The moment a black lotus flower bloomed on the hand of Kang Yoo-sik, the flow of the whole area changed with the black mandala.
A space had been created to seal the vacuum incense burner. It was newly covered by the blooming of the black lotus.
‘I can’t handle completely removing the seal.’ The amount of mana consumed was also positive, but the level of the sealing ceremony itself was too high, making it difficult to remove. So, there was one effective method in the current situation.
‘Introduce a spell that can release the seal in reverse.’
That was to add a function that was not already completed to the spell. It was as difficult as the sealing ceremony of the vacuum incense burner, but it was not entirely impossible with the power of the black lotus flower!
It was a new technique naturally intervened into the intricately intertwined sealing ceremony with a faint wave of fighting, a technique that flowed naturally without any rejection.
Li Mei opened her eyes wide as if she had discovered a hidden passage. ‘To think that the shrine's sealing ceremony was modified so simply…’
Even though Black Lotus was a specialized skill in this area, considering that it had only been acquired for one day, the result he had created proved to be ridiculous.
Receiving Li Mei's astonished gaze, Kang Yoo-sik looked at the intricately entangled magic formula in front of her. ‘218… … 219… … 220….’
One would have to look at over 200 spells to fit one spell. It was absurdly inefficient, but it couldn't be helped. ‘How on earth did they create such a spell in that era?’
There were tens of thousands of pieces forming a sealing ceremony. In addition to this, they formed an organic structure and create innumerable variables. If there was no skill that could overlay reality like the black lotus flower, it would be impossible to attempt destruction as well as release.
‘What the hell is it?’ How did the first owner of White Lotus create the sealing ceremony in front of him?’ Such a strong question popped into Kang Yoo-sik's head.
[It's finally here.] A transparent voice rang out. It wasn't a voice he heard with his ears, but a voice that seemed to permeate his head.
Hearing this, Kang Yoo-sik and Li Mei reflexively looked in front of their eyes.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Mira returned to the lotus position before she knew it from the posture of holding out the vacuum incense burner. The body of the 2nd White Lotus master looked straight ahead with empty pupils and raised its voice again.
[O virtuoso. I'm glad you came on time.]
“… Who are you?” If Mira had voiced it, it would probably be the 2nd Lord, but the atmosphere proved to be too strange to see it that way.
[It is difficult to explain the essence, but… … To put it simply, I simply go by as the first White Lotus master.]
At this, the two individuals’ eyes widened. ‘I wonder if the ceremony of invitation was melted inside the sealing ceremony.’
It was possible for a strong sealing ceremony, but Kang Yoo-hik was still surprised. It was because this technology, too, was barely framed before his return. It was a kind of technology that only a few have perfected.
‘No matter how you look at it, it is quite strange.’ The skill of the first White Lotus master was not a level that could be achieved just because an individual harbored excellent capabilities.
The voice rang out once more. [Giin. There will be many questions about the situation in front of you. Soseung also wants to solve your question… Not much time is allotted for that.]
“Then… For what purpose did you appear?”
[The correct guidance of the vacuum incense burner. That is the last will of the small monk.]
At the same time as the answer to the invitation, a huge mandala bloomed under the mummy, lotus stems stretched out in all directions, and white lotuses bloomed everywhere. Seeing this, Kang Yoo-sik held the hand of Li Mei, who was standing next to him.
“What is it, Cadet Kang Yoo-sik?”
“When I signal, please match and back up.”
“…I understand."
Li Mei and Kang Yoo-sik then began to look around. The space that had been covered with fog now glowed strangely with numerous colors in harmony, and white lotuses and their stems took root and became entangled here and there. Such was a sight that could not be understood even with maximization of awareness raised to the limit.
While Kang Yoo-sik was staring blankly at the mysterious scenery, the voice of invitation rang softly. [Vacuum is the emptiness that transcends the color phase. A world that transcends the shape of matter and illuminates the truth.]
In line with the voice of the invitation, the white lotuses resonated and made the mandala shine, and the colors that had once been mixed in disorder disappeared as one. it was a world where everything proved to be truly empty, not white and black to express emptiness.
In the empty landscape, mandalas of white lotuses appeared subtly. [Giin. Dealing with a vacuum incense burner means advancing towards this world of emptiness. If so, please prove that you have the qualifications.]
Kang Yoo-sik looked at the scenery in front of him at the invitation's story. To prove one’s qualifications… You could tell what it meant just by looking at it.
‘Am I going to break this?’ One would have to break the vacuum in order to unlock the seal and get the vacuum incense burner. Kang Yoo-sik took a deep breath and looked at Li Mei at the task presented in front of her eyes.
In response, Li Mei blankly looked around. Was it because she saw a dream that proved to be higher than herself? Kang Yoo-sik grabbed her hand upon seeing her look firmly possessed.
