1121——————==

Soul of the Evil God

I was puzzled by Sagong Lin’s words.

“Fuxi? Why him?”

Could it be that Fuxi could fix Miho’s identity issue, the fragment of Nüwa? Sagong Lin answered my question.

“Fuxi and Nüwa are siblings. Also, as a practitioner of great magic, he might have some way.”

“Hmmm.”

“And to find the Queen Mother of the West, we have to visit the Celestial Realm anyway. We might get to talk to her directly.”

“So, joining the Celestial Exploration Team is a must.”

“Exactly.”

Sagong Lin glanced at Miho and continued.

“Since the time spent in the Celestial Realm will consume less of the Law of Cause and Effect, it should be fine for you to go with Miho.”

“Miho, are you okay with that?”

I looked at Miho with concern.

“Even if the curse of the Evil God has greatly weakened the Queen Mother, she is still the Queen Mother and the strongest avatar of Nüwa. Facing someone like her directly…”

“I will go.”

Miho replied firmly.

“If I don’t solve this problem, I can never be your companion again, so I can’t afford to spare my life in this lifetime.”

“…Got it.”

Oh…

After a moment, Miho’s sword form began to blur, and she handed me an obsidian. Looking at the obsidian in my palm, Miho said,

“You don’t have enough Law of Cause and Effect to stay on Earth for long, so I’ll give you this obsidian, my token and avatar. If you offer divine power or offerings to it, I can be summoned back.”

“So, is the madness okay now?”

“Yep. Daji has sunk deep down, so for now, it’s fine… See you later in the Celestial Realm.”

Paat!

As she finished speaking, Miho vanished. I turned to Sagong Lin.

“Sagong Lin! Is there really a way if we go to the Celestial Realm?”

“Not really.”

“……!!”

Why is the answer suddenly different?! Saying that, Sagong Lin made a gesture, causing golden light to spread softly around, gradually restoring the destroyed landscapes. Even the wounded could be seen visibly healing.

‘Amazing.’

As I was astonished by that god-like power, Sagong Lin continued.

“Baek Woong. You know the situation since you’ve heard it before, right? After the Evil God’s curse caused mutual destruction among the Three Sovereigns, all the Sovereigns went missing or perished, and the Three Sovereigns seemed to suffer great damage too. No one has revealed their situation, but the Queen Mother, as Nüwa’s avatar, has lost her infinite power from her prime and has weakened to the extent of being pushed back by the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.”

“I heard about that.”

The reason the Heavenly Mysterious Woman could persuade the Queen Mother to hide after my disappearance was that the overwhelmingly powerful force of the Queen Mother had significantly lessened to below half. Since the Queen Mother has not perished, it means that Nüwa has not been destroyed by the Evil God’s curse, but has suffered massive damage. The weakened Queen Mother had no choice but to hand over the dominion of the Celestial Realm to the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and take refuge in the palace of the Celestial Realm.

“After weakening, the Queen Mother has not engaged in any external activities and is secluded. Unless you’re someone as powerful as the Heavenly Mysterious Woman, no one can enter the barrier created by the Queen Mother, so although I said just now that we could see her, whether she’ll meet us is still a question.”

“Then, is finding Fuxi with the Celestial Exploration Team viable?”

“Yep. We’re going with the mindset of grabbing at straws.”

“…….”

“But it’s still too early to give up hope. Maybe the Queen Mother will respond to Miho and want to talk.”

I realized that nothing has been resolved yet. Miho’s madness has been suppressed, but the root cause is the relationship between Daji and Miho. If we don’t have the ability to completely sever the Law of Cause and Effect of the soul, Miho cannot become my companion in this lifetime. I sighed deeply from frustration and said,

“Got it. Then give me a little time to prepare. I need to get ready before heading to the Celestial Realm.”

“Please do so. I’ll tidy up here, so feel free to move as you like.”

“Thanks.”

Paat!

