사신지혼 (Four Gods’ Soul)

Yellow Ruler?!

In that moment, I recalled a past event.

‘Primordial Void Ruler… I heard that guy was originally Spirit Treasure Heaven Master. And he might be the shadowy figure trying to interfere with my past life!!’

The thing is, I’ve been on edge due to that Primordial Void Ruler. I don’t know much about his true identity, but since he’s been pulling the strings in the Celestial Realm, I’ve been keeping my distance. If this guy is truly Spirit Treasure Heaven Master, what should I do in front of him now?

One thing’s for sure: I must not get my identity exposed to him. Asking Spirit Treasure Heaven Master right here what conspiracy he’s plotting would be pointless, so I decided to just keep an eye on him for now.

“Oh! I’ve heard about this. So I have an older brother after all.”

“…You clueless fool.”

Spirit Treasure Heaven Master clicked his tongue in disbelief and continued.

“An older brother? Are you saying you’ve been introduced as Fuxi’s disciple?”

“That’s correct.”

“Ridiculous. What a strange whim just now.”

While grumbling, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master said to me, “You can do whatever you want in the Primordial Palace, but don’t go wandering around. This isn’t a place for you to be around recklessly.”

<Sound Effect: Clap>

The moment Spirit Treasure Heaven Master finished speaking, he vanished. I noticed he seemed suspicious of me, but it was primarily because of his doubts about Fuxi, so I didn’t worry too much.

‘Made it through that one. Now…’

Should I wait for Fuxi to return? Or should I explore the Primordial Palace?

As I pondered, I decided to opt for the latter.

‘Waiting for Fuxi to come back would be safer, but something about Spirit Treasure Heaven Master hiding something is nagging at me!’

What’s the worst that could happen? I might die? With that thought, I left the room. As I wandered down the corridors, I realized the Primordial Palace had changed quite a bit since I reached here with Xiang Yu in the past. It felt much simpler, with an architectural style that was distinctly different.

‘…This doesn’t have that unique vibe of Chinese civilization. The pillars and walls are bland, almost like something straight out of another realm.’

Thinking back, the clothes of Primordial Void Ruler, Taishang Laojun, and Spirit Treasure Heaven Master were strangely un-Chinese as well. The basic feel was there, but they gave off the impression of being from another civilization entirely.

‘Atlantis. According to past memories, human civilizations existed in the ultra-ancient times, including Atlantis, but it collapsed. Afterward, civilizations barely managed to revive. Then, we seem to be in the ultra-primitive stage of civilization now.’

While lost in thought, I suddenly stumbled upon a room. Strangely, it was filled with large jade stones, with a bright teal glow and flowing odd spirit energy.

‘When I visited the Primordial Palace before, there wasn’t a room like this in that spot!’

Feeling curious, I approached the jade room.

<Sound Effect: Clap>

In that moment, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master appeared right in front of the door using teleportation. He looked pretty angry as he said,

“I told you not to wander around recklessly!! How long did it take you to ignore my words?”

“…….”

Uh-oh… caught red-handed. But I didn’t let it get to me and replied nonchalantly.

“Are you already bragging about being an older brother? I’ve never heard any orders from Fuxi regarding my older brother.”

“What, what did you say?”

Normally, if Spirit Treasure Heaven Master thought I was Primordial Void Ruler, I’d be scared he might kill me. But for some reason, having him right in front of me felt oddly manageable, so I decided to act confidently.

“You say not to roam freely without explaining why, and you want me to just shut up and stay put? I can’t comply like that. After all, if I’m becoming Fuxi’s disciple, I’ll end up learning about this room’s secret eventually.”

Spirit Treasure Heaven Master looked dumbfounded at my words, then said,

“Baek Woong. Where exactly did you come from? There are no savages among humans dressed like you. Plus, the Master is dealing with something significant, so there shouldn’t be any reason for him to take on a disciple.”

“Significant matter?”

“Just don’t wander around!! That’s also advice for you.”

“Can you please just tell me why? Is that so hard?”

