True Martial Home

After obtaining half of Amaterasu from Seimei, I returned to Zhuge Sa.

Zhuge Sa then said, “So now there are more ways to strengthen your power through rebirth.”

“What?”

Zhuge Sa grinned.

“Didn’t you get it? Are you pretending? From now on, if I can just persuade Abe no Seimei, I can consume Amaterasu’s body in every life he possesses within him. The growth rate of divine power will be doubled from now on.”

“……”

“Does that also seem ethically wrong? Can you not accept it? To me, it seems no different from you absorbing Yin Spirit Power every rebirth.”

I shook my head.

“No… I’m not worried about that. I just wonder if this power will remain when I repeat the rebirth as Seimei said.”

“I see. So, do you feel Amaterasu’s consciousness? Can you call her?”

“Just a moment….”

Vuuumm

I tried resonating my Yin Spirit Power with Amaterasu’s power to see if there would be a reaction. I thought if the reaction was strong enough, something might pop out. However, I only felt a pure whirlwind of power without any consciousness at all. When I shared my experience with Zhuge Sa, he expressed interest.

“The body of a god… I want to research it.”

“Anyway, what should I do now?”

“Didn’t you arrange a meeting with Zhuge Yulong? Then the answer is obvious.”

Zhuge Sa said slowly, “Make Zhuge Yulong your ally.”

“…Is that possible? How do I draw him in?”

I knew why accepting Zhuge Yulong as an ally was necessary. As a reborn person, I had to break through Aokigahara Life Sea and enter another dimension, so I couldn’t afford to be picky about my methods. It was true that Zhuge Yulong was talented and outstanding, so I had to draw him in somehow. But did Zhuge Yulong and I share understanding? He was merely curious about why a mysterious figure called the Reborn Person kept spilling out incredible information. For him, breaking through Aokigahara Life Sea was utterly uninteresting, making it indeed a tough task to involve him in my affairs.

As I pondered, Zhuge Sa spoke casually. “Haven’t you been talking big about having a major secret? Since it’s come to this, just ride on the same boat as him this lifetime.”

“Ride on the same boat… isn’t that the same as making him an ally?”

“Not quite. You’re becoming Zhuge Yulong’s ally. First, you need to align with his intentions.”

“……?”

When I heard Zhuge Sa’s plan, my eyes widened.

“Help him overthrow the Celestial Realm. And in return, when challenging the Life Sea, gain his full support.”

“……!!”

“You’ve never attempted this before, have you?”

Help Zhuge Yulong overthrow the Celestial Realm!

This unexpected plan stunned me.

‘Well… it’s true I’ve never attempted anything like it!’

But there was a reason I couldn’t try. I organized my thoughts and spoke to Zhuge Sa.

“Zhuge Sa, becoming Zhuge Yulong’s ally to overthrow the Celestial Realm means endorsing his human sacrifices, demon path consciousness, and research. That I cannot do.”

Whether it was a Dragon Person or a Demon, all were products of Zhuge Yulong’s intentions. Even the gruesome human sacrifices using the Golden Eagle Guard were the same. Since he plotted in such a manner, I could never become a comrade.

“Such a cliché to say… hmm.”

Zhuge Sa leaned against a wooden pillar, flicking a piece of bean with his finger as he continued.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t know that? Of course, there’s a way to satisfy that ‘justification’ you mentioned.”

“A way?”

“Let’s return to basics. Why is Zhuge Yulong so obsessed with the Path of Demons?”

“Hmm… is it not due to a lack of power?”

At least that’s what I thought. Zhuge Yulong was an unmatched peak master in the Jianghu and a mighty grand sorcerer, but with that level of power, he could never achieve his aspirations in this realm. He might even struggle against lower tier Earth Immortals. Hence, his will to overthrow the Celestial Realm could only thrive through underhanded methods of gaining power.

In response to my answer, Zhuge Sa said, “Yes. Zhuge Yulong has delved quite deeply into the secrets of the Celestial Realm, directly hearing information from there. Naturally, he knows roughly how powerful the Celestial Realm really is, realizing his own power is insufficient. After all, isn’t it a place swarming with the avatars of the Old Ruler? It’s not surprising for him to want to gain strength using the Way of Demons.”

