Episode 324
I had been under the impression that there were, at most, dozens or perhaps hundreds of worlds, so Senior Sister Tian's words came as a shock. If what she said was true, the number would far exceed even tens or hundreds of thousands.
Would I have believed it if it had come from anyone else? It felt like the scope of my perception of the world was expanding immensely.
Senior Sister Tian laughed softly. "For example, a single world is like the mountain below us: one towering peak. Therefore, to climb to the summit is to become the absolute of that world. Luan, how do you think you would feel when you first reach that peak?"
After hearing this, I looked down at Spirit Mountain with a trace of awe.
Senior Sister Tian was asking how would I feel if I became the strongest being in the world, the number one under heaven. After all, climbing a mountain meant traveling from the lowest point to the highest. The journey wouldn't be easy.
Throughout my life, I would climb that mountain through every kind of hardship. I would get hurt and come close to death, but my mind and body would gradually be tempered. In the end, I would reach the summit and my exhausted body could completely rest for the first time.
At that moment, when I stood before a view that only I was allowed to see, how would I feel as a human being?
"I may feel a bit empty." The answer surprised me as soon as I said that. I had expected words like pride or accomplishment, but what slipped out was something different. Sometimes, only speaking did I understand my true feelings.
Senior Sister Tian burst out laughing. It wasn't her usual quiet laugh, but something closer to a full, unrestrained one.
"As expected. Luan, you are really similar to Master." Perhaps I imagined it, but her smile and tone carried a hint of loneliness. "You are right, Luan. I want to climb higher. I want to reach the summit. I want to become stronger. For someone who has run forward with this desire to improve, a complete ending can't be called a proper reward. The empty view at the top, a place with nowhere else to go, it is like... It resembles hell."
Had Senior Sister Tian already seen such a scene and felt this way? Desperation lingered in her voice.
"Most absolutes spend the rest of their lives like that. They mistake the peak they climbed for the highest place. In that endless emptiness, they bring their lives to an end." Senior Sister Tian opened the fan once again. "But Luan, how can there be only one mountain peak under the sky?"
A fierce wind rose out of nowhere. In an instant, the currents that shrouded Spirit Mountain and the entire world were blown away.
In the next moment, I knew that I would never forget the sight before me for as long as I lived. Mountains stretched in every direction, too many to count. The mountain range was so rugged that it was hard to find a flat area, and it extended all the way to the horizon.
Thousands? Tens of thousands? It was far beyond that. Senior Sister Tian's words about the grains of sand surfaced in my mind again.
Senior Sister Tian continued, "I call this world the Rocky Mountains. If one transcends a step beyond the realm of an absolute, they will gain the ability to perceive other worlds like this. Then, they realized that the form of the wider world isn't a single mountain, but an entire mountain range."
I stood in a daze before coming to my senses. At the same time, the vast landscape was quickly swallowed once more by the hazy currents. I belatedly realized that what Senior Sister Tian described could be a profound state.
However, it was completely different from the conventional realms of a martial artist, so it seemed vague to me. Maybe that was why I didn't understand. It was a state beyond what I could imagine at present.
"The next stage after observation is contact. If one can cross from their own mountain peak to another, they can enter another world," she explained.
"Then are we going to another world now?"
Senior Sister Tian smiled softly. "Once one reaches the peak, they look up at the sky for the first time. Then there is a sight that can be witnessed from any mountain. Do you know what it is?"
She had always liked speaking in riddles, but she seemed even more inclined toward them now. There was a hint of playfulness, but more than that, she was guiding me toward enlightenment.
"The stars, perhaps?" I speculated.
"The stars' brightness varies greatly with the surroundings, the altitude, the state of the atmosphere and the light. You can't see the same stars from mountains located in different places or at different heights."
"Then the clouds?"
"It's just like the stars. Even Spirit Mountain pierces through the clouds, stretching as if to reach the heavens," she said. "For now, let's walk a little further. You will be able to see it soon."
I nodded and stood up again, then followed after her.
This time, we climbed higher. It took even longer.
As I walked through the sky, the boundaries between time and space gradually blurred. A strange haze settled over everything, as if I moved through a dream.
Jingle.
Every time, the bell rang at the right moment, clearing my increasingly dazed mind. Thanks to this, I could maintain consciousness and not lose sight of Senior Sister Tian.
How much time passed? It sounded absurd, but perhaps three or four days had gone by, or perhaps closer to ten. I occasionally heard the cries of the monster, but I could've missed some in my daze.
Then Senior Sister Tian spoke again. "I have also wandered around quite a few worlds, but not as many as Third Brother."
I realized for the first time that even Third Senior Brother had traveled through multiple worlds. If so, was that the reason that I couldn't get in touch with him?
"Could it be because I am human? Most of the worlds I traveled to were human worlds. There were just considerable differences in language, culture, and ways of thinking. Sometimes, they felt like completely different beings," she admitted.
That had to be it. Even among the known races, they often failed to understand one another and waged wars until the rise of the Dark Church, a great evil. If we were from different worlds, the gap between us would be hard to imagine.
"However, there are definite overlaps in our essential nature."
"Overlaps?" I echoed.
"Most of them fear the afterlife, and they share a consistent image of it," she replied.
"A consistent image?"
"A place filled with evil and demons. A place of punishment where those who have sinned, who broke the moral codes, and who abandoned human decency go after death. It is a place unimaginably horrifying," she explained.
