Chapter 659
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Dark Heaven Village?
King of the Life Sea? Can’t build up power?
A single word from Abe no Seimei held a lot of meaning. Especially the mention of the ‘King of the Life Sea’ rang a bell from something I had heard before.
[Ha ha! Has the obligation of the Lunar Kill Technique’s successor to kill a god been swapped out for something else?]
[Well, you’re just a genius; you’re not the true successor, anyway.]
During my 22nd reincarnation, during the Sea God Battle, Master of the Twelve Joules had once mocked Miyamoto Musashi. At that time, Musashi had retorted sharply.
[Don’t speak foolishly. There’s no such thing as a true successor.]
[Really?]
[Yes. There can be no one to defeat the King of the Life Sea.]
Back then, I hadn’t understood what was said and had just brushed it off, especially since we were in a rush to battle against the Sea God with no time to dig for information. But now, the King of the Life Sea had been mentioned again, precisely by Abe no Seimei!
It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling the gravity of the situation; the expressions of others shifted dramatically as well.
Thinking deep, I asked Abe no Seimei, “What is the King of the Life Sea?”
“Do you want to know?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s do some intermediate calculations.”
“What?”
Abe no Seimei offered his hand towards me with a nonchalant gaze.
“Did you not say you would give me treasures for the maintenance of the barrier? I think I’d like that now.”
“Ah…”
At that moment, I couldn’t refuse. He was cleverly manipulating information concerning the King of the Life Sea. Sure, he could’ve just said he’d reveal all later, but with this approach, it felt only right that I immediately hand over a treasure right here and now.
‘Damn, what should I give…’
As I hesitated, Mangnyang pulled out the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line from his pocket and handed it to Abe no Seimei.
“It’s a treasure called the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line. You could probably make good use of it.”
“Mangnyang! That’s…”
Mangnyang smirked. “In this situation, even if I grow stronger, it wouldn’t really mean much, would it?”
“……”
Even so, treasures aren’t something a sorcerer could just hand off like that. As I was tongue-tied, Abe no Seimei examined the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line and then said, “That’s enough. With this, you should be able to get effects similar to the Eight Foot Jade.”
“Eight Foot Jade?”
Upon hearing that, I flinched and asked, “Does the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line carry the same power as the Three Sacred Treasures?”
Abe no Seimei slipped the line into his sleeve without a trace and retorted, “As if. The Three Sacred Treasures belong to the Moon Sovereign, no matter how strong this treasure is, it can’t compare. However, this treasure holds a peculiar power, so maximizing its blessing should greatly enhance the barrier.”
So even the head of the Yin-Yang Master knew that the Three Sacred Treasures belonged to the Moon Sovereign? I gazed at him with a suspicious look.
“Peculiar power?”
“I think it will require inspection to be sure.”
That was a brand new piece of information. I looked at Mangnyang, but he too appeared to be hearing it for the first time. It seemed the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line held some sort of secret.
“To get to the point, the King of the Life Sea is the most powerful Demon King at the Entrance Sea and acts as the gatekeeper leading to the Death Sea.”
“What? Gatekeeper?”
“Yes. It’s so powerful that its existence is considered the strongest demon in the Life Sea, hence the title of King.”
He stated this in a grave tone.
“In truth, this Aokigahara Life Sea wasn’t built to trap just any trash but specifically to seal that ‘King’…”
“……”
The King of the Life Sea! You’re saying that it’s a being far mightier than the overlay-level monsters I saw in the Entrance Sea?!
As I ruminated on this, Cheon Woo-jin, who had come along, asked, “Abe no Seimei, then what lies within the Death Sea?”
“Hmm.”
“If the gatekeeper of the Death Sea is a ‘King’, then what on earth is inside?”
“You would be referred to as the Phenomenon. Truly, as your reputation precedes you.”
“Just answer the question.”
Abe no Seimei looked at Cheon Woo-jin with curiosity, then replied.
“We don’t know. We can’t know.”
“……?”
As we all stared at him, bewildered, Abe no Seimei grabbed an orange from the side and started peeling it.
“Let’s first explain how we ended up sealing this Life Sea.”
“In primordial times, demons proliferated in this Dongyoung land, and your Yin-Yang family took responsibility for driving them into the Life Sea for sealing.”