As I pressed, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master sighed, seemingly resigned.

“Right now, we’re in the process of creating a divine being for humans.”

“A divine being for humans?”

“It’s a crucial place where the Master’s research is taking place. We’re also working on artificial souls.”

“Uh….”

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Didn’t I hear something like this before?

‘Oh right!! Artificial souls! Once, Cheon Gong-pyo mentioned it in Dark Heaven Village when he was talking about Empress Wu Zetian’s palace!’

Back then, when Cheon Gong-pyo invaded the palace of Empress Wu Zetian and was about to massacre the corrupted citizens, I stopped him, and he explained how meaningless human souls were to me.

[My master, Taishang Laojun, and Primordial Void Ruler were direct disciples of Fuxi, the Three Sovereigns. They were the first to inherit martial arts as disciples of the divine. Would such great sages have thought like you?]

[They began their research with the perspective that souls are trapped in flesh. They believed eternity flows through a fabricated world. The essence of the world was thought to be the soul itself. So can you guess what kind of experiments they conducted?]

[They tried creating artificial souls to expand the medium of the world. The Old Ruler absorbed souls through human sacrifices and replaced them with artificial souls to allow real souls to live more freely, increase the potential of all living beings in this world, and postpone the end. They pooled their powers to create a tool that generates an unlimited number of souls.]

[Furthermore, if they could have more souls, they would also estimate a greater chance to awaken the talent of chaos in the humans born from that.]

[It was a total failure. Artificial souls couldn’t replace real souls nor serve as offerings. Most importantly, souls are heavily influenced by flesh, and memories could not prove the essence of souls, leading to countless failures and disasters. They eventually had to stop their experiments. They managed to create something rare like Nata as a combat treasure, but that was still an exceptional case.]

A part of my memory exploded, vividly coming back to me. I hadn’t considered it deeply back then when Cheon Gong-pyo mentioned it because it felt so ancient, but would I really come to see the truth of that incident now?

With a flicker of hope, I said to Spirit Treasure Heaven Master,

“Even if I don’t know about gods, isn’t the research on artificial souls likely to fail?”

Spirit Treasure Heaven Master furrowed his brows and asked,

“Why do you think so?”

Recalling Cheon Gong-pyo’s words, I answered directly.

“Artificial souls can’t replace real souls, and they can’t serve as offerings. What’s more, souls are strongly influenced by the flesh, and memories can’t prove the essence of the soul….”

“…….”

“Souls and flesh have a complementary relationship, so artificial souls that deviate from that will struggle to succeed.”

At that, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master stroked his beard and seemed to ponder deeply. Then he smirked and said,

“Not bad. You might look clueless, but you’ve hit quite a few important points. Knowing that souls and flesh are complementary shows you have considerable insight into souls.”

“Just… nothing special.”

“You have the qualifications to become a disciple of a god.”

As he fiddled with the jade door, he continued.

“…In fact, I think the same. This experiment can’t succeed from the start. But unlike the creation of gods, the research on artificial souls is conducted at the request of older brothers. They borrow Fuxi’s power because they lack the ability to do it on their own.”

“Hmmm.”

“There are various benefits, but the fundamental reason the older brothers are conducting the artificial soul experiment is that they love humans too much.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“No matter what, the end is predetermined, and as long as humans reside on this planet, they will be swept along with it. So older brothers want to use Fuxi’s help to grow humans quickly and awaken their chaotic talents to escape the end….”

What I had heard about the reasons behind the research on artificial souls differed from what I got from Cheon Gong-pyo.

‘Hmm. So maybe at the beginning, they intended to enhance humanity’s quality through the research.’

Later, it seemed to have warped into a way to reduce human sacrifices when the Three Sovereigns reached an agreement. Eventually, the reincarnation system broke down, and with the Old Ruler feasting on human souls, the afterlife would change significantly.

Suddenly, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master spoke with a sinister grin.

“Do humans even have any worth to be saved by the hands of gods?”

“……?”

What does that mean?