“Ah…” Li Mei, waking up from her thoughts, let out a sigh, and Kang Yoo-sik put on a slightly apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry. I know it was an important moment, but… I can't afford that right now.”
It was not altogether bad for Li Mei to attain enlightenment, but this space was not a place one could escape with the same white lotus dream.
Li Mei nodded as if she understood where Kang Yoo-sik was coming from. "Yes. Sorry. I got distracted.”
“No, no. Rather… How does Li Mei-sama see it?”
At this, Li Mei looked around her at Kang Yoo-sik's question and answered calmly. “To explain from my point of view… This space itself is the essence where everything in White Lotus Gate is combined.”
In short, it was a world with infinite possibilities. If White Lotus Gate consumed mana and temporarily deceived the world, the vacuum in front of them could really change into any form.
‘A world where anything can change.’
How could one break such an absurd world? No, was it really the intention of the first White Lotus master to destroy this place in the first place?
In the midst of the question that popped into his head, Kang Yoo-sik suddenly looked down at his hand. ‘If it's not breaking… … What was the intention of the first master of white lotus patterns?’
What would prove his qualifications? In the midst of that question, Kang Yoo-sik made the black lotus bloom, which had been naturally released, bloom again on his hand. With a faint wave, the world around him changed for Kang Yoo-sik, and at the same time, a huge amount of mana was sucked out.
At an incomparable amount of consumption compared to when interfering with the seal recognition, Kang Yoo-sik immediately activated Aketrav and amplified his magical power.
Aketrav, which permeated his right arm, emitted light, and the consumption of magical energy entered the stable range. However, he couldn't keep it for long, so Kang Yoo-sik immediately looked around.
‘Indeed… Is this the essence of white lotus dream?’
Although he did not acquire the white lotus fantasy dream, he fully understood its essence here and now. And at the same time, Kang Yoo-sik realized what the qualifications the first Master of White Lotus had told him.
“Li Mei. We will share the control of the vacuum obtained through the flowering of Black Lotus.”
“Control?”
"Yes. Please use it to pave the way.”
At this, Li Mei made a puzzled expression at Kang Yoo-sik’s instruction.
“The length will ne….”
“Until the end of this world. This is the road that leads to Gongju-hyang.”
The first master of White Lotus had said that he had come to guide the vacuum incense burner properly, and that handling it was to move toward a vacuum.
However, from there, a question arose. If only those who handled vacuum incense burners could advance in this world, why did they lock themselves up here and ask for their qualifications?
There was only one answer to that. ‘I have acquired a vacuum incense burner.’
One road to the end in infinite possibilities. That was the vacuum incense burner.
“Black Lotus Flower.” Waves of blooming black lotuses spread out in all directions, like waves rushing in, and the leaves of white lotuses in full bloom fell and scattered in all directions. At the moment those leaves fell in front of the two of them, the black lotuses bloomed and created a path.
“Ah…” the moment I saw it. Li Mei seemed to be swept away by a bigger wave than the realization she had felt before.
The essence of White Lotus Dream and the power of Black Lotus Bloom, as well as the meaning of the vacuum incense burner…
‘I must have made the same mistake again.’ He may have become conceited due to the public praise of being an S-class hunter and the confidence of being the master.
Realizing again how small she was, Li Mei looked straight ahead with her transparent eyes. She then looked at the back of Kang Yoo-sik, who looked bigger than herself and squeezed her hand tightly. ‘The debtor must be led outside!’
[Satisfies the debt relationship condition.]
[Check the registration of the debtor ‘Li Mei,’ judge the debt grade as A.]
Coo Goo Goong! At that moment, the stems of the black lotus were entangled with each other, creating a more vivid bridge. Kang Yoo-sik, who had become more comfortable with the blooming of the black lotus, took a deep breath.
‘This is enough.’ If he had been alone, he would have exhausted himself by consuming all of his mana, but with Li Mei’s backup, he found that he could reach it.
Kang Yoo-sik took a deep breath and as he gazed at the place beyond the horizon.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
“Go ahead.” The two of them stepped forward at the same time, and at that moment the space around them lost all color and became a mess.
There was the sense of being tangled to the point of not being able to tell how far forward and the road of black lotus stretching forward endlessly. In the midst of an accident that lasted for a moment and for eternity, the eyes of the two individuals saw a person: a high priest with a white beard hanging down and quietly closing his eyes. There was also an old book in his arms.
‘Percival!’ Kang Yoo-sik’s hand held the vacuum incense burner’s tip.
Paaang—Black brilliance erupted explosively from the vacuum incense burner's blade and Percival’s pendant, engulfing the colorfully melted world. As the two men look around, drenched in sweat, realizing that the vacuum was collapsing.
