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I walked steadily to Yeodong-bin’s shrine and grabbed the iron sword in my hand.

“Yep, no special spirit energy or power bestowed… just an ordinary rusty iron sword.”

It’s nothing more than a decoration that’s worse than a well-forged iron sword. Even this shabby weapon, if I inject my will into it, can rival a peerless sword, so the quality of the weapon isn’t all that important. What matters is that it exists wherever I go.

“I never cared before, but now it’s a bit concerning…”

Master Mangnyang and Cheon Woo-jin say there’s an iron sword even in a nonexistent world.

What could this iron sword possibly mean?

As I was pondering, Daji spoke up.

“I won’t ask anymore why you’re here. Instead, let’s go to the Realm of the Moon together with this maiden.”

“……”

“Regardless, this maiden has helped you gather the Seven Luminaries as per your request. In exchange, we’ll be going to the Realm of the Moon, so I won’t accept any further refusals.”

Ah, right.

That Daji was using me to get to the Realm of the Moon, wasn’t she?

“I used to pretend I knew what the Realm of the Moon was before because I didn’t know, and now I’m in big trouble…”

To come here with such persistence one-on-one, any lackluster response would just have the opposite effect. The issue is that even back then, while I was just dodging questions, I didn’t know what Daji meant by ‘Realm of the Moon’ or why she wanted to go there.

At this rate, I can’t keep making excuses. Especially against Daji, who is used to exerting violence to subdue others; I could end up dead here.

“…For now, let’s buy some time.”

Instead of answering right away, I thought it would be better to look for clues within the conversation. So I subtly glanced at Daji and spoke.

“Daji, your ultimate goal is to avoid destruction and escape to another world, right?”

“Why are you suddenly changing the subject?”

“Taking you to the Realm of the Moon is something I must prepare for as Fuxi’s disciple. Especially if you’re trying to steal something in the Realm of the Moon, it requires all the more preparation. Isn’t it fair to ask a bit?”

“Hmm… Yes. My goal is to leave this world and go to another outer universe.”

Daji, who replied without hesitation, continued.

“You can guess how I’ll escape, can’t you? As I said before, I’ll leap directly to where the Dharma Techniques are. I feel the world flowing so urgently that there’s no time to waste.”

“……”

Dharma Techniques…

“Right, I remember you said before that you’d use the Realm of the Moon to reach the place where the Dharma Techniques are. Then…”

If I can go to the Realm of the Moon with Daji, wouldn’t I be discovering the location of a Dharma Technique for free?! If that location is the same as the one in the original world, I would gain immensely!

But at the same time, another thought crossed my mind.

“Huh? Wait a minute…. If I only need to find the Dharma Technique…”

If I obtain the Dharma Technique existing at the Altar of Heavenly Darkness belonging to the White Lotus Sect, wouldn’t I definitely secure a Dharma Fragment?

Should I tell Daji about this?

Daji’s interim goal is also the Dharma Fragment, so it’s conceivable she might skip going to the Realm of the Moon.

I pondered briefly, then thought that might not be the case.

“Hmm… Daji isn’t my companion, and she has no reason to generously hand me a Dharma Fragment. I don’t know what she might do if I got a Dharma Fragment, either.”

On the contrary, keeping this information about the Dharma Fragment of the White Lotus Sect to myself seems more beneficial for later.

As I continued my silence, Daji appeared to be getting frustrated.

“This maiden has fulfilled all your requests, and you’re acting so ungratefully? Being Fuxi’s disciple is embarrassing!”

“Wait a moment. I have something to confess.”

“What confession?”

I needed to navigate this well from now on…!!

I couldn’t escape Daji’s probing with typical methods!

I put on a cautious face and said carefully.

“I’m Fuxi’s disciple, but I can’t use Sorcery. So it’s tough to take you to the Realm of the Moon.”

“……?”

Daji looked shocked by my words. Then she replied.

“You can’t use Sorcery at all, being a disciple of Fuxi, the god of Sorcery and creation? You expect me to believe that right now?!”

“It’s more like this. Primordial Harmony!”

Paaang!

Moments later, I used a bit of divine power to activate the Primordial Harmony defensive technique, which spread around my body.

“Wait. What’s that?”

Looking at me with a befuddled expression, Daji I spoke in a mournful tone.

“As you can see, I can barely deploy such a basic technique by force with a boost of divine power. I can’t use any advanced Sorcery at all. What’s more, the only reason I can even deploy anything is thanks to gathering artifacts while traveling all over the world.”

“What…?”

“I have no talent for Sorcery at all. So no matter how much I learn, I can’t properly use a single Sorcery, and I’ve been too ashamed to call myself a disciple of Fuxi.”

“……”

“Since I can’t use Sorcery at all, I’ve trained in martial arts for thousands of years.”

“That’s insane….”

Daji wore an expression of disbelief. However, it seemed she couldn’t entirely refute my claim, and skepticism lingered. That’s to be expected since Daji, an Evil God and Demon King, recognized that my way of manifesting Sorcery was not that of a regular Sorcerer but that of a monster.

