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“As soon as I arrived at the Prophet, I said to him, ‘I came to make a deal.’

[What? Has he already brought the Grimoire for communication?]

“No. But it’s a treasure worth its weight!”

Swipe!

“It’s the Nameless Ritual Book.”

I presented the Nameless Ritual Book to the Prophet, who then accepted it with his tentacles and examined it for a while. Once he finished, he looked astonished.

[It’s genuine… How did you acquire it…?]

“No need to say that, right? What matters is that I have the right to exchange it for a suitable price.”

[Hmm… Is that so… Then let’s assess its value…]

The Prophet subtly extended his tentacles towards me, and I waved my hands.

“No need to read my mind and adjust the price! If I present my offer, wouldn’t it be easier for both of us?”

[Alright… If that makes it easier…]

I’m just following Zhuge Clan’s instructions here. They judged that relying on the Prophet’s conscience for the negotiations would be too risky, so leading with my offer and psychological tactics was advised. Taking a deep breath, I said,

“Let me know the whereabouts of the Seven Luminaries! The Nameless Ritual Book should be worth at least that much information!”

[The whereabouts of the Seven Luminaries… That’s a tricky order…]

The Prophet pondered for a moment and then replied.

[I know the locations of six of the Seven Luminaries… The whereabouts of the last one, I don’t know either… However, I can’t disclose this to you.]

“Why not?”

[Because of the confidentiality treaty with the Celestial Realm… They’ve shared a considerable amount of secrets with me since I’m the leader of the moderate faction of the otherworldly race, but they absolutely do not wish for the seals of the Seven Luminaries to be undone… So I can’t reveal any confidential information due to this treaty.]

At that, Zhuge Clan snickered internally.

[Just as we anticipated. Then let’s proceed this way.]

I then said as instructed by Zhuge Clan,

“What are you talking about? The Nameless Ritual Book is included in the cost to break that treaty. I’m clearly saying the value of the Nameless Ritual Book exceeds the cost of breaking the treaty, don’t you think? It’s the best grimoire in existence!”

[……]

The Prophet fell silent for a while and then said.

[To coerce me into breaking the treaty… You’re not such a righteous person after all…]

“It’s a matter of efficiency, beyond good or evil. After all, treaties are made for mutual benefit, aren’t they? I’m offering you a much greater advantage, right?”

[Interesting… That’s a bold proposal…]

The Prophet trembled his tentacles and said,

[Alright… I accept… I will let you know the whereabouts of the Seven Luminaries.]

Great! I silently cheered. Soon after, the Prophet spoke.

[I know the whereabouts of all the Seven Luminaries except for the Sun Sovereign (日曜)… What do you want to know first…?]

“Hmm, hearing it wouldn’t provide me assurance. It would be great if you could mark coordinates or present it as visual material, or perhaps transfer it through Obsidian’s techniques.”

[Sure…]

Whirrrrrr

The Prophet summoned Obsidian from thin air and imbued it with his memories. He then tossed it to me, and in the next moment, I could vaguely accept the information about the Six Luminaries in my mind.

“……!!”

But I frowned. Then I protested.

“Wait! What is this? It’s just a fragmentary observation of the scenery around the Six Luminaries! You expect me to go out and search with just this little clue?”

To that, the Prophet calmly replied.

[Even so, I can’t completely break the promise with the Celestial Realm… I’ll limit the clues to where you’ll have to exert effort to find it… This isn’t against the Law of Cause and Effect, so don’t argue…]

“Ugh…”

I felt utterly dumbfounded. What flooded my mind through Obsidian was merely the visual record of the scenery around the Six Luminaries; there wasn’t any background knowledge or information to aid me. Given that it’s normally possible to embed background knowledge and information within Obsidian, it felt definitely deliberate.

As I was about to argue, Zhuge Clan stopped me.

[Hey. Stop it. Prodding at a petty fellow like that makes the situation worse. We need to extract benefits slowly from him.]

[Tsk…]

I awkwardly withdrew my hand, and the Prophet spoke.

[But that’s still insufficient for the payment… Please explain how to reach each of those locations…]

“Honestly, you just wanted to tell me anyway, right?”

I threw in a jab due to my annoyance, but the Prophet ignored it and continued.

