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“Seeing this Celestial Sage again made my face go rigid.”

Forget everything else, it was obvious this guy wasn’t here with good intentions. Plus, with Mangnyang stuck in a time freeze, we were at a serious disadvantage. This Tripitaka was no ordinary troublemaker; as a high-ranking member of the Eight Parts of the Divine, he had enough sorcery skills to squash awakening Yacha like a bug. I could already feel the anxiety bubbling up.

‘No, losing isn’t the problem. If things go south, I can just take the easy way out and off myself. The real issue is why he’s watching me…’

It had to be because of the story Journey to the West. I glared at him and said, “Stop following us around. You want to write your own autobiographical novel or something?”

Tripitaka shrugged. “That’s one way to look at it, but we decided it was better to keep an eye on you.”

“We?”

“I have trustworthy companions who often discuss important matters with me.”

He laughed, making it sound like it was no big deal, but I knew he meant the group of Eight Parts of the Divine. That jerk had clearly met up with the Yacha and was now suspiciously following us to see what I was up to. I clenched my teeth.

‘Damn it. Have I been too conspicuous in this life?’

But I had no choice. If I wanted the blessing and favor of Celestial Sage, I’d have to try to keep the story relevant, and I couldn’t just ignore the sealing problem in Luoyang. My mistakes were my fault. I took a deep breath and calmly asked, “What do you want?”

“As I said, you’re currently in a bind, so I’ll use my sorcery to drive the nuisances away from the Underworld. That’s why I’m here.”

“You just happened to show up at a perfect moment, like you knew what we were planning. You’ve been surveilling us the whole time.”

As I harshly pointed this out, Tripitaka gave me a smirk. “If you don’t need my help, I’ll just leave. But there may come a time when you’ll want it.”

That’s when Cheon Woo-jin glared at him and said, “We don’t need that.”

His voice was calm but saturated with hostility. It was rare for Cheon Woo-jin to let such murderous intent show, and it caught me off guard. When Tripitaka turned to him, Cheon Woo-jin continued, “We don’t have time to waste on this. We can’t let a scheming guy like you hold us back any longer. Just stay put.”

“What do you think will happen if I just stay put?”

“I’ll kick your ass.”

“Ha ha ha, that’s a funny joke…”

He attempted his usual hearty laugh, but his expression soured the next second. “No, that’s not—”

Had the hand sign Cheon Woo-jin made offended him? Tripitaka’s handsome face twisted into something menacing, looking almost like an Asura, but he didn’t flinch as Cheon Woo-jin chanted, “Rapid Fire Charm!”

Bang!

In that instant, Tripitaka tried to conjure a defense, but Cheon Woo-jin’s magic, shining in red, slammed into Tripitaka’s front. Tripitaka trembled as if impaled by a skewer, staring at the red spear embedded in his chest, trying to pull it out.

Thud!

“Argh…” He howled, trying to pull the spear free, but it wouldn’t budge. Cheon Woo-jin remained firm in his hand sign and said, “Rapid Fire Charm!”

Sizzle!

The spear erupted with an even brighter light, causing Tripitaka to emit smoke like a barbeque. Strangely enough, despite such a severe injury, he showed no signs of being wounded, almost like a puppet still in motion. His face had transformed into something monstrous, losing all semblance of humanity, and he glared at Cheon Woo-jin with blood-red eyes.

[So you’re really bold enough to touch my aura, thinking you’re a disciple of the gods.]

“Talk all you want. It was your trap that put us in this mess.” Cheon Woo-jin replied coolly.

“You should uncast the spells you’ve placed on us and scram. Never show your face again.”

Suddenly, a chilling energy surged around Tripitaka. It was reminiscent of that overwhelming presence I’d felt when Geol-seon had done a display of power before the Master of the White Lotus Sect—something beyond human, poised to break free of its restraints. Tripitaka was vacillating between whether to reveal his true form as a Celestial Sage of the Eight Parts of the Divine.

