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I had never been to the Seven Kills Village by Mount Tai, so I decided to head there first. Mount Tai is a sacred Taoist mountain located in Shandong, and most Central Plains people were familiar with its existence.

The reason Mount Tai is famous is straightforward. It was the site where the Fengshan Ceremony was held after Qin Shi Huang unified China for the first time. Although the ceremony existed since the Zhou Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang almost arbitrarily resumed it after his unification to gain heaven’s acknowledgment.

Because of its historical significance, successive emperors often visited Mount Tai to perform the Fengshan Ceremony. Perhaps that’s why many gates and guards were established nearby, in anticipation of future imperial visits.

“At least there are hardly any bandits around, that’s a relief.”

On my way to Mount Tai, I encountered just one group of bandits. “G-give me your money!”

These were evidently three desperate bandits who looked like they hadn’t eaten for days. Their pitiful, skeletal figures held makeshift spears, and their trembling hands made their demand seem laughably desperate. They couldn’t handle even one burly man.

“Take this.”

Seeing their wretched state made me unwilling to harm them, so I simply handed them forty silver coins from my pocket. They looked astonished at receiving the unexpected cash and, to my surprise, I even offered them a bit of Qi treatment. When I healed one who had jaundice, they bowed deeply to me.

“Oh… are you a hero of the martial world? Thank you so much!”

The reason I showed them mercy is that my long life as a guide and in the martial world allowed me to differentiate between murderous thieves and those who resorted to theft out of sheer need. Those who turned to banditry due to starvation lived a hellish life. The thought of killing them disturbed me.

I asked them, “How did you end up as bandits? Is life that tough around here?”

“Oh… don’t get me started.”

A middle-aged bandit lamented with flowing tears. “The noble class and aristocrats constantly exploit us. Landlords take everything we harvest. Whenever there’s a pretty girl, they forcibly take her as a concubine. We had no choice but to make a living in the mountains.”

“……”

This wasn’t new to me. I had witnessed it many times throughout my life. The powerful exploiting the weak is something that individuals cannot change. Even if I killed all the corrupt officials around, someone else would occupy their positions and continue the exploitation.

Yet, a question suddenly arose in my mind. “What would a peaceful world truly look like?”

No matter how peaceful it is, the distinction between strong and weak always exists. The survival of the fittest is a universal law and truth. Even if I vanquished the Demon Subduing Hall, drove out the Otherworldly races, and defeated the evil gods, nothing would change the bitter reality. Stopping cruel human sacrifices might help, but the overall amount of misfortune in the world would remain unchanged.

In fact, the corrupt officials must seem a hundred times more atrocious than the Demon Beasts to the bandits standing before me. Humans can be infinitely more brutal than any monster.

After pondering for a moment, I said, “Alright. I shall take my leave.”

I decided not to get involved. Wasn’t it better to avoid unnecessary entanglements? With my martial abilities, dispatching a few corrupt officials wouldn’t be difficult; my reluctance was the primary obstacle. Ultimately, without changing the upper levels, the lower waters would remain stagnant forever.

I walked for a while and soon passed through a gate. The gate guard inspected me closely and said, “Traveling alone, are you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s not a problem, but if you collapse around here, no one will care.”

“Yes.”

“Then go on through.”

It seemed the guard was just feeling nosy. I stared at him, lost in thought, and asked, “Excuse me, how far is it to the Seven Kills Village from here?”

“Huh? You’re headed there? Why?”

“I have an acquaintance there.”

The guard frowned. “I heard that’s a poor village where lowly commoners gather. Why would you go to such a shabby place?”

“Lowly commoners?”

“Yes. It’s a miserable, remote village with nothing but the poorest. You’d do better to stay in a bigger town to avoid starving.”

“……”

His words sounded serious. If a guard was worried about it, then it had to be genuinely impoverished. I asked another passerby for directions and walked for about a hundred miles until I finally reached the entrance of the Seven Kills Village.

This village was a shabby settlement set slightly apart in a canyon from Mount Tai. It looked more like a ramshackle shanty town than an actual village. The villagers themselves appeared in such ragged condition that they resembled a gathering of beggars—almost as if it were a den of outcasts.

“What the…?”

While it was true that lowly commoners occupied the bottom tier of society, I hadn’t expected them to look this destitute. They all appeared emaciated and nearing starvation.

Oddly enough, despite their pitiful appearance, the villagers’ eyes were filled with vitality, brimming with Qi, as if they were sharp-looking scholars—right before they starved. As I kept observing the Seven Kills Village, an old man came over, leaning on a cane.

“Young one… what brings you here?”

