전생검신 Vol. 93 Chapter 18

In the next moment, the Dharma Protectors of the White Lotus Sect, having gained the power of the Four Great Spirit Deities, all soared into the air at once. I watched as they pounced toward the Dragon of the Apocalypse and thought to myself.

‘This isn’t the form of a natural body!’

According to Yeodong-bin, at that time, when the Dharma Protectors used the power of fire, their entire bodies transformed like the Fire Spirit, and when using the power of water, they turned into the Water Spirit. But now, the Dharma Protectors passed the Soul of the Evil God to me and seemed to be wrapping themselves in the energy of nature while maintaining human forms.

One of them clasped his hands together, emanating a solemn aura as he shouted.

“Divine Qi, Agni! Bestow upon us the light of great destruction!”

Tsuaaah—

The instant he finished speaking, his whole body transformed, enveloped by a fiery sphere, and soon that sphere changed into a bright white light, condensing into a single point of power. Then, in an instant, the momentum shifted, and a beam of colossal light shot out from the white sphere.

Kuwakwang!

Kururur……

At that moment, something astonishing happened. The movements of the Dragon of the Apocalypse, which had not stopped advancing for a second, came to a large halt! It seemed the white beam had pierced a hole through the dragon’s body.

‘It connects!’

Compared to the gigantic body of the dragon, the blow didn’t appear to be effective at all. It looked like a mere pinprick on its skin! But that small yet precise attack proved powerful enough to hold the dragon back. This wasn’t mentioned in Yeodong-bin’s account.

I already knew from experience why that scene unfolded.

Kongyeom (空炎)!

A peculiar phenomenon that only occurs when drawing the power of the Fire Spirit Techniques to the extreme! Normally, when using just the divine energy, this effect wouldn’t activate, but it activated with the [vessel] of the Fire Spirit Soul, and because it touches the very [order] of matter, it could sufficiently shake the chaotic dragon from within.

Kugugugu

Surprised by the unexpected critical attack, the dragon seemed to momentarily coil its body in the air. Then it inhaled deeply, preparing something, and another Dharma Protector leaped in front of the one casting Agni, extending his hands and shouted.

“Divine Qi, Varuna! Grant the blessing that protects life!”

Chwaaa!

Then, a faint water-colored veil spread that covered not just our allies, but the entire ground itself. The size of the veil was truly immense; it was no exaggeration to say it enveloped the entire continent, and I was amazed since I had never seen Varuna’s veil spread out this wide before.

‘It could spread this broadly?!’

Tututung!

Following that, the dragon unleashed the largest beam of destruction yet, firing it down toward the ground in rapid succession dozens of times. I had never heard that the dragon would thrash around like this at such a level, and I gritted my teeth.

‘Damn! That dragon… in the original history, it didn’t even face real interference while descending, and yet it uses its ultimate technique when it properly faces resistance?!’

Is this some sort of side effect from hastily increasing its power?!

There’s no way I can block that with the Thunder God Sword!

Just as I felt annoyed, the Dharma Protector casting Varuna erupted with a huge light from his eyes and declared.

“Don’t worry, I’ll block it!”

Kuwakwang!

Kururur—

The next moment, the beams of destruction fired in rapid succession struck directly against Varuna’s veil. And with a huge tremor, the entire sky shook, but amidst that tremor, I realized the impact wasn’t as severe as I’d expected. I inwardly marveled.

‘…That blocked perfectly!’

What just happened was clearly the Dragon of the Apocalypse’s deadly technique, unleashed with its full intent! Yet, the waters of Varuna, spread out at full force by the Dharma Protector, defended it perfectly without inflicting any damage to the ground! Given that the Dragon of the Apocalypse possesses magical power comparable to the [Old Ruler], the very fact that a human Dharma Protector used divine qi to block it was impressive on its own.

Cough!

However, the Dharma Protector who cast Varuna staggered and began to spit blood from his eyes, nose, and mouth all at once. He was surely gravely injured, and I rushed over in shock.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Cough… I don’t think I can do this… twice…”

Did the power of the Soul of the Evil God overwhelm him in the last attack?

I nodded and said,

“Don’t worry. That thing can’t unleash that same attack again consecutively, so now’s our chance.”

If the Dragon of the Apocalypse could fire off such attacks in succession, it would’ve wiped us out by now. Large techniques take considerable time and preparation, so in other words, now that it wasted its ultimate technique, this is undoubtedly our chance to assault the dragon.

“… Please, Yeodong-bin!”

“I’m going!”

Pa-at!

Without further ado, I leaped straight toward the Dragon of the Apocalypse. Following my lead, the other two remaining Dharma Protectors and the Master of the White Lotus Sect flew after me. In the midst of flight, I glanced back at the Master of the White Lotus Sect and spoke.

“Master of the White Lotus Sect… Lee Gun-ak, is it?”

In response to my question, the current Master of the White Lotus Sect, Lee Gun-ak replied.

