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Ku-Gu-Gu!

In that moment, Chi You’s body shattered into pieces, and simultaneously, this mental world quaked violently, threatening to collapse.

Did I do it?!

When Jeon Wook glanced at me, I felt my knees buckle. The thought of dying like Chi You made me tense. I’d died dozens of times by now, but I still wasn’t used to it.

Unexpectedly, Jeon Wook didn’t attack me; instead, he spoke.

[Tell me immediately what Chi You is planning and what contracts and powers he possesses.]

“… Huh? Didn’t you just kill Chi You?”

[He’s a crafty one. What I just took out was a clone infused with his power, so he slipped away. Even so, I’ve diminished about 30% of his strength; that’s a hefty blow.]

Jeon Wook appeared to冷静 analyze the situation. It seemed Chi You had transformed into Daji to press me, but that was merely a clone, not the real deal.

But hey, being a god, maybe not having a body for a while doesn’t bother him too much?

He could probably possess any body he wanted.

And then I realized that dying right now could lead to serious trouble. No worst-case scenario of losing everything to Chi You, but now that I had a chance to survive, it felt too valuable to waste. If I could hang on a bit longer while rescuing my companions and gathering the Seven Luminaries, that would be the sensible move.

‘Let’s prioritize survival for now…’

I cautiously spoke to Jeon Wook.

“Chi You’s plan…”

I explained Chi You’s ongoing human evolution plan and its connections to the characters in the history, the Transference Gate, Apostle ‘Jin’, and Qin Shi Huang. I also mentioned that Chi You had obtained the Philosopher’s Stone and aspired to become a celestial being.

This drew a cold chuckle from Jeon Wook.

[Seems I expected almost all of this.]

“You had a hunch about Chi You’s plan?”

[Who among the Three Sovereigns didn’t know? With the Eight Parts of the Divine ahead, it was clear as day!]

“…”

[He must have thought he was clever, but if not for the Coming Chaos, he would have been wiped away thousands of years ago.]

“What do you plan to do now?”

[Since you have dedicated this body to me, I plan to use it to take him out.]

Oh boy!

As expected, Daji’s body was now completely under Jeon Wook’s control, demonstrating Spirit Power. On the screen, I saw Jeon Wook moving Daji’s body to teleport us out of this place. I hastily said to Jeon Wook,

“Thank you for your kindness in saving me, Jeon Wook!”

[The Demon King’s body has formed a strong Law of Cause and Effect due to your techniques, meaning if you perish, it will rapidly lose its power. I’ll keep you alive until I catch Chi You, so cooperate peacefully.]

“… Understood.”

[Based on your attitude and merits, I will decide your fate.]

I knew I was right. Clearly, the Divine Status of the Prophet’s Seal was no ordinary magic, for even Jeon Wook couldn’t easily dispose of me while targeting Chi You. If I died, the Law of Cause and Effect would dissipate significantly.

‘Is it good that I don’t have to try a dangerous experiment?’

Right now, I was trapped in my mental world inside Daji’s body. In other words—

I was without the Heavenly Secret.

What happens if I die at Jeon Wook’s hands in this situation?

Would I simply return to my original body?

If not, eternal death?

Or maybe—a rebirth without the Heavenly Secret?

The best case would be to revert to my original body. In that case, the Prophet’s Seal would confirm it as a powerful technique capable of resisting even the power of the Three Sovereigns.

The worst case would end with eternal death, cutting my adventure short.

But if I were to be reborn even without the Heavenly Secret, that would still be an issue. Because in a sense, it would signify a despair greater than eternal death. I sighed in relief, avoiding that option.

As Jeon Wook controlled Daji’s body, we swiftly exited the golden staircase of the Celestial Realm into the ruined front of the imperial palace. The courtyard had been utterly destroyed, with the mutated humans of Chi You frantically charging forward in battle against Jeogok and the Celestial Realm.

Jeon Wook, observing the devastation, muttered in distaste:

[Did he really think that could give him the upper hand on Judgment Day? They can’t even surpass the limits of Cause and Effect; it’s laughable.]

“What are the limits of Cause and Effect?”

