Chapter 584
“Hey, you guys!”
The Celestial Sage came over after dealing with Jin Ah-shi. With his Ruyi Staff casually thrown over his shoulder, he shot a glance at Jin So-cheong and Lee Cheong-un. He seemed puzzled and asked, “What do you want the Seven Luminaries for?”
“……”
It seemed that the Celestial Sage thought I wasn’t in charge and was placing Jin So-cheong or Lee Cheong-un on a pedestal instead. Jin So-cheong didn’t deny it and responded, “The world is on the verge of destruction. We’ve heard that obtaining the Seven Luminaries will allow us to save humanity, so we’ve come to get it with those who have purpose. If you have something to say, please speak to me.”
Jin So-cheong shifted the focus onto himself. Talk about a tactical move to save my own skin if things went south!
“Oh, that’s what I expected. How did you figure out my identity?”
“I know a celebrity in the Celestial Realm when I see one. Plus, there are many renowned sorcerers here.”
“Right.”
The Celestial Sage fiddled with his chin and replied, “But no can do. I understand your situation, but you must give me the Moon Sovereign.”
“What do you mean?”
“While you’re busy hunting down the Seven Luminaries, this chaos will be resolved in the Celestial Realm. So don’t worry and hand over the Moon Sovereign.”
He leaned forward menacingly, his eyes narrowing, and the Fire Eye Golden Spirit flared up brilliantly.
“That’s the key to the apocalypse! If you have it and it gets snatched by the Demon, we’ll be in big trouble!”
“…….”
After a moment of contemplation, Jin So-cheong replied, “Then, the Celestial Sage must agree to two of my requests.”
“Huh?”
The Celestial Sage Mi-hu King looked utterly flabbergasted. “Have you lost it? Do you think you can battle me just because you’re better than some average human? I’m the kind of guy whose fists go flying before words do, so it’s rare for me to resolve things peacefully!”
“That doesn’t sound very boastful…”
“So what?”
Jin So-cheong continued, “Countless innocent humans are perishing across the world due to the whims of the Old Ruler. Can’t you show some kindness while taking away our last hope, the Seven Luminaries?”
“Ugh…”
Jin So-cheong bowed deeply. “We need to know the situation and save the remaining humans. I’m begging you.”
“……”
The Celestial Sage seemed to ponder deeply as he looked around at us. Then, he nodded with enthusiasm, “Alright! If a mere human has the guts to come this far and fight a Guardian, I can show some consideration. Go ahead and ask.”
Wait, what?!
Seeing the Celestial Sage accept Jin So-cheong’s words so readily caught me by surprise. His claim of ‘fists before words’ was no empty boast; he was indeed someone comfortable with using violence, and yet, he let Jin So-cheong’s challenge pass. Just as I was mulling over this unexpected side of him, Jin So-cheong spoke up again.
“Please tell us your goal and current situation.”
“What a question to get all in one shot. You’re pretty clever, aren’t you?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The Celestial Sage scratched his head and replied, “My goal? As I said, I’m here to work. The Demon King’s power sealed by the Three Sovereigns has gotten stronger and is almost completely unsealed. The chances of it merging body and mind to become an Old Existence have increased significantly. So, it’s up to your magnificent Celestial Sage to go around sealing them all one by one.”
He sure did add a lot of fluff to it.
“Wasn’t that just destroyed?”
He chuckled lightly. “Destroy? Not a chance… The Soul of the God is immortal. If you leave it be, Jin Ah-shi will rise again in several thousand years. Of course, the Celestial Realm will reseal it long before that.”
“So while you’re sealing them, are you going to collect the Seven Luminaries as well?”
His eyes sharpened for a split second. “If it’s possible, sure. If not, then that’s life.”
He perched himself on a nearby rock and continued, “Want me to enlighten you a bit more about the current situation? You know how the Evil God suddenly obtained the Law of Cause and Effect and reversed the very essence of the world, causing all this chaos? Well, the Celestial Realm is planning to set up the Heavenly Altar to counter his schemes.”
