Reincarnation Sword God

Dark Heaven Village

“How can I get to the Underworld?!”
‘The Northern Mourning Mountain, guarded by the Southern Dipper Star Lord and the Northern Dipper Star Lord… I have no choice but to break through there!’
That’s the only way to reach the Afterlife!
I figured it out right away. There was no proper way to go to the Afterlife, but I already possessed the entry rights for this life. The issue is that the Southern and Northern Dipper Star Lords hold that authority while blocking the entrance, which makes it challenging but not impossible to access.
I spoke to Cheon Woo-jin.
“Cheon Woo-jin, let’s head to Northern Mourning Mountain!”
“……”
“Cheon Woo-jin?”
“If we start running now, we’ll reach the core of the Afterlife where my older brother is. It’s too tight on time to face the Master of the Twelve Joules directly. Even now, without the National Seal, I don’t even know where that place is.”
“Hmm.”
Cheon Woo-jin said thoughtfully.
“Why not use the Black Token instead?”
“Ah!”
“Pray to the God with the Black Token. And if you eliminate the spirit of the Master of the Twelve Joules, that would solve everything.”
I was amazed by that idea!
Nodding in agreement, I said, “Okay, then take me to the foot of Mount Tai…”
At that moment.
“Baek Woong, that’s not going to work.”
Jin So-cheong stepped forward to stop me. I had just begun to leave the hall with Cheon Woo-jin when Jin So-cheong blocked my way, forcing me to halt. I looked at him in confusion, but he seemed resolute and showed no signs of backing down.
“Why are you saying that? The only way to save Mangnyang right now is to eliminate the Master of the Twelve Joules, and to do that, we need the Black Token.”
“It’s not allowed.”
“Why not?!”
I snapped irritably, and Jin So-cheong calmly replied.
“There are two reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“First, although Mangnyang is in danger now, using the Black Token to save him would cost you dearly in terms of fate. If you use the Black Token, you could eliminate anyone but the God, and you may even revive the dead. To put it bluntly, using the Black Token just to save Mangnyang would be a waste.”
“……”
“In other words, it’s fine if Mangnyang dies, and we can revive him later.”
I clenched my teeth.
“Damn! Who doesn’t know that? I understand it all! But if Mangnyang dies, then Zhuge Sa will die too, and if they all fall, we will have to navigate the future without a strategist. I don’t need such calculations to save my companions!”
“I will tell you the second reason.”
“What…”
Jin So-cheong spoke with an icy demeanor, as if he was just stating facts.
“Second, even if you were to eliminate the Master of the Twelve Joules by using the Black Token, while this situation would be averted, you wouldn’t understand how he manifested in the Afterlife with a physical form, nor how he accurately targeted and attacked Mangnyang. That means we would have to go through the tedious process of uncovering the Master of the Twelve Joules’ secrets all over again next time.”
“……”
“Using the Black Token is a very easy and powerful method. However, given how large and intricate this situation has become, you need to treat the lives of your companions as pieces on a chessboard, just as Zhuge Sa said. You also must analyze the situation more rationally before taking action.”
With those words, Jin So-cheong added, “It’s not that I’m saying not to save Mangnyang. We just need to clarify whether that method is the best, and what we should be doing first. Right now, you’re too swayed by the situation.”
“Hmm…”
“The odds are that Mangnyang can hold out. Assuming that, wouldn’t it be better to have a short strategic meeting?”
Jin So-cheong’s words sent a chill down my spine, but it felt like a splash of cold water on my head.
Am I being swayed by the situation?
I could say yes. The fact that both Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa were in danger, which I had thought to be utterly safe, had suddenly narrowed my vision. I rushed into extreme measures without any time to think about what the best course of action was. After thinking for a moment, I spoke.
“Jin So-cheong. But realistically, if I don’t use the Black Token, there’s no real way to save Mangnyang, right?”
“As I said, that’s the simplest and most powerful method. But there are definitely other methods available.”
Jin So-cheong looked at Cheon Woo-jin.
“Right? Being the greatest sorcerer, you must know at least one.”
“……”
When I saw Cheon Woo-jin was silent, I asked tentatively.
“Is there a way to reach the Afterlife without using the Black Token?”
“… Yes.”
“What is it?”
Cheon Woo-jin pointed at the still darkened lake with his finger.
