843——————==

True Martial Home

Gather the Four Great Spirit Deities?!

I was baffled by the statement and exclaimed, “What?! You’re telling me that the Dharma Technique can reverse a singularity and that the Four Great Spirit Deities can locate the Dharma Technique? What on earth is your evidence for that?!”

[…….]

“Explain it to me! What is the connection between those three?”

At my query, the Prophet fell silent for a moment before responding.

[The Dharma Technique, upon completion, has the power to annihilate all [Old Rulers]… and the fragments possess tremendous magical power while also being a seal of an absolute existence in the universe that nobody can rival.]

“Seal?”

[That’s right… What do you think a singularity is?]

The Prophet’s eyes spun in circles.

[It is an existence that causes causality to return to nothingness through fate… If you are a Reborn Person, then the gods in this world would find it hard to do anything to you, but your singularity, which is your own fate, is different… The singularity is something that can culminate the past lives of Reborn Persons.]

“……!!”

[To suppress and delay the emergence of that singularity requires… tremendous magical power… or vast causality… It can only come from the fragments of the Dharma Technique. Offering that Dharma Technique as a sacrifice can postpone the singularity.]

“I get that. But what I’m curious about right now is the relationship between the Dharma Technique and the Four Great Spirit Deities.”

[During the demise of Dharma… the last weapon Dharma used to safeguard himself from the curse was actually the Four Great Spirit Deities….]

“What?!”

What the heck does that mean?

I looked at the Prophet in surprise, and he continued.

[I was there witnessing the scene when Dharma was cursed by the gods and met his demise… At the time when Dharma was being attacked by the Rulers, he used the Four Great Spirit Deities all at once to protect the ceremonial birth of the Dharma Technique until the very end….]

“…….”

[He was truly a magnificent being… well, indeed, he was the strongest Demon Sorcerer capable of creating the Dharma Technique….]

You’re telling me Dharma could wield the Four Great Spirit Deities simultaneously?

[But ultimately, it was overwhelming odds… just before Dharma was torn to shreds… he bound the causality of the Dharma Technique and the Four Great Spirit Deities together…. I witnessed it.]

“He bound them?”

[Like brothers born from the same umbilical cord… he made them cycle through the same loop of fate… so they would resonate when close to each other…]

“…What the heck does that mean?”

[I don’t know the meaning either…. Only Dharma would know that….]

“Hmm….”

[The Dharma Technique has scattered throughout the whole world, but since the Four Great Spirit Deities are bound to the Dharma Technique through causality… I can assert that seeking the Four Great Spirit Deities is the only clue to locating the Non-Birth Mother’s Dharma Technique….]

Dharma intentionally bound the causality of the Dharma Technique and the Four Great Spirit Deities.

But for what purpose?

I found myself pondering the reason, but it was a question I couldn’t grasp no matter how much I thought about it.

After hearing the context, I glared at the Prophet.

“Prophet. You deceived me.”

[What deception are you speaking of….]

“Take the memory from my twenty-third life. It’s got evil Qi in it, but that should be fine, right?”

[Evil Qi is of no consequence….]

Whoosh

As I embedded the memory into a small piece of obsidian and threw it to him, the Prophet flinched in surprise.

[…Hmm.]

“Right? You certainly told me, ‘I have no idea who has which piece!'”

[That was the case….]

I groaned in annoyance.

“Isn’t that deceit? To say you had ‘no idea’ while hiding the precious information that finding the Four Great Spirit Deities would lead to the Dharma Technique? You trickster! I laid out everything I had back then!!”

Those treasures meant monumental strategic value at the time. The battle at Mount Ye was a critical and pressing combat situation, and offering significant treasures to enhance our combat effectiveness was no small sacrifice. Yet, the Prophet hid information from me!

[…….]

“You either cough up the payment from that time or give me even more information!!”

As I yelled at the Prophet, he swayed his tentacles and replied.

[Admitting unfair trade, but it’s a bit unjust….]

“What’s unjust about it?”

[Wasn’t that something from your twenty-third life…. I only met you in your twenty-seventh life…. I have no reason to be blamed for something I neither experienced nor remember.]

“What?”

[If you want it, go find the prophet from your twenty-third life….]

This shameless bastard, huh?!

I was about to scream, but the Prophet stirred his tentacles and continued talking.

[I want to say that, but… since there’s a responsibility, I’ll acknowledge a bit… ]

“Damn it, don’t play the good Samaritan! Do you think your trickery of me is just a few insignificant times?!”

If it means grinding my teeth, I absolutely won’t allow it!

I’ll take down the gods without this guy’s help!

[…Hmm….]

At that point, the Prophet seemed to flinch somewhat, lowering himself as he spoke.

[Hey… you’re not gonna buy info then, huh…. Hehe….]

“…….”

I glared silently at the Prophet, and he flinched for a moment. Then he hurriedly added,

[Ah… I got it. I’ll return the Dragon’s Soul since it’s yours…. And I’ll tell you how to find the Four Great Spirit Deities….]

“…….”

Even after getting the Dragon’s Soul back, I continued glaring, and the Prophet, seeming agitated, spoke again.

