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Rebirth Sword God Volume 80 Chapter 9

Step by Step

I moved closer to Chi You’s spirit, pondering,

“That grayish-white energy flowing here… could it be… the same aura I felt near the throne?”

It was only natural to think that way since the colors resembled each other. Moments later, as I delved deeper and the mist intensified, I became convinced.

“There’s no doubt… this is the power of Chaos!”

Chaos!

It was a force that emerged when Chaos and the Primordial Void collided and annihilated each other. The area around the throne brimmed with that chaotic energy, and Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen also utilized the wall of Chaos to defend his base. I recognized it immediately through my companions and from my previous experience inhaling that chaotic air.

So, does that mean the Great Race intentionally spread the power of Chaos around where Chi You’s spirit was sealed?

“Why? What effect does the power of Chaos have?”

I tilted my head for a moment. There had to be a good reason for the Hall of the Heavenly Demon to be filled with chaotic energy, but I couldn’t easily guess it. As I walked, I started to recall a fact.

“Right. If you’re in the space of Chaos, chaotic beings suffer. That was the property of it…”

Only entities of Chaos were harmed within the Chaos, while divine beings and ordinary humans could remain unharmed. Remembering that quality made it clear to me why the Great Race had laid the chaotic air around Chi You’s spirit.

To prevent chaotic beings from approaching Chi You’s seal!

That means the ones trying to awaken Chi You are highly likely to belong to ‘Chaos’!

“Hmm… Anyway, I still have to walk further.”

I still had quite a distance to reach Chi You’s spirit. I strolled slowly, although I could have used my Light Body Technique to speed up. Moving recklessly fast in such a suspicious place felt too dangerous.

“Let me think more. About Shennong’s words…”

Shennong, who had taught me about this Hall of the Heavenly Demon. Surely there was a clue about Chi You in what he said.

“You saw that, it is the true body but not the flesh. That is Chi You’s spirit.”

“The Hall of the Heavenly Demon is a place that specifically traps Chi You’s spirit.”

“The existence of the bloodline is ultimately Chi You’s last move. Chi You naturally wants to find and resurrect his true body, but the magic set in his unconscious will force him to possess if certain conditions are met.”

I carefully recalled my memory of that time.

“Right. That was it.”

The reason Shennong taught me about the Hall of the Heavenly Demon was definitely because of Seo Mun-hye.

“Chi You placed a spell to automatically resurrect using his bloodline.”

Originally, Chi You, whether it was him or Shennong, wanted Chi You to recover his true body and resurrect properly. However, in case the situation was unfavorable, he had set a spell to allow him to resurrect with a fake body if the bloodline remained connected. Naturally, Shennong hoped for Chi You’s resurrection and was willing to lend his strength but did not want an imperfect resurrection of Chi You, so he had asked me to prevent Chi You from forcibly reviving through the bloodline.

Recalling that past situation, I glanced at the gigantic image of Chi You’s spirit in front of me.

“……”

I found myself unable to utter the thoughts that had just emerged.

I walked in silence for a while and finally approached the point where Chi You’s spirit revealed not a shadow but its complete form. The eerie mist of chaos couldn’t obscure my sight, and for some reason, as I drew closer, my body began to tremble more and more.

Shaking…

I unconsciously stared at my trembling hand. I already knew what this phenomenon was.

“I’m instinctively terrified because of that powerful force.”

Although I was frightened, my mind remained calm. Yet my body reacting first was a warning triggered by my Qi Sense and Intent Heavenly Pillar—both signaling caution! There was a master of unimaginable power right in front of me, urging me to be careful! Furthermore, in this space of chaos, all my divine strength had become nullified, sharpening my instincts even more.

But hadn’t I gotten quite close yet?

“Hah…”

I still had over a hundred paces separating us, and I involuntarily chuckled. If I was instinctively afraid seeing Chi You sealed from this distance, how strong could he possibly be? I was confident I wouldn’t tremble even if the true bodies of the Three Sovereigns were right in front of me!

“This distance seems to be my limit.”

The warnings from my instincts grew progressively more intense, and the trembling escalated. I had a premonition that if I approached any closer, I wouldn’t be able to maintain my composure. Deep down, I realized that being in the presence of such a being was utterly incomprehensible; hence, I decided not to push myself.

Instead, I let the thought that had been swirling in my mind escape my lips.

“What if I were to release Chi You’s spirit from its seal in this world?”

Such a thought would be dismissed by any sane person!