“……”

“But… with your current abilities, you could fulfill what he wants in terms of ‘power.’ Right? You just need to demand that Zhuge Yulong cease his use of the Way of Demons in exchange for lending him your strength.”

“You mean I can provide Zhuge Yulong with the power he desires?”

“Of course. Using your intelligence and powers to bring down the Celestial Realm is a piece of cake. As long as you are around, the trivial treasures equivalent to gems in a pig’s throat will become a divine sword in Zhuge Yulong’s hands.”

Ugh, what an expression to use.

“…Hey….”

“I think it’s worth a shot. You, my lord, decide.”

I pondered Zhuge Sa’s words.

‘Hmmm…’

I pointed out one more concern.

“If we overthrow the Celestial Realm, it would disrupt the balance of Heaven and Earth and lead to great chaos; how do we deal with that?”

“Kehehe… haven’t you already stirred up trouble plenty until now? Why pretend to be the nice guy now?… You’ve got a few dooms under your belt; why worry?”

Zhuge Sa’s mockery made me retort.

“Ugh… many unintentional things happened. It’s different when you do it on purpose.”

“Let’s say it’s like that. But what’s this about having no justification to attack the Celestial Realm?”

Zhuge Sa chuckled.

“If you really need justification, I can give you three reasons.”

“……”

“First, you’re facing an imminent life-threatening situation from Dongyoung Warrior tomorrow, so few would ethically blame you for acting beyond morality. You’ll just be bearing the sacrifice that arises from invading the Celestial Realm, all while preventing Zhuge Yulong from engaging in human sacrifices and his demon path. If anyone dares to blame you for being in danger, they can just smack their heads against a rock.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Second, the Celestial Realm has long since become the evil background where avatars of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors have infiltrated, corrupting divine statuses lurking about. Third, similar to the first point, if you bring down the Celestial Realm, it would end up in your hands, raising the chances of preventing the world’s doom.”

“What? The third reason….”

I understood the first and second justifications, but the last one caught me off guard. Zhuge Sa continued, his eyes cold.

“As Zhuge Yulong said, if we overthrow the Celestial Realm, the powers of ‘human potential’ will be unleashed in this world. You can already tell how powerful that potential is just by looking at the sorcery papers. Once released, humans can become strong enough without having to go through the trouble of spreading enchanted characters like Changhil and artificially evolving.”

“I see.”

“Moreover, running the Celestial Realm lies with the Three Purities and Queen Mother of the West, but the majority of the Earth Immortals beneath them don’t actively support them. Therefore, if you take down just the heads, all the lower-tier Earth Immortals and all the great immortals will become your subordinates and act as you wish.”

“……!!”

“From every angle, it seems that overthrowing the Celestial Realm yields only benefits. In fact, it should have been brought down at least once up until now; it’s rather late. Let’s go for it.”

“Hmm… if we overthrow the Celestial Realm and then use that support to invade the Life Sea, the odds of victory would indeed increase…!!”

“That part gets a bit ahead of ourselves, which flips the roles. Anyway, right now, it’s best to partner up with Zhuge Yulong. Will you do it or not?”

I nodded at Zhuge Sa’s persuasion.

“Alright. I’ll give it a shot!”

Paat

On the promised day, I headed to Mount Huang with my companions. At the agreed time, when I reached the peak, there were Yong Junil, Zhuge Yulong, Zhuge Bu, and the Imperial Palace Four Great Experts gathered there. Lee Kwang was absent, so there were only three from the Imperial Palace, along with about a dozen elite experts seemingly handpicked from the Golden Eagle Guard.

Upon seeing Zhuge Sa next to me, Zhuge Yulong’s eyebrows flicked.

“Zhuge Sa! You were the ally of the Reborn Person?”

Zhuge Sa replied smoothly, “Brother! Long time no see. As you can see, I’ve decided to serve this person as my lord.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“You mean you doubt me having a lord?”

“You seem to have no attachment to the world; you’re saying that person is significant enough to hold your attachment?”

“Kehehe… those discussions can wait. For now, let me communicate our terms on behalf of my lord.”

