전생검신 90권 08화

I ignored whatever the Qilin had to say.

‘Whatever, I’ve tackled the immediate obstacle!’

When the Heavenly Mysterious Woman fell, I thought I had prevented the summoning of the Three Sovereigns. With the Three Great Divine Beasts and Shiva, Vishnu on my side, I figured I wouldn’t lose against the incomplete Three Sovereigns.

[…….]

But a chilling premonition zipped through my mind, keeping me on edge.

‘……What is this?’

I didn’t feel good. I should’ve been feeling better, so why did I have this nagging feeling?

This should’ve been part of the ‘reborn person’s intuition’, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

‘Is it just going too well? No… it is going well, but that can’t be all….’

As I wrestled with these ambiguous feelings, the Three Great Divine Beast, Eungui, spoke.

[The Heavenly Mysterious Woman… caused a headache before her end.]

[What?]

[The summoning begins.]

Flash……!!

Boom!

At the same time, the remains of Nahoo and Gaido from the Heavenly Mysterious Woman suddenly exploded with a flash. The light was so bright and massive that all the divine beings tussling nearby instinctively flinched; in that moment, a gigantic Dimension Door emerged in the void, starting to summon something.

Whoooosh!

Countless spirit bodies began to materialize from the light one by one. They seemed to possess considerable power, and their numbers appeared to exceed a thousand. However, it felt like none of them were strong enough to change the tide of this battle.

‘Hmm. Another faction showing up?… Oh, wait. Are they humanoids…?’

I realized most of those spirit bodies appeared humanoid, and as I focused harder, I recognized their familiar features.

[……!!]

Then, from the front of this spirit horde, a powerful immortal’s voice boomed.

[Here we stand to guard the true world’s work! We shall fight, prepared for annihilation, to protect the universe’s fate!! Divine Generals, forward!!]

Boom!

At that moment, armored Divine Generals surged forward, getting ready to charge. And not just them; behind them were numerous immortals each wielding their divine treasures and preparing their techniques.

I spotted a familiar face among them and, dizzy from recognition, I shouted without thinking.

[The… Celestial Sage!! Xiang Yu!!]

Indeed.

Those formidable allies at the front were none other than the Celestial Sage and Xiang Yu!!

Not only them, but almost all the allies I knew were gathered there. Looking back, the Eight Immortals of China, Jang Sam-bong the Supreme Master, and Yeodong-bin were also lined up.

Following the Three Great Divine Beasts’ exasperated words, I finally needed to open my eyes to the situation.

[The Heavenly Mysterious Woman summoned all the forces of the Celestial Realm. She must have been desperate.]

That’s right.

Celestial Summoning!!

It was clear now that all the beings of the Celestial Realm under her command had been summoned here. Stunned by this unexpected turn, I soon realized how narrow-minded I had been.

‘……If the Three Sovereigns lose this battle, it’s all over! It makes sense for the Heavenly Mysterious Woman to mobilize the Celestial realm’s forces, which are under her command!’

Then, a moment later, I heard the piercing screams of two gods right where the Heavenly Mysterious Woman had just vanished.

[AAAGH!!]

[What the hell…!! Why are these guys so desperate?!]

Boom!

With the frantic screams, Shiva and Vishnu were sent flying. As they approached, I quickly asked.

[Hey. What’s going on?]

[…… That damn Heavenly Mysterious Woman… How can she be so thorough?]

Vishnu gritted his teeth, sounding both shocked and at a loss.

[Could it be she arranged for Queen Mother of the West to be summoned in exchange for her own demise?!]

[……!!]

Craaack!!

And indeed, right in the place where the Heavenly Mysterious Woman was obliterated, I saw the true body of Queen Mother of the West appear. Although it looked monstrous like a fearsome magical beast, this Queen Mother was the finest creation made by Nüwa, a being with terrifying power capable of ripping apart even the elders of the Giant Race.

Brrr!

The dark lightning enveloping the Queen Mother flickered, her menacing dark gaze locked onto us. I glanced at Vishnu, who said,

[I sustained injuries when the Heavenly Mysterious Woman perished and was ambushed by the Queen Mother. Shiva and I can’t fight properly for a while.]

Even if it was an ambush, to be capable of injuring an envoy equivalent to the Three Great Divine Beasts!

‘She must’ve landed a hit with her cosmic technique……’

The Queen Mother truly deserved to be called a cosmic entity.

[Damn it… I’m utterly baffled…….]

I muttered in genuine disbelief, feeling as if my entire strategy had been flipped upside down. Every one of my actions had been impulsively made, teetering on chaotic whim. Yet how could someone anticipate the results would lead to ‘betrayal by allies’ and ‘the obliteration of the Heavenly Mysterious Woman’?

‘Is this the power of omniscience?!’

This was no joke!

While I was internally panicking, Eungui spoke to me.

[All the forces of the Celestial Realm… They may not be unbeatable, but with the Queen Mother showing up like this, who knows what kind of sly strategies our backers might have devised? If this goes on, we’ll be trapped, and you have to do something!]

[What am I supposed to do?]

[Only you can do what needs to be done… You’ve been reversing the tides with that all along.]

[…….]

[You are the one who has drawn the card of the future. Every one of your actions will break the omniscience.]

Gaining confidence from Eungui’s words, I fixed my gaze ahead. And I thought.

‘Yes… In this chaotic arena where [Old Ruler] and Ancient Gods are frantically battling it out… No matter how many forces of the Celestial realm have been summoned, it won’t be enough to turn the tide… Still, the fact that the Heavenly Mysterious Woman summoned the Celestial entities means I must win at all costs, even independently!’

