Chapter 528
I was planning to move using Jeon Wook’s powers alongside Geuk-ho.
“What are you doing?”
However, it didn’t work. I felt the remnants of ability or senses of time within me, but the crucial “power” was stalled. If I kept forcing it, it felt like the power cart could tip over, but somehow it seemed dangerous.
‘The Apostle’s Power doesn’t pass down through reincarnation, huh?’
That’s a bit disappointing. If that’s the case, Jeon Wook certainly wouldn’t treat me as an Apostle. Heading towards Mount Penglai or Five Demon Gate from here would surely mean the end for me. So, I decided to check the connection to the Great Immortal while I was at it.
“Hmm…”
The link with Jang Sam-bong was cut off. The same with the Fire Dragon Incarnate.
‘Did Jeon Wook sever my ties as he told me to return to the Celestial Realm back then?’
With just one command, he obliterated the link to the Great Immortal. At that time, Jeon Wook was planning to take me to the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace, and ties like those must have been a hassle, so it made sense. But I noticed that one connection remained.
Yeodong-bin.
That connection still lingered.
Perhaps when Yeodong-bin sealed the Sea God, he perished himself, but that seemed to apply only to that life. Even in existence’s obliteration, it seemed he couldn’t completely sever ties carried over from a previous life.
I decided to give it a shot and called out to Yeodong-bin.
[Are you the connection of mine existing in this age?]
Whack!
Yeodong-bin appeared before me like a phantom. Seeing him made my eyes well up inexplicably.
“Ugh…”
Yes. I had sacrificed Yeodong-bin in my last life to defeat the Sea God, but I couldn’t carry forward that momentum to save the world. I fell short, overwhelmed by my powerlessness. Guilt washed over me for his righteous spirit to be willing to become the seal for the Sea God.
‘I’m sorry.’
I wiped my tears and spoke to Yeodong-bin.
[Ah… no. I shall call you again next time.]
[Got it.]
As Yeodong-bin faded away, I sighed and turned to Geuk-ho standing beside me.
“I was hoping for an easier move, but it seems that’s not happening. Let’s just head to Shandong for now.”
“Shandong? Why there?”
“Because there’s an easy way to move.”
Swish swish!
I took off running with Geuk-ho towards Shandong, but soon ran into a problem.
“Huff! Ack! Hey, wait…!”
“What?”
“Let’s take a break! What kind of internal power is this…”
Geuk-ho collapsed after running hundreds of kilometers. I looked at him in disbelief, but he was already splashing water into a nearby stream to cool off. Looking up at me, he said:
“You’re the abnormal one! How can a human run more than seven hundred kilometers without tiring? This isn’t real human internal power!”
“Hmm.”
“I’ve never run like this in my life.”
“Exactly. Let’s rest a bit.”
As I kindled a small fire, I went and caught a few rabbits or wild boars to roast. It felt like camping after a long time. Geuk-ho sat across from me as we cooked.
“So, you said let’s go, and I’m following, but what’s your objective?”
“Objective, huh…”
Geuk-ho looked at me with eager eyes.
“You’re a skilled Thunder God Lineage warrior, so are we going to take down the White Lotus Sect?”
I chuckled at his remark.
“It seems like talking isn’t going to cut it. Just so you know, that’s not my objective.”
“What? Then what is it?”
“……”
Honestly, I didn’t know how to explain. Would Geuk-ho understand if I divulged the world’s hidden sides, the truths of the White Lotus Sect, and the secrets tangled with the Three Sovereigns and the Old Ruler? Trying to take down just the White Lotus Sect in this situation would seem meaningless, and I knew Geuk-ho wouldn’t grasp that.
‘I need to find an easier way to move.’
Traveling on foot was way too inefficient. I muttered to myself, “Let’s meditate for a bit and keep moving.”
“Got it.”
We crossed mountains and rivers with Light Body Technique until we finally reached the Shandong region. Thanks to some drinking on my part, we were a few days late, but it seemed the Great Dragon Merchant Association’s ship hadn’t set sail yet. They sailed roughly every twenty days, so we had plenty of time to spare. Without even waiting for nightfall, I used the Soul Removal Technique and snuck into the storage area.
Even with the Great Dragon Merchant Association’s guards and merchants everywhere, none of them seemed to notice my presence. Once I retrieved the elixir, I immediately moved to where the Heavenly Secret was located.
Clink!
I flicked away the trap guarding the Heavenly Secret and grabbed it. However, I couldn’t look at it in the same carefree manner as before.
‘What on earth is this?’
The Three Sovereigns and the Old Ruler left me caught in some mysterious phenomenon that made all I had sworn to give up ambiguous. Even those who were the most revered divine beings in the universe didn’t have a clue about what was happening. It was obvious that this strange Grimoire was somehow involved, but what kind of power had it granted me?