“Yes, Yeodong-bin!”

“Can you use that tricky Thunder God Technique, Vajra?”

“……”

At my words, Lee Gun-ak twitched as if I hit a nerve.

That’s right.

The divine qi he would use is indeed the strongest Thunder God Technique, Vajra! With the form of a Vajra, it possesses overwhelming power among the Four Great Spirit Deities, but the Thunder God Indra sealed within Vajra is so wildly unpredictable and evil that even I can’t fully manage it. Not to mention, I’ve been killed by Indra before. Even if we share the power of the Soul of the Evil God, will Lee Gun-ak truly be able to wield the power of the Thunder God’s Technique properly?

Lee Gun-ak grimaced.

“Don’t worry. I’ll use it even at the cost of my life.”

“Will sacrificing your life be enough? Indra thinks nothing of human lives.”

“……?”

Lee Gun-ak suddenly looked taken aback. After composing himself, he said.

“It seems you know quite well about our divine Qi, Swordmaster Yeodong-bin. But don’t worry. If I have this [vessel] you gave me… I’ll manage just fine.”

“Hmm….”

I couldn’t shake the feeling of doubt. After all, I’ve had my share of run-ins with Indra. Would that little thing not attempt to betray Lee Gun-ak, a mere human, even when about to take on a life-and-death struggle with the Emperor? But seeing him say all that, I decided to trust him for the time being.

“I’m not sure where the dragon’s vital points are. I should attack its brain or heart, but it’s so big that I don’t know where to strike.”

According to Yeodong-bin, he seemed to have awakened his Martial Soul and split the soul down the spine, but I had no clue if I could do that. To begin with, the level of his awakened Martial Soul felt too uncertain and vague. It was a daunting foe so massive that I had no idea what to do.

Then Lee Gun-ak said,

“True. If only we could shrink that insane size…”

Suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration, and I stopped in my tracks. Hastily, I turned to Lee Gun-ak and questioned.

“What did you just say?”

“I wondered if maybe… shrinking its size would help… Have I said something wrong?”

“No.”

I grinned and replied.

“You said that perfectly!”

How did I not think of that before?!

Thinking it over, I realized it was a brilliant plan!

In the next moment, I extended my hand toward the distant Dragon of the Apocalypse, channeling all the intent I could muster.

“Accept it, Dragon!”

Technique of All Things (萬象之偸)

Stealing its ‘size’!

Shupaaah

The moment my Technique of All Things was complete, a momentary translucent hand seemed to wrap around the dragon’s entire body. And as that faint hand vanished, something incredible happened.

Shushushushuk

The nearby Lee Gun-ak and the Dharma Protectors froze in shock.

“Oooooo?!”

“It shrank!”

That’s right.

The moment I stole its ‘size,’ the overwhelming magnitude of the Dragon of the Apocalypse diminished!

From originally being more enormous than an entire continent, that terrifying size was now shrunk to something comparable to four or five mountain ranges, seemingly reduced by dozens of times.

I recalled having shrunk giant monsters in the past when stealing the soul of Tezcatlipoca and passing the trials of the Sky Realm Tower! The reason I hadn’t immediately thought of that was likely due to my fixation on fighting as Swordmaster Yeodong-bin.

If size was the issue, then shrinking it would undoubtedly reduce the difficulty of this trial!

“Grrrr…!”

But at that moment, I screamed in intense pain.

“Y… Yeodong-bin?!”

Pervung!

Suddenly, my right arm, which had been casting the Technique of All Things, exploded completely! As if that wasn’t enough, I felt deep injuries slam through my entire body like my meridians were being violently severed, and I was unable to maintain my focus. Having received injuries more terrible than those from Walking Fire Entering Demon, my consciousness began to fade.

‘Why… why?!’

What the heck is happening here?!

I’ve used the Technique of All Things before and never encountered this?!

As I scrambled to regain consciousness, I felt a nearby Dharma Protector urgently invoking Varuna’s healing power.

“Varuna, heal Yeodong-bin’s arm!”

…….

But nothing happened, and blood continued to pour from my arm uncontrollably.

“Wait?! The awakened Varuna is supposed to heal every illness and injury—it’s recorded in the texts!”

The Dharma Protector, who was using the powers of water, seemed flustered when he couldn’t heal my right arm even after activating his healing blessing. Lee Gun-ak also looked shocked, staring at me intently before speaking solemnly.

“……Yeodong-bin! Whatever technique you used to shrink the dragon’s size, if the divine healing isn’t working, there can only be one reason!”

“……What is it?”

“It means there exists a law of cause and effect that can stop divine healing! Did you perhaps use a martial art that interferes with the Law of Cause and Effect?”

“……!”

In that moment, I grasped what had occurred.

‘Got it!’

In my 28th life, I had asked Mangnyang about why I faced no issues while shrinking the size of the giant monster at the Sky Realm Tower.

