1156——————==

Soul of the Evil God

What?!

The room froze for a moment at Sagong Lin’s words. Then Zhuge Liang chuckled and replied.

[You’re quick on the uptake. I plan to do just that.]

“This is absurd! You know I have no reason to follow that scheme, right?”

[You’ll have to follow it if you want to claim to be Baek Woong’s ally.]

“…….”

Sagong Lin closed her eyes, seemingly in deep thought. I watched their standoff and quickly interjected.

“Wait a minute!! What are you two talking about? Summoning the Emperor using Sagong Lin? Is such a ridiculous thing even possible?”

[Is there any reason why it shouldn’t?]

Zhuge Liang calmly explained.

[Sagong Lin is the strongest pawn, the Heavenly Demon, presented to the world by Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen. Naturally, she’s the closest ‘apostle’ associated with the emperor in this realm. So, what happens if we sacrifice Sagong Lin?]

“……!!”

[The emperor would obviously appear. There’s no greater sacrifice than the Heavenly Demon Sagong Lin for summoning him. And the emperor is one of the few beings that even Nüwa could not defeat with all her might. Isn’t it quite reasonable in light of the fact that we need to overcome Nüwa?]

Sacrifice?!

It was an unexpected idea. I felt a surge of resistance and shouted.

“Don’t be ridiculous! No matter how much of a genius you are, I cannot accept sacrificing an ally!”

[What if the sacrifice never happened?]

“……?”

Zhuge Liang’s eyes sparkled with a glimmer of wisdom, devoid of any other emotion.

[The ‘knot’ you fashioned has conclusively determined that it will roll into a Great Cycle, not a Small Cycle. This means that if you keep repeating the knot, every past event can be erased. So all you need to do is pass through Xiang Yu’s checkpoint just once to reach the 99th floor, right?]

“What….”

[Consider Xiang Yu’s demeanor. He said that if you wager the ‘king’s destiny’ and guess who the trial hall on the 99th floor is, he would recognize you and let you pass. So, as long as you find out who the trial hall is on the 99th floor, you don’t need to fight Xiang Yu.]

“…….”

[You shouldn’t have to fear the aftermath of summoning Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen. He is not a being that can surpass the Great Cycle. No matter what chaos he causes, in the next knot, his tyranny will be deemed non-existent.]

Zhuge Liang said this while calmly fluttering his white robe.

[There’s only one problem: despite having the best sacrifice prepared in Sagong Lin, there’s currently no great sorcerer here capable of summoning the emperor. But if we could call Jin So-cheong, that could solve the issue.]

Something clicked in my mind as I grasped Zhuge Liang’s words.

“Are you suggesting we use Jin So-cheong to summon the emperor with Sagong Lin as the sacrifice?”

[That’s entirely possible. If his sorcery prowess is divine, it wouldn’t be a challenge at all.]

“That’s nonsense! I’m not going to sacrifice an ally, and above all, Jin So-cheong wouldn’t agree to such a human sacrifice!!”

Zhuge Liang looked at me with an endlessly emotionless gaze.

[How can you be so certain?]

“What….”

[While listening to your story, I confirmed that the values Jin So-cheong is concerned with differ from those of your group. To him, ‘knot’ is perceived as an extremely dangerous two-edged sword, and he agrees that he must escape it as soon as possible. The chances are high he would rather collaborate to find a way out than watch a reborn person trapped in a knot.]

“Jin So-cheong is not that kind of person.”

[How can you be so sure about someone you haven’t seen in 500 years?]

Zhuge Liang’s gaze shifted to Sagong Lin.

[That Sagong Lin over there isn’t the same person as she was 500 years ago. And what do you know about Jin So-cheong, who has reached the divine level of sorcery after 500 years?]

“…….”

[The choice is yours, Baek Woong, but the most expedient and simplest strategy that can be proposed right now is this. The proposal is over.]

“Ridiculous….”

I wanted to protest that this was nonsense, but the next moment, Sagong Lin’s voice caused me to freeze in place.

“Baek Woong. I’m okay with being the sacrifice.”

“Sagong Lin!”

She continued as if nothing were wrong.

“If that truly helps you pass the tower’s trial and overcome hardships, then this life is worth nothing. Feel free to use me as a sacrifice. But….”

Sagong Lin caught my hand with great sadness and resignation in her eyes.

“With this [knot], if I sacrifice myself, please acknowledge me as your ally.”

“What do you mean? Of course, I….”

