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“What a mess after the battle!”

After the fight, I inspected the remains of the dead Asura. His skin and body looked like they belonged to a living being, but upon closer inspection, the strength was far beyond that of a human. I attempted to test my own strength, but even the powerful cutting force of my Sword Strength couldn’t cut through easily. It wasn’t until I used the Thunder Sword technique that I could finally slice through.

If his corpse had this level of strength, it could only mean he had gathered Qi to massively boost his defenses when he was alive. Any human expert attempting to clash with an Asura would be unable to do anything without skills from the Absolute Realm. The Eight Parts of the Divine were beings that far surpassed humans even in pure physical strength.

“Maybe…?”

I decided to give the Soul Exchange Technique a try, attempting to pull the soul from the Asura’s body. Just as I was about to pull it out, a fierce energy suddenly burst forth from his soul, breaking the connection I had with the Soul Exchange.

I struggled to maintain my grip, but the Asura’s strength was no joke. In an instant, his soul flew away somewhere.

“No way!”

I quickly tried to use the Heavenly Secret Technique to call him back, but I felt utterly flustered.

“Wait, I can’t even cast it?”

It wasn’t about whether I could pull the Asura’s soul back or not; it was that the Heavenly Secret Technique simply couldn’t activate here in the Dark Heaven Village. This had never happened to me before, and I was left watching helplessly as the Asura’s soul flew off.

I had no further business with the lifeless corpse. As I dazedly stood there, Cheon Gong-pyo spoke up.

[It’s a technique to summon the human soul. Is that the art of Guang Chengzi?]

“…”

He must have been referring to the Heavenly Secret Technique.

I turned my head to the spirit of Cheon Gong-pyo. As I kept my mouth tightly shut, Cheon Gong-pyo continued.

[Are you asking if it’s Guang Chengzi’s technique?]

“How could you know?”

[I could see a flow only Guang Chengzi could weave. Even the techniques from the Divine Age are easily comprehensible to me.]

It struck me that Cheon Gong-pyo had the chaotic ability to instantly recognize any technique. While I contemplated this, he suddenly asked,

[What do you mean by ‘reborn person’ from earlier?]

“Out of the blue much?”

[Answer me.]

I thought for a moment before replying.

“I don’t really know, but I once died and came back to life. I’m not sure if it’s resurrection or what, but since then, I’ve been using that experience to resist the gods. I’m also gathering companions along the way.”

[Hmm… Resurrection, huh…]

“Maybe it’s because I learned the Soul Exchange Technique to regain my soul. Whether I can resurrect again is anyone’s guess, so I’m always prepared.”

I felt a nervous flutter inside. Could I trick him?

When I clashed with the Asura earlier, I thought I would never win, so I blurted out whatever I wanted, but now I sensed Cheon Gong-pyo might be stronger than that guy. If he fully understood my rebirth ability, it would be dire straits for me.

Thus, I decided to replace ‘reborn person’ with a simpler meaning of having once died and come back to life. With that, he might not suspect I’d died and come back countless times.

Cheon Gong-pyo thought deeply for a moment before saying,

[Anyway, that’s fine. We’ll talk details later, but for now, find a place to hide.]

Thud!

As soon as I heard his words, I suddenly felt weak and collapsed. It wasn’t Cheon Gong-pyo attacking me, but rather the extreme exhaustion from a brief but intense battle with the Fire Dragon Incarnate. If it had been a dozen cycles ago, I would have collapsed without even getting in a fight, so this was still somewhat decent.

“Ugh… damn it. First, the Qi Regulation Technique…”

[You don’t have time for that. The Old Rulers are sensing something and are coming closer.]

“How many?”

[At least five!]

“Damn!!”

Is this the Dark Heaven Village effect? It felt like Old Rulers were swarming as if they sensed it happening on the streets. Even though this was just a remote area on the eastern edge, the previous clash had attracted five of them.

It seemed like I didn’t even have time to start the Qi Regulation Technique. Gritting my teeth, I quickly began to exhaust my last bit of internal power to invoke the Soul Removal Technique. As I attempted to escape this area and climb up the hill, Cheon Gong-pyo warned me.

[There’s a monster that way. Go another route.]

“Another route you say?”

Cheon Gong-pyo pointed toward the Manjangan Cliff. A massive wind was thrashing about, with a crystal-like rock floating amidst it—a place where falling would likely mean losing all my bones. I was incredulous.

“You want me to go to a place like that with no power?”

[You fool. If you don’t have power, then use your head.]

Using Cheon Gong-pyo’s advice, I wedged the Ruyi Staff into the cliff and extended it to propel myself forward into the void. While hanging onto it, I controlled my breathing and desperately tried to recover my internal power and stamina. After a short while, I finally reached the cliff’s opposite side. The distance between the cliffs was at least a mile apart, making it treacherous terrain.

Even after reaching the other side, I had to constantly move while hiding, using Cheon Gong-pyo’s guidance to not attract attention. I’d consumed so much energy that my vision was blurring, and when I eventually stumbled upon what appeared to be a mushroom cave that looked somewhat safe, a full moment had passed.

“Huff… huff…”

[Looks like they’ve given up now.]

“They may have given up, but this place doesn’t look safe either.”

A green swamp sprawled inside the cave, with eerie screams echoing from deep within and bizarrely shaped giant mushrooms flooding the area. Anyone who called this a hideout must have been out of their minds.

[That’s true. The spores in this place are incredibly toxic. Any ordinary human who inhales them would have mushrooms growing inside them within a day.]

Cheon Gong-pyo retorted with a touch of curiosity.

[But why are you still intact?]

