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True Martial Home

I decided to assess the situation.

First, I needed to check if my body and martial powers were intact.

For a while, I’d rendered myself invincible using the martial arts technique Sealing Blood of the Divine, so unless the Three Sovereigns decided to show up in person, I was safe from harm. That said, being sealed for so long could mean my body was stiff.

Then, I felt an immense power bubbling within me. I was shocked by the vast Spirit Power and Divine Power that existed inside me.

“No way?! Isn’t this the power of Jeon Wook? Even to the point of spirit manifestation… How the heck did I get this power?!”

There was no doubt about it. The nature of this Divine Power was Jeon Wook’s. I once witnessed Jeon Wook visiting my master Fuxi, and the essence of strength that dark giant possessed was identical.

And what was this tremendous Qi Energy built up in my body? And the powerful gaze with great Spirit Power? Why was there something akin to a treasure of the Path of Demons hidden in my robes? And why the heck was I wearing a sword? I normally never used swords…

In my confusion, I suddenly looked straight ahead.

“……!!”

Is that me?!

What in the world is going on?

Am I not still in the sealed state of the Blood Pillar?! Didn’t I just break free from the Sealing Blood of the Divine?!

I felt like a fog had settled in my mind, and I grabbed my head, letting out a painful groan.

“Ugh…”

I was forgetting something. Something really important… but what?

… I don’t know.

Wait, what was important right now?

Right! What mattered now was managing the Sealing Plan. Anyway, if the Blood Pillar is in front of me, then that means the seal is still intact, right? Therefore, my job as the Grand Elder of the Celestial Realm, Nan Gu Xianong, is to confirm whether or not the other Blood Pillars are safe.

[Hey! What’s going on? Why have you transformed into that?!]

I heard the roar of the Four Fierce Beasts below.

I glanced down at their chaotic presence and asked for the situation.

“Since the Primordial Age, this has been going on! Fierce Beasts, how are Strong Baby and Martial King Heebal doing here? And is the ancient seal still intact?”

[What nonsense are you talking about! You promised to take down the Blood Pillar and rescue us from the Primordial Void!]

How dare they speak to me that way.

Those nasty demon beasts!

“How dare you speak like that! The Blood Pillar must be protected. It’s for everyone’s sake.”

[You insolent fool…! To even overlook me!! Die!]

Roar!

Suddenly, the angry presence unfurled its dark wings and charged at me, unleashing a chaotic breath. With that level of breath, any ordinary immortal would surely perish from just being grazed! But I’m the disciple of the Primordial Heaven Master, Nan Gu Xianong!

That chaotic presence is no match for me!

“Nan Gu Seven Luminaries!”

If I call for my personal treasure stored in the Celestial Realm’s Jade Void Palace, that foe will fall in one hit! With the Nan Gu Seven Luminaries, even if the Three Sovereigns appeared, I could leisurely escape!

However, despite shouting to summon it, the Nan Gu Seven Luminaries didn’t come to me. I was so shocked that I let out a despairing wail.

“No! What’s going on?!”

My designated treasure should have rushed to my side when I called! Why was it ignoring me?! It should be connected to my soul!

Boom!

While I was flustered, that chaotic breath engulfed me. I managed to cover myself with the breath of chaos, but having fought chaos before, I quickly protected myself with the Nan Gu Armor in a split second. I received the attack unscathed but shouted angrily.

“Damn it!! You little bugger!! Die!”

Divine Arts!

Light of the Azure Dragon!

Whoosh!

In that moment, the space-time froze as countless beams of light pierced through the chaotic entity, instantly freezing it solid. Just getting grazed by one of those beams means absolute, extreme cold would freeze the opponent— a god-level technique. Though the chaotic creature tried to twist its soul and escape from the frozen state, I clenched my fist tightly.

Bang!!

[Ahh…!!]

The body of the chaotic beast shattered like ice, breaking apart. Even if they brag about being the Four Fierce Beasts, they are ultimately just descendants of chaos. How could they defeat me, who has learned under Fuxi!

As I was enjoying the spectacle of the chaotic entity’s destruction, a sudden thought struck me.

“Ugh! This technique can’t be used again for 100 years… I can’t believe I wasted it on such a creature!”

On top of that, using such excessive martial powers means I’ll have to recover for about a year. Luckily, I had so much Divine Power in me that it barely depleted beyond the edge!

Having defeated the chaotic presence, I should now go check on the other Blood Pillars.

“Let’s go see Princess Yonggil!”

Whoosh!

I soared through the sky to see the Blood Pillar that was once the noble lady of the Celestial Realm, Princess Yonggil. She was as she had been in life, frozen in the state of the Sealing Blood of the Divine, and thus couldn’t be approached with any external methods. Looking at her, I felt something was odd.