I swallowed hard. ‘What’s up with Cheon Woo-jin? Why is he acting like this?’

I was considering simply declining Tripitaka’s offer or at least leveraging him somehow, but Cheon Woo-jin’s reaction was intense. I started feeling anxious that we might be walking into the path of death again. If things went poorly, I wouldn’t even make it to Dark Heaven Village unscathed! I never even considered the option of fighting the Eight Parts of the Divine.

Should I apologize to Tripitaka and stop Cheon Woo-jin right now?

Was I stepping into something too drastic here?

But I quickly changed my mind. ‘No. That guy is also a companion sharing memories. Let’s trust him for a moment.’

The privilege of the reborn is that ‘failure’ is permitted. It’s better to suffer a crushing defeat than to lose your allies’ trust. If I get a second chance, I can always fix things. I decided to trust the sorcerer Cheon Woo-jin’s abilities and choices, sticking it out until the end. If need be, I could summon Celestial Sage through the Ruyi Staff. While that seems like the best plan, racking up another debt with him is not ideal, since it would make seeking his aid in Dark Heaven Village less likely. Cheon Woo-jin must be aware of this too.

In Tripitaka’s eyes, chaos swirled. He still maintained a humanoid shape, but the moment I saw his face, the massive and terrifying aura rising made every ordinary human hold their breath. His lips curled into a sinister smile as he gripped his pale face tightly while saying, [Heh, heh heh. To think you would dare pick a fight with me because you trust that kid, huh?]

“Of course, it’s not just because of him.” Cheon Woo-jin replied dismissively.

“Looks like the influence of Maheshvara does have an effect. Will you lose all sense of cause and effect and get banished from this world, or will you withdraw your tracking techniques nicely?”

[You…]

“You started it. Don’t waste my time, just scram!”

[Scram… Daring to kill you now?]

“Can you? If you’re really thinking of pulling that off, I can call Celestial Sage to help.”

When Cheon Woo-jin yelled that, Tripitaka mumbled back, [If you weren’t Master Mangnyang’s disciple, I wouldn’t let this go…]

“So? What’s it to you? If you’ve got a problem, why not become Mangnyang’s disciple?”

[Hmph… Don’t provoke me too much…]

His gaze turned deadly as he sneered. [Fine. I won’t appear before you again. Don’t bother summoning Celestial Sage either.]

“Got it.”

[But remember, my comrades… are watching you…]

Bang!

Moments later, Tripitaka vanished like smoke. At the same time, the time stop effect faded away.

Mangnyang appeared surprised at the sudden shift in our auras, realizing the situation as he spoke, “Looks like the Eight Parts of the Divine came and went.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, Baek Woong. I couldn’t resist his time manipulation sorcery.” Mangnyang sounded shamefaced.

“That’s to be expected, Elder Brother. The spells from Tripitaka are pretty hard to withstand even for top-notch sorcerers.”

“Did the priest send him off then?”

“Yup.”

I looked at Cheon Woo-jin with concern. “Are you alright? You didn’t provoke him too intensely, did you? You could have dealt with him more lightly…”

When Cheon Woo-jin heard me, he laughed indignantly. “Hmph. Don’t talk nonsense! Were you just planning to let the Eight Parts of the Divine take our causal ties just like that?”

“Causal ties?”

Cheon Woo-jin sighed heavily. “Sigh. Why do you think that guy appeared to ask your permission? That Celestial Sage’s power is so immense he could have just swept the Underworld beings away and left us in debt.”

“Is that so strange? It’s just his style…”

Feeling confused, I tilted my head, and Mangnyang jumped in, “Baek Woong. What the priest means is that Tripitaka asking for your consent means a… acquisition of causal ties.”

“Causal ties can be gained like that?”

“Of course. It’s just simple logic that for every cause, there’s an effect — that’s the principle of causal ties that makes up the universe. The moment Celestial Sage asked for permission from you and you accepted, causal ties were formed. Then the Eight Parts of the Divine could meddle in earthly matters under the guise of that.”

