Chapter 785 - Li's Torch (1)
Chapter 785 – Li’s Torch (1)
[The trial of the hundredth floor is beginning.]
[Trial: You have passed through ninety-nine trials and obstacles. The path you have walked and the accomplishments you have made are much admired and praised. Now, you face your final trial.
Li’s Light, which you obtained on the ninety-ninth floor, will be engraved in your soul and guide you down the right path. However, the light sometimes leads you down the comfortable but wrong path, and if you had fallen for it, you would not be standing here today.
Li’s Light is those whispers in your ears. The internal voice gives you endless possibilities of walking new paths, but at times, it can tempt you into a path of ruin. What allows you to distinguish this is your reason and self-training. Moreover, self-training is like an assignment you will always have to complete for someone who wishes to stand at the top of the Tower and the world.
Now, further your ‘Li’s Light’ to a ‘Torch.’ The deeper you search within yourself, the brighter the torch will illuminate and fill you with light. Then, set the platform at the end ablaze using the fire you just made larger.]
The moment Yeon-woo saw the trial of the hundredth floor, he thought the description was long but extremely vague. All the trials he had done so far had a clear objective, but this did not. Although he wondered what and how to change Li’s Light to a Torch, Yeon-woo believed a task like this was apt as the final trial. ‘If nothing had happened, the fire that lights up the platform would’ve been a signpost that pushed away all darkness and brightened the dream.’
The platform high above was most likely the core of the Tower, which was really the Ruyi Bang. If one could set fire to the platform, they would definitely be worthy of being called the Heavenly Demon’s successor. This was most likely the moment the Heavenly Demon had been waiting for, as he’d always said he wanted to pass everything onto the later generations since he was now part of the past.
[The Heavenly Demon snorts, saying you’ve completely put a stop to those plans.]
‘But you were the one who didn’t stop me until the end.’
[The Heavenly Demon says happenings of the world belong to those who live it, not someone who watches over it like him.]
‘Is that why you did nothing when those executors and opponents were running rampant? Even when you son met such a bad ending?’
[The Heavenly Demon silently smiles at you.]
‘You really never give answers.’
[The Heavenly Demon silently smiles at you.]
‘Alright. Well, now I’m certain of one thing.’
Yeon-woo opened all his senses.
Swish!
[7th-step Dragon Body Awakening]
[All powers have been released]
[Sky Wings]
Black and red wings unfurled, and a hot shadow spread across Yeon-woo. He looked at the golden object that was atop the platform while staring directly at the Heavenly Demon, who was most likely watching them from beyond it.
Perhaps his eyesight had slightly improved after leaving the ninety-ninth floor, because Yeon-woo felt like he could see the Heavenly Demon in the Changgong Library putting his book down to take a closer look below. The Heavenly Demon was smiling, as if telling Yeon-woo to do whatever he wanted. Just as when Yeon-woo had first visited the Changgong Library, the Heavenly Demon was silently encouraging him.
‘I trust you won’t restrict my actions, and I’ll do what I want.’ The moment he saw the Heavenly Demon nod, Yeon-woo flapped his wings and floated above the golden object.
As the description of the trial stated, Yvlke was in the process of making Li’s Light into a Torch, trapped in his Illusory World.
Since Li’s Light was sleeping in the depths of one’s soul, Yvlke was most likely revisiting the legends that made him. He was probably searching for components that would allow him to make the light brighter. Yeon-woo’s plan was to enter Yvlke’s legends and ruin it all. No, he was going to swallow Yvlke completely.
[The Heavenly Demon asks if you know the extent of danger regarding what you’re attempting to do.]
Of course, as the Heavenly Demon said, Yeon-woo knew it wasn’t going to be easy. There was nothing more foolhardy than trespassing into someone’s legends, which were a collection of everything they had lived through. You could become lost or crushed without a trace, being destroyed eternally.
Yeon-woo was aware of this, having come close to death several times in Kronos’ legends. And this was Yvlke, the being who had opposed the Heavenly Demon for eons living as the Black King’s main ego. Yeon-woo couldn’t even begin to imagine the number of legends he had. ‘But that also means there’s no better place than to swallow him completely.’
Yeon-woo would be running his head into a lion’s mouth, but he didn’t see any other option. Unlike Yvlke, who wanted to create a safe haven to escape to, Yeon-woo wanted to hoard everything the Black King had to himself and change the dream and wheel to his liking. If he didn’t venture, he wouldn’t gain anything.
『Jeong-woo, as I said earlier, I can’t reach you any longer if I go in there.』Yeon-woo used Open Speaking with Jeong-woo right before reaching the golden object.
