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I returned to Jangryeong Valley with Mangnyang and Cheon Woo-jin. Cheon Woo-jin looked pretty shocked that I was back so quickly, thanks to the Apostle’s Power I was using.

“What is this…?”

I couldn’t help but ask, my expectations held high. “Do you know what kind of power this is?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s definitely Divine Power,” Cheon Woo-jin murmured.

“And it’s completely different from the Light Body Technique,” he noted as he laid Mangnyang down and began to chant a spell, focusing intently. The temporary measure he’d used earlier with the Ghostly Spirit’s power had merely soothed Mangnyang’s condition, but now Cheon Woo-jin was stepping up to quench his fever directly.

As he continued chanting, a reddish hue spread across Mangnyang’s face. His life force, suppressed by excessive divine energy, was starting to recover. I let out a sigh of relief, glad to see him improving, but then Cheon Woo-jin spoke up.

“Fortunately, I saved your older brother’s life, but due to the side effects of the fever, his lifespan has shortened by 15 years.”

His tone had changed.

“…”

“Can you take responsibility for your older brother’s lost years?”

Gone was the casual, slightly rude Cheon Woo-jin from earlier. Now, he seemed calm, yet beneath the surface, I could sense his suppressed anger and killing intent. I realized I needed to answer this question very cautiously.

‘I must not answer incorrectly.’

Cheon Woo-jin was not my ally. He had come here to protect Mangnyang out of suspicion because Mangnyang had chosen to follow me above all else. I thought carefully and replied to his question.

“I can take responsibility.”

“That sounds nice. But how do you plan to repay the 15 years of lost life?”

“If I can find offerings to present to the Celestial Realm within those 15 years, then I can surely extend his life.” “I will definitely repay it!”

Cheon Woo-jin sighed, “We need to stabilize your older brother’s condition, so you should leave.”

“Understood.”

I sensed that continuing to speak would just make him angrier; he looked extremely irritated and frustrated, as if speaking to him would only provoke more negativity. So, I hightailed it out of there and headed to find the Ji Sibi of Jangryeong Valley.

“Is the Lord not back yet?”

“No.”

“He didn’t mention his destination?” Sibi replied with a troubled look.

“As I told you before, he just said he would return in half a month.”

“Did he leave in a hurry?”

“… Yes. He seemed quite urgent.”

What’s up with that? What’s Zhuge Sha going to do for fifteen days?

I asked Sibi for more details, just in case. “He didn’t leave any messages for me?”

“He did.”

“What did he say?”

“He said to train hard…”

“……”

It sounded like a standard line, but I felt that Zhuge Sha’s sudden disappearance was quite significant. Given that he had been sharing his past life memories through obsidian with me, it was odd that he would just leave for half a month without a message on something serious—he usually consulted me about any other major matters.

I wanted to use my skills and abilities to find Zhuge Sha right now, but I forced myself to remain calm.

‘I can’t mess everything up by being too hasty!’

If something really had happened to Zhuge Sha, rushing around without a plan would only complicate things. I ultimately realized that my priority now was to help Mangnyang recover from his fever, consult with him, and devise a plan.

‘Still… I can’t just sit back and do nothing. At the very least, I should gather some basic information about Zhuge Sha’s whereabouts.’

That way, when I spoke with Mangnyang, our discussion would flow better.

I raised my hand and activated the Heavenly Secret Technique. I sought out a strong spirit nearby and asked him.

[I am the Iron Fist Saint, Muak. What do you need?]

A martial artist? I wasn’t completely certain, but judging by his title, he seemed like one from the martial world. Considering that only the spirits who left a name in history would be summoned by the Heavenly Secret Technique, Iron Fist Saint must have been a notable expert when he was alive.

I asked Iron Fist Saint Muak, “The master of Jinrang Valley has gone missing. I wish to track his movements or the direction he vanished.”

However, Iron Fist Saint wore a pained expression.

[I’m sorry, but that exceeds my ability. I can only fight.]

“Weren’t you summoned by my Heavenly Secret Technique? Shouldn’t you grant me one wish?”

