---

“`html

“His face is mostly hidden by the wide-brimmed hat, so I can’t see it clearly.”

However, I distinctly remembered the outline of his jaw, so I knew it was him. Above all, the unique aura that felt perceptible even beyond my line of sight clearly indicated he was none other than the Black Mask of the Imperial Palace and Priestess of the Demon Subduing Hall, Vermilion Bird Zhuge Yulong.

Zhuge Yulong stared blankly at Zhuge Bu and said, “Looks like you have something to say.”

“Please look at this letter.”

Swish.

Zhuge Yulong took the red letter from Zhuge Bu. After slowly reading for about an hour, he said, “You’ve been caught, haven’t you?”

“……”

I couldn’t tell what kind of expression Zhuge Bu was making, but he was probably trying hard not to show his discomfort. However, regardless of how Zhuge Bu managed his expression, Zhuge Yulong continued, unperturbed. “At least one Gold Seal… no, maybe two. You’ve fallen victim to someone’s magic and had your will forced upon you. Yet, you came to find me, thinking I might notice…”

“……”

“You don’t have to answer. If it’s the kind of Gold Seal that reacts immediately when the signs of betrayal appear, it’s to be expected.”

Zhuge Yulong then asked Zhuge Bu blankly, “Kid, as a father, I must ask you this.”

“Yes.”

“Would you be willing to die and be reborn with the power of the Demon?”

“……!!”

“For now, that’s the only way.”

With a crunch, I could hear Zhuge Bu gritting his teeth. After hesitating for a while, he said, “What are the chances of success for rebirth?”

“As you know, if you borrow the power of the Crystal Stele, the chance of success is perfect at 100%. However, whether your personality remains intact after rebirth is uncertain, and you will probably be continuously exposed to the power of the Demon… Without sufficient preparation, such attempts at rebirth are doomed to fail.”

“Heh… Father, you truly are something. And yet, you ask me if I want to be reborn?”

“I want to hear your resolution.”

Zhuge Bu hesitated again. Then he sighed and said, “… I will trust you, Father.”

Suddenly, Zhuge Bu’s vision shook violently as an unusual impact sound echoed. His sight gradually dimmed, and he fell at an angle towards the ground. Most likely, Zhuge Bu had forcefully struck his heavenly spirit to end it himself.

‘Did he just commit suicide?’

This was unexpected. He had clearly gone to find Zhuge Yulong to save his life, yet he chose suicide! As I stood there in shock, Zhuge Sha muttered with gritted teeth.

[Damn it. I knew it would come to this, didn’t I? If only the Soul Exchange Technique had reached the level of mastery, I could have ended that bastard right here…]

With a heavy intent lingering in his words, Zhuge Sha continued. [Baek Woong. Recite the curse as I instructed.]

[Got it.]

[Make sure to capture the moment well.]

Just as Zhuge Yulong seemed to reach for Zhuge Bu’s corpse, I shouted, “Shift now!”

Whoosh!

Something crimson erupted from Zhuge Bu’s upper body and lunged at Zhuge Yulong. To my surprise, the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug installed by Zhuge Sha could attack others when commanded! If this continued, it was sure to embed itself within Zhuge Yulong, making everything much easier going forward.

But something felt off. I didn’t hear Zhuge Yulong scream or groan; it was just dead silence. After a long pause, a cold voice resonated.

“As expected… the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug. If it were to attack me at precisely the right moment as if it were observing this situation… then surely, it means it’s under someone’s surveillance with celestial insight. But there’s no indication of celestial insight… so you must be controlling this child’s vision.”

With a gasp, chills ran down my spine. I saw the creature wriggling on the ground, and a moment later, I watched Zhuge Yulong crush the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug underfoot. In that instant, I felt a massive ache in my heart.

“Cough!!”

It was like my heart was being stabbed repeatedly with a long needle, squeezing the blood vessels dry! I broke into a cold sweat, enduring the pain. I groaned as I turned to Zhuge Sha and said, “What… the hell… is happening…?”

[The Yin-Yang Heaven Bug is connected to the caster. If the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug dies, you also will feel the pain of hell.]

“You bastard…”

[Well, you won’t die, so don’t worry. It’s a level of suffering that would make an ordinary person scream and die, but you should be fine as you have a high tolerance for pain.]

The utter casualness in Zhuge Sha’s voice made me want to kill him. However, he was already dead and in soul form, so that was impossible. As I rolled around on the ground from the pain, I heard Zhuge Yulong say.

“The master of the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug is none other than the Lord of Heretical Sects. Zhuge Sha, did you strike me first? If that’s the case, it means you’ve made a terribly foolish choice.”

