1232——————==

Soul of the Evil God

When Master Mangnyang appeared, I was seriously tense.

‘Here we go.’

Meeting Master Mangnyang shouldn’t have been a tense situation; it should have been something I sought out. But now that immense magical power was boiling over from me, anyone looking at me would judge me as a mighty demonic being, so it was only natural to assume that Master Mangnyang would be hostile. I could easily be obliterated or sealed away at his hands.

‘That’s why I initially planned to enter the Land and Earth Diagram and then escape using Saitan’s command… but I didn’t expect to be blocked like this.’

It felt like darkness was closing in on me, but I managed to hold my composure.

“Sorry for causing a ruckus! I won’t mess around anymore, so let me go!”

[…….]

Master Mangnyang was staring at me intently. Then he responded.

[Chaos is leaking out from the cracks. It appears as chaos even though it’s not; that’s the reason, isn’t it?]

“…What?”

[[The flow of the Cycle has been read. I was wondering why it’s so noisy since the Emperor was sealed; it’s all because of you, isn’t it?]

Chill ran down my spine!

I flinched at Master Mangnyang’s words. It seemed this cat had detected right away that I was a reborn person shortly after our meeting.

‘At this point, I might as well be straight with him!’

I wasn’t even sure if this was the right choice, but keeping quiet would feel so unjust!

I said to Master Mangnyang, “Master Mangnyang! I’m a reborn person. I’m currently living my 29th life, and in my last life, I sealed Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen.”

[…….]

“Right now, I have a lot of magical power, and I’m looking for ways to control it and eliminate the Evil Qi, so please help me! You have the ability to remove the Evil Qi, right?”

[You want me to remove your Evil Qi?]

“Yeah!”

Then Master Mangnyang said, [If water continues to flow from a broken jar, what’s the wisest thing to do?]

“……?”

[Only you can resolve your own problem. At least, that’s the crux of the matter.]

“What the hell are you talking about!”

[Right now, I’m a cat. You should’ve called it ‘talking cat nonsense.’]

“Uh… yeah….”

What was I even saying? While I was baffled, Master Mangnyang continued.

[If you have a request, then bring something in exchange. I can’t help you for free.]

“…Cheh!! Just let me move, and I’ll look for offerings.”

Woosh!

When Master Mangnyang slightly turned his tail to the side, I was finally able to move after being stuck in the lotus pose. I rummaged through my belongings to find some treasures to offer.

“How about this!”

What I brought out were the Xuyou, the Three Sovereigns’ Inner Gate, and the Crystal Stele. Although the number was less than what I had presented to the Prophet before, the actual value of these offerings was significantly higher. In fact, I could say these three were nearly all my treasures, but given the situation, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to let go of them.

‘If the Evil Qi isn’t resolved, I can’t create any companions! I should just put everything I have on the line!’

Maybe that’s why Master Mangnyang seemed slightly perked up. He put his paw on the Xuyou set on the ground and said.

[I can erase your Evil Qi corresponding to the value you’ve offered.]

“All of it will be erased, right?”

[No.]

His resolute answer made my face scrunch up.

“What?! I’m offering this much and you can’t remove everything….”

[It’s not that I can’t remove it, but the offering is insufficient.]

“Then how much can you erase?”

[Quite a bit.]

As soon as Master Mangnyang finished speaking, the Xuyou at his feet vanished in an instant, followed by the Three Sovereigns’ Inner Gate and the Crystal Stele.

Chime!

Then I felt the headache in my head quickly vanish, and I sensed my mind clearing up a bit.

“Oooh!!”

The lingering headache that had been nagging me disappeared significantly! It’s not that the pain was completely gone, and I still felt a bit of a pinching sensation, but this level of relief was more than satisfying. I hurriedly asked Master Mangnyang.

“W-would it be possible to share my memories with other humans now that I’ve lost this much Evil Qi?!”

[That depends on the person. You’ve removed more than half, but it can still be seen as toxic to humans.]

“Hmmm….”

[But remember this: right now, you’re like a broken jar….]

Hooaa!!

In the next moment, I was back in reality, standing in the village I knew Master Mangnyang lived in. And right in front of me, at the entrance of the vegetable garden, stood Cheon Woo-jin, glaring at me disapprovingly.

“Are you back to your senses?”

