Originally, it's said that immortals don't die easily.
Thanks to the immortality of a soul that has transcended personality and acquired divinity.
Even if you shred their physical body to pieces, it regenerates, and even if you grind it into dust, it just takes some time—before you know it, they revive perfectly fine.
"Then even if a nuke went off earlier … you'd have been okay?"
At Juhyeok's question, Juseon shook his head from side to side as he answered.
"Well, who knows? I've never been hit by one. Even if I revived, it would've taken a long time, and I might've ended up with a sudden nuclear-explosion-total-annihilation ending."
True enough.
If a hydrogen bomb had gone off, it would've been no different from being thrown into the center of the sun.
"Just thinking about it makes me shiver—I almost pissed myself, you know? This is all thanks to Young Hero Ra."
As expected, Rajiks was just pure light.
"Come, come, have a drink. It's been a while since I met a friend who can really hold their liquor, so I'm in a good mood."
Glug.
Juseon poured Juhyeok a cup of immortal wine.
"It'd be nice if Young Hero Ra had a drink too, but it's a shame he kept refusing."
"Still, I think he understands your feelings well, Lord Juseon."
"Hahaha! That's good. I'm satisfied just having Great Hero Bong here."
The alcohol they were drinking now—
It was no ordinary liquor.
Wine brewed from immortal peaches and all kinds of medicinal herbs from the spirit beast realm.
Just one cup made the body heat up instantly.
"It's precious liquor, so if you drink too much—"
"Ah, what's so precious about it? Compared to Valen 30 or Mackel, this is trash."
Juseon's absurd sense of value.
With just one bottle of this immortal wine, you could buy out the entire company that makes Valen 30 and still have money left over.
On top of that, his gourd was a subspace container.
It could hold the equivalent of several hundred large oak barrels.
Meanwhile.
Unlike Rajiks, there was a summoned being greedily eyeing the alcohol.
Gulp.
Sneaking glances and stealing looks at the immortal wine—the Mad Demon.
Ah!
How badly must he want to drink it?
"Um, Lord Juseon."
"Speak, Great Hero Bong."
"There's someone who always drinks together with me, you see …"
"Oh? There's another drunkard?"
"Over there—the Mad Demon, sir."
"Huh? What are you doing? Drunkards are all friends regardless of age, gender, or nationality."
Juseon gestured toward the Mad Demon.
"Come here. Come and have a drink."
"Oh dear! How could someone like me—"
"You brat, if I tell you to come, you come, huh? It's fine to drink when an elder pours for you."
"Hehehe, elder, then I'll shamelessly—"
So good.
It's my first time seeing Lord Mad Demon this pathetic.
That aside—
'When is the gang beating—no, the demonic immortal assault going to end?'
They'd been beating him for quite a while.
When they got tired of beating him, they took turns.
They stomped on him, punched him, and kept beating him relentlessly.
The demonic immortal resisted occasionally, but it was utterly useless against the merciless hands of the Sword Immortal and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
"Don't even think about stopping them—just watch. Even like that, he's not someone who'll die."
I wasn't planning to stop them, but—
"I was just worried the immortals might get tired."
"What's there to be tired about? They're guys who've been loafing around the immortal realm, eating and playing. They should at least do this much."
Then why is Lord Juseon drinking here?
"I arrived here first, after all. I ascended while drinking, so I was terrible at fighting. Still, I did fight. Isn't that impressive?"
Indeed.
You worked hard.
I'm still grateful even now.
"Mad Demon, don't you go thinking of ascending based on martial achievement alone. Look at that. How grotesque is it? You need to realize the joys and sorrows of life that alcohol brings, like me."
The Mad Demon answered immediately.
"Your words are absolutely correct. What use is martial strength anyway? No matter how peerless an ancient or modern secret manual is, it can't compare to a single cup of fine wine."
...
Juseon looked pleased.
"Hohoho! You've already realized it."
On one side, a drinking party.
On the other side, merciless violence.
'They could at least take it easy.'
Then—
Crash!
A sound of something shattering was heard.
At the same time—
Fwaaaash!
A sinister wave of qi spread throughout the heretical sect's main base.
'What is it?'
Juseon answered.
"A divinity has shattered."
Shattered?
" … Is that something that can even shatter?"
"It wasn't achieved by oneself, but acquired through a shortcut. It was a precarious house of cards—extremely fragile."
"Ah!"
"However, Great Hero Bong, if it had swallowed you, the situation might have been different."
"You consumed the Heavenly Dao, so with the power of the Heavenly Dao, you would have achieved complete unity with the divinity."
