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“I stepped up to the front.”

Since I was going to fight in place of Cheon Woo-jin, I felt a bit tense. Having fought against the Moon Sovereign earlier, I wasn’t exactly afraid, but I knew just how strong the Seven Luminaries’ spirit could be, and I anticipated facing death several times.

I turned to Mangnyang and said, “Look, Mangnyang. If I use the means I have from the start…”

But I also had a way to simplify this fight. I began to explain my idea to Mangnyang, but he promptly shook his head.

“No way. If it were just us challenging a trial, I might consider it, but we also need to deal with Qin Shi Huang. That’s a trump card, so save it.”

“Got it.”

“But if the difficulty of the Earth Spirit is high, then you can use it if the situation demands.”

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward. The Celestial Sage glanced at me and said, “You good? This kid’s not to be underestimated.”

“I’m fine,” I replied and then unconsciously glanced to my side.

“……”

But no one was there.

Familiar faces… were gone.

For a moment, the emptiness drained my strength.

That’s right – now, Cheon Woo-jin, Jin So-cheong, the Sword Demon, and the Extreme Tiger were no longer by my side. What a stroke of bad luck, as all of them had been subjected to the restriction of not being able to be resummoned. And they were the allies who could have given me the most strength. It was utterly despairing. I even questioned if I could do my best on this battlefield.

‘Damn it! No more crying!’

But still, I had no choice but to keep fighting. If I didn’t perform well here, I wouldn’t be able to face my fallen comrades. I’d feel like I couldn’t forgive myself unless I looked the Sun Sovereign in the face before dying.

As our group moved to the front, the Earth Spirit, floating in the air as a mass of tentacles, suddenly acknowledged me.

[Oh… so it’s Baek Woong…]

It wasn’t particularly hostile.

I was taken aback by its welcoming demeanor and asked, “Spirit of the Earth, do you know me?”

[Practically, the one who owned and managed me the longest was Empress Wu Zetian. At the end, she named you as the owner of the Earth Star Eight Trigrams Diagram, so I don’t dislike you all that much.]

“……”

[It would have been fun if you had been my master for a long time…]

I stared at it and said, “You functioned as the heart of the Portrait Immortal. Do you have any idea who thought of embedding the Seven Luminaries into the Portrait Immortal?”

[That was Chi You…]

“Do you know why Chi You did such a thing?”

[To be conscious of the Celestial Realm…]

“Celestial Realm…?”

I tilted my head for a moment but soon realized what it meant.

Originally, if the Portrait Immortal were to be completed, it would have tremendous time manipulation abilities, making it a powerful being, but that alone wouldn’t make it the strongest. There are martial arts that can break time manipulation, so Chi You was likely trying to create the ultimate puppet by granting it immunity to those techniques. Furthermore, he was probably intending to use it as a massacre weapon that specializes in killing immortals when clashing with the Celestial Immortals later.

Feeling a glimmer of hope, I asked, “Could it be… since you were the heart of the Portrait Immortal, can you also use the Portrait Immortal’s abilities?”

[Well… why don’t you check that yourself…]

With quite a slippery tone. But I didn’t have much patience for its playful demeanor. After all, if the Earth Spirit also had time manipulation abilities, the challenge here would be the toughest of all!

Desperately, I called out, “Hey! Cut me some slack! Just let me pass, and I’ll handle the Sun Sovereign’s trial!”

Then the Earth Spirit casually responded.

[Hmm… should I? Your suggestion is oddly appealing… But it is still a trial… What to do…]

“……”

After pondering, the Earth Spirit swayed its tentacles and said, [Alright… Offer me a tribute. Then I’ll fight gently… I’ll fight below half of my full power…]

“Huh?! Tribute?!”

[Yes… I need a little something in return…]

I turned to Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa. Zhuge Sa chuckled and said, “What a lovely opportunity. After living in harmony with the otherworldly races for so long, spirits like it respond to human sacrifices.”

“Human sacrifices? Hmm… I’d rather not, but what can be sacrificed right now?”

As I was mulling it over, Mangnyang suggested, “Pick a few of the treasures you got from Peng Zuo and offer them. That’s the best bet.”

“Understood.”

I reached for the treasures from my wooden armor but was stopped by Zhuge Sa.

“Wait a minute. There’s a better way.”

“What do you mean?”

As Zhuge Sa continued, I was taken aback.

“If you wait here a bit, Qin Shi Huang will probably come looking for you with a hot body. Then you can tell him about the tribute condition and ask him to offer up some of his soldiers to the Earth Spirit. About 10,000 should do?”

“……!!”

