring hardships? Is it simply to live long?”
“…Of course there is that reason too, but I wanted to see the end.”
“The end? Do you mean the Great Vehicle stage?”
Unless one was an ignorant child at the Qi Condensation stage, it was safe to say the limit a cultivator could reach was the Great Vehicle stage.
However, he did not want to be satisfied with that.
“Well. I do not know where the end is, but should I not at least reach the True Immortal?”
“True Immortal.”
Gon-ak, who repeatedly muttered the two words, nodded his head.
“So you will continue to advance forward. If so, you too will meet a similar situation to mine someday.”
“…Could it be that supreme existences like the Great Vehicle stage press down on those who try to raise their realm?”
Gon-ak shook his head.
He merely repeated that there was no good in knowing, as it could not be handled at the Void Refinement stage level.
“Whether you keep me close or not, the fate you will face will be largely the same, so judge for yourself.”
Jin So-myeong, silent for a moment, nodded his head.
Thinking about it, it was a natural story.
One who tried to advance forward was bound to eventually displease someone.
“Then, I shall ask a slightly different question. How does one achieve the Unity stage?”
“The Unity stage? Hmm… You and I are of different races. I do not think my cultivation method would be of help to you. Besides, since I was at the Unity stage from the moment of my awakening, I do not know very detailed methods on how to achieve the Unity stage.”
“Hmm.”
“Even so, I have heard stories from various Daoist brothers, so I shall tell you.”
Gon-ak, who was silent for a moment as if choosing his words, opened his mouth.
“The Unity stage is a realm where one’s will becomes the law. A realm where one becomes one with the Dao, and heaven, earth, and all things respond in accordance with my will.”
“Ah.”
Becoming one with the Dao.
Another name for the Unity stage was the Dao-Merging stage, and he felt he faintly knew the reason why.
“They say that for a Void Refinement stage cultivator to reach the Unity stage, it is important to temper the Dharma Domain and completely unite it with divine sense.”
“What must be done to temper the Dharma Domain?”
“Since concrete cultivation methods vary wildly by race, it is hard to point to a specific one. Still, to tell you the generally accepted methods…”
Summarizing the story that followed, it was organized into roughly three methods.
First: grinding and polishing the mind through steady meditation to grow the strength of the Dharma Domain step-by-step.
It was the most orthodox method without side effects.
The only drawback was that it took a lot of time, which was quite fatal.
‘Even at the fastest, it’s at least several thousand years…’
It was too slow.
To achieve the Unity stage through the first method, even after reaching the Void Refinement stage Great Circle, one would have to temper the Dharma Domain for several thousand years.
He liked the second method much better than this.
It was to repeatedly collide with others’ Dharma Domains, and it was said the effect was even greater in real combat where life was at risk.
The last, third method was,
to consume miraculous elixirs and spiritual pills that had the effect of tempering the Dharma Domain.
However, such pills or spiritual herbs were extremely precious, so finding them was not easy.
‘I can cultivate in the direction of fighting strong enemies while seeking spiritual objects related to the Dharma Domain.’
It felt as though the path he had to walk forward had become slightly clearer.
Just as he was nodding.
“Although there is also a method of learning special divine abilities related to the Dharma Domain… it is hard even to find clues for such divine abilities, and learning them is close to impossible due to the demanding entry requirements.”
“Divine abilities related to the Dharma Domain… Understood.”
Although the entry requirements were demanding, it was not a problem.
Did he not have the proficiency system created by the Supreme Great Ability?
Unless it was an absurd condition, it could be resolved with the Supreme Great Ability.
“As a rogue cultivator, where would it be good to cultivate to rise to the Unity stage?”
“That…”
Aside from matters about the Unity stage, there were many things he wanted to ask.
Only after asking questions about things he had normally been curious about in succession did he make a firm decision.
‘It should be fine to stay together for a while.’
Since Gon-ak knew many things and had a cooperative attitude, he seemed likely to be helpful in various ways.
Dividing the sub-space into two, he provided a space for Gon-ak to stay and spoke.
“For now, please rest.”
Come to think of it, Gon-ak had only just regained his senses. Since he would be confused, he would need time to organize his thoughts.
Retracting his consciousness residing in the clone and returning to the Limitless Pure Land, Jin So-myeong looked around.
“…”
Was it because of Gon-ak’s words?
Looking at the endlessly unfolding mountain ranges, dumbfoundment rushed in. To think this vast earth is entirely Gon-ak’s true body?
And…
the sun pouring down warm sunlight was also felt differently than usual.
‘Could it be that…’
is the Great Vehicle stage’s gaze?
However… the demise of the Stone Heart race was known to have occurred five million years ago.
The gaze left five million years ago had become the sun?
It did not sink in at all.
He could not even imagine how strong of a divine ability one must possess to perform such a miracle.
Staring at the loftily floating sun, he took a step.
Honestly, it was off-putting, but…
even so, he did not want to leave the secret realm already.
‘That would be too much of a waste.’
The remaining time was sixteen years. If he concentrated all his efforts on cultivating during this time, he could also reach the mid Void Refinement stage.
This was a speed dozens of times faster compared to the outside.
To reach the mid Void Refinement stage outside the secret realm, it would take at least several hundred years.
The span of several hundred years was too precious to leave simply because it was off-putting.
‘For now, let’s focus on raising the realm.’