I immediately used Golden Lamp to head to where Dracula was. I approached Dracula and asked,

“Dracula! I have something to ask.”

Dracula, sipping jasmine tea, replied.

“What now?”

“If, in a master-tail relationship, the tail finds it difficult to eat the master, what could be done?”

Dracula’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“…Now that’s an intriguing topic. Spill it.”

I told Dracula about Miho’s situation. After listening to the entire story, Dracula downed the last sip of his jasmine tea and said,

“You’re wondering if I have any similar experiences or knowledge since I’ve been an apostle of the Old Ruler for a long time.”

“Yep.”

With a pop, Dracula opened a bottle of wine next to him. Pouring wine into a glass, Dracula took another sip.

“Hmmm. Miho’s situation is the most fascinating I’ve heard. It’s like the scenario of the Ouroboros.”

“Ouroboros?”

What’s that about?

I stared at him, puzzled, and Dracula explained.

“The magical beast of the Mythological Age, known as the ‘Midgard Serpent,’ is depicted as a snake that eats its own tail. That beast, being in the shape of a snake, creates a roundish curled form as it bites its tail.”

“…….”

“Imagine this: what would happen if the snake fully swallowed its tail?”

Wha—What? Is that even possible? A snake eating its own tail?

I pondered for a moment at the absurdity and finally said,

“It wouldn’t be able to….”

“Why?”

“Because… the tail is part of itself.”

Dracula shrugged his shoulders.

“Exactly. That’s the crux of it. Even if the head tries to eat the tail, it would never be able to consume it completely. So, how could the tail eat the head?”

“Ugh!”

“That’s why it was impossible for Miho to fully absorb Daji, and Daji managed to overpower Miho’s spirit. It’s only natural that the head dominates the tail.”

I understood it immediately. It seemed that being an apostle allowed him to grasp the most intuitive understanding of the situation. I cautiously asked Dracula,

“Still, isn’t there any way?”

“So, you’re asking if there’s a method for the tail to eat the head. There’s one straightforward way to do that.”

“What is it?”

“Miho needs to be recognized as the head. The creator, Nüwa, needs to acknowledge Miho as an equal to Daji. Perhaps Miho and Sagong Lin have that in mind.”

“Ugh… But that would be….”

“It is hard. So, you came to me to see if there’s another way besides that standard approach?”

“Yep. Anything else other than the traditional method?”

“Well, if you’re looking for something really extreme, there’s one more option.”

“Really?”

I perked up at those words and stared at Dracula. Then I widened my eyes at what followed.

“As an apostle, my suggestion is this: Miho should kill the Queen Mother and absorb her.”

“……!!”

“That might actually be the better option.”

I burst out, furious.

“Are you crazy?! What kind of solution is that?! If she can’t even absorb Daji, how could she—”

“It’s different. Nüwa essentially discarded Daji, her own shadow, in the primordial era, and afterward, the avatar created was the Queen Mother. So while the Queen Mother may have power stronger than Daji, unlike Miho, she doesn’t have any dependency on the Law of Cause and Effect.”

“…….”

“Thus, if Miho kills the Queen Mother and absorbs that power, it would completely become a new force, which could actually help to balance out Daji perfectly.”

Hmmm, is that so?

“But even that wouldn’t solve the whole situation.”

“Right. The subordinate relationship akin to the Ouroboros wouldn’t be resolved, but it would forcibly tip the scales to suppress Daji. There would still be some risk involved, but Miho wouldn’t face the same level of counterattacks as before.”

“Hmmm….”

“Even if the Queen Mother were to die, Nüwa wouldn’t dare enter the scene. The potential for her to become weaker could increase even more because of the burden of losing a powerful avatar.”

Listening to Dracula’s words, I began to feel more drawn in.

‘Yeah… I don’t have to keep the Queen Mother alive, right? Especially considering Miho’s burdens.’

The Queen Mother wasn’t a precious companion to me. Throughout my past lives, she has been a hindrance and has only looked down on me without giving anything in return. I had no qualms about killing her.