“Sounds like a win-win situation. If we can easily pass through the Seven Luminaries’ trial, he won’t care about losing a fraction of his troops. We save our treasures from Peng Zuo.”

But I shook my head.

“The Earth Spirit currently has the properties of a high-level otherworldly race. If we sacrifice a living offering of 10,000, it would brutally devour them alive. How could we possibly do that?”

“What does it matter? Whether alive or dead, they’d still end up in the belly of the Old Ruler here, wouldn’t they? They’ve already suffered dozens to hundreds of times in agony under the Seven Luminaries. If you tell them they’ll get to escape this hell after just one more pain, wouldn’t many be willing to join?”

“……”

Suddenly, Zhuge Sa sighed.

“Huh, Baek Woong. Isn’t it about time we redefine humanity? Since we’ve confirmed that there’s no salvation in the afterlife, we shouldn’t be so careless as to insult even the Master of the White Lotus Sect. To achieve our goals, we should permit a slight bit of inhumanity. Otherwise, unnecessary sacrifices will continue. This isn’t just my perspective, but rather a proposition from my role as a strategist.”

With Zhuge Sa hitting the nail on the head, I had no words to counter. Then unexpectedly, the Master of Zen, who had been silently standing by, spoke up.

“That may be so…”

All eyes turned to the Master of Zen. No one expected him to oppose Zhuge Sa’s views. He pressed his palms together and softly said, “Even mere creatures can attain enlightenment and reach nirvana. The existence of a realm of death cannot be the sole answer to all мораl questions.”

Zhuge Sa snorted at his words.

“Are you talking about the realm of nirvana? If so, what exactly is nirvana? Do you think when you great monks pass away and leave behind bones, that you somehow escape the fate of the Old Ruler?”

“…….”

“I get your theory somewhat. You claim that by letting go of all attachments to the Buddhas, delusions will vanish, and ultimate knowledge will be attained. Is that right?”

“Yes… Sentient beings see only the manifestation of the Law Body of the Great Being and are confined to the functioning of the Great.”

“Ha ha ha! How ridiculous!”

Zhuge Sa laughed harshly.

“This monk! The cycle of reincarnation is closed! The true principles that the Gautama Buddha promised have no bodhisattvas. Everything is just the filthy transaction between the Three Sovereigns and the Old Ruler, a mockery of mortals – it’s all just illusions! What value do life and morality hold in a world like this?”

“……!!”

“All religions have collapsed!”

The Master of Zen was momentarily taken aback. After being shaken by Zhuge Sa’s words, he soon replied, “…I don’t know what others think, but Buddhism is not a religion. It’s merely a congregation of those searching for the traces of the enlightened ones…”

“Spare me the nonsense.”

You must know of the ālaya-vijñāna.

“A means to explain the teachings of existence and destruction based on the storehouse consciousness. So what?”

“Those who have understood the ālaya-vijñāna will gain karmic power and will turn the wheel of Dharma with the eighth consciousness, which will lead to a new cycle of reincarnation that never existed before. And that cycle doesn’t include an afterlife – that’s a broader concept…”

At that moment, Zhuge Sa’s face twisted oddly.

“A new cycle of reincarnation?”

“Yes…. Reincarnation doesn’t simply refer to the flow of souls. There may exist truths in dimensions we can’t imagine again.”

Thus replying, the Master of Zen looked at me with a deep gaze.

“Reborn one. Even though I feel unworthy for not being able to assist you in this trial due to my lack of power… do you truly believe you’ve uncovered all the evil secrets of this world and reached the depths of despair?”

“Hmm….”

“Perhaps… Zhuge Sa’s words may hold some truth, but it still seems hasty…”

I recognized the Master of Zen was right. While all humans may be dragged into the living hell after death, I still didn’t know everything about that system. So, I had ample reason to keep an eye on this while maintaining my humanity.

Deciding firmly, I said, “I’ll offer the treasures. After all, I wasn’t going to use them anytime soon.”

Most of these treasures obtained from Peng Zuo were ancient and not worth using unless I knew their exact functions. I had kept them aside, but at this point, I had no one to use them. I figured it’d be better to offer them up rather than leave them as moral baggage.

Shortly after I finished offering most of the treasures from Peng Zuo, the Earth Spirit responded with satisfaction.

[Hmm… Quite good…. I like it….]

“So you’ll fight gently now?”

[That’s right…]

Boom!

At that moment, time abruptly froze.

“Ah!”

As if Jin was nearby, I felt a tremendous pressure of time, and we all froze in place. The Celestial Sage managed to move, but even he looked strained. Finally, the Earth Spirit loosened the time stop and casually said, [In fact, I can use the same time manipulation abilities as the Portrait Immortal. Since it was originally differentiated from my potential, it’s only natural I can use them….]

