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“I can’t believe I was just taught how to move to another realm by summoning a creature.”

Once Zhuge Sa agreed, he summoned a creature with magic, and as soon as I laid eyes on it, I exclaimed, “Oh, not again…”

“Yeah, this guy can move at speeds hundreds or thousands of times faster than light. It’s an otherworldly being and a demon creature. Unfortunately, a human would need to drink honey wine to survive riding it.”

Continuing, Zhuge Sa said, “The trick to traveling to another realm is simply summoning this creature. There are other methods, but they’re inferior. This one is the most stable, comfortable, and fast. Most demon sorcerers use it.”

“Is summoning this creature really that hard?”

“Not exactly.” He snickered. “It’s not that the summoning technique is hard; it’s just that syncing your mental frequencies with this guy is a real pain.”

“Mental frequencies?”

“This creature is unique in that it communicates with frequencies instead of words. And this method of mental communication is so rare throughout the universe that most races can’t pull it off. So to understand the frequency and make a contract, a normal human would have to work their whole life without success.”

“……”

Mental frequency? I stared at the otherworldly creature before me. It floated in the air, making gurgling sounds. It had wings like a bird, scales like a lizard, and a face that was neither bird-like nor lizard-like. It was pure weirdness, and I couldn’t feel any frequencies at all.

“I don’t get it. How do I sync the frequencies?”

“Ha ha. It’s like teaching a cow or pig to speak human—impossible in theory. So usually, you’d use a demon technique to transform your body into that creature’s form and practice syncing frequencies every day.”

“Transform?”

“Like this.” Poof!

With a loud sound, Zhuge Sa transformed. From head to shoulders, he became just like that otherworldly being. It looked absurd and hideous. As I jumped back in surprise, Zhuge Sa, now looking like the summoned creature, gazed longingly at it, and suddenly the creature began responding!

Grrr…

After finishing the transformation, Zhuge Sa returned to his original appearance.

“Just now, I had a casual chat with it.”

“What did you talk about?”

“I asked if it was hungry, and it said it wanted a calf’s raw liver.”

“……”

Zhuge Sa casually petted the otherworldly creature like it was the cutest thing. “The transformation technique itself isn’t hard. Once you’ve etched the demon mark, it’s simple. But there are tens of thousands of frequencies, and finding the right one to weave the unique ‘language’ of that race is tricky.”

“So that’s why it’s tough.”

“I consider myself somewhat of a genius in linguistics, but it took me nearly a year to master this technique.” Zhuge Sa’s eyes sparkled as he recalled the struggle.

If it took him a year, it’d probably take me 20 or 30. I steeled myself and declared, “Teach me.”

Poof!

I etched the demon mark that Zhuge Sa taught me and transformed into the otherworldly creature. But something strange happened.

[ I want a calf’s liver! When are you giving it to me? ]

Huh? As soon as I transformed, I heard the creature whining while flapping its wings. And oddly enough, it looked cute, unlike its hideous form in human shape.

‘Am I going crazy?’

Why does the otherworldly creature look adorable? Plus, I somehow sensed it was female, not male.

Feeling adventurous, I unconsciously tried to ‘talk’ without realizing I was emitting a frequency.

[ I’m not giving anything. ]

It felt clunky, but somehow my will got across. The otherworldly creature seemed to understand and flapped its wings in response.

[ You’re tightwadding, you old guy. I’d prefer to munch on hearts or a pig’s head instead. ]

[ How about not a calf, a pig instead? ]

[ I hate pigs! ]

[ Alright, I’ll get you a cow. ]

What the heck? The conversation was surprisingly smooth. I took off to fetch a calf from the pen, then changed back into human form, slaughtered it, and transformed into the creature again to present the liver, heart, and head one after another.

The otherworldly creature was ecstatic!

[ Wow! You brought my favorite parts! ]

[ How does the contract work? ]

Chomp chomp!

As the creature happily munched on the liver, it responded, “I’ll bring my friend!”

Zap!

Moments later, another creature identical to this one appeared. And for some reason, I just knew it was male, not female. This summoned male creature flapped his wings and said, “[ If you give me the calf’s heart, I’ll make the contract. ]”

[ Got it, here you go. ]

Chomp chomp!

After the male creature devoured the offering, suddenly it glowed!

[ It’s done! See you again! ]

Zap!

Moments later, both otherworldly creatures vanished from this world. I tilted my head in confusion when Zhuge Sa, who had been watching, suddenly exclaimed in shock, “W-What?! You just made an instant contract?! With those difficult beings?!”

“Huh?”

He grabbed my collar, looking perplexed. “Baek Woong, did you already know its language and frequency?”

“No way! It just came to me when I transformed!”

“You just spoke what came to mind?”

“Yeah. Was that wrong?”

As I answered honestly and scratched my head, Zhuge Sa stared at me with wide eyes. It was rare to see him look that way.

After a long silence, Zhuge Sa sighed, “It seems you really might be cut out for the path of demons. Whether it’s a blessing or a curse…”

Feeling jovial, I grinned, “Hehe, maybe I’ve got some talent after all!”

“Hey…”

Zhuge Sa looked disgusted as if he had just heard the worst nonsense. He wore a look that said he couldn’t even swear at me. I had to keep my mouth shut.

“……”

I could sense Zhuge Sa was frustrated.

‘Did I mess up again?’ I thought nervously, but Zhuge Sa relaxed his expression.

“You fool! With that talent, you’ve surpassed mere talent. No human demon sorcerer has ever learned the otherworldly language faster than you. Even Demon King Simon Magus, who was the master of the Western landlord doctrines and the god of alchemy, couldn’t learn it faster than you.”

“So it’s not talent?”

“I’m starting to think it’s a heavenly gift. Ah… It’s probably a good thing you don’t even realize your worth.”

