Reincarnation Sword God

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00416  Celestial Realm

We headed straight to the Sangwan Clan. I immediately moved to the basement of the Sangwan Clan, and as I descended from the statue of The Four Great Spirits, I glanced at Zhuge Sa, who chuckled and said,

“Well, I’ve practiced the Soul Exchange Technique a bit, so your soul won’t scatter easily. You’ll be fine for at least half a moment, so don’t worry.”

“Don’t do anything foolish.”

I looked at Zhuge Sa with concern. As he said, my proficiency in the Soul Exchange Technique had improved significantly thanks to my hard work, and I was on the verge of transferring Zhuge Sa completely to the Divine Portrait. However, that didn’t change the fact that Zhuge Sa was a wild card, hard to predict.

“You take care of yourself.”

Zhuge Sa muttered, staring at the writhing spiral seal at the front of the basement.

“That’s definitely the reason.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“I didn’t realize it when you were just sharing your gaze, but now that I’ve brought my body, I can feel it. There’s magical power infused within here, and it’s being somehow preserved. I can feel that the sacred relic you gave, Baek Woong, has strengthened the seal…”

As Zhuge Sa mumbled that, he suddenly looked towards the empty space opposite.

“You’ve been pretending since last time, haven’t you, Sangwan Hyuk?”

Swish!

In the next moment, the voice-like Sangwan Hyuk stealthily appeared there. I was already aware of his presence, so Miho and I were on alert as we looked toward him. Sangwan Hyuk, in a hushed tone, said,

“Zhuge Yulong?”

“Hehe. Sorry, but that’s not the case.”

With a smirk, Zhuge Sa turned his gaze to me and said,

“Baek Woong. Use the All-Seeing Eye to observe this seal closely. Then you’ll know where the treasures constituting the seal are.”

“Um.”

As I prepared to activate the National Seal, Sangwan Hyuk gasped and shouted,

“That All-Seeing Eye… then that’s the National Seal! No, no!”

“What’s not allowed? Do you even know what’s happening right now?”

Zhuge Sa took a bold step forward and growled.

“The Heavenly Sovereign is coming down, and after 49 days, everyone will die. How impressive it is that you’re just looking out for yourself in this situation.”

“Ugh…”

Sangwan Hyuk, whispering, said,

“Baek Woong, Deputy Sect Leader! Please stop for a moment. I’ll explain everything…”

Hearing that, I considered pausing the activation of the All-Seeing Eye, but Zhuge Sa interrupted,

“Keep going! There’s no need to spare this guy.”

That made sense.

Agreeing with Zhuge Sa’s words, I continued the activation. Since Miho and Zhuge Sa were using their powers to contain Sangwan Hyuk, I didn’t have to worry about an ambush. Soon, everything in the surrounding space started to feel delicate and detail-oriented, and I could tell something was hidden within the seal in front of me, taking the shape of a sword.

Without realizing it, I reached out towards the transparent sword. Its essence didn’t exist in reality, but it undeniably resided within the spiraling mechanism. The All-Seeing Eye allowed me to sense its essence and even contact it freely.

Wooong!

However, while I succeeded in grabbing the handle of the transparent sword, I felt immense pain.

“……!!”

It was hot!

I felt a terrifying heat as if my skin were shriveling, and the blood vessels were burning. The Fire Dragon seemed to be entering my blood vessels, putting pressure on my heart. The huge shock and pain almost made me lose my senses, but thanks to the resilience I had developed during my time as a martial artist, I eventually managed to regain my composure.

Crunch!

I gritted my teeth and forcibly pulled the sword out from the seal while gripping it. When I finally withdrew my hand from the sword, it had a tangible form in my grip. It seemed that I had forcibly pulled it out of the mechanical seal using the power of the All-Seeing Eye.

But as I continued to hold it, I felt like my body was burning from within, and I couldn’t endure it any longer. I had to let go of the sword.

Clang!

“Ugh! Hah! Ugh…!!”

As I gasped for air, Zhuge Sa stared blankly at the sword that fell to the ground. Then he glanced at Miho and, after pondering something, said,

“This is troublesome. It would be impossible to retrieve it here.”

Sangwan Hyuk, who had been held in check, spoke cautiously,

“Ah, if you understand, please put it back. While the sacred relic maintains the seal, without the sword, it won’t last long.”

“Who decided that? You’re not even the owner of this sword!”

“What…”

“Fine, put it back then.”