However, I couldn’t help but feel a genuine sense of curiosity beckoning me. I had always believed that once all parts of Chi You’s spirit were gathered, the seal would automatically break.

Moreover, even if the parts didn’t gather, if Chi You’s bloodline existed, he could forcibly possess and resurrect through it.

But what if I were to only release the spirit from its seal?

Of course, Chi You’s body was not gathered, and Seo Mun-hye, his bloodline’s vessel, didn’t exist in this world either.

In such a case, no one could precisely guess what would happen.

Would just freeing the spirit mean anything?

“If only I could release Chi You’s spirit and have a one-on-one conversation with his soul.”

Chi You was naturally the main character of the Takrok Trials, wielding overwhelming power in the competition that determined the supremacy of the universe. He must know the secrets of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen, not to mention why he was so powerful. The information I could receive directly from Chi You would be of immense value.

If I had thought of this before, my advisors would have scolded me for considering such a mad gambit. But this world was predicated on death, and such crazy ideas could yield significant benefits. Having died countless times during cultivation, I was no longer afraid of death and thought this was worth attempting.

“Fine. Let’s give it a shot.”

I absolutely needed to obtain information about Chi You.

Though I’d return to the Takrok Trials era after cultivating, I had no idea what kind of being Chi You was, or how he would appear, or even when. If I wandered around looking for Chi You as a blind man searching for an elephant, I might end up manipulated by cunning beings even in the Takrok era. If I had the chance to do something, I should seize it now!

“Then first, let’s break that seal.”

The millions of chains binding Chi You’s spirit! First, I had to tackle those chains that seemed to cover the sky to break the enchantment trapping Chi You’s spirit.

Whoosh…

I steeled myself and gently raised the spear I brought, infusing it with power. I recalled the information Asura had given me before.

“I’ll share with you the characteristics of Chaos that the Master of the White Lotus explained to me.”

“If you enter the space of Chaos, all treasures will be completely obliterated. Additionally, chaotic beings will suffer immediate, significant damage and then perish. Even divine treasures based on chaotic power will be no exception. All powers also become unusable.”

“And a being mixed with chaos will not take damage unless attacked with the same chaotic properties. An attack infused with chaos would result in its power being absorbed instead. Therefore, in that space, even the Old Ruler would be unable to exercise power against the Guardian and would perish.”

“For reasons unknown, Dark Night Slash or Bliss of Infinite Purity can ignore the properties of Chaos and inflict damage. Though not oppositional, they possess equivalent properties. Thus, if your fate leads you to the Throne of Chaos someday, you must master Dark Night Slash or learn Divine Skill.”

Indeed, just as he stated. I didn’t bring any treasures, so I had no way to confirm their obliteration with my eyes, but now all the divine powers I had at my disposal had been nullified. Even the chaotic powers and trinkets I had been handling were entirely unusable. The power of Chaos here had been thoroughly incapacitated. Even if I forced the use of chaotic power, it would merely be absorbed.

However, in this space, only Dark Night Slash or Divine Skill could strike anyone without regard for causal relationships.

“I can’t use Divine Skill… but…”

I could at least utilize Dark Night Slash as a workaround.

Gathering my Qi to control the spear…

According to my will, the spear floated effortlessly. I had already felt this before, but in this space, I could still use Qi and internal power well. Thus, humans wouldn’t feel any latent weakening of combat power in this realm. The spear techniques had also progressed over the past four years of training, allowing me to now use this without relying on the Intent.

With my spear aloft, I focused all my intent and opened my eyes slightly, overlaying the spear with the essence of the Immortal Sword.

Swish…

I let go of my intent…

And at that moment, I could see the spearhead darkening. It seemed that the ‘workaround’ method was also causing the side effect of blackening. I cleared my mind and focused, attempting to perceive the ‘ring.’

The faint perception beyond the mental realm formed a circle. I noted that compared to when I trained with Asura, it seemed much easier to access this point. The expenditure of concentration and the smoothness of execution had undoubtedly advanced significantly.

“Is it because I’ve been training for centuries?”

As I thought this, I concentrated on reversing the wheel. The wheel began spinning rapidly in reverse, and the essence of the Immortal Sword quickly got pulled into it. At that moment when my mind entered a state of transcendency, the spear I had been holding in the air was expelled at remarkable speed.

Whoosh!!

Even from over a hundred paces away, the spear imbued with black light struck precisely at the connecting part of the chains restraining Chi You’s spirit. This was the very reason I had selected the spear!