Zhuge Sa’s eyes held a mix of madness and incredulity. He thought for a moment before continuing, “Anyway, I never expected you’d learn summoning techniques on the spot. Now, I’ll teach you how to activate the summoning magic and brew honey wine.”

“Is that going to be hard?”

“Easy. Like I said, syncing with those guys’ frequencies is a pain, but everything else is something a mere average person could handle easily…”

True to his words, I learned everything in just a day. With a few more practice sessions, it became second nature. What I anticipated as decades of training wrapped up in a single instant made me ecstatic.

“Zhuge Sa! If I keep practicing the path of demons, I could get way stronger in no time!”

But Zhuge Sa shook his head.

“Hmm…”

“Why the skepticism?”

“Seeing your memories, you’ve shown remarkable talent in communicating with them, but when it comes to alchemy and demon sorcery practice, you’ve progressed like an average Joe. You can’t even perform basic magic or sealing techniques.”

“……”

“Well, now that we know you have undeniable talent for summoning contracts, your training method becomes clear. You’ll mostly focus on summoning from now on.”

“That makes sense.”

“Your talent is highly specialized. Like…”

Zhuge Sa paused for a moment, then continued, “By the way, just like other skills, advancing in the demon path also requires diligent cultivation. Don’t underestimate it; regular practice is crucial.”

“Got it.”

After spending an additional three or four days training with Zhuge Sa, I felt ready and asked him, “Zhuge Sa, I think I can move to the other realm now. How many realms are there?”

“I explained there are two types of other realms, remember?”

“Right.” I nodded.

“There’s the physical realm and the conceptual realm.”

“Exactly. That’s what matters.” Zhuge Sa leaned back comfortably.

“The physical realm means that if human civilization’s technology develops enough, you can reach it through physical means. Like getting to another city via cart. Of course, we’re usually talking distances of at least 10 light-years, which is huge, and that’s why we call it another realm. This includes alien clusters, exoplanets, and even other galaxies.”

“Hmm… So, is that prophet guy living in the physical realm too?”

“Most likely. That race probably lives million light-years away from here.”

Zhuge Sa took a sip of water.

“The conceptual realm, on the other hand, is different. Even if you’re in a spaceship that can travel tens of thousands of light-years in the blink of an eye, you still can’t reach it. You’d have to use special methods to get there because the dimensions themselves are different. Dream realm or blood realm fall into this category.”

Once he finished explaining, Zhuge Sa cracked his knuckles.

“About 90% of otherworldly beings reside in the physical realm. Simply put, they’re aliens, and we’re earthlings. But the higher beings tend to live in the conceptual realm, and when it comes to the Three Sovereigns, you can’t even find them by physical means.”

“I see.”

“The movement technique of the honey wine I’ve taught you allows you to explore the physical realm, but you can’t go to the conceptual realm. So now we’ve secured the exploration rights to the physical realm.”

“So I can’t go to the conceptual realm?”

Zhuge Sa chuckled. “That’s not something to be disappointed about. There are very few conceptual realms, and most of them are listed in demon grimoires. They’re often the hideouts of high beings or the homes of divine races, but hey, you’ve got all the time in the world to explore them later.”

“……”

As I pondered, I finally spoke, “The first thing I need to look for is Wu He, Xiang Yu’s beloved. The most likely place to find her is Ming Realm (冥界)…”

Zhuge Sa interjected, “Ming Realm is classified as a conceptual realm. If you want to get there through magic, it’s too tedious and risky. But it’s not like you can’t find a physical way to get there.”

“What?” I gasped in surprise.

“Did you just say the Ming Realm actually exists in the physical world?”

“Technically, there’s a special passage leading there. I think Cheon Woo-jin would know all about it.”

“I should call him.” I quickly summoned both Mangnyang and Cheon Woo-jin, informing them that I had learned the summoning technique. They both looked as if they had expected this. Upon hearing about our current dilemma, Cheon Woo-jin said, “There’s a path called the Ming Dao (冥道), which souls from this world take after dying to reach the Ming Realm. If you time it right, you’ll have a chance to go there. The largest Ming Dao is at Northern Mourning Mountain (北邙山) near Luoyang.”

“I had no idea there was such a thing… Then let’s head to the Ming Realm via Northern Mourning Mountain!” I exclaimed cheerfully.

Cheon Woo-jin replied tersely, “…But the Ming Dao is crawling with Grim Reapers and Underworld judges, even generals. Some of them are high-level existences. I wonder how you’d manage to get through.”

“……”

“If it were Xiang Yu or Celestial Sage, they could probably bash through them to enter the Ming Realm, but that kind of thing is usually reserved for those with a penchant for masochism. To enter normally, you’d need permission from Lord of Mount Tai (泰山府君) to access the Ming Realm.”

“Lord of Mount Tai?”

“A great immortal who governs Mount Tai and oversees human lifespans.”

As I heard that, I felt incredulous.

“How can such a being exist?! If they did, how come they’ve never shown up during the offering ceremonies or chaos that happened at Mount Tai in any of my past lives?”

“That’s puzzling for me as well. However, my guess is…” Cheon Woo-jin’s gaze sharpened, “Lord of Mount Tai is merely a ceremonial title. The actual entity holding that authority might be someone else. It’s not uncommon for the Celestial Realm to intentionally distort inheritances. Especially with sensitive matters like the Ming Realm, human sorcerers likely wouldn’t have been allowed to wander around freely.”

“And who might that be?”

“There are only two beings in the Celestial Realm that control human lifespans, right?”

His words made me suddenly realize something. As I stayed silent, Cheon Woo-jin continued, “Southern Dipper Star Lord and Northern Dipper Star Lord. They’re probably the real Lords of Mount Tai and likely hold the rights to access the Ming Realm.”

 

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