전생검신 95권 05화

I had a gut feeling that breaking through Fuxi’s barrier using conventional methods would be a tough nut to crack.

‘Of course, if I fully exert my divine power… I could technically break through Fuxi’s barrier with sheer ‘strength’, but…’

However, a barrier isn’t just a shield to stop enemy invasions. Naturally, the moment that barrier shatters, it’s likely that a warning will alert the sorcerer who set it, and traps installed with the expectation of its destruction will likely spring into action as well.

Anyway, provoking the ancient dragon god Tai Hao Fuxi head-on in a state where I’m just a formless spirit with no physical body was an incredibly foolish move. Fuxi was known for his gentle nature, so I could maybe coax him with words if I piqued his curiosity, but something in me sensed that his demeanor toward me would be vastly different right now.

I could understand it now. Fuxi’s kindness and gentleness were entirely different from what humans possess. When facing another god, he could very well be one of the most ruthless and cold-blooded beings around.

‘…If I face the Three Sovereigns head-on now, I’m definitely going to be obliterated. No need to gamble just yet. Is there any normal method to make my way to Earth besides divine power?’

I fell deep into thought. The more I thought about it, the more I realized one thing, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

‘Damn it… when did I start relying so much on divine power?’

With my high level of reliance on divine power, once it was blocked, I found myself unable to think of other solutions. No wonder; divine power was so convenient that with just a little wish, what I desired would pop right out. It was completely on a different level from the strength general sorcerers could exhibit. Unbeknownst to me, I had become so reliant on divine power that my actions were blocked without it.

This won’t do.

Just like that Black Spirit Body I encountered, it’s possible that there will be creatures who can seal or absorb divine power in the future. Relying solely on divine power against those kinds of opponents might just get me killed even more easily than if I were without it. While I should definitely use what I can, I couldn’t help but think that excessive dependence would lead to stagnation.

‘Hmm… aside from divine power? Martial arts? Magic? Sephiroth? What’s out there…’

As I pondered this, I eventually realized the most practical method.

‘…It can only be magic! Magic from other races… I’ll use the dimension door to go to Earth!’

That’s right.

Just like when I teleported to the planet where the Prophet’s race resides, alien races possessed magic that enabled them to perform interstellar travel. Whether it’s through magic spells, dimension doors, or unique abilities, higher-ranked extraterrestrial beings generally have the capacity to move between stars. If I could find such an extraterrestrial being and seek their help, I could probably make my way to Earth.

‘The Three Sovereigns probably won’t interfere with alien migration… So now I just need to find an extraterrestrial who has interstellar travel magic to reach Earth…’

As I thought up to this point, I quickly scanned my surroundings.

It was dark.

Pitch black.

Empty.

Floating amidst the overwhelming void of the great universe, I momentarily lost my words. In this ridiculously vast outer space, how in the world would I locate such an alien race?

At that moment, the most convenient race popped into my mind.

‘Alright… I’m off, Prophet!’

You’re going to help, right? Always appreciate it!

Oh!

I attempted to use my divine power to teleport to the Prophet’s star, but at that moment, I felt a sudden bounce back with a loud thunk.

‘Ugh! What the heck?’

Something just flung me away?!

As I frantically flailed my limbs in confusion, suddenly hundreds of gigantic warships appeared in front of me.

Kugugugu…

These warships, seemingly constructed with bizarre magical technology from another realm, each looked incredibly massive. They were on a scale that could easily make the Great Bear Empire’s vessels look like toys—thousands or even tens of thousands of times bigger! Witnessing this made me question how a mortal could possibly create such enormous ships, even giving the impression that space itself was filled with them for a moment.

After a short while, I heard the eerie sound of otherworldly language booming from the ships.

[Unknown god of the otherworld, you have invaded the territory of our great race. This is a breach of the protective treaty established in the name of the great outer gods, and we hereby issue a warning. Based on this, Farlan Gishneger, sovereign of the Seventh Republic and supreme commander, politely requests your departure.]

‘…!’