“Cheon Woo-jin.”

“By the master’s command, I won’t attack you any further. But if you run wild and harm the innocent, I won’t stand by.”

“Hmph. I have no intention of doing that! I’ve changed now.”

I grinned and said to Cheon Woo-jin, “Let’s meet again soon!”

“Get the hell out of here.”

Woosh!

Using divine techniques, I left Master Mangnyang’s village, thinking.

‘Right now, if I give Cheon Woo-jin the Obsidian, he’ll be wary and won’t accept it. I’ll convince him after I recruit Mangnyang as a companion.’

Just as I thought I had unfolded my divine technique enough to head to Zhuge Sa, I activated it.

Woosh!!

“…Huh?”

The illusion shown by the divine technique was more intense than usual. Normally, I would ignore it or skim through it, but this time it was so powerful that I couldn’t just push through as I wanted. While I was pondering what was going on, the divine technique pulled my body, and the teleportation began.

Swish….

Swoosh!!

“Ugh, AAAAH?!”

Suddenly, I was transported to an unknown place and started falling into darkness toward a continent I recognized, and the phenomenon I was experiencing felt familiar, having once been through it before.

“Dark Heaven Village?!”

That’s right. This is precisely what happens when the Evil Qi of the divine technique summons me to Dark Heaven Village! Soaring endlessly through the dark night felt terrible, just like I had experienced before.

And I had to quickly brace myself because based on my past experience, a dangerous attack was bound to come!

Swoosh—

An unexpected attack flew at me at a bizarre angle! In the past, I had failed to dodge this attack and had brushed against it, but this time, knowing it was incoming, I could easily evade it.

As I caught a glimpse of a gigantic, five-eyed tentacled manta ray whooshing by me, I gritted my teeth.

“Damn it!! What the hell is going on!”

I never expected the divine technique to go berserk like this!

Previously, I had been protected by Zhuge Bu’s protective martial arts against thousands of mantas, but this time, since I was alone, I had to rely solely on myself. Even if I used the Protection Energy Technique, I might end up drained and in trouble. Knowing that the manta rays would all attack simultaneously, I steeled myself and summoned the Immortal Sword.

‘No matter how strong I am in the Absolute Realm, if I bring down a swarm of mantas in place, I’ll wear myself out! I need to charge through quickly!’

Without resisting the mysterious force pulling me, I focused all my energy to break through at maximum speed! That way, I could avoid as many attacks from the mantas as possible!

Soul Removal Technique!

Power unleashed!

Piying—

With an incredible speed that shook my soul, I dashed forward. And I cut down all the mantas caught in my path in one stroke with the Immortal Sword. I was already flying at high speed, but with the Soul Removal Technique, I was easily dozens of times faster, allowing me to soar past the swarm of mantas in no time.

Bam!

And as I landed on the Cloud Sea ahead, I felt like this was just the beginning.

‘Back then, I summoned Cheon Gong-pyo with the Ruyi Staff and used its Sabre Sword to break through the barriers of these monsters and get outside….’

But now, I had neither the Ruyi Staff nor Cheon Gong-pyo, and I had even given the Xuyou to Master Mangnyang.

My abilities had drastically increased since then, yet how was I going to escape this place?

Boom!

While I was wallowing in despair, an immense sound resonated from beyond the towering mountain range in the distance. I was puzzled at first, but as the colossal hand of an enormous monster gradually emerged from behind the mountain, memories from the past flooded back.

‘A monster larger than the mountain range!! That’s right… previously I avoided a confrontation with that thing by escaping in a different way.’

If I wandered carelessly through the sea of blood flames without any special method, I would undoubtedly collide with that monster at least once. While I felt confident in my martial arts reaching the Absolute Realm, I doubted my ability to defeat such a monster. In the end, I realized I was left with no options.

I squeezed my eyes shut and called out.

“Great Shao Hao Jin Tian! Your apostle is in danger! Please help me escape from Dark Heaven Village!!”

Pow!

Then a figure resembling Shao Hao Jin Tian appeared before me. Shao Hao Jin Tian sat still on his throne, not moving at all. The sight gave me an immense sense of pressure, and I held my breath.

‘Is he… angry?’

I mean, it makes sense for an apostle to be chilling out in Dark Heaven Village.

