NOVEL NEXT Chapter 504
00504 Dark Heaven Village ————————————————————————
Upon arriving at the Divine City where the Master of the Twelve Joules resided, I found him standing alone at the entrance of the village, as if he had been waiting for me. The Master of the Twelve Joules stood in front of the bridge without the company of any of the Three Masters. I was puzzled by this, so I spoke up.
“Did you know I was coming? And what about the Three Masters?”
The Master of the Twelve Joules replied, “I had a premonition, and the Three Masters are currently sealing the place where the Sea God fell, hastening to kill him. Baek Woong, you’ve initiated a huge endeavor but left all the follow-up to me. If you had just assisted with sealing the Sea God, the damages in Tamra Island wouldn’t have been so extensive.”
“……”
“Well, anyway, that’s not what’s important,” the Master of the Twelve Joules said with crossed arms. “What brings you here?”
It seemed he had anticipated my arrival but was unaware of my purpose. I organized Mangnyang’s scheme in my mind before opening my mouth.
“The situation has become urgent.”
I then informed him of the current rampage caused by the Demon King Byukji-sang, the impending arrival of the Heavenly Sovereign, and even the resurrection of the Old Ruler’s avatar at the White Lotus Sect. Haeun-cheon, who was listening with a serious expression, uncrossed his arms and spoke.
“This is indeed a grave situation. You’ve found me at just the right time.”
“Can you help?”
“Before that, what solutions do you have in mind?”
“I plan to attempt the Yi Yi Jei to liberate the Water Element.”
While my answer was straightforward, it appeared that Haeun-cheon immediately grasped the essence of my plan. He nodded.
“Hm, it seems you do have an excellent strategist on your side. Indeed, there’s no other way than Yi Yi Jei under the current circumstances.”
“I need your assistance.”
I stared at him intently as I spoke. “We must join forces. You understand what I mean, right?”
“Ah, I understand,” he responded firmly. “I will mobilize all of the Twelve Joules’ power. I will also immediately enact the contract to receive the blessing of Great Creation, and I will disclose the sealed location of the Moon Sovereign that I know.”
Of course, I also knew where the Moon Sovereign was. However, I feigned surprise and remarked, “The Moon Sovereign?!”
“The Moon Sovereign is located on Mount Muni in Ganghwa Island. If we can obtain and liberate the Moon Sovereign, we will undoubtedly be able to contend against the avatar or the apostle.”
“Typically, a guardian exists for the Seven Luminaries. The guardian of the Moon Sovereign will also be powerful. How do you intend to defeat it?”
Then Master of the Twelve Joules Haeun-cheon casually responded, “With strength!”
“……”
“Actually, I hadn’t intended to retrieve the Moon Sovereign, but if we lose now, there will be no future. We have no choice but to eliminate the guardian and seize the Moon Sovereign.”
At that moment, I could not mention the most critical issue. Once the guardian is gone – who will possess the Moon Sovereign?
Both he and I were masters of the Seven Luminaries, and we both knew that having two would be exponentially more powerful than having just one. Given that, the Seven Luminaries couldn’t simply be handed over to the other side. If I were to gain the Moon Sovereign, I might be able to untangle this entire predicament.
However, having already heard Mangnyang’s words, I slowly opened my mouth. “… Let’s make a deal, Master.”
“A deal?”
“The ownership of the Moon Sovereign is a very sensitive issue. However, I will concede my claim to you, Master.”
“Oh…”
“But only if you fully assist me in liberating the Water Element, and if there ever arises a need to fight a divine being in the future, you must help me without fail. And one more thing.”
I said this with a glint in my eyes. “Share with me whatever you know about opposing a god.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules tilted his head slightly. “What are you trying to say? You said you would liberate the Seven Luminaries to fight.”
“That’s not the only thing, is it?” I gazed at him with a stronger intensity. “You might not know how you did it, but you have been able to secretly listen to the information of the celestial realm in advance. That’s how you found out I had the Fire Element, isn’t it? You also conserved your strength in the battle against the Sea God. Furthermore, you’ve hidden something from me regarding your plans to seal the Sea God’s cities.”