I had faced the Prophet directly many times, but it was my first time seeing the Prophet’s army in action, and I couldn’t help but be shocked. I always thought we were just playing around, but is such a fleet really only a subordinate of the Prophet?

Nevertheless, they certainly had a commanding presence. No matter how much they were a subordinate race to the outer gods, they were still mortals. The fact that they could request my departure so confidently in front of a god was impressive!

Curiosity sparked in me as I clenched my fist.

‘I came to see the Tao King Prophet. Don’t joke around; go fetch him!’

[Have you refused to withdraw? We shall request the use of a Level 17 weapon from our homeland.]

‘Huh?’

I was baffled to hear a term that felt oddly familiar.

[Great Lord, thank you for permitting the summoning of the royal battleship.]

Kooohhh…!

At that moment, something enormous appeared behind me. When I turned around, I saw a giant spherical object, as large as the moon, floating in the air. It looked like a warship rather than a celestial body. I never expected a man-made structure to be planet-sized, so I was momentarily taken aback, and then it began to slowly open its eyes.

N-no way… is that?!

Just before all of its eyes opened, I involuntarily made a soft gasp.

‘Antiparticle Lightning Bliss Wave Reincarnation Cannon…?’

Kwahkwang!

In the next moment, a light beam that originated from that planet-sized warship shot right at me. It was a colossal attack that could easily swallow an orbit, so I had no choice but to take it head-on. I activated my divine power to shield myself, but the pain of my entire body being torn apart made me scream without realizing it.

‘Kraaaagh!’

W-what the hell is this?!

My divine power is melting away!

No way… was it crafted specifically to target gods from the very beginning?!

By experiencing it firsthand, I understood how absurd this weapon was. I wasn’t fooling around; I had mobilized all my divine power to block it, and yet I still couldn’t adequately defend against such an attack, causing my protective barrier to rip apart.

Damn it… that’s why the Nine Lotus Bishop and the bishops melted away when they got hit by this!

Could it be that the Nine Lotus Bishop, who survived even after taking this blow, was a monster beyond comprehension?!

When I used it, it was merely a handy weapon, but now as an enemy, it became the most troublesome foe imaginable. I still thought I could block it, so I bore the pain and devoted myself to defense, only to find that warships converging from all directions began firing their beams at me.

Kwahkwang!

Kwahkwang!

‘Aaaah, you bastards…’

I had no choice but to scream in anguish as my mind spun in chaos. Although the power of the Level 17 Antiparticle Lightning Bliss Wave Reincarnation Cannon was incomparably greater, the beams emitted from the warships had enough power to instantly wipe out even a planet’s surface. I gritted my teeth and teleported using my divine power, leaping immense distances, but still, the beams were shooting right at me!

Kwahkwang!

‘Does distance even matter?! What the hell…’

Given that they could adjust their coordinates over a billion li and strike with pinpoint accuracy without any margin of error, it was clear that this was magical technology beyond the comprehension of human science. With no other choices left, I gathered my divine power and invoked the Trimurti, shouting out.

‘You started it! Don’t regret this!’

Super Giant Dark Lance!

Kugugugu!

This was the combination attack of divine power that had swept away large groups of enemies from the divine side! Even I felt that this super giant dark lance would have no trouble obliterating the alien fleet. However, as the super giant dark lance was unleashed, suddenly the planet-sized warship, the Royal Ship, straightforwardly blocked my dark lance, and its eyes gleamed.

Kwahkwang!

‘…!’

Did my super giant dark lance just get blocked?!

Although the royal ship of the Prophet’s race was far from unscathed, emitting a small amount of black smoke, my super giant dark lance collided with the transparent barrier summoned by that vessel and was simultaneously obliterated.

This is insane…

I’ve been on that bizarre Royal Ship before, but to think it had the kind of power to withstand my current level of divine power in terms of both attack and defense!

‘No way—that’s the level of a mortal race?!’

This was unbelievable.

I was vividly experiencing what it meant to face a race that was close to being a ‘god.’

…

If that Royal Ship can block my super giant dark lance, what even could hurt it now? Plus, if I got hit by that Level 17 Reincarnation Cannon attack again, I would surely be grievously injured… and this Royal Ship might have more hidden abilities… on top of that, how could I possibly deal with hundreds of warships surrounding me…

‘….’