[I never thought I would wake up so quickly… You are not an ordinary person either.]
The first White Lotus master looked at Kang Yoo-sik and Percival with a gentle expression. [And through that magic, you have captured the feelings of the vacuum incense burner, which is still difficult to handle, so decades of asceticism will be shortened and cause and effect will flow toward you.]
Seeing him talk so calmly, Kang Yoo-sik looked at him quietly, asked “I have a question for you.”
[I can answer one thing, so please ask.]
“How did you anticipate all of my questions?”
When he heard this, Kang Yoo-sik naturally thought that part of his consciousness would be contained in the sealing ceremony. However, the moment he just got his hands on the vacuum incense burner, Kang Yoo-sik was able to make a realization right away.
The first White Lotus master did not put his consciousness into the sealing ceremony, but only put his voice in anticipation of Kang Yoo-sik's question in the future!
[…]
Haha. In this situation, he was still asking a question that seemed to penetrate the essence. [You make the small monk admire endlessly.]
"I'm more afraid of you, who would have expected this answer."
[There is no need to be afraid. This is just a very trivial trick using a vacuum incense burner.]
The first White Lotus master looked at Kang Yoo-sik with a smile.
[But you are suitable as a clue to conclude the cause and effect… Presumptuously, the small monk will leave a word.]
“… … .”
[Nirvana is the transcendence of everything. Don't be entangled in worldly things… … .]
The voice of the first Master of the White Lotus Moon echoed faintly, and the black brilliance that filled the world faded. Returning to the shrine, the two looked ahead. Hundreds of lotus lamps glowed dimly and were slowly extinguished, and the mummy of the White Lotus master, who guarded the vacuum incense burner, disappeared without a trace.
When the sealing ceremony of the vacuum incense burner was broken, it fulfilled its duty and disappeared completely.
“….” Seeing this, Li Mei quietly put her palms together, and Kang Yoo-sik looked at the vacuum incense burner in his hand.
‘Did it get absorbed properly?’ Seeing that the light had come out a while ago, it seemed like a success, but nothing really caught my eye, so the whole ordeal was quite puzzling.
Kang Yoo-sik, who had an ambiguous expression, called Percival right away. ‘Percival.’
However, there was no answer, and Kang Yoo-sik was about to call again, wondering if it was because of the barrier of Musaengwon that still remained.
– The old man is sleeping.
Andvari answered on his behalf. ‘He's sleeping?'
-Uh. I don't think it stretched out badly… … It seems that several seals have been broken and they have been able to extinguish them.
‘Hmm. Really?’
Certainly, if one swallowed something enormous like Shim Deuk of the vacuum incense burner, it will inevitably take some time to digest. Kang Yoo-sik, who decided to check the change of Percival later, opened the vacuum incense burner and looked at the contents.
‘Indeed… … It's meaningless now.'
Perhaps, even if another person studied the secret of this vacuum incense burner repeatedly, he would only admit defeat in the end.
Looking at the level of the vacuum incense burner in his hand, Kang Yoo-sik’s lips slightly went up, his gaze shifting to Li Mei. “Li Mei.”
"Ah, yes. What's going on?” Her voice became softer than before, perhaps because of her debt relationship.
Kang Yoo-sik asked, satisfied with that response. “I have a question for you, but….”
“What is it?”
“I heard that the White Lotus Dream is the sign of the next White Lotus Moon Lord… … Then what about me?”
At Kang Yoo-sik's question, Li Mei unexpectedly looked at him with a slightly surprised expression, then smiled. “Who else can become the master of White Lotus if not Cadet Kang Yoo-sik, who inherited the will of the first Lord of White Lotus?”
He acquired the vacuum incense burner, which had been passed down as something humans could not handle, and even the first master of the White Lotus was endlessly amazed by Kang Yoo-sik's potential and power.
It was something that they could not have imagined for themselves, who had to continue sealing or destroy the vacuum incense burner. That was exactly what Kang Yoo-sik did today!
‘In a sense… We should cling to Cadet Kang Yoo-sik.’
He represented the second coming of the first Master. No, the appearance of the next master, who may be able to write a new history beyond the current castle. If the other sophomores knew, they would put him in the position of the lord no matter what, but Li Mei didn't want to force it. It was because there were so many things that were tied to the position of the white lotus gate.
‘Let’s leave it to the end choice.’
Kang Yoo-sik asked again. "Then… Am I a part of it now?”
“I believe so." Li Mei, who nodded at the question without hesitation, peered up at him with a curious expression. “Why are you asking all of a sudden?”
Even after learning about the black lotus flower, his interest remained in the white lotus master job.
Kang Yoo-sik merely smiled at the puzzled gaze. “I think we need to focus on some reorganization.”
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