Yeodong-bin shook his head in response.

[How could I? Hou Yi is my senior and a great hero, with only Lee Rang-jin-gun, Nam Bukdu, or Celestial Sage being comparable to him. Additionally, probing into the matter of the Xuanyuan Sword might raise suspicion, so I couldn’t delve any further.]

“Hmm.”

[This is about all I know.]

“Is it possible to summon Yeochuk through an Offering Ceremony?”

[Yeochuk is a celestial being, so it could be done, but she belongs to Hou Yi now. You would need his permission first.]

“Understood.”

I sent Yeodong-bin away, and as he left, Zhuge Sa, who had been watching, chimed in.

“Interesting. Since Hou Yi knows about the Xuanyuan Sword, we must press him for answers.”

“Should we make an offering to Hou Yi?”

“Well!”

Zhuge Sa seemed thrilled, his fingers interlocking.

“Before acting hastily, there’s something amusing: Why does Hou Yi possess such knowledge?”

“……? What do you mean?”

“The Xuanyuan Sword is a secret treasure left behind by the Emperor for humanity. But of all people, it would make sense for Hou Yi, who once shot down the Sun, to know about the secrets of the legendary treasure. Doesn’t that seem a bit odd?”

“……”

He had a point.

I assumed only the Three Sovereigns or their direct apostles would know about the secrets of the Xuanyuan Sword, not that Yu would know about it at all. Cheon Woo-jin then added, “I think it’s very likely the information about the Xuanyuan Sword could be fake. It’s dangerous to approach him recklessly.”

“What should we do?”

“We must stick to our plan.”

With a swift motion, I made my way to Mount Ye. Activating the Heavenly Secret Technique, I began my soul search.

‘Spirit of Gongsun Byeok, head of the Gongsun Clan from a thousand years ago… Answer my call!’

Normally, I’d pick a spirit by its size and color, but the Heavenly Secret Technique grants me the ability to target specific souls. As I focused my intention on locating Gongsun Byeok’s spirit, a strong response began to surge.

‘Is finding older spirits more difficult, I wonder?’

Recently deceased spirits respond easily while older ones tend to hide away until gradually revealing themselves. In this case, it seemed Gongsun Byeok must have been wandering around like a ghost, with his consciousness shut off.

SSSSS!!

Gongsun Byeok’s spirit appeared, but he looked dazed, staring vacantly at the void.

[Ah… ah…]

Having died so long ago and lost hope of being summoned, he seemed almost lifeless. He was in a state hardly distinguishable from a ghost, with almost no strong aura left. Yet, I could tell he was indeed Gongsun Byeok, the clan leader I saw in Yeodong-bin’s memories.

Since I had brought Cheon Woo-jin for such scenarios, I gave him a sidelong glance. He then reluctantly responded, “To lift a spirit from void, you have to forcibly inject spirit power or forceful energy. There are recovery techniques too, but they’re very tedious. Pure energy infusion works best to resurrect a spirit buried in the void.”

“Huh?”

“Go ahead, give it a try.”

“……?”

“……”

I tilted my head in confusion, and silence stretched on.

After a moment of misunderstanding, Cheon Woo-jin snapped, “Ugh, you idiot! I meant to inject Spirit Power!”

Frustrated by his irritation, I muttered, “Why not just say it directly…?”

In response, Cheon Woo-jin raged, “Damn it! By now, your studies should have made you wise enough to get that! Are you a rookie? A child? Have you been learning through your butt all this time, you fool! Someone at your level should be able to run a Daoist Hall.”

“……”

I declared I would never learn techniques from such a hot-headed jerk and instead focused on injecting Gongsun Byeok’s spirit with spirit power. I suddenly felt a longing to learn techniques from someone other than him. I found myself missing Mangnyang.

WHOOOOSH!

Finally, Gongsun Byeok’s spirit flickered and began to regain consciousness. The vile energy that had clung to him like a ghost dispersed, and he returned fully to his human form. Gongsun Byeok, regaining his senses, spoke to me.

[Th… Thank you. Did you summon me? If I follow your words, will I be saved?]

He seemed bewildered, babbling, but was aware of why he was here. I nodded and addressed him.

“Gongsun Byeok. In your lifetime, didn’t you make a deal with the Divine Thief regarding the information about the Xuanyuan Sword?”

[Uh… Yes, that did happen.]

“I want the information you have regarding the Xuanyuan Sword. Tell me everything you know.”

[……]

Gongsun Byeok eyed me cautiously before finally speaking.

[Um… I have a question, though…]

“What is it?”

[What happened to the Gongsun Clan after I died? If you know, could you tell me?]

“Your clan was destroyed a thousand years ago. Even Hou Yi vanished without a trace. Thus, I summoned your spirit, as I could not find the descendants of the Gongsun Clan.]

[Huff… I will curse the Fire Dragon Incarnate!!]

Gongsun Byeok suddenly wrathfully directed his anger towards the Fire Dragon Incarnate, but I just stared at him blankly.

‘What do you expect me to do?’

Having seen Yeodong-bin’s reminiscences, I knew Gongsun Byeok had died for a reason. The Fire Dragon Incarnate showed not an ounce of cowardice in taking him out. I stared at him coldly, causing Gongsun Byeok to cough awkwardly before saying,

[The Xuanyuan Sword has been our family heirloom for generations. However, what was stored inside the clan was merely an elaborate fake; the real one had gone missing a long time ago.]

“Missing, you say?”

[The documented records from our clan date back to the time of King Wu of the Western Zhou. In that era, the last king of Shang, Di Xin, was defeated and jumped into fire to commit suicide. During this turmoil, the Xuanyuan Sword went missing as the Gongsun Clan was swept up in the chaos. Since then, we’ve been passing down copies through generations.]