I blinked.
Suddenly, a scene unfolded in my mind: a dead city, twisted buildings, and a damp, unpleasant wind blowing under a green sky heavy with despair, like the tongue of a monster licking my skin. Then came the sound of a bouncing ball, and a monster resembling a tongue appeared.
"Hell."
It was more like I was speaking to myself.
Senior Sister Tian didn't respond immediately. Instead, she looked up at the sky. "All worlds are independent, yet the concept of Hell is strangely consistent. Isn't that fascinating? Despite being separated by distances that can't be measured physically, they are described in exactly the same way, as if they witnessed the same picture. It is like how, no matter which mountain you view the sky from, the moon remains unchanged. Isn't that right? Its appearance didn't change even in the Otherworld."
I murmured, "What does that—"
"So Hell is like the moon in the night sky."
At that moment, an absurd possibility struck me like lightning. I said, my voice tense, "Wait a minute, Senior Sister. You don't mean—"
"Yes. All Hells are connected. The Hell of the world I came from and the Hell of the world you are in, Luan, are essentially the same place." Senior Sister Tian laughed. "Luan, didn't I tell you before? Are you ready to see Hell? Does that sound a little different now?"
***
I heard the monster's cry seven more times. This time, I wasn't dazed, so I counted precisely. Over several long nights and days, I had many conversations with Senior Sister Tian.
"What does that constellation look like?" she asked.
"A pig's tail?" I replied.
"It is a water snake. Was it in the northwest?"
"Isn't it a cat?" I pointed out.
"It is a whale."
"Are you messing with me?" I asked.
"Do you see the tail at the back? You probably can't make it out clearly since the starlight is faint," she said.
"Ah."
"Luan, you need to take a good look."
Senior Sister Tian was blind, yet she pointed in the exact right direction. At times, it felt like she perceived the world even better than I did with two working eyes.
I wasn't particularly interested in astronomy, but watching the constellations she indicated was surprisingly enjoyable.
"The moon shines brightly in the night sky and also symbolizes hope. When walking through a forest at night, the moonlight filtering through the branches becomes the only torch to chase away the darkness and serves as a guidepost."
The moon wasn't visible right now, but Senior Sister Tian often spoke about it. Perhaps it was because the moon was our destination.
"Luan, what do you think of the moon?"
"I'm not sure."
I looked up at the sky. I still couldn't see the moon, but it was surely somewhere up there.
Senior Sister Tian knew of the moon's existence and spoke about it. I couldn't see anything, so I could only picture it in my mind. I recalled how it had looked before and replied, "It is like a queen who rules the night sky."
Senior Sister Tian laughed. "That is a funny way to phrase it. Is it because the moon is the brightest?"
"Right? It is also beautiful to look at. If you like the stars, then you probably like the moon too," I remarked.
"It is the opposite. In general, astronomers don't think highly of the moon. Its light is so strong that it swallows up the light of other stars. Some people regard the moon, which changes shape every night, as a symbol of imperfection. Every time they see a bright full moon, many feel a sense of foreboding, unease, or even an unprecedented madness. So the moon is a very two-sided symbol," she elaborated.
Come to think of it, the symbol of one of the six demon kings of Hell is the moon.
Senior Sister Tian smiled. "Do you understand now why the moon is the entrance to Hell?"
I hesitated and scratched my head. I had probably shown some doubts without realizing it. It couldn't be helped. The idea that the moon was the entrance to Hell, and that I had to climb invisible stairs to reach it, sounded absurd. If anyone other than Senior Sister Tian had said it, I would have slapped that person on the spot.
"In this world, the moon is the only entrance to Hell, but for most people, it is just an entrance."
Her emphasis on just an entrance meant that it couldn't be an exit. In other words, once I entered, there would be no way to come out again.
I finally grasped her meaning. "Do you want me to go to Hell and master the Dark Qi inside me?"
"That's partially correct."
"However, the Dark Qi is fairly quiet right now," I reasoned.
"That is true if left as it is. However, you can't predict what will happen when you start using your internal energy," she replied.
"I sealed the Dark Qi in my middle dantian. It is completely separate from the lower dantian where my internal energy resides. Shouldn't it be safe to use my internal energy?"
She shook her head. "The human body's entire network of meridians is far more intricately connected than you think, Luan. As long as the energy in the lower dantian is strong, the Dark Qi will remain silent. However, you can't predict what might occur if that balance is disrupted. Luan, you need to gain full control over the Dark Qi as soon as possible."
The Dark Qi lodged in my heart started to feel uncomfortable again. I had assumed it had finally calmed down, yet according to Senior Sister Tian, it hadn't. It was merely waiting for the right opportunity.
I looked up at the sky. It was gray, and the moon still wasn't visible.
I asked, "When will we arrive?"
Senior Sister Tian smiled. "From tomorrow onward, you will have to proceed alone."
At some point, she disappeared.
I was a bit taken aback, but that was all. I had already expected her to leave. Even if that wasn't the case, I never believed this arrangement would last forever.
"First descending the mountain, now climbing it," I muttered.
When training with Senior Brother Arang, my goal had been to descend. This time, it was the exact opposite.
Then again, I wasn't truly climbing a mountain. Ascending to the sky... No, the destination is the moon. Should it be called ascending to the moon?
I sighed and stepped forward. In the next instant, the ground seemed to give way beneath me, and I began to fall.