I shook off my distracting thoughts and headed back to where Geuk-ho was waiting. I said to him, “Now I’m going to show you the world’s hidden side, so keep your wits about you.”
“Whoa, that sounds terrifying. Let’s go.”
“I warned you.”
Whack!
Using the elixir, we arrived at Luoyang’s Great Jail. Full of prisoners captured secretly by General Hwang Yeon, Duke of Guanzhong, and the Golden Eagle Guards, this place was no doubt a horror show.
I was now directly in the heart of the Great Thunder Valley and turned to Geuk-ho. “What will it be? Free the hostages, or should we tackle the monsters waiting below?”
“Monsters?”
“Monsters that defy human common sense.”
Geuk-ho considered for a moment and then said, “Forget it. Too risky.”
“You made the right call.”
“Give me a proper explanation later.”
I felt reassured that Geuk-ho was thinking rationally. In fact, during the initial raid on Great Thunder Valley, Lee Kwang and Jin So-cheong had suffered mental trauma from the giant toad’s attacks. Even top-tier experts could easily be killed without preparation against demons. This scenario demonstrated why sorcerers or martial arts had to be in play.
Swish!
I descended to face the giant toad. After beating it down, I gathered the treasures in the cave, including the wooden armor. The wooden armor was a vital tool, perfect for stowing many other tools, so it needed to be second on my list after the Heavenly Secret and elixir. When I emerged outside, Geuk-ho had already freed all the hostages, so it was easy to sweep them all up and stash them in the wooden armor.
Next, I headed to Taekyung Village to pick up the Silver Phoenix Fragment, and then Geuk-ho and I set off for Mount Huang. After grabbing some gold bars, I offered blood at the altar to open the back door. However, I didn’t head directly to where the supply was but turned to Geuk-ho and asked, “Can you feel the demon is up there?”
“Hmm. Seems so.”
“Can you take it down alone?”
“Maybe…?”
I crossed my arms and said, “What’s the deal with this? There are demons scattered all over the world.”
“Hmm… impressive.”
“That one’s a weakling, so hurry up and catch it.”
Boom!
Using a joint attack, Geuk-ho and I swiftly subdued the giant spider guarding the supply, then stashed the supply in the wooden armor. After that, I dissected the spider to get the landlord’s essence blade. As I calmly pawed through the treasures, Geuk-ho, looking astonished, asked, “How do you know how to do all this?”
“I’ve been at it repeatedly for ages.”
“What?”
“Anyone can do this.”
I quipped and stepped outside to collect the Black and White Lotus and Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng as well, then headed straight to the ruins with Guang Chengzi.
‘If I’m going to get these, I might as well do it now.’
Swish!
I gathered the Three Sovereigns’ Inner Gate inside the ruins. This Inner Gate was no less than a treasure comparable to the essence blades; it would greatly help Mangnyang. Afterward, I went to Dongyoung’s mine to start harvesting obsidian, which Geuk-ho found utterly ridiculous.
“What… is this? It’s like I’m at home in the universe…”
“I told you, I’m showing you a world you never anticipated.”
“Whoa, it’s way beyond expectations.”
After mining all the obsidian, I recalled something I almost forgot.
“Ah, right. I need to grab that.”
I moved to the residence of the so-called Miyamoto Musashi—real name Sasaki Kojiro—and immediately began to beat him up.
Thump!
“Grah! What the…?”
“Hand over the Book of Five Relationships.”
“Ugh! Just kill me already!”
I placed my hand on the head of the crumpled Sasaki Kojiro and activated the Soul Exchange Technique. Perhaps because I hadn’t reached the level of greatness yet, Kojiro struggled and resisted for a moment, but a half-moment of continuous activation began to relax his eyes.
I commanded, “Hand over the Book of Five Relationships.”
“Got it… understood…”
It seemed he had been hiding the Book of Five Relationships under the tatami in a back room. As he offered it to me with both hands, I said, “I’m sorry for today’s incident; I’ll find you a nice job later.”
“……”
Swish!
Once I snatched the Book of Five Relationships, I took a moment to rest at the inn facing Zhongnan Sect. This was a place I remembered from before when I had come with Jin So-cheong to raid Zhongnan Sect, and the food was pretty decent.
As I was enjoying some food, Geuk-ho remarked, “You really steal others’ secret techniques…”
I slurped my noodles and replied, “It wasn’t suited for him anyway.”
“One thing’s clear—you’re no great hero.”
Geuk-ho teased, and I laughed back.
“It’s just that the rest are too petty to live up to that role.”