[Hmm… I could try, but I’ve never practiced tracking magic before.]

After deep thought, Iron Fist Saint said, [Alright! I’ll recommend someone to you.]

“Who?”

[He was someone renowned in my day for his tracking skills, a paragon in the martial world. If you have the tracking techniques of Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul, Su-chun, you might find what you’re looking for…]

“Is that for certain?”

[In my era, nobody could escape from Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul’s tracking techniques. His skills are truly remarkable.]

“Make contact with that spirit. You can do that, right?”

[Got it.]

Iron Fist Saint’s soul focused intensely somewhere. After a time span of about an hour, I felt a soul pulsing strongly through the range of my Heavenly Secret Technique. It seemed like Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul Su-chun’s spirit had been summoned from another region and had come here even beyond his designated area.

[What is it? Why was I summoned?]

Finally, Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul Su-chun’s apparition appeared before me.

[I’ve done what I needed to; I’m leaving.]

Iron Fist Saint disappeared quietly as one of the flames from my Heavenly Secret Technique extinguished. But at least a favor had been granted. I addressed Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul Su-chun, “Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul, I need to find the Lord of Jangryeong Valley. Use your tracking skills to locate him.”

[Alright. So, are you going to entrust your body to me until I find him?]

“I can’t completely hand over my body, but it’s okay if you find some clues for me.”

[Understood.]

Swish!

Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul Su-chun’s spirit entered my body. He could control my body, but I didn’t fully relinquish the reins to him. I kept a watchful eye, ready to jump in at any time in case he went off track. It seemed Su-chun understood this, as he addressed me, [I need some of his belongings.]

[Which belongings?]

[Anything with a distinct scent or blood, any trace left on the body…]

I retrieved Zhuge Sha’s long sword from his room at Su-chun’s request. Since he belonged to the Demon Sorcerer class, Zhuge Sha typically didn’t carry his long sword around—it was only used occasionally when he was bored and decided to kill someone. Holding the sword, Su-chun took a little time to boost his energy, then infused a jade light into the weapon.

Whir.

[Oh wow.]

I was amazed. Through the shared sight with Su-chun, I saw a thread of energy made of Qi trailing out long and impressive. While there were many masters of tracking in the Jianghu realm, I had never heard of this kind of technique. Su-chun grinned, saying, [This is my unique resonant technique, Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul. With this special Qi technique, I can detect the energies of others.]

[What? Your title is Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul, right?]

[I had special circumstances that prevented me from using my formal name in the Jianghu. Hence, I just took my unique title as my name.]

……?

This guy’s odd.

Special circumstances? What on earth could that mean?

Swish!

[As you said, time is limited, I can track up to about six hundred li from now.]

But then, as I watched, Su-chun made my body move with agile and swift techniques—I was taken aback.

“Wait a second! Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul!”

“What’s wrong?”

Su-chun froze mid-leap, and I shouted in disbelief.

“You’re using Thunder Shadow Step and Heavenly Gathering Kill!!”

Indeed, the agile moves Su-chun employed to maneuver through the spiderweb-like terrain of Jangryeong Valley were one of the practical martial arts techniques from the Thunder God Lineage—Thunder Shadow Step with Heavenly Gathering Kill! This was an exceptional martial art that surpassed most techniques in the Jianghu because I had obviously endured hours of rigorous training on it under Lee Kwang in my previous life. It was something I couldn’t possibly not recognize.

Weirdly, Su-chun appeared to be flustered. “Uh… Are you also from the Thunder God Lineage? Or from the Four Great Families?”

“I’m from the Thunder God Lineage.”

“Ah, then you’re one of my descendants.”

Neither of us bothered assessing our teacher-student relationship. I didn’t feel much loyalty to the Thunder God Lineage, and Su-chun also understood he had passed away hundreds of years ago, so dwelling on our training lineage felt pointless.

“What’s going on, though?” I asked, still surprised.

“Why are you so surprised? Even if the White Lotus Sect is in Xinjiang, the masters of the Four Great Families continuously surveil the Central Plains Martial World. I was one of ten secret agents who operated discreetly under the orders of those in the Thunder God lineage.”