‘The Blood Pillar shows no sign of damage. Why is that…?’

Should I go see the last remaining Blood Pillar, or should I seek Strong Baby for answers? That kid was responsible for managing the internal barrier, so she likely knew the best about this situation. I headed straight to the Olyun Cave, where Strong Baby presumably was.

Upon arriving at Olyun Cave, I spotted a dwelling that seemed to belong to Strong Baby. I shouted.

“Come out!”

“…….”

With a creaking sound, the door of the dwelling opened, and a disheveled figure emerged. He looked like he had a headache and said:

“What a hassle. What the heck happened here?”

“Strong Baby. I suddenly found myself free from the Blood Pillar. What the hell is going on?”

Strong Baby stared at me with cold eyes and replied:

“You haven’t broken free; you just aren’t Nan Gu Xianong. You’re a fake.”

What did you just say?!

That cheeky little brat…!!

“How dare you…!! Even if you were nominally the disciple of the Primordial Heaven Master, you’ve received my teachings for a while! How dare you use such disrespectful words!!”

As I got worked up and shouted, Strong Baby slowly shook his head.

“As I said, you are not Lord Nan Gu. The real one is still sealed as a pillar of the Sealing Blood technique, and nothing has changed.”

“What…?!”

“It seems your technique might be one that devours even the mind of the original body. Even I wouldn’t have noticed your technique if I hadn’t been the owner of the Ta Shin-pyeon, which may be a divine level technique.”

As Strong Baby calmly continued speaking, he pointed the tip of the Ta Shin-pyeon at me.

“You’re not an ordinary being. I am a direct disciple of the Primordial Heaven Master and am here to end the Sealing Plan, which means I’m here to take you down.”

What?!

Is he really trying to attack me?

Trembling in fear, I replied.

“T-This brat points the Ta Shin-pyeon at me! If there’s the Absolute Teachings and the Sabre Sword, then in our Heavenly Society, the Ta Shin-pyeon exists too. How dare you point that divine treasure at me?!”

“Stop the play-acting. If you don’t revert your transformation, the Ta Shin-pyeon will kill you.”

“Play-acting?! How dare you…!!”

It was then.

‘Play-acting?’

Boom!

In that moment, all my memories began to swirl up like a puff of clouds. Everything I knew was getting flipped upside down, and thoughts and memories clashed violently.

Gradually, the memory of ‘Nan Gu Xianong’ sank while my true identity started to bubble up in my mind.

“…….”

Yes. I am Baek Woong.

Whoosh!!

As I regained my memories and recognized my identity, my form reverted from Nan Gu Xianong back to my original form as Baek Woong. I staggered from the immense mental shock and ended up retching on the spot.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh!!”

That mask’s presence was just too strong!

During the case of Iron Blood Gate, I quickly returned after experiencing some confusion, but if that guy hadn’t given me a clue, I might never have come back! For all I knew, I could have forgotten I was Baek Woong and lived on as Nan Gu Xianong!

‘Identity confusion…!!’

Was it this terrifying?!

When wearing a mere human mask—even a mask of the Abyss—it’s not that confusing; but wearing the mask of Nan Gu Xianong, a being that ranks among the greatest in existence, could eat away at one’s personality like this.

As Strong Baby watched me vomit, the great sage known as Tai Gong-mang said.

“I don’t know who you are, but what intentions do you have in invading here? How did you get in?”

“…….”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll kill you.”

I wiped the vomit from my mouth and stood up.

“Tai Gong-mang. I am a human known as Baek Woong. Currently, my companions and I are attacking Queen Mother of the West to annihilate the Celestial Realm. We are still in the midst of fighting.”

“…….”

“To defeat the Queen Mother, we need to eliminate the Blood Pillar and unlock the power of the ancient beings. Please assist us.”

Tai Gong-mang’s expression changed to one of understanding.

“Ah, so you’re the ones who invaded the Celestial Realm to assassinate the Twelve Great Immortals and challenge the Queen Mother.”

“Do you know what’s happening outside even though you’re here?”

“I have my Yang Spirit here and my Yin Spirit in the Celestial Realm to serve the will of the Three Pure Ones. I’m aware of the situation outside.”

So, he’s got two bodies, huh?

I had never heard of that method, but it must be a unique divine technique of Tai Gong-mang learned from the Primordial Heaven Master.

‘So that’s how he can participate in the Offering Ceremony while being in the Primordial Void…’

The Tai Shin-pyeon that he summoned must have been his Yin Spirit, and his primary Yang Spirit had remained motionless within the Primordial Void for thousands of years. However, to be strong enough that his Yin Spirit could claim to be the Great Immortal of the Celestial Realm, it meant Tai Gong-mang was certainly not to be underestimated.