I glanced at him. The one-eyed old man didn’t look like he had arrived just yet. I discreetly showed him the black wooden token I carried.

“I was told to bring this…”

“Oh… oh my goodness!!”

The old man was taken aback and called out to the villagers. “Look… a Divine Guest has arrived!! Welcome him.”

“Oh…!!”

At that, all the ragged villagers flocked together, performing a bizarre dance regardless of age or gender. Their rhythmic clapping and movement was utterly strange.

“Hey~ hey~ hey~”

Clap

“Woohoo~ woohoo~”

“……”

Stuck in their midst, I had no choice but to watch their dance for what felt like an eternity. There were even moments when they would lift and lower their hips in absurd motions.

The whole situation was both funny and amusing, instilling curiosity in the nature of the event. As I struggled to suppress laughter, the dance finally came to a halt, and the old man spoke seriously.

“Divine Guest, we do not care how you obtained that token. All we ask is that you lead us to our God.”

They had used honorifics. It seemed that for the villagers of the Seven Kills Village, a “Divine Guest” was a figure deserving of respect.

“So what do I need to do now?”

“Please proceed under that tree…”

Following his words, I walked over to a peculiar tree in the center of the village.

Strangely enough, the tree was entirely white. The trunk was white, the leaves were white, and even the ground around it was tinged with white. I checked for insects, but not even a single bug would cling to such an odd white tree. This white wood was something I’d never seen before.

Standing under the white tree, I suddenly felt the ground shake.

Thud thud thud

“……?!”

It felt as though the earth itself was quaking, but as I noticed the villagers were still standing untouched, it seemed like only my immediate area was trembling. More accurately, it felt as if the space itself was swaying.

Moments later, a flash of light erupted before my eyes.

Baam—!!

“Uwaah!”

I screamed as I unexpectedly fell from thin air into a dense jungle. I quickly balanced myself as I landed atop a tree, but as I slid down its leaves, I unleashed Qi from my feet, enhancing my balance.

Trying to stabilize myself on the massive trunk, I was taken aback.

“What kind of tree is this?!”

This jungle tree was abnormal. Towering far taller than any tree I’d known, the trunk must have been dozens of feet around. Even more bizarrely, all kinds of strange leaves sprouted at each knot, giving off a grotesque appearance.

Something felt off. I sensed that I had entered some strange realm, and I carefully made my way down the tree. The ground was muddy, pervaded by a foul odor of decaying leaves.

Grrr…

Strange beast sounds echoed around me. Ever since I entered this jungle, an intense feeling of unease had gripped me. This place was under some kind of madness, and I recalled experiencing a similar madness before.

“What on earth is this…?”

Why did I suddenly shift from the white tree to this bizarre place?

Without understanding, I soon heard a voice calling.

[Come this way…]

This voice was entirely unfamiliar, unlike any language I had heard before. I couldn’t interpret it, but its meaning reached me. It contained a strange beguilement that instinctively guided me where to go.

“Ugh, I guess I’ll go.”

With a grimace, I resolved to walk forward. This jungle wasn’t entirely unpassable as long as I kept my discomfort in check. After walking for a while, I suddenly sensed a beast’s gaze upon me. It flapped its wings in front of me.

Grrr…

With dark skin and a strangely anthropomorphic face, it had bat wings sprouting from its back and horns upon its head. Oddly, while it had a face, it lacked any facial features, and spikes adorned its tail. Never having seen such a twisted creature, I gasped.

“Hmm…”

Could something like this manifest naturally? How could there be a bat-like entity without features? Yet, the faceless bat monster didn’t appear hostile; instead, it turned its back and flew off somewhere.

I continued walking.

Eventually, I arrived at the source of the call.

“……!!”

Something colossal was trapped there. It could only be described as a mass of tentacles with giant black bat wings, resting in the middle of the massive canyon.

The mass of tentacles was adorned with countless appendages resembling women’s bosoms, and one of the faceless bats I saw earlier was clinging to them as if nursing like a baby.

Though lacking eyes, the tentacle mass somehow gave me the impression it was observing me. A few of its bat-like minions flew near me before darting back into the air.

This overwhelmingly bizarre and frightening scene! It finally dawned on me that I had entered the territory of the Otherworldly race and looked up at the distorted black sky.

In the sky was a warped yellow moon.

“This… this place is…”

I despaired as I realized where I was. The Dark Heaven Village!

I had ended up somewhere in the Dark Heaven Village and answered the call from the being before me—a mass of bat-wings and tentacles!

I found myself in the land of nightmares, a realm even immortals feared to tread.

Just when I thought I was doomed, the tentacled mass spoke to me with its will.