Zhuge Sa smirked and pointed with his finger at the sword lying at his feet.

“If you’re really the owner of this sword, come over and take it. Then you can put it back in the seal. If you’re the sword’s owner, it should be an easy task, right?”

“……”

“What are you doing? Hurry up.”

Despite Zhuge Sa’s words, Sangwan Hyuk looked hesitant, unable to move. It wasn’t that he thought Miho or Zhuge Sa would attack him; rather, his expression was one of genuine hesitation as if he couldn’t accept Zhuge Sa’s proposal. Miho tilted her head, bewildered.

“What’s the problem? With a sword like this…”

Just as Miho bent down to pick up the sword, Zhuge Sa yelled.

“Step back, Nine-Tailed Fox! If a monster like you grabs that divine sword, you’ll be immediately obliterated.”

“……!!”

Miho jumped back in shock. She was so startled that her transformation spell slightly faltered, revealing three white tails behind her. After taking a moment to calm her racing heart, it seemed Miho realized something and looked back and forth between Sangwan Hyuk and Zhuge Sa.

“I see… If I can’t do it, you guys definitely can’t either!”

“……?”

What was going on right now?

As I blankly watched and didn’t understand, Sangwan Hyuk sighed and said,

“What are you planning to do? You’ve unearthed it, and now you can’t handle the aftermath… Why are you acting so superior when you guys are tainted by the Demon Path?”

“At the very least, we have the will to deal with the aftermath of what’s happened. We won’t do something reckless like abandoning the lives of hundreds of thousands!”

“Ugh…”

“Hehe, the question now is how to transport it, though.”

I could no longer hold back and asked Zhuge Sa,

“Zhuge Sa, what the heck is going on?”

“Well… to put it simply, no one here can use that sword, and even touching it is overwhelming. The only one with a chance of moving it is you, Baek Woong.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s a divine sword. As the supreme treasure of the Celestial Realm, it possesses its own will, and especially the Fire Spirit controlling the divine sword has the power of destruction and righteousness. Even after being weakened from being sealed for hundreds of years, if it’s like this, I can only imagine how powerful it was in its heyday…”

Zhuge Sa gazed at the sword with admiration. I quickly understood his words and asked,

“So you’re saying you’re an evil demon sorcerer, and Sangwan Hyuk over there is also a demon sorcerer. And Miho belongs to the darkness, so of course, you can’t use it.”

“That’s right.”

“Wait… then why can’t I handle it?”

Then Zhuge Sa responded as if perplexed by my question,

“Didn’t you come into contact with the ‘Old Sovereign’ and handle the knowledge of the otherworld? Even if you’re not a demon, there’s more than enough reason for the Fire Spirit of the Celestial Realm to consider you evil.”

“……”

“Well, it seems you can touch it despite feeling pain because you haven’t completely fallen into it.”

Zhuge Sa casually stated that, but I wasn’t in a position to care about his sarcasm. Because at that moment, I figured out what the source of the power maintaining the seal in the basement of the Sangwan Clan was.

The source of the power was this divine sword, the Fire Dragon Sword.

And there was only one treasure that could possibly be hidden in this world.

“Fire Dragon Divine Sword!!”

As I exclaimed in astonishment, Miho asked,

“Baek Woong, are you okay? The energy of the Fire Dragon must have infiltrated your body.”

“Ah… wait.”

I hurriedly circulated Lesser Circulation briefly to check my body’s condition. Indeed, the burning energy I had felt earlier had penetrated to my marrow, and it seemed to have already created a stream of flames within me. I used Hua’s 108 Needles to subdue the energy of the flame and took a breather.

‘Just having held it for a moment, and it feels like this.’

At this rate, I wouldn’t even be able to think about fighting with the Fire Dragon Divine Sword. If I couldn’t suppress the flame within me even with my incredible internal power, a regular martial artist would surely incinerate themselves the moment they grasped the Fire Dragon Divine Sword. No, they might burn to death just being nearby.

“I’m fine.”

It was truly a terrifyingly powerful treasure. As I was inwardly astonished by the might of the Fire Dragon Divine Sword, Sangwan Hyuk said,

“Stop regretting your decisions. The Fire Dragon Divine Sword must be maintained to keep the seal. Otherwise, a catastrophic disaster will befall all of Luoyang.”

“Well… that’s your stance; we think otherwise.”

Zhuge Sa continued to smirk.