Jin So-cheong, recalling what I remembered, knew what the Heavenly Altar was but feigned ignorance and asked, “What’s the Heavenly Altar?”
“It’s where all the immortals from the Celestial Realm descend to maintain order. With that, at least for the next ten years, the world can cope just fine.”
“Can the Celestial Realm just do that on a whim?”
“Why not? It’s a command from the Three Sovereigns, so we just follow orders. Those great beings will figure out how to deal with the constraints of Cause and Effect.”
“……”
Jin So-cheong propped his chin and asked again, “What about the Evil God’s schemes? Tell us about those.”
The Celestial Sage shrugged. “It’s nothing big. When the world’s in chaos and the negative energies are rampant, human numbers and civilization will regress. He intends to exploit that chaos to increase his worshippers and establish a religion that worships the Evil God. When humans are in a crisis of life and death, they easily forget Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and turn to the Demon Sect.”
“Hmm…”
“If the Evil God’s religion spreads, the end will come swiftly. So, it makes sense for the Celestial Realm to step in and protect you humans; that’s how we curb the Evil God’s influence.”
He twirled the Ruyi Staff, striking a cool pose.
“The Celestial Realm is on your side, so don’t worry!”
The Celestial Sage’s previous words were laden with information. Watching him casually spill high-level intel made me realize one important fact.
‘This guy has a soft spot for humans.’
He was quite different from the cold and ruthless Southern Flower Immortal. In fact, he was more akin to Yeodong-bin or Fire Dragon Incarnate, showing care for humanity. It turns out that despite being intoxicated with his own power, the Celestial Sage Mi-hu King was an inherently good being.
If we framed ourselves as ‘poor humans,’ he would likely be more receptive to our pleas. Just as I was lost in thought, Jin So-cheong spoke again.
“Then, we’ll return the Moon Sovereign to you, but will you help us just this once?”
“Huh? Why would I…”
“With the blessing of the great and powerful Celestial Sage, we wish to navigate through this crisis.”
At that, the Celestial Sage’s mood seemed to brighten, and he grinned.
“Haha, if that’s the case… I’ll accept!”
Whoosh!
As the Celestial Sage marked Jin So-cheong, the character for “Son” briefly glimmered on his forehead before disappearing without a trace.
As Jin So-cheong touched his forehead, the Celestial Sage declared, “Call my name once in times of crisis, and I shall come to help.”
“Thank you.”
Jin So-cheong effortlessly handed over the Moon Sovereign to the Celestial Sage. The Celestial Sage, upon confirming the Moon Sovereign, flashed a smile and waved at us.
“Then, off you go~”
Whoosh!
In a flash, he vanished into the horizon like a spark of light. As soon as he left, the room regained its composure, allowing everyone to breathe again. People murmured, staring at Jin So-cheong, notably Mangnyang, who looked utterly flabbergasted.
“Jin So-cheong, how on earth did you negotiate like that?”
“I just recalled the Celestial Sage I saw in Baek Woong’s memories and tried to guess his personality.”
Jin So-cheong’s cheeks turned slightly red. “I feel embarrassed for flattering him.”
I praised Jin So-cheong. “Not at all, you did well.”
In fact, Jin So-cheong had just pulled off an amazing feat. Not only did he gather a wealth of information from the Celestial Sage, but he even secured a one-time assistance card! Calling upon that powerful Celestial Sage could be a game changer!
‘I guess geniuses excel at everything, huh?’
I felt a twinge of jealousy, but quickly brushed it off. Then I said, “Anyway, let’s head back for now.”
Whoosh!
We took Seo San’s residence and Yu Jeong back to the base of Duke Du. Sure enough, chaos reigned in the Kingdom of Duke Du as Matteo Ricci and his subordinates tirelessly managed the flood. Thankfully, where we stayed was elevated enough to escape the waters.
Zhuge Sa looked up at the sky and remarked, “With Jin Ah-shi defeated, the tilted orbit of the Moon should return to normal. That massive moon will gradually shrink as well.”
“So we’ve prevented the disaster?”