[Welcome… a special being has graced the land of dreams…]

Ku-gong

In that moment, I felt immense pressure and presence crashing down on me. It was a feeling of overwhelming power I hadn’t felt facing any mere Demon Beast. Such incredible tension surged through me that I felt my nerves might snap. Yet, I didn’t feel any mental corruption or madness; I simply knew that the entity before me was a [Great Being].

Wondering about the nature of this presence, I attempted to think strongly within my mind.

[Are you the Old Ruler?]

To my surprise, the being replied.

[That is what humans call us by… I am &^%*@.]

It was an incomprehensible name. It seemed only fitting for a god standing at the pinnacle of Otherworldly existence, an ungraspable title for any spoken language.

No matter what, I was convinced that this being was the [Old Ruler]. A bizarre feeling washed over me. According to Mangnyang, it was almost a given for an average human to lose their mind merely standing before the Old Ruler due to the overwhelming magical pressure. Even sorcerers, demon sorcerers, or those who had honed their mental strength like Taoist masters would often buckle under the pressure. Yet here I was, feeling merely a hint of irritation.

The Old Ruler, before me, seemed puzzled by my constitution. Oddly enough, it felt as if it was smiling.

[How strange…]

“……?”

[You cannot be treated as a mere human… I feel an inexplicable fondness towards you… it is that way…]

I couldn’t comprehend what the Old Ruler meant. Surely, the being called the [Old Ruler] carried a tremendous power capable of laying waste to even the Great Immortals, considering humans akin to insects. Yet, the presence before me regarded me at least as a conversational partner, seemingly harboring a fondness towards me.

“Is it because I brought the black token?”

That thought crossed my mind.

As I stood silently gazing at it, the Old Ruler flapped its bat wings and said.

[Speak… I grant you the power of Reversal… the right to turn death into life… and life into death… none can escape this power…]

The power of Reversal?

As I contemplated the meaning of those words, I realized that it held the potential to flip everything upside down. It must be related to the terminology of ‘one kill’ (一殺).

After a brief deliberation, I steeled my determination and spoke. “Please kill the Emperor.”

[Indeed… you desire his death… very well…]

The Old Ruler’s body began to twist, and tentacles extended outward, pointing somewhere in the void. Then, a cloud-like substance began to flow from the air. The Old Ruler wrapped its tentacle around the smoke and gulped it down.

[He is dead…]

“……”

Is that it?

I looked at it, bewildered, when the Old Ruler’s voice echoed like laughter.

[Come again… you are… quite an intriguing being…]

Baam!

Another flash occurred, and when I regained my senses, I found myself back under the white tree. The villagers of the Seven Kills Village were stunned.

“Uh, no?!”

“You’re alive…!!”

They genuinely appeared shocked. Observing their reaction left me feeling irritated as I frowned.

“So dying was the expected outcome.”

Having approached the Old Ruler in the Dark Heaven Village, I had envisioned losing my sanity while designating a single target I wanted to eliminate. Afterward, I would inevitably have died, likely ensnared by the Old Ruler’s tentacles. Regardless of my fortune, I would have been trapped in the realm of the Dark Heaven.

The “one kill” of the black wooden token was nothing more than such a request.

The success rate for this request was precisely 100%. This was something the Old Ruler personally executed; what could possibly go wrong?

Suddenly, I lunged at the old man who seemed to be the village chief. Grabbing him tightly, I shot him a fierce glare and said, “You were servants of the Old Ruler all along, weren’t you? Your role was to lure humans into the Dark Heaven.”

“Ahh, uh, uh…”

“You repay my saving your lives with this kind of deception? You’re not even human.”

Thump!

I tossed the old man to the ground, and one of the villagers spoke up. “What do you expect us to do?! We are bound to him for life, whether living here or finding Divine Guests to bring to him. Only those who present a Divine Guest can escape.”

“Huh?”

“Anyone else has met a cursed fate from departing the village. Do you think we want to live as lowly commoners?!”

I asked tersely, “What happened to those who returned from the Dark Heaven?”

“……”

“There must’ve been some consequence, right?”

I glared at them.

Despite their ragged appearance, these villagers radiated vitality. They showed no signs of hunger or suffering. It was clearly the life force they had been given in servitude to the Old Ruler.

Drawing my sword, I pointed it at them. “I could kill you all in 30 seconds. Tell me what happened before I take action.”

The villagers murmured among themselves. “Stop. As the chief, I’ll answer.”

The fallen village chief began to speak weakly. “We… we ate.”

“Ate?”

“Our bodies have transformed as a result.”