“That is indeed correct, but it’s slightly different.”
“How so?”
“Actually… this Dongyoung land has coexisted with demons for thousands of years, possessing a barbaric temperament.”
He spoke with a smirk.
“You Central Plains people were blessed by the Three Sovereigns, and the barbarian tribes received protection from Dangun, Samsa, and the Twelve Joules. However, the Dongyoung land had to contend with demons and monsters devoid of proper blessings after Isanagi and Isanami were displaced in the primordial era. Thus, much worse evil deeds and tragedies occurred than in the Central Plains…”
“Hmm…”
“The only fortunate thing was that demons and monsters didn’t get along, so they fought among themselves. Thanks to that, powerful demons arose, mixing blood with humans, leading to the birth of strong human heroes with supernatural abilities capable of battling the otherworldly race. So, the humans in this land have naturally inherited resistance against demons, as well as demon power or supernatural abilities. It’s as if they’ve fought like roaches with their bare hands.”
“I see.”
“And then, the moment arrived where human power peaked. At that time, I led the Yin-Yang sorcerers and heroes, drawing the demons from across Dongyoung and engaging in a confrontation to seal them in the Aokigahara Life Sea. However, a problem arose then.”
“A problem?”
Abe no Seimei sighed.
“Originally, my plan was to seal all the demons and immediately transport them to another world. After all, having such a pit of evil does humanity no good. But… as the magical power condensed into a sphere of chaos, that sphere ended up creating a new Demon King.”
Cheon Woo-jin, who had been listening intently, said, “So the King of the Life Sea is a Demon King born from the convergence of all the magical power of Dongyoung?”
“Yes. And the moment that being was birthed, a demonic realm formed there. It directly connected to the territory of the [Old Ruler], surpassing even the levels of a dimension door… I had no energy left and had to pour everything into sealing the King of the Life Sea and the demon world.”
“……”
“Thanks to Master Mangnyang passing down the Blessing of the Sky, I survived. Had I not obtained the summoning authority of Amaterasu, Dongyoung would have been destroyed then.”
“So it’s carried on up until now?”
“That’s right. Thanks to sealing the demons back then, human civilization in Dongyoung has smoothly developed since.”
It seemed there was a reason why Abe no Seimei trusted Master Mangnyang tremendously. While Abe no Seimei couldn’t create the confrontation area of the Aokigahara Life Sea on his own, he barely maintained its continuity thanks to Mangnyang lending him the Blessing of the Sky.
Mangnyang, deep in thought, suddenly stated, “So even the King of the Life Sea cannot do anything, which means we don’t know anything about the mysterious hermitage the King guards, the Death Sea.”
“That’s right. The interior is an unknown domain. The only sure thing is… something ‘terrifying’ exists that humans can never handle.”
“……”
“Even our Tsuchimikado clan struggles just to prevent the King of the Life Sea from stepping outside.”
“Then what was that Miyamoto Musashi challenged the King of the Life Sea and lost about?”
Mangnyang’s question brought an inexplicable smile to Abe no Seimei’s face.
“Miyamoto Musashi… indeed, he had the makings of a great person. Plus, he was born under a lucky star.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you met Miyamoto Musashi?”
Abe no Seimei’s gaze was directed at me. I straightened up, honestly responding, “I’ve met him a few times.”
“Then you also know of his strength.”
“…He ranks among the top three in the human world. One could say he is the world’s strongest in swordplay alone.”
“To be able to gauge that, you might as well be called a Great Swordsman…”
Abe no Seimei wore an expression of surprise. Apparently, to him, merely being able to gauge Musashi’s strength was quite an accomplishment. After a moment, Abe no Seimei said, “Many warriors have challenged the Aokigahara Life Sea, but Musashi was the first to truly break through to meet the King. However, Musashi’s strength couldn’t inflict even a scratch on the King…”
“Then he should have died, right?”
“That’s why he’s a lucky one. For some reason, the King of the Life Sea took a liking to Musashi and let him go unharmed.”
“……!!”
No way?! If the King of the Life Sea is a pure Demon King made from the gathering of demons, there’s absolutely no way that could happen!
A being that is demons themselves showing favoritism?