[If this is a trial created by a God, then each one could be the creation of a deity. Unless it’s in conflict with the law of cause and effect, it would likely be close to an illusion created without any burden on you when compared to directly stealing a god’s soul or size.]

Those giant monsters in the tower, though massive, were merely illusions created by Nüwa herself. Thus, there were no side effects to my Technique of All Things when shrinking the size of an entity that originally didn’t exist.

However, the Dragon of the Apocalypse now was a colossal demon god, a supermassive King of Demons empowered by Cha You, which had funneled all its conspiracy and the might of the Law of Cause and Effect into itself! It was practically a vessel of the Law of Cause and Effect, and this very law made all beings on the ground and in the sky dread facing it. Its density was off the charts, far different from the illusions of the Sky Realm.

In other words, what I attempted was akin to smashing my bare hands against a solid rock with all my might, sans the power of my qi!

While the Technique of All Things succeeded in shrinking its essence, it came at the cost of grievous harm to my entire body, and since this damage stemmed from the Law of Cause and Effect, even divine healing wouldn’t work!

‘Urgh… When I was stealing the size of Tezcatlipoca’s soul, I had… a magical arm from Dharma to balance the Law of Cause and Effect… But jumping into the Technique of All Things without such a safety net was… a foolish move!’

I bitterly regretted my mistake, but there was no changing the past.

Grimacing, I turned to Lee Gun-ak beside me.

“… It was my mistake… but thanks to the dragon shrinking in size… the time it takes to land will increase severalfold… So I need you to buy me some time…”

“Buying time means you can recover?”

“Not sure, but… let’s give it a shot.”

“Got it! We’ll buy time, so please hang in there.”

Pa-at!

I was left watching as Lee Gun-ak and the Dharma Protectors battled the Dragon of the Apocalypse from afar.

Kuwakwang

Fortunately, they seemed to be handling the shrunken dragon better than anticipated. This was to be expected since they wielded the [vessel], allowing them to use divine qi without draining their life force, and the power of the divine qi was also amplified. But, even with that, I knew well they couldn’t defeat the dragon alone; they could only stall it.

‘Hoo… hoo….’

I forced myself to suppress the pain and restrain the power of the Soul of the Evil God swirling within me.

‘Earlier, I shared the Soul of the Evil God with them while concurrently inserting the divine energy into the vessel. This means I may also utilize some of the powers of the Four Great Spirit Deities they hold.’

Though not to the same extent as the vast power of the Soul of the Evil God I bore, all kinds of divine energy from the Four Great Spirit Deities whirled within me. This served as energy to properly strengthen and cycle the Soul of the Evil God, so I had to leverage this to recover from my injuries on my own.

Wuuung

The cycle of the Soul of the Evil God commenced. This time, unlike earlier, when I barely managed two to three transformations, I successfully transitioned to the third transformation with vigor. Indeed, the power granted by the multiple divine energies was a tremendous aid.

‘Alright. As I cycle through, I’ll aim to trigger a powerful transformation of the Soul of the Evil God for the final change…!’

My target was the Water Spirit Soul (水神之魂)!

Upon completing one cycle, enhancing the Water Spirit Soul would grant me the power of the Immortal Divine Being (不死神). I intended to use that change to self-heal my disastrous state and re-enter the fray. Once I transformed into an Immortal Divine Being, I would be able to endure the pain and keep fighting until the very end!

Tsutsu

All the divine energies began to transform into a massive thunder energy, rapidly accelerating the process. Yet, at the very moment I aimed for the final transformation to strengthen the Soul of the Evil God through cycling, I sensed something off.

‘…What?! My intention to guide the flow of the Soul of the Evil God isn’t going as planned!’

Why wasn’t the flow of qi throughout my body moving at all as I aimed to transition into the Vessel of the Water Spirit Soul?!

As I panicked, I felt a voice echo from within.

[What an amusing martial art.]

Fuhwaah!

Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming willfulness forcefully push me into the depths of darkness. Before my eyes, my mental landscape opened up, revealing that ‘something’ was standing before me.

‘Yeodong-bin?’

It appeared that Yeodong-bin’s spirit body was present within my mental space.

…!

Yet, I couldn’t help but feel an ominous dread emanating from that spirit. The profound aura usually felt from Yeodong-bin was absent, replaced with a chilling and relentlessly cruel murderous energy that enveloped him. Moreover, while his eyes were transparent and devoid of emotion, they radiated a terrifyingly pure killing intent that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who looked upon him.

Additionally, whereas Yeodong-bin usually donned a bright white daoist robe, this one was draped in deep black, creating a stark contrast between black and white.

‘Who are you?’

In response to my question, the dark Yeodong-bin slowly replied.

[I am the essence of Swordmaster Yeodong-bin.]

‘What?’

[In truth, neither of us is the true master of this body… ]

With that, the dark Yeodong-bin continued.

[And who are you?]