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I stepped out of Master Mangnyang’s village with my companions after a brief moment. Just like that, the mist that enveloped us vanished, revealing a sky filled with [night]. Was it true that the Master of the White Lotus Sect had come alone? I sensed no ambush lurking around.

I turned to Mangnyang and asked, “What was that you said earlier? Has Susanoo really fallen?”

Mangnyang nodded. “He has become a fallen evil deity who brought great disaster to Dongyoung and Goryeo.”

I found it hard to believe Mangnyang’s words. Susanoo! He was supposed to be a deity of order, having been sealed beneath Mount Fuji, only to resurrect recently. He controlled the dragon veins of Kyoto and was a typical god of order with an admirable character. If he was accompanied by the elemental deity Hinokagutsuchi, he was surely on the side of good.

How could such a being fall?

“When… why…?” I stammered.

Mangnyang replied, “I’ll explain it to you in person. The rest of you should return to Nanjing Castle first.”

“Got it.”

With a swish of his hand, Mangnyang summoned a talisman from his robe and tossed it into the air.

Suddenly, a gigantic dimensional door appeared with a booming sound. I stared at the door in shock as Mangnyang walked toward it, saying, “In this place, it’s reckless to use this technique, but I can travel to places I’ve been before using the Corpse Dissolution Technique. I’ve visited Susanoo’s lair, so if we follow this passage, we’ll be able to encounter him easily.”

I was stunned. “…….”

“Baek Woong, what’s wrong?”

“No… how did your magical prowess reach this level? You’re using dimension-jumping techniques effortlessly over thousands of miles without any incantation or focus.”

For someone like Mangnyang, this was incredible.

‘This must be something even the Great Immortal could hardly manage!’

It was clear that the current Mangnyang had reached a level that should be above the Eight Immortals. To compare him, you’d need someone like Subori, a transcendent sorcerer. I couldn’t help but be amazed.

Mangnyang chuckled. “Didn’t I tell you? This life is going to be my zenith.”

“You did say that…”

“I’ve utilized your past life knowledge to the fullest and received all the heavenly support I could. Moreover, I didn’t waste the past twenty years; I’ve trained intensely using the secret caves of the Celestial Realm. Plus, with the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens as my direct disciple, I now possess some of the finest magical powers in the Celestial Realm.”

“Hmm!”

“And I’ve also received additional teachings from my master.”

“From Master Mangnyang?”

I gasped. Even if Mangnyang had gained some fortuitous encounters, learning from Master Mangnyang was unexpected.

‘Was there a time when this happened…?’

It didn’t mean he had become an apostle of Master Mangnyang; he must have received some different kind of teaching.

Mangnyang laughed heartily. “Those teachings will soon be revealed. Anyway, let’s hurry.”

“Understood.”

As I stepped through Mangnyang’s dimensional door, a completely new landscape greeted me.

‘Is this… the White Sea?’

A beach flowed on the other side, but surprisingly, it radiated a bright white light instead of blue. Beyond that, a pale blue moon hung on the horizon, partly obscured as if shrouded in a solar eclipse, giving off an eerie vibe.

Who knew such a strange place existed!

And at the horizon where that blue moon lay, an inexplicable darkness occasionally pulsed outward, creating a hum. I recognized that this wave bore immense magical power and frowned.

“This place has become uninhabitable for living beings.”

“This is the closest coast to Susanoo’s main body. Susanoo created his primary dimension in the sea of Dongyoung, turning it into an otherworldly realm. His magical power currently affects all of Dongyoung and Goryeo, making it hard for humans to survive.”

“So… if we approach that blue moon on the horizon, we might see Susanoo?”

“Yes. But as we are now, we probably won’t be able to see him.”

“Why?”

Mangnyang narrowed his eyes at the horizon. “That White Sea cannot be reached through physical means. Whether we sail, fly, or teleport, the instant we show intent to approach the blue moon, infinite distance is set between us. We tried summoning all the immortals to undo this White Sea’s magic, but every attempt failed.”

“!!”

“That’s likely a barrier set using Susanoo’s divine power. You would need a divine being of equal standing to dispel it and see Susanoo.”

“Wouldn’t the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens be able to?”

“That’s the problem.” Mangnyang sighed. “She can break Susanoo’s barrier, but the moment she does, the fallen Susanoo, along with the other divine beings lurking around him, will attack. Currently, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman is much weakened after coming from the Celestial Realm, so she cannot afford to take such a risk.”

“…”

I realized the gravity of the situation and said, “So Susanoo isn’t alone. He has companions?”

“Whether they are companions or not, I’m unsure. But they won’t be easy to deal with. They are likely all deities.”

“Hmm… why did Susanoo end up like this? I want to hear the reason now.”

“We can’t know the details. However, Susanoo had been continuously exchanging communications with us in Soeul Village. Then, suddenly, when [night] began, all contact was lost. It’s presumed that Susanoo fell into darkness right after the calamity of Tsukuyomi’s [night] started.”

“The [night] of Tsukuyomi…”

I muttered under my breath, “That Tsukuyomi guy is suspicious. Did he corrupt Susanoo?”

“The likelihood is high. But even if that’s the case, the problem lies in the fact that this means there are at least two of the Three Divine Characters of Dongyoung beyond that blue moon. It’s understandable that the Heavenly Mysterious Woman hesitated to act hastily.”

“…”

It was reasonable. The Three Divine Characters are the highest deities of Dongyoung! They were once fierce enough to combat the Three Sovereigns, so having one of them was one thing, but facing two or more would be difficult even for the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. Plus, who knows how many lesser deities and companions they have?

