전생검신 Volume 91 Chapter 20

Sun and Moon Spirit?!

In that instant, my mind suddenly snapped into focus.

‘No way!’

The Sun and Moon Spirit means that massive power that allowed me to fight against Nailatop, the Mask of Science, right?! In fact, there was an overwhelming skill gap between me and Nailatop, making it impossible to face him inside the Heavenly Secret. However, thanks to the sudden obtainment of the Sun and Moon Spirit, my fight had at least some basis I could recall.

I remembered that time.

‘The first time I recognized the Vessel of Sun and Moon was during the training of the Soul of the Four Gods…’

It was when, in the Training World, I was dealing with a whole lot of failure thanks to Cheon Woo-jin’s help, trying to establish the training methods for the Soul of the Four Gods. At that time, I had just begun my reincarnation cycle, starting methods like Thunder Soul Transformation and Water Soul Transformation, and that was when I felt ‘another vessel’. I discovered that ‘another vessel’ revolved around in the form of dual planets—Sun and Moon—realizing that this power was completely different from any other Soul of the Four Gods.

Talking with Shim Su-ryeok, I casually named this energy the [Vessel of Sun and Moon], knowing that it was influenced by the divine power I obtained during my reincarnation. Even after that, I considered my proficiency with the Vessel of Sun and Moon insufficient, so I pushed myself to train the Soul of the Four Gods to the max. The reason was simple.

Transforming the central Soul of the Four Gods while maintaining the other Soul of the Four Gods!

I sensed that only with that capability could I challenge the Vessel of Sun and Moon, and that instinctively rang true for a martial artist.

Back then, I was at a level where I couldn’t even fly—or even step into that level—so that state felt like mere fantasy, and for a while, I just trained the Soul of the Four Gods without dreaming about anything else.

‘But then Cheon Woo-jin suddenly got taken hostage by Nailatop… I, lacking power, recklessly attempted to gain the Vessel of Sun and Moon using the Peerless Technique!’

No matter how I thought about it, it was impossible with my original strength. However, a mysterious being lent me strength with a voice and the Four Great Spirit Deities gave me a helping hand, allowing me to temporarily gain the power of the Sun and Moon Spirit to challenge Nailatop.

And the strength I obtained from the Sun and Moon Spirit was incredible. I was able to confront Nailatop, whose strength I previously couldn’t even fathom. In fact, even now, I couldn’t gauge the extent to which the Sun and Moon Spirit amplified my power.

But…

‘Why is the Sun and Moon Spirit mentioned from the mouth of Howol, the second master of the White Lotus Sect, from a thousand years ago during the era of Dharma True Martial Home…?!’

And it’s accompanied by a technique, the Sun and Moon Divine Art, which he never revealed in history!

This can’t be a coincidence; I sensed it was the start of a massive secret of the White Lotus Sect.

I stood there for a while, as if my brain had stopped working, quickly wiping the blood from my mouth and saying,

“Ho, Howol. Please explain in detail! What do you know about the Sun and Moon Spirit?!”

“That is…”

Kuwaaah!!

Just as Howol was about to open his mouth, a bright white light suddenly surged all around, and countless orbs of light began attacking us. Each one was filled with terrifying magic power, and I distinctly felt that along with their magic, a time-stop spell had been unleashed!

‘Celestial!!’

It was an ambush by the Eight Parts of the Divine. Perhaps they had been watching our fight, and sensing me wearing down, they took the opportunity to strike. Indeed, the Celestial’s area spells were massively powerful, and they were clearly trying to wipe out both me and Howol within their range.

In that moment, Howol smirked.

“Ha! You’re hardly a gentleman.”

Then, in a flash, Howol clenched his fist and transformed his arm into one covered in dark scales that resembled a Divine Dragon. It seemed like the Celestial’s time-stop spell could do nothing to Howol at all.

And then he slammed down toward the ground.

Divine Dragon Earthquake Wave!

What happened next made me doubt my own eyes.

Kuwaaakwaa!!

[Kuwahhh!!]

[Uwwaaaa!!]

The Celestial of the Eight Parts of the Divine, Mahuraga, and the Body of Light were all torn apart by that massive wave of destruction! The tremendous force erupted from the ground like a torrential flame, sprouting out like countless thorns, ripping apart the bodies of the Demon Lords in an instant.

Schiaak

[Uwah…!]

Among them, the Celestial seemed to hold on the strongest, screaming, but Mahuraga and the Body of Light didn’t even have time to scream before they were completely obliterated. I was left shocked at the sight.

‘Did he just wipe out the Demon Lords and the Celestial in one hit?!’

Sure, I could reproduce something similar to what Howol did with my current strength, but that would rely purely on reckless divine power. However, right now, Howol had just easily eradicated two of the Eight Parts of the Divine, essentially putting the Celestial on the brink of death, which was astonishing.

