787 ——————————–

True Martial Home

Are you serious about smashing the Life Sea?

I started wondering what Zhuge Sa was thinking. Then Zhuge Sa spoke.

“Baek Woong, what do you think your uniqueness is?”

“I dunno.”

“I don’t know either. No one in the world does.”

“…?”

It was surprising to hear Zhuge Sa, who usually seemed to know everything, say something like that. I thought he was joking, but he looked dead serious.

“We need to go because we don’t know. And quickly, if we can. Because it’s fate that can’t be understood at this moment.”

“Oh….”

“We need to figure out whether it’s a person, an event, or simply a huge cause and effect. If it’s a person, we can eliminate them, and if it’s an event, we can avoid it. For that, we need to scout the Life Sea as thoroughly and quickly as possible.”

“Hmm, I get that, but why are we breaking the Life Sea?”

“You know it’s divided into four phases of Life and Death, right? And the deeper you go, the stronger the demon beasts become.”

“Of course.”

I nodded. I couldn’t possibly forget that after having experienced the Life Sea firsthand. Zhuge Sa continued.

“That’s why I think the warrior of the entering sea is dangerous. To eliminate or identify them, we need to converge our strength and attack the Life Sea as soon as possible.”

“The warrior of the entering sea?”

“…Did you just realize that? Damn, you really didn’t think of it? So naive….”

Zhuge Sa muttered for a moment, looking dumbfounded, then said.

“At that time, we were too focused on survival to notice, but there was an unknown entity training in the entering sea. In the second highest level of that hellish environment! Do you not understand what that means?”

“An expert….”

“Right now, I believe that individual is the most likely suspect. If it’s someone who could be considered a ‘singularity,’ that would be them. It’s the obvious incantation I should make as your strategist.”

“Hmm….”

Zhuge Sa had a point. I nodded and said.

“Got it. But why don’t we need to seek out Mangnyang?”

“Meeting Hyun means also erasing your past life’s task from this life’s Mangnyang. Isn’t that right?”

Zhuge Sa suddenly had a sharp expression.

“Think from Hyun’s perspective. Out of the blue, a reborn person appears and transfers their memories, yet they have no time to grow and are instead sent crashing into the Life Sea to die for the sake of efficiency. From their point of view, it’s just unnecessarily unjust.”

“Oh….”

“Not knowing is fine too. And if you don’t think you can raise them, don’t bother in the first place. Alright, enough pointless explanations. Now let’s discuss the plan.”

“Understood.”

“Your first task is to gather all the grimoires by any means necessary.”

I was taken aback when he suddenly mentioned grimoires.

“Grimoire…?”

Zhuge Sa spread his left hand wide. While explaining, he began folding his fingers one by one.

“Right now, you can collect a total of five grimoires. One is the Heavenly Secret you have, another is obviously the Nameless Ritual Book of the Imperial Palace. And then there’s the Nine Stars Main Capital where General Hwang Yeon is captured. That makes three. Do you remember the other two?”

I pondered hard and then said.

“The Secret Book of the Su Shin Clan from the White Lotus Sect.”

“Yeah. You’ve got a good memory.”

“And the last one?”

“The ‘Golden Branch.’ I can obtain it from an auction house, so just focus on gathering the other four quickly.”

“Got it!”

“Oh, of course, gather all the treasures, including Xuyou, before collecting the grimoires. This time, don’t worry about the consequences; just gather as much as you can.”

Pow!!

I used the Incantation of Assault and headed straight for Great Thunder Valley. I took out the Nine Stars Main Capital, the Wooden Armor, and the Twin Swords from defeating the Moon Beast inside. Then I immediately headed to Mount Huang to collect Xuyou, Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, Black and White Lotus, and all sorts of treasures.

‘Hmm. Now I need to get the Nameless Ritual Book of the Imperial Palace and the Secret Book of the Su Shin Clan…’

I quickly fled from near Mount Huang, pondering which to do first. No matter which one, it was bound to be quite a hassle, so I decided to grab the statue of Jeon Wook I had obtained from the ruins of Xuyou.

“Oof… This will hurt, but.”

It’s better to build up some power and challenge it!

Vroom!!

‘Cheon Woo-jin taught me the Incantation of the Great Deity for good Spirit Power absorption.’

As I began chanting the Incantation of the Great Deity, I absorbed the huge Spirit Power from the statue of Jeon Wook. I felt the immense Spirit Energy flowing into my body as I inhaled deeply.

‘This is bearable….’

The stabbing pain was much less than before because I had equipped three pieces of the Spirit Power I had saved since the previous life. Since I didn’t waste anything in my last life, I was stacking up extra Spirit Power in this life, which naturally made the difficulty lower.

Shiririk!!

“Huh?”

Just when I thought I had nearly absorbed all the Spirit Power, gaining nearly 15 years worth, an eerie energy suddenly rose from the void, swirling like mist, and just disappeared somewhere!

I was taken aback by the sudden turn of events but soon realized what mistake I had made.

[What is this?]

[There’s a chance that the Spirit Energy could burst forth into the world and create a new monster, hence the barrier was set.]

[Can that really happen?]

[What do you think Spirit Power is? It’s Divine Power. Even a fragment of the immense power of a Great Demon or a Great Immortal can create monsters in this world. Let alone, Spirit Power could definitely create a new Great Demon.]

[Umm… I see. Wait, so does that mean I need to know how to set up such a barrier before drawing power from the statue of Jeon Wook in my next life?]

[Setting a barrier is not hard if you know how to use Qimen Dunjia. Don’t worry; I’ll teach you that.]

