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00441 Dark Heaven Village (암천향) ————————————————————————=

I began gathering the treasures I could, just as Zhuge Sa instructed. I had obtained the basic Heavenly Secret and Golden Lamp, so gathering the rest was just a matter of time. First, I went straight to the underground of Great Thunder Valley with Zhuge Sa and engaged in battle with the Moon Beast while practicing the Three Treasure Technique.

Kuuuu…

The enormous Moon Beast fell with a roar. As I entered the cave and collected the Wooden Armor, Nine Stars Main Capital, and Twin Swords, Zhuge Sa, who had followed me, spoke.

“Let me take a look. That’s why we came here.”

Zhuge Sa scrutinized the corpse of the Moon Beast for quite some time and then said,

“I think this one might be useful.”

“Useful? In what way?”

“There aren’t any Moon Beasts of this size among their kind. Usually, they don’t grow larger than eight span, but this one is at least five times bigger. That means the magical power it possesses is immense.”

As expected of a Demon Sorcerer, Zhuge Sa was knowledgeable about otherworldly races. I looked at the Moon Beast with fresh eyes.

“So that’s why it was able to use such powerful summoning abilities?”

During the fight, this beast had unleashed several summoning waves. Of course, Zhuge Sa, who was watching from behind, was hit by the wave but seemed unaffected, perhaps due to being well-versed in magic.

As Zhuge Sa tried to slice through the slippery hide of the beast with a dagger, the slimy mucus made it impossible.

“Hmmm… It’s going to be tough to use it this way. Can you shed its skin using your martial arts?”

I was taken aback when I saw the sheer size of the Moon Beast.

“W-What? You want me to skin such a giant creature whole?”

“We can gather its hide to create demon artifacts or use it as an offering to the Ancient Ruler. It would also be excellent for making weapons or armor. As for the meat, it carries a dark energy, so just burn it.”

“Got it.”

With no other option, I braced myself for some time consumption and began to peel off the beast’s hide. As I used Sword Strength, the skin sliced through like tofu, but due to its immense size, it still took considerable time. After two moments of hard work, I managed to get most of the hide off.

Stacking the stripped hide to one side, it was nearly as large as a decent-sized house. Zhuge Sa chuckled.

“Grin. Just put it in the Wooden Armor for now. We can use it later.”

“Alright, then let’s put Hwang Yeon’s group in the Wooden Armor…”

“Wait. I need to see that too.”

“What?”

“I have a feeling about this.”

I went up with Zhuge Sa to the Thunder Pearl where Hwang Yeon’s group was trapped and rescued each one. Zhuge Sa looked at those among them who had transformed into a half-human, half-beast monstrosity due to their otherworldly transformation and said,

“Just as I thought, it’s the blessing of an Evil Spirit.”

Now that I think about it, during our first successful rescue operation in Great Thunder Valley, Master Mangnyang had said the curse they were under was the “Blessing of the Evil Spirit.” Zhuge Sa must have followed me here to revisit that memory. The explanation Master Mangnyang gave me before came flooding back.

[For humans, there’s a curse, but for them, this magic is certainly the blessing of an Evil Spirit. Unlike other Ancient Beings, an Evil Spirit doesn’t recklessly increase their followers. With fewer in number, each one is incredibly strong, unlike mere mortals. Once transformed completely into a child of the Evil Spirit, immortality is guaranteed along with exceptional magical abilities, so otherworldly beings are practically desperate to receive that blessing.]

For humans, it’s a curse, but for otherworldly beings, it’s a blessing.

I mumbled those words, feeling something strange, and asked Zhuge Sa,

“Zhuge Sa, doesn’t something feel off?”

“What’s wrong?”

“According to my memory, if one fully transforms into a descendant of the Evil Spirit via its blessing, they gain immortality and powerful magical abilities, but this looks like a cursed death.”

It was true. Those who had transformed under the Evil Spirit’s blessing were rendered immobile, wriggling like worms. Their appearances were grotesque, and they emitted horrific sounds, making it impossible to imagine any potent powers from them. Zhuge Sa stroked the tentacles of one who bore the Evil Spirit’s blessing and said,

“Hey, take a good look. Even among these, there are classifications.”

“……?”

“Weak races, originally human-like, cannot endure such a powerful divine blessing. So, nine out of ten end up dead or degraded into low-tier otherworldly beings. However… do you see those who’ve turned completely jet black?”

Indeed, I noticed individuals among them whose bodies had turned completely black, unlike the other victims. When I glanced over, Zhuge Sa tightly grasped one of their tentacles and grinned.

