919——————==

True Martial Home

A demon, huh?!

In that instant, the memories of Zhuge Sa that I inherited came flooding back.

[“If you completely come under me, it won’t be that big of a loss…”]

[“Up till now, I’ve considered your human shell due to the minimum contract, but if I were to reincarnate you as an artificial demon, there’s no doubt… something amazing will come of it.”]

Those were the words Simon Magus had said when he proposed the negotiation to Zhuge Sa during the Great Tree Battle. Simon Magus feigned generosity in exchange for Zhuge Sa’s soul, but in reality, he was filled with greed to create the strongest artificial demon using Zhuge Sa’s soul.

An artificial demon was a type of demon created by a sorcerer using all their wisdom and skills. Naturally, regular sorcerers or beginner demon sorcerers could never create one, and only a corrupted existence that had colluded with the Old Ruler and was no longer human could forge one.

In short, you had to be a high-level demon sorcerer capable of eroding the surroundings with mere existence to have even the minimum qualifications to challenge this. Thus, the demon techniques and blessings inscribed on the artificial demon were of an exceptionally high level, and the demons were designed to act as the sorcerer’s hands across dimensions.

Moreover, the quality of that artificial demon depended not on their strength in life but on the quality of their soul and talent. It was only natural that the more one corrupted a noble and sacred soul in life, the more exceptional the artificial demon would become.

Additionally, the level of talent greatly influenced their quality, meaning that if Zhuge Sa’s Soul Exchange Technique Grandmaster became an artificial demon, a powerful artificial demon capable of casting the strongest demon magic would be born. This was because a high-level sorcerer like Zhuge Sa would rarely become someone else’s artificial demon.

Gritting my teeth.

So Zhuge Sa chose to sell his soul to the Demon King to become a demon himself to protect this front?! That basically meant Zhuge Sa suffered the worst kind of pain and fell from grace.

“Damn it!!”

“Wait.”

Before I knew it, I tried to rush out, but Zhuge Yulong restrained me with a binding spell. I shook off the annoyance and released the binding with my Spirit Power, prompting Zhuge Yulong to speak with sharp eyes.

“What will you do if Zhuge Sa is a demon now? Do you plan to persuade the demon to regain their human heart?”

I hesitated.

I momentarily stopped chasing the echoes of my teleportation and froze in place. Turning slowly to look at Zhuge Yulong, I asked.

“Are you saying that communication is impossible?”

“No. Communication is definitely possible. That artificial demon retains Zhuge Sa’s intellect and abilities. But in this case, having intellect makes it worse.”

“What do you mean?”

Zhuge Yulong sighed.

“… Huh. Have you ever thought about what if Zhuge Sa genuinely became your enemy? Have you ever faced such a Zhuge Sa?”

“……”

In that moment, I felt goosebumps on the back of my head.

Just thinking about it was horrifying.

“Probably not. But you, more than anyone, know how terrifying Zhuge Sa would become in that case.”

Zhuge Yulong continued decisively.

“Even I was significantly harmed by that fellow. You know that, right?”

“… Yeah.”

That was during the Great Tree War. Even though Zhuge Yulong overwhelmed Zhuge Sa in terms of prowess and magical ability, Zhuge Sa managed to secure victory and seal Zhuge Yulong away. Zhuge Sa’s wicked intellect and madness could not be predicted within the realm of human possibility.

“What do you think Zhuge Sa would do if you approached him? Would he attack you outright?”

I stayed silent, slowly shaking my head.

“No. He would pretend to have regained his humanity and then strike me from behind…”

“Correct. And he might strike again while you’re unaware.”

“……”

“Zhuge Sa is now a monster with both might and intellect… or rather, I should say he is a ‘monster that was Zhuge Sa’. Loyalty or goodwill towards you can be disregarded.”

“Damn it.”

Now I understood why Zhuge Yulong had been reluctant to talk about Zhuge Sa. No matter how cold-blooded he was, he couldn’t remain unscathed after his true son weakened and his own brother sold his soul. I had been careless.

