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“I couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered the moment Cheon Gong-pyo appeared.”

[Let’s meet again in seven nights. If you show me strength worthy of becoming my ally, I’ll make an alliance with you, except for the strength of the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.]

That was the promise Cheon Gong-pyo made back then. When I suggested we join forces to gather the Seven Luminaries, my offer was dismissed with a dismissive wave, but when the Heavenly Mysterious Woman yelled at him, he hesitated.

But now, it was still before the promised seven nights, and yet here he was already?

As I stared at him, Cheon Gong-pyo asked, [Is it strange that I came early?]

“I’m just not ready yet.”

[Hmmm…]

I noticed Cheon Gong-pyo scanning my companions with a peculiar gaze. She stopped when she reached Cheon Woo-jin, who met her gaze with a poker face, not flinching at all.

[So, you’re the one who shed a skin of humanity. What’s your name?]

“Cheon Woo-jin.”

[What makes someone like you help this guy?]

“No reason was given.”

Even though Cheon Woo-jin received my obsidian artifact, he showed no sign of being intimidated. It was somewhat surprising that such a calm character boldly accepted Cheon Gong-pyo’s demeanor—she didn’t seem angry either. I shot him a sideways glance.

“Has he really grown that strong?”

On the surface, it was impossible to tell. There was no hint of the infinite internal power of the Heavenly Spirit Pill or the overwhelming pressure of the Absolute Realm. Yet, if even the transcendent Cheon Gong-pyo acknowledged him, it meant the current Cheon Woo-jin was on a completely different level.

A moment later, Cheon Gong-pyo surprised me with an unexpected statement.

[Baek Woong, right? I’m going to join hands with your group.]

“……!!”

Just like that? I didn’t expect her to decide just by looking at Cheon Woo-jin. But it made me hesitate to feel too happy, as if I were being swayed by her intentions. I carefully asked, “So… are you going to act alongside us to look for the Seven Luminaries?”

[Before that, I need your help with something.]

“Ah.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be that simple. Cheon Gong-pyo didn’t strike me as the kind soul.

As I expected, Cheon Gong-pyo frowned at me.

[Are you unhappy?]

“It’s not that I’m unhappy.”

[To put it directly, I need to gain control over Golden Crow Island. If you help me with that, I’ll actively assist you in gathering the Seven Luminaries.]

“……?”

Control over Golden Crow Island? I tilted my head, confused, when Cheon Woo-jin chimed in.

“It seems like the Ten Heavenly Generals aren’t listening to you.”

[What do you know?]

“Apologize if I’m wrong.”

Cheon Gong-pyo folded her arms confidently.

[You’re right.]

“So I don’t have to apologize?”

[Indeed.]

I had nothing to say as I watched their exchange.

“……”

Is Cheon Gong-pyo here for a joke contest?

Regardless of my thoughts, Cheon Gong-pyo began to outline her situation.

[Currently, the Ten Heavenly Generals have turned against me and are hiding strongly within their castle. I need to eliminate them, but it’s taking too long and is too troublesome, so I need your help.]

“Hmm.”

So the Ten Heavenly Generals went hostile against Cheon Gong-pyo? I asked carefully, still reeling from the unexpected situation.

“Aren’t they your former subordinates when you were the Dao King? Why are they rejecting you?”

[They said they have a new master now.]

“A new master…”

I started piecing it together. The Old Ruler from the Imperial Palace was once a middle manager at the Demon Subduing Hall, and that existence appointed the Demon King Daji as his apostle. For the officials of Golden Crow Island, which was sealed due to opposing the celestial realm, there couldn’t be a stronger lifeline than that new master, so they naturally had to reject their old master, the Dao King Cheon Gong-pyo.

‘No matter how strong Dao King Cheon Gong-pyo is, she can’t quite measure up to the true Old Ruler…’

I had something to verify, so I asked, “Then what about Daji? She was bound, has she possibly been released from the seal?”

[No, she is still bound.]

“Hmm.”

[However, even I find releasing her cumbersome, so forget about that.]