“Ugh…!!”

[But since you’ve offered a tribute, I won’t use that ability…. I’ll seal my super regeneration…, and I’ll tone down the destructive rays….]

“……”

[Now come at me…. Do your best, but ultimately let me win….]

I was left speechless.

‘So it was real!’

The cost of embedding the Earth Spirit in the Portrait Immortal!

Depending on its location and situation, the Earth Spirit could freely use the abilities of the Portrait Immortal! If it also had the power to nullify magic, fighting against it using time manipulation would become overwhelming, just like the earlier battle against the Moon Sovereign!

‘If I hadn’t offered a tribute out of laziness and simply fought, I would have faced total annihilation…!!’

Either way, now that the Earth Spirit was weakened, it was my chance! I shouted, wielding the Fire Spirit and Water Spirit.

“Let’s go!!”

Boom, boom, boom!

The Sorcerer launched the Sabre Sword as the first attack. At that moment, the eye on the Earth Spirit’s head emitted a gray glow, and in that instant, the Sabre Sword hit the Earth Spirit, causing a massive explosion of tentacles.

Blam!

However, just as if time was rewinding, the blown-out tentacle mass quickly restored itself. The Earth Spirit looked bewildered for a moment.

[Oh right…. I promised not to use time recovery….]

Blam!

The tentacle mass exploded again.

“Gah…!!”

The Sorcerer wore an irritated expression, but it was no normal situation. If the Earth Spirit simply fought with full power, even if the Sabre Sword hit it a million times, it could rewind time and recover from all injuries. We couldn’t defeat it this way. The best course of action was to win while the Earth Spirit was holding back.

But even though the Earth Spirit was holding back, its strength was no joke. As soon as the Celestial Sage summoned hundreds of clones, the Earth Spirit shot another gray gaze, and in that moment, the Celestial Sage’s magic completely vanished. The Celestial Sage stepped back, tasting defeat.

“Tch, magic nullification….”

The Sorcerer tried to deploy another spell, but the moment the Earth Spirit opened its eyes, they were all nullified. Even an ancient being like the Primordial human wrapped in chaos had no way to escape the Earth Spirit’s magic nullification. Eventually, there was no choice but to engage in a melee battle. The Celestial Sage came over to my side and said, “That thing’s tentacles may seem easy to break, but they’re really tough and flexible. I’ll draw its attention, so find its core and cut it.”

“Understood.”

Swish!

The Celestial Sage then used his innate power to circle around the Earth Spirit without any barriers. As the Earth Spirit writhed and stretched its tentacles to catch the Celestial Sage, I cautiously flew into the air, searching for an opening. Once I got close, the Earth Spirit’s tentacles became even larger and denser, as if entering a forest of tentacles.

‘Where is the core?’

I pushed further in to find the core. As small tentacles came to attack, I quickly waved the Thunder Sword to slice them all away, picking up speed. Just as I reached near the base of the Earth Spirit’s massive tentacles, there was a sudden squelch.

From the dark mass, tentacles wriggled and burst forth. The tentacles morphed like a human and attacked me, but I once again sliced them with the Thunder Sword. Looking behind the tentacles I severed, I spotted a massive eyeball wriggling in the air. That had to be the Earth Spirit’s core.

‘If I just cut that….’

Swoosh!

I tried to slice the core with my Thunder Sword, but it didn’t even flinch. I was briefly stunned by its durability.

‘I’ve cut through almost everything with my Thunder Sword…!!’

Even if it’s holding back, is it still a spirit of the Seven Luminaries? Normally, I would’ve given up if my Thunder Sword didn’t work, but now I crossed Fire Spirit and Water Spirit to gather my strength.

“Haah…!!”

When I combined the Fire Spirit and Water Spirit, I unleashed the power of Divine Killing!

Finally, as I unleashed my strength, blood exploded from the core, shattering it.

Bang!

“I… won.”

Realizing I’d defeated the Earth Spirit and that only the last guardian of the Sun Sovereign remained, I felt a wave of relief. But that moment was interrupted.

[I have three cores… You’ll have to find and destroy the other two…]

“…….”

The Earth Spirit’s voice echoed in my head. As I stood there in disbelief, the Earth Spirit continued.

[And near the last core, powerful summoned creatures will attack as soon as they touch it with spores, so be careful, and there are traps everywhere, so avoid them…]

“Ah, got it.”

[Acidic liquid will fall from the ceiling, so be sure to use your Protection Energy Technique…. And if you get lost, always take the right fork…]

“…….”

Isn’t that a bit too friendly?

I could barely suppress the urge to question such helpfulness, considering the trial would hold no benefits.

 

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