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0188 ———————————————-

Tri-Sovereigns and Five Emperors. The fifteenth life has begun.

It felt like ages since I last woke up in a stable. This time, unlike before, the dreadful pain from dying was barely there, and I felt like I had just taken a refreshing nap. Maybe that’s why I was a bit more mellow, soaking in the moonlight of the stable and pondering.

‘The fourteenth life was packed with incidents, but I actually didn’t survive for long.’

In fact, I barely reached the age of maturity before kicking the bucket. However, I gained a treasure trove of experiences and information during that time like never before. So, instead of rushing into action as I usually do, I felt the need to sift through and organize the info I had gathered.

I mentally sorted through the important information I had.

“Hmm… quite a lot. Eight pieces, if I count correctly.”

• First, Dongbang Mu-gyeol went to find the Dragon Flower Tree to heal the Young Master of the White Lotus Sect, who was afflicted by a strange disease, only to return years later with clues. Along the way, the Tao King, who has a peerless beauty, got involved.


• Second, Bai Li Jeong-woon mentioned that a mysterious peak expert resides in the Dragon King’s Valley.


• Third, to meet Miho, one must go to the Heavenly Emperor’s Palace in Kyoto.


• Fourth, this world is actually round, and the second seal of the Water Element Divine Sword is probably in a place called the North Pole.


• Fifth, messing with the Crystal Stele or the Portrait Immortal in the Imperial Palace can unleash the wrath of the Demon King Daji, who is an apostle of the Old Ruler.


• Sixth, the Thunder God Lineage has something called the Ultimate Technique of the Thunder God, and the Red-Green-Blue triad holds the key. Plus, that guy Cheongwol is hiding out in Aokigahara Life Sea, the worst Demon Realm of Dongyoung.


• Seventh, Xiang Yu’s blessing activates after my death, and there’s a place called Between Heaven and Earth that opens a passage to the Celestial Realm.


• Eighth, the strange disease emerged due to the curse of the Old Ruler, and it can be treated with the Black and White Lotus.

After recalling all this, I felt a bit puzzled.

‘Even for Mangnyang, is it feasible to present a path after hearing all this info?’

And I wondered if I even needed Xiang Yu’s blessing again. Sure, it was powerful as heck, but the “activates after death” clause was such a turn-off. I mean, my insides would feel great, but I’d ultimately still be dead.

Thus, I felt the need to rethink my early movement strategy as usual. I pondered my previous routes.

First off, I had to get the Heavenly Secret.

Then, I’d head to Shandong to snag the Golden Eagle.

In the Great Thunder Valley, I’d take down the Demon Beast to rescue Hwang Yeon.

From Mount Huang, I’d grab the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, kill a spider, and obtain the Water Element Divine Sword.

Next, I’d visit Taekyung Village and get the Silver Phoenix Fragment.

Then, I’d cleanse the Pirate Island of scum and hand over the revival fund to Hwa Seong-myeong while taking care of the Goryeo prisoners.

Meet Mangnyang and receive the blessing of the Immortal.

Afterward, I’d let the women, including Seo Mun-hye, go from the Shadowless Gate and handle all the prisoners.

Until here, the process felt flawless. But I wasn’t sure if I had the perfect order with how much info I had gathered in my 14th life.

After a brief struggle in thought, I decided.

“I guess I’ll have to ask Mangnyang later.”

Maybe I’d missed something. I believed that if anyone could point out an issue, it’d be Mangnyang, guiding me to the best course of action.

I rushed to gather the Heavenly Secret first. After that, I sprinted towards Shandong utilizing the Soul Removal Technique. Thanks to my rigorous training in the Light Body Technique from the Thunder God Lineage, my journey became much smoother. Right after I organized the Golden Eagle in Shandong, I charged into the Great Thunder Valley to face off against the Tentacle Toad.

Whoa!

[I’ve come to defeat you!]

Then, the young master of the White Lotus Sect descended upon me. Although he couldn’t beat the Demon King in my 14th life, he was definitely above human standards, possessing incredible talent. He casually wielded the Invincible Sword and Sword Strength and effortlessly slaughtered the Giant Tentacle Toad.

Thud!

As the Giant Tentacle Toad met its end, the Young Master surprisingly struck up a conversation with me.

[Oh, Immortal! Why do I sense the power of the Constellation clinging to you?]

“What on earth are you talking about?”

[Nah, must be my imagination. I can faintly sense a malevolent power, but it’s nothing to worry about.]

After saying this, the Young Master wrapped up his summoning and took off. I mulled over his words, suddenly connecting the dots.

‘It’s because of Xiang Yu!’