I swallowed hard. Then, I quickly made a firm decision in my heart.

I need to bail!

Shooosh…!

I utilized divine power to recklessly jump through vast outer space without a specific direction. I had an ominous feeling that if I continued to fight here, I would ultimately be surrounded and killed by the Prophet’s race. While it wasn’t doomed to lose if I fought by creating variables with the Trimurti, gambling my life with no knowledge of my enemy’s full strength was sheer foolishness, so I chose to flee.

Fortunately, it seemed like they lacked the ability to prevent my escape, making it relatively easy to retreat.

How long had I been running? I let out a wry smile.

‘Ha, haha, hah…’

I thought I had gotten quite strong, but to think the Prophet’s race would be that much stronger! I suddenly realized that I might have been like a frog in a well all along. Plus, considering there are countless strong beings lurking all over space, I was probably much closer to being the standout of the Jianghu, rather than the ultimate strongman.

‘I need to get stronger.’

But at the same time, I felt like I learned something from this encounter.

Relying solely on divine power won’t cut it.

There are clear limits to how strong one can get just through divine power.

For whatever reason, the royal ship from the Prophet’s race possessed a unique ability that crushed divine power, as did the Black Spirit Body I fought before. Even the Seven Luminaries monarch, the sun, had a special ability that devoured divine power. Even those entities in the [Throne] felt immune to divine power altogether.

In other words, the strong beings across the universe each possess at least one tactic prepared against divine power! If I think about it, the battles of the Three Sovereigns were less about overwhelming brute force and more about a chess match using the unique abilities they’d developed over countless years. The higher the level, the more divine power is a piece of strategic assets rather than a way to trample over everything with pure output.

Alright. I think I’ve gained considerable understanding of godly battles.

As I thought deeply, I muttered to myself.

‘Come to think of it, my formless spirit state is resulting in some misunderstandings… If my body were human, I feel like the misunderstandings would lessen.’

If an evil god purposely takes a human form, that would be possession or divine intervention. But for some reason, all the ancient gods and [Old Rulers] I encountered up until now clearly distinguished my case from those of subordinates. That’s how I managed to induce curiosity and converse with the gods.

So, if I reclaimed the body of the human Baek Woong, wouldn’t it be easier to get to Earth…?

Even if I came into contact with other alien races besides the Prophet’s, it would likely be easier to communicate with those who had a ‘body.’

‘Alright then. I’ll recreate a human body using divine power!’

In the training world, even though it was incomplete, I had once created an entire planet.

So there was no reason I couldn’t create a human body now!

With confidence, I used my divine power, picturing my original form, and conceived it into existence.

Whoa!

With a bright light, my former body emerged right in front of me. I wasn’t sure if my internal power was intact, but honestly, that wouldn’t be terribly important after gaining a human body. Feeling quite good about it, I moved my spirit into my physical form.

Swoosh…

Just as I was about to open my eyes in my human form, I suddenly felt my whole body swell up uncontrollably.

“Eh?”

Boom!

Thud-thud-thud…

‘…?!’

Catastrophe!

Blood, bone, and viscera splattered everywhere as my human body exploded in space. I was left as a spirit again, staring blankly at the scene. I felt no pain at all, probably because my body’s disappearance had happened too fast.

‘H-how did this happen?!’

With trepidation, I attempted the process two or three more times.

Boom! Bam!

But each time my body erupted in a loud explosion, leaving only my spirit behind. I couldn’t understand why this phenomenon was occurring.

‘Why is my body exploding? This has never happened before… Should I try a different body?’

Whoa!

I randomly generated a different body and tried again. Yet I faced the same fate each time, with only flailing remnants scattering into the void.

I stared blankly at the chunks of flesh before me when suddenly I realized.

‘…Ah! Soul of the Evil God!’

When I practiced the Soul of the Evil God, my body would explode just like this!

Back then, my body had burst due to reaching a point of power my human form couldn’t handle, kind of like a balloon popping; this current phenomenon seemed entirely similar to that. Reflecting on my training during the Soul of the Evil God, I finally figured it out.