“But the truth is, you see me as the Emperor’s puppet, the Heavenly Demon, right? That’s why, until now, you’ve withheld information from me, just as Asura and the reborn person have suggested?”

“…That’s.”

“I genuinely want to gain your true trust. Because….”

She squeezed my hands tightly.

“I have no one but you. I’ve waited for you for 500 years….”

“…….”

I didn’t know what to say.

Sagong Lin’s heartfelt emotion overwhelmed me to the point where I couldn’t speak. At the same time, realizing how upset she must have felt that I had hidden the truth from her, a wave of guilt surged within me.

At that moment, Zhuge Liang said.

[It doesn’t have to be necessarily a sacrifice. It may even be possible to manifest the emperor directly within her body.]

“But that would still kill Sagong Lin’s identity! How is that any different?!”

[We could consider another benefit. Whether she’s truly a puppet or has the ability to resist separately from the emperor… If it’s the latter, then you can accept her as a true ally as she intends, rather than remaining in this ambiguous state.]

“……!!”

[What Sagong Lin has accepted means just that. She has volunteered to take that gamble to earn your trust.]

I understood that Zhuge Liang’s reasoning was logically sound, yet at the same time, I felt resentful and glared at him.

“Zhuge Liang!! I heard you were known as a cunning strategist full of wicked schemes; does that mean all the legends about you were just empty tales?”

Zhuge Liang waved his white robe as if annoyed.

[Hah! Enough with the foolish talk!]

“What?”

[Who says there’s a moral compass when it comes to strategy? Does sticking to righteous schemes make it more justifiable to brutally slay foes? If that were the case, I wouldn’t have hunted down Liu Su in the Eight Trigrams or massacred 100,000 of the Southern Barbarians.]

“…….”

[The morality of a strategist is determined solely by the lord’s will. If, in the end, you are perceived as just, the strategist is seen as just too. The opposite applies as well. The strategist is merely a tool to fulfill the master’s will, so don’t question the morals of a tool.]

As soon as I heard Zhuge Liang’s words, all the strategists of the Zhuge clan I had encountered flashed through my mind. I realized that for the most part, they were no different from what Zhuge Liang was reflecting. They weren’t inherently wicked; it was just that I had misunderstood their intentions.

No matter how I looked at it, following Zhuge Liang’s strategy seemed to be the most efficient and straightforward choice. But I bit my lip and said.

“No. I won’t do that. I refuse to sacrifice my ally.”

[Naive. If a Great Cycle rolls around, it’ll become a non-issue, won’t it? What guilt would you bear? Even Sagong Lin is in agreement.]

“In that case, is it okay to sacrifice others not only in this ‘knot’ but in every past life as well?”

[Well, that’s true. I have to wonder why you haven’t done it until now.]

“…That sounds just like something Zhuge Sa would say.”

I shook my head.

“Even if I were to die a hundred times and be reborn, I still wouldn’t do it. Human sacrifice is something I’ll never commit to. That’s my belief.”

Zhuge Liang sneered.

[How amusing. Is it just you who can die? The fact that you would die a hundred times means your companions will die a hundred times too! Are you really going to say those things when I devised strategies to maximize efficiency and minimize the death of your allies? What a hypocrite….]

“…….”

[Ah, it’s been a while since I felt this way. I often had this conversation with my lord.]

Suddenly Zhuge Liang looked up at the sky with a bittersweet smile, as if reminiscing.

[Now that I think about it, you do resemble him in some ways….]

“……?”

[Okay. If you feel that strongly against, let me offer an alternative plan. Would this suffice?]

An alternative plan!!

I hurriedly spoke.

“Please, tell me!”

[As a last resort, we attack Xiang Yu first and aim for an instant kill. Honestly, I don’t think the odds are in our favor, but this is the only alternative we have.]

I recalled something I had heard previously from Zhuge Liang.

“Oh, you mean we’re going to use Ta Shin-pyeon….”

[Correct. You’ve already heard of it.]

“But there’s no guarantee that one strike will defeat Xiang Yu. It may cause some damage, but….”

[That’s why it’s better to bring a lot of allies. First, we’ll start from the Primordial Void.]

Zhuge Liang continued.

[We have about ten time slots left until the end of today. Within two time slots, we’ll target the Blood Pillar of the Primordial Void and finish preparations for battle against Xiang Yu within the last two time slots. That’s how we’ll have our strategy ready for this knot.]

Boom!