As soon as Zhuge Sha heard those words, he chuckled inwardly.

[Heh, who will be the foolish one, I wonder… Yulong.]

“Since you’ve killed the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug, you won’t be able to move for a while. I’ll send you a gift soon.”

And just like that, my vision faded to complete darkness.

“Huff, huff…”

I couldn’t gather my senses in the dark due to the pain. Eventually, as the stabbing pain in my abdomen made me cough up, causing the ground to be soaked in sweat, Zhuge Sha said.

[Release the sensory sharing from the Soul Exchange Technique. It should reduce the pain by half.]

“Cough. Do it quickly…”

I gritted my teeth and swiftly released the sensory sharing. Immediately, the pain significantly reduced. However, I still felt like I had a bad cold layered with a headache, so I couldn’t even muster a frown. I irritably voiced, [How much longer must I endure this pain?]

[About half a day?]

[Damn…]

[If the reaction from the curse’s medium ends here with this level of backlash, it’s not bad. If it becomes too much, use a technique to endure the pain and regain your wits. I have something to say.]

[Tch…]

I grumbled as I performed a medical technique to withstand the pain. Using Huatuo’s Five Animals Play’s secret technique, I took a moment to regulate my breathing and completely lost consciousness. When I awoke, the pain had vanished.

As soon as I regained consciousness, Zhuge Sha said, [The Yin-Yang Heaven Bug is impossible to trace back. He knew this too, which is why he stepped on it without hesitation. So, it means your location or identity hasn’t been uncovered by him.]

[So what exactly have I gained? Zhuge Bu is dead, which is fortunate, but…]

[Yes, he’s dead. However, Zhuge Bu will soon be revived.]

[What?]

[Zhuge Yulong mentioned the rebirth technique. He must have planted the seed of the Demon in the body of the Portrait Immortal to enhance vitality for the revival of Zhuge Bu. With how he is speaking, it seems he’s confident of success.]

[……!!]

I was utterly taken aback.

If what he said was true, then it meant Zhuge Yulong could bring the dead back to life just like that? Although he mentioned borrowing the power of the Crystal Stele, it was undeniably a terrifying ability. I pondered carefully and replied, [If I transfer the one who was killed into the body of the Portrait Immortal, both the Gold Seal of the Soul Exchange Technique and the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug’s seals would be released.]

[That seems to be the case.]

[Why are you so calm? The killer’s trump card has turned useless.]

[Is that really the trump card? Not likely. What’s happening now is merely a simple check.]

Zhuge Sha responded without a trace of concern.

[Anyway, since this is how it is, there’s no reason to waste more time on the Imperial Palace. Shall we carry out the plan you thought of before?]

[Is it okay to do so?]

[It’s a plan that suits my taste, so I see no reason to object.]

[Alright.]

I grinned and shook off my body before immediately heading over to the Four Great Spirits.

Bang!

I found myself standing right in front of the altar. I felt a sense of familiarity looking at the setting of the altar that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and I examined the inscriptions on the stele lying in front of it. The characters on the stele depicted a tale.

Zhuge Sha remarked, [It’s hard to read. It looks like an outlier even among outliers…]

“Huh…?”

I tilted my head. Strangely enough, the characters didn’t appear scattered to me like before. It felt as if I could read it somewhat well, like the language of my hometown I hadn’t seen in years.

“Before this, there’s the altar of the guardian. Those who obtain the Seven Luminaries… preside over the trials. Sprinkle blood on the altar… and offer it in the room for offerings. The guardian is… someone who came from the moon… subjugated by ancient seals. By coming into contact with the filth of the underworld… and cleansing it with water… fifteen hundred souls are to be born. In the song of the sun and storm, the moon has been birthed. Thus, a grand bond… of oath is formed. I swear by the great blood covenant.”

[What?!]

Zhuge Sha exclaimed in shock. It was clear he was genuinely taken aback as I read the stone’s inscription. Feeling pleased that I surprised Zhuge Sha, I smirked and said, “I can’t read it in detail, but I understood about 80% of it.”

[……]

Zhuge Sha fell into silence for a moment. Then he said, [The fact that it mentions birthing fifteen hundred souls… confirms the guardian of this ruin must be Izanagi no Mikoto.]

“Do you know something?”

[The Dongyoung Ancient Records is akin to the Investiture of the Gods. It’s an allegoric account that explains the dreadful ancient dark myth. It’s worth a read. Even so, that the lower-tier old ruler would be sealed here as a mere guardian is unexpected.]

As he murmured something, Zhuge Sha added, [Baek Woong, do you think we might see that Heavenly Secret again?]

“Huh? Sure.”

Flap!