Daji appeared quick-witted enough to catch lies but seemed unable to too readily doubt my words. After all, everything I said about having no talent in Sorcery and using divine power to force a technique was true.

I sensed I had gained some traction with my words and continued.

“You understand, don’t you? With this pathetic Sorcery level, even if I know where the Realm of the Moon is, I can’t cast the spell to head there. I would need to use Divine Arts at the very least.”

“…True.”

“Rather, you should find another Divine Arts user instead of me. But when I checked the Celestial Realm recently, there were no ancient deities capable of using Divine Arts remaining there. At this rate, you won’t be able to achieve your goal.”

Daji went blank for a moment, then said with a fierce expression.

“If we take your word for it… then you’re telling me you used this maiden for the task of finding the Seven Luminaries knowing full well of this fact?”

“Given you came to threaten me with force, what trust was there to begin with?! Didn’t you plan to kill us all if I refused that offer?”

“Yes… I may just rip you apart to correct this maiden’s mistake.”

Sssss

As Daji began to gather her power, I realized this was my chance and dashed to speak before she could.

“But I can teach you how to cross into another universe, if you’ll take my name as a guarantee.”

Daji froze at my words. Then she spoke in a tone filled with suspicion and rage.

“You… you’re trying to play me for a fool.”

“Why would I want to fool you? I’ve been as honest as I can since earlier. I even put my [name] on the line.”

“……”

That’s right. Daji couldn’t ignore my words and had to listen for now.

The reason? She fully understood the weight of mentioning [name]. By invoking the promise of [name], I had tied my credibility to my words, making it impossible for Daji to dismiss my claim.

I continued.

“Whether I take the long way or not, as long as I reach my goal, it doesn’t matter, does it? Besides, I never intended to stay in this collapsing world. Once I fulfill the mission bestowed upon me by Fuxi, I planned to escape this world through other means than you.”

“What kind of method?”

“First, you need to make a promise. I won’t ask you to help; just promise not to attack me at least for today. If you don’t make that promise, I won’t say a word.”

“…I promise.”

Once I received Daji’s promise, I could finally feel the flow of our conversation shifting in my favor. Though my heart pounded with nervousness, I managed to settle myself and spoke.

“My mission is to read the signs of the apocalypse mentioned in Fuxi’s [Prophecy] and to assassinate Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen to avert the worst conclusion! To that end, I’ve gathered all the Six Needs, and I’ll be ready to assassinate the Emperor when the Three Sovereigns gather at that moment.”

“……!!”

When Daji flinched at the sudden critical information drop, I kept pressing forward.

“Originally, I thought I’d prepare an escape plan depending on the situation after the assassination. But since you’re acting like this, I have no choice but to teach you how to cross into the outer universe before I kill the Emperor. It’s more bothersome if you try to impede me!”

“Hmm… so that’s it.”

Daji seemed to dispel her anger and grew calm. After seeming to ponder, she said.

“Fine. If you tell me that method, I’ll disregard the fact that you used this maiden.”

“Huh, first, I can’t just say it like this.”

“What do you mean?”

I pretended to be seriously annoyed.

“I won’t ask you to help with the assassination, but claiming my knowledge as the price of getting rid of one bothersome pest is too much of a loss for me. At the very least, I want you to tell me what you planned to do in the Realm of the Moon and the principle of how you would reach the place where the Dharma Techniques are. Honestly, I only know roughly myself.”

“……”

“Besides, I already know another way to reach the outer universe. We can just trade methods we know about.”

“Very well… I understand.”

Daji nodded and said.

“I will accept your proposal. Let’s exchange our information.”

“Good thinking.”

I replied with a straight face while internally celebrating.

“Yes! I succeeded in bluffing my way through!”

If I had taken a misstep in the flow of conversation, I would have had to fight Daji for my life right there. Also, given that I hadn’t kept my promise to Daji, escaping a fight would have been incredibly difficult, but I felt elated to have pulled this off with mere words.

Daji replied.

“But you should go first. This maiden is no fool, and if you listen only to my story and run away without telling me yours, what then?”

“Good point. If you want to go to the outer universe, first, you need to get help from Nailatop.”

“Nailatop?”

I explained that Nailatop is a wanderer who can travel outer universes and has the ability to go places. Daji’s expression seemed doubtful as she heard about Nailatop, so I raised my wrist and continued.

“If you use the teleportation ability of this watch, we can go straight to where Nailatop is. If you can pay Nailatop a sufficient fee, you’ll be able to cross the outer universe. This is the truth, with my name as a guarantee.”

“Ooh…!!”

“However, he’s a capricious character, so I don’t know if he’ll reliably fulfill your request.”

The reason I could relay this information so freely was because of Nailatop’s unpredictability.

He’s such a wild card that he would likely abduct me to another outer universe at random, so there’s no way he would comply with Daji’s request willingly.

“Hehehe, that’s a good piece of information. Then I shall share mine as well.”

Daji gradually raised her delicate hand and pointed to the sky.

“The Realm of the Moon and the Realm of the Sun are dimensions where Nüwa and Fuxi sealed part of their power when they descended from the Divine Seat billions of years ago. This maiden aims to obtain the primordial power of Inon, which is older than Yin and Yang there.”