I genuinely didn’t understand, so I asked Spirit Treasure Heaven Master.

“Are you looking at it from the god’s point of view? Sure, gods see humans as mere bugs, but….”

“Maybe. But I see humans as a flock with no value to be saved objectively.”

“…….”

“What’s salvation anyway? They want to ensure the growth and survival of human civilization and salvation in the afterlife. But can humans even be considered good enough to deserve peace in the afterlife?”

I thought about Spirit Treasure Heaven Master’s words for a moment and then replied.

“Um… not all of them are good. There are quite a few bad ones too…”

“Humans are beings formed from chaos from the beginning. Naturally, the essence of souls is shrouded in chaos, and evil is deeply engraved in them. Once humans are born, they can turn utterly evil. Well… that’s only natural considering the creator itself.”

Spirit Treasure Heaven Master said that while chuckling, then proceeded to knock on the jade door.

“The older brothers are judging humanity at their will. As if they were kind and innocent lambs to be cared for. So they’re doing these stupid things.”

“…….”

“Humans are meant to roam a world filled with their own malice and die like bugs…”

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I quickly realized that Spirit Treasure Heaven Master was a pretty annoying guy. And at the same time, I realized another fact about him.

‘Spirit Treasure Heaven Master. He’s completely different from Primordial Void Ruler! He definitely doesn’t seem like the same person.’

If I hadn’t heard that they were the same person beforehand, I wouldn’t even have thought about it. The personality I saw from Primordial Void Ruler was never like this. Did his personality change significantly throughout his life as Primordial Void Ruler?

‘What’s going on… this feels significant.’

A strong sense of discomfort washed over me, and I felt this might be a critical clue.

But I decided to set those thoughts aside for now and said,

“Older brother.”

“Hmm?”

I pointed a finger at Spirit Treasure Heaven Master.

“I’ll inform both the big older brother and the little older brother!”

“…….”

“No matter how it is, gossiping about seniors isn’t cool, you know? Have you lost your mind?”

At my words, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master’s face turned a mix of red and blue.

“Y-You little brat. How dare you…”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Who asked? You made up your own assumptions. Anyway, I know I shouldn’t be looking at the jade room, so please go back now.”

“I can’t do that. If I leave you alone, you’ll cause chaos in the Celestial Realm, so I’ll subdue you.”

Swish!!

In the next moment, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master swung the large staff he held. Instantly, a transparent net wrapped around my body, binding me tightly. As I glanced at the transparent net, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master said,

“You seem to have some potential, but it would be wise not to break free. The moment you do, I’ll take it as a declaration that you want to fight me.”

“Oh, so you do know some martial arts. Shall we drop ranks and have a match?”

“What?”

“Please let me go before I get beaten by a priest!”

As I growled, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master looked dumbfounded.

“…Why are you so cocky? Am I that easy to mess with?”

“Yep! You seem pretty easy!”

It genuinely felt like he was easy to deal with!

Why am I feeling this way?!

“…….”

“…….”

For a moment, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master was at a loss for words, eventually shaking his head.

“Ugh, I don’t get it. Why does the desire to kill you not come naturally to me?”

“……?”

“Hmph. Such a brat.”

Swoosh

In the next moment, the bindings released from Spirit Treasure Heaven Master. After shaking my limbs free, I thought.

‘Could he really be Primordial Void Ruler?’

As someone who uses a mask, I can tell. The Spirit Treasure Heaven Master I just met didn’t feel like the shadowy figure of the Celestial Realm; rather he felt like the archetype of the Great Immortal. I couldn’t imagine him plotting an elaborate scheme against me.

‘Something… something feels like it makes sense… dang it!’

I had an instinct that there was something that could clarify this situation, but since I couldn’t think of it, I shook my head and approached the jade door slowly.

This place beyond the jade door researches artificial souls. I knew that opening it would mean I was exposing Primordial Void Ruler and Taishang Laojun, but I gave it my all and forcefully pushed the door open.

Creeeak!!

‘Cheon Gong-pyo said it was a failed experiment, so who cares if it fails now! Whether I fail now or later, it’s all the same.’