According to Miho, Xiang Yu was a being who possessed the power of twelve different constellations. With him barging into my life, it made total sense that even the Immortal, Dongyang, would pick up on that residue. I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile at the thought of how I might respond when I finally encountered Xiang Yu again.

After some time, I rescued Hwang Yeon and the prisoners, obtained the Wooden Armor, and headed to Mount Huang. I collected the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, Black and White Lotus, and their roots before entering the ruins to take down the Guardian Giant Spider. The spider was now a mere stepping stone in my journey.

Bam!

I smashed the Guardian Giant Spider against the wall and murmured to myself. I had already stashed the Golden Chest inside the Wooden Armor.

“I’ll come back to retrieve the Seven Luminary’s Ritual later.”

Borrowing the dedicated Seven Luminary’s Ritual from the Four Talents Sect or another poison sect should do the trick. After securing the Water Element Divine Sword, I swiftly obtained the statue of Jeon Wook, the Sovereign of the Three Sovereigns, from the ruins. Then, I dashed towards Taekyung Village’s Hua Clan’s study to grab the Silver Phoenix Fragment before making my way to the Pirate Island.

With the dawn breaking, I charged into Pirate Island, swiftly taking down the pirate scum. I also rescued the prisoners, unshackled Seo Mun-hye from her golden bindings, and managed to stash the treasures of the Blood Blade Group, the Yodo Muramasa, and explosives into the Wooden Armor. After handing Hwa Seong-myeong a piece of gold for the Hua Clan’s revival, I went off to meet Mangnyang.

Woah!

It was a whirlwind of events, but due to my familiarity, I executed everything rather mechanically without much thought. Especially when it came to taking down pirates, I didn’t feel much of the righteous anger I once would’ve. It turned into a monotonous task, akin to squashing bugs like Xiang Yu had done so many times before.

Yet, visiting Mangnyang was always a breath of fresh air. Each time I shared new info with him, he would unveil a new direction for me.

Mangnyang seemed to have no business as he lounged about on a mat. I approached him and said, “Greetings.”

“Huh? How did you…?”

“I am Baek Woong.”

Right after that, I recounted my experiences from my 14th life, displaying the treasures and oddities I had gathered. When I revealed one of the rescued pirate prisoners from the Wooden Armor, Mangnyang’s expression was priceless.

The trouble was that my 14th life had been pretty lengthy, especially with the vast amount of info I had to share this time. So, whereas I would normally summarize in half a moment, I ended up going over a whole moment while explaining everything to Mangnyang.

By the time I finished, almost two moments had passed. Mangnyang’s facial expression transformed into that of a young boy absorbing an epic saga. He trembled and muttered.

“Seriously… astonishing events…”

Then, he looked at me and said, “I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“From what you’ve told me regarding your 14 lives, it seems my plans have failed several times, leading to your death. Yet, you still came back to trust me?”

“Those failures were solely because of bad luck, lack of power, or my own mistakes.”

“And what about the incident with the Portrait Immortal being stolen that led to the Demon King Daji rampaging? That was entirely my fault, wasn’t it?”

I firmly replied, “That was something no one could predict in this world. I cannot undermine your wisdom because you’re the smartest person I know.”

“……!!”

“I’m simply placing my trust in you. So, please show me the path.”

Mangnyang seemed like he wanted to say something but paused, clutching his head in concentrated thought before resolutely saying. “… Alright. From now on, leave it to me.”

After a moment, he composed himself and unfurled the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line while saying, “First, let’s gather the eight pieces of information you’ve uncovered from your 14th life.”

“Please do.”

“First, the peak expert of the Dragon King’s Valley, the location of Miho, and the second seal of the Water Element Divine Sword aren’t the main priority right now, so we can hold off on those. The rest of the info also seems to lack immediate relevance. However, the most critical discussion is about the existence of [Daji].”

I let out a huff, “Daji was incredibly strong. Even the Immortal, Dongyang, struggled to defeat him one-on-one.”

“A being of that caliber definitely warrants the title of Demon King. However, the crucial point is the reason Daji got involved.”

“I suppose it’s because of stealing the Crystal Stele and the Portrait Immortal? The Old Ruler must have been furious over the loss of offerings, summoning Daji to intervene.”

Mangnyang nodded, contemplating, “Then the order and intent behind it are important.”

“Order and intent?”

“Think about it. The mastermind behind creating the Portrait Immortal was the Alchemist. That means the Alchemist was crafting it for the purpose of offering.”