Mangnyang fixed his gaze on the blue moon and said, “Baek Woong. From now on, you must gather all your strength and become strong enough to break that barrier alone. To do that, you’ll need a wealth of causes and effects, so our companions will help you in gathering them.”

“Hmm… I was planning to do that anyway, so there’s no issue…”

“Is there a problem?”

I replied with a strained voice, “Isn’t this under the jurisdiction of the Master of the Twelve Joules? What is he doing, abandoning his responsibilities?”

“Haven’t you heard about the Master of the Twelve Joules?”

“I haven’t…”

“The Master has been missing for a long time. It’s presumed he disappeared around the same time you went missing.”

I jolted at the unexpected news. “Huh? Wasn’t I only gone for a few days before returning?”

I recalled that the conclusion back then was indeed that he had been missing for a few days when the situations with the Master of the Twelve Joules and Lee Hwan-woong were explained.

But Mangnyang shook his head. “I don’t know about that. However, the Master has not once shown himself in the last twenty years, and there are far too many indications that he is missing. The Dan clan and the Three Masters were too busy guarding the World Tree while Goryeo and Dongyoung were helpless against the demon clan’s invasion. The devastation was so severe that we had no choice but to dispatch immortals and experts from our side to help the survivors.”

“…”

“The silver lining is that the Sacred Altar Tree is still alive. If it were dead, there would have been no way to save Goryeo and Dongyoung, and countless evil deities would have been resurrected from their seals.”

“Damn… it’s worse than I thought.”

So the situation in the Central Plains was the best among the rest?

As I muttered in shock, Mangnyang said, “There’s a reason the Master of the White Lotus Sect has ordered you to subdue Susanoo. The moment you defeat him, you can save the people of Dongyoung and Goryeo while also gaining control over the Dan clan. It would be the perfect justification for besieging Luoyang Castle.”

“Hmm.”

“And there’s one more reason it won’t be easy to conquer. An unexpected reveal is coming.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a heavy tremor erupted from beneath the White Sea. Moments later, a colossal shadow of what appeared to be a gigantic serpent brightened and broke the surface. I froze in dread at the sight of this gigantic creature.

“Ugh… what is that?!”

It’s enormous!

Comparable to a cosmic entity like Fuxi, but still too vast to fully grasp just with my eyes! This beast had to span several hundred miles, likely many times larger than that of Daji. The real issue wasn’t just its size; the magical power radiating from this colossal serpent was also comparable to Daji.

Grrrrr…

I stared in awe as the immense serpent slithered through the earth, and Mangnyang spoke with discomfort in his voice. “That is the giant serpent Susanoo summoned, Yamata no Orochi. Many immortals who tried to attack the White Sea have been devoured by that thing.”

“Yamata no Orochi?! Isn’t that something Susanoo is misremembering when he fought against the Three Sovereigns?”

“It’s likely that Susanoo didn’t completely trust you back then. Yamata no Orochi indeed existed, and Susanoo has been nurturing it into a monster surpassing Daji using the powerful energy sealed in Tokyo.”

“!!”

“As you can see, it’s a creature on par with Daji. Thankfully, it’s only maintaining its territory near the blue moon, so it hasn’t harmed the surface, but it would be extraordinarily hard to keep enough strength to subdue Susanoo while dealing with a monster like that. We would need at least double our current power.”

“Hmm.”

I felt a dizzying realization.

‘Susanoo, this jerk… I thought he was a good guy… but he lied to me.’

It wasn’t surprising to see that there was not complete trust between them at that time, so there was no reason for him to disclose a trump card outright. However, that didn’t make it feel any better to realize I had been blindsided after all this time.

Then, suddenly, I felt a strong response from my arm, as if resonating with something.

“…?!”

I was startled and looked at my arm, and the name was quickly rising in my mind without my intent.

The name was Izanagi no Mikoto.

Woooooah!!

In that moment, I felt a massive illusion overlay in my mental world. It was as if that illusion was directly speaking to my soul.

“…Give me the causes and effects!!”

The voice was desperate, like blood boiling.

“Release me from this enchantment… if you do, I will assist you in defeating that serpent!!”

“…!!”

“Give me the causes and effects!!”

The voice became clearer!

As the voice grew closer, I began to discern whose it was.

Was Izanagi, who was sealed in my arm, directly speaking to me?

Flustered, I asked, “Izanagi! Why have you been silent until now?”

“…I… have lost the right to exist… I may be the one speaking to you, but I am not me…!!”

“…?”

“Listen to this echo!! It can only appear in situations tied by cause and effect… respond to my desperate cry… give me the causes and effects!!”

Graak!

“Ugh!!”

In an instant, a massive dark face seemed to rush at me, causing me to startle. This was likely an illusion born from Izanagi no Mikoto’s desperate will hitting me. Though I couldn’t understand why Izanagi was so desperate, a thought flickered through my mind.

“I’ll give it to you someday. But not today.”

“GRAAAAHH…!! You bastard!!”

In the next moment, Izanagi’s voice was completely cut off.

Looking at me, Mangnyang asked worriedly, “Baek Woong. Why have you suddenly gone silent? Are you okay?”

“…”

I mumbled while rubbing my arm. “I need to gather causes and effects quickly.”

As I looked at the names engraved on my arm, one thought flooded my mind.

‘Maybe…!!’

If I could borrow the strength through my arm, that meant I could utilize the power of everyone whose names were inscribed whenever I wanted, right?

 

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