Chapter 686
With Cheon Woo-jin, Zhuge Sa headed towards the Divine City. Their companions had arrived before them, waiting at the barrier in front of the city.
Zhuge Sa began to look around for them and asked, “Where’s the Master of the White Lotus Sect?”
“He hasn’t arrived yet.”
“The clan of the Old Ruler should be nearby. Have they already met?”
“Over there.”
Jin So-cheong pointed to a rock near the waterfall where a man dressed in half black and half blue Goryeo clothes was sitting. He seemed like he had been there the whole time, but his ability to blend in with nature made him appear as if he was part of the scenery. The man stood up and greeted Zhuge Sa.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hong Gil-dong, of the clan.”
“Hmm. Are you the guide?”
“I’ve been waiting here since I heard your group hadn’t arrived yet.”
Zhuge Sa gazed at Hong Gil-dong. While this was their first meeting, Zhuge Sa knew who he was.
“The master of Clone Technique!”
“An expert even the Master of the Twelve Joules recognizes!”
“This guy shouldn’t be underestimated either.” Zhuge Sa opened his mouth, “I don’t think we need to wait for the Master of the White Lotus Sect. I want to meet the Joule first.”
“Understood. Please follow me.”
They followed Hong Gil-dong, passing through the rocky paths and Cloud Bridge more than ten times. While walking behind Hong Gil-dong, Zhuge Sa questioned Jin So-cheong.
[What about that Hong Gil-dong? How skilled is he?]
[He’s strong.]
[Damn it. Can’t you explanation without being a pain?]
[Just by observing his steps, there’s not a single error. I even tried poking at his intent briefly, but I couldn’t find any weaknesses, so he’s certainly ranked among the top in the Central Plains martial world.]
[Hmm… not an Absolute Realm though?]
[I can’t tell. He seems very skilled at hiding his abilities.]
Word has it that those in the Absolute Realm know each other, but maybe not entirely? If it were easy, they wouldn’t have misjudged Yong Junil’s powers till now.
Zhuge Sa shook his head.
‘Even if that’s the case, someone who has excelled in both martial arts and sorcery is a threat in itself.’
He knew from Zhuge Bu’s example what kind of destructive power could come from merging two abilities well. Unlike Zhuge Bu, who was like a flower in a greenhouse, Hong Gil-dong was operating on the front lines, battling Otherworldly Races, and learning from the Master of the Twelve Joules. His skills were undoubtedly far beyond those of Zhuge Bu, possibly on par with Jin So-cheong.
Finally, they entered the Divine City and confronted the Master of the Twelve Joules, who appeared to be in a rather sour mood, sitting crookedly in his chair.
“What did you talk about with Jeon Wook?”
“What are you talking about…”
“If someone like you—a Demon Sorcerer—opened the Five Demon Gate and returned alive, you would have obviously talked with the Three Sovereigns. So what did you discuss?”
Zhuge Sa smirked.
“I could tell you, but then you’d have to return the Half Yellow Pearl.”
“Really?”
“I clearly told the Joule to come with me, but it was the Joule who refused. I wouldn’t have any reason to share if I offered the Half Yellow Pearl.”
“… Don’t mess with my temper.”
As the Master of the Twelve Joules spoke, a faint purple light flowed in his eyes. At that moment, a strong intent surged like a storm, and Jin So-cheong raised her spear to block the pressure coming toward Zhuge Sa. Glancing at Jin So-cheong, the Joule said, “I don’t really like you guys. What’s your scheme?”
“Oh… that’s quite the coincidence. We don’t really like the Joule either. What’s your plan?”
As Zhuge Sa smoothly countered, the Master of the Twelve Joules grunted and replied.
“Fine. Since we have a common enemy before us, I won’t talk any further. But since you’ve entered my Divine City, you’ll have to follow a few of my commands.”
“That’s something I’m already aware of.”
“To get to the point, our response plan against the Eight Parts of the Divine is to use the World Tree’s barrier to block and counterattack them. Is that all?”
“I’m afraid that’s the best plan we have…”
Zhuge Sa glanced outside at the impressive view of the giant tree and continued.
“I’ve heard the power of the World Tree suppresses even the Sea God. So apart from using a barrier with such powerful spiritual prowess, there’s no other way.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“I heard it while searching for the traces of Mount Penglai, so don’t get upset.”
“Hmm. Admittedly, a barrier using the World Tree can be termed the highest realm a human sorcerer can wield, but…”
The Master of the Twelve Joules crossed his arms.
“You know that the power is lacking. Even adding the Half Yellow Pearl’s power would still be insufficient.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Just a few strikes from the true forms of the Eight Parts of the Divine would likely destroy the World Tree’s barrier. Of course, that was based on the assumption they all attacked at once, but there was no way other than annihilation as it stood. The most crucial fact was that they didn’t have the strength to face the real power of the Eight Parts.
Zhuge Sa, of course, knew there were more methods available.
‘If you summon the Phoenix, that’ll do.’
The Master of the Twelve Joules had the ability to summon the Phoenix. He even had the record of driving the Sea God, who once attempted to land in the Western Capital of Goryeo, away using that divine position. However, there was no need to bring this fact to light.
“If you really thought there was no chance of winning, you wouldn’t have let us into the Divine City in the first place. I’d like to hear the Joule’s thoughts.”
“Hmm. It’s nothing special. Just pulling out another of the Seven Luminaries.”
“Do you know its location?”
“I know one. I plan to fetch it and amplify the barrier using the Resonance of the Seven Luminaries.”
Of course, the alternative the Master of the Twelve Joules proposed was what Zhuge Sa had anticipated.
He was definitely thinking of summoning the Moon Sovereign!