If a sign of trouble appeared, he decided to deal with it at that time.
*
One day, after some time had passed.
Jin So-myeong, who concentrated on cultivation day after day, narrowed his eyes.
The deeper one entered the Limitless Pure Land, the denser the spiritual Qi became, and the degree of the spiritual Qi becoming dense transcended expectations.
‘The cultivation speed is much faster than expected.’
In just three years, he reached the 3rd layer of the Void Refinement stage.
Needless to say, it was an extremely good thing, but the deeper he dug into the center of the Limitless Pure Land, a bizarre phenomenon occurred.
‘The flow of time is strange.’
A cultivator’s senses were quite accurate. To the point of being able to accurately grasp time even without a clock.
That was why it was even stranger.
Because subjectively it felt like three years had passed, but the actual time that had elapsed was six years.
‘The period for the Supreme Great Ability to recover has shortened.’
Originally, it took a month to recover fully, but from a certain point, the recovery speed gradually quickened, and now it recovered to the maximum even when only half a month passed.
It could be that the recovery speed of the Supreme Great Ability had actually quickened, but somehow he felt that was not the case.
Had a change occurred in the Supreme Great Ability, he would have realized it before anyone else.
Therefore, assuming that the recovery speed of the Supreme Great Ability had not changed,
it could be inferred that if one spent a day here, two days would pass on the outside.
‘A bizarre thing…’
Was there such a phenomenon in the Limitless Pure Land?
According to what he had researched in advance, there was none.
Although he had researched a fair amount about the Limitless Pure Land, there was not a single person who mentioned such a phenomenon.
Just in case, he visited Gon-ak in the sub-space and asked.
“That the flow of time is strange… It might be that the gaze left behind to suppress me has grown stronger.”
“Did it detect that Senior regained your senses?”
“…No, had that been the case, we would not even be talking like this. We would have already been reduced to a miserable state.”
“Hmm.”
“In any case, this is an ominous place, so there is no good in staying long. Leave even a day earlier.”
Leaving Gon-ak behind and returning to the Limitless Pure Land, he fell into serious contemplation.
‘Taking the recovery speed of the Supreme Great Ability as a standard… it means six years have passed, not three.’
Then, the remaining time now is ten years.
Subjectively speaking, it could be seen that five years remained.
“Should I leave even now?”
Jin So-myeong, who had contemplated for quite a long time, closed his eyes.
The risk to be endured? The unknown bizarre phenomenon. It was literally the unknown.
What could be obtained when enduring the risk?
Fast cultivation speed. Thinking simply, that was all, but interpreting this differently, the meaning was extraordinary.
For time was namely possibility.
Raising the realm rapidly meant becoming able to grasp numerous opportunities that, under normal circumstances, could not be reached.
For instance, what would have happened if he cultivated leisurely and ascended late?
The timing would not have aligned, so he would not have been able to participate in the Asura race’s Holy War, nor would he have achieved the Void Refinement stage by the time the Limitless Pure Land opened.
It meant that simply by being delayed by a few years, numerous opportunities and karmic opportunities could vanish.
His head cleared.
Was it just a day or two that he had endured risks for the sake of cultivation?
He did not want to give up such a good cultivation environment simply because of a single unidentified strange phenomenon.
‘Let’s cultivate until the mid Void Refinement stage as targeted, and then leave.’
***
Subjectively, four years.
Based on the Supreme Great Ability, eight years had passed.
【Jin So-myeong】
【Lifespan】: 258 / 12,707
【Realm】: Void Refinement Stage 4th Layer
【Supreme Great Ability】: 191 billion / 400 billion
【Dharma Power Amplification】: +102%
【Divine Ability】: <Secret Realm of the Mind>, <Myriad Flows Restoration>
The mid Void Refinement stage.
He had achieved the goal he set before entering the secret realm.
The changes were as great as breaking through a minor realm.
The maximum limit of the Supreme Great Ability, which was only 100 billion when he newly reached the Void Refinement stage, had already become 400 billion, and his dharma power had also grown four times stronger.
His divine sense had also naturally grown.
A radius of 8,000 km.
Expressed in another way, twenty thousand li. He came to possess a transcendental sense that looked out across tens of thousands of li from where he sat.
Although he could only examine a radius of 8 km within the Limitless Pure Land due to the restriction, it was certain that it would be 8,000 km on the outside.
Furthermore…
Was it thanks to his divine soul growing while breaking through the minor realm?
He realized an important fact that he had unconsciously forgotten…no, to be precise, that he had known but regarded as inconsequential.
The unidentified expert he had encountered at the undersea cave that was the entrance of the Limitless Pure Land.
The man whose realm was hard to even estimate now occurred to him.
‘Why was I forgetting this.’
Looking now, there was one more reason why he had kept feeling impatience and tried to raise his realm hurriedly.
Since he had encountered a powerhouse whose chance of victory was hard to estimate, it was natural to want to become stronger.
“Well, truly.”
Jin So-myeong, who burst into a dumbfounded hollow laugh, turned his gaze.
The endlessly unfolding Limitless Pure Land. Staring beyond the horizon, he tapped his scabbard.
Compared to when he had just entered the secret realm, the current him had changed to the point where it could be called a world of difference.
If so…
would he be able to estimate the unidentified expert if he saw him again now?
He wanted to satisfy the curiosity that suddenly arose.
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