Just imagining it was terrifying.
"You escaped very well. Truly a loach using the shrinking-earth technique. As expected of Great Hero Bong—that's what I thought."
Is that praise?
It must be praise, right?
At that moment!
Another immortal appeared at the scene of the demonic immortal's disciplinary beating.
"What? You already caught him?"
It was Guigok.
And he wasn't alone.
"Come on, I brought Old Lord with me. Let's put him in the Purple-Golden Gourd Furnace and take him away."
Old Lord—
Does that mean Taishang Laojun?
But the immortals looked displeased.
"Why did you bring Old Lord? You should've just borrowed the Purple-Golden Gourd Furnace."
"He insisted on coming—what could I do?"
"Tsk, it was just getting fun."
"Tch, looks like we'll get nagged again."
Taishang Laojun frowned and spoke.
"Why do you all go crazy whenever you see me?"
"… Um, because you're a boomer?"
"And you lot?"
"We're MZ immortals."
"MZ my ass. You thunderbolt-naked brats—how can immortals have no dignity at all! Please, get a grip and live properly!"
The immortals were completely unfazed.
"Does dignity feed you?"
"Old Lord, you shouldn't say things like that. The rumors are already everywhere."
"What rumors?"
"They say you watch weird videos in the Supreme Purity Palace every night."
"Oh! I heard Taishang Laojun has a woodpecker folder on his laptop."
"Isn't it just called 'New Folder' these days? But he watched it all by himself, huh?"
"They said you ascended after realizing the principle of yin and yang—was it that kind of yin and yang?"
"Honestly, that yin-yang principle is the most profound law."
"Right. Isn't it the fundamental principle of life's creation?"
Taishang Laojun regretted it.
'Tsk, I shouldn't have engaged them.'
Anyway, since he'd come down to the mortal world, he had to take the fugitive back.
Taishang Laojun pulled out a shining golden gourd from his waist.
He approached the demonic immortal sprawled messily on the ground.
"Demonic Immortal, it must have been hard. Let's give up now and go inside."
"….."
"Answer me. Hm?"
...
The silent demonic immortal.
After a moment—
"I—I'm not going in there. I'd rather be annihilated. You want me to enter the Purple-Golden Gourd Furnace? I won't answer. N-no way."
But Taishang Laojun spoke with a relaxed smile.
"Do you think this treasure is the fake gourd that that bastard Chaos Demon King carries around? The moment you mentioned the words 'Purple-Golden Gourd Furnace,' it was over."
"… What?"
"You're caught."
Then, in a thunderous voice—
"You wretch! As the one responsible for the immortal realm, I command it—incantation! Seal the demonic immortal who violated the law! Urgent Urgent Azure-Ravine Command Seal!"
At that very moment!
A brilliant light burst forth from inside the Purple-Golden Gourd Furnace.
"N-no!!!"
Wooooooong!
The demonic immortal's body stretched long and thin—
Whoosh!
And in an instant, it vanished into the gourd.
It was the demonic immortal's end.
Perhaps even more horrific than annihilation.
Trapped in the gourd, he would be sealed deep within the immortal realm.
Moreover, it was said that once inside the Purple-Golden Gourd Furnace, the entire body melts.
But demonic immortals don't die easily.
Inside, his body would melt and regenerate again and again.
"Ugh."
Just thinking about it was horrifying.
Soon after,
Having finished his business, Taishang Laojun approached Juhyeok.
"So you are Great Hero Bong?"
He was a high-ranking figure.
Wasn't he the leader of the immortals?
I should prostrate myself flat.
"Hello. I've heard of you only through stories until now. It is an honor of my family to meet the great and dignified Taishang Laojun in person. My name is Bong Juhyeok."
Taishang Laojun responded with a satisfied smile.
"Truly a fine talent with solid immortal roots."
"Oh, you flatter me far too much—"
"Someone like you should come to the immortal realm."
Then, casually—
"And since you've formed a suitable connection already … how about ascending right away?"
"… Pardon?"
Ascending?
"The immortal realm is currently in a state of great chaos. If you came, I think you could help stabilize it."
….
"The demonic immortal's escape was nothing. These so-called immortals have been tainted by the mortal world, losing their duty and only coveting material things. Do they look like immortals to you?"
Hmm.
Well—
"Let's go to the immortal realm. Your immortal name is … since you played a decisive role in sealing the demonic immortal, 'Bongseon' would be fitting."
No.
That's a bit—
At that moment!
The Sword Immortal suddenly exploded in anger.
