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“Everybody’s looking at me after my shout.”

After a moment, Tang San raised his hand without hesitation and declared, “I’m ready!”

“What? You still…”

“I’m ready not to go.”

“……”

I stared at Tang San in disbelief as he calmly continued, “I still have a lot of training left. If I train hard for about ten years, I might reach the Absolute Realm. There’s no reason for a bright future like mine to throw my life away. There’s no need to risk my life in a dangerous place like Dark Heaven Village with you. I appreciate you saving me and teaching me martial arts, but that’s a separate matter.”

“Um…”

“It’s not just me. Isn’t it a bit shameless to ask others to risk their lives when you’re going to throw yours away?”

There was some logic in Tang San’s words. I had been thinking along those lines for a while, so I remained calm as I replied, “You’re right. But if I go alone, there’s a chance I could do nothing and just die. So, I need help despite my self-indulgence.”

If Dark Heaven Village truly was a land where even Great Immortals go mad, I could easily get torn apart the moment I stepped inside. I realized that my current strength was insufficient to handle all those scenarios. So, I needed at least a minimum of support and was trying to gain the cooperation of allies.

Tang San continued, “Mangnyang and Jin So-cheong might be willing to go if you ask, but you know they don’t really want to go that badly, right?”

“… That’s…”

“I’ve realized how much potential the people gathered here have while training. I don’t want to see such talents go to waste.”

“……”

“Whatever Zhuge Sa told you, don’t rely on the goodwill of your comrades who believe in you.”

Tang San’s words struck a nerve. My actions were indeed influenced by Zhuge Sa’s suggestion. [Baek Woong. If you go to Dark Heaven Village alone, the chances of dying doing nothing are high. Take at least two allies with you.] [But that place is a death zone. I can’t just ask them to die with me…] [We’re just pawns to help you achieve your goals. If you’re a king, it’s necessary to use us as expendables.] Zhuge Sa focused on using the talents gathered under the name of ‘comrades’ as efficiently as possible to minimize the reincarnation process. His words made sense logically, which is why I shamelessly proposed it to my allies this time. I thought I could save them by simply committing suicide if it came to that.

“Huh…”

However, even though it was just a part of my reincarnation, the act of betting their only lives was weighing on my conscience. Hearing Tang San’s sharp words made me unable to suggest anything further.

Just then, Jin So-cheong stepped forward.

“Still, Baek Woong, I will follow you.”

I looked at him with a mix of emotions and said, “No. Tang San is right. I’ve been too self-centered.”

“Even so, I owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Forget about Lee Kwang. It was simply an accident that can happen anytime during reincarnation.”

I shook my head vigorously. And I decided to take just one person whom I wouldn’t feel guilty about.

“Everyone, let’s meet in the next life.”

“Wait a minute…”

In that moment, I conveyed my will to the Golden Lamp.

[Golden Lamp.]

Like a living demon creature, I felt the evil soul inside the Golden Lamp responding to my will. Its eyes suddenly opened with a spark, and it suggested, [Will you go?] [I accept your call!]

It was the first time in over twenty reincarnations that I responded to the Golden Lamp’s evil summons.

Whoosh!

It felt like I was in a place where dreams and nightmares were intertwined. A vast continent was visible, and in the center lay a massive terrain that was either a huge lake or a sea. The moon felt very close. I saw otherworldly races living here and there. There were some creatures I had never seen before, like giant bugs, mountain goats, and human-like beings with dog heads.

Rumble…!

Previously, I had merely spectated this scene, but as the view narrowed, I felt everything around me shift significantly. The truth was, my body and soul were drawing closer as I approached that place.

“Ugh…!!”

As I passed through a massive membrane, I felt dizzy. I couldn’t quite tell, but it seemed the boundary I had just crossed was the dimensional barrier.

Vroom!

As I flew through the dark night, I suddenly realized something glowing surrounded me. The dreamlike and gigantic landscape I first saw vanished, and it felt like I was wandering in a sea of darkness.