Getting at least one more piece of ancient information would be beneficial!

As I opened the door and stepped inside, I realized there was more space than I expected. And there were bizarre artifacts floating around, with forms resembling souls drifting like smoke.

‘Hmm… what’s that?’

Suddenly, I recognized a very large soul hovering in the air. It was about this size, and the density of the soul felt far from ordinary.

‘Tezcatlipoca, while not on the same level as the Soul of the God… the density is several times greater than a normal soul.’

To form an average soul, at least hundreds of thousands would have to be bundled. So, that couldn’t possibly be a normal living being’s soul.

Is this the result of artificially cultivating a soul?

But why would there be a need to cultivate souls like this?

As I pondered, I heard a voice behind me.

“What are you doing?”

I turned around at the voice. There stood a hardened middle-aged man in black glaring at me. Recognizing who he was sent a shiver down my spine.

“Ugh! Primordial Void Ruler.”

“Your name is Baek Woong, right? How do you know my name despite this being our first meeting?”

“…….”

“And how dare you intrude into the research room for artificial souls… are you trying to steal a soul?”

Primordial Void Ruler’s expression was very angry. I had a moment of regret for my actions, but with the spill already, I steeled myself.

“Darn it… well, let’s just go for it!”

I cautiously said to Primordial Void Ruler,

“Older brother, why have you created such a huge artificial soul?”

“What do you plan to do with that information?”

“I have a strong curiosity, and I will apologize for my rudeness somehow.”

I bowed deeply and continued.

“Please tell me!”

“…….”

At that moment, a leisurely voice came from the side.

“Why not tell him?”

“Master!”

Fuxi and Taishang Laojun walked into the jade room right after each other. Fuxi looked at me with pinned interest and spoke.

“I knew you weren’t an ordinary person. You’ve secured a spot in the most serious research area of the Primordial Palace right after being sent here.”

“Master… this guy is suspicious. Are you seriously considering making him a disciple?”

“Why bother to say? After all, with this kid’s power, no matter how many years he trains, he wouldn’t even reach my toes.”

“……”

“I want to raise a special disciple.”

It seemed both Taishang Laojun and Primordial Void Ruler silently accepted Fuxi’s words. With a gesture from Fuxi, Primordial Void Ruler reluctantly explained to me.

“Baek Woong. That huge artificial soul is meant for creating a divine being for humans.”

“A divine being for humans? What do you mean?”

“…Right now, Fuxi and Nüwa are protecting humans, but it’s impossible for them to continue caring for them against the Emperor’s forces and numerous rulers. Therefore, we plan to create a new divine being through Fuxi’s powers to ensure the protection and development of humanity. That artificial soul is the core of that creation.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Of course.”

Primordial Void Ruler gradually approached the large artificial soul. He picked up a tiny seedling nearby and spoke.

“If we borrow power from the [Tree of Gods] located in the center of the three thousand worlds, it’ll be possible.”

“Can’t older brothers just become gods instead? That would be simpler and faster.”

“Not possible. If we rise to the rank of rulers, we would owe too much to the Master, which would bind us greatly by the Law of Cause and Effect. The reason for making this artificial soul is to create a being that’s relatively free from that law.”

“…….”

Oh?

This sounds familiar…

‘Ah! Correct! Mechanical God!’

Abe no Seimei and Miho!

In later generations, their attempts at artificial divine elevation were systematically progressing in ancient times under Fuxi’s guidance! Whatever Abe no Seimei could think of, there’s no way the creator of martial arts, Fuxi, wouldn’t have thought of it.

Mechanical God creation.

Creating a divine being to protect humanity.

It’s not too different from creating a god for Dongyoung! It’s just on a larger scale.

‘But why was this story not passed down to later generations?’

If there were gods specifically for humans, it should have definitely been revealed, but as far as I know, I’ve never seen or heard of such a being. Could it have something to do with the failures of the artificial soul experiments?

While I was puzzled, Fuxi spoke.