Suddenly, the chief’s head and body changed into an unfamiliar form. It took on the appearance of a dog-like human creature. The body was impressively sturdy and robust. Shocked, I looked around, realizing that other villagers were transforming into similar dog-like figures.

At a loss for words, the chief spoke. [We were human in our youth, but as we grew older, we became Dog-like Humans. We live much longer than humans and possess stronger bodies, and even when food is scarce, we hardly lose vitality. We are servants here to serve him.]

“You lunatics…”

I felt the world had gone crazy. Never had I expected the pathway to the Old Ruler would be so close, let alone that there would be a race tasked with serving him.

[Those who wish upon him lose their minds and cannot survive for long. We merely assist in ending the lives of the Divine Guests without suffering.]

“You all have lost your minds.”

Then the former chief, still a Dog-like Human, spoke mournfully. [Of course we’re mad. We were never meant to live on this land. Our clumsy grasp on human values leads to our eternal sadness.]

“Sad? Those words don’t suit creatures like you.”

[If we are monsters, then what are you?]

Those words pierced deep, freezing my expression.

[Even immortal beings go mad when facing our god. Among the [Old Ones], he stands at a higher echelon. It’s puzzling that you survived after being bathed in his power. Just what sort of being are you?]

“……”

[You can kill us, if that’s your choice. That would be preferable for us.]

Like their robust form suggested, they seemed to have grasped the scale of my power. The Dog-like Humans surrounding me bowed their heads, waiting for death. My sword trembled in my hand, and I finally spat, “Damn it!”

Swish!

In a split second, I charged in and sliced the Dog-like Humans down. I didn’t do it cruely but swiftly and efficiently, severing their necks in one blow. They accepted their fates, dropping like gentle sheep willing to die. Perhaps they were also jaded by their inhuman existence.

After completing my bloody deed, I stood panting. I muttered to myself. “Damn…”

I couldn’t simply leave the villagers be. They had likely created countless innocent victims up to this point and would continue to do so. But to kill them all as villains felt wrong, considering they too were victims enslaved to the evil god. Thus, even after slaughtering them, I felt an unsettling irritation.

I shook my head and moved on. “I won’t ever use this place again.”

What good was it to kill one being?

Confronting the Old Ruler alone filled me with relentless irritation. Somehow, I remained sane, but those thoughts were still unwanted.

I decided to find out if the [Emperor] was indeed dead.

Wham!

Just as I activated my Golden Lamp and rushed towards Mangnyang, I found him deep in thought at Jinrang Valley. He looked at me with shock as I appeared before his thatched house.

“You’re here.”

“What weighs so heavily on your mind?”

“No… the celestial mechanics has become chaotic…”

Celestial mechanics?

I tilted my head, and Mangnyang spoke with a tone of concern. “A giant star that should never fall has fallen. Someone has killed a [being that must not die]. Such events are rare, and I’ve been troubled. I suspect all sorcerers and astrologers across the continent are bemused by this.”

It felt like it was undoubtedly about the Emperor’s death.

I recounted my experience in the Seven Kills Village and the request to kill the Emperor.

Mangnyang’s face paled. “What do you mean… you made a wish to the Old Ruler and lived to tell the tale?! Are you kidding me right now?”

“I’m not joking.”

“……!!”

Mangnyang suddenly dashed to the tree and began to vomit. After hurling for a bit, he returned, looking a little better. He spoke calmly, “Pardon me. I nearly passed out from shock.”

“Was it really that surprising?”

“There have certainly been those like you, caught in the clutches of an evil god throughout history, but none have returned unscathed, let alone earned favor from the Old Ruler. Not even the Great Immortal could achieve that.”

Thinking back, I did find it odd that Yeodong-bin hadn’t appeared before me when facing the Old Ruler. When I asked, Mangnyang replied.

“It makes sense. The Dark Heaven is entirely separated from this world. Yeodong-bin wouldn’t be able to breach the dimensional barrier, thus couldn’t come to your aid. Additionally, to my knowledge, it is the [Old Ruler] who oversees that barrier.”

“……”

That was a serious concern. With one of the Seven Luminaries confirmed to be in the Dark Heaven, my intent to gather power and seek him out was undermined. If I couldn’t summon Yeodong-bin from the Dark Heaven, my risk factor multiplied significantly.

Feeling the increasing difficulty of the situation, I scratched my head.

“Well, at least it’s lucky the Emperor is dead, right?”

“… Things won’t go as smoothly as you hope.”

Mangnyang muttered in a sense of futility. “If you’re right, the Emperor isn’t the main actor in this play…”

Proof of Mangnyang’s words unfolded the very next day.

 

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