Reincarnation Sword God

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00458 Dark Heaven Village ————————————————————————=

Peng Zuo.

The longest-living being in this world!

Aside from true divine beings, no one on the Central Plains has lived longer. He was a descendant of the Sovereign of the Three Sovereigns, Emperor Zhuanxu, and reportedly lived for over 800 years, from the era of Yao and Shun to the early Zhou Dynasty. The problem was that while I thought he was undoubtedly dead, it turned out he was still alive.

I couldn’t help but recall how absurd that was. When I was about to receive the blessing of the Elder Three Sovereigns, Southern Flower Immortal had been displeased and asked for his summons to be excluded. Then Peng Zuo appeared and said:

[ I am Peng Zuo… I am still alive, so I cannot grant you blessings. I shall pass my turn.]

[ Huh? You’re alive? But aren’t you from the Yao and Shun era?!]

[ I am still alive. What do you want from me…]

[ ……]

That’s right. Peng Zuo had lived for at least 3000 years. Even with the status of the Great Immortal, he somehow still maintained his lifespan as a living being. The fact that a physical body could sustain itself for so long seemed utterly impossible.

While recalling my memories of Peng Zuo, I asked the spirit of the National Seal.

“Is this really true? Does Peng Zuo know about Emperor Changqie’s whereabouts?”

[ The search results are confirmed.]

“Great. So where can I find Peng Zuo?”

[ Please wait a moment…]

Pa-at

Finally, the visual screen switched, revealing an exotic landscape. I couldn’t believe my eyes and blinked hard.

A steel beast, clanking and spewing smoke, was racing quickly on wheels. Watching the Iron Head charge made me feel fear. Colorful-eyed people were riding all over the beast, stuffing something that looked like a black lump somewhere. After a while, I regained my senses and realized it wasn’t a beast but some kind of mechanical device.

But that wasn’t all. In the sky, there was a massive structure that looked like it was blowing up strong winds, floating with people onboard. As my sight shifted to this bizarre city, my astonishment intensified. A great pillar was transporting what seemed like lightning, and it looked like the people were utilizing the power of thunder. Colorful-eyed guardians were on alert, holding firearms that looked remarkably different from the ones in the Central Plains.

Clatter, clatter

And on the city streets, a large iron thing with four wheels was moving over the bumpy road. As I observed the scenery of this exotic city, I began to guess where I was.

“This place… is it the Western Regions?”

[ Correct. We are moving to the British Empire’s governor’s residence where the target is located.]

Whoosh

The view was sucked away, and I plunged into the interior of a luxurious building filled with Colorful-eyed people dressed elaborately. As my sight wandered through the underground darkness, I noticed strange beings standing among grand ruins, dressed in ceremonial attire that starkly contrasted with the outer world.

These beings seemed to be chanting something among the ruins. Then suddenly, one of the beings gasped and waved his hand. It was clearly an ancient language from the Central Plains.

“Who dares to use the National Seal? Arrogant fool…”

Pa-at

Then the view ended there. The spirit of the National Seal spoke to me as I returned to reality.

[ I apologize. A semi-administrator-level cease-and-desist order has been issued, and the search has been halted.]

“……”

[ Please reset your authority settings to re-initiate the search.]

I immediately realized.

‘That being was definitely Peng Zuo.’

For reasons unknown, it seemed Peng Zuo had crossed over to the Western Regions and was somewhere underground in the British Empire governor’s residence. To call it “underground” was still a misnomer; that place looked like a realm created by magical arts. Regardless of why Peng Zuo was there, just discovering his location was a significant achievement. I turned to the spirit and asked.

“How do I reset the authority?”

[ If you authenticate that you are superior in authority to a semi-administrator…]

Just then,

The spirit suddenly twisted its body as it emitted light and then exploded.

Boom

“……!!”

I jumped back in surprise, but since it was just an illusion, I wasn’t harmed. A moment later, the spirit regenerated in the void and said to me.

[ I have received a direct order from the semi-administrator to temporarily suspend the All-Seeing Eye ability. I request your understanding.]