Fortunately, my body achieved immunity to the thousands of poisons, preventing even parasitic spores from taking root. Due to blocking weakness from toxins and parasitism, I seemed to have recovered some internal power as well. I let out a deep sigh.

“… You got a problem? Sorry for being fine.”

[Hurry and recover your strength. There seems to be a high-level Otherworldly Race living deeper here, so make sure to move before it catches wind.]

“High-level Otherworldly Race? What’s that?”

[From what I can tell, a Demon Sorcerer skilled in forbidden arts. They seem to rival the Great Immortal level.]

“……”

Even a high-level Otherworldly Race hiding in this derelict cave would be close to the Great Immortal level?

Gritting my teeth, I desperately worked to recover my internal power. After about another moment, I finally felt a bit better, but Cheon Gong-pyo warned me that the high-level Otherworldly Race was on its way, leaving me no choice but to head outside. With Cheon Gong-pyo’s help, I might be able to defeat it, but for some reason, I felt he didn’t want to clash with the monsters of this place either.

I stepped outside and asked, “Cheon Gong-pyo, is there any way to find the Palace of Empress Wu Zetian?”

[Why are you asking me?]

“I have no way to find it myself since I’ve lost the National Seal.”

[Don’t flaunt your incompetence.]

“……”

Cheon Gong-pyo shot me a cold glare and continued, [This place is a world steeped in extreme magic. Scraping around and gathering information like in the human realm is not an option here. Realistically, it’d be best if you just die with a knife at your neck. But I do have a method.]

“What method?”

[Before I teach you that method, you’ll have to make a contract with me.]

“Contract?”

Cheon Gong-pyo smiled ominously.

[Find the Earth Star Eight Trigrams Diagram and hand it over to me. That’s the contract, and I’ll help you find the palace.]

“……!!”

Just as I thought!

‘So this guy was after the Earth Star Eight Trigrams Diagram!’

True to the legendary ancient Daoist Master of the Sky, he seemed to know well about the power of the Seven Luminaries and the truth! He was sure that if he obtained the Earth Star, he’d gain immense power to control the world.

I had no more options. If I didn’t accept Cheon Gong-pyo’s help, I’d either get eaten by passing Old Rulers or become a toy. But could I truly hand over the very thing—Earth Star—that brought me into Dark Heaven Village?

After mulling it over for a while, I finally said, “… Fine. I’ll give you the Earth Star if I can get out of Dark Heaven Village.”

[Hmph, cocky. What terms do you have?]

“I don’t care what you do after you get the Earth Star, just let me return to reality. That’s my condition.”

[I have no reason to accept that condition.]

“Then I won’t agree either.”

For a moment, Cheon Gong-pyo and I faced off with our gazes.

Ughhhh!

‘Whew… this is bad…’

His aura was overwhelmingly powerful! I couldn’t meet his gaze for more than a moment due to his monstrous spirit and fighting spirit radiating off him! He was stunning enough to make one forget an incredibly beautiful woman, and even I, who had met countless heroes on my long journey, felt intimidated.

Just then, the Fire Dragon Incarnate descended to lend me strength. With his backing, I could finally hold my ground against Cheon Gong-pyo’s pressure.

After glaring at me for an intense while, Cheon Gong-pyo finally said, [Alright, if your goal is to survive and escape Dark Heaven Village, then I’ll comply.]

“Thanks.”

[Then give me your body.]

“Huh?”

[There’s still a final chain trapping my spirit in the Ruyi Staff. As long as this exists, I can’t fully unleash my power. You need to give me your body as a medium to cast my techniques.]

“What technique are you planning to use?”

[Shut up. Just hand over your body!]

“……”

Seemingly, Cheon Gong-pyo found it a hassle to explain everything. Reluctantly, I surrendered my body to him.

Whoooosh!

The moment he descended into me, Cheon Gong-pyo stretched out both arms and shouted, [Roar of the Sky!!]

An infinite spiral of light burst forth. It expanded like last time and seemed to encompass everything in sight. Cheon Gong-pyo held his arms out for a while before murmuring, [Is the Earth Star over there?]

Pa-at!

In the next moment, Cheon Gong-pyo moved my body, and we reached a massive palace.

Ku-gu-gu!

A gigantic palace!

This palace had hundreds of floors, and looking down from above, it seemed like a vast estate stretched for miles. Countless Otherworldly beings roamed the grounds, making it seem much like a human city.

It was evident that this palace was constructed in the distinctive style of the ancient Tang Dynasty, confirming it as the Palace of Empress Wu Zetian. I was taken aback, exclaiming, [What?! How could a single technique…]

[Using the Roar of the Sky, exclusively for the Daoist Master, allows for monitoring all the way to the moon. Scanning Dark Heaven Village is a piece of cake.]

[……]

That’s insane! It’s possible to explore the entire world just by casting one technique!

‘So that’s how Cheon Gong-pyo waged wars against the Three Purities and the Celestial Realm?’

While I was lost in thought, Cheon Gong-pyo confidently strode into the palace. As he did, humanoid figures resembling snakes appeared from the shadows of the palace pillars, each one wielding a trident. One of the snake-human beings extended its trident toward me, saying, [Who are you? This is the resting place of the Great One.]

Cheon Gong-pyo merely chuckled at that and said, [Have you humans adapted to Dark Heaven Village by transforming your bodies into Otherworldly beings? Considering you’ve preserved their souls, you must have developed an attachment to them.]

[Who are you?!]

[Hehehe…]

Cheon Gong-pyo pointed a finger forward.

I knew she was about to wipe out the snake-people in one blow and hurriedly shouted from within, [Stop!!]

[Shut up.]

[You can’t! Don’t massacre them!!]

I screamed, [The Otherworldly beings in this palace were all people from the Tang Dynasty when they were alive!!]

 

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