Zhuge Sa stepped forward and opened his mouth.

“Let’s join forces, brother. We will do everything we can to help you achieve your ambition of overthrowing the Celestial Realm. In return, you and your men must lend us your strength to defeat the king of Aokigahara Life Sea.”

“……”

Zhuge Yulong closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought. Then, Zhuge Bu, who stood next to him, shot me a sharp look.

“Zhuge Sa. What are you plotting? And how can you three possibly provide help?”

“What kind of nonsense is that for you to address your uncle like that?”

“Hmph! I don’t consider you my uncle….”

Zhuge Sa laughed softly.

“Lay it all out.”

Bam

“Kyaaaaagh!”

Zhuge Bu screamed and died. It all happened so fast that Bai Hu and Xuan Wu next to me were all flustered.

“Ah, no!”

“What sorcery was that…?! How did you take down Lord Zhuge Bu in one blow?!”

Yet, Zhuge Yulong displayed emotionless eyes even as his own son died right beside him. He coldly glanced down at Zhuge Bu’s corpse and spoke.

“Did you stab the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug into his heart? Just like you.”

“Seems my brother recognizes it at a glance.”

“Is the reason for killing instead of keeping him alive as a hostage more about your confidence in his potential power? I can’t tell if that’s bravado or not.”

“Of course, it’s confidence. Even without Zhuge Bu, we have enough power to destroy the Celestial Realm.”

“I cannot trust mere words. State your conditions accurately.”

“Fine.”

As Zhuge Sa turned his gaze towards me, I immediately pulled out treasures from my wooden armor, spilling them out.

Kugugugugu….

“Huh…!”

“Ugh…. ”

“Whoa!”

When treasures began pouring out from my armor, the area was filled with gold and silver treasures. Among them were precious artifacts and significant law books as well. Zhuge Yulong initially seemed indifferent to the gold and silver treasures, but once the Divine Sword and Seven Luminaries appeared, I felt him clench his teeth in surprise.

“……!!”

“What do you think? Isn’t our lord impressive? With just half of this, brother, you could easily devastate the Celestial Realm.”

“…Who is that person? Who holds the Seven Luminaries and possesses such incredible treasures and… has information about the apocalypse?”

“I can’t say in front of all these untrustworthy characters. If you dismiss the riff-raff and stay on this peak, I’ll share that secret.”

“Fine.”

Zhuge Yulong then instructed everyone to leave. Under his orders, everyone tried to depart without protest, but Yong Junil refused. He smirked at Zhuge Yulong and said.

“Sorry, but I am not your subordinate; we are equal. At this point, I must hear that person’s secret even out of curiosity.”

“Yong Junil, I will explain later.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

As Yong Junil strongly resisted, Zhuge Yulong appeared flustered. Realizing it was my moment to step in, I exerted all my effort to unleash the full potential of the Soul Removal Technique.

Swish

“…….”

At that instant, I dove in and poised my hand at his throat with a swift strike. He froze in shock. Given the distance among martial experts, he could evade, but the important thing was he hadn’t sensed me closing in. If I had truly aimed to kill him, I would have had a 20% chance for a clean strike. At the very least, I could inflict severe harm, so it was a clear display of strength.

I glared at Yong Junil and commanded, “Leave now.”

I was set on making Zhuge Yulong my ally, but this guy was different. I couldn’t divulge everything to someone so vague and sinister. Especially not to someone who knew the Reborn Person’s weaknesses.

“…….”

Yong Junil took on a chewed expression and turned to leave without another word. His pride visibly shattered. Once I withdrew my hand, Zhuge Yulong spoke from behind.

“Impressive martial art. Perhaps you could even fight against the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”

“……”

“But that level of martial art is not enough to achieve your goals against the Celestial Realm. What do you wish to convey to me?”

I slowly turned back to Zhuge Yulong and said, “Zhuge Yulong. Can you really remain sane even if this world is filled with despair?”

“I’ve recognized that fact always. Are you suggesting that I’m not sane now?”

“Good.”

I extended my hand with the obsidian towards Zhuge Yulong.

“Take it.”