“You seem far too famous for a secret agent.”

“Huh?”

“The Heavenly Secret Technique distinguishes between those who were significant figures or held a high spirit connection when alive, and you definitely seem to fall into the former.”

Iron Fist Saint undoubtedly belonged to some massive faction that was recognized throughout the martial world; thus, the level of skill and renown that Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul must have possessed was surely top-tier as well. If he held such outstanding prestige, then it would be entirely inaccurate to simply view him as a secret agent.

Then, Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul gave a deflating reply.

“What does it matter? My identity as part of the Thunder God Lineage never got revealed until I married, had kids, and died while living in the Central Plains. I was simply too busy collecting information to lead a peaceful life when relations between the Central Plains Martial World and the White Lotus Sect were quite friendly back then.”

“…”

“Anyway, I’m off to do my own thing…”

“Wait a minute. I’ve never learned about that Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul technique. How did you come to know it?” I pressed.

Su-chun got irritated. “I was the chief disciple of the Ghostly Spirit Sect! Is that enough?”

“So you’re saying Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul is an essence of the Ghostly Spirit Sect?”

“Damn it! Your martial arts look immensely impressive, but what’s your standing within the Thunder God Lineage? You don’t seriously not know any factions within the Thunder God Lineage, do you?”

“Just curious…”

“What do you want to ask me that for?” Su-chun grumbled before adding, “Hey, can I ask a favor? Either track down Zhuge Sha or explain the techniques of the Ghostly Spirit Sect to me.”

I hesitated for a moment. Su-chun seemed like an ancient expert from the Thunder God line and held the bizarre trait of being a master in tracking techniques. Since it would be great to learn more about the Ghostly Spirit Sect, and getting a tracking technique master like Su-chun could help further in my journey through my next life, I considered it. However, I pushed the thought aside and answered, “Sorry for the interruption. Please find Zhuge Sha for me.”

“You should have said so sooner.”

Just knowing that Su-chun was around was good enough; knowing he existed meant I could summon him again next time. Right now, my priority was to find clues about Zhuge Sha’s strange disappearance and not to get distracted.

Swish!

Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul fluently followed the thread of Qi. He had a habit of searching for traps while moving along the trail, which slowed down his speed somewhat. But before long, he had already traversed four hundred li of the promised six hundred.

Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul stated, “He went south.”

“South, huh…”

“It feels like he just kept heading in this direction.”

He continued moving. Eventually, he covered well over six hundred li and even moved about a hundred and fifty more before he stopped. In a perplexed voice, he said, “This is strange. The thread has broken.”

“Is that supposed to be unusual?” I questioned.

“If I lost trace of the thread, it means he vanished like a ghost. That shouldn’t be possible…”

“Any suspicions?”

“I don’t know. This is as far as my abilities go.”

“Alright, go back.”

I sent Jade Thunder Pursuing Soul back. Then, I looked around the nearby terrain.

“This place…”

There was a reason I sent him back; the area felt familiar.

“This is definitely it.”

It brought back memories from when I used to work under the White Lotus Sect. At that time, I was led somewhere to infiltrate the slave market disguised. I remembered various events that happened after attending the slave market.

That’s right. This was definitely where the slave market was held!

The largest slave market in the Central Plains, associated with both the Wind Spirit Sect and the Imperial Palace, was right around here!

‘If that’s the case, the reason the trace vanished like a ghost is that someone artificially opened and closed a dimension in this area.’

Back then, to avoid the scrutiny of other martial world factions, the slave market had relied on the powers of otherworldly Demon Sorcerers to open a passage linked to the Blood Realm and hold the event. Someone must have cast a barrier in the material world, creating a direct link with the Blood Realm.

Zhuge Sha had likely opened a dimensional portal from this location to enter the Blood Realm.

“…”

I could have crossed dimensions from here, but I lacked the required techniques or magical powers. I also didn’t have any physical objects from the Four Great Spirits that would allow me to do that. I even tried using the Apostle’s Power, but it seemed that didn’t work for this type of case.