We all headed toward the seal of the Primordial Void, Mu-ling-do-won. When I released my divine power to remove the palace’s barrier, the Eight Trigram Seal that marked the entrance to Mu-ling-do-won revealed itself, and Zhuge Liang reached out to the seal and opened the door.

There had been a temporary release of the Blood Pillar’s seal at the time of summoning the Sealing Blood of the Divine by the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens, but the immortals like Tai Gong-mang had deemed the spirits trapped there as dangerous and re-sealed them. It was, however, known that the seal had been somewhat alleviated.

Boom!

As we entered Mu-ling-do-won, we soon encountered a powerful guardian. The guardian was an ancient evil spirit trapped within Mu-ling-do-won and, upon seeing us, croaked out.

[Who are you?]

Zhuge Liang, looking unbothered, said,

[Let’s all rush and capture such a lowly creature. This is a waste of time.]

[What did you say, you punks…. Hah!]

Boom!

The entire celestial exploration team, along with Asura, Sagong Lin, and Hou Yi, charged at the guardian. The guardian put up a fight but was reduced to shreds within three seconds.

Zhuge Liang remarked,

[Grab that body; it can be used as a sacrifice, so put it in the Wooden Armor.]

After collecting the guardian’s body, we headed straight for the Blood Pillar to break the seal. It shouldn’t be too difficult without the chief guardian Tai Gong-mang.

Boom!

I removed the mask of the Southern Barbarian’s mask that had been used to control the Blood Pillar. Once overshadowed by the Southern Barbarian’s consciousness, I initially felt dizzy, but soon regained my own awareness and was able to remove the mask.

‘Looks like I’m getting better at this mask technique!’

Initially, I had trouble distinguishing between my consciousness and the Southern Barbarian’s, but this time I could clearly differentiate them. After breaking the seal on the Blood Pillar, I moved to the second pillar, where Sagong Lin stepped forward, releasing golden light to infuse into the Blood Pillar.

Boom!

Before the Heavenly Demon’s power, the Blood Pillar’s seal seemed utterly useless. With the second Pillar unsealed, only the final third Pillar remained. But I knew that this last Pillar would definitely be filled with sorcerers capable of using divine arts, making it a difficult challenge.

‘Princess Yonggil, Nan Gu Xianong, Taoist Master of Moral… each one of them are ancient immortals skilled in divine arts. Their individual capabilities are far beyond those of the Master of the Twelve Joules. Although it should be easier without Tai Gong-mang, I still worry about whether we can win without getting hurt.’

If Hou Yi steps in, things might work out, but the possibilities of their divine arts remain uncertain. Back in the day, I had barely scraped by with the assistance of Xiang Yu, but facing these opponents in direct combat is bound to be a challenge.

I had given Zhuge Liang a thorough briefing on this trial’s intricacies beforehand, but how we would approach attacking was still uncertain. When I glanced over at him, Zhuge Liang said.

[There’s no need to exhaust our strength fighting.]

“What do you mean?”

[I’ll negotiate with them. Follow me.]

Boom!

We made our way to where the Blood Pillar’s final seal was located, and as expected, three ancient immortals awaited us. Zhuge Liang stepped forward and spoke.

[Ancient immortals! You must have made an agreement with Zhuge Yulong.]

At those words, Princess Yonggil nodded.

[That’s right. It was an agreement to break the seal of the Primordial Void right before the impending doom arrives. How can you intruders come and cause such a ruckus?]

[…….]

[We naturally intended to break the seal in due time, so you need not pressure us.]

“Huh? Really?”

Did Zhuge Yulong truly make an agreement beforehand?

[The situation has changed. Doom is upon us today. The world is on the brink of collapse.]

[What, what did you say….]

The three immortals looked astonished as Zhuge Liang coolly continued.

[To all blood pillars. If the purpose of this seal is to suppress the chaotic powers of ancient beings, then conversely, it’s also possible to twist the sealing technique to concentrate all the seals on one person. Instead of applying it to hundreds of ancient beings, we could focus the seal on a single target.]

[It’s conceivable, but… There has never been an instance where it was executed like that. Why do you want to do that?]

[Because of Xiang Yu.]

[Xiang Yu?]

[Stop with the small talk and follow my orders. Nüwa has gone mad and decided to annihilate this world, so we must restrain her puppet, Xiang Yu. However, if we unseal this third Blood Pillar, his powers will reach godlike heights. Thus, we must seal him instead.]

[Hmm…. Do you mean to focus the sealing on that Xiang Yu?]

