전생검신 Volume 84 Chapter 18

Ha, Henan Province’s Gaebong?! The place where the slave auction was held?!

I rummaged through my past memories. I had definitely witnessed a slave auction happening in that city, and I remembered that Master of the White Lotus Sect sent experts from the Su Shin Sect to take down the Wind Spirit Sect behind it. Although it felt like a long time ago, it was a relatively memorable experience, so I still remembered it. Zhuge Sa chuckled.

“I can’t remember the details since I lost my body and have been possessing you with the Soul Exchange Technique, but I know it was a thing.”

“Of course you would remember… wait… this is…”

I stammered again, staring at this bizarre, foggy city. Recognizing that there wasn’t a single shadow of a human around, I exclaimed.

“What kind of Gaebong is this?! Nothing here looks even close to what a building should be!! Not a single person around!!”

Henan’s Gaebong was supposed to boast a magnificent palace, a perfectly paved road, and all the features of a Ming Dynasty city. Being familiar with that landscape made it impossible for me to accept this place as Gaebong. Seeing my confusion, Zhuge Sa casually added,

“After you disappeared, a Great Flood swept over the world, causing massive chaos. Humanity was on the brink of extinction, and existing civilizations couldn’t withstand it. So, along with Saint Germain, we modified the great cities of the Central Plains using magic engineering.”

“…What? A Great Flood?”

I asked in shock.

“So, it really came to this?”

“Yep.”

“….”

The Great Flood!

That was the disaster that had consistently loomed as a threat during my thirtieth life. The divine being Susanoo had warned about it, and in ancient times, people had sought ways to prevent it. I recalled my memories and sighed.

“Um… I remember that Mangnyang said there were three ways to stop the Great Flood…”

“You forgot, huh? The first was to perform the Offering Ceremony in the Celestial Realm and ask the Three Sovereigns to stop the flood. The second was to seize the Celestial Realm and resurrect Fuxi. The last option was to go to the [Dream] where Tsukuyomi resided and kill it directly.”

“Oh, right!! Did we not use those methods?”

“…Sigh, of course, we did. The second and third options couldn’t be attempted without you, so we simply went for the Offering Ceremony. But…”

Zhuge Sa seemed to force a smile.

“The Three Sovereigns rejected the Offering Ceremony. We couldn’t even start the request to stop the flood.”

“…?!”

Wha-what!?

“Don’t tell me we messed up offering the sacrificial items or something in the ritual process…”

Zhuge Sa looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“You fool. The task of stopping the flood through the Offering Ceremony was of such gravity that I also revealed myself immediately to participate. Plus, there were people smarter than you, like Mangnyang and the Master of the White Lotus Sect; do you really think they would make such a stupid mistake?”

“….”

That’s true. With Mangnyang, the Master of the White Lotus Sect, and Zhuge Sa combining their efforts, such a mistake wouldn’t happen. Moreover, with Zhuge Sa or the Master’s capabilities, meeting the qualifications for the Offering Ceremony shouldn’t have been hard. Recalling those facts only deepened my confusion.

“Then what the heck… have I been dismissing the Offering Ceremony in my past lives?”

“Yep. You haven’t. But you were overlooked. And that was the scarier part…”

“Scared, huh…?”

“…It means the Three Sovereigns anticipated what we would request through the Offering Ceremony.”

After murmuring that, Zhuge Sa continued speaking.

“Anyway, after that, there were no solutions. Because you, Baek Woong, were absent, the only thing we could do was to find ways to minimize the damage from the Great Flood during the few years that the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens lent us her power. And the method we came up with was to use the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“The Philosopher’s Stone…?”

“As you know, the civilization level of the Great Ming Empire back then had no way to handle it. Even during the Great Bear Empire period, it would still be a difficult disaster to stop. Hence, we developed magic engineering using the Philosopher’s Stone and Crystal Stele, fortifying all the great cities in the Central Plains.”

“……!!”