“To open and close the dimensional gate in the lake, it must be done by my older brother, the lord of the Mirror Realm. Right now, he has disconnected without closing the gate. Therefore, we can see this lake, opened by my brother’s Mirror Realm power, is directly connected to wherever he is.”
“Ah…!!”
I grasped the meaning of Cheon Woo-jin’s words and shouted.
“That means if we follow this lake, we can reach the center of the Afterlife in one go!”
“Perhaps.”
“What? Are you saying you aren’t sure?”
“Of course not. No matter how much it is a dimensional gate opened by the Mirror Realm, it’s just a small gap created for communication. No one knows how many distortions lie between the epochs of time and space. If we enter here, there’s a high chance we could end up as dimension strays. Of course, it would be much faster than entering through the entrance of Northern Mourning Mountain to get to the core of the Afterlife.”
Cheon Woo-jin nervously continued.
“And… even if we reach where my older brother is, do you think everything will work out?”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about the moment the Master of the Twelve Joules was killed. At that time, he faced three embodiments of the Eight Parts of the Divine and took down two of them, dying almost in mutual doom. In other words, if he unleashes two of the Seven Luminaries to fight, he is definitely stronger than the Eight Parts of the Divine, meaning he is a being above that of the Demon King.”
“……”
“If he were to transcend human limitations and freely wield the Seven Luminaries… he could be considered a being of a different dimension compared to Ha Eun-cheon during his human life.”
He surveyed the room before speaking.
“With this power, you could potentially be annihilated in a fight. Therefore, I suggested using the Black Token to straightforwardly eliminate the Master of the Twelve Joules without going through such a difficult method.”
“Hmm… I see your point.”
It seemed Cheon Woo-jin thought of that quickly. Nodding, Tang San commented.
“Then let’s do this. Use the Black Token to kill the Master of the Twelve Joules while immediately contacting Mangnyang through this lake. Plus, let’s bring back Mangnyang, Zhuge Sa, and the Mirror Realm to the mortal world all at once! This should work.”
Cheon Woo-jin chuckled in response.
“Why do you think my older brother hasn’t used that method even after numerous interactions with the Mirror Realm sorcery? It’s several times harder to return from there than it is to cross from here to the Underworld. If we carelessly enter there, it could take hundreds of years to come back to the surface.”
“Hmm.”
At that moment, a thought crossed my mind, and I spoke.
“The Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens! With her Corpse Dissolution Technique, it should be possible to return back here.”
Even though she had received help from Fire Dragon Incarnate, the Heavenly Mysterious Woman had successfully returned from Dark Heaven Village using her Corpse Dissolution Technique. It was clear that returning from the Afterlife would be easier than from Dark Heaven Village.
“That might be the case, but the Heavenly Mysterious Woman returned to the Celestial Realm due to a lack of causal rights. Moreover, you are already aware of Changhil’s intentions and have exhausted most treasures for the Seal of the Supreme King. Right now, there aren’t any offerings available to summon the Heavenly Mysterious Woman.”
“Ugh! Just a moment…”
Considering that I had sacrificed treasures to trade with the Prophet, there was almost nothing left! The only items left were the Flame Elemental Sword and Fire Dragon Sword, but I couldn’t afford to offer them. Offering the Flame Elemental Sword would essentially hand over two of the Seven Luminaries to the Heavenly Mysterious Woman, which was excessive. Besides, offering the Fire Dragon Sword would mean forsaking Fire Dragon Incarnate, so I couldn’t do that either.
While I was deep in thought, Tang San grinned and said.
“Wait a second… you still have an offering left.”
“What?”
“The food from Mount Huang. It’s still in your wooden armor, right?”
“I don’t think that would be enough…”
Ordinary offerings would run out quickly, even in summoning the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. Moreover, we would need a strong causal right to balance the two tasks of crossing between the Afterlife and facing the Master of the Twelve Joules. Just then, Tang San cheerfully suggested.
“Those guys, those ones. Just sacrifice them. They’re no use anyway.”
“What do you mean by ‘those guys’?”
“The mutated beings blessed by the Evil Spirit.”
“……!!”
I was taken aback.
The mutated ones blessed by the Evil Spirit!