“You seem to have something you want to say. Do you have more questions?”

“Uh… that’s…”

I hesitated but then something suddenly popped into my head. So, taking turns looking at Primordial Void Ruler and Taishang Laojun, I shouted.

“Spirit Treasure Heaven Master mocked the older brothers, saying the research on artificial souls is pointless! He said humans are better off dying like bugs and that this is a waste of time!”

Let’s spill the beans first!

“…….”

“…….”

The expressions of Primordial Void Ruler and Taishang Laojun distorted at my disclosure. Fuxi, while stroking his chin thoughtfully, said,

“Is that so? Go and bring Spirit Treasure Heaven Master to me.”

“Yes!”

<Sound Effect: Clap>

A little later, Primordial Void Ruler and Taishang Laojun vanished, and after about a meal’s time, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master returned with them. Fuxi was sitting on a chair in front of them, fanning himself calmly as he said,

“How dare you hide your true intentions from me despite presenting a facade. When did you start becoming hostile to humanity?”

“Master….”

“I am the Celestial Dragon and the successor of order; I cannot allow someone who opposes humanity to remain as my disciple. This is not a trivial matter.”

“Are you punishing me for the sake of a mere puppy who has been serving you for hundreds of years!”

Spirit Treasure Heaven Master protested, looking wronged, but Fuxi replied without a hint of emotional change.

“Is it true what Baek Woong said or not?”

“It’s a lie. When did I ever say that?”

“Hmm.”

Fuxi’s eyes widened slightly.

With a rumble!!

In that moment, a vision of the conversation between Spirit Treasure Heaven Master and I earlier flickered before us. Even the sounds of our words were crystal clear.

[Do humans have any worth to be saved by the hands of gods?]

[Are you viewing it from a god’s perspective?]

As the scene from the past unfolded, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master’s face turned rigid. Fuxi leisurely observed the vision until the end and then said,

“Baek Woong is wrong. He behaved insolently and has violated the orders—but Spirit Treasure Heaven Master, you have done nothing wrong. As a master, it would be fair to discipline Baek Woong.”

“Master, I thank you…”

“But why did you lie to me?”

“…….”

The atmosphere abruptly cooled. With a chuckle, Fuxi commented,

“How amusing. A giant like you, not only opening your heart to Baek Woong but also lying to hide that fact. What sort of power does Baek Woong have for you to make such a mistake?”

“W-What?!”

“Spirit Treasure Heaven Master, you are a remarkably talented disciple. You possess an extraordinary talent for chaotic abilities, which, with a few hundred years of training, could allow you to surpass Primordial Void Ruler and Taishang Laojun; that’s why I took you as a disciple.”

After saying that, Fuxi looked at Spirit Treasure Heaven Master with eyes devoid of emotion.

“However, it seems you were born too chaotic. With that, there’s no way you could handle realms beyond order, so I believe I’ve seen your limits today.”

“……”

“I have no further expectations, so I shall expel you. Do you have any final words?”

Hearing Fuxi’s words, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master bowed his head, slowly lifting it with effort. He then began to speak slowly.

“Master, I will go search for my true self. Please take care of your health. Then…”

Fuxi tilted his head.

“Where do you plan to go? I never told you to leave.”

“That means…?”

Fuxi smiled.

“Do you think I would not know your true nature? I cannot leave someone like you behind, as you may become a future burden.”

“……?!”

Despair filled Spirit Treasure Heaven Master’s face in an instant. Fuxi pointed his finger at him.

“Become a speck of dust in the universe.”

Whoosh!

In the next moment, Spirit Treasure Heaven Master turned to ashes and vanished without a trace.

“……!!”

What?! He got executed just for that?!

I only meant to tease him!

As I watched Fuxi’s extreme actions, I felt astonished, but soon after, he spoke quietly to me.

“Baek Woong. From now on, you are my third disciple.”

I met Fuxi’s gaze.

And as the Three Sovereigns smiled warmly, he said,

“There’s someone you must meet. Let’s head to Takrok right away.”