“What?!”

I tried to activate the All-Seeing Eye again just in case. But the spirit, instead of lifting the All-Seeing Eye, merely floated there in silence. Zhuge Sa, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.

“It seems that this Peng Zuo fellow was a semi-administrator of the National Seal. He acted first and shut down the search function, so we can no longer locate him.”

“How can that be? The National Seal was created when Shao Hao Jin Tian was summoned during the time of Qin Shi Huang. How can Peng Zuo…?”

“Have you forgotten Peng Zuo’s origins? As a descendant of the Sovereign of the Three Sovereigns, he was born with powers rivaling those of a Great Immortal from the start. He is a direct descendant of the divine. It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to negotiate with Shao Hao Jin Tian and gain the rights over the National Seal.”

“……”

I pondered for a moment and then said,

“If that’s the case, then it implies that both Changqie and Peng Zuo were present when the National Seal was created.”

“Exactly. I don’t know if they were the original bodies, avatars, or just disguises, but they were deeply involved with the National Seal.”

Zhuge Sa suddenly chuckled.

“By the way, this is a huge mess. The All-Seeing Eye could provide endless opportunities, but we happen to have it blocked by Peng Zuo.”

“Ugh.”

I was annoyed. I could feel the difficulty of the mission to find Changqie skyrocket.

“Does that mean I have to go all the way to the Western Regions and find Peng Zuo to learn about Changqie’s whereabouts? Are you serious?”

“I don’t know. If I were Peng Zuo, I’d already have hidden my tracks and gone into seclusion. It’s going to be much harder.”

“Damn it!!”

I sensed it. At this rate, finding Changqie’s whereabouts within ten years was out of the question! I discovered the only clue being Peng Zuo, but if that guy hides himself, I’d be stuck. As I felt a wave of panic, Zhuge Sa spoke.

“Baek Woong. Are you good at running? You need to get a lead regardless of whether it works out or not in the British Empire.”

I felt the foreboding of the arduous journey ahead from that question. I ventured a guess.

“Don’t tell me… I have to run all the way to the Western Regions?”

Zhuge Sa chuckled.

“Ha! You’ve run all the way to the Southern Barbarians, Goryeo, Arasa Empire, and circled the Mongolian Steppe. What’s so hard about the Western Regions? Consider this a good opportunity for travel.”

“……”

He wasn’t joking! He truly wanted me to run to the Western Regions! I didn’t think too much of it, as I had lived my life running long distances, so it wasn’t a huge burden. But I pondered while resting my chin on my palm, and then asked Zhuge Sa.

“Zhuge Sa. All that’s fine, but how far is it to run to the British Empire, and where exactly is it? Do you have any idea?”

“I have a rough idea.”

Zhuge Sa went into an inner room and brought out a worn map.

“This is a world map created using martial knowledge. It’s a precious demon artifact.”

“Ooo…”

“The Central Plains are here, and the British Empire is right here.”

As I compared the locations of the Central Plains and the British Empire that Zhuge Sa pointed out, I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me. The distance was immense and significant! It spanned across a vast continent and even reached an island nation, so I felt my head spinning. I could tell that this distance was definitely further than my journey across the Mongolian Steppe to Arasa. Moreover, since there was desert terrain along the way, my head throbbed.

‘Damn it… so far…’

As I lost my words, Zhuge Sa chuckled softly.

“It won’t take as long as you think. Because you’ve been to either Moscow or Astana already. If you set your direction well and start from there, it should take a maximum of ten days to reach the British Empire. You’re fast with Qi Techniques.”

“Hmm… I see…”

“I’ll give you the Divine Portrait and a map, so put them in your wooden armor. I’ll use the Soul Exchange Technique to teach you how to use the death techniques and the compass.”

“Thanks.”

I was eager to start right away, thinking every moment counted. Ten years seemed long, but it felt terribly tight when searching for someone like Changqie. I wanted to save time wherever possible. I was just about to leave when a thought rushed into my mind.