“Oh…”

“The Eight Parts of the Divine possess Demonic King-level power, but without obtaining causal ties, they cannot intervene in worldly affairs.”

As I began to understand, Cheon Woo-jin’s expression turned furious. “And if you had accepted his proposal, then Tripitaka would have just used the excuse of sweeping away Underworld beings to gain causal ties, making it easier for him to meddle and spy on us. It would set the stage of ‘Client’ and ‘Executor’ for him.”

“Ugh.”

“Before challenging Dark Heaven Village, we would have gotten utterly wrecked by that jerk. The Eight Parts of the Divine and Chi You could turn all of us into mere toys!”

“But if that’s the case, we could have just refused. Why the heck did you provoke him?”

I protested, and Cheon Woo-jin replied, “He placed tracking sorcery on us, but the spell was too subtle and leveled up that even I struggled. It was better to force him into removing it voluntarily by threatening him.”

“Threatening, like the divine order of Maheshvara?”

“Exactly. This is one of the strongest and most destructive spells in Buddhism. After all, Maheshvara wields the most destructive powers in the universe.”

Cheon Woo-jin murmured. “The info I got during my past life at the Book of Thunder said this guy hates Maheshvara and sees it as his weakness.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Maheshvara is a symbol of cosmic destruction, rich with the powers of a destruction deity. It also carries the authority to break down the causal ties of higher beings.”

Thinking back, I recalled more details from what Yohan, the abbot of Book of Thunder, had shown about the Celestial. Tripitaka had arrived at this strategy based on that knowledge. I quickly called out to Cheon Woo-jin, “Teach me that spell! Next time, I’ll use it to chase him off!”

“Even if I taught you, you wouldn’t be able to.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you lack the skill. You could mimic the hand sign for Maheshvara, but your magical enlightenment isn’t enough to produce the effects. You’d have to be a top-notch sorcerer, proficient in both Taoist and Buddhist magics, as well as familiar with the spells of the Mavericks to wield that spell.”

“…”

So it turns out I couldn’t fend off the Eight Parts of the Divine due to my lack of skill!

Feeling regretful, Cheon Woo-jin spoke up. “It was a gamble, but fortunately, it worked out and his tracking spell was destroyed.”

“Gamble? Are you telling me there was a chance he could just transform back into his real self and attack us?”

“Naturally.”

“Whoa, damn… Wait a minute, if that happened, it would mean we’d all be dead!”

“Of course.”

“So why take such a gamble?!”

Cheon Woo-jin looked at me, as if wondering why I was confused. “Not everyone would die.”

“What?”

“Both of us, the Elder Brother and I are disciples of Mangnyang, so that guy wouldn’t have the guts to kill us. An Eight Parts of the Divine member wouldn’t even dare cross Mangnyang by giving ‘revenge’ as a causal tie. Ultimately, only you would face death.”

“…”

This guy would gamble with my life because he knew his would be spared?!

“Either way, if you die, you just start over with a new life, and even if we continue under that guy’s tracking, we’ll always end up in tight spots like last time. I thought it was a reasonable gamble, and besides, I could call Celestial Sage with the Ruyi Staff if needed, so it wouldn’t turn out as tragic.”

“While that’s true… Was your intention really to avoid getting into debt with Celestial Sage by gambling?”

“That, too.” Cheon Woo-jin gave me a knowing look. He had made a swift assessment of the situation when Tripitaka had ambushed us and acted accordingly. Consequently, I saved up some causal ties to summon Celestial Sage later.

“Still, just talk to me more.”

“What time did we have to chat during all that chaos?”

“Geez, man…”

Why was he so insistent on talking back? When Cheon Woo-jin retorted antagonistically, Mangnyang chuckled weakly. “Baek Woong. The priest may speak aggressively, but since the outcome is good, let it slide.”

“Ugh… Fine.”

“Anyway, while we’ve dealt with the interference from the Eight Parts of the Divine, the real problems are just beginning. We still have no way to defeat the Underworld beings…”

“Hmm.”