Sacrificing blood at the altar of the Moon Sovereign resting on Mount Muni to summon the guardian and then taking down the guardian to retrieve the Sovereign. As expected, the Master of the Twelve Joules must have known about the Moon Sovereign’s existence all along but had left it alone.
‘Why is that?’
What could be the reason for keeping the Seven Luminaries sealed?
It goes without saying, but the Master of the Twelve Joules definitely knew of some method to release the Seven Luminaries. Otherwise, the Moon Element would have been set free without the approval of the Celestial Realm. If he were to bring the Moon Sovereign and release it, he’d have two liberated Seven Luminaries and wouldn’t have to fear anything in the world. Yet, the Master of the Twelve Joules had merely made the Great Monk Seo San guard it in secret without taking any action against the Moon Sovereign.
The only reason he could think of was that he was mindful of the checks from the Three Sovereigns and the Celestial Realm. Anyone possessing two liberated Seven Luminaries would surely attract attention. However, Baek Woong, who had been gathering information about the Seven Luminaries all this time, surely knew this too, and typically, mere mortals would never come across such information in their lifetime.
But regardless of these thoughts, Zhuge Sa responded.
“We can use those Seven Luminaries on our side.”
“Why are you acting like this is a given? This is my territory, and I’ll be using my information to find it. I’ll be using both Seven Luminaries.”
“You’re asking for too much.”
“Not really? Even with two Seven Luminaries, it won’t be enough to change the state of the world.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules, replying curtly, continued.
“When the Master of the White Lotus Sect arrives, I’ll entrust him with the World Tree’s protection. And you will too.”
“Hmm.”
As expected, the Master of the Twelve Joules intended to keep control from start to finish. And Zhuge Sa caught on to another of his ulterior motives.
‘If they succeed in repelling the Eight Parts of the Divine, he plans to betray us.’
Otherwise, there would be no reason to let potential adversaries into his base, the Divine City. Whatever it was, the Master of the Twelve Joules probably set up a trap to bind or kill them. This was the best opportunity to strike down both the antagonistic White Lotus Sect and the suspicious Baek Woong faction at once. Zhuge Sa thought the Master of the Twelve Joules was quite greedy.
‘Well, that’s a natural thought for the overlord of this era.’
Zhuge Sa chuckled as he said, “Well then…”
At that moment.
Whoooosh!!
As if a dark shadow was flooding in, a gust of black wind swept through the crowd. After the gust passed, the Master of the White Lotus Sect and the Dharma Protectors stood in their place. Upon seeing the Master of the White Lotus Sect, the Master of the Twelve Joules exclaimed.
“Master of the White Lotus Sect, that was rude! You can’t just burst in while we’re talking.”
[I don’t think it’s a situation for pleasantries.]
Cutting him off, the Master of the White Lotus Sect glanced around at the people and continued, [I have a great idea. If everything goes well, we can defeat the Eight Parts of the Divine all at once.]
“Ha! Everyone’s so motivated. What’s the plan?”
[Human sacrifice.]
“What?”
The Master of the White Lotus Sect said emotionlessly, [I’ve prepared plenty of offerings. Summoning the avatar of the Old Ruler to block the Eight Parts of the Divine seems to be the most realistic approach.]
“……”
In that moment, Zhuge Sa’s expression turned complicated. The Master of the Twelve Joules spoke uncomfortably.
“You’re saying you want to sacrifice your sect members?”
[Yes.]
“Well, that’s your own business, but if you bring that magical power into the Divine City, as the lord of the city, I can’t just sit tight.”
[No need to worry about that. We’ll summon the avatar just outside the city.]
“Hmm… do as you wish.”
If Baek Woong or Mangnyang had been present, they would have gasped in horror and strongly opposed the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s plan to offer sect members to summon the avatar of the Old Ruler. While it wouldn’t match the tragedy that saw 30,000 sect members sacrificed in Luoyang, at least hundreds, if not thousands, of lives would be at stake.
However, neither the Master of the Twelve Joules nor Zhuge Sa had a significant aversion to human sacrifices. There was no particular reason for them to outright refuse the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s proposal. Zhuge Sa’s concern was complicated for another reason.
‘That sect master definitely has some ulterior motives.’
On the surface, it looked like he was coming up with the best strategy for the alliance, but the Master of the White Lotus Sect was clearly planning something with the summoning of the avatar. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but his instincts as a strategist told him there was something fishy about the actions of the Master of the White Lotus Sect. If it were Baek Woong, he would probably have accepted it, but he was half sure the Master of the White Lotus Sect had ulterior motives.
Perhaps he plans to seize control of the Divine City itself, or take advantage of the crisis to assassinate the Master of the Twelve Joules and acquire the clan of the Old Ruler. Zhuge Sa laughed as he saw three powerful forces gathered, and yet all they seemed to think about was how to stab each other in the back.
“Hehehe.”
With this, there was no way to win.
The Master of the Twelve Joules would liberate two Seven Luminaries to resonate, the Master of the White Lotus Sect would summon the avatar of the Old Ruler, and Zhuge Sa would summon Zhu Rong while riding the barrier of the World Tree to battle. It all seemed impressive at a glance, and with sheer power, they could certainly stave off the cooperation of the Eight Parts of the Divine. Yet fundamentally, since there was no trust among them, once anything went awry, it would fall apart dramatically.
‘Then I know what I must do.’
If the three major forces could genuinely unite to repel the Eight Parts of the Divine, he would have done everything in his power to strategize. But the current atmosphere was utterly opposed to that. Nor was there any reason for Zhuge Sa to take on the responsibility of fostering unity, so he decided to make a ruckus.
Zhuge Sa smiled and said, “Well then, let’s do our best.”
While they would all do their utmost to strike each other in the back, it didn’t matter at all. He could finally relax.
He could focus solely on the ultimate variable—‘that’ person.
