Chapter 1184
“The Soul of the Evil God!”
So, after hearing what Zhuge Liang had to say, I made my way to the Heavenly Mysterious Woman to figure out how to summon the Four Divine Beasts. Even if I was sitting pretty in the Jade Emperor’s chair, I wasn’t slick enough for sweet summoning techniques, so I had to seek help from the top wizard in the Celestial Realm.
When I arrived, she looked at me with eyes that had a whole lot of sadness behind them.
[So Mangnyang has perished…]
She probably knew almost everything about Mangnyang’s plot. After all, he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without her expertise.
‘…Gotta put out this fire first.’
I had a million questions for her, but I pushed them aside since surviving death was priority number one. So I turned to her and said, “Heavenly Mysterious Woman, I reckon I’ve become the Wheel King and beaten death. But just to make sure, I’d like to summon the Evil God and get a reading. Can you hook me up with that?”
[You just need to go sit on the Jade Emperor’s throne.]
“The throne?”
She replied slowly, “That throne is an artifact of the Three Sovereigns that amplifies the authority of the Celestial Ruler. Sitting there will open a channel to summon the Evil God.”
“No special incantations needed?”
[Nope. The important part is whether the Evil God will respond to your call.]
“…Got it.”
With that, I shuffled off to the throne and plopped down on it. As I sat there, my vision started shifting, and suddenly, countless symbols appeared, buzzing all around me. They looked really out of place.
‘What is this? I’ve never seen these characters in this world… but they seem familiar. Cyrillic? Nah…’
These characters felt too strange to just dismiss as alien script. I racked my brain trying to recall where I had seen them before.
‘Seriously… where have I seen this before?’
Ugh!
Just as I felt like I was onto something, a constant ringing from the throne pounded into my head, making it hurt.
‘This is draining my spirit power fast!’
Just sitting here felt like my spirit was being sucked dry. Even a seasoned immortal would likely end up as a lifeless husk tailing the throne! As this powerful artifact demanded a massive energy drain, I knew I had to act quickly. I focused on the summoning seal as the Heavenly Mysterious Woman instructed and lightly touched it with my finger.
Clink
As a sound like a bell chimed, I felt a wave of energy ripple from afar, coming right at me.
No sound echoed with the wave, but as it reached me, I instinctively knew something.
The Evil God had responded to the Jade Emperor’s summons.
Wooom!!
Moments later, the human form of the Evil God appeared before me, kneeling and speaking just like old times.
“Baek Woong! Have you truly transcended your destined demise? I never thought you would become the ruler of both the Celestial and Underworld realms.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why have you summoned me?”
I looked at the Evil God with a tangled expression and replied, “Well, I had a prophecy once that I would die today. So I figured, I better confirm if you can actually kill me or not, that’s why I called you here.”
“…….”
“Even if that prophecy read the fate of the universe, do you think you could kill the Wheel King? That’s what I’m here to confirm.”
The Evil God remained silent, pondering my words for a moment before finally saying, “I can do a reading for you.”
“That’s what I’m asking.”
“Then over here…”
Swish
“By the name of the Four Divine Beasts, I call upon the future of the apocalypse… Display your form, by the Law of Cause and Effect related to Baek Woong.”
The Evil God summoned a table just like he did last time, slamming a divining bowl onto it.
Thud
He lifted the bowl and slammed it down hard. This time, nothing bounced out of the divining bowl! The look on the Evil God’s face changed dramatically. With a tinge of panic, he exclaimed, “W-What…?”
“Should I slam it again? After I hit it, I can whack the bowl myself, right?”
“Are you really going to touch it?!?”
Thud
I reached for the bowl, but the Evil God shoved my hand away with surprising force.
“…….”
What’s his deal? This turtle is acting way too weird… so awkward.
“T-This is the hexagram of nothingness! How can this be happening…”
“Are you sure I don’t have to hit the bowl?”
“No need! It’s basically the same as breaking the bowl by now.”
“……?”
I started feeling a bit uneasy, so I asked the Evil God, “Um, you know, the last reading I had said it was really bad luck… is this even worse than that?”
“No, it isn’t. While this hexagram exists theoretically, it’s one that I’ve never seen before. It’s an absolute void, neither good nor bad.”
“Nothingness?”
“Exactly.”
I tilted my head at the Evil God’s words. “Nothingness? So what does that even mean?”
“Hexagram of nothingness is the final hexagram for diviners, making all other readings moot. It embodies absolute neutrality and chaos! It means…”
“The universe has given up on you.”
“What?”