“Originally, the Fire Dragon Divine Sword should’ve been sealed somewhere in Mount Ye, and Yeodong-bin would have been able to fulfill his duty to safeguard the inheritance normally. The next guardian should have been successively passed down through the ages.”

“Um…”

“But you guys from the Sangwan Clan brought the Fire Dragon Divine Sword to Luoyang, and it seems Yeodong-bin was unable to carry out his duty to protect the humans from the otherworldly beings. So, after a thousand years of doing nothing, he barely managed to become a guardian again with that old crone.”

“……”

Calling her an old crone was too harsh.

However, every single word Zhuge Sa spoke clearly explained the reason why the Fire Dragon Divine Sword was in Luoyang, the hidden secrets, and the causal relationships.

‘So there was no Fire Dragon Divine Sword at Mount Ye.’

The Fire Dragon Divine Sword was originally sealed in a deep cave at Mount Ye, most likely nestled within the throat of a great dragon. But the ancestors of the Sangwan Clan, who sought a powerful treasure, had probably searched for the Fire Dragon Divine Sword and brought it to Luoyang. And it was surely used in the rituals to strengthen the seal.

As I stared at Sangwan Hyuk with disbelief, he explained,

“It was all for the sake of the world. If we couldn’t maintain the seal back then, the world would have been drenched in blood, and the monsters would have rampaged during the day, slaughtering humans indiscriminately. The Fire Dragon Divine Sword was also used for righteous purposes, so we haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Hehe. Is that so?”

Zhuge Sa narrowed his eyes and said to me,

“Hey, Baek Woong. Just to make sure, summon Yeodong-bin and let’s get a manifestation. He’ll know best, and it should clarify the truth behind this matter.”

“Ugh…!!”

Sangwan Hyuk widened his eyes in shock.

“Wait, you were the incarnation of the Sword Master Yeodong-bin?”

“Well… that’s one way to put it.”

I scratched my head in response. Then I replied,

“Zhuge Sa is right; that seems like the best course of action.”

As I focused my consciousness and began calling for Yeodong-bin, Sangwan Hyuk displayed a defeated expression. Then he slumped down right there and muttered,

“Fate… it’s fate…”

Boom!

Moments later, Yeodong-bin manifested within my body. As he appeared, he quickly grasped the situation, staring blankly at the Fire Dragon Divine Sword lying on the floor. Then he stepped forward and picked it up.

Flaaare!

The Fire Dragon Divine Sword ignited for a moment, heating my hand. However, soon the flames subsided, and it emitted a clear sound as if nothing had happened. That sound was crisp and transparent, welcoming its master.

Kieeng~

After holding the Fire Dragon Divine Sword, Yeodong-bin, who had been silently gazing at the sword divine, finally spoke.

[What am I to do about this? Everything has spiraled into chaos, entangling countless threads of unmanageable fate…]

Zhuge Sa, grinning, replied to Yeodong-bin,

“Sword Master, how about just destroying that seal as it is? With your power, you’d have no trouble handling the beast that will be unleashed from that seal.”

[I’d cut you down if you were joking.]

Boom!

At that moment, Zhuge Sa crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. It was a look of utter daze, and given that his soul did not return to me, it seemed he wasn’t dead but rather fainted. Yeodong-bin had merely released a hint of killing intent, but Zhuge Sa’s spirit was fully suppressed, leaving him in a catatonic state.

‘This can’t be happening.’

Zhuge Sa was the leader of the heretical sect and an outstanding demon sorcerer; his mental strength was incomparable to an average human. That he was put in that state by just a display of Yeodong-bin’s aura! I could only intuit the sheer difference in power.

Yeodong-bin walked up to Sangwan Hyuk and said,

[This seal must have been created to block the divine position of Wu Zetian, human.]

Sangwan Hyuk, unable to dare challenge Yeodong-bin, bowed his head in fear.

“That… that was an unavoidable choice at the time.”

[From that moment, everything began to unravel… Did Sangguan Wan’er really have to make such a choice?]

Sighing, Yeodong-bin then positioned the Fire Dragon Divine Sword into a stance and aimed it directly at the seal. Then he shouted,

[Break it!]

Flames erupted from the Fire Dragon Divine Sword like a flash, piercing through the mechanically complex seal’s center, then even shattering the darkness around it. The darkness, like flailing tentacles, spread its energy everywhere, but as Yeodong-bin unleashed thousands of sword energies, a thunderous boom echoed.

KABOOOM!