That conversation with Cheon Woo-jin suddenly came back to me.

“…Aagh!!”

Cheon Woo-jin definitely taught me how to set up a barrier against monsters after I finished absorbing the Spirit Power. But I got so focused on gaining strength from absorbing the Spirit Power that I totally forgot to set up the barrier first!!

‘What to do now?’

That strange energy was surely going to create a formidable monster, and without an outstanding exorcist, a powerful demon could wreak havoc in a village. I was freaking out about what to do and decided to follow that energy.

Tydaht!

Even using the Incantation of Assault, it was hard to keep up with the speed of that energy. I noticed it flying off after crossing a couple of mountains, landing on the ground, and I ran there.

Swish –

‘A village? No, it’s quite an affluent house….’

I realized that the place where the energy had landed was a rather magnificent residence. It had a spacious garden, and the house was large. Clearly a rich house. However, it appeared that the eerie energy hadn’t physically destroyed anything; it simply vanished into the interior of the home.

I quickly dashed inside, eager to find where the people were. Turns out all the servants were asleep, and the owners of the house were also snoozing. I searched for the mysterious energy but found no trace of it. Not even a hint of demon power.

“…….”

What now….

After some thought, I woke up the homeowner and used the Soul Exchange Technique on him to inquire about his identity and the location of his home. Since he was under the influence of the Soul Exchange Technique, he answered impeccably, revealing himself as Zhao Yongchun, a wealthy merchant from the region known as Loushang near Mount Huang.

But what good did that information do me?

‘First things first….’

I felt bewildered and decided to do what I could. I immediately rushed to the secret space of the Namgung Clan to steal the Suspicious Fishhook and then went to Longmen Grottoes, quickly grabbing the Azure Dragon Halberd and other treasures. After that, I headed to Jangryeong Valley to explain the situation to Zhuge Sa.

“…….”

Zhuge Sa listened to my words, pondered for a moment, and then asked.

“Baek Woong, isn’t there a pregnant woman in Zhao Yongchun’s house?”

“Huh?”

I recalled his question. Now that I think about it, Zhao Yongchun’s wife, who was sleeping beside him, looked like she was about to pop. When I mentioned this fact, Zhuge Sa spoke with a tone that hinted he had lost interest.

“What’s the big deal? It’s obvious that the Spirit Power you absorbed had lodged itself into the fetus in her womb.”

“What?! What happens now?”

“One of two things. Zhao Yongchun’s child is no longer human. They will be born as a half-demon with an extraordinary talent in martial arts. Quite strong, considering they’re practically a descendant of the Sovereign Jeon Wook.”

Zhuge Sa elaborated with an air of indifference.

“Don’t waste time worrying about it; ignore it and focus on what needs to be done. Your next step is to head to the Imperial Palace, give Zhuge Bu the obsidian, and negotiate to obtain the Nameless Ritual Book directly.”

“…….”

Ignore it?

Is it really fine to disregard it? Sure, it was my mistake, but something tells me whatever Zhuge Sa is brushing off as ‘no big deal’ is actually a pretty huge deal. After contemplating, I decided to respond.

“…Alright.”

“I’m telling you now, don’t discuss this with Hyun or Cheon Woo-jin.”

“What….”

“What I’m going to attempt this life to extinguish the singularity is teetering on the edge of outrageousness. They’re likely to oppose it, so there’s no need to get your comrades aggravated.”

I turned away from Zhuge Sa’s words and said.

“Zhuge Sa, I’ve told you before, I’m not willing to sacrifice anyone. I don’t mind if it’s me who dies, but I seriously don’t like the idea of you throwing away your life so easily!”

Zhuge Sa shrugged.

“Ha. Who cares? Don’t worry; it’s not something to over-concern yourself about. However, since it’ll get serious, I’d rather avoid dragging in those from the Dao Vein. Especially Cheon Woo-jin, he’ll do everything in his power to kill or seal me.”

“Understood.”

“Promise you won’t try to meet them?”

“I promise.”

I decided to trust Zhuge Sa.

‘But just letting this situation slide because of my mistake doesn’t seem right…’

After pondering, I used the Incantation of Assault to head to Taekyung Village.

Pow!!

‘First thing’s first, the Phoenix Fragment.’

After reaching Taekyung Village, I retrieved the Silver Phoenix Fragment from the secret space of the Hua Clan. There was one more with Matteo Ricci, but touching the Jesuits at this point would be pointless, so I was okay with just this one fragment for now. It would be nice to gather the ancient ruins of Balhae and complete the Silver Phoenix, but that wasn’t urgent.

Then I headed to Taejeong Temple nearby. Upon entering the temple, an elder Taoist awaited me as if he had been expecting my arrival. His face was somewhat gaunt, yet he gave off an overall noble and kind impression, with neatly arranged Taoist hat atop his head. Most importantly, the aura emanating from him was exceptionally pure, indicating he was an expert from the Orthodox Sect.

Honestly, I couldn’t not know who he was. Eventually, he performed a salute with martial authority and spoke to me.

“I am Master Hyuncheon of the Wudang Sect. You seem to be an extraordinary Half-Transition Master… May I inquire what brings you to this sacred Taejeong Temple?”

“……”

It had been a long time. I recalled the days we fought together. Even though I wanted to visit him over the years, the urgency of my adventures and the rise of my enemies’ levels made me refrain from bothering Master Hyuncheon, who commanded the Taoist experts at Taejeong Temple.

“I apologize, I’m here because I need your help with an error I made.”

“An error?”

I hesitated briefly, then sighed before showing him the obsidian.

“Please take this.”