Without any usable methods at hand, I decided to return to Jangryeong Valley for now.

A massive seven hundred-plus li journey must have passed, as a bit of time had already gone by. Mangnyang appeared to have regained his color and was sitting up on the bed, while Cheon Woo-jin was sitting across from him. I addressed Mangnyang.

“Mangnyang, are you alright now?”

Mangnyang’s expression was somewhat gloomy.

“I’m so ashamed. I confidently claimed I could handle everything, and now look at this mess…”

“Everyone makes mistakes. Next time, we just need to find a way to control the fever,” I replied.

“…Thank you.”

Then, I explained to Mangnyang and Cheon Woo-jin how Zhuge Sha had gone missing. Once I finished recounting the tale, Mangnyang shared, “If your guess is correct and Zhuge Sha took the old passage to the Blood Realm, there can only be one reason.”

“What reason is that?”

“I suspect he went to meet that [Slave Trader].”

“That makes sense.”

The Slave Trader! He was a covert supporter of both the Wind Spirit Sect and the Imperial Palace, a being of uncertain identity from the otherworldly race, trafficking humans as a slave trader. In reality, he was a species referred to as [Ancient Beings] who claimed to have created humanity in the distant past and possessed formidable magical abilities. I had once pretended to be an acquaintance of Zhuge Sha to trade with the Slave Trader and received a bracelet for summoning magical beasts.

Mangnyang added, “If it’s Zhuge Sha, he should handle it just fine. That’s his area of expertise; it might even be better that we don’t meddle too clumsily. Plus, if he really thought it was dangerous, he would have left you a note about where he was going and asked for your help.”

“Hmm, I suppose…”

“Let’s wait for a few days.”

I decided to go along with Mangnyang’s suggestion. We shouldn’t raise suspicion to the being that could potentially open the door to the Blood Realm, as it might put Zhuge Sha in danger. So, I agreed to observe along with Mangnyang for a few more days and continued our training.

Just as Mangnyang suggested, Zhuge Sha suddenly reappeared in Jangryeong Valley three days later.

“Hehe, were you all worried about me?” Zhuge Sha chuckled as I recounted my search efforts.

I responded with a somewhat uncomfortable expression, “It wasn’t like that. A major incident suddenly came up with Mangnyang. Naturally, it’s only right to worry about a companion’s safety.”

“And so that’s why Cheon Woo-jin ended up in Jangryeong Valley…” Zhuge Sha remarked, squinting at Cheon Woo-jin, who didn’t even bother to glance back. Their relationship was evidently tense.

Zhuge Sha turned away and remarked, “Anyway, I brought back a few items from the [Slave Trader].”

With a swift motion, Zhuge Sha handed me a bracelet for summoning magical beasts. As I took it automatically, I stammered, “This is…?”

“Does it ring a bell? You probably know how to use it by now.”

“Hey, you didn’t just spend all the resources of Jangryeong Valley to create an Immortal, did you? What price did you pay for this?”

Zhuge Sha’s expression distorted.

“……”

“You didn’t trade away your own lifespan…!!” I shouted in shock.

Zhuge Sha looked at me like I was deranged. “What’s wrong with you? Are you out of your mind?”

“Uh… no…”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

After Zhuge Sha’s sharp retort, I suddenly felt bashful, scratching my head.

“…”

With a look of disdain, Zhuge Sha remarked, “Just because I claimed I was out of Jangryeong Valley’s resources doesn’t mean I can’t buy that. The resources of Jangryeong Valley are just a small fraction of what I possess.”

“And where did all that money and treasure come from?”

“There are fools in Jianghu that I dealt with as a heretical sect leader. After squeezing a little from those maggots, I converted that wealth into magical artifacts through a close acquaintance.”

“Wha, how?” I was taken aback.

Zhuge Sha smirked. “I’m not telling you, you idiot. Why would I spill my secrets to someone who reincarnates?”

As I sensed my exhilarating expectations for saving Mangnyang quickly deflating, I realized: Yeah, this guy was just like that…

 

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