"Old Lord! What do you think you're doing right now? Ascension for a young man barely in his mid-twenties? Huh? This isn't some pyramid scheme pitch!"
"Ah, no, becoming an immortal is good—"
"Shut up!"
Then, with a stern expression—
"Hurry back to the immortal realm and attach the sealing talisman to the Purple-Golden Gourd Furnace. At this rate, he might break out."
"And you all?"
"We'll clean things up here and follow later."
"Understood."
Scratching his head awkwardly.
"Let's definitely meet again, Great Hero Bong."
"No, why don't you stay a bit longer—"
Pop! Taishang Laojun vanished.
"… Did he go?"
"He's gone."
"He left."
"Yeah, he's gone."
"Then we should go too."
"There's no time—we need to hurry."
"Right. This isn't the time to dawdle."
"There's too much to do."
Taishang Laojun, and the immortals too.
Juhyeok felt a bit disappointed inside.
'Are they really that busy?'
Well, I suppose!
Just how much do they have to do?
But then—
"Come on, Great Hero Bong, what are you doing?"
"Huh?"
"The nuisance is gone, so we should open the White Tower gate."
"… Y-yes?"
"There's no time. Every minute and second is precious right now."
"Exactly. We need to stay as long as possible."
Ah!
What a relief.
At least I can repay them somehow.
Let's open the gate.
I've never opened it before,
but the White Tower is the place I'm most familiar with.
Focus my mind.
Swing the hammer.
Whirr!
Ts-ts-ts-ts-ts-ts—
Kraaang!
A rift opened.
A door leading to the White Tower.
"First, make sure it's the right place—"
The Sword Immortal answered quickly.
"No problem. It's the White Tower. I can smell it."
Guigok added as well.
"You've really reached a new level with opening dimensional gates. You could slap Yama across the face with this."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Sword Immortal and Guigok went in.
Then, one after another—
Rush!
"Hey! Don't push!"
"Line up! Aren't you ashamed as immortals?"
"What if it closes?"
"Then we just ask him to open it again."
"Oh, right?"
But the Great Sage Equal to Heaven wasn't there.
Did he leave together when Taishang Laojun vanished?
Seems he's extremely busy with his livelihood.
And so, the White Tower was filled with immortals.
After letting all the immortals and summoned beings enter—
Whoosh!
Juhyeok returned to the White Tower last, passing through the rift.
The first thing he did upon arriving was look for Gyeon Dallae, Gobang, and Bardin.
'Where are they?'
Don't tell me they completely disappeared—
At that moment!
"Ah!"
There they are.
Gyeon Dallae bowing deeply the moment she saw him, Bardin kneeling, and Gobang still standing tall and dependable.
But all of them were faint spirit bodies.
That's right.
They were ghosts.
His chest felt like it was tearing apart.
He needed to say something, but no words came.
『Young master, this humble girl has committed a mortal sin. I was far too weak and disgraced myself by being forcibly unsummoned.』
It wasn't spoken aloud.
With no physical body, how could sound be made?
It was telepathy transmitted by the soul.
『My lord! Please kill me, Bardin. This is all due to my lack of virtue.』
『The warrior is also reflecting.』
"… No. Not at all. Thanks to you, I survived."
He felt like he could die of guilt.
Even if it was "just" unsummoning, the pain at the moment of death must have been unbearable.
This wasn't the time to hesitate.
Let's try using the resurrection rune.
Who knows?
They might come back to life.
[You have used a Resurrection Rune on Gyeon Dallae of the catalog.]
But—
[This target was forcibly unsummoned by a higher-ranked entity. The Resurrection Rune's effect does not apply.]
Haah.
Do we really have to wait a full 100 days?
He even asked Guigok.
If there was any other way.
"Hm, there's nothing that can be done. It's fortunate they weren't annihilated. A force protected their souls, so it ended at forced unsummoning."
So it's impossible.
No choice, then.
"Let's endure for just 100 days. Three months will fly by, right?"
『I would wait not three months, but three years.』
『My lord! Please do not worry about us. This is merely punishment for failing to fulfill our duty.』
『The warrior can endure three months.』
That's right.
They may not have bodies, but we can still see each other, and we can still communicate.
Still, his heart wasn't at ease.
He never wanted to experience his people dying before his eyes again.
At that moment!
Slide, slide, slide.
Someone walked right through the spirit bodies of Gobang, Gyeon Dallae, and Bardin.
"Wow! They're real ghosts. A virgin ghost, a bachelor ghost, hmm, even a eunuch ghost—got them all."
"Look at this! Total holograms. If they just stand like that, it's basically fusion."