Dracula chuckled.

“Convincing Miho to swallow her resentment and choosing to kill the creator, the Queen Mother. If the divine being Miho combines her strength with yours and Sagong Lin’s, it wouldn’t be impossible.”

“…….”

“The choice is ultimately yours, but be aware that this option exists if you ever stand before the Queen Mother in the Celestial Realm.”

For some reason, I could distinctly feel that I had gained a new option at this moment, regardless of whether it was my reincarnated instinct.

“…Got it. Thanks for the advice.”

“Then, see you later.”

Paat!

I headed to Asura. After giving him the obsidian, Asura reviewed what happened this time and spoke.

“Now, it’ll be a journey to find Fuxi in the Celestial Realm. In fact, that will be the main goal, while Miho’s issue becomes secondary.”

“What are you talking about? Miho’s situation is important too.”

“…….”

Asura kept his mouth shut and seemed deep in thought. After a while, he finally said,

“Baek Woong. I feel that some flow of this world has shifted… Don’t you feel it?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Before you entered the Land and Earth Diagram, there was a grand current gripping this world that couldn’t be resisted. Both I and Cheon Woo-jin sensed it, but as there was no way to oppose it, we were just waiting for you. After you entered and exited the Land and Earth Diagram, it feels like a crack has formed in that current.”

“……?”

“Could it be that you unexpectedly took an adventure in the Land and Earth Diagram…?”

What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?

I tilted my head in confusion as Asura stood up.

“I wanted to refine the basics for a few more years, but I suppose there’s no helping it. Though it feels early, come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

At his next words, I was taken aback.

“I’ll teach you Dark Night Slash.”

“……!!”

Really?!

He’s about to teach me the sword technique I’ve been drooling over all this time?!

“Of course, I will!”

If I learn that, I can definitely become stronger!

I hurriedly got to my feet. A little later, I arrived at the usual training ground with Asura, who drew his sword and aimed it at me.

“Baek Woong. You already know this, but I’ll say it again.”

“What?”

“Just because you learn Dark Night Slash doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily get stronger. It’s only meant to illuminate the path you need to take and show you ‘the front.’ Dark Night Slash is merely a byproduct of my becoming stronger.”

I nodded, having already known this fact.

“Of course.”

While the technique itself must be incredibly powerful, the fact of the matter is that Asura is simply a stronger martial artist than me. I had understood that for a long time, which is why I humbly sought to learn from Asura. I was already trained in many martial arts that could be deemed the strongest in the world, but Asura truly was on a completely different level.

Asura smiled in satisfaction at my response and said,

“The reason I’m teaching you Dark Night Slash right now is simple. I have the feeling that there will inevitably be some enemies during the Celestial Exploration that you won’t be able to handle without it.”

“What? Do you know something?”

“Hmmm. Well, who knows.”

Asura was somewhat vague in his answer. Then he changed the subject.

“Anyway, the essence of Dark Night Slash is simple. Like this….”

Zwoom!

Asura raised his sword horizontally and slowly traced the sword form with his hand. The blade became pitch black, and it looked like he was infusing more power into the blackened blade. After a while, the darkness seemed to swallow his surroundings, and just as quickly, it cleared up and returned to normal.

“It’s about rotating the reverse wheel.”

“Reverse wheel?”

“To put it simply, it’s the opposite concept of Nirvana of the Absolute. If Nirvana of the Absolute gathers the Absolute Realm at a point and detonates it, then Dark Night Slash unravels all martial principles in reverse rotation.”

“……?”

I was puzzled by his explanation and asked for clarification.

“Why do it that way? I totally get how gathering and detonating in Nirvana of the Absolute is strong, but why are we reversing the wheel?”

“…….”

“Pulling apart the martial principles means….”

Even I couldn’t believe it as I realized what I was saying.

“Does that mean you can’t maintain intent?! What’s that…!!”

“You’re exactly right. That’s the essence of the Dark Night.”

“`

 

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