“No, this is just the beginning.”
Zhuge Sa continued, “While we had no choice but to lose the Moon Sovereign, we still need to secure the Fire Sovereign. The problem lies with that Celestial Sage, though.”
“……”
True. We successfully thwarted the Moon Sovereign’s calamity, but unsealing the Fire Sovereign meant facing off against the Celestial Sage again. After all, he himself stated he was also recovering the Seven Luminaries. We were fortunate that the fact we had the Water Sovereign remained undiscovered, but soon enough, that Celestial Sage might come knocking on my door.
Mangnyang chimed in, “The Guardian of the Fire Sovereign is the Giant, Gong Gong. He’s a deity who, in ancient times, was powerful enough to contend with Jeon Wook. If Gong Gong’s constraints are lifted and he regains his original form, it would certainly be a great calamity.”
“So, if Gong Gong gets his original powers back, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“There’s another issue. In the current situation, we can’t even breach the barrier of the Fire Sovereign.”
Zhuge Sa chuckled. “Hahaha. This is a total mess. We can’t do anything.”
“……”
I felt utterly boxed in. Obtaining the Fire Sovereign now felt nearly impossible, and we needed to focus on the remaining Moon, Gold, and Earth Sovereigns. However, those three were even tougher to acquire than the Fire Sovereign.
Then, Lee Cheong-un crossed his arms and said, “I think we should focus on increasing our allies rather than racing around for the Seven Luminaries.”
“Oh? You’re pretty sharp.”
Zhuge Sa looked at him with interest.
“But will it be alright? That’s not something you usually say.”
“Old grudges are forgotten.”
Lee Cheong-un replied curtly, and I realized what he was suggesting. “You mean we should ally with the White Lotus Sect?”
“Exactly.”
Lee Cheong-un asserted confidently, “You can earn the sect leader’s trust by giving them the Black and White Lotus and treat the Young Master. This will convert the White Lotus Sect into a potential ally while also preventing the dormant Old Ruler within the Young Master from descending to the mortal realm.”
“Brilliant…!!”
What a fantastic plan! It was flawless! The only concern was that the Master of the White Lotus Sect was a cunning individual, making complete trust difficult. However, at the very least, he was someone who would lend a helping hand when faced with issues. Gaining the assistance of the White Lotus Sect would surely lighten our load going forward.
As soon as we finished discussing the operation and were about to move to the White Lotus Sect, Zhuge Sa halted me.
“Wait, Baek Woong.”
“What is it?”
“Yeodong-bin’s constant refusal toward you isn’t just any petty issue. Without Yeodong-bin’s prowess, we’d be worse off than half-baked. You know this as well,”
“……”
“Before heading to the White Lotus Sect, you must somehow resolve that problem. In a sense, it’s even more pressing than the White Lotus Sect’s scenario.”
“How am I supposed to handle it when he refuses?”
“You’ll need to prepare an Offering Ceremony.”
I was half-dragged to the altar set up by the sorcerers, ready for the summoning preparation. Just calling Yeodong-bin forth outright wouldn’t work, as he could simply ignore me at his discretion. However, going through a formal summoning ritual would ensure he had no choice but to appear against his will. Finally, the altar was set, and a seriously grim-faced Cheon Woo-jin began the summoning.
“Hurry, hurry, manifest…”
Boom!
Shortly after, the spirit of Yeodong-bin appeared before me. He bore a fierce expression and glared daggers at me, eventually drawing his Spirit Sword and pointing it in my direction.
[Dharma Protector! Draw your sword.]
“Huh?”
[Draw your sword right now.]
Yeodong-bin spat out a deathly aura.
[I, Yeodong-bin, cannot calm down until I defeat you.]
“……”
I wanted to know why but just as I placed my hand on the handle, an overwhelming energy surged into the room. It was clear he genuinely wanted to beat me up.
Crackle, crackle!
Yeodong-bin’s eyes blazed fiercely. The energy radiated, and I could feel the tremendous sword intent emanating off him.
I sensed it. I might die here.