[Exactly.]

The three immortals whispered among themselves and then said:

[Fine. Although this is a trial we’ve never tried before, if we have time to chant the sealing incantation near this Xiang Yu, it’s definitely possible.]

[You’ve thought well. Then follow us now.]

[Understood.]

With Zhuge Liang smoothly securing the three ancient immortals as allies, he turned to me.

[Now, Baek Woong, gather the ancient beings在着（ncp也可以行） in Mu-ling-do-won and ask for recommendations for the strongest among them.]

“Are you suggesting we have the ancient beings fight against Xiang Yu?”

[Isn’t that common sense? They might be weaker than Xiang Yu, but their power is still from the constellation. If there’s a concentration of the powers from the constellation, some among them may awaken special talents. Now, with the world about to collapse, it’s only natural someone will reveal their strengths.]

Zhuge Liang’s reasoning was sound. The lead figure guiding the beings of Mu-ling-do-won was King Ji Fa (Ji Fa), and he spoke up.

“Great person! The strongest among us are naturally Wu Song, Lin Chong, Li Kui, and Shi Jin.”

“Uh-huh.”

“If the world is on the verge of collapse, we’ll all step up. Song Gang and Gong Sun Sheng will also be great helps.”

After receiving recommendations for talent among them, I brought them back. Zhuge Liang then said.

[Good. Now, let’s unseal and head outside. Right now, find the Sword Saint Yeodong-bin at the Primordial Void.]

Boom!

We stepped outside after collecting Mu-ling-do-won from the Primordial Void. I triggered the Primordial Void to instantly locate Yeodong-bin.

‘Yeodong-bin. Over there, huh?’

Unexpectedly, Yeodong-bin was situated in an unlikely spot.

[Where exactly is Yeodong-bin?]

“Um, well…. He’s near the pond at the Baekdu Mountain’s Heaven and Earth.”

[…Is that a problem?]

“That’s practically the home base of the Twelve Joules. It’s inside their seal.”

In other words, it meant Yeodong-bin was in the heart of the Twelve Joules.

Entering there would inevitably lead to an all-out war with the Twelve Joules.

Zhuge Liang looked at me with a frown.

[So…? Is there any reason to waste time?]

I suddenly realized something.

And said, “No. There’s nothing that can get in our way. Let’s go.”

Boom!!

Together with my companions, we moved right in front of the Twelve Joules’ seal. There had always been the World Tree’s barrier surrounding this place, so we couldn’t normally enter. Zhuge Liang then gave a subtle nod to Princess Yonggil, who seemed to understand and cast a technique.

Divine Arts

Eternal Ice Glacier Moon

Boom!

Princess Yonggil, an ancient celestial maiden, cast her divine arts and immediately inflicted serious damage on the Sacred Altar Tree’s barrier. I sensed the crack, then quickly activated the twin echoes to collide with the opening.

Boom!

The Sacred Altar Tree’s barrier shattered, and we began to advance unfettered.

“No.”

“Who are you?!”

“Stop them!”

Suddenly, dozens of men in black suits and sunglasses positioned themselves in front of us. Each one appeared to be a Peak Expert, but it mattered little as our group swiftly overwhelmed them in an instant.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Bullets and shells began flying from all directions, but they were completely unthreatening. Even if it was advanced technology from the future, the skill gap was just too vast. Hou Yi effortlessly released thousands of Shadowless strikes.

Boom!

Moreover, the experts from the celestial exploration team were all at least at the Overlay Technique level, allowing us to ravage the Twelve Joules’ defenses without anyone getting hurt. The Twelve Joules’ experts looked like they had just faced a nightmare.

“Huh, huh.”

“Monsters….”

Exactly.

It felt like we were torturing a toddler’s arm.

With the absolute power we had unintentionally amassed, there was zero reason to fear the Twelve Joules. I couldn’t help but smirk.

‘I hope the Master of the Twelve Joules shows up!’

Should I just obliterate the Twelve Joules today?

But contrary to my thoughts, the Master of the Twelve Joules did not appear until we reached Baekdu Mountain’s Heaven and Earth, where the Sword Saint Yeodong-bin was waiting for us.

The Sword Saint, standing next to the hut, looked at our group with calm eyes and then said,

[What a commotion.]

“…….”

But I was more startled not by the Sword Saint’s appearance but by the person standing next to him.

It was someone I recognized all too well.

And in disbelief, I muttered.

“…Fire Dragon Incarnate?”