1120——————==

Soul of the Evil God

Dog Poop!

That guy was definitely the one I gave a name to. Sure, he got huge, but no doubt about it, that’s Dog Poop! I could recall the memories from back then.

[Promise me you won’t eat any innocent animals or people. Go leave the Central Plains and live your life in the remote corners where no one is around.]

[I don’t know my name!! No one named or called me!]

[Well, can I name you?]

[Dog Poop… okay, let’s go with Dog Poop.]

[Dog Poop… is that a good name?]

[Uh, yeah, it’s a great name.]

[Good… I, Dog Poop, swear I’ll never eat another human again and will live quietly outside the Central Plains.]

As soon as this 28th life began, I went to the Great Thunder Valley of the Imperial Palace to gather treasures like the wooden armor. This time, rather than killing the giant toad there, I had given it a name and sent it off. I named that giant toad Dog Poop, and now, after 500 years, I’m meeting Dog Poop again.

But why is Dog Poop the Monster King now?

I wondered and addressed Dog Poop.

“You kept our promise from 500 years ago, right? You promised not to eat people.”

[…….]

Dog Poop looked at me with suspicion and replied.

[I did! But how come you still look the same as before?]

“Well, you know, things happened.”

After saying that, I glanced at Daji. Daji seemed wary of the unexpectedly giant Monster King, and for a moment, there was silence on the battlefield. Thinking I should use this moment wisely, I turned to Dog Poop.

“Dog Poop! We’ll talk later; help me take down Daji.”

Dog Poop’s strength is pretty substantial. Even if it’s a sneak attack, taking down Daji in direct combat wouldn’t be a problem. If Dog Poop, I, and Sagong Lin teamed up, we might just manage to subdue Daji without killing her.

[Don’t joke around.]

“Huh?”

Dog Poop said with a hint of anger.

[You think I’d be safe after being given such a humiliating name!!]

Whoosh!

Dog Poop unleashed a powerful force from its skin, turning it into waves of flames. In an instant, that wave smashed through the ceiling of the Yin-Yang Master’s clan base in the Heart of the Forest at Aokigahara Life Sea, and the barrier that had withstood the clash of monsters was finally destroyed.

“Uagh.”

“Kuagh.”

Hundreds of Yin-Yang Masters and Sorcerers vomited blood and collapsed. The shocking part was that this was just the prelude to magic, and the waves of flames hadn’t even been released yet. That power clearly surpassed that of a Great Demon and could rival that of a high-level Demon King.

“……!!”

Gulp… it’s seriously strong?!

I realized that Dog Poop wasn’t just bluffing when it said it could fight Daji and swallowed hard. Then I hurriedly said.

“What’s wrong with that name, Dog Poop?”

[Shut up…. You thought I’d let you off the hook after mocking me with a name like that?]

Boom!!

At that moment, Daji lunged forward and bit down on Dog Poop’s neck.

[Kaakh.]

[So this is it.]

Daji had clearly been waiting for an opening, and Dog Poop unleashing the wave of flames aimed at Daji. Daji immediately lit up her tail and conjured up a massive blue flame in response.

Kaboom!!

When the two flames collided, they seemed to cancel each other out. Daji and Dog Poop entangled and rolled around multiple times while trading blows at close range. I stood there blankly, watching the giant beasts clash, when suddenly Sagong Lin approached me.

“Baek Woong. So that toad monster is the demon beast that was underground in the Great Thunder Valley of the Imperial Palace?”

“…Yeah. I have no idea how it became the Monster King in 500 years though.”

“This is our chance while they’re entangled. I’ll hit Daji, and you infuse her with the power of Amaterasu.”

“Got it!”

Clap

Sagong Lin’s sword form vanished with a golden flash. When she reappeared, she was using a hand blade to strike Daji’s arm.

Swish

An invisible blade that seemed to ignore all of Daji’s defenses! Even though the form wasn’t visible, the sheer power of refined gold easily severed Daji’s arm, causing her to scream.

[Kaht!!]

However, it wasn’t just a scream of pain. The moment Daji screamed, Sagong Lin hesitated for a bit, and Daji’s body suddenly vanished from that spot. Time seemed to stop abruptly.

Uuuh

‘Huh… what’s going on….?’

I felt a wave of dizziness. Moments later, I realized I was standing in a place that had fallen into chaos on the battlefield.

“Huh?”

Crash

I could see from a distance Sagong Lin, Daji, and Dog Poop in a three-way battle. It certainly looked like a clash of immense power, and the terrain was completely destroyed, but I decided to focus on understanding the situation first. Just then, I realized what had happened.

‘Daji didn’t disappear…. I moved back to the [Past]!’

[Small Cycle]!