Trembling, I cautiously spoke.

“Uh… if you can’t help, then just kill me….”

[Hmm? Uhhh….]

At that moment, Shao Hao Jin Tian shifted his body slightly. Then, with half-opened eyes, he spoke.

[What did you say? I slept through that… heart.]

“…….”

He was sleeping?!

I was dumbfounded, but I said to Shao Hao Jin Tian.

“Um… well, it just happened that I found myself in Dark Heaven Village… please help me escape.”

[Dark Heaven Village? Why did you end up there?]

“It was a malfunction in the divine technique….”

Shao Hao Jin Tian glanced at the divine technique in my hand and said.

[Hmm…. That must be the effect of the barrier between the East and West being lifted. It’s a malfunction of the demon artifact.]

“The demon artifact malfunctioned because of the barrier? Does that mean other demon artifacts are affected too?”

[For a while, yes. Unless the barrier created by our Three Sovereigns is restored, the stability of time, space, and dimensions will remain compromised….]

“……!!”

[If you keep using that divine technique, the errors in time and space will accumulate, causing a collapse of magical power. Stop using cheap tricks and switch to another teleportation technique.]

I realized what restrictions had been placed on me this life.

The demon artifacts going berserk!

Until now, I had been using artifacts like the divine technique with little to no risk of failure, but from now on, if I wasn’t careful, they could backfire, potentially killing me as a side effect! It was hard to believe that just the disappearance of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen had led to such a situation.

‘Ugh… can’t even use the divine technique recklessly anymore?!’

While I was in shock, Shao Hao Jin Tian paused for a moment before saying.

[I spoke with the overseer of Dark Heaven Village, and they said they could let you out in three days. Just wait.]

“What?! Three days?! That’s way too long!”

Then Shao Hao Jin Tian replied, slightly annoyed.

[What do you want me to do? You messed up and ended up in such a place; how far do you want me to take responsibility? Should I fight with the gods of Dark Heaven Village for your sake? I’d say I’ve been more than accommodating.]

“…….”

[Now that I think about it, it’s irking me. I didn’t pay attention while asleep, but how much of the task I entrusted to you have you completed? Did you find the clues to Yu Shun?]

Flare!

The silver creature in front of me emanated a fierce silver glint from its eyes, and I felt cold sweat trickling down my back.

‘If I don’t answer, I’ll die!’

Even at this distance from Shao Hao Jin Tian, he could take my life!

Nervously, I replied.

“I found it! Take a look at this.”

I pulled out the Philosopher’s Stone from my side. Immediately, Shao Hao Jin Tian showed interest.

[Oh, isn’t that the one that was sealed away ages ago?]

“You recognized it right away. This guy said it would know Yu Shun’s whereabouts once it regained its power, so I’ve been managing it. Hehe….”

[Very well. I’ll allow your incompetence this once. But if you keep messing up, I’ll eliminate you myself.]

“Thank you!”

[Now, I’m going back to sleep.]

Whoosh!

As Shao Hao Jin Tian disappeared, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew.”

He seems a bit more lenient than Jeon Wook, but I can’t shake the feeling that he might be even harsher than Jeon Wook if I screw up again…

While I wiped the sweat off my forehead, a voice echoed through my mind.

[Hey… you….]

Rumble rumble rumble….

A colossal monster, several times larger than a mountain range, was standing up. It might even be bigger than the Sea God; this creature was undoubtedly among the highest levels of mythical beasts, towering above in the scale of not just the planet but possibly the cosmos itself.

‘Crap!! Do I have to survive for three days fighting with this laser while dodging attacks?!’

Just as I was momentarily stunned by its overwhelming size, the massive creature behind the mountain range spoke to me.

[I’ve heard that you can leave this place…. get me out of here… from this hellish guise of the external entity….]

Did that gigantic being hear my conversation with Shao Hao Jin Tian?!

It seemed ridiculous, but since I was in Dark Heaven Village, especially in this hidden realm of external entities, I thought anything could happen. In my astonishment, I spoke towards the gigantic monster.

“First, reveal your identity!!”

[Apostle of the Three Sovereigns… I am the Forgotten One, so you probably don’t know my name….]

The colossal monster looked down at me and continued.

[I am Adam Cadmon…. summoned to this world from the first Kabbalah in search of Aion….]