Phew.
No tact at all.
We were right in the middle of setting the mood.
"Lord Mad Demon?"
"Want me to make one more bachelor ghost?"
"Yes."
Spot!
Kosak had already fled.
Spot!
The Mad Demon gave chase.
In any case, the White Tower had become a temporary immortal realm.
For now, the White Tower was the immortal realm.
Bustling, crowded, noisy White Tower.
Even though the space had expanded through integration, and even though the total number—including summoned immortals—was fewer than 500—
The White Tower was lively.
Every single day.
The summoned beings were busy too.
How could they sit still when guests had arrived?
Hospitality master Kosak.
He gathered requests from the immortals, and Rajiks procured whatever was needed.
They also enjoyed cultural content to their heart's content.
Fundamentally, the White Tower can connect to external communications.
If a world has a communication network, it can connect.
Our Earth, Earth No. 843, and Earth No. 1.
Earth No. 675 is impossible.
That world is ruined and has no network.
For similar reasons, the martial world or fantasy worlds are also impossible.
Anyway, the White Tower was always peaceful and abundant.
After about a week passed—
"Great Hero Bong, it seems it's time for us to part."
The Sword Immortal spoke as their representative, bidding farewell to Juhyeok.
"Ah! Already? Please stay a little longer."
"We can't impose any further."
"Oh, not at all."
What imposition?
They're our saviors.
"I say this out of concern—never ascend."
Hmm.
"The immortal realm is a closed world. Honestly, it's no different from a prison. That's why the two immortals known as the Twin Poison Immortals never stay in the immortal realm. They're probably roaming around and having fun even now."
I see.
"Enjoy yourself fully in the mortal world, and come visit once in a while when you get bored."
Yes, yes.
Though I can't really visit yet.
I still can't open the immortal realm's dimensional gate.
That's the truth.
Since the immortals came to visit, Juhyeok tried going to the immortal realm himself.
His purpose was to comfort Gyeon Dallae in her ghost state.
He had heard that the princess's teacher was also in the immortal realm.
More precisely, the spirit beast realm.
Because Gyeon Dallae's teacher, Haeryeong, is a thousand-year fox— a nine-tailed fox.
He wanted to reunite the two,
so he tried opening the gate to the immortal realm again and again—but failed every time.
Then how did it open back then?
Probably because the Transcendent Summon skill and Yama's Hammer created a synergistic effect.
Right now, he didn't even have a Transcendent Summon card.
He'd used them all.
Well, there'll be another chance someday.
For now, he'd just convey greetings in words.
Anyway—
"Farewell."
"Thanks for the hospitality."
"I'll be able to live enjoyably for a few months thanks to this."
"Let's definitely meet again."
"Stay healthy. And don't ascend."
Goodbye.
I'll work hard, and once I can open the immortal realm gate, I'll come visit.
It won't take that long.
Juhyeok waved.
Spot! Spot! Spot! Spot!
The immortals vanished.
And only Juhyeok and the summoned beings remained.
"Alright, shall we do a big cleanup for the first time in a while?"
"Hoo!"
"Sounds good. Let's rest well after cleaning."
The White Tower returned to its daily routine.
Cleaning, organizing,
and roughly planning for the future.
For 100 days, he planned to do nothing.
Just skip time.
Until Gyeon Dallae, Gobang, and Bardin returned to their proper forms.
Then suddenly—
His eyes fell on the elevator.
So many emotions crossed his mind.
He'd used that thing to travel between dimensions, go to the auction house, open the Black Tower's backdoor gate, and more.
But now, it was no longer necessary.
From here, he could exit to anywhere connected to the White Tower.
It wasn't completely useless, though.
There was still the dimensional auction house.
For that reason, inside the elevator there were two buttons.
White Tower, and Dimensional Auction House.
'Oh! I completely forgot.'
When he bought the God-Slayer's long spear before, the auction house had been upgraded.
A new communication function, and new auction items registered.
'New items, huh…'
What got listed?
I should check.
Juhyeok stepped into the elevator.
Pressed the open button.
Slide.
He got inside and was about to press a button when—
"… Huh?"
Blinking, Juhyeok stared at the elevator's control panel.
Was he imagining things?
'Why are there three buttons?'
That's right.
There was one more button.
A newly added button.
And the words written on it—
'Dimensional Travel?'
That's right.
The Dimensional Travel button.
'What is this?'
What is this, all of a sudden?
But the word "travel" was tempting.
Should I try it?
It's just a trip, right?
No burden.
But after 100 days.
He'd think about it a bit more until then.