“……”
“You are not in a position to talk about leaving me with the cleanup. If you have any hidden cards, reveal them. Present something that’s thoroughly convincing.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules crossed his arms. “And if I don’t reveal them?”
I looked at him as if to say, “What are you asking me for?”
“I’ll abandon the pursuit of resolving the current situation and retreat for decades. And the chaos of the Central Plains will undoubtedly engulf Goryeo and the Twelve Joules too. If you think you can resolve it all by yourself, feel free to ignore my words.”
“Hm… that’s impressive.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re glaring at me seriously for once. That’s more ballsy than I expected.”
As the Master of the Twelve Joules muttered that, he appeared to be deep in thought. Then he subtly glanced at Musashi and said, “Musashi. Once the Moon Sovereign is extracted, a stronger calamity will strike your land, Dongyoung. This is because the sealed Moon Sovereign has been suppressing the monsters of Dongyoung with the power of the Wood Element. Are you still okay with that?”
What? I looked at Musashi in astonishment, and he replied calmly, “It doesn’t matter. After all, as long as the Tsuchimikado Clan is sealing the Aokigahara calamity, we’ll manage for years. And discussing this with me is pointless. I am not the true successor of the Lunar Kill Technique.”
“But you are the closest to the true successor among humans. And don’t tell me you’re shutting up now because it’s disadvantageous? Ha ha.”
“……”
“Well, fine then.”
As Musashi fell silent, the Master of the Twelve Joules continued. “Baek Woong, how about this? I’ll teach you a way to resolve your most pressing dilemma.”
“What do you think my most pressing dilemma is?”
“You’re undoubtedly concerned about the avatar of the Old Ruler suddenly appearing before you, aren’t you? A being of divine status such as the avatar of a god must certainly be aware of your existence, and will surely be keeping a close watch on you.”
“……”
“I know how to expel that being. I’ll tell you how.”
Really?! I wanted to ask, but I diligently maintained my expression. The Master of the Twelve Joules might just be throwing bait to deceive or test me. Instead, I looked at him coldly and said, “Please explain what you mean by expelling.”
“Literally, I cannot banish it from the material realm, but I can prevent it from coming near. It’s quite tricky, but I can buy you time for your purpose.”
“What method do you intend to use?”
“By borrowing the power of the duality of the Old Ruler. Commonly referred to as Ancient Gods.”
Having said that, the Master of the Twelve Joules continued to speak. “And I’ll also tell you how to cease the resurrection of the immortal beings. Rather than ‘destroy,’ it will seal their undying powers.”
Eventually, the Master of the Twelve Joules conveyed several techniques and spells to Heavenly Sorcerer Cheon Woo-jin. Cheon Woo-jin, who had reached the highest level of martial ability among us, wore an extremely perplexed expression.
“What… are you? A human?”
“Why do you ask such a thing?”
“This is definitely knowledge that no human should possess. This must be a spell created by divine beings.”
As Cheon Woo-jin growled, the Master of the Twelve Joules shrugged.
“Secret.”
“……”
The Master of the Twelve Joules, as if in a hurry, turned to me as soon as he finished imparting the spells. “Now, I’ll proceed to liberate the Moon Sovereign, so you all take care of the rest.”
*Boom!*
With that, the Master of the Twelve Joules disappeared, and Mangnyang said, “Baek Woong, we must move quickly.”
“I understand.”
“Now that we’ve brought the Master of the Twelve Joules into this, we can’t fall behind. I’d prefer not to get him involved, but we have no choice because of the Old Ruler’s avatar…”
He spoke with a serious expression. “We need to go directly to the Han Clan and find Han Baek-ryeong. If she’s not there, then let’s liberate the Water Element right away. Once we’ve liberated it, we’ll find the Demon King and enact the Yi Yi Jei strategy.”