As I was astonished, Abe no Seimei stated, “However, the King of the Life Sea does not wish to face a being that has defeated him once. Thus, he has no challenge rights.”
“What do you mean? Isn’t it just a matter of rushing in regardless?”
“The King of the Life Sea will send out all the associated demons when the first challenger arrives and fight them one on one. However, those who recklessly charge in without a challenge ticket will have to face off against the monster horde from the Entrance Sea, in odds of hundreds to one.”
“……”
Each of those Entrance Sea monsters is overlay-level strong, and you’re saying they’re going to team up? If such rules exist, it’s clear that having a first challenge right against the King of the Life Sea is incredibly precious. It provides even a sliver of chance for victory.
“The King of the Life Sea is already close to a Divine Being. I’ve long since given up hope of eliminating that being.”
“But…”
I stared intently at him and said, “In about five hundred years, there will be an ‘end’. What will you do then? When that time comes, the King of the Life Sea will break the seal and revive to rampage in the world.”
“Right. There is no countermeasure.”
“Yet I don’t understand why you went through the Taishan Duke Ritual to gain immortality. Isn’t it just living longer and watching the tragic moment of the end with your own eyes? Why go through all that? You could choose to go to a ‘good place’ even in the afterlife.”
At my question, Abe no Seimei chuckled.
“Certainly, I did want to sit in the best seat to watch the end. I know that artificial salvation exists, but that’s indeed the better path.”
He tossed the orange peel behind the chair and continued, “However, if I don’t maintain this barrier with my sorcery while living long, this land of Dongyoung cannot survive until the end. I can’t stop the end, but at least I want those who live here until then to get through their daily lives.”
“……!!”
“Human life will always be full of ups and downs. But that doesn’t mean the time spent living has no value. Creating life and will is the essence of humanity.”
Abe no Seimei’s words carried a strange resonance, indicating he was a Grand Sorcerer and sage who had lived for an incredibly long time, devoted to protecting humanity like Master Mangnyang.
I momentarily blanked out but then decided to ask the truly vital question.
“… There’s one genuine question I want to ask, and I hope you’ll answer it as well.”
“It may seem like I’m only making an impression with one treasure, but I accept.”
“Do you know what the Lunar Kill Technique specifically is? And what does it mean to be the ‘true successor’ of the Lunar Kill Technique?”
To my inquiry, Abe no Seimei countered, “The Lunar Kill Technique is merely an illusion or legend. Such martial arts do not exist, nor does a true successor.”
“Really? You’re not lying?”
“If there really existed a powerful martial art created by a hundred geniuses aiming to slay a god, I would have learned it myself first. Regardless of how many hundreds or thousands of years it took, I would have sought out the Lunar Kill Technique to kill the King of the Life Sea. But throughout the centuries, I’ve seen the light and darkness of Dongyoung and never once caught sight of such a thing.”
“……”
“Even Miyamoto Musashi didn’t learn the Lunar Kill Technique. He merely…”
Abe no Seimei paused, as if there was something more to be said, and then added, “This is not something for me to elaborate on. Go find him and ask.”
“Do you really not know?”
“I just placed my hopes on the genius that appeared unexpectedly and helped him reach the King of the Life Sea. The details, he would know better than I.”
“Got it.”
I suddenly remembered something and asked, “I heard that recently a straw-hatted warrior charged at a monster and ended up dead; do you know the face of that person?”
“Did such a thing occur?”
“What?”
“I haven’t received a report on that.”
“Aren’t you the managing clan?”
“In our Tsuchimikado clan, the only things we manage are the Living Sea and the Death Sea. What occurs in the Entrance Sea is far beyond our jurisdiction, so we hardly grasp what happens within it. We can sense traces like yours using magical artifacts, but the inner workings remain unknown.”
“……”
I see. So I have to figure out the identity of that straw-hatted warrior separately?
It seems I’ve uncovered all I need to know.
After bidding farewell to Abe no Seimei, I returned to the base with my companions.
Mangnyang remarked, “Baek Woong. Then now…”
“I don’t think there’s a need to go back anymore. There’s too much to do.”
I declared firmly, “As soon as the Fire Dragon Sword is restored, I’ll challenge Dark Heaven Village immediately.”
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