[First, the Moon Sovereign (月曜)… It’s on the peninsula in the east, specifically in the underground of Mount Muni…]

“Hmm.”

That’s accurate information. From my prior life experience, I already knew that what the Prophet was explaining was indeed correct. In reality, the location of the Moon Sovereign matched what the Prophet just described. As I focused and listened intently, he continued.

[And for the Fire Sovereign (火曜)… It exists at the heart of the southernmost continent, inside the red giant of Yulala, east of Kaltukajara…]

“Kaltukajara? Yulala?”

[You can inquire with the locals to find out…]

“Got it.”

It felt like I’d grasped a substantial clue about the Fire Sovereign. As I nodded, the Prophet continued.

[The Water Sovereign (水曜) resides deep in the Huangshan mountains of the Central Plains… It’s the place where Jeon Wook, the Sovereign of the Three Sovereigns, left his last evidence of water control. You should be able to find the location without difficulty…]

“Alright, what’s next?”

[The place of the Wood Sovereign (木曜) is at the Sacred Altar in Mount Changbai, which is the source of the Twelve Joules’ Manha Spiritual Gate…]

“……”

I became even more focused.

‘Up to this point, these are facts I was already aware of.’

The whereabouts of the great treasures of the Gold Sovereign and Earth Sovereign are what really matter!

[The Gold Sovereign (金曜) is sealed at the innermost part of the Sacred Place of Paliyas, alongside the Ancient Divine Race…]

“……?”

I furrowed my brow at the unexpectedly strange name. Then I asked,

“Paliyas…? That doesn’t sound like a name from the Central Plains; could it possibly be in the Western Regions?”

[Exactly… Those who have approached the source of mysticism in the West… The Guild of Alchemists and Sorcerers possess the Gold Sovereign… It can be said to be the stronghold of Western Sorcerers… A place where the bloodline rooted in the myths dwells…]

“……”

The West! I was dumfounded to learn that the Gold Sovereign leads to the West. Not only that, but it’s also much farther than any remote place I’ve been to before. We’re talking about thousands of miles at least.

‘Ah, but I could reach there in a heartbeat if I use the Four Great Spirits.’

Even so, having the Gold Sovereign located in the Sorcerers’ territory made me uncomfortable. Just to be safe, I asked,

“So, what’s the exact location?”

[Geopolitically, it’s near the modern British Empire…]

“What? You don’t have a detailed location?”

[Unlike the other Seven Luminaries, I believe that the Gold Sovereign originally existed in the East but has since shifted to the West… What I know is merely the initial placement of the Seven Luminaries… This information is also just a conclusion drawn from data collected later…]

“Hmm… So I really have to go look for it myself.”

Realizing I couldn’t just take the lazy route made me feel regretful. That meant I’d have to travel close to the British Empire, gather information, and find a way to the Sacred Place of Paliyas to uncover the location of the Gold Sovereign’s seal.

The Prophet continued.

[As for the Earth Sovereign (土曜)… It was accidentally obtained by the founder of Balhae, leading to the rise of an empire… However, the power of the Earth Sovereign ran rampant and caused a volcanic eruption, leading to its downfall overnight… Since then, the Earth Sovereign has been in the Demon Subduing Hall, and now in Dark Heaven Village.]

“I already knew that. But where exactly is it in Dark Heaven Village?”

[As far as I know, it was last offered to Empress Wu Zetian, so the one who contracted to elevate her to a divine being will likely possess it… There’s no way they wouldn’t covet the Seven Luminaries…]

“Empress Wu Zetian!”

I flinched in surprise. Why was Empress Wu Zetian appearing when I’m chasing the whereabouts of the Earth Sovereign?

As far as I know, at the end of her life, she chose to ascend to become the minor deity of Dark Heaven Village through the Offering Ceremony. However, her actions had no relevance to mine, so I had just ignored that bit of information. But to think the Earth Star Eight Trigrams Diagram was with her?

As I was shocked, the Prophet continued.

[It must be the Sleeper of Enkai… Hmm… I think it’s better to give up on this one…]

“The Sleeper of Enkai… Are you talking about that guy who’s secretly manipulating the Imperial Palace?”

[Exactly… In essence, it’s practically in the hands of the Old Ruler… I’d say it’s pretty much impossible to obtain the Earth Sovereign…]

“……”

I absorbed the information on the Seven Luminaries in my mind.