“Those guys have endured the blessing. They must have been born with strong bodies or exceptional talents. I’d wager that in a few years, they’ll undergo metamorphosis and regenerate as beings of the Evil Spirit’s race.”

Upon realizing the implications of that statement, my expression soured.

“You mean they’ll become high-level otherworldly beings?”

“Right. Whoever imprisoned the prisoners in this Great Thunder Valley seems to have been conducting some sort of experiment. They clearly saw it as a hatching ground to create high-level otherworldly creatures that obey their orders.”

“…….!!”

I paused for a moment, then retorted.

“Zhuque Zhuge Yulong!”

“Well, that’s only natural. You’ve got some dark tastes, brother.”

“Hmm… but what does that mean now? Should we kill them since they’ll hatch into beings of the Evil Spirit?”

When I expressed my doubts, Zhuge Sa shook his head.

“No, that’s not it. We’ve gone through all this trouble to conduct such magical experiments, so we might as well take the fruits of our labor.”

“Hatch the descendants of the Evil Spirit, you say?”

“Exactly. We’ll create an army of high-level otherworldly beings under your command…”

“……”

I thought deeply before asking back.

“You said high-level otherworldly beings, but how strong are these descendants of the Evil Spirit?”

“Very strong. They vastly surpass humans.”

“Hmmm.”

“Well, you’re not well-versed in magical knowledge, so let me simplify it for you.”

Zhuge Sa chuckled and drew a triangular shape in the dirt with a twig. Then, he drew a line along the formidable base and said,

“Looking at the entire distribution of species in this world, at the very lowest level of the food chain are all kinds of animals, plants, and microorganisms inferior to humans. Then, humans are next.”

Zhiik

Zhuge Sa made another line and wrote the character 人間 next to it. My expression turned sour.

“So humans are barely scraping by at the bottom… Is that really how low humans rank?”

Zhuge Sa giggled.

“Humans were originally created as a lower race for [Ancient Beings] to use as food and pets. Plus, their technological advancements are so primitive that they cannot escape their planet. Their bodies are frail. On top of that, their innate spiritual and magical powers are at rock bottom… Humans are a weak and foolish race, the universal punching bag, born losers, if you will.”

“……”

“There are countless other races stronger than humans. Even Nightgants or ghouls surpass humans. And at the mid-range, you had the Moon Beast and the Snake Humans you just defeated.”

Zhiik

Zhuge Sa pointed to just below the highest level.

“This is roughly where we start calling it high-level otherworldly beings, and includes the [Great Races] and [Descendants of the Evil Spirit]. Among the thousands of otherworldly races, these are the most powerful. They possess scientific and magical knowledge that easily transcends humanity and can traverse not just planets but galaxies too.”

“Who’s at the very top of the triangle?”

“Do you really not know? Naturally, it’s the [Ancient Ruler] or their avatars.”

“I see.”

Once Zhuge Sa wrapped up the explanation, he let go of the tentacle of the victim and said,

“If you utilize these guys well, you might create a personal guard of high-level otherworldly beings that move solely for you. What do you think?”

“Not really appealing.”

“High-level otherworldly beings have a completely different growth limit from humans, so those who undergo metamorphosis will gain tremendous supernatural powers and magic with just a bit of training.”

Zhuge Sa seemed to be trying to persuade me, but I shook my head resolutely.

“They are still humans. I can’t use them as fighting troops! What I want to know is how to turn them back into humans, not how to give birth to monsters.”

“Ugh… you’re missing another opportunity here. Well, I already knew you were that kind of person.”

With a sigh, Zhuge Sa dusted himself off and stood up.

“There’s already a method for that, and Master Mangnyang suggested it to you. I think there’s no way beyond that.”

“Is that so?”

“If there was a truly good method, we’d need to defeat the source of the magic, the Evil Spirit. Hehe.”

That was definitely an impossible task right now. But I wouldn’t give up!

I asked Zhuge Sa, focusing my resolve to defeat even the Evil Spirit someday.

“What exactly is an Evil Spirit?”

“The [Ancient Ruler], of course.”

“Not that. It rises above the Rulers and aims to annihilate humans. So, does that mean it’s particularly powerful among the [Ancient Rulers]?”

“Ooh, you seem to have guessed it. That’s right.”

Zhuge Sa sat nearby and continued.

“From what I know, this being could move freely between worlds through the heavens. Not merely crossing dimensions like mere Demon Sorcerers, but traversing the immense folds of the universe to navigate immeasurable time and space.”