No matter how weak he is compared to a god, the Eight Parts of the Divine are Demon Lords, beings on a different plane than humans. After Chi You traded the body of a god with them, they were nurtured by the exceptional capabilities of heroes over thousands of years; no human hero could struggle against even one of them. Hundreds of Great Demons couldn’t match even a single celestial being. Even now, at this 30th cycle, only a handful of my companions could single-handedly defeat one of the Eight Parts of the Divine, and those who could directly confront them were exceptionally few.

And to take down such Eight Parts of the Divine like this!

Rumble rumble…

I could see that Howol’s disciple, Seong Jin, who had been behind him, had already fainted. Even though Howol had intentionally spared him from harm, the destructive aftermath probably proved too much for someone at his level to endure. And the Celestial, barely holding on, screamed out.

[This is insane!! No matter how much of a disciple of Dharma you are, how can a human wield such power…!!]

Howol silently looked at me without responding. And then he said,

“I’ll leave the finishing blow to you.”

I immediately understood what he meant by that.

“Understood.”

I promptly unfolded the Trimurti in the air toward the Celestial.

‘Mix the powers of the Wheel King, Amaterasu, and Spirit Power…’

This time, I didn’t need something too massive.

Just enough size to kill that guy would suffice. And I condensed my power as much as I could!

Tchiing!!

In the next moment, a dark spear formed above my head, created as a synthesis of my mind. It was a creation that focused immense force into one point despite its extreme size. After creating the spear, I utilized the technique of the Imperial Sword and launched the dark spear at the distant Celestial.

[What the heck is this pathetic attack?!]

Chaashak

Unaware of the power within my dark spear, the Celestial scoffed and attempted to block my small dark spear with layers of barriers. However, that was his miscalculation as my dark spear penetrated straight through him.

[…?!]

Schiaak

Until the moment of his extinction, the Celestial wore a puzzled expression, unable to comprehend why he fell. It made sense, though, since the modest dark spear, something a low-level sorcerer would use, had instantly pierced through multiple layers of the Great Immortal Level barrier he established, resulting in the rapid obliteration of his true form.

‘I made sure to hide the power in this dark spear intentionally to catch him off guard.’

I could have created a spear of a massive size, but since the Celestial was freely adept at time-space magic, should he dodge, I would struggle to kill him, which would be irksome. Therefore, I deliberately created a seemingly pitiful attack, hiding the power while preserving its original might, which led the Celestial to simply attempt to block it, resulting in his death.

After witnessing the Celestial’s obliteration, Howol remarked,

“…That was quite a clever heart scheme… cough… it’s as if I’ve fought that author before.”

“…”

I noticed Howol’s complexion had become pale, indicating he was in poor condition. The coughing he produced revealed how greatly he had diminished in energy.

“Using too much power from the Divine Dragon seems to cause a Walking Fire Entering Demon situation.”

Given Howol could wipe out the Eight Parts of the Divine instantly as he did now, he must have been restraining himself lest using the immense power from the Divine Dragon would leave him with a critical weakness.

Howol then muttered in despair.

“A Walking Fire Entering Demon… how lucky it would be if it were merely that curse.”

“What…”

“Gahh!!”

Kuwazik…!!

In the next moment, a horrific noise erupted from Howol’s arm as tumors burst out. Dozens of tumors popped open, spewing dark blood from Howol’s arm, while simultaneously, dark tendrils began to leak out from his limbs, appearing to want to consume his body.

“Gaaahhhh!!”

Kuwaaak!!

With Howol’s scream akin to a chilling howl, a massive energy explosion occurred, causing the sinister energy that had been devouring him to retreat slightly. However, the unnerving sight of strange cells and veins writhing on his arm still felt grotesque.

‘That is… the Curse of the Divine Dragon!’

Even I, who don’t know much, could tell.

[That power] possessed will on its own, and would devour its user the moment it found the chance!

“Heh! Heh… ugh…”

“Are you alright?”

“…”

Breathing heavily, Howol seemed to regain his calm momentarily and spoke in a faltering voice.

“…It wasn’t hard to discern that you are the Reborn Person of the Future. I… am the disciple of the Reborn, so I can imagine how the Reborn persons act and speak…”

“…”

“For whatever reason, you have transcended the [Cycle]… then… I have a duty to provide you with maximum information and benefits…”

“What do you plan to do if I turn out to be the bad guy?”

“Haha… isn’t someone who can use the martial arts of the Divine Realm like you less likely to be a minion of chaos?… At the very least, someone chasing martial arts is proof they have their own will. Moreover, you seem to be using the martial arts of the White Lotus Sect, so you must belong to the White Lotus Sect.”

“…”

“Anyway… seeing that you are from the future… the True Martial Home seems to have failed.”

I reluctantly nodded.

“Indeed. Dharma will fall to Nyarlathotep, and you will hand down the White Lotus Sect to future generations, founding the Four Great Families.”