“Most survivors on the continent of Central Plains are holed up in fortresses. And the Master of the Castle is leading them now. I’m currently overseeing Gaebong Castle.”

I tried to wrap my head around Zhuge Sa’s explanation of the current situation.

After some understanding, I shot a glance at the mechanical beings working diligently in the distance and asked,

“So, where are the humans? Those obviously look like worker constructs made by magic engineering.”

“What do you mean? Those are humans.”

“Huh?”

Zhuge Sa looked toward the mechanical beings and grinned.

“We used the souls of those who died during the flood, implanted them into a mass-produced Philosopher’s Stone to create mechanical bodies. According to your understanding of ‘humans,’ those are still humans.”

“……”

Those… are humans?!

No matter how I looked at them, they didn’t resemble anything human. They looked like machines with a red stone embedded in their chests. Zhuge Sa’s claim that they were humans just didn’t compute in my head.

‘But… if they truly possess human souls, then they must be humans.’

I replied with a slightly trembling voice.

“Please tell me that not all of them are like that?”

“There are more cyborgs, but many pure humans are also surviving. Since this is close to my secret research facility, I haven’t allowed regular humans nearby.”

“Phew…”

Thank goodness for that.

After a moment, I finally began to accept the situation and sighed with relief.

“This is a real headache. Does that mean so many people died during the Great Flood?”

“Yep. Probably around 40% of humanity on Earth.”

“……”

“Don’t pretend to feel guilty. If you hadn’t even pretended to stop it, 99% would be dead, so the fact that any humanity is still alive is thanks to you.”

“Pretending to stop it, huh….”

“Anyways, because you helped grow Soeul Village and gathered numerous talents, we managed to initiate the plan to fortify the castle.”

Zhuge Sa continued succinctly.

“Many things happened after that. It’s a bit complicated to explain everything at once, so for now…”

Fwoosh!!

Just then, a massive Qi Wave exploded into the air, exerting great pressure on the ground. The pressure was so strong that the steam filling the city immediately pressed down, transforming into a dense fog. Feeling the atmospheric pressure, Zhuge Sa glanced at the sky and said,

“Isn’t today the day? I didn’t think they’d show up.”

Fwoosh… Fwoosh…!!

The oppressive Qi Wave burst a couple more times. Then, something could be seen speeding down from above the clouds, splitting the clouds aside. Within moments, a gigantic figure as large as several houses appeared in the air near Zhuge Sa, flapping its wings, making me jump in surprise.

‘…A dragon!! But…’

It looked unmistakably like a dragon. However, I was surprised for a different reason.

‘Is… is it mechanical?’

Unlike the other dragons that had at least some semblance of life, this dragon was clearly a creature made solely of robust metal. Yet, it had a beautifully crafted shape, lacking the sharp or angular feel typical of machines, and its parts moved organically, showcasing incredible technological prowess. Hovering in the air like a living dragon, the mechanical beast soon landed, and its eyes flashed with a bright light.

[The Master of the White Lotus Sect calls, Zhuge Sa.]

“……”

It spoke almost as if it were alive, transmitting a message that resembled a sound wave more than anything else, likely due to the way it lingered like the Lion’s Roar, causing the nearby mechanical beings to look over in surprise.

Zhuge Sa pondered for a moment at the mechanical dragon’s words, then replied,

“Gun, can you see the man standing beside me?”

Gun?!

Are they referring to the mechanical dragon being the ancient King Gun from the era of the Three Sovereigns?!

[……?]

The mechanical dragon, called Gun, tilted its head as if puzzled. Then it said,

[What nonsense… I sense nothing. Are you mocking me, heretical sect master?]

“Are you really swearing on your honor that you see and feel nothing?”

[Indeed.]

“Hmm… It seems like even among demon kings, you can’t sense him at all. Remember that.”

Zhuge Sa explained openly, then glanced back at the mechanical dragon, Gun, and continued,

“I told you before. Regardless of who calls, if there’s no business, I won’t just stand by…”

[The Master of the White Lotus Sect seems to have found the ‘solution’ you requested this time. Relay that to me.]