When I examined Daji’s body, I noticed that the arm Sagong Lin had cut off had completely returned. Daji must have reversed time with [Small Cycle] to bring everything back to the past! However, the time-reversal ability only worked on mortals like me and didn’t affect Sagong Lin or Dog Poop, who were still fighting there, so they could only enjoy the recovery effect while continuing a fierce battle.

Feeling the weight of the situation, I thought.

‘Damn! Sagong Lin might inflict wounds on Daji and create openings, but if it goes too far, Daji will instantly reverse time to recover her strength and send everything around back to the past! That would make it extremely hard to approach her.’

It wouldn’t be a problem if Sagong Lin was just fighting with the goal to take Daji down. She could ignore the operations of [Small Cycle] and deal fatal blows to Daji. But right now, the issue was that instead of trying to take Daji down, we were infusing her with the power of Amaterasu to restore her mind, so we couldn’t inflict fatal damage.

I instinctively knew that trying multiple times in such cases would definitely lead to failure. There would only be one chance to land that hit, and I had to inject the power of Amaterasu into Daji right then!

Suuuuu

I kept my cautious distance from the battlefield, barely opening my eyes and staying focused. Even though I was in a situation where I had zero coordination with Sagong Lin fighting in the front lines, I didn’t care. If it’s Sagong Lin, she would manage to make it work somehow; I just had to trust her for my strike.

Distance didn’t matter….

As my intent activated, a colossal will’s pillar pierced through the space between heaven and earth. With absolute focus on the Absolute Realm, I forgot the thought of moving myself towards Daji. Against someone of Sagong Lin’s caliber, I might face an attack, but fundamentally, Daji’s power could tear apart even experts of the Absolute Realm easily, so if I approached clumsily, I’d get shut down for sure.

Then it was all about focusing on one powerful blow.

Just using the simple Infinite Slash wouldn’t work. Asura said my Infinite Slash was incredibly straightforward, intuitive, and fast, but in other words, it meant that if there’s any obstruction to my one-point breakthrough, its power would drastically decrease.

‘More… I need even stronger power.’

I am confident in my ability. If I layered the Seven Luminaries of Great Liberation with the might of Huaying Flame, I would surely be able to deal a blow stronger than the Infinite Slash I had performed thus far.

But.

Would the Infinite Slash and the power of Huaying actually clash in unison?

Especially since the power of Huaying would also be loaded with the divine might of Amaterasu?

I had felt a little this way before. When using martial skills and the might of powerful weapons concurrently, the strength indeed increased but it almost felt like they were working separately. It would be fortunate if they combined, but the regions of my intent and spirit energy didn’t mesh well. Until now, I could ignore that clash, but something felt off this time.

Both Infinite Slash and the Great Liberation were possibly the maximum powers I had refined in their own fields. There was a gut feeling that if these two powers clashed, they would yield some unproductive outcome.

I realized with the intuition of an Absolute Realm Expert that I had to align one side with the other. If I boosted both realms, they would inevitably conflict.

‘Should I match the Infinite Slash to the Huaying? Or should I match the Huaying to the Infinite Slash?’

Either way, I felt I could manage it by instinctively. Meanwhile, my thoughts were relatively rational.

‘Alright! I’ll go with the latter.’

I naturally thought to align the power of Huaying with the Infinite Slash, concentrating my intent on the sword. The quiet process of adjusting the Intent Heavenly Pillar of the Absolute Realm flowed calmly.

Halt

‘Hmm…. No, something’s off….’

I suddenly felt uneasy as I tried to stretch the Infinite Slash according to the Spirit of Huaying. No matter how I think about it, the might of Great Liberation Seven Luminaries, enhanced directly by the Three Sovereigns, would surely be way stronger, so why did it feel like this?

Boom!

Then I heard a series of explosive sounds from the front, and the shockwave began sweeping the people around me. The Yin-Yang Master of the Abe clan beside me, who had been bleeding, collapsed and groaned.

“Uugh…. Your Majesty! The barrier at Aokigahara Life Sea is still holding them back, but… it will completely collapse soon, and the beasts’ powers will directly affect the reality…. They were originally capable of devastating entire planets, but their powers are being somewhat restrained now….”

“…….”

“When that happens, the destructive force will tear apart the ground at least tenfold….”

Damn it. There’s no time to hesitate.

I gritted my teeth, opened my eyes widely, and drew my sword.

Huaying Flame

Great Liberation

Sword God’s Intent

Flowing Infinite Slash!

We were over ten li away. However, the moment Huaying Flame left the sheath, the Divine Sword Huaying transformed into a radiant blade, soaring forward at an incredible speed like a phoenix flapping its wings. And the moment Huaying arrived in close range, the power of the Infinite Slash pierced right through Daji’s chest!