In that moment, I felt an ‘attack’ coming.

Swish!

“……!!”

Thanks to swiftly casting my techniques in mid-air, I managed to dodge the path of the attack. However, I couldn’t completely evade it, and I felt a slight wound on my side. It had come at me with a rapid, complicated trajectory.

While in flight, I quickly perceived the assailant’s figure.

“Spinning… a stingray?!”

From what I glimpsed, it was definitely a stingray among aquatic creatures. The difference was, not only was it enormous, reaching a length of one palm, but it also had five eyes and a tail adorned with vicious tentacles. This stingray monster had attacked me with incredible spins!

And then, I felt a sharp pain in my side.

“Ugh!”

I sensed something dark flowing from my wound. Whatever it was, it was certainly ominous. I wanted to land on the ground quickly, but I couldn’t even distinguish if I was flying or where the up, down, left, and right of heaven and earth were. I thought I had adventured through numerous perilous areas, but this place, being pure chaos, was unlike anything I’d seen before.

I cried out in haste, “Protect me! And light up the area!”

With my command, Zhuge Bu, who had come with me to Dark Heaven Village, cast a spell and raised a defensive barrier. As he summoned glowing orbs, the surroundings came into view.

“……!!”

A swarm of stingrays!

In a blood-red cloud that filled the heavens and the earth, more than a thousand monstrous stingrays soared through the sky. We were being pulled by some unknown force, and not just that stingray; others were also radiating ominous killing intent. I instinctively gritted my teeth, fearing an additional attack might come.

“Damn it. An aerial battle out of nowhere.”

Using my internal power to hover or techniques like Heavenly Sovereign or Void Steps might work, but humans shouldn’t be able to fly at all. More importantly, the fact that I had been flying without knowing where in the world I was was maddening! An unknown force was pulling me down, and I didn’t even know if it was the ground or the sky!

Crash!

Before long, the stingrays started attacking from all directions. Thanks to the defensive barrier, I didn’t have to fight directly, but I could see pieces of flesh scattered everywhere. Thinking I couldn’t let it go on like this, I considered unleashing the power of the Fire Dragon Sword.

‘No… I should save it.’

This wasn’t the time to use my strength.

I decided to wait until the barrier could hold on as long as possible. Unexpectedly, the stingrays’ attacks continued to bounce back, causing them damage, and they stopped their assault. As I exhaled a sigh of relief, I suddenly noticed a dark wall crashing into my line of sight.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

I quickly landed. As I tried to see where I had fallen, I looked around.

Surrounding me was still a menacing cloud resembling blood and flames. There was no sign of life whatsoever; only chilling sounds of chaos echoed ominously. I could barely make out dark, jagged mountains looming in the distance.

“Hmph…”

I summoned the spirit of the National Seal and commanded, [Create a map of this Dark Heaven Village and tell me where it would be safe to go!] [Searching…]

After a moment, the spirit responded, [Mapping is impossible. This is a floating otherworld, and it’s impossible to confirm coordinates.] [Floating otherworld? What does that mean?] [This place isn’t Dark Heaven Village.] [What?] [You are inside a living being’s belly.]

I didn’t even have a moment to be shocked before another bizarre event struck me.

Grrr…

“……!!”

Those dark, jagged mountains. They were clearly mountains, yet a gigantic hand emerged from behind them! Just imagining such a colossal being lurking behind those mountains sent chills down my spine. Any normal human would be overwhelmed with fear at the sight, but luckily, having seen monsters before, I immediately hid my aura.

Swoosh!

“Ugh! It hurts.”

I felt pain in my side. When I looked at my wound in surprise, my eyes widened.

Eggs!

Gurgle…

Fresh white eggs were stuck to the wound where I had been cut by the stingray. One of those eggs burst open, and something resembling a monster larva emerged. It was ludicrous that I got caught by parasites after just a slight cut.

