929——————==

True Martial Home

Is it fake, you say?

I glared sharply at the words of Dharma.

“What do you mean by ‘is it?'”

[……]

After a moment of silence, Dharma finally spoke.

[Baek Woong, rest here at the sect today. We’ll talk tomorrow.]

Whoosh!!

As soon as Dharma finished speaking, he transformed into mist and disappeared. Although he appeared human, in essence, he was a being who reached the extreme of magical power. As Dharma vanished, one of the disciples, the one-armed freak named Hye Ga, stepped forward and said.

“Oh noble one, please follow me. I’ll show you to where you can stay.”

“……”

Honestly, I didn’t need that. I’ve pushed my internal power to its peak so many times that even if I experienced severe depletion, I’d fully recover within a single moment. I’ve also run across the continent for seven nights and days. My body no longer even required rest or sleep, but I nodded slowly at Hye Ga’s words and stood up.

Following Hye Ga, a shabby little shack appeared. It was such a decrepit place that it was unimaginable for the White Lotus Sect of our world. A foul smell wafted through the air, as if there was a nearby toilet. Hye Ga assumed a respectful posture with his hands together and said.

“Then please rest comfortably…”

“Wait. Hye Ga!”

I called out to Hye Ga.

“As Dharma’s disciple, do you know what Dharma desires?”

At my question, Hye Ga calmly nodded and replied.

“Of course…”

“Do you know he’s trying to create a technique to destroy this world, the Great Universe?”

“I’ve never heard of such a technique, but I know the purpose.”

“Do all the other disciples know as well?”

“Yes.”

“And yet you still follow him?”

Hye Ga seemed to smile faintly at my words. It was a comforting smile that could warm anyone’s heart, indicating that his mental training was not ordinary. He answered me with sincere eyes.

“This world is all about suffering and despair… If there’s not even a single thread of hope or salvation… ultimately, humans end up choosing either to pursue material pleasures and drown in reality or to await death after giving up everything… However, Master Dharma has shown us a third path.”

“……”

“If everything is truly annihilated and True Martial Home (眞空家鄕) is achieved… a realm of supreme bliss will come.”

“… But there’s no guarantee of that.”

I muttered skeptically.

Yeah… there’s no assurance of that.

Because in our world, Dharma has already failed. Whether the Dharma in this world is the same as the one in our world is unclear, but still, Dharma created a technique, yet he couldn’t watch it come to fruition. The God of All intervened and poured a tremendous curse over him for 5.67 billion years, leading to Dharma’s demise and shattering the technique, scattering it throughout the world.

Hye Ga said.

“When I look into your eyes, I see the figure of one who has overcome numerous hardships and adversities. But beyond that image lies an unknown chaos… I think I understand why Master wants to talk to you.”

“Why did Dharma insist that I stay for a day? We could’ve wrapped up this conversation right away.”

“Master’s intentions are not something I presume to guess.”

“……”

“If you wish, you may look around our White Lotus Sect. That might be Master’s will as well…”

“… Do you happen to know someone by the name of Divine Thief? Have you ever heard of that title?”

At my question, Hye Ga shook his head.

“I haven’t…”

With those words, Hye Ga stepped back. I sat alone in the dim, shabby shack, lost in thought.

‘What to do?’

I couldn’t understand why Dharma wasn’t killing me right now. It seemed related to the fact that the Four Great Spirit Deities were fake, but I still couldn’t grasp his intentions. There had to be a reason for giving me a day’s time.

No… more importantly.

‘The Divine Thief is definitely here.’

The Rainbow Snake told me it would guide me to the Divine Thief’s location. And now that I had arrived at the White Lotus Sect, the Divine Thief must certainly be in this place. Therefore, either Dharma or one of his five disciples must be the Divine Thief.

Dharma couldn’t be the Divine Thief.

Even if the Divine Thief were reincarnated through the Soul Exchange Technique, their power would be comparable to mine. Dharma’s strength has already reached the level of the Old Ruler, so he cannot be the Divine Thief. Hence, it’s likely that one of his five disciples is the Divine Thief.

However, I couldn’t recklessly use the Soul Exchange Technique on the five disciples to find out who the Divine Thief was. The Soul Exchange Technique is a horrific method, and Dharma would never forgive me for casting such malevolence upon his disciples.

‘Tch… I should have properly discussed the Divine Thief with Dharma.’

I should’ve told him that I wanted to talk about the Divine Thief and identify who it was. But it was hard to bring that up in this cautious state after just meeting him.

‘I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll talk about it tomorrow instead.’

Thinking that I had to mention the Divine Thief tomorrow, I got up from my seat.

As Hye Ga previously said, I decided to take a tour inside the White Lotus Sect.

Tydaht

I used the Divine Technique to leap around inside the White Lotus Sect. After making a full round, I realized that this place was merely a gathering of a few shabby villages unlike the majestic sect in our world. Powerful beings like the Master of the White Lotus Sect or Dharma Guardians were nowhere to be found. It was simply a village where ordinary followers who believed in the White Lotus Sect were grouped together.

However, the walls built for defense against invaders seemed intact. I stood atop the wall, reflecting for a moment before glancing toward the past Su Shin Sect village.

‘Is there a separate village for the Su Shin Sect in this world as well?’

Pa-at

I recollected my memory and made my way to the place where the Su Shin Sect’s village once stood. Originally, in our world, it was a closed-off place akin to a fortress filled with the Grimoire of the Su Shin Sect and secret libraries. Upon arriving at the remembered location, I discovered that the Su Shin Sect’s village did not exist; instead, there were strange mountains and caves.

