1109——————==

Soul of the Evil God

[Huh, what do you mean….]

I tried to convey my thoughts, but I could still feel the sweat pouring down.

Did I just get caught for my Rebirth Ability right away?

Well, I had my suspicions, but how on earth could they figure it out so quickly? Even if they did, there wouldn’t be enough evidence to confirm it as a Rebirth Ability! I found myself flustered by an experience I had never faced before when Fuxi spoke.

[Take it or leave it.]

[….]

[Whether correct or not, you will meet Taishang Laojun in the Celestial Realm. He will tell you what you’ve got to do.]

Whoa!!

A moment later, the three sovereigns vanished simultaneously from the Giant Race palace. I stood there blankly staring at the spot where they had been, only to suddenly realize my body was teleporting away too.

Pow!

When I regained my senses, I found myself back in the Primordial Palace of the Celestial Realm. I was surely moved there by Fuxi, but it left me a tad bewildered upon arrival.

‘Meet Taishang Laojun?’

Damn it! I have no clue what Fuxi is thinking…!!

However, since it seemed he was making moves for my sake, I felt it would be unwise to disregard his words. So, reluctantly, I walked around the Primordial Palace, loudly calling for Taishang Laojun.

“Taishang Laojun! Taishang Laojun! Are you here?!”

Swish

Moments later, Taishang Laojun appeared before me. Noticing his figure, I realized he had changed quite a lot since the last time I saw him.

‘When I released the seal of the Ruyi Staff, Taishang Laojun appeared aged, but now it’s hard to even call him old. No, he’s more like a young immortal now.’

Additionally, the biggest difference was that while he was definitely the Wind Spirit back then, his face was completely featureless, as if it were unrecognizable. I tilted my head, wondering why there was such a difference, but Taishang Laojun spoke up.

“I heard from my master that you would be coming.”

“Oh, yes…. You said you’d tell me what I need to do.”

“Follow me.”

Taishang Laojun began to walk slowly ahead. I trailed after him, asking.

“By the way, where is the Primordial Heaven Master?”

“……”

“Is the Twelve Great Immortals from Kunlun with you?”

“Twelve Great Immortals?”

“Aren’t there twelve Great Immortals that support the Celestial Realm?”

At my words, Taishang Laojun rubbed his chin and said,

“Those kinds aren’t around. I’ve never even heard the term ‘Great Immortal.’ So it’s just as my master said.”

“Wait, you mean there are no Great Immortals?”

“Great Immoral? I haven’t heard of it before. Can you explain what that is?”

This is ridiculous.

How could the Taishang Laojun of the Celestial Realm not even know the concept of a Great Immortal? Even while taken aback, I managed to explain.

“Well… um… They are half-human, half-divine beings with immortal bodies who ascend to the Celestial Realm. They are definitely stronger than humans but not as powerful as gods…”

“What’s an immortal body?”

“Um….”

I explained in detail about the characteristics of immortals. Having observed them right beside Mangnyang previously, I probably knew more about them than anyone else. Upon hearing this, Taishang Laojun said,

“There aren’t any such beings in this Celestial Realm. Up until now, it’s just my master and us disciples, along with some divine beasts or demons that have flowed in from various dimensions. The very concept of an immortal body is foreign to me.”

“Is that so?”

“Me and the Primordial Heaven Master also have bodies different from what you call immortal bodies.”

“How are they different?”

“We’ve arrived.”

Whoa

A giant stone door, embossed with the Eight Trigrams, opened on its own, and I stepped through into the misty interior of the Underground. As I walked further inside, I found a massive inner chamber with a mysterious atmosphere, where the Primordial Heaven Master and the Four Great Spirits awaited.

Upon seeing me, the Primordial Heaven Master said,

“Being from the otherworld, go up onto the platform of the Tai Chi.”

“… Is that the Four Great Spirits over there?”

I asked curiously.

The Four Great Spirits!

That guy is definitely a spirit beast capable of transcending dimensions; he once took me to Golden Crow Island. What’s amazing is that his appearance hasn’t changed at all from that time until now. Then the Four Great Spirits stared at me and spoke.

[How do you know me?]

“Ah… well…”

Seeing him after such a long time, I tried to act familiar, but the words escaped me. I scratched my head and mumbled.

“Because you’re handsome.”

[….]

The Four Great Spirits shook his head, as if in disbelief, and turned to the Primordial Heaven Master beside him.

[So the great Fuxi really took this guy as his disciple?]

“What do you mean by this guy?!”

I protested, but the Primordial Heaven Master merely smiled faintly. He then emphasized once more.

“Go up onto the platform of the Tai Chi.”