[It means they lack sufficient justification to release our subordinate clans upon the land.]

“…”

At that moment, a chilling thought crossed my mind.

‘Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace!’

Each of the Three Sovereigns had their very own Divine Temple and base! For Jeon Wook, it was the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace; for Jeogok, it was Banwang Hall. Even the ghostly subordinates of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace were comparable to a Great Immortal, meaning each of their fighting strengths easily matched that of the Celestial Realm. Realizing that no one from the Sovereigns had yet deployed their subordinate forces made my head spin.

If the chaos escalated, and the Three Sovereigns unleashed their Divine Temples, the chaos we faced would be multiplied by dozens of times! Moreover, given the present actions of the Sovereigns, it seemed just a matter of time before the chaos arrived, bringing about the ruin of the world.

I urgently told Jeon Wook, “… We need to find Chi You quickly!”

[No need to search far.]

“Huh?”

[He has challenged us.]

What on earth does that mean?

Swoosh!!

In the next moment, Jeon Wook teleported to the center of Luoyang Castle. An eerie silence engulfed the area, as the mutated humans of Chi You surrounded him, glaring menacingly. It seemed the Celestial forces had already retreated, as no immortals were near, and corpses littered the ground.

And before Jeon Wook stood Jin, with Jeogok hovering above, observing the situation in the hall. Two of the Three Sovereigns were now encircling him.

Apostle Jin remarked, arms crossed,

[Baek Woong. I didn’t expect you to call Jeon Wook here. That choice could have led to your eternal demise; where did you find such bravery?]

That wasn’t Jin.

It was evident that Chi You had taken over Jin’s body. He must have been on the move to capture my companions when Chi You suddenly slipped out and took over. The words he spoke were undoubtedly directed at me inside Jeon Wook.

Fuming in the mental world, I retorted, “Don’t be ridiculous. ‘You will meet your end now!’ Tell Jeon Wook that.”

“…”

“…”

Jeon Wook looked at me coldly with his piercing gaze, and I turned away, saying, “No, you don’t really have to tell him…”

Even thinking about communicating with Chi You wasn’t wise right now. Jeon Wook disregarded my opinion and moved Daji’s mouth to speak.

[To think that after thousands of years of preparation, you’d achieve this level – how disappointing. Did you expect the destruction coming your way today?]

[Destruction? Now that’s amusing…]

Chi You twisted the face of the Portrait Immortal Jin into a grin.

[Sovereign! Do you know why I haven’t run away? Because I have no need to flee any longer!]

Woosh!

In that instant, a terrifying chaos erupted from Chi You’s entire being, unleashing a cloud of chaos that threatened to swallow the world. Not just a cloud; it could more accurately be called a thick fog.

Chi You glimmered sharply within the chaos, calling out:

[I, the servant of chaos Chi You, command you: Restore time!!]

Whoosh!

At that very moment, the soldiers of the Chi You tribe, lying motionless on the battlefield, suddenly revived at an astonishing speed, restored to life as if time had been reversed. Simultaneously, even the Celestial immortals who failed to escape Luoyang could not withstand it, even if they were Great Immortals, turning to dust in an instant.

[Guhhh.]

[Hoooaaaahk.]

It seemed that except for a rare few among the immortals, nobody could withstand it even for a moment. The power that eradicated the Celestial Realm’s fighting strength!

‘Time Recovery!’

That was the ability the Portrait Immortal had shown before! I recalled that memory.

[That’s the Portrait Immortal’s Time Recovery ability.]

[Hoo! This game has gone mad… Such a power shouldn’t exist in the Mortal Realm; it’s truly the puppet of a demon…]

[That guy’s time axis is fixed. Any attack we make aims to push toward the future in the flow of time. But since his time axis is fixed, whatever attack we launch just gets rebounded back to its past state.]

[The ability to interfere with the Small Cycle is itself meddling with the destiny of the Law of Cause and Effect. No ordinary physical attack or magic will break it.]

[Right now, the puppet just woke up; it hasn’t figured out the situation. If we don’t escape in this window, it’ll all end badly.]