‘I feel like I’ve taken a step forward with the Fire, Gold, and Earth Sovereigns.’

Especially with the Fire Sovereign, I felt like I was close enough that a little more effort would be beneficial. While I was organizing my thoughts, an idea suddenly struck me, and I asked,

“Why is there no information on the Sun Sovereign? Didn’t the Celestial Realm say they were cooperating with you?”

[I don’t really know… But it seems that the Sun Sovereign holds a particularly special status in the Celestial Realm… Perhaps it’s not even on the terrestrial plane…]

“Not on the Earth…?”

After a brief silence, the Prophet explained.

[What I know is that there’s a close causal relationship between the Sun Sovereign and Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen, and… that the power of the Sun Sovereign is the strongest among all the Seven Luminaries.]

“The Emperor…!!”

[You never know… If you gather all the other Six Luminaries, maybe you’ll uncover the whereabouts of the Sun Sovereign…?]

The Prophet’s prediction seemed plausible. If the Sun Sovereign symbolizes the sun, it could be the peak of the Seven Luminaries. It’s reasonable to think that the Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen had a hand in its creation.

‘Maybe I should try to gather information on the Sun Sovereign when I offer the next ritual.’

Then Zhuge Clan chuckled.

[You’re naive. If it’s a secret the leader of the Great Race didn’t share, it’s likely the Celestial Realm’s most confidential secret. You can’t uncover it just by performing a ritual.]

[Is that so…]

[That’s why Ji-seon Mang-nyang instructed you to unearth Celestial Realm’s secrets first. Without learning those, it’s impossible to gather all the Seven Luminaries in the terrestrial realm.]

Having said that, Zhuge Clan proceeded to instruct again.

[Hey. There’s still some payment left. So, ask this and wrap it up.]

I thought Zhuge Clan’s remark was reasonable. I took a deep breath and said to the Prophet,

“Prophet. According to my calculations, there should still be some payment remaining, right?”

[It’s a meager amount…]

“Then a consultation should be acceptable. Right?”

[What kind of consultation…?]

“I’m lacking in both innate martial arts talent and martial technique skills. Is there a way to improve them?”

[……]

The Prophet seemed taken aback by such an unexpected question, his tentacles twitched slightly. After a moment of thought, he answered.

[Blessings that enhance talent itself are extremely rare… The methods are very limited too…]

“Why? Is raising talent that challenging?”

[Should we first define what talent actually is…?]

The Prophet slowly moved to the side.

[Talent includes the ability to make efforts… Intuition… Flexibility… Creativity… Innate disposition… Potential for development… It encompasses all of that… But if that’s the case… Raising talent means altering one’s personality, doesn’t it?]

“Personality?”

[Precisely… Personality…]

The Prophet rolled his eyes and continued.

[If the personality doesn’t change… Talent cannot increase… Because, fundamentally, it would mean tearing down the very structure of the mind… Well… The reverse is also true…]

That’s why the techniques for enhancing talent are incredibly complex and tricky. A mistake could result in severe aftereffects on the subject…

“So there really isn’t any feasible way?”

[Then you’d have to prepare offerings and make a contract with a Demon…]

I shook my head.

“Wrestling with the Old Ruler doesn’t sound appealing. I prefer a more normal method… “

[Hmm… If you’re determined to enhance your martial talents… It might be better to consult Zhongli Quan…]

“Zhongli Quan?”

[Yeodong-bin’s master is the Fire Dragon Incarnate… And coincidentally, it’s Zhongli Quan, I believe… However, it was Zhongli Quan who personally trained Yeodong-bin into the path of transcendence… Yet, I understand that Yeodong-bin wasn’t an unparalleled genius in his lifetime…]

“Hmm… Yeodong-bin… “

[But despite that, he was nurtured into a member of the Eight Immortals and as a protector through the Overlay Technique, so Zhongli Quan likely has his own secret…]

“……”

Eight Immortal Zhongli Quan!

I had never considered any of the other Eight Immortals apart from Yeodong-bin, so it felt refreshing to gain an unexpected hint. Just as I thought that the conversation was wrapping up, the Prophet’s form began to fade away slowly.

[Dealing with you was amusing… I look forward to our next transaction.]

 

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