“Why should I climb up? I’d like to hear the reason first, Brother.”

“To awaken the talent of chaos that resides within you.”

What?!

I looked between the Primordial Heaven Master and Taishang Laojun, astonished. They didn’t seem to express any emotional highs or lows and stared at me calmly, as if they had cultivated an extraordinary level of serenity. Just like Fuxi, it was incredibly challenging to read their emotions or inner thoughts, so I asked them.

“If I awaken this talent of chaos, will I become stronger?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“It can be risky.”

Soon, Taishang Laojun, who had settled into a meditative posture on a three-tiered training platform, began to explain to me.

“The great Fuxi once drastically altered humanity alongside Shennong and Nüwa. And as the spiritual essence of humanity gradually evolved from being a slave race, the talent of chaos began to bloom. Humanity on the ground is currently working on developing this talent over successive generations.”

“……”

“However, it’s still in a developmental stage. Unless you artificially awaken your inner talents like this, there are very few who’ll awaken their talents naturally. Those who do awaken gain incredibly powerful supernatural abilities.”

“So, the Tai Chi platform is a treasure that awakens the talent of chaos?”

“Indeed.”

Taishang Laojun nodded.

“Both the Primordial Heaven Master and I awakened our talents here.”

“……!!”

The beings known as the Three Pure Ones awoke their talent of chaos here!

I stared in astonishment at the Tai Chi platform. Suddenly, a peculiar thought struck me.

‘Such things were never passed down to future generations. It wasn’t even mentioned…. What could be the reason?’

If there is an altar capable of artificially awakening talents, why wouldn’t it be passed down through the ages? If something like this exists, not just ordinary humans, but even immortals could gain incredible power in an instant!

Feeling suspicious, I remained cautious. This could be some kind of trap, so I hesitated before asking the Primordial Heaven Master.

“Then why don’t you gather all the humans and awaken their talents at once?”

“Because their heads might explode.”

“… What?”

Did I hear that wrong?

But the Primordial Heaven Master continued calmly.

“Among the talents of chaos, many utilize the Upper Dantian. Since the Upper Dantian is closely linked to the brain, if someone strains too much while awakening their talents, their heads might just pop!”

“……”

“Wait a moment…”

“Thus, it’s not an unconditionally good opportunity. If you lack sufficient talent, you’ll fail.”

“Wait! If my head pops, that means I’ll die, right?! Why are you saying it so nonchalantly?!”

As I raised my voice in panic, both the Primordial Heaven Master and Taishang Laojun gave me bewildered looks. After a brief moment, the Primordial Heaven Master seemed puzzled and replied.

“If you die, we can just resurrect you.”

“Excuse me?”

“It seems like a waste of time. Hurry and climb.”

I couldn’t believe my ears and asked hesitantly.

“Can you both really resurrect the dead?”

“Yes.”

“Of course we can.”

They responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It didn’t seem like they were boasting, so I realized that these beings known as the Three Pure Ones could indeed resurrect the deceased. Still in disbelief, I turned to the Primordial Heaven Master.

“Then, please teach me that technique!! I need it badly.”

No matter how powerful I might become, reviving the friends I lose during reincarnation is a must! My heart raced at this unexpected situation, and the Primordial Heaven Master shook his head.

“Hmm. It’s not a technique.”

“Huh?”

“It’s one of the talents of chaos. [Rebirth Ability].”

“That also exists?”

“I’ll show you directly.”

Pow!

The moment the Primordial Heaven Master said this, he flicked his finger forward, and suddenly a human appeared in front of us. This human was dressed in ragged clothes and was covered in dirt, looking like a primitive caveman from ancient times. After summoning the primitive human, the Primordial Heaven Master flicked his finger once more.

Thud

The primitive man’s head simply fell off without any bloodshed.

“Come back to life!”

In an instant, after decapitating the primitive man, the Primordial Heaven Master flicked his finger again, and the primitive man’s head flew back and reattached.

Pop!

As soon as the head reattached, the fallen primitive man appeared to be revived, as life returned to his eyes. I was left speechless at the sight.

“……!!”

How is that even possible?! You can truly bring the dead back to life!

With a flicker of hope, I asked the Primordial Heaven Master.

“Primordial Heaven Master, when a person dies, their soul goes to the Underworld. Are you bringing the soul back and resurrecting them?”

“It’s not that complicated. Just think ‘come back to life,’ and they’ll revive.”

“……?!”

What kind of logic is that?!

It seems to lack any principle at all!

“The talent of chaos is hard to explain clearly. Anyway, you can die and still be resurrected, so get going.”

“Um… then another thing. Can I awaken only the talents I want?”