“……”

It was undoubtedly a family secret he would never have shared when alive, but since Gongsun Byeok was already dead and the fate of the afterlife was at stake, he seemed to spill it without hesitation. Hearing his words, I pondered and then asked, “By your words, it implies your clan has existed since the era of Western Zhou… so how long is your history?”

[We existed even prior to that. Our clan was founded by Emperor Gongsun Xuanwen.]

I scoffed at Gongsun Byeok’s claim.

“You must be joking. If you’re indeed descendants of the Three Sovereigns, you should wield colossal powers and abilities, yet you’re merely a human ghost.”

[Who said otherwise? I don’t genuinely believe in the Three Sovereigns. It just means we’ve been around for a long time.]

“So, you intended to deceive the Divine Thief with nonexistent information about the Xuanyuan Sword.”

[… I thought I could use the Divine Thief against her, who was the number one thief in the martial world known for his prowess. Even though he was a nameless figure, his martial arts were also of high caliber. So, with the help of the White Lotus Sect and the Divine Thief, I intended to gain the Overlord’s Sword to control the martial world…]

Gongsun Byeok frowned in melancholy. Surely, he never thought he’d be defeated by a teenage boy, possessed by the Fire Dragon Incarnate, on Mount Ye while he had brought the Dharma Guardian and all. Who would have guessed he would lose?

‘Is there anything else to ask?’

I contemplated for a moment. It seemed Gongsun Byeok truly didn’t know the whereabouts of the Xuanyuan Sword, leaving me with little else to uncover. At this point, I had to proceed with summoning Hou Yi or his servant, the witch Yeochuk, for answers.

Suddenly, a thought struck me, prompting me to question him.

“Gongsun Byeok. Just one more question… does your clan have any distinct physical traits or unique characteristics passed down?”

[Hmm…? What do you mean?]

“If desired, I can help find descendants of the Gongsun Clan. I will update you on their fate later. I vow not to bring them harm.”

[Oh… really?!!]

Gongsun Byeok seemed greatly surprised. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, “[Our clan does tend to favor the color white.]”

“I see. And?”

[Throughout generations, our daughters have been exceedingly beautiful, stunning even the world at large. The finest beauty of the martial world always comes from our clan.]

“That doesn’t sound like much to brag about as a martial family though…”

[… The martial talent of our children is also quite impressive.]

“……”

[……]

I fell silent.

‘In the end, that means there aren’t really any noteworthy traits!’

It would be strange to use such trivial information to find the descendants of a clan that had been extinguished a thousand years ago! What significance does liking white carry, and being pretty girls isn’t exactly a defining feature! I grimaced and said, “Just tell me the next most likely candidate who could have led the Gongsun Clan. I’ll summon their soul and get to the bottom of it.”

[I had two sons and one daughter. My eldest son is Gongsun Jung, my second son is Gongsun Seok, and my youngest daughter is Gongsun Hye. One of them must have become the clan leader.]

“Got it. Now, you can go.”

SSSSS

Having gathered quite a bit of information from Gongsun Byeok, I still felt as if I lacked substantial gains. Exhausted, I turned to Cheon Woo-jin and said, “Damn it. If I want to find the Xuanyuan Sword, I’ll have to summon Yeochuk or Hou Yi…”

“As I mentioned, I’m against that. It’s dangerous.”

“Why’s it dangerous to approach Yu? We can simply offer our offering and obtain the information.”

“You fool. That’s exactly why it’s dangerous. If the Xuanyuan Sword exists as a legendary treasure, it’s suspicious if only Yu and his followers know about it.”

“……”

“There must be hidden secrets from the Mythological Age involved. And don’t forget, Hou Yi fought alongside the Queen Mother of the West to the very end because of the Moon Palace Vessel during your previous life. Hou Yi will surely inform the Queen Mother of any suspicions he has about you.”

Cheon Woo-jin’s words rang with truth.

‘It seems there’s no other option but to continue searching for the Gongsun Clan…’

With little choice left, I made my way to Luoyang, the last known location of the Gongsun Clan in the past. There, I sought the souls of Gongsun Jung, Gongsun Seok, and Gongsun Hye as Gongsun Byeok had instructed.

‘Not here?’

I calmly checked every soul from a thousand years ago, but not a single trace of the two sons and a daughter of the Gongsun Clan could be found. It appeared likely they had evacuated before the clan perished, possibly meeting their demise or fleeing somewhere else afterward.

I could search other places, but without knowing where they had run to, combing the vicinity would be futile. If I continued searching this way, I’d be buried in the Heavenly Secret Technique for at least ten years.

Seeing my progress stall, I sought Zhuge Sa. To my surprise, he said, “Really? Then just quit for now.”

“Huh?”

“There’s another way to search.”

“What’s that?”

“Regardless, you were planning to delay the challenge in Dark Heaven Village while sending Jin So-cheong to infiltrate the White Lotus Sect, right?”

Zhuge Sa chuckled. “The Jade Dragon’s General of the Han Clan joined the White Lotus Sect a thousand years ago, at the same time as Gongsun Byeok. Thus, there should definitely be records remaining there of that era. Plus, the current leader of the Han Clan, Han Baek-ryeong, should know a bit more about it. After all, it was the Han Clan that eventually rose to prominence, succeeding the Gongsun Clan in the martial world.”

“…That makes sense!”

“If Jin So-cheong becomes the Sect Leader’s disciple, she can naturally get in touch with Han Baek-ryeong and learn more about it. No need to rush.”

Plans to position Jin So-cheong as the disciple of the Sect Leader! Following that route will undoubtedly yield more outcomes.

As I was marveling at this newfound strategy, Zhuge Sa said, “If you’ve got nothing else to do for now, you should teach Jin So-cheong. Even if it’s just sparring, you both can benefit greatly from it.”