“Oh? So you found the solution?”

[What can I say? The Master of the White Lotus Sect wants you to come to Luoyang within three days.]

“……”

After a moment, Zhuge Sa chuckled lightly.

“Alright, let them know I’ll come.”

[I trust your word……]

Fwoosh!

A short while later, the mechanical dragon Gun flapped its wings and vanished into the sky.

Watching that exchange, I turned to Zhuge Sa with a puzzled expression.

“What’s going on? Why does the Master of the White Lotus Sect want you?”

“Nothing much. The Evil Gods from Venus, Kotou Amatsukami, are set to descend to Earth in a year, and we were trying to find a solution for that.”

“……!!”

What the heck does that mean?!

I panicked and asked.

“Those guys should be sealed, why are they descending?”

“I don’t know. But since the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens foresaw it, I can’t ignore it. We had to find a method to address it, and it seems the Master of the White Lotus Sect has found that method and called me.”

“……”

What on earth is happening in this world?

While I was bewildered, one thing became clear.

‘This place… would fall apart without me!!’

If I didn’t quickly return to reality, protecting the world with my companions would be nearly impossible!

Realizing that fact, I said to Zhuge Sa,

“Zhuge Sa, do you think you could guess a way for me to return to this world again?”

“Hmm.”

I cried out more urgently.

“I don’t know what’s what right now, but I feel like I need to return to reality to resolve anything!”

“Reality… reality.”

Muttering that, Zhuge Sa spoke.

“Baek Woong, you know that dragon called Gun returned to this world relatively recently, right?”

“……?”

“Gun was originally with you in the form of a shield made from the Wu Blade. It seemed after you went to outer space, they were accompanied by you but had no memory of it. Then one day, just about ten years ago, their consciousness returned to this world. And that mechanical dragon was created as a vessel to contain the soul of the legendary King Gun.”

“……”

“So, Gun uses the mechanical dragon’s body to act as a messenger in this perilous world. They’re practically your only companion able to freely move between castles.”

So that’s what happened.

As I nodded, Zhuge Sa continued.

“And after hearing your story earlier, I think I have a guess.”

“What is it?”

“According to you, Gun was originally your treasure in the form of a shield, but during the exceptionally wicked magic of the god Hermes Trismegistus, it was petrified at one point. And when it was un-petrified, didn’t you do something again?”

“Ah!”

As my expression froze, Zhuge Sa said,

“You sold all the items in the shield to the Void Record using your commercial powers. Right? In return, you evolved your commercial powers to a new level.”

“I-I did.”

“Then it’s simple. The moment the Void Record accepted the shield, your treasure shield was bound to the Void Record, but the soul of King Gun that dwelled in the shield didn’t perish, but was returned to the original world. I don’t know why the Void Record separated the shield and soul like that, but I think that’s the reason why Gun’s soul returned to the present world.”

“……”

The fact that in order to evolve my commercial powers, I sold all my treasures to the Void Record had such an effect?

As I blinked in disbelief at the unexpected situation, Zhuge Sa continued speaking.

“This implies only one thing…”

Zhuge Sa’s eyes shone momentarily.

“The world of the ancient Takrok where you were and this world are actually connected. Only the Void Record can bridge that causality, but you definitely possess all the powers necessary to return to this world. Because you can send souls back.”

“……!!”

“But there’s still a question left. Why is it that you are unrecognized by any existence apart from me… That’s something that isn’t certain. To clarify that, there are tasks that must be done.”

“What task do I have to do?”

“First, you need to recover your powers. Right now, you’re in a state where you can’t use any powers, but you need to at least gain enough strength to interfere in this world. For that, treasures must be offered to you, but unfortunately, the artifacts and treasures I can utilize are almost nonexistent.”

There was no choice but for me to be amazed at Zhuge Sa’s words.

‘As expected, Zhuge Sa is a genius…’

Even without being told in detail about the old days, he could deduce the situation to this extent!