[Hahaha… When the ability of time control switches from defense to offense, it becomes a contradiction, possessing both an invincible spear and an invincible shield…]

Indeed. Back then, I had merely stood there while the Master of the White Lotus Sect, Dharma Guardian, and the Heavenly Spirit Pill owner were all launching a joint attack, focusing solely on defense. So I hadn’t felt the actual threat, but now the result of turning the Time Recovery ability into an offensive measure was on full display!

Now that Chi You was using the Portrait Immortal’s ability, the dead returned to life, and even enemies, no matter if they were Great Immortals, were slaughtered in an instant. The ominous premonition I’d felt back when facing Portrait Immortal Yushin was warning me of this very moment!

‘If I had chosen to battle against Yushin instead of talking…’

He would have probably annihilated me, along with the White Lotus Sect and the Twelve Joules, while aging the time around us just like now. The fully developed Portrait Immortal was already beyond the reach of human strength. I could finally see that my choice back then was indeed correct.

This confirmed the defeat of the Celestial Realm, but the situation wasn’t over yet. Watching from the sidelines, Jeogok of the Three Sovereigns stared at Chi You with a smug look, saying:

[I, Jeogok, will bind the Five Elements!]

Thud!

With that declaration, silence fell across the area. Those who had just revived and were full of vigor began losing their power and collapsing one by one, spreading out not just in Luoyang but throughout the entire world.

The air grew thick with death.

From the changes happening before my eyes, I could discern the situation with my pedagogical knowledge.

‘Binding the Five Elements means… It prohibits every change of the Five Elements Cycle and Five Elements Rebirth!’

That meant all living beings’ activities based on the Five Elements would be stopped, the air halted completely, all waters would dry and rot, fire would not ignite, and the durability of land and minerals would drastically diminish.

Simply put— within just the course of a Half Moment, this world would become a barren death star. Realizing that fact, a mix of disbelief and terror washed over me.

‘Is this… the power of the Three Sovereigns?!’

It was an unimaginable authority that defied common sense. If I told any ordinary Taoist or immortal about the Five Elements being forbidden, they’d surely think I was insane. How could one being control such a colossal concept like the Five Elements? But Jeogok of the Three Sovereigns could do just that.

It seemed Jeogok’s reason for binding the Five Elements was to instantly wipe out the frail Chi You tribe still within the realm of living beings, and it appeared he had only used that measure after the Celestial Realm had definitively defeated.

In retaliation, Chi You reached out again, shouting, “I turn back the time of the binding technique of the Five Elements!”

Bang!

Then the atmosphere began to breathe again, and the Five Elements stirred to life. I could see the conceptual movement of the Five Elements, perhaps because I was with Jeon Wook. Then Jeon Wook smirked maliciously, saying:

[Hahaha. Since Jeogok’s specialty is the binding of concepts, do you think breaking free is so easy? The Law of Cause and Effect has hit its limit; I’d better call out my subordinates.]

Thwap!

The moment Jeon Wook’s fingers touched, a terrible wail echoed throughout the disheveled sky of swirling gray clouds. I felt my whole being chill as I saw countless spirits from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace pouring out of the void.

They were descending upon us!

Finally, the clash of divine hierarchies intensified, signaling that the Three Sovereigns were about to deploy their entire force!

Just to be sure, I looked at Jeogok, and he too raised one arm to the sky, pointing at the moon.

Swish!

From the moon’s pristine surface, numerous black dots came rushing toward the earth. Jeogok was summoning his subordinates from the moon, leading countless thousands!

‘No way!! This isn’t good!!’

I managed to dodge the worst outcome of being taken out by Chi You, but the situation was still dire. At this rate, regardless of whether Chi You or the Three Sovereigns emerged victorious, the earth was surely doomed. The Celestial Realm lay in ruins, and humanity had nearly all transformed into Chi You’s kind.

What on earth am I supposed to do in this crazy world?

Am I just meant to hurry up and die then restart?

But with the Heavenly Secret missing and trapped in this mental realm, there was no way for me to do anything!

While writhing in anxiety, Chi You suddenly burst into mad laughter.

[Haaahaa! Surely you’re calling in your subordinates! You will soon regret it!!]

 

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