This meant that both the Heavenly Mysterious Woman and Queen Mother were ready to sacrifice all entities of the Celestial realm to win here, and even if I defeated the celestial immortals, I could only end up exhausted and full of profound resentment. Above all, the main celestial forces appearing to me were generally familiar faces, making it utterly unappealing to want to massacre them.

‘Damn it. These celestial folks are faces I’ll see in the next life… No matter how unavoidable this battle may be, I don’t want a massacre.’

I must avoid combat as much as possible while revealing the true puppet master behind it all.

Reflecting on this, I realized that the only target within the celestial powers that I could attack was Ta Gong-mang. While I contemplated Ta Gong-mang, I stumbled upon something odd.

‘…Wait a second… Now that I think about it… It’s odd for Ta Gong-mang to have left the Primordial Void!’

According to what I had known from the past, something was amiss…?

I had brushed it off until now, but was this problem genuinely resolved?

[……!!]

Could it be that the one orchestrating this plot… the omniscient figure’s true intentions were…

And the true reason the Three Sovereigns had such confidence in defeating me…!!

At that moment, I couldn’t hide my shock and stared at Ta Gong-mang. I shouted.

[Ta Gong-mang!! Let me ask you! Did the Three Sovereigns plan to resurrect [The One Who Destroys the Gods], Chi You?!]

“…….”

Ta Gong-mang was silent at my words. After a long sigh, he replied,

“Reborn individuals are said to know everything… but hiding it is pointless. Yes, that is our plan.”

[……!!]

“As you know… if Chi You’s true power is revived, all beings present here will perish!”

He asserted, and my reaction was sheer incredulity.

[Damn it… What do you think you’re doing?!]

With a furious voice, I pressed Ta Gong-mang.

[The Primordial Void is the place where [The One Who Destroys the Gods] Chi You’s seal is located! If the first key to unseal the ancient beings is released, won’t the second key sealing Chi You be unlocked as well?! You risked everything with you and the ancient immortals to safeguard that seal, so how does it make sense to just break it all for the sake of the Three Sovereigns?!]

Indeed. The truth I heard from Ta Gong-mang when I arrived at the Peach Garden was that the Primordial Void was the seal for [The One Who Destroys the Gods] Chi You!

The ancient beings’ seals might seem insignificant, but in reality, there existed a second key that would allow Chi You’s release — the reason they desperately protected the Peach Garden.

As I confronted him, Ta Gong-mang smirked.

“You are quite knowledgeable. So, you know where Chi You’s arm and heart are sealed all over this world. But do you know what the second seal in the Primordial Void was sealing?”

[……?]

Huh? I don’t know that……

Caught off guard by this new information, Ta Gong-mang continued.

“Actually, even we didn’t know what was sealed. However, once the Three Sovereigns decided to unseal Chi You, they finally told us. What was sealed in the Primordial Void was… Chi You’s memories.”

[Memories…? Are you saying there was a separate soul of Chi You?]

“Memories are different from souls. What was sealed in the Primordial Void was literally the remnant thoughts of Chi You. However, ironically, those memories were the true power of Chi You…”

After a moment of silence, Ta Gong-mang spoke again with a strange smile.

“That power is remarkably beautiful… It is precious enough to gain the essence of the universe, wouldn’t you agree? Hehehe….”

[…….]

Something feels… off.

I felt an estrangement from Ta Gong-mang standing before me. He looked exactly the same, with the same speech and demeanor. Yet, I couldn’t shake my uncertainty about whether this was truly the Ta Gong-mang I once knew. It lay in that realm of my intuition.

‘This is different.’

The Ta Gong-mang I knew was dedicated to his duty, yet he wasn’t one to express ‘desire’ over what he protected. His meticulousness and fussiness only highlighted his stature as the direct disciple of the Primordial Void Ruler and legendary figure. Knowing Ta Gong-mang’s essence, I sensed something suspicious about his current presence.

And in that moment – I seemed to have unintentionally grasped his true identity.

‘Could it be?’

Confirming my suspicions, I resolutely stated.

[You… aren’t Ta Gong-mang.]

“……!!”

Ta Gong-mang flinched and looked at me. He seemed unclear about my meaning.

“What do you mean? Who else could handle the Divine Treasure and the Four Great Spirits except me?”

[You must have slipped on Ta Gong-mang’s mask. It’s just a disguise.]

“…….”

I stared him down.

[Why did you kill Ta Gong-mang? No… From when did you decide to wreak havoc? Did you intend to manipulate Xiang Yu when he came down to the ground, or have you been plotting this all along?]

“Hahaha. I find this absurd. The more you ramble on, the more time you waste in stopping the summoning ritual of the Three Sovereigns, ultimately putting yourself at a disadvantage… Keep on blabbering as you wish.”

As he continued to feign ignorance, I scoffed.

[Oh yeah? Then, prove right now that you’re not a fake!]

“How?”

At my prompt, the one posing as Ta Gong-mang began to look terrible.

[Swear your name and shout out to the world that you are the real Ta Gong-mang! If you can do that, like with the Heavenly Mysterious Woman, I will forfeit everything here and admit defeat.]

“……!!”

I raised my voice, shouting.

[Do it now, right here!!]

“…….”

I felt that all the divine beings were fixated on the conversation between me and the ‘Ta Gong-mang’. Even all of the celestial entities were watching us. After a moment of indecision, with no further action, the [Ta Gong-mang] slowly lifted his hand towards his chin.

Click!

The moment the [mask] was removed, a familiar voice rang out loudly.

“If what Tsukuyomi said is true, you should have reincarnated no more than 30 times… yet you already know you can’t swear your name while wearing a [mask], don’t you?”

[…….]

“Reborn person Baek Woong, you have exceeded my expectations, hahaha!”

I recognized the face that emerged into the world.

And I whispered the anticipated identity I had expected.

[Primordial Void Ruler (태허천존).]