Did I hear that right? I asked, but the Evil God continued, “Even the will of the great universe admits your fate has slipped beyond the colossal framework and plunged into infinite chaos. No entity can read, judge, or interfere with your fate anymore.”
I grinned at that phrase.
“Hey, that sounds pretty awesome! So, this hexagram means bad luck can’t touch me anymore?”
“Not quite. This hexagram is the last of its kind.”
The Evil God’s expression darkened slightly. “Any prophecy or foresight you once relied on can no longer affect you, which means you can’t receive help even with good intentions. Whenever you act, the universe trembles, and those sensitive to the Law of Cause and Effect will feel your impact several times over.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“It means you’re likely to amass many enemies.”
“……”
“But… considering you hold the power of both the Celestial Realm and the Underworld, it might not matter much to you.”
The Evil God wore a peculiar smile while slowly rising from his seat.
“After being a diviner since the dawn of time, I should thank you for finally putting me out of business.”
“Out of business?! You mean, I can’t get any more readings?”
“That’s right. The moment you glimpse the hexagram of nothingness, the diviner loses all their abilities.”
“How the heck does that happen?”
“Absolute chaos… Once infinite chaos proves that all cause and effect are rendered useless, relying on any uncertain divination becomes impossible.”
“……”
“Well then… I hope you achieve a good outcome.”
With that, the Evil God vanished. As he disappeared, I rested my chin on my hand, pondering.
‘Well, at least I’ve bought some time. If what he said is true, then I’m not dying anytime soon.’
With no need to invoke the Wheel King’s powers, everything settled effortlessly. But could this hexagram of nothingness end up being good for me? The idea of an absolute void and neutrality could easily turn out to be the worst scenario.
I made a quick wave of my hand.
Whooosh!
“Huh!”
“What’s this…?”
In a flash, all my comrades who were up in the Celestial Tower appeared before the Jade Emperor’s court. They all looked shocked, but this was a unique power the Jade Emperor could use while sitting on the throne.
He could summon anyone from the Celestial Realm directly to his side!
Now, that’s convenient.
I quickly told my gathered companions what had happened to me and that death’s grip no longer held on me.
Then Zhuge Liang looked really complicated for a moment and finally said, “Infinite chaos, huh? That could be a mark of the Heavenly Secret…”
“What?”
“It’s super suspicious.”
Then, a moment later, Zhuge Liang suggested, “Let’s go visit Fuxi again. This time, I’ll accompany you.”
Uwoom!
I activated the throne’s power and envisioned the summoning seal for Fuxi. But suddenly, the seal flipped upside down, and as I stared at it in confusion, Zhuge Liang grunted out, “This isn’t a summoning; it’s a reverse summoning proposal. It’s ridiculous for the Jade Emperor to summon Fuxi.”
“Oh…”
“Approval granted.”
Moments later, Zhuge Liang and I arrived at Fuxi’s secluded place. Fuxi was sitting in a hexagonal pavilion, lazily puffing on a pipe with a face still draped in boredom.
Fuxi asked, “Are you ready to live as the ruler of the three realms, Baek Woong?”
“Well, it feels a bit sudden… I barely avoided death today.”
“You’ll be fine. In fact, if you die, it’ll really shake things up in the Underworld.”
“Huh?”
Fuxi seemed amused. I tilted my head, not knowing what he was thinking, and Zhuge Liang cut in, “Lord Fuxi, I’m sure you have something to tell Baek Woong. We’re here to make your task easier.”
“It’s nice to have a smart one around.”
Fuxi finally turned to me and said, “Baek Woong, the best plan from this situation is to go to the Divine Temple and perform the reverse summon in front of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen.”
“…Huh? Reverse summon?”
“That’s what you saw in the Land and Earth Diagram… It’s a power only I, the heir of the primordial god, and Nüwa can wield.”
“Ah… I know about it, but why does that become the best plan?”
“A bit of background info is needed. Things have gotten tangled, but for you, what’s the optimal outcome in this life?”
I thought for a moment and replied, “Well… seeing what happens during the apocalypse and the revelation, beating Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen, obtaining what my companions left behind, and confirming whether the Divine Skill’s martial artists really show up…”
All that sounds like a mountain of tasks to tackle!
Seeing my face, Fuxi smiled. “Correct, lots on your plate. But there’s a precondition for reaching that outcome.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s about stopping the ‘Coming Chaos’ that aims to resurrect using the Avatar of the Primordial Void Ruler one year from now. If that being resurrects, everything you just said becomes meaningless.”
“…….”
“The moment that entity returns, the world might perish without any preparation.”
Right, I had to avoid that.