“Hmm…”

What seemed sudden at first glance, but I realized that the mountain must have also existed in the original world. The Su Shin Sect had carved out their base from that mountain. It seemed the topography was largely similar, just not artificially refined. I jumped up and entered the interior of the cave.

Upon entering the cave, I felt an eerie man-made path. The way was blocked partway through the cave, so I used my martial arts techniques to create a hole inside.

Boom!

As I ventured deeper into the cave, there was a massive chamber that seemed human-made. I vividly remembered this location.

‘This was where the Stone Coffin was.’

I certainty remembered. Originally, there had been a highly refined altar here, and nearby, hundreds of flames danced. Those flames were souls that the Master of the White Lotus Sect had unleashed to offer as sustenance. Even now, there were no wandering souls lighting up the area.

Then, seeing the stone chest at the heart of the chamber, I couldn’t help but exclaim softly.

“… Hmm. Altar of Heavenly Darkness…”

That’s right.

This must surely be the Altar of Heavenly Darkness.

[During all this, I stumbled upon an ancient text inscribed with the notes of the Dharma Ancestor and deciphered it. I discovered that ancient ruins lay hidden within this mountain and came here with all my might driven solely by my thirst for knowledge.]

[Thus, I discovered this Altar of Heavenly Darkness.]

[The Dharma Ancestor, with the help of foreign powers, crafted a technique of Non-Birth Mother, but the Power of Chaos was so overwhelming that it scattered all across the world. The Dharma Ancestor also perished at that time. Yet, it was intended that the last fragment would be preserved by the White Lotus Sect, which is why this altar was constructed before the technique was completed.]

[I’ve been staying here for a long time, acquiring food and interpreting the technique to gain immense power…]

That was a story I had learned directly from the Master of the White Lotus Sect before. The Master of the White Lotus Sect had obtained the Dharma Ancestor’s notes and learned of the Altar of Heavenly Darkness’s existence, living here while interpreting the techniques. The formidable power of the Master of the White Lotus Sect had been cultivated since that time. In other words, it was the foundation of his strength!

And inside that stone chest lay the supreme Grimoire of the Water God in scroll form. I had fainted once due to that overwhelming magical pressure when the magic of the Grimoire resonated with the altar.

“……”

Is the Grimoire of the Water God still inside?

As I pondered, I walked briskly toward the top tier of the Altar of Heavenly Darkness. When I stood before the stone chest, I realized something strange.

‘Huh? Unlike last time, I don’t feel any headache or pressure at all…’

It felt odd, but I tilted my head and opened the stone chest.

Creeeak!

Opening the stone chest, I found the scroll I had seen before. Recognizing it as the Grimoire of the Water God, I picked it up. As I did so, much to my surprise, I felt nothing.

‘Has my resistance to magic strengthened?’

Thanks to Spirit Power?

But it didn’t feel like I was sensing the overwhelming magical power I had felt back then. The gap was too great for me to have resisted because of Spirit Power.

Why was I fainting then but not fainting now?

I was curious about the difference but for now, I stuffed the Grimoire of the Water God into my robe.

Whoa!

Just then, Dharma appeared in front of me through teleportation.

“Huh?!”

[……]

Boom!

As he stared at me intently, I flinched and hurriedly shoved the Grimoire of the Water God back into the stone chest. Then I awkwardly smiled.

“I was just taking a look inside…”

[Indeed, you are a being who operates in the history after me. To find this Altar of Heavenly Darkness, which I have made secret even from my disciples… As if you knew about it beforehand.]

“……”

[That means you’ve used the Altar of Heavenly Darkness.]

Correct.

Struggling to find words, Dharma spoke.

[As luck would have it, since no one else is around, we should finish the conversation we started earlier.]

“Huh? What do you mean?”

[There were many ears listening there, so I couldn’t openly discuss things with you.]

With those words, Dharma gazed at me and slowly pushed back the large hood that covered his face.

An otherworldly face.

But it was not a complete alien face; it seemed to have a half-human, half-otherworldly appearance.

Rather than being ferocious, there was an uncanny feeling that it resembled the figure of an extraterrestrial. Dharma said.

[Assuming you’re a being like me, how do you plan to save the world?]

“… Hmm.”

As I pondered over Dharma’s question, I finally spoke.

“Honestly, I still don’t see a way. I think I’ve worked really hard, but I still don’t know how to overcome the [End] and [Revelation]. Right now, I’m just here looking for the Four Great Spirit Deities to overcome my own singularity.”

[Revelation? What is that?]

Dharma asked back, and I tilted my head.

“……? Don’t you know? The time when the glorious [Father] descends into this world has a timing known as [Void Record]. The events that occur during that time are what we call the [Revelation], right?”

[……]

“[Old Rulers] stay in this world to hear the [Revelation]…”

Hearing my words, Dharma seemed taken aback, as if he felt a shock of horror.

He was frozen in shock, then said in disbelief.

[There is no such thing in this world…!!]

“Huh? No?”

[That’s right. What you call [Revelation] does not exist in our world. [End] exists, but such a peculiar event does not.]

“That can’t be…”

[I’m serious.]

Dharma’s next words left me utterly astonished.

[This world will perish in the year 1999, the seventh month. That destruction has nothing to do with the [Father] or [Void Record]… It’s simply the whim of the horrendous [Old Rulers]. The circumstances of the impending doom as the stars scream and chaos devours the world cannot be this different!]

“……!!”

[So… it wasn’t just the time axis that differed. Perhaps this is the result of something I planned…?]

Muttering that, Dharma looked at me and said.

[Baek Woong, lend me your power to help me. If you do so, I may be able to return the Four Great Spirit Deities to you.]