I nervously glanced at the treasure in Tai Gong-mang’s hand.

‘Ta Shin-pyeon.’

According to the memories of Nan Gu Xianong, that was indeed a dangerously powerful treasure. Its might could be said to be on par with the Sabre Sword, and it was originally said to possess ‘powers that should not be held by an immortal.’ It was regarded as the strongest treasure created by the Primordial Heaven Master and had practically enabled Tai Gong-mang to defeat applicable foes to elevate the Central Plains to a reigning empire.

So, even the might of Nan Gu Xianong was helpless against the Ta Shin-pyeon, which was why he was so fearful. Gritting my teeth, I spoke to Tai Gong-mang.

“Then you should also be aware that the Three Pure Ones were ambushed and annihilated?”

I asked that out of precaution, and Tai Gong-mang nodded heavily.

“… I know.”

He was, after all, the greatest immortal who alone knew the truth that even the Heavenly Mysterious Woman didn’t know. Stunned, I exclaimed.

“Then why didn’t you warn the other immortals in the Celestial Realm about the Queen Mother and Three Sovereigns’ tyranny for all these thousands of years?!”

Tai Gong-mang responded to my outburst.

“Because it wouldn’t change anything… You also know that all the immortals will perish in the end, even if they band together against the Queen Mother. The situation outside right now proves my thoughts…”

“…….”

“Considering the essence of the Queen Mother, I had almost no options.”

Tai Gong-mang seemed to see through the entire reality. It was clear he understood that the Queen Mother was the manifestation of Nüwa. If he didn’t know that, he wouldn’t speak like this.

“If Fuxi and the Three Pure Ones were still alive, it might have been different, but now knowing her tyranny and unable to stop her… that’s why I negotiated with the Queen Mother.”

“Negotiated?”

Tai Gong-mang continued.

“This Sealing Plan stemmed from an agreement made with the Queen Mother, independent of her tyranny, before the assassination of the Three Pure Ones. The sealing of the powers of the ancient beings is a separate matter from their assassination. That’s why I kept all secrets from the Celestial Realm and made a pact that the Queen Mother wouldn’t interfere with this inner world indefinitely, while I would remain here with my Yang Spirit, never to leave.”

“Hmm.”

“I have said all I needed to say. I’ll overlook your actions, but you and your companions need to leave this world immediately.”

He seemed to have understood that I had entered the Primordial Void with Zhuge Yulong. I spoke to him.

“You have expectations of us, don’t you? If not, you could just kill me with the Ta Shin-pyeon right here, and yet you’re letting us go, which means you hold hope we could defeat the Queen Mother.”

“Just speculation…”

“We can defeat her. Really.”

“Are you saying that knowing her essence is the Three Sovereigns Nüwa?”

“Of course.”

At my words, Tai Gong-mang appeared shocked, his eyes widening.

“I even went as far as offering the Seven Luminaries to Pangu. Thanks to that, causality is currently favoring us in this world.”

“……!!”

“We are betting everything on this once-in-a-lifetime gamble. Please, assist us.”

“That reckless behavior….”

He looked momentarily at a loss for words. After a moment, he spoke.

“Do you understand the implications of releasing the powers of the ancient beings?”

“I’m not certain. My comrade Zhuge Yulong pressed the issue hard…”

“They weren’t as powerful as the first immortal ability – Immortal being unending – sealed by the Three Sovereigns, but the ancient beings were still powerful entities. If you release them, the sealing of bloodlines will vanish, and tremendous supernatural abilities will awaken in the veins of humanity, plunging the world into chaos.”

“…….”

“The present humanity is too weak, so one could say they’re less affected by chaos. Should they gain power clumsily and attract the attention of the [Old Ruler], the current Celestial Realm wouldn’t be able to control or protect humanity anymore. The world will be swept away in turbulent flow, and civilization will perish.”

“But.”

I glared at Tai Gong-mang.

“What’s the use of saying that when the world will have already perished? What good does a false peace for five hundred years do when faced with overwhelming apocalypse afterward?”

“No matter what, if the end cannot be prevented, then allowing at least a brief moment of happiness is the humane thing to do.”

Tai Gong-mang held his ground firmly, and I gritted my teeth.

“No. The real human act is to struggle. To resist because you don’t want to die, because you don’t want to perish, that’s what it means to be human.”

“…….”

“Tai Gong-mang. Please struggle with me. If not now, we will never have another chance to defeat the Queen Mother. We need to unleash the powers of humanity into the world to gain the strength to defeat her.”

It was then.

Boom…!!!

A great roar echoed through the skies. I could feel Tai Gong-mang’s face hardening.

“Baek Woong.”

With those following words, my face also tensed.

“Right now, the Queen Mother has killed half of the Eight Parts of the Divine….”