[Uh… yeah. I’ll throw in a bonus clue for free. Will that soothe your irritation….]

“Free clue?”

[Later, just ask me something additional that you want to know…. I’ll answer as best as I can within what I know….]

“It’s a promise.”

[Alright….]

With my face, now cold as ice, the Prophet spoke.

[The location of the Four Great Spirit Deities that I have grasped is the Outer Dimension’s Chaos…. However, simply using magic to open the portal to the Outer Dimension won’t help you find them, for that dimension may take eternities for a single being to explore…. After all, it’s a space far grander than merging several galaxies….]

“So how do I find them then?”

[You need to open the real [Gate] to reach them…. Then the ‘Observer’ beyond the [Gate] from the Outer Dimension will greatly assist you in your quest to find the Four Great Spirit Deities.]

“[Gate]? Observer?”

The Prophet responded to my questions.

[The Outer Dimension is a place where the primordial chaos that occurred when this universe was created by the [Father] unfolds like an ocean…. It exists as a separate dimension, unrelated to the expansion of the universe…. However, within that chaos, there is an existence that controls it, known as the Observer…. A great ‘Eye’ that pierces through the entire universe…. This being is revered as the Outer God.]

“……!!”

The Outer God Observer!

A divine figure that even the [Old Rulers] fear and revere?!

As I listened closely to the Prophet’s words, he continued.

[The Outer God Observer shows no interest in beings that entered through other means, but they hold respect and provide assistance to those who enter through a formally made [Gate]. If you want to search for the Four Great Spirit Deities in the Outer Dimension, you’ll have no choice but to pass through the [Gate] formally.]

“A formal [Gate]? What does that [Gate] entail?”

[It’s the Hellgate leading to the Outer Dimension. You can only enter if you pass the Guardian watching that gate.]

“Hmmm… Where is that gate located?”

[You should already know….]

“What?”

At the Prophet’s following words, I froze.

[Aokigahara Life Sea. That place is the [Gate] leading to the Outer Dimension. You didn’t know that till now?]

“……!!”

[Given the immense density of chaos that has built up there, it’s likely that the [Gate] to the Outer Dimension manifested there…. It might be a mere coincidence, but anyway, once you open all the gates of the Life Sea, you will officially enter the Outer Dimension and receive the Observer’s aid.]

Aokigahara Life Sea!

‘No way…’

While I had thought it was a suspicious location, could it really be the official entrance to the chaotic hell of the Outer Dimension?! I had never heard of such information anywhere else in the world, so I could only feel bewildered. But looking at it that way does explain why Aokigahara Life Sea is swarmed with outrageously powerful chaotic demon beasts.

The Life Sea itself was a door testing those who would enter the chaos— the Outer Dimension.

Suddenly, I remembered an old event.

[Yan Emperor Shennong…. I’m just a being fulfilling my duties! Do not carelessly involve the causality of other realms with this world.]

[I don’t care…. Soon the Seven Luminaries will gather, you better restrain yourself and not reveal yourself to the world again before sealing that filthy hole!]

This was back when the Yan Emperor Shennong resurrected and summoned heavenly fire to purify the world at the tail end of my twenty-fourth life. At that time, he took down the Sea God in an instant and burned the Aokigahara Life Sea, receiving complaints from a powerful being known as the ‘King of the Life Sea.’ Shennong, as a Sovereign of the Three Sovereigns, simply ignored that being’s complaints, but the words of the King of the Life Sea back then must have carried such meaning.

Just a being fulfilling my duties.

As I pondered this further, I then asked, “Prophet. So are you saying that the being called the King of the Life Sea is the Guardian protecting the formal entrance to the Outer Dimension?”

[That’s right…. In truth, it’s an existence that humans cannot defeat….]

“Hmmm…. ”

I had previously heard that crossing through the Living Sea, Death Sea, and Entering Sea leads to a space of light where nothing exists. If that’s the case, entering the Death Sea means challenging the King of the Life Sea to formally enter the Outer Dimension and earn the blessing of the Observer?

Which means I had a set task.

To obtain the Four Great Spirit Deities, I would need to gain the blessing of the Observer, and to do so, I must penetrate through the Life Sea of life and death to defeat the King of the Life Sea. After that, I could then explore the Dharma Technique in the Outer Dimension.

“Ugh….”

The hellishly high difficulty made my head spin.

‘This is gonna be disgustingly tough…. Damn it…. I just want to drop dead….’

But still, I had no other option. Now that it’s been revealed that even the Seven Luminaries wouldn’t help me much in this crisis, finding any glimmer of hope left was something. I had to obtain the Dharma Technique, even if it took over a thousand years. And I needed to postpone the singularity to lengthen my lifespan.

“What’s the weakness of the King of the Life Sea?”

[Well… I can share that as free info… How about it?]

“Uh… wait a sec.”

I said, while feeling like I might be missing an opportunity.

‘Nah. After all, the King of the Life Sea is a being transcending humanity and is likely at the level of an [Old Ruler], so knowing its weakness probably wouldn’t mean much….’