“If I set the target first with intent and fix the spear, even if I briefly lose consciousness after using Dark Night Slash as a workaround, it will hit the target without fail!”

Additionally, since all strikes empowered by the essence of Dark Night Slash shared this quality, using a thrusting spear like this was more advantageous than simply slicing!

As expected, the spear carrying the essence of the makeshift Dark Night Slash struck the chains, which suddenly began to swell frighteningly.

Boom!!!

One of the chains among the millions burst apart. However, even that seemed to significantly weaken the enchantment restraining Chi You; I could see so many chains wobbling in unison. Upon witnessing this, I felt validated in my thinking.

“It looks like I have to break all of them, but in reality, each binding is connected organically, so if one point falters, the whole enchantment gets hit hard!”

This kind of binding was stronger than the usual, but once you found a way to crack it, it could weaken considerably. With my growing knowledge about spells, this level of principle was easy to comprehend.

Is this a stroke of luck?

No matter how fortunate I was to be in the martial training world and confront Chi You’s spirit easily, if I hadn’t learned from Asura how to use Dark Night Slash as a workaround, I wouldn’t have been able to shatter Chi You’s seal.

Moreover, this Dark Night Slash felt like the perfect means to break that binding, what incredible stroke of luck was this?

Thrilled, I prepared to launch another Dark Night Slash with my spear.

Bang!!

The chains swayed again. This time, a solid hit seemed to resonate, as Chi You’s spirit twitched visibly. After the second launch, all at once, my body weakened, and I collapsed, gasping for breath.

“Hah… Hah… Using it as a workaround consumes this much energy…”

It seemed that because I launched it with the spear, the consumption was even more severe. I took a moment to rest on the ground, recovering my stamina and internal power before again firing off a makeshift Dark Night Slash.

“The Immortal Sword may be expended, but who cares!”

In a world where all I did was train and die, saving the Immortal Sword was pointless!

Typically, I would have conserved it for a challenging opponent, but that wasn’t necessary now!

Boom!

When I struck a few more times…

“Fifth launch…!!”

Just as my spear was about to hit its target, a dull sound echoed suddenly.

Ding!!

“…?!”

The spear I launched disappeared!

It was as if a dark barrier suddenly appeared, erasing the spear entirely and nullifying the impact as well!

Taken by surprise at this sudden turn of events, I watched as a strange being began to materialize before me.

Swish…

[Intruder confirmed. Species classified as ‘Human.’]

Before me stood a three-eyed creature, resembling a leopard. Its round eyes made it appear cute, but I already knew it was an emotionless machine. I jumped back in shock, exclaiming,

“You! Aren’t you that leopard that appeared when using the 17th-grade weapon of the Prophet race?!”

It had been a while!

Yet, I could hardly forget the memorable figure I’d seen during the ‘Nine Lotus Bishop Hunt’ event.

Of course, it was nothing more than the AI embedded in the weapon, but I could clearly remember its appearance, even after numerous rounds.

Then, the three-eyed leopard spoke.

[Intruder, please cease the anomalous attack utilizing the Law of Cause and Effect.]

“……”

[Attempting communication with the King… No response detected… Please wait for a moment.]

“Hmm…”

This sudden mention of the King caught me off guard. It took me a moment to recognize that I was linked to the entity I spoke to before.

“You can make requests to the King of your clan, right?!”

However, this was merely a martial training world, so it would be futile trying to connect with the Prophet!

Realizing that, I smiled slyly as I addressed the three-eyed leopard.

“Listen. I bet the Prophet won’t answer, but how about you listen to my conditions first?”

It was obvious this critter was a guard or AI set to protect the seals, not a living being. Hence, it would presumably have weaker resistance if I tried to pry into the Prophet’s secrets.

Just as I suspected, the three-eyed leopard blinked once before replying.

[Please state your desired secret.]

Got it!

Now I had an easy opportunity to uncover the secrets of the Prophet race!

I celebrated inwardly, maintaining a neutral facade as I asked.

“What is the aim of the Prophet clan? What do they act for?”

I needed to know this.

Having gone through 30 reincarnations, I was still unclear on their purpose, which had piqued my curiosity.

[The everlasting prosperity of our clan.]

“…… No, that’s obvious!! Not that! Why do they utilize the energy of the Void in this world?”

Recently, Fuxi had summoned a Prophet from the Takrok era and pressed for the reason behind using Void power. The Prophet had brushed it off, but it felt like that energy was the clan’s biggest weakness and secret.

