Reincarnation Sword God

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Chapter 552 – Dark Heaven Village

The night before the meeting, Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa sat at the front, with everyone else surrounding them. Zhuge Sa slowly opened his mouth.

“At the three-party talks, we will participate as mediators along with the True Heaven Alliance. Naturally, the leader of the Bancheon Alliance, Mangnyang Zhuge Hyun, will also attend. And accompanying him will be Lee Cheong-un.”

“What about the others?”

“There’s no need for them to go. We’re already operating undercover as a secret force in the Jianghu, so there’s no reason to intentionally reveal our faces and identities, right? Aside from that, if Lee Cheong-un isn’t present, we can’t guarantee Hyun’s safety among the Peak Masters, so he’s going. In case of emergency, Lee Cheong-un can buy time for Hyun to use the Golden Lamp technique.”

“Hmmm.”

At that moment, the Extreme Tiger raised his hand.

“Let me go!”

“Why you?”

“Please!”

Zhuge Sa then chuckled coldly. “Cut the nonsense. You want to see the Dharma Guardians of the Wind Spirit Sect or the Master of the White Lotus Sect with your own eyes, don’t you?”

“……”

“Unexpected situations are not permitted. The moment anything goes wrong, we might all perish.”

“Kuh.”

Extreme Tiger appeared frustrated. It was clear to anyone that Zhuge Sa was right, yet I could understand Extreme Tiger’s feelings. If there was a chance to see one’s enemy in person, it was only natural for emotion to take precedence over reason. Zhuge Sa continued.

“The Sword Demon not present here has been leading the Shadowless Gate, preparing for the talks for several days now. If the representative from the Heretical Sect supports us subtly, it would be easier to ensure the meeting’s success. However, having an unknown figure like you participate as the Bancheon Alliance’s escort would only put us at risk without any gain. If you get captured and tortured, our information…”

“Damn! Enough with the scolding. I get why it’s not allowed.”

Extreme Tiger shouted angrily, and Mangnyang smiled bitterly.

“Don’t be too disappointed. You’ll find a chance to show your power soon enough.”

Mangnyang continued.

“At first, I didn’t even plan to go myself. I thought of sending a suitable puppet using my Soul Exchange Technique. But it’s clear that someone of the Triadic Forces’ leaders’ caliber wouldn’t be easily deceived by such tactics, so as the leader, I must go myself. The risks involved will undoubtedly be extremely high, and even a Peak Master could die in such a dangerous situation.”

“By the way, what’s the goal of tomorrow’s meeting?”

I quietly listened and then asked.

“I thought you’d take care of everything on your own, but you haven’t mentioned what’s truly important.”

“Baek Woong. Our goal tomorrow is to have the Triadic Forces sign a ceasefire agreement. At the same time, we’ll also urge the Master of the White Lotus Sect to halt their expansion into the Central Plains.”

“… That’s a bit difficult, isn’t it?”

I frowned. Though I had suspected it vaguely, it was undeniably a challenging objective. To restrain the Master of the White Lotus Sect, who declared their ambitions with a confidence and ambition to dominate the Central Plains, while simultaneously bringing the Triadic Forces to a ceasefire! I couldn’t fathom whether it would be possible, even for Mangnyang.

Then Mangnyang said, “The groundwork has already been laid. With divine mandates at our backs, I shall use all my abilities to achieve our goals.”

“Hmm!”

Suddenly reminded, I glanced at Zhuge Sa. “What will you be doing tomorrow, Zhuge Sa?”

“Hehe. Well, that’s…”

Zhuge Sa spoke with a sly smile, explaining his plans. I was left with a dumbfounded expression.

“Do we really have to do that?”

“Stop asking. If we don’t lay traps in both the first and second phases, it’ll only become more dangerous.”

“Um, well… your brain is smarter than mine.”

It was foolish to worry about Zhuge Sa’s schemes. I readily accepted it, then glanced at Cheon Woo-jin.

“So, will you be using your foresight to observe the rest of the meeting?”

“Correct.”

“……”

I looked at Mangnyang with a worried expression. He chuckled softly.

“Don’t worry. Lee Cheong-un will protect me, and the priest will cast spells to provide me with blessings and protection. I shouldn’t die under normal circumstances.”