“No. It’s kind of like a plant sprouting. You can support it to sprout, but the number and power of talents awakened will depend on the original seed.”

“……”

“Why do you look at me like that?”

I glanced back and forth between the Primordial Heaven Master and Taishang Laojun, then spoke.

“So, you two were chosen as disciples of Fuxi because you awakened the most outstanding talents of chaos…?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

Taishang Laojun answered without hesitation. He gazed at me with a blank expression.

“However, there were others who possessed talents on par with ours. Yet, they did not meet the other criteria that my master desired, and thus were not chosen as divine disciples.”

“Another criterion?”

“Humanity.”

He proceeded to explain slowly.

“Those who believe they can gain everything through violence and dominance with their power, those who recklessly bully the weak, and those who manipulate others with treachery… such evil natures were filtered out.”

“Hmm…!!”

“However, as you have already been chosen by my master, I suppose there’s no need for further discussion on humanity. My master mentioned that you still seem not to have blossomed your talent of chaos, so he instructed to assist you in awakening that talent.”

“Is that so!”

“Right. So hurry up and climb.”

The thought that awakening my talent of chaos could significantly enhance my power took hold of me. No, at the very least, I desperately wanted to acquire that Rebirth Ability! Plus, I felt a thrill to test how much talent I actually had.

‘Sure, why not? Let’s give it a shot!’

If I could awaken the talent of chaos, it’d be worth dying for!

Step by step, I climbed onto the Tai Chi platform. Standing in the center, the Primordial Heaven Master began to place his hands upon the Eight Trigrams in front of him.

Ting ting ting

Each time his hand touched, the Eight Trigrams emitted a mysterious light and transformed its shape. Finally, as he gathered all eight trigrams into one place, he shouted.

“In the name of the great Tai Long Fuxi, I command you. Awaken, sprout of chaos!”

Whoosh!!

Moments later, I felt my forehead trembling violently, and a mighty vibration resonated through my entire being. It felt as if powerful energy was gradually building within me.

…Huh? I’m swelling….

It hurts….

BAM!!

Suddenly, my ears burst, and simultaneously, I felt blood pouring from my nose, as if my bones were shattering. I slowly collapsed to the ground.

Thud

“…Come back to life!”

Bang!

I opened my eyes. The area where I had collapsed on the Tai Chi platform was soaked in blood, and my clothes were drenched in a pool of it. As I blinked in confusion, the Primordial Heaven Master shook his head and said.

“Disciple Baek Woong! Are you alright?”

It became clear what had just transpired.

“Did… did my head really explode?”

“No, not quite, but with that serious injury, it looks like you failed to awaken the talent of chaos. But since you still have a trace of the sprout, you didn’t die, so I used regeneration instead of resurrection.”

I was overwhelmed with gratitude for being revived due to the Primordial Heaven Master’s assistance.

“……”

I didn’t even have the talent of chaos.

While I was inwardly despairing, I suddenly felt the Heavenly Secret in my possession vibrating intensely.

“Hmm?”

Woo

Woo woo woo….

It felt like a long, thin vibration flowing through a pitch-black void….

The vibration lingered for a moment, and soon I noticed a blue light flowing from the Heavenly Secret.

Uncontrollably, I took out the Heavenly Secret and realized there was a shimmering blue page within it. Even when trying to read another page, it was filled with incomprehensible characters, as usual. I had no choice but to open the glowing page, and there, two bizarre monsters were drawn.

What is this?

I’ve flipped through the unseeable Heavenly Secret dozens, if not hundreds, of times, but I’ve never seen illustrations like this before!

What are these monsters….

‘Why are they suddenly appearing in the Heavenly Secret, which has never been read before?’

Swish…

But the two seemed familiar, and as I tilted my head in confusion, the Heavenly Secret slowly closed. I attempted to reopen it, but found the same thing—only the illustrations of the two monsters remained.

Watching me from the side, the Primordial Heaven Master asked.

“Disciple. What’s the matter?”

“Ah… um… I thought maybe I’d awakened the talent to read, so I tried to read the book I carried with me.”

I couldn’t tell the truth about the Heavenly Secret, so I mumbled instead.

“Hmmm. Did you get a response?”

“Seems like it’s possible…”

The Primordial Heaven Master nodded.

“Then it means you’ve awakened a talent related to that book.”

A talent related to the Heavenly Secret?

Just two illustrations showed up, and that’s what you call a talent?

While I tilted my head in confusion, Taishang Laojun, who had been watching, said,

“Let’s find out what your talent is later. Now, follow me.”

“Where to?”

Taishang Laojun turned swiftly and walked away.

“The master commanded me to teach you the Divine Arts.”

“`

 

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