‘Damn it. Should I burn the wound?’

The most direct method came to mind, but I quickly reconsidered. If those things were immune to fire, I’d just end up burning myself. Instead, I decided to use one of the Absolute Poison bags that Tang San had given me and sprinkled it on the wound.

Fwoosh!

“Grrk…!!”

Thanks to the tragic poison known as Forgetful Powder, the monster’s eggs and larvae quickly writhed in agony and dried up. The super lethal poison worked effectively. It hurt like a branding iron, but I could tell I was healing. Anyway, I was immune to all poisons, so I could treat any toxin like medicine.

After managing to heal my wound, I asked the spirit of the National Seal, [What was that? Is that mountain monster also the Old Ruler?] [Searching… No data available. Unknown Identity. However, since it’s a conglomeration of chaos without divine nature, it is judged to not be a divine being.] [How strong is it?] [Assessment impossible. It’s an unprecedented living entity. As it’s pure chaos, I advise avoiding combat.] [What do you mean by ‘inside a living being’s belly’?] [The entire floating otherworld has been determined as the stomach of a gigantic living being.] [What… Damn, does that even make sense?]

I was flabbergasted. Just earlier, I had used the Golden Lamp to come to this otherworld and ended up flying for over an hour! Considering that distance, it was no laughing matter. Even now, the space looked like a world; it definitely didn’t feel like a closed-off world. It seemed to far exceed the size of a single nation. Could this really be just the stomach?!

‘So, that enormous mountain monster is just a parasite?’

What an absurd size. But I regained my composure and said, [Alright. So how do I get out of here?] [You need to break through the stomach wall.] [Where’s the stomach wall?] [The shortest distance… Head 2500 li southeast to reach the bubbling sea of chaotic stomach fluid. The estimated depth of the sea is 700 zhang.] […] I was engulfed in a dreary mood. No doubt, that bubbling sea of chaotic stomach fluid would be a hell where any living being would dissolve upon touching it, and if that depth indeed reached 700 zhang, I couldn’t possibly break through it with my bare body. I didn’t have any technique capable of splitting the deep sea into two.

[What about flying straight up to find a place without stomach acid?] [It’s possible. Assuming you expand perpendicularly, it would take 8000 li to reveal the stomach wall.] [Damn!! How am I supposed to fly 8000 li?!]

I yelled in frustration. ‘If it were the Master of the White Lotus Sect or a Dharma Guardian, maybe, but right now, that’s impossible for me!’ I shot a sidelong glance at Zhuge Bu. Maybe with his techniques, I could manage something, but even so, 8000 li was just too far. The distance I had to fly was more than enough to cross a continent! There were definitely plenty of monsters and otherworldly beings up in the sky, if the stingray from earlier was any indication.

Even now, I could see dark shadows moving in nearby areas. They were most likely monsters.

What should I do? I gritted my teeth and used the Golden Lamp once more.

‘Let’s go back to where we came from!’

If I could reach the initial spot I landed, I might find a way out somehow.

Whoosh!

“Huh?!”

It was then.

I couldn’t help but stand there, dumbfounded.

“The… Golden Lamp.”

The Golden Lamp shattered.

This was a first-time experience in all my reincarnations.

I wondered why it had broken, but it didn’t seem like I had broken it with force or misused it. It had decomposed organically, as if it was ‘meant to break.’

That’s when I realized, ‘It was a trap.’

The illusion the Golden Lamp had shown was an elaborate trap. Luring me into believing I could reach Dark Heaven Village, the moment an arrogant sorcerer responded to the call, they would be thrust into the hellish stomach of a monstrous sorcerer!

Would there even be a way to escape this living hell?

“……”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

And I gritted my teeth, muttering, “I can escape!”

I definitely wouldn’t become monster food that easily in this place!

I’d struggle a bit more to gain as much as I could before I went!

 

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