“But even so, participating in a gathering of the most dangerous individuals in the world is concerning.”

“Haha! Even if I die, as long as you, Baek Woong, stay alive, it’ll be fine.”

Mangnyang held my hand tight, his eyes burning with determination.

“Baek Woong. Tomorrow, I will definitely uncover crucial clues from their lips. I will also return alive.”

“… Please.”

In truth, the sincerity behind my plea was greater than mere words of request. I had a desire for Mangnyang, or rather, for me to go instead. But knowing that others were drawing on their wisdom and courage to protect me as a reborn person, I couldn’t voice that thought.

Zhuge Sa said, “Now then, let’s all prepare… Baek Woong, you should talk with me.”

I soon followed Zhuge Sa into the secret room for a one-on-one meeting. Zhuge Sa said, “I have urgent information I discovered early yesterday morning, and you should know about it in advance.”

“Is it information from the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes. If you hadn’t spent this time studying alchemy, it would have been utterly useless classified information. It must have been a hassle forcing someone who can’t understand alchemy to remember it.”

I sensed something from those words. As I fixed my gaze on Zhuge Sa, he laughed mischievously and said, “The most crucial ingredient in creating a supreme Divine Portrait is mercury.”

“Mercury?”

“Finally, the alchemist spat out some information. He must have felt anxious about needing to quickly create a Divine Portrait after discussing things with Zhuge Bu. The gathering of the Triadic Forces is a big deal for him as well.”

“You shared the core information with Zhuge Bu. That aside, mercury is a key ingredient…”

I pondered and then said to Zhuge Sa, “Mercury isn’t that rare a metal. It’s not common, but it can be dissolved into syringes and is often used for plating. Was that really the key ingredient?”

While its properties resemble those of transitional elements, my view was that mercury itself could not be classified as a rare metal that could be a core component of the highest-level Divine Portrait dedicated to God.

“I think it’s surprising too, but there’s a reason. Mercury has once been used in the Offering Ceremony in the past.”

“Offering Ceremony?”

As I looked puzzled, Zhuge Sa began to explain slowly.

“It is the Offering Ceremony that Emperor Qin Shi Huang conducted for the first time.”

“……!!”

Why is Qin Shi Huang suddenly being mentioned?

“Until now, attention was focused on the second ceremony conducted by Wu Zetian, but the alchemist Saint Germain seems to have come to the East with the very first Offering Ceremony in mind. And it’s said that Emperor Qin Shi Huang had prepared extensively to mine large quantities of mercury for his tomb.”

“A tomb, you say…?”

“To name it, it would be the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Hehe.”

Not sure what was funny, Zhuge Sa continued with a grin. “According to him, by transforming that mercury with a special method, it becomes a special alien metal infused with lunar powers. This alien metal resembles liquid metal like mercury but is free from toxicity, allowing it to be preserved in the human body permanently. It appears similar to mercury but is a completely different element.”

“In the human body…?”

As I listened to Zhuge Sa, I suddenly had a revelation.

“Are you saying that this metal itself will be used as blood?”

“Hmm… You’ve taught well for a year. Looks like you’ve developed some intuition.”

Zhuge Sa nodded, clearly impressed.

“Yes. The highest-level Divine Portrait uses the transformed alien metal from mercury as blood. Moreover, that metal can produce power semi-permanently while resonating with the lunar forces for amplification.”

“……!!”

“That’s why they’ve been searching for the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. It seems that that metal is buried there in large quantities. It’s likely they intended to use it for the Offering Ceremony.”

I started to grasp Zhuge Sa’s meaning.

“The alchemist Saint Germain knows the formula to change mercury into alien metal but finds it bothersome and difficult to create?”

“Precisely. The guy is incompetent. It seems he tried to make it using the power of the Crystal Stele, but the results weren’t satisfactory for the effort put in. That’s why thousands of years later, he attempts to dig up the buried metal that Qin Shi Huang prepped for the Offering Ceremony.”

“Hmmm…”

“If he were to dig that up again, he could create it quickly.”

Everything began to fit together. So that was why even though the Imperial Palace had a draft for the supreme Divine Portrait, they couldn’t complete it easily and had been stuck for so long. They had all the theory crafted