After a short while, the darkness completely dissipated, and the seal vanished as well. As Sangwan Hyuk watched in a daze, Yeodong-bin proclaimed,

[Thanks to the power of the other relics, I was able to clean up completely. The door leading to Dark Heaven Village will no longer open.]

At this, Sangwan Hyuk was startled.

“Are you truly saying it is completely sealed?”

[Indeed.]

Upon hearing this, tears streamed down Sangwan Hyuk’s face in joy.

“Aah…!! Thank you! Great Immortal!”

[……]

Yet, Yeodong-bin didn’t seem overly pleased. He turned to Miho, who had been watching this entire event with blank eyes, and said,

[The situation is dire. You must return to the Celestial Realm at once.]

Miho, seemingly offended, retorted with a sulky expression,

“Yeodong-bin, who do you think you are to order me around? Is that the Queen Mother’s command?”

[Yes. It is what she desires.]

“……!!”

Surprised by this, Miho gazed up as Yeodong-bin continued,

[If things become impossible to handle any longer, you will be indiscriminately destroyed. Go to the Celestial Realm before that happens.]

“But… the path to the Celestial Realm has been closed off.”

[I’ve left a backdoor open.]

“Ah…!!”

With a dawning realization, Miho showed a determined expression and disappeared using her transformation. As I watched Miho depart within Yeodong-bin, I felt both abandoned and astonished. Could it be that after offering to help me, she just vanished so easily?

However, without a moment to spare, Yeodong-bin spoke to me,

[Incarnation… discovering the Fire Dragon Divine Sword and sealing the rift to Dark Heaven Village is a tremendous achievement. But the Celestial Realm is greatly wary of the power and potential of the Master of the White Lotus Sect, planning to eliminate him at this opportunity, so it won’t be easy to thwart the plan for the Heavenly Sovereign to descend after 49 days.]

What?!

[You got rid of the threat in Luoyang! Isn’t it too underhanded for the Celestial Realm to meddle further?]

As I inwardly retorted vehemently, Yeodong-bin continued,

[This seal was merely an additional threat. The real threat lies elsewhere… The Master of the White Lotus Sect’s seizure of Luoyang is something the Celestial Realm cannot overlook.]

[What do you mean by real threat?]

[It’s something I cannot disclose because it is heavenly secrets.]

With that, Yeodong-bin lamented,

[…Incarnation. Decide now. Shall we eliminate the Master of the White Lotus Sect, or shall we seek another method?]

I sensed something odd about Yeodong-bin’s proposal.

It was atypical for Yeodong-bin to present me with options so readily. Reflecting on the past, when he had surged with wrath during the conflict with the otherworldly beings, he would have taken control of my body to seek out the Master of the White Lotus Sect for a confrontation. But now, for some reason, Yeodong-bin seemed inclined to leave the decision entirely in my hands.

[Yeodong-bin, what are you thinking? You are the divine guide and the Great Immortal, so I thought removing a threat to the Celestial Realm was your priority.]

[Did it appear that way to you?]

Responding bitterly, Yeodong-bin said,

[It may be an inconsequential struggle… but the act of establishing a Heavenly Sovereign is extremely extreme, and I cannot fully endorse it. Thus, I want to leave the decision to you. Whether the Master of the White Lotus Sect deserves to be considered a major evil to be eradicated or not is up to you, who have witnessed it firsthand.]

[……]

Realizing Yeodong-bin’s suggestion bore his own free will, I was taken aback. Because Yeodong-bin had always fought mechanically as a force of the Celestial Realm, I had thought he’d automatically choose the obliteration of the sect leader, but unexpectedly, he was skeptical about the Heavenly Sovereign’s plan. As I understood that Yeodong-bin was speaking sincerely, I began to ponder deeply.

Elimination of the sect leader.

If I were to achieve that, I could indeed cancel the Celestial Realm’s plan to have the Heavenly Sovereign descend. After all, the Celestial Realm was seeking to instate the Heavenly Sovereign due to considering the Master of the White Lotus Sect a dangerous threat. Likely, such a move would thwart the Celestial Realm’s plan.

But was that truly something I could proceed with?

The plan of Absolute Martial Arts, which the sect leader desired, was undoubtedly being executed with a certain belief aimed at rescuing humans. Moreover, the leader was not the kind of human scum easily distinguishable by sheer malice. Hearing Zhuge Sa’s words that I shouldn’t distinguish good from evil based on outer appearances made me feel even more uncomfortable.

After a long period of contemplation, I decided to speak.

[I…]