‘My body can’t handle my divine power!’

Right now, my spirit possessed a divine power equivalent to that of the Three Sovereigns, and a mere human body wasn’t equipped to withstand the force packed into my spirit!

When you think about it, this makes sense. A being with the divine power I wield doesn’t simply land on the ground while carrying all of that raw strength. At the very least, a divine apostle must be appointed, and even that doesn’t guarantee one can wield a god’s full power. The sheer volume of a god’s power is so massive that cause and effect won’t comply.

Given that, it’s only natural for my human body to explode.

‘What the hell! How did it lead to this… wait, then why didn’t that happen during my regular reincarnations?’

I could only scratch my head in confusion. The difference between my usual reincarnations and this was that, back then, I entered the body at the point of reincarnation, and now I was starting from being in spirit form.

But why did it explode during this attempt and not before? Was it possible that the moment of reincarnation is inherently different from this situation?

However, it didn’t seem like the time to get bogged down by trivial details. I mean, at any rate, this was something I wouldn’t know the answer to, and most importantly, my course of action had become clear.

I resolutely focused my gaze.

‘… I need to create a body that can withstand my divine power.’

In that case, the only thing I can think of is a body made of divine power itself.

If it’s divine power, shouldn’t it be able to withstand divine power?

Thinking that, I immediately began to pour a massive amount of divine power into the creation process. To put it more plainly, while I generally might sprinkle in a pinch of seasoning when cooking, this time, I was dumping a whole bottle in there. This was my first time creating a body by recklessly forcing in so much divine power.

Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh…!

A glowing body made of divine power was soon created. Thinking that this should be enough to manage my divine power, I entered the body, only to realize something was off.

Wheee…

“Uh… huh?! Why is my power leaking like this?!”

The problem this time was that while the body could withstand my divine power, there was smoke pouring out from all over, rapidly consuming my divine energy. Even taking a breath would exhaust bucketfuls of divine power, making it clear that this body wouldn’t last more than a fraction of a second. I quickly pulled out of the possession and dispelled the divine body.

Furrowing my brows, I pondered.

‘Hmm. If I create a body out of divine power, it’s essentially a mass of divine power, meaning the maintenance cost will be way too high…!’

Is that why gods can’t easily descend into the mortal realm?

Even ignoring cause and effect, forming a body for a god to reside in the material world is incredibly challenging.

Then, the thought of the Queen Mother of the West struck me.

Only then did I realize why she was so formidable.

‘… I see. Nüwa understood this fact beforehand and invested great effort into creating an avatar that could deploy her divine power fully.’

By her own words, the Queen Mother of the West painstakingly refined starlight and crafted her body with meticulous care. While she didn’t disclose how long it took, considering that she’s the only avatar I’ve come across that could wield her original strength freely, it’s clear that Nüwa must have dedicated at least several thousand years to making it.

Shooosh…

As I was deep in thought, a plethora of shooting stars rushed past me. At least several tens of thousands of stars piled together in that spectacle, it was quite the sight, and I paused to stare at the meteor shower in awe.

‘….’

Stars…?

In that instant, I involuntarily stretched out my hand, unfurling all of my divine power, and shouted.

‘Come to me!’

Kugugugu…!

Then, a handful of the shooting stars among the shooting stars were drawn in by the call of my divine power and flew toward me. The number was roughly over a hundred; I kept the pieces of the meteor shower circling around me and began to make them rotate slowly.

Wooww…

I started to emit energy outward from my body. Even if I lacked a corporeal form, the energy corresponding to my intent flowed through my will while I exerted my thoughts. Thus, I expanded the energy field enough to dominate numerous space stones and began to manipulate them according to the secrets of the Soul of the Evil God.

The rotation began slowly.

Using the principles of the Soul of the Evil God, I sent the great wheel into outer motion.

Once the myriad stones began to revolve around me, my eyes gleamed.

‘Let’s see what I can do.’

Just like the Queen Mother of the West, I too will try to make a body crafted from [stars]!

“`

 

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