And I could see that Zhuge Yulong’s words made perfect sense.

‘Approaching Zhuge Sa now is a suicide mission. It’s better to think of Zhuge Sa as dead…’

As Zhuge Yulong said, if Zhuge Sa was now acting as Simon Magus’s hand with all his might and wisdom, there was no way to bring him back to humanity. The only way would be to annihilate Simon Magus and completely destroy his existence to cancel the contract. But even then, if Simon Magus were to perish, the connected artificial demons that shared his soul would likely be obliterated along with him.

There were no more paths to salvation. Zhuge Sa had clearly tried to avoid selling his soul to Simon at all costs.

“……”

In other words, Zhuge Sa had poured everything into this endeavor, even throwing away his dignity as a human. Thinking of how two of my precious advisors and companions had sacrificed their lives for me brought tears to my eyes. At the same time, I felt so infuriated by my own helplessness that I bit my jaw tightly.

‘Evil God…!!’

This entire situation was because of the Evil God.

If that bastard hadn’t suddenly invaded the land, Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa wouldn’t have had such a miserable death. The moment I reincarnated, that damned thing always showed up just to mess with me. A fierce desire to kill him arose within me.

……?

Huh? Something feels off… why exactly is the Evil God…

In that moment, I felt a strange discomfort. However, I couldn’t quite pin down what it was, and while I was dazed, Zhuge Yulong put a hand on my shoulder.

“We need to leave; it’s getting dangerous. Let’s move to the Life Sea now.”

“Wait a second.”

“If Zhuge Sa notices us, we’ll be finished here. With the body of the Portrait Immortal, if you accidentally trigger his demon magic, even you would be one-shot-killed. Hurry.”

One shot?!

I had confidence that, with my Spirit Power’s barrier, I could block most things, so I was baffled. Yet Zhuge Yulong’s words didn’t seem to be a lie at all.

“… Fine.”

I reluctantly released my Spirit Power barrier and entrusted my body to Zhuge Yulong. He then used his teleportation technique to swiftly return to our stronghold. The reason he didn’t use the True Martial Home was that it was a demon artifact based on magical power, which could be detected by the sensitive artificial demons.

Pat!

We returned to Guangdong Province, briefly assisted with the evacuation retreat, and headed straight to where Abe no Seimei and his clan were. When I explained the situation so far to Seimei, he sighed.

“Ugh… I never thought things would get this bad. Baek Woong, you must keep believing in the law of cause and effect until the end.”

“I understand that much without being told. But… how is the situation?”

At my question, Seimei replied.

“We’re continuously suppressing the demons within the Great Heavenly Infinite Divine Formation. However, my power has weakened, and magical energy is gradually leaking out.”

The Great Heavenly Infinite Divine Formation was the strongest sealing formation created by Abe no Seimei, currently suppressing the Life Sea completely—a supreme yin-yang sealing formation of all time. However, the weakening of such a formation suggested that the aftereffects of Seimei transferring a part of Amaterasu’s power were starting to show. Gritting my teeth, I said.

“… Damn it, if only we had Cheon Gong-pyo.”

I knew it was a pointless thought, yet I couldn’t help but resent the absence of Cheon Gong-pyo. He had vanished somewhere after briefly participating in the Celestial Battle. If Cheon Gong-pyo had supported us to the end, it would have been easier to fend off the Evil God’s forces or even steal the egg from Golden Crow Island.

In fact, it was unexpected. Until now, he had always been at odds with the likes of the Heavenly Mysterious Woman, causing a ruckus alongside us, so I had thought he’d do so again. But this time, perhaps for no particular reason, he silently vanished the moment he confirmed that the Heavenly Mysterious Woman had disappeared into the Divine Temple. I should have lured him into a binding contract after summoning him once, but I simply hadn’t had the leisure for that.

‘Should I be thankful he hasn’t turned against us?’