Would knowing the weakness of the Three Sovereigns matter enough to take them down? If it did, I wouldn’t need to go through so many lives. Caught in the grasp of an [Old Ruler] just for one weakness was impossible. It merely serves as one aid for attacking them.

Having thought this through, I shook my head.

“No… I take that back. I’d rather want to know a different piece of info for free.”

The intuition of the Reborn Person was telling me that knowing the King of the Life Sea’s weakness would be meaningless.

[What do you want to know?]

“Mangnyang said that Nüwa has the mask of Fuxi.”

[Oh… indeed, the Master Mangnyang knows such top-tier info….]

“This is what I want to know: what significance the mask holds for the gods, and what it means that when the Three Sovereigns gather, they can postpone the great [Apocalypse] and [Revelation] that shall befall this world.”

“…….”

“Why did Fuxi go mad just because he lost the mask?”

The Prophet rolled his eyes before responding.

[A god’s mask can also be considered another self and identity.]

“Identity?”

[It’s akin to a human wearing different masks based on their societal roles…. Originally, the Three Sovereigns were the highest beings in this universe and had no restrictions or cycles, but when the Emperor granted them masks, new roles and separate selves and reason came into existence. The Three Sovereigns wearing masks possess completely different personalities from when they are unmasked.]

“That sounds strange.”

I said to the Prophet.

“Sovereign Jeon Wook desperately wanted to take off his mask. But wouldn’t he become a raging beast like Fuxi, who lost his mind when he took off the mask? Then why does he want to take it off? I couldn’t understand why he would want to make himself unhappy.”

The Prophet asked back with a curious expression.

[Reborn Person, do you think Fuxi is unhappy?]

“Of course. It’s madness.”

[It’s not madness…. This viewpoint is excessively human-centric…. If you hold such a perspective, it’d be better not to put a mask on Fuxi at all….]

“……?”

[I would even suggest that you wear it yourself…]

What the heck kind of nonsense is that?

I didn’t get what the Prophet was talking about.

‘Without reason, isn’t that madness?!’

While I was puzzled, the Prophet continued speaking.

[And the fact that the Three Sovereigns can postpone the apocalypse means… it was said based on a previous instance.]

“There’s a precedent?”

[The current human civilization stands as proof…. The human world was destined to perish ten thousand years ago when the ancient races retreated into hiding, but the Three Sovereigns asserted that they would manage humanity…. They created about ten millennia of postponement, you see….]

“Hmmm.”

[However, I don’t know the exact method… No matter how great the Three Sovereigns are, simply claiming to postpone a universe-wide event isn’t enough…. I assume that Sovereign Shennong knows the way to do it… ]

“I see.”

[There must be some powerful spell or ritual that only they can utilize when they gather….]

A certain precedent— the very existence of current civilization stands as proof of that.

Thus, it seems the Three Sovereigns surely understand how to delay the apocalypse.

I nodded and then spoke up again.

“I see. And one more piece of information….”

[Just one more…? But I’ve given you two already….]

“Not too useful, though.”

[…….]

“What I want to know is where the Xuanyuan Sword is.”

The Xuanyuan Sword!

The divine sword used by Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen during his battle with Chi You!

A privilege to perform Offering Ceremonies even without rights!

The powerful dowry conferred by the Emperor to humans!

A legendary treasure that could be even stronger than all Seven Luminaries combined!

It made my teeth grit just thinking about how I spent my entire twenty-fourth life digging around to find out where the Xuanyuan Sword was.

I wanted to extract this information while I still had the chance.

[Xuanyuan Sword…? What’s that?]

Why’s it the first time he’s hearing about this?

I tilted my head and handed him the obsidian to share the related memory.

[…Oh…. Are they all fools….]

After receiving the memory, the Prophet muttered something and his tentacles wiggled.

[Oh, right…. The Xuanyuan Sword, I believe….]

“Do you know it?”

[Even I don’t know much…. I’m not aware of where the Xuanyuan Sword is….]

“…If you lie, I said I’d cut off our transaction.”

[It’s sincere…. I truly don’t know where the Xuanyuan Sword is…. I stake my name and existence on it….]

“…….”

Having staked his name and existence, there’s no point in suspecting him now.

But why does he look so suspicious?

Feeling annoyed, I decided to step back from the conversation.

Pa-at

I went back to Zhuge Sa and relayed my dialogue with the Prophet through the obsidian. Zhuge Sa then said,

“Baek Woong, go directly to the Imperial Palace and find Miyamoto Musashi, who’s lying low there.”

“Hmm? Why him?”

“Everything ultimately leads to one path. We need to defeat the King of the Life Sea. So, the best course would be to hear about the King of the Life Sea from the one who has encountered him, Miyamoto Musashi.”

“I got it.”

“But…. You don’t need to become companions with Miyamoto Musashi.”

“…….”

“Haha, haha, haha.”

Zhuge Sa chuckled slyly.

Then he laid out a plan.

“Baek Woong, without hesitation, use the Soul Exchange Technique on Miyamoto Musashi. Make him a puppet to obtain the Lunar Kill Technique.”