“Inon?”

What’s that? I’ve never heard of it before!

I tilted my head and asked.

“I don’t understand. Neither Fuxi nor Nüwa ever mentioned anything like that to me. And why would they purposely seal some of their power? If they were at a disadvantage in a fight against the Emperor, they should have reclaimed that sealed power, right? Why didn’t they?”

“Because it wasn’t done of their own will.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the details, but it seems that when the Void Record sent them from the Divine Seat, it intentionally ordered them to leave behind some of their power. However, that power is just the primordial shell, akin to the remnants of an egg, so it was a liability.”

“…….”

“If Nüwa and Fuxi really wanted to retrieve that power, they could have, but if they absorbed the primordial power that was entirely different from their attributes, their identities would collapse. Thus, they simply disregarded the Realm of the Moon and the Realm of the Sun as nonexistent.”

That makes sense.

Even a transcendent god like that could risk changing their identity if they mishandle such tremendous power. Nüwa or Fuxi, given their strength, wouldn’t seek to reclaim it anyway; they’re already more than strong enough without it.

“How curious. Why only Fuxi and Nüwa…?”

“They’re not alone in this. Everyone from the Divine Seat was said to have their primordial powers sealed.”

“……”

So, does that mean there are different dimensional realms for characters like the Emperor or the Evil God as well?

This is all new information.

‘So, the high-level gods who descended from the Divine Seat had their powers partially sealed by the Void Record?’

And those powers are difficult to reclaim even by their own will!

I struggled to grasp this notion and said, “…So you mean to absorb this primordial power that even Fuxi and Nüwa can’t deal with to become stronger? But even so, what exactly is the principle behind leaping to the Dharma Techniques by absorbing Inon’s power?”

“Of course, Inon’s power has nothing to do with the Dharma Techniques. The location of the Dharma Techniques I know is extremely frustrating. To pierce through and acquire the Dharma Techniques, one must be able to endure with Inon’s power. Also, the locations of the Realm of the Moon and the Realm of the Sun are quite close to that place.”

“Where’s the location of the Dharma Techniques?”

“I don’t think there’s any reason for me to tell you that, hehehe.”

“……”

Damn, she’s really withholding important information…

Daji spoke with a hint of disappointment.

“This maiden is a shadow of Nüwa, so she knows this much as a matter of course, but only the vanished themselves knew the exact locations of the Realm of the Sun and the Realm of the Moon. I thought as a disciple of Fuxi, you might know the dimensions’ locations… It’s a shame that you don’t.”

“Hmm….”

“Anyway, take me to Nailatop.”

As I was about to say I’d do that, another thought struck me.

‘Would a character like Nailatop really bring Daji into Gaia?’

If that capricious whack job suddenly decided to dismiss her to another galaxy, I wouldn’t blame him; after all, I’d act similarly if a Demon King like that teleported onto my ship.

‘If Daji suddenly disappears, I won’t have a chance to uncover the location of the Dharma Techniques…’

I pondered for a moment and said, “Daji, can you wait for one week? I’ll find out that information from Nailatop. He might be capricious and try to eliminate you.”

“Are you trying to deceive me again?”

“Why would I do that after coming all this way? I’d really like you to vanish from my sight as soon as possible.”

“Hehehe, you’re quite a character. If that’s what you want, I’ll wait.”

“Come back here in one week.”

“Understood.”

Paaat!

Daji’s divine form suddenly vanished. I finally breathed a sigh of relief, having managed to persuade her to leave.

“Hoo.”

Even though I managed to send Daji back, I have an uneasy feeling that obtaining the new Dharma Techniques will be a challenge. Why do I have to obtain powers sealed by two of the Three Sovereigns just to challenge the Dharma Techniques?

“Haa. If only there were a Prophet, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble; I could just trade to ask everything I’m curious about…”

Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly realized something.

“Uh?”

Rushing to Astana, I shouted once more.

“Prophet! Let’s trade!!”

Just an echo greeted me.

I turned to Mephistopheles and asked, “Mephistopheles, can we go to another star? I can input the coordinates…”

[You cannot go.]

“Damn, got it.”

I then invoked the Apostle’s Power, calling out.

“Oh, Jeon Wook, come to me!!”

Fwoosh!

It’s a minor ability among the Apostle’s powers, allowing me to summon the avatar of Jeon Wook whenever I want to have a conversation!

An avatar resembling a humanoid in ceremonial regalia appeared before me.

[Baek Woong. Have you completed the tasks?]

“Yes! But uh… I have one question.”

[What is it?]

“Do you happen to know of the Prophet and their clan?”

Suddenly, Jeon Wook’s avatar reacted quite irately.

[Who is that?!]

“……”

I see.

If the Three Sovereigns don’t know of it, then it might as well not exist.

‘What on earth…?’

There’s no Prophet in the outer universe.

There hasn’t been anywhere so far.

It’s not that there simply was no time during Dhārma days, yet this outer universe is different. Almost the same history as our world has unfolded, and it’s in a critical state on the verge of apocalypse, yet none who claim to hunt for the opportunity of the apocalypse exist at all.