Then, the three-eyed leopard blinked again, settling into a cat-like stance as it replied.

[We offer offerings to the Void Record using Akasha Energy. We assist with the historical compilation tasks of the Void Record. Furthermore, if the Apostle of the Void Record appears, we secretly provide energy to assist its tasks on Earth.]

“……?!”

[If this satisfies your inquiry, please cease attacks and exit the seal.]

“Ah, wait! Hold on!! I can’t quite grasp this…”

I pressed my fingers against my temple and thought for a while. Then I spoke up.

“… So, what exactly is this ‘historical compilation task’ about? Is the Void Record even something like an external messenger?”

[The database records that the omniscient surpassed the almighty. This has been a precursor task ongoing from the first King to the present. If the Void Record provides the Akasha energy, our clan can store and preserve records and simultaneously chronicle each race’s history in the library as per contract.]

“……!!”

[Moreover, weapons utilizing Akasha Energy can repel all Old Rulers, thus aiming to subdue the cataclysmic war with a formidable 19th-grade weapon.]

“Wha, what? 19th-grade?!”

I exclaimed in disbelief.

“Hey! Don’t you only have up to 18th grade?! 17th is reserved for royal-grade use, and 18th only for kings! They lent me just the 17th grade! Are you guys lying?!”

[It is not a lie. The 19th-grade weapon is currently under production and has not yet been completed.]

“…… Oh, come on!! What is this…”

That Prophet!

You mean to tell me they’ve been secretly crafting a ridiculously powerful weapon?!

“How strong will that 19th-grade weapon be once finished? Do you have any idea how formidable its power could be?!”

[Its power cannot be measured and hence cannot be described. It is a confidential matter— even current royals cannot predict its might. However, the goal is to suppress all Old Rulers and Constellations appearing during the apocalypse in an instant.]

“… So where’s that weapon located?”

[In the deepest secret vault of the royal family.]

“How do you access that vault?”

“You can unlock the vault door using the key possessed solely by the King.]

“……”

So, if I have the key the Prophet has, I can acquire the 19th-grade weapon?

Suddenly, a naughty thought crossed my mind, but I maintained my composure.

“Alright, then I have more questions…”

It was at that moment.

Crumble…

Thud!!

Suddenly, Chi You’s spirit wriggled violently before me. Unlike the minimal movements seen before, it now writhed clearly, desperately trying to break free. As I witnessed this, I instinctively took a step back.

“……!!”

W-What!?

Such ridiculous force?!

Feeling the suffocating pressure I had sensed only when standing before the full form of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen immediately resurrected my feelings of dread. The troubling aspect was that this pressure indicated that the seal had not yet fully broken. If such was the case, how powerful would it be once broken?!

Snap…

Before my eyes, the image of the three-eyed leopard began to blur and said,

[Danger… the seal… being destroyed… danger… spirit… attempting to possess… triggering space-time lockdown… operating…]

At that moment, I noticed the colossal eyes of the divine being fixating on me.

As soon as I made eye contact, I felt like a mouse frozen before a cat, utterly overpowered.

Pure [power] itself.

It felt like standing in front of a galaxy, no more significant than a speck of dust, swept away by an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

[Receive it.]

Flash!

The divine eye shone, and my consciousness began to dulled.

Zzzzt…

A disquieting noise, akin to something being torn apart, filled my ears as a white screen enveloped my vision.

Simultaneously, I lost consciousness within the haze of my awareness.

***

“Baek Woong. Get a grip.”

I regained my senses at Shim Su-ryeok’s voice and stood up.

“Where am I…?”

“I rushed to pull you away from there.”

“Could it be that Chi You ran amok?”

“No, he just keeps wriggling.”

“……”

It seemed Chi You’s seal wasn’t fully broken yet. My head throbbed like it might explode, but I shook it off and said,

“At least I’m relieved. I’m neither dead nor sealed.”

“……”

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Could you check the mirror?”

The mirror?

I briefly hesitated as I conjured a mirror with my divine power to reflect my appearance. Moments later, I screamed.

“AAAAAH?!”

“Don’t be too startled.”

“How can you not be startled?!”

“……I’m used to it. I’ve seen a lot of monsters and otherworldly beings.”

“No way… this… this means…”

I howled.

“Why do I suddenly have horns on my head?!”

Indeed.

A small horn had unexpectedly sprouted from my forehead.