I crossed my arms, deep in thought. Then I said, “Let’s just give up on finding Yu Ji’s spirit.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. It’s becoming way too annoying and risky.”

I nodded. “I thought I might gain Xiang Yu’s assistance, but spinning in circles like this while risking death doesn’t seem worth pursuing anymore. I’ll focus on conquering Dark Heaven Village instead.”

If I can, then great, but right now, it looks bleak! If I keep trying to handle everything, I’ll just get ambushed again! I’ve had a history of failing trying to juggle too much, so instinctively I know it’s time to retreat. The Underworld venture itself is a huge gamble I can’t weave into Dark Heaven Village conquests.

“Oh, that’s quite the sensible decision.” Mangnyang clapped his fan in delight. “There may be ways to deal with those guys, but it seems wiser to simply back off. I intended to offer advice, but you’ve figured it out by yourself.”

“Thanks for that.”

“But there’s something worth noting…”

“What’s that?”

Mangnyang hesitated for a moment before speaking. “The Underworld, particularly the Northern Dipper Star Lord, likely has some sort of contract or deal with Zhuge Yulong. So uncovering their secrets could help us figure out the secret to the Vermilion Bird’s immortality.”

“The secret to immortality? That’s already been revealed.” I replied, puzzled.

“That Vermilion Bird has mastered alchemy and sorcery to create hundreds of backup bodies, hiding them in a secret lair to resurrect endlessly. Is there more to uncover?”

“Baek Woong, you seem to be overlooking something important.”

“What are you talking about?”

Mangnyang’s gaze became serious. “Think back to the events during the Gin Nara era…”

“Take a moment to think. At that time, we had brought the Vermilion Bird to the brink of death. All its clones and secret lairs were destroyed, and we thought the real body was annihilated. However, in the end, the Vermilion Bird possessed the body of an Eight Parts of the Divine being and seized Mount Tai as a base to fight back, putting us in a tight spot.”

“That did happen.”

“At that time, it seemed like there was no way for the Vermilion Bird to recover. Yet it managed to resurrect by summoning a Demonic King-level Eight Parts of the Divine. This implies there are other unmentioned secrets to its immortality beyond just resurrection through clone bodies.”

Interesting. I started to view Mangnyang’s insight as valid. While I pondered over it, Cheon Woo-jin glanced at the upper part of Northern Mourning Mountain. “We can accept the Eight Parts of the Divine’s contract, but his soul hasn’t gone to the Underworld. Even so, his physical form hasn’t diminished, and he has imparted all his knowledge and skills to Gin Nara. What that means is he has likely made some secret pact with the Northern Dipper Star Lord as a contingency for his afterlife.”

“True, Priest.” Mangnyang boldly affirmed. “We must uncover the secrets of the Vermilion Bird down to the last triviality. Only then can we eradicate future threats and pave the way for defeating Imperial Palace forces. We’ve operated under the false assumption that we secured that route, and as a result, we’ve kept getting blindsided by the Vermilion Bird.”

“But right now, there’s no method, Elder Brother. We can’t break that reckless encirclement unless it’s someone like Xiang Yu or Celestial Sage… or at least an Eight Parts of the Divine level figure.”

“We do have options beyond just an all-out assault.” Mangnyang paused in thought before addressing me. “Baek Woong, let’s prepare to head to Dongyoung.”

“Why Dongyoung?”

He gazed towards the far east. “We need to meet the first sorcerer who succeeded in the Taishan Duke Ritual to uncover the Underworld’s secrets.”

“Hmm!” I caught on to whom Mangnyang intended to see. I cautiously asked, “Is it possible to meet that person? With the info we’ve gathered so far, it seems they’re guarding the deepest seals, so we might not even get to see their face…”

“Of course, we can’t just ask to meet a top sorcerer guarding the most crucial seals of the human realm. Their clan would likely try to stop us.” Mangnyang chuckled softly. “The key is negotiation. If we provide what they desire, they’ll have no choice but to meet us.”

 

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