“……”

“Also, they are the grandchild of the Outer God Yog-Sothoth and a descendant of Nugg, making them a descendant of chaos. They’re considered the closest to the existing [Ancient Rulers], no doubt powerful beyond measure.”

I grew frustrated.

“Why can’t that thing just stay buried in the ocean? What’s the need to rise and destroy humanity?”

“If, while you’re asleep, ants started building an anthill nearby, would you find it unreasonable if you smashed it out of annoyance? Wouldn’t you want to just break it?”

“Ugh…”

“That’s what it is. To gods, humans are like specks of dust.”

I shook my head.

“If there’s nothing more to do, I’ll move on.”

“Do as you wish.”

Pa-at

Next, I headed to the Blood Blade Group and began to annihilate them. As I wiped out the Blood Blade Group, Zhuge Sa said,

“Maybe we should leave a few alive next time? We could use them for human sacrifices.”

“It’s better just to kill them. It’s more bothersome to keep track of them.”

I replied like that while collecting the Blood Blade Group’s treasures and rescuing hostages. After finishing with the Blood Blade Group, I moved near the Namgung Clan.

This time, I hesitated a bit. I wasn’t sure if Sword King Namgung Myeong would be here, given the different timing from when I previously went treasure hunting. Last time, things worked out well due to luck and a surprise attack. As I pondered, Zhuge Sa said,

“What are you worrying about? Just go. Compared to the enemies you should be facing, Namgung Myeong is just a small fry. Why waste time and mental energy on someone like him? He’s not someone you absolutely need to eliminate.”

“Easier said than done. If we leave Namgung Myeong and Namgung Hwan alive, there will be continuous sacrifices.”

“Such a busybody for no reason…”

Zhuge Sa grumbled.

“Just leave it. More critical matters lie ahead. Handle those first, and you can deal with them later. If it really bothers you, just rescue the women.”

“Alright.”

Pa-at

After rescuing the women from the Namgung Clan, I went to the Inner Imperial Pavilion of the Imperial Palace and placed the Nameless Ritual Book into the Wooden Armor. Then, after I gathered everything I could from the Water Element of Seven Luminaries ruins, I headed to the White Lotus Sect’s Sacred Lotus cultivation grounds and picked a few Sacred Lotuses. After that, I obtained the Three Sovereigns’ Inner Gate from the Joint Mountain and finally retrieved the Silver Phoenix Statue from Taekyung Village.

With that, I felt like I had completed quite a bit. As I undertook this series of actions, I purposely refrained from bringing back the Crystal Stele. I didn’t want to provoke the Imperial Palace unnecessarily. Instead, I looked at Zhuge Sa with newfound curiosity.

“I thought you would get rid of Zhuge Bu in the Imperial Palace, but you’re not doing that.”

“Why would I want to blow up Yin-Yang Heaven Bug? Since it’s embedded there, I can share the guy’s five senses anytime I want. Of course, I can’t read memories or control him.”

“What!”

There’s such a function?!

If that was the case, then the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug must be as valuable as a talisman and would seem no different from being trapped by the Soul Exchange Technique. If he could see and hear all the information transmitted through five senses, that was astounding. And Zhuge Sa really was a crazy person for implanting such a malicious bug into his nephew.

Zhuge Sa said,

“Now then, let’s wrap things up and proceed with the Seven Luminaries’ Ritual. This time we will definitely find a method.”

I first prepared for the ritual, giving Mangnyang the Three Sovereigns’ Inner Gate and Suspicious Fishhook. Then I persuaded Cheon Woo-jin to start the ceremony, and soon enough, Heavenly Ruler of Tai Xu was summoned.

Gooooh

I started with the Heavenly Ruler of Tai Xu and slowly moved on to the next turn. When it was time for the second, Queen Mother of the West, and then the third, Great Immortal, a voice rang out.

“I wish to receive your blessings!”

The Great Immortal surprisingly said,

[Hmm… Then I, Southern Flower Immortal, will give you the Tai Ping Magic Scroll.]

The third turn was none other than Southern Flower Immortal, whom I had fought while in my 19th life against the Master of the White Lotus Sect!

As Southern Flower Immortal fumbled around to hand me the Tai Ping Magic Scroll, I firmly shook my head.

“No, what I desire is not that.”

[Hmm…?]

I spoke softly.

“I don’t want the Tai Ping Magic Scroll itself; I want the Tai Ping Magic (太平妖術) itself. Please grant me the magic of Tai Ping as a cost for the Seven Luminaries’ Ritual.”