Cha Jeong-woo spun to look at Yeon-woo from his fight against the Bull Demon King. Although Yeon-woo had already given him an explanation, Jeong-woo’s gaze was shaking. He was probably scared. The moment Yeon-woo entered the object, Jeong-woo knew that it could be the last time the two brothers met.
From hunting Yvlke to transcending after shedding the limits of the Black King… Yeon-woo was going to spin the cycle without rest. There was no such thing as a path to escape. He just had to keep on going forward.
This was why Yeon-woo asked Jeong-woo for his help. To escape from the endless cycle and find a path that led astray to escape, he needed Jeong-woo. Normally, he would’ve tried to take care of it on his own, but Yeon-woo had decided he wouldn’t shoulder all the burden alone anymore. He wasn’t a god but a human.
『Yup. Don’t worry.』Cha Jeong-woo nodded.
『Take good care of our parents.』With a faint smile, Yeon-woo was able to enter the object without any worries. And with that, the world was turned upside down. Whoosh!
* * *
[You have entered ‘Some Hungry Ghost’s Purple World.’]
‘What an ominous name.’ Yeon-woo scoffed at the message that popped up in front of him. Purple was commonly seen as an unlucky color. It was an indication of how tough Yvlke’s life had been.
‘But how do I find him here?’ Yeon-woo scanned his surroundings with narrow eyes. It was a rough environment that didn’t seem to be capable of housing any living organisms. Boiling hellfire made up the river, and the earth was a glittering black from evil intent and grudges. Walking above it all were strange gruesome creatures.
Even the home of the dead giants hadn’t been this ruined. Yeon-woo had also once entered the depths of the Underworld to see hell, but that was nothing compared to what he was seeing right now.
Yeon-woo quickly realized where he was. This was the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, a world located at the very bottom of all dimensions known as the Six Realms. It was also where people going through reincarnation fell if their sins were too great. ‘He was probably born here, right?’
During the fight with Sage/Yvlke, Yeon-woo had taken a peek at some of his legends. Of those, one had been of his birth. Yvlke was born as the lowest-class hungry ghost in this realm, and he had been forced to eat trash or skeletons being at the bottom of society. But as time passed and he gained reason after consuming and consuming, he evolved. However, he had great resentment toward the world, so he was chosen as an executor. In the end, he became a monster that swallowed the entire world and universe.
‘After that, he continued to consume as a Demonism and ended up as the main ego.’
Now, Yvlke showed cold indifference and judgment, but he used to have a volatile nature.
‘He wants to create a new world? A world without any conflict…? How ironic.’ Yeon-woo laughed in disbelief. Anyhow, he needed to find Yvlke now… But the problem was, if he spread his range of cognition too far, he could be in danger. ‘He probably knows by now that I’ve entered. This is a battle of wits.’
Yeon-woo wondered how he could approach Yvlke without getting caught. He couldn’t use his powers for the time being either. Powers were actions that recorded domains in the laws of the world, so he would get caught easily if he used them. ‘Can I…chase after darkness?’ The thought suddenly occurred to Yeon-woo.
Yvlke had entered his own legends to create Li’s Torch, so he was making a new world that combined darkness and light. However, it wasn’t easy to create a world. There was a reason why only the Heavenly Demon and the Black King were able to control dreams and wheels. Even if Yvlke held the two properties, creating something from nothing was near impossible. The Heavenly Demon was only able to do it because he was the Heavenly Demon. There was no way Yvlke could do it with his current level of power.
What Yvlke wanted to create was like a microcosm too. He could be planning on expanding it to make it equal to a dream or wheel, even though it was impossible right now. That meant he had materials to make a microcosm now.
And thinking about what material Yvlke could easily mold and control in a nerve-wracking situation with Yeon-woo chasing after him, Yeon-woo realized what Yvlke planned without much difficulty. ‘His own legends. If he plans on using his legends to restore an old universe…it’s possible. But he’s seen many dreams. Why is he choosing this dream where he was born out of all the dreams there are?’
Thinking there was only one reason for it, Yeon-woo scoffed. ‘Does he have some attachment to this world?’
Yvlke had an attachment to the world he’d swallowed when he was an executor? He truly was hypocritical. But now, Yeon-woo knew what he needed to do.
‘This attachment must be Yvlke’s singularity point. If I find it and eliminate it or keep watch around it… Yvlke will come.’ Yeon-woo smiled icily, canines glinting. ‘Causing trouble is right up my alley.’