“Wait… I could just ask the Prophet to send me to the British Empire or to a nearby library.”

Zhuge Sa replied curtly.

“Do you think the Prophet does things for free? Each of those requests costs something. You should save what you can.”

“Hmm, that makes sense…”

“And by running there yourself, you’ll increase your options for the future, like using Golden Lamp later, so just run.”

After a while, I received the items from Zhuge Sa and used the Golden Lamp to head straight to Moscow. Running from Moscow to the British Empire was quite a long distance, but I steeled my resolve and began by studying the compass. After confirming the southwest direction with it, I started running.

Tatatat

Since my internal power was overflowing, I didn’t have to worry about tiring or slowing down. I kept my eyes focused in one direction, and before long, I realized I had easily surpassed two hundred li.

‘From Moscow to the British Empire is roughly seven thousand li… I’ll have to run like crazy.’

As I ran, I could see various cities and scenery of the Western Regions. Not all of them were as grand and bustling as the British Empire; I also saw many rural villages and farmlands. And in those places, it didn’t seem that the technology had developed much compared to the Central Plains.

But how long did I run? After about ten moments of running, I gradually began to see signs of development in the Western Regions. There were knights here and there, but most soldiers wielded firearms, and iron transportation devices were moving around everywhere. Moreover, the artificial use of gunpowder seemed quite skilled.

The number of soldiers was not large compared to the Great Ming Empire and was, in fact, quite small, yet just the sight of their firearms made me break out in a cold sweat.

‘With their effective range, we can’t compete with spearmen or swordsmen… and cavalry would just get slaughtered. We’d have to use cannons somehow.’

If their gunfire intervals were long like a single musket, we might hold them off with strategies. However, the firearms used by the soldiers in the Western Regions were clearly more advanced than muskets. It was evident their reload times were at least half that of regular matchlock guns. Thus, ordinary troops using bladed weapons would likely get wiped out before they even charged.

Of course, those gunmen wouldn’t pose a significant threat to the peak experts of the Martial Arts World. They could simply use their dazzling divine techniques to eliminate the gunmen as they dodged their shots. Especially if they were peak experts from the White Lotus Sect, they could most likely block cannons with their Protection Energy Techniques.

But the pressing issue was the rate of development. People who had advanced such powerful firearms—what advanced weaponry would they introduce in the coming decades? Perhaps even peak experts could be taken down by powerful firearms? Thinking about that, I felt the future of the Central Plains looked dim.

After running day and night for a full 24 hours, I felt I had made quite a distance and decided to camp in a secluded mountain. I took out the Divine Portrait from my wooden armor, and Zhuge Sa activated the Soul Exchange Technique. Zhuge Sa said,

“Feels like we’ve come quite far?”

“It’s not as far as I thought. I should reach in about three days.”

“Cough. With all that internal power, you can do all sorts of things.”

“……”

“You look like you have something to ask.”

I turned to Zhuge Sa and asked.

“Zhuge Sa, how did the Western Regions develop so much? Firearms, iron carts, flying ships… these are things I’ve never heard of in the Central Plains.”

“It’s not so much development as it is being infiltrated by the Demon Path.”

“Demon Path?”

Zhuge Sa casually replied while flicking sparks in the feminine form of the Divine Portrait.

“This Western continent isn’t under the protection of the powers of the Three Sovereigns. Naturally, the influence of the ‘Ancient Ruler’ is far more potent. Hence, the Otherworldly Races can easily interfere with humans, and the appearance of demon sorcerers is more frequent. The knowledge they acquire from the Otherworld is much denser compared to that of the Central Plains.”

I suddenly caught on to Zhuge Sa’s words.

“So you’re saying this technology wasn’t developed by humans but knowledge passed down through demon sorcerers by the Ancient Ruler?”

“In a way, yes. Of course, it may have been established through human wisdom, but its roots lie within Otherworldly knowledge.”

Zhuge Sa smiled coldly.

“Baek Woong, you will encounter Otherworldly beings more than ever while in the Western Regions.”