What? It seems Cheon Gong-pyo could release Daji’s seal whenever she wanted. Yet, her tone implied she could but didn’t want to. I wanted to dig into this matter further but sensed that if I pressed too hard, Cheon Gong-pyo would get angry.

Instead, I said, “I’ll help you. But first, I need to know what your ultimate goal is.”

[What do you mean?]

“I’m talking about your ultimate objective. Our goal is to gather the Seven Luminaries and open a path to the Divine Temple with the Emperor’s support to reclaim humanity’s sovereignty. We need to correct the messed-up reincarnation cycle.”

[……]

“There will likely be parts of our goals that align and parts that differ. But from our perspective, even if we lend you our strength, we need to know exactly what it is that you desire. Otherwise, how can we call it an alliance?”

[Hmmm.]

I emphasized firmly, “Infiltrating Golden Crow Island is no small matter. We need to know what you aim to do after you take control of it. This is non-negotiable.”

Listening to my words, Cheon Gong-pyo rested her chin in her hand, deep in thought.

After a long while, she spoke.

[I want to achieve balance in this comfortable world. For that, I must reach a point of intersection where realms entwine. I need to know the point where reality overlaps with the realm of illusions.]

“What…?”

[To achieve that, the cooperation of Golden Crow Island is essential.]

I expected her to talk about confronting the Three Sovereigns or annihilating humanity. But surprisingly, what Cheon Gong-pyo said was something I just couldn’t comprehend. Even with my Daoist knowledge, it sounded just too complicated to interpret.

Existential realms? Entanglements? Singularities? Overlap?

As I was left bewildered, Cheon Woo-jin’s expression shifted dramatically, and after a moment, he said, “So you’re deeming it impossible to take down the Three Sovereigns head-on.”

Cheon Gong-pyo smirked.

[I’ll admit it. Based on my past experience facing their true forms, it felt that way. No matter how extreme my talent in chaos may be, a direct confrontation was out of the question. Their true forms have reached a genuinely cosmic level.]

She seemed to shudder at the recollection of some horrific experience.

[So while trapped with the Ruyi Staff, this is the conclusion I arrived at after much contemplation.]

“……”

[Gathering the Seven Luminaries will assist in my goal. It seems our intentions align quite well.]

I still couldn’t grasp the situation clearly. Cheon Gong-pyo appeared to have explained her objective, but it was just too abstract.

“What’s clear is that for Cheon Gong-pyo, the current state of humanity seems irrelevant…”

Whether I should feel good or bad about humanity’s civilization being dismissed by the ancient Dao King, I couldn’t decide. Just then, Cheon Woo-jin conveyed via mental communication.

[Just accept it. It’s for the best. And buy some time.]

Alright. I took Cheon Woo-jin’s advice while trying to keep it casual.

“Got it. I’ll help you take down Golden Crow Island. But, right now, we’re in a bit of a bind.”

[Why’s that?]

“We need to gain the Golden Crow first. In a world where the balance is spiraling out of control with each passing day, delaying the gathering of the Seven Luminaries will only strengthen the guards.”

[Hmm… Do you know the location of the Golden Crow?]

“I don’t know it right now, but I think we can find out with some investigation. We have clues, so it shouldn’t take long.”

[Understood. Then I’ll assist in obtaining the Golden Crow first. After that, I’ll help you with your objectives.]

I was surprised Cheon Gong-pyo agreed to help!

I nodded vigorously, feeling quite ecstatic inside.

“I appreciate it.”

[And one more thing, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.]

Swish.

The Heavenly Mysterious Woman revealed her spirit body silently. Cheon Gong-pyo looked at her with disdain and said, [Don’t involve that monkey in this matter.]

[I know without you saying.]

[Then, when you’re ready, incinerate this tribe. I’ll come to assist you.]

Bang!

Cheon Gong-pyo handed me an ancient amulet and vanished with a teleportation technique. I let out a sigh of relief, feeling the encounter with Cheon Gong-pyo had concluded quickly. Regardless of the details, our alliance had been forged.

Once my heart settled down, I turned to Cheon Woo-jin and said, “Cheon Woo-jin. You seem to have understood what Cheon Gong-pyo was mumbling about regarding ‘goals.’ Can you explain it to me?”