I held no burden about revealing the future to him. After all, crossing over the [Great Cycle] like this would have to be taboo anyway; what trouble could come from this minor revelation? The whole rebirth itself was essentially a form of indulgence sanctioned by the outer dimension, so I was determined to leverage my current position to the fullest.

“…Is that so…”

His calm reaction made me feel something was off for a moment. Then, my instincts prompted me to question his behavior.

“Howol, you already knew the True Martial Home would fail, didn’t you?”

His reaction felt far too expected. Considering that the True Martial Home was the ultimate act that destroyed the world, it would be unthinkable for a person, receiving the position of the White Dharma Protector and Apostle, to remain calm after hearing that it would fail. This was a matter far beyond merely possessing a serene temperament.

When I began to doubt him, Howol candidly responded.

“Indeed. Even Master Dharma himself harbored no great expectations of this ceremony’s success.”

“…!!”

What did you just say?!

I felt a sense of bewilderment creep over me. Stumbling over my words, I asked.

“So despite gathering everything for the Demon Sorcery Pillar and suffering through this… you’re saying that even the ones involved aren’t expecting it to succeed?! What the hell are you all thinking?! Knowing that the True Martial Home aims to bring the world to nothing?!”

At least the individuals involved should advance with absolute faith!

As one who had participated alongside another Dharma in the outer universe during the True Martial Home, I was unable to comprehend Howol and Dharma’s lackadaisical attitudes. No, I even began to feel they were something other than the individuals I had seen in the outer universe based solely on their appearances.

As I panicked, Howol stared at me and said,

“It seems the thoughts we held have not been properly conveyed to the future…”

“Why is Hye Ga being mentioned?”

When Hye Ga, Dharma’s true direct disciple, was brought up, I felt an odd sensation, sensing an unexpected flow of events.

Howol remarked,

“Having perfect power and skills does not guarantee success in the True Martial Home. However, my Master, Dharam, was mentally unhinged before reaching the peak of magic. Even so, if one continues to reincarnate, they will surely become completely corrupted, turning into a Demon God, hence they were trapped in a dilemma.”

I was taken aback by Howol’s continued words.

“So, the Master chose to sacrifice himself to eliminate Nyarlathotep?”

“…?!”

What are you talking about?!

‘Is the goal not the True Martial Home… but Nyarlathotep?!’

As I stood there, totally unprepared for this unexpected truth, I was met with a chaotic surge.

Kooohhhh

“…!!”

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, an incomprehensible and massive amount of magic power emanated from deep within the Heart of the Mind. The reason I called it incomprehensible was that even with my current divine power, just the feeling of the dense magic felt like I was being covered in slimy mud. Additionally, a distinct intuition filled my mind that I would be killed within a second should I confront the source of that magic head-on.

Sensing that overwhelmingly transcendent magic, I swallowed hard.

‘Nyarlathotep……!!’

Without a doubt, Nyarlathotep was currently descending within the Heart of the Mind!

That too, his main body!

‘Damn it… I thought I had become fairly strong…’

It was painfully clear that I hadn’t even come close to that level.

In fact, attempting to confront such a monster made me feel like a fool.

How could such a being be allowed to act in the material world?!

As the presence I had desperately tried to ignore finally made its mark, Howol’s voice pierced through the dark.

“Do you believe my Master can eliminate Nyarlathotep?”

“…”

That was a remarkably pessimistic statement from a disciple of Dharma. However, given the emptiness I felt from his words, it felt like an extraordinary inquiry, so I pondered seriously before speaking.

“It’s impossible. In fact, even in my time, Nyarlathotep rampaged as he pleased. What I mean is…”

Howol grinned.

“Ha Ha. Is that so? Then it has failed, huh?”

“…”

“Even if you know the outcome, I must tell you the process. The plan we set up is quite simple.”

“What plan?”

Hearing Howol’s calm continuation startled me.

“As the stages of the True Martial Home progress, extraordinary power sufficient to annihilate the entire universe will be gathered at the altar. My Master plans to pretend to advance the True Martial Home, and when Nyarlathotep approaches to consume himself, he will pour all that power into him.”

“Hmm…!!”

“Even if he fails to annihilate him, it’s no problem. If he can turn that level of power into a curse, at the very least he can add even more seals to Nyarlathotep, which has already been confirmed by my Master.”

“Seals? What do you mean?”

“Although my Master possesses the utmost selfishness as a reincarnated being, what’s his fundamental reason for aiming to eliminate Nyarlathotep after giving everything up? It is because he discovered a truth as a reincarnated person.”

“Truth…?”

I couldn’t help but be mystified by Howol’s subsequent words.

“Nyarlathotep has already been sealed numerous times by generations of reincarnated beings. The Nyarlathotep we see now is, in fact, a greatly weakened entity compared to what it was originally.”