I had rescued them from Great Thunder Valley, but they were humans whose whole bodies had turned into odd forms and had lost their minds. Some of them had even cocooned themselves in dark shells, resembling pupa. They were left in my wooden armor because there was no way to restore them after rescuing them, but unexpectedly, Tang San mentioned them.
My expression soured.
“Are you suggesting to use them as offerings to summon the Heavenly Mysterious Woman? That’s the same as murder.”
“But their worth as offerings would definitely be top-notch! You haven’t utilized them thus far, but that’s certain, heh.”
“……”
“Right, Cheon Woo-jin?”
When Tang San asked Cheon Woo-jin, he replied.
“That is true. If they are beings infused with the blessings of the Old Ruler, their contained magical power must be tremendous.”
“There you go.”
“But that is human sacrifice. It should not be done.”
Cheon Woo-jin’s words were correct. Zhuge Sa also viewed them as a potent offering, but there was a reason we hadn’t used them all this time. They were victims unjustly captured by the Golden Eagle Guard, stripped of their human forms, and forcing their lives out as offerings from them would be an atrocious act.
Tang San shrugged his shoulders.
“Is that really the case? Baek Woong, do you even know the names of those blessed by the Evil Spirit? They are just worthless others. In comparison, Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa are our precious companions. Compare the worth of a few anonymous humans against that of Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa.”
“……”
“Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa would understand it too. After all, there’s no reason to keep those who can’t think like humans anymore. If you die, everything will end, so you can afford to sacrifice that degree of lives, can’t you?”
“……”
“Let’s make the most of what we have. Isn’t it for the greater good?”
Tang San’s argument was appealing. However, I shook my head and sighed.
“… I’ll use the Black Token.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll just eliminate the Master of the Twelve Joules with the Black Token.”
After the discussion, I was able to decide on my course of action. Of course, if I sacrificed the mutated beings blessed by the Evil Spirit to summon the Heavenly Mysterious Woman, that method would be the most efficient. It would take down the Master of the Twelve Joules while also rescuing both Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa simultaneously.
Yet even so, I could not allow innocent sacrifices. More importantly, it was arrogant to decide their fate for my own gain when those mutated beings could not even choose their own fate. If they could decide for themselves, it might be different, but otherwise, sacrificing them would be utterly unacceptable.
I glanced at Jin So-cheong, and he nodded.
“I won’t oppose you. You’ve made your decision after giving it much thought.”
Crack!
With Cheon Woo-jin’s aid, I went to the village under the foot of Mount Tai. Then, after entering the jungle with the Black Token, I prayed to the master.
“God, please eliminate the Master of the Twelve Joules.”
[Your wish has been accepted…]
Whoooosh
[Your wish is fulfilled…]
The spirit resembling that of the Master of the Twelve Joules was sucked into the master’s mouth. I gazed blankly at the jungle’s master before speaking.
“God, I have a question!”
[What is it…]
“Am I being controlled by someone’s fate?”
The jungle master seemed to roll his eyes around as if examining me closely. Then with a hint of amusement, he replied.
[Hmm… I can’t say for sure, but… it’s intriguing… It’s unverifiable, but if it is true… Hoho… how fascinating.]
After a series of murmurs, the master continued.
[At the end of your fate… a choice will come… or perhaps… you’ve already chosen…?]
“What do you mean…?”
[To ascend to the high celestial realm… for one such as you, all those cunning wits eventually have limits… yes… how can one comprehend the abyss of a world that even chaos cannot gauge… Hehe… this will be interesting…]
Crack!
I returned to the village at the foot of Mount Tai. Instantly with Cheon Woo-jin’s assistance, I made my way back to the base, but the silvery sheen of the lake remained unbroken.
Eeeee
A strange sound continued to ring in my ears. Yet, the figure of Mangnyang showed no signs of reappearing. It was evident that something severe had transpired over there.
‘At this rate, I have no way of confirming whether the Master of the Twelve Joules was eliminated or not.’
I sighed.
“Haah.”
Anxious and restless, but there was nothing I could do now. I handed the seed of the Dragon Flower Tree to Seimei beside me and said.
“Seimei. Take this. Mangnyang will be able to plant it.”
Seimei looked blankly at the seed of the Dragon Flower Tree and said.
“This is not…”
I was startled by Seimei’s words.
“Is this the seed of the World Tree?”