He snappily replied, “Where’s the guarantee that I understood?”

“You wouldn’t say that if you didn’t understand.”

“Hmph…”

Cheon Woo-jin scowled for a moment before speaking up.

“It’s a bit complicated, but what she realized ties into my own matters.”

After taking a moment to organize his thoughts, Cheon Woo-jin continued.

“As a sorcerer, I must reach a phantom god realm known as the [World Record]. But there’s not just one way to reach it; there are multiple routes you can take.”

“…I don’t quite understand what you’re saying.”

“Eugh…”

Cheon Woo-jin looked annoyed, but when he glanced at Seo Mun-hye and Tang San, who looked just as confused, he held back his irritation. He realized he was speaking in a way that was too self-oriented. Instead, he grimaced while explaining.

“To put it simply, the entanglement of existential realms refers to phenomena of singularities that transcend time and space. And when you come to understand those singularities, a ‘path’ opens up. Cheon Gong-pyo is saying that by walking along that ‘path,’ it leads to the [World Record].”

“Hmm… So…”

I struggled to grasp Cheon Woo-jin’s explanation but finally understood.

“Cheon Gong-pyo’s goal also relates back to the phantom god realm?”

“…The phantom god realm is just a metaphor. To put it more accurately, sorcery is the power of the Three Sovereigns, but it speaks of a realm where one obtains the powers of the Great Universe that can only be perceived and accessed by the Old Ruler.”

“……!!”

Cheon Woo-jin clasped his hands.

“As an entity who has reached the peak of sorcery, I can grasp her intentions. Ultimately, we are divine priests wielding the powers of the Three Sovereigns, but we seek to break free from the divine’s control. Borrowing the powers of Fuxi isn’t enough because we could never defeat the Three Sovereigns, who are on equal footing.”

“Is that even possible?”

“In either case, it’s an act of reaching for cosmic power, and the conclusion is the same, but the methodology differs. Honestly, I can’t fully grasp her theory. My way of reaching the phantom god realm will likely differ significantly.”

Cheon Woo-jin continued.

“Want me to explain it even simply? Her talk about obtaining ‘the balance of this biased world’ ultimately means becoming a god. No matter how powerful a human born with the talent of chaos may be, they can’t stand against the Three Sovereigns, who are literal gods, so she’s saying she wants to become a god to fight a god.”

Become a god! Of course, the term is thrown around a lot, but here, it implies the Old Ruler. Not a lesser one, but one with the level of power to manipulate the entire universe like the Three Sovereigns.

For the first time, I felt I could understand the ambitions Cheon Gong-pyo harbored. I also replayed Cheon Woo-jin’s statement in my head.

‘To become a god and fight a god…’

If an ordinary human had such thoughts, they’d be considered crazy, but with Cheon Gong-pyo, the context was entirely different. She was the ancient Dao King who was truly on the brink of reaching the Old Ruler. What kind of upheaval might occur if she realized her dream?

Simultaneously, I felt a pull towards her methodology.

But… for some reason, it felt wrong.

“……”

Why was I thinking this way?

As I fell silent, Tang San spoke up.

“This topic is so grand that I can’t quite grasp it. So what do we do now?”

Only then did I shake off my haze and reply.

“Let’s take a few days to wait for Jin So-cheong to awaken and organize ourselves. Once Jin So-cheong is fully awake, attempting to secure the Golden Crow will become safer.”

The reason for safety wasn’t necessarily that I was worried about the evil Demon Sorcerers guarding the Golden Crow.

In the event of a potential betrayal from Cheon Gong-pyo, the power of Jin So-cheong would be a tremendous asset in that case.

Blazing Flame!

At that moment, Fire Dragon Incarnate revealed her spirit body.

[Baek Woong! A malevolent force has risen along the southern coast of the continent.]

“Huh?”

[It’s an unusual energy. Shouldn’t we check it out?]

“……”

I nodded, having no choice in the matter.

“We should go take a look.”

When it came to sensing malevolent energy, Fire Dragon Incarnate was better than the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.

If she felt something was off from thousands of miles away, there was no reason to ignore it.

 

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