As I muttered with a bitter taste in my mouth, Zhuge Yulong said,

“Just wait a bit longer. Yan Emperor will make an appearance soon.”

“Ugh…”

I decided to wait quietly in the Life Sea. I was worried about the situation in the Central Plains, but right now, it was more important to pass through the Life Sea before heading into the outer universe. While I waited, I encountered several yin-yang masters from the Abe no clan, and the expressions on their faces were all hardened like lead. They must also have sensed that the world was facing destruction.

Then, a full day passed.

Flare –

A massive flame, like a sun, rippled through the sky and flew up above the Life Sea. That flame slowly penetrated the Life Sea’s interior and began to spread its wings. While watching the flame, Zhuge Yulong murmured.

“It’s the Avatar sent by Yan Emperor Shennong.”

Kuuu

Kiiee – !!

Like a phoenix, the flame spread its wings and instantly overturned the Life Sea and Death Sea, burning everything to a bright flame. Since it was the fire of Yan Emperor Shennong, the demons and otherworldly beings inside could not even resist and were obliterated, leaving not even the remnants of the demon. The phoenix that had cleansed both the Life Sea and Death Sea quickly entered the Otherworldly Realm, transforming into a size several times larger before beginning to exhale fiery breath.

Hoo-ah!

When the flaming phoenix started incinerating the demon beasts in the Otherworldly Realm.

Wee-oooiing

‘What’s that!’

As I watched the scene from Seimei’s room using the crystal ball, I could see a strange entity appearing amidst the sound that vibrated. It was like the faceless King of the Life Sea slowly walking out from the abyss, as I had seen in Miyamoto Musashi’s recollections.

[Avatar of Shennong… Do you wish to know why I am attacking you?]

Flare!!

The phoenix responded to the King of the Life Sea’s words by changing form from its avian shape to that of a giant. The massive giant donned bronze armor and a horned helmet, with skin seeming to glow red hot. This giant looked somewhat different from others I had seen, and he replied to the King of the Life Sea.

[Shennong commands: ‘Step aside’ to allow the one who bears the Divine Mandate to pass, Gatekeeper.]

Swish

In the giant’s hand was a massive axe. The axe looked crude but was brimming with divine power.

[……]

The King of the Life Sea remained silent for a moment, then spoke.

[I can clear the way. However, if you try to come out, I shall block the door. That is the Gatekeeper’s duty and cannot be compromised.]

[In that case, my King will eliminate you. Moreover, your power cannot possibly handle even me.]

The giant appeared to calmly anticipate his own victory. And the King of the Life Sea didn’t outright deny that statement.

[That may be so. But I, too, have a king… I must fulfill my duty as Gatekeeper, which is the will of the one I serve! It is not my selfishness!]

[Is that so?]

What could be the meaning hidden in that exchange?

The giant, who had come as Shennong’s avatar, nodded slightly and said,

[I reported your will to the King. I hope you let the one bearing the Divine Mandate pass.]

[I will comply.]

It seemed Shennong intended to send an avatar to negotiate rather than personally descending to defeat the King of the Life Sea like before. Although somewhat disappointing, it seemed Shennong opted for this method to conserve his strength for efficiency.

Hoo-whoom!!

“Ugh!”

At that moment, I suddenly felt myself teleporting right into the middle of their conversation. I was safely observing the situation from Seimei’s room, so what was going on?! However, I soon realized that the two colossal entities before me had noticed I was eavesdropping and had summoned me through their divine powers.

[You are safe here.]

“Ugh.”

Then the giant effortlessly scooped me up and placed me atop his helmet. Being over ten times his height gave me the impression of being on a hill. The giant spoke.

[I am now heading to the outer universe. According to our covenant, I shall provide you protection there, so consider this a heads up.]

“… Ah, yes… But may I ask your name?”

Asking the question was an instinctive reaction, and the giant answered while striding confidently into the abyss’s final gate.

[I am the Giant King Suin, the avatar of Shennong.]