I pulled out the Heavenly Secret and began to unfold it. After a moment of my gaze sharing as I read the Heavenly Secret, Zhuge Sha acted as if he had a headache.

[Damn… I don’t get it… what the hell is this? Is… Shavala… Kombain… I can’t even find anything that remotely resembles the language of the otherworldly race I know. It doesn’t seem to be the language of constellations either. No matter how much of an outlier it is, does this language even exist? There’s not even the basic rules of a language.]

“You can’t read it? Hehe.”

As I laughed at him, Zhuge Sha retorted brusquely, [Can you read the Heavenly Secret?]

“… Well, I can’t.”

That’s right. Although I took out the Heavenly Secret, I couldn’t decipher it. Strangely, I could read the inscription on the stone stele at the altar, but the characters of the Heavenly Secret eluded me. I pondered for a moment and said, “Should I ask the prophet?”

[Are you insane? The prophet knows enough magic to escape through time and space. If he escapes like a sorcerer, what will you do?]

“Ugh… Then is there anyone who might know?”

[The easiest method would be to take it to the master of the jungle, the old ruler of reversals. However, I do not recommend that approach.]

“Why?”

[If even the old ruler can’t interpret this bizarre language, it may anger him enough to kill you. He might think that the divine authority has been tarnished due to a lack of knowledge. Furthermore, if the old ruler can interpret it and sees its value, that would be even more dangerous.]

Zhuge Sha murmured with a sinister madness.

[What if he steals your rebirth ability?]

“……”

[Anyway, the Heavenly Secret is truly an odd grimoire… Can we even call this a grimoire?]

After hearing Zhuge Sha’s words, I asked, “Zhuge Sha, you said the grimoire was likely authored by the old ruler, right?”

[That’s correct.]

“Then what kind of guy was the old ruler who wrote the Heavenly Secret?”

[……]

Zhuge Sha didn’t reply for a while. Just as I was about to stretch from boredom, he spoke at last.

[You will find out when you lose everything and reach your demise.]

“What… what kind of nonsense is that?”

[It’s not nonsense. The purpose for the old ruler writing the grimoire is nothing but a means to entertain himself for eons, to relish in the agony and ruin of mortals by bestowing upon them knowledge and power. And when mortals crumble under the might of the grimoire’s power and madness, the old rulers rejoice.]

“… Haha…”

[Perhaps the one who made the Heavenly Secret is waiting for your destruction somewhere.]

Chills crawled up my spine. But instead, I smirked and said, “Don’t scare me.”

Stepping forward, I walked to the altar and slashed my arm with a blade. As my blood dripped onto the altar, the entire underground ruin began to tremble violently.

Oooooo –

Boom!!!

Darkness erupted from below. The darkness that surged up immeasurably began to explode with hundreds and thousands of souls. I could feel the tremendous aggressiveness of those souls swirling around.

[It’s now. Use the essence of the Soul Exchange Technique to absorb those souls into the bracelet!]

“Got it.”

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

After a while, as I resonated with my White to execute the essence of the Soul Exchange Technique, the souls feared to attack me and began to swirl into the bracelet like a whirlpool. The bracelet that enhances my magical abilities also possessed the capacity to store souls, swiftly filling its interior with those wandering souls. The souls that emerged from the darkness were those who had been wrongfully killed when the altar was created, hence they lacked strength, making it easy to absorb them using the power of the Soul Exchange Technique.

Keeying!

In an instant, the gem on the bracelet began to emit light. Zhuge Sha laughed gleefully.

[At least five thousand collected. This place is incredibly sweet.]

“Ugh… But staying here much longer is…”

I frowned.

Boom!!!

The darkness twisted like clouds in the air, beginning to form a gigantic shape. I decided not to look at that form until the end and quickly invoked divine techniques to leap inside.

Bam!

“Get lost!”

The Guardian Giant Spider started to crawl out, but with one kick infused with my inner power, I slammed it against the wall. After grabbing my target, I didn’t look back and called for the Four Great Spirits.

And then, I shouted at the Four Great Spirits, “Let’s go, to the White Lotus Sect!”

The Four Great Spirits said sulkily, [You think the Heavenly Realm will just sit still?]

“So you aren’t going? If you stay here, you’ll be eaten by that guardian.”

[… It can’t be helped.]

Bang!

In the next moment, I felt myself returned to the Thunder God Lineage building of the White Lotus Sect. Wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, I sighed.

“I’ve done it.”

In my hand, I held a radiant ancient sword, and in the other hand, a mirror and jade. This treasure was of incomparable value.

Successfully running away with the seal of the Moon Sovereign from the Seven Luminaries.

“`

 

---