Geuk-ho cautiously asked me, “Collecting this many fortuitous encounters and treasures… are you really planning to take down the Master of the White Lotus Sect?”
“Huh?”
What was he even talking about?
I tilted my head and scratched it.
“Hmm… I don’t understand why you’re so obsessed with the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”
“That guy chased out the Thunder God Lineage and created all this misfortune.”
“…Don’t you think even the Master of the White Lotus Sect is just a victim swept by fate?”
Geuk-ho looked at me wide-eyed with disbelief. Then, sounding astonished, he said, “Are you crazy? As if someone from the Thunder God Lineage would worry about the Master of the White Lotus Sect…”
“Oh… I see.”
“You really are a strange one.”
Strange one, huh.
I pondered his words. Surely, it must seem that way. Does the Thunder God Lineage really have a sense of belonging to me right now?
As I savored the delicious food, I asked Geuk-ho, “Are you starting to want to learn the truth, or do you just want to kill some bad guys with your own hands?”
“I don’t get what you’re saying, but if it’s the latter, I’ll be able to kill them easily.”
“This isn’t a suggestion made with pure goodwill.”
“Then?”
“I’m trying to make you my accomplice to keep you from escaping this cycle. You might want to kill me once you learn the truth. Plus, letting you go after learning the truth could become too big of a variable in the future.”
Geuk-ho listened calmly and responded, “That’s a chillingly rational voice. Are you planning on killing me?”
“I’d prefer not to. Honestly, I never intended to drag you into this.”
That was the truth. But due to the connection forged over drinks, I put up with the hassle of having Geuk-ho accompany me this time.
I looked at Geuk-ho with a cold gaze and said, “I want to see if you can be my companion.”
“Is this some kind of test?”
I nodded my head. If Geuk-ho could accept it to the end, I intended to make him a partner in sharing obsidian moving forward. I could take responsibility for him.
“So what will it be, Geuk-ho?”
“……”
Geuk-ho crossed his arms and thought for a long moment before finally saying, “I’ll do it. I want to know everything now.”
“Good.”
I briefed Geuk-ho about the Blood Blade Group and what kind of deeds were happening inside. It was essential to prepare some background or else Geuk-ho might go wild with anger. As expected, just explaining it made him wear an extremely agitated expression.
“I’d be able to kill without a shred of guilt.”
“Then let’s go.”
Swish!
“Gahhh!”
We headed toward the leader of the Blood Blade Group, unleashing a massacre. We killed everything in sight, and Geuk-ho used the Thunder God Lineage’s spear techniques with ease, stabbing the pirates like kebabs.
‘Bringing him along was a smart move.’
Normally, handling hundreds alone would be a tedious task, but with Geuk-ho’s help, it became effortless. While Geuk-ho was busy slaying outside, I rescued Seo Mun-hye and the hostages underground and began to wipe out the pirates with her assistance.
Bang!
Geuk-ho angrily tossed a pirate’s head to the ground, saying, “I had no idea such bad folks existed.”
At that moment, Seo Mun-hye approached us and expressed gratitude.
“Thank you, esteemed warriors.”
“Haha, it’s nothing much.”
Geuk-ho’s mood lifted upon receiving thanks from the beautiful Seo Mun-hye, and I felt oddly reassured watching him.
‘As expected, Geuk-ho is Geuk-ho.’
Worrying that revealing the world’s hidden side might twist him was unnecessary; Geuk-ho’s free spirit seemed to be able to withstand it. I rescued the hostages and tied up all the loose ends within a day, grabbing the black robes before stepping outside.
And now, I recalled it was time to encounter my companion, leading Geuk-ho to say, “We will be meeting my companion now, and then you’ll know the truth.”
“I’m ready.”
“Then…”
Swish!
We headed toward Jinrang Valley where Mangnyang awaited. I found him sipping water from a well.
“Here, take this.”
“Yikes! Who are you?!”
Mangnyang, startled, looked at me with suspicion, and Geuk-ho glanced nervously at me.
“You don’t seem like a companion…”
“……”
“You seem to be experts from Jianghu. What’s going on here?”
“This obsidian has the power to share memories.”
Holding the obsidian forward, I said, “Once you accept this memory, I’m sure you’ll let out a sigh.”
“……?”
“Drop the act. Just take it.”
With a puzzled expression, Mangnyang hesitated but eventually relented. “Alright.”
Vroom!
Once Mangnyang took the obsidian and received the memories, he stood there for a moment, dazed, as if lost in thought. I watched, heart pounding, and sure enough, Mangnyang let out a sigh.
“Hah… You had me right. How did you know I would sigh?”
“You do that often…”
“Haha, I wish there’d be a day I don’t sigh.”
Mangnyang forced a smile and added, “Come in. Let’s definitely win this time.”