Thud

‘Direct Hit!’

As expected, even from a distance, I could hear Daji’s scream echo loudly in my ears.

[Kaak!!]

That felt great. I realized through the connection of the sword aura that Huaying had pierced Daji’s chest, and immediately, I forcefully infused the divine power of Amaterasu into that connection. At that moment, even as Daji tried to muster her strength to pull out Huaying, Sagong Lin, who had approached her, gripped the handle of Huaying and pushed it deeper.

Fwoooosh!!

Sagong Lin suddenly erupted in tremendous golden flames. The uncanny silver flames that resembled those of the Yan Emperor Shennong erupted, threatening to break my focus.

Flame!

“……!!”

The flames swallowing Sagong Lin felt as if they were a river of fire running through hundreds of sheets of flames.

‘Why?!’

Why is Huaying attacking Sagong Lin?! No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like an instinctual rejection! Even if they weren’t the master of the Seven Luminaries, there should be no need for the spirit of Huaying to act like that just because she was holding the handle…

‘Damn it! Focus!’

I decided to put aside my worries about Sagong Lin. She wouldn’t be someone who’d die from that! Instead, I began infusing the divine power of Amaterasu as much as possible into Daji’s heart.

Wooh, wooh, wooh

[Kurrr….]

Daji’s squirming gradually slowed down, and the blood light that had gathered in her eyes began to fade away. The giant’s form shrunk speedily, eventually returning to the half-human half-demon Miho’s form.

Even with Huaying still embedded in her chest, a massive blaze erupted in front of Miho. With her eyes closed, Miho lifted Huaying with two fingers and began to pull it out slowly.

Slurp

The puncture mark remained, but soon Miho’s body healed without a trace. Holding the sword, Miho spoke.

“Sagong Lin…. Is that you?”

A perfectly normal tone from Miho. Moments later, with a flare, the spirit of Huaying finally calmed down, and Sagong Lin appeared in the fire. Surprisingly, she wasn’t injured at all; not even a trace of soot was on her white martial outfit. Sagong Lin released Huaying’s handle as she responded.

“Miho. Are you finally coming back to your senses?”

“I saw everything that happened. I’m sorry for causing a ruckus.”

After that, Miho sighed deeply.

“But the problem is far from resolved….”

At that moment.

[Die!]

The Monster King Dog Poop, who had just been fighting in a three-way clash, suddenly unleashed a powerful force! An attack that rivaled Daji’s could surprisingly hit both Sagong Lin and Miho at the same time.

Miho’s eyes sparkled.

And then time rewound.

Uuuh

“……!!”

[Small Cycle] rewound! So Miho could manipulate time too!

“That’s impressive.”

Sagong Lin said in surprise.

The significant difference in Miho’s manipulation of [Small Cycle] compared to when Daji did it was that this time, both Sagong Lin and the Monster King couldn’t resist and were drawn into the time reversal. It was clear proof that Miho’s abilities were much stronger than before.

Miho looked at the clumsy Monster King Dog Poop and spoke.

“O King of Monsters, I apologize for intruding upon your territory. However, my malignancy within me is asleep, so may I request a short reprieve on this land?”

Those words radiated with considerable authority and power!

She clearly stood apart from the Miho before.

[…….]

Dog Poop turned its head sharply to look at me and said.

[Baek Woong!! If you promise me one thing, I will withdraw from this place!]

“Huh?”

[Change my name!]

Dog Poop glared at me with tremendous anger.

[The name you gave me is too humiliating, and I cannot reveal my true name to my subordinates! Change the name from Dog Poop immediately!]

“…….”

[Immediately!!]

I hesitated for a bit. Then I sent a transmission to Sagong Lin.

[What if we all jump Dog Poop and beat it down?]

Sagong Lin said, sounding troubled.

[Miho intends to let the matter pass for a reason. We cannot end up hurt by clashing with someone of that level. We could win, but it would only exhaust Miho’s cause-and-effect, resulting in loss, so it’s better to heed its request.]

[But….]

[How about just changing the name?]

Hmmm….

Do I really have to rename it?

But… but I’m kind of… eh….

I scratched my head hesitantly and said to Dog Poop.

“Dog Poop, the name isn’t that bad… right? I put thought into naming it….”

Dog Poop roared.

[Shut up!! What’s different from a neighborhood mongrel’s name?]

“…….”

[You aren’t actually proud of that name, are you?!]

At that moment, all three pairs of eyes turned to me. Miho looked blank, Sagong Lin looked puzzled, and Dog Poop still radiated pure rage.

The issue was that Dog Poop had hit a nerve.

“…….”

What’s the big deal about the name?!

It’s endearing!

Reluctantly, I said to Dog Poop.