“In other words, you should act in the most chaotic and provocative way to grab their attention. A sense of anticipation is what’ll keep them still for the end. That’s the fundamental strategy.”
“So the provocative act is the reverse summon?”
When I asked, dreading the answer, Fuxi nodded.
“That’s the most entertaining chaos we can think of.”
“Oh.”
“What more dramatic action could there be than the underdog like you delivering a lethal blow to Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen, pushing him towards a sealing?”
“But right now, barging into the Divine Temple would be impossible. I’ll be lucky if I even make it in front of Gong Sun Xuanwen…”
“True. Once you have regained the full power of the Wheel King and used the Jade Emperor’s authority properly, you could probably shove your way in. But as it stands now, it’s not feasible. Still, if nothing is done within a year, the world will be doomed.”
“……”
“If we can’t afford the optimal strategy for this reverse summon, what should we do?”
Good question. What should I be doing?
As I sat there in a daze, Zhuge Liang suddenly whacked me on the head and said, “Stop overthinking it. Isn’t there something only you can do?”
“Something only I can do?”
“Persuasion.”
Zhuge Liang had a suspicious yet accepting expression on his face. “You need to track down the Primordial Void Ruler and convince him you can provide the most entertaining chaos. By doing that, you could delay all ensuing events.”
“Is that really possible?”
“That’s actually why I’m here, to see how feasible this could be. With the Obsidian’s magic now on lockdown, hearing from you is the only way to fully grasp Fuxi’s perspective.”
When Zhuge Liang said that, he looked over at Fuxi, who then said, “Once awakened as an Avatar, the Primordial Void Ruler can’t be found by any power. Both Nüwa and I have tried to seek him out, but it was impossible. The Jade Emperor and the Wheel King would struggle too.”
“Of course, that makes sense.”
“At this point, it feels like we’re entirely out of options. A single misstep could cause a hundred plans to fail, leaving utter chaos in its wake. Yet… even still, I feel like something will end up working out.”
Fuxi stared at me intently.
“Reborn Person Baek Woong, do as you wish. That’s the meaning of the hexagram of nothingness.”
“Do as I wish?”
“From here on out, just follow your instincts and try to provoke the ‘Coming Chaos.’ After all, you are chaos incarnate, holding onto something even the Law of Cause and Effect has given up on…”
“……”
Do as I please, huh…
‘I’ve gotta persuade the Primordial Void Ruler, but nobody in the universe knows where he is. What should I do to find him?’
With my power gone and everything locked down, what do I even do?
Clear your mind. Just be a fool…
“……?”
Can I really play the fool? That sounds ridiculously lame, but since they said it’d be fine, I’ll go for it!
I opened my mouth and proclaimed, “First, I hope Miho is recognized as Nüwa’s official successor. Let’s start with that.”
“That was achieved when you conquered the tower. Miho is now recognized as Nüwa’s heir.”
“Then that’s settled.”
“Did something click?”
“Yeah, this doesn’t seem that complicated anymore.”
Both Fuxi and Zhuge Liang looked shocked at my words.
“Hey, Primordial Void Ruler!! Come over, we need to have a drink!”
“……?!”
At this point, I had no choice but to call him out! I figured I’d explain myself on why as well!
“Hey, Primordial Void Ruler, can you hear me? I’d like you to congratulate me on becoming the Jade Emperor!”
As I shouted, Fuxi had an expression that said, “I can’t believe this kid,” and Zhuge Liang looked genuinely baffled.
“…Are you joking? You really think he’d just show up?”
Uwoom!!
Then, out of nowhere, one of the immortals clothed in pitch-black appeared right across from me. The figure looked strangely familiar, and the moment I laid eyes on them, both Fuxi and Zhuge Liang became extremely cautious.
I couldn’t see the face clearly.
It had a familiar vibe, but it felt like there were countless, absurd masks covering the face, making it hard to recognize.
Maybe it’s just me, but something about the clear feeling of their bare face made me tilt my head in confusion.
‘This figure seems strange.’
But perhaps it was intuition telling me this was probably going to happen. So casually, I smiled and said, “You set up the table; I’m the one getting congrats here.”
Even if I’m the Jade Emperor, I’m not yet privy to the summoning technique for setting up a table. The black-clad immortal stared at me vacantly, then seemed to smile back.
“Alright…”
Pop!
A modest table appeared in the middle of the hexagonal pavilion, and I sat across from the black-clad immortal. The immortal raised a bottle and beamed, “Here’s to you, Jade Emperor.”
It was the Avatar of the Primordial Void Ruler, making their entrance.