“Hmm…”

On the surface, yes, it’s simply for an offering to the Old Ruler. But to create such an elaborate set of combined Eastern and Western sorcery just for an offering feels a bit too extreme. The Alchemist could have simply done a straightforward human sacrifice ritual without all the fuss.

Mangnyang continued, “As you might suspect, the Portrait Immortal wasn’t crafted for mere offerings. Hence, even the Old Ruler, who generally meddles little in the human world, reacted strongly enough to command his followers to overturn the world.”

“So there’s something particularly special behind it?”

“Absolutely. The previous ‘me’, Mangnyang, likely only viewed the Portrait Immortal as a combat sorcery weapon and kept its power in check, but that means we need to approach it differently.”

“Differently, how, exactly?”

Mangnyang grinned, “If you touch it, a Demon King-level existence will get involved, but if you don’t touch it, the Portrait Immortal will be completed, strengthening the enemy… Well then, the solution is simple. You need to annihilate the enemy swiftly and decisively.”

“So that’s the only solution…”

“For now, let’s offer the Water Element Divine Sword to the Immortal. After we see what sort of blessing we receive, we can decide our next steps.”

I headed with Mangnyang to the village where he resided. After burying the Heavenly Secret, I explained the situation to Cheon Woo-jin, followed by performing the offering ceremony for the Water Element Divine Sword.

Then, for the first time, the Primordial Void Ruler initiated a summoning.

[What a peculiar human… Why do I sense the power of the Constellation?…]

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Feigning ignorance, the Primordial Void Ruler tilted his head and responded.

[No… that can’t be.]

[I will grant my blessing to another being, knowing that my aura is present.]

Next up was the Queen Mother of the West. I had a question for her, so rather than breezing through, I opted to make a proper inquiry regarding Miho’s treatment. I asked her directly.

“I have something to ask.”

[What is it?]

“I understand that Daji, also known as the Demon King, is affiliated with the Old Ruler and is a Nine-Tailed Fox. However, Daji seems to be a different entity from the fox demon currently in Dongyoung. Do they have any connections?”

Queen Mother fell silent for a moment before answering, [That’s a taboo. It’s a highly classified secret from the Celestial Realm that I cannot disclose to mortals.]

“What if I seek to uncover that secret in exchange for the offering of the Water Element Divine Sword?”

At that, Queen Mother’s mood soured, and she wore an outright furious expression. She tightly gripped her pipe, which she had been casually holding, and retorted, [You’d probably go mad trying. And no matter how much you offer the Water Element Divine Sword, it won’t change this matter.]

“You seem to worry too much…”

[That secret cannot be leaked. So please ask me something else.]

I sensed that Queen Mother held some hidden, incredible secret regarding Daji. Miho mentioned that Queen Mother was an ancient being in the Celestial Realm, existing even before Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen. So, there’s no way she wouldn’t know about Daji.

‘What could be so significant that she refuses to share it even in exchange for an offering?’

Understanding that the offering of the Water Element Divine Sword was an astonishing deal for a great immortal in the Celestial Realm, her unwavering stance against exchanging it for a secret piqued my curiosity.

I wanted to probe further, but she was an absolute being from the Celestial Realm. Angering her could easily cost me another life needlessly. So I cautiously let the topic slide, hoping for Miho’s kind treatment, and passed the blessing opportunity to another immortal.

Skipping over the Southern Flower Immortal’s turn brought me right back to our previous rank. The sequence of great immortals seemed overly consistent even after all my reincarnations. The hunting god, famous for shooting down the sun, introduced himself as Yi.

[I am Yi. I will grant you the ability to strike true.]

Last time, I had recalled my expertise was in swordsmanship rather than archery, which led to the blessing from Xiang Yu. Naturally, I felt uneasy about receiving the same blessing again, so I decided to try for something different.

“Lord Yi, I apologize, but I’d like you to hear my situation.”

[Your situation?]

“Yes. In truth, I have various formidable enemies…”

I recounted my conflicts with the White Lotus Sect and the Imperial Palace. I stressed how, in terms of numbers and strength, they were quite challenging foes. Smoothly, I eased my thoughts into a request.

“Thus, I am not convinced that accuracy is vital for my survival. Please enhance my striking ability or address me to someone else.”

[Hmm…]

This time, Yi appeared to seriously contemplate my words. After a moment, he replied, [Alright… I hadn’t intended to go this far, but if you’re pushing it this much, I will grant you my arrows.]

“Arrows?”

At that moment, a rumble like thunder sounded, and suddenly, the Eight Trigrams appeared around Yi, wrapping around him as if binding him tightly. Upon seeing the symbols, he shouted toward the heavens.

[Emperor Jiun! What does this mean?]

 

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