“Hey! You owe me a debt for saving you last time. Can’t you just leave me alone?”

[Don’t kid! I’d beat you to the ground but spare your life, and you’d count that as paying off the debt.]

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

[I don’t understand your nonsense either! Is changing a name really that difficult?!]

“Uuugh….”

Finally, Miho spoke to me.

“Baek Woong, just change it. It’s not even a good name.”

“Ugh!”

I bit my lip. Why is everyone trashing my naming skills? I’m actually pretty good at this!

Left with no choice, I opened my mouth.

“…Then your name will be…. Hmm….”

Come to think of it, didn’t that thing come from the moon? After a brief thought, I spoke.

“Let’s name you Wolah (月娥).”

Since ‘Eo’ means beauty, maybe this weird creature will seem a bit gentler?

[…That name feels nostalgic….]

“Is it okay?”

[It’s way better. I’ll go with that name!]

Kugugugugu….

[You filthy creature! Let’s not meet again!]

As soon as that conversation ended, the Monster King Dog Poop, no, Wolah ignited a terrifying aura, and moments later, vanished through spatial movement. I stared absentmindedly at where Wolah had disappeared and then turned my gaze to Miho.

“Miho, everything’s way too chaotic right now… What happened? Are you controlling the madness back to normal now?”

“Yeah.”

Miho nodded.

“But there’s still a problem. Thanks to the power of Amaterasu you infused, I managed to hold Daji back, but it won’t last long.”

“What do you mean? Please explain the situation. Seimei wasn’t briefed about your condition either. You’ve been rampaging through countless dimensions, causing havoc, right?”

Miho sighed and said.

“That wasn’t madness. I thought I was cleaning up Daji while meditating on Golden Crow Island for so long, but in reality, Daji was just pretending to be taken down and manipulating my unconsciousness to steal my mind. That’s why information about you being a Reborn Person slipped into Daji’s hands…”

“……!!”

“While Daji controlled me, it rampaged and killed indiscriminately, using the massacre to amass immense yin power. Although my strength as a divine being grew strong, I was still unable to regain control of my body from Daji…”

“So now, thanks to the power of Amaterasu, you’ve regained your sanity.”

I started to grasp the situation. Miho continued.

“That’s right. But fundamentally, I still can’t escape from Daji’s control.”

“What do you mean? After trying to consume Daji for 500 years, you’re saying that it was impossible?”

If that were true, that would make it extremely troublesome for Miho’s power enhancement in the afterlife. It basically meant she’d done everything she could yet remained under the control of a high-level being. My face turned pale, and Miho said.

“It was a structural issue. I could consume the simple powers of Daji, but in the end, I became Daji’s ‘tail.’ As long as the source is dependent, no matter how much I ascend to the realm of a divine being, I would just be devoured by Daji’s yin. That’s something both I and Seimei overlooked, thinking I could just absorb strength.”

“…….”

“Otherwise, I’d inevitably fall back under Daji’s rule according to the laws of yin and yang. This is the cause-and-effect bond existing between Daji and me, regardless of my divine status.”

“Is there no way to resolve this?”

“There’s but one.”

I fixed my eyes on Miho as I felt intrigued by her words; she crossed her arms and said.

“The only way is to be recognized by Nüwa as the true successor of the Three Sovereigns. That way, I could not only gain complete mastery over Daji, but become even stronger.”

“…….”

I was taken aback, my mouth agape. Then I said.

“Th-That’s impossible. That dirty Nüwa would never acknowledge you.”

It was all too clear. Even Daji amounted to barely a piece shunned of her filthy yin energy; how could Nüwa ever approve of Miho, the tail of that Daji? Especially given her proud and grand nature!

“I guess so….”

Miho lowered her head with a bitter expression. Then she held my hand tightly and said.

“Baek Woong…. Would you kill me right here instead?”

“…….”

“I’m of no further use to you as your former companion…. After putting in so much effort over 500 years, this is the outcome… Let’s just forget about me from here on out.”

“That’s….”

“No matter how much I try to grow stronger, I’ll always remain in Daji’s or Nüwa’s thrall. I don’t have enough strength to be with you anymore.”

I could feel the lack of confidence or mischievousness in Miho’s tone. It was clear she had lost all hope and resigned herself. But that very tone made me feel a pang of frustration, clenching my teeth.

“No! I will find a way! Don’t give up!”

“What method are you planning to use? What method other than Nüwa will resolve the cause-and-effect bond between me and Daji?”

“…….”

Just when I was at a loss for words.

“The solution is quite simple.”

It was Sagong Lin who interjected. When both Miho and my gaze fell on Sagong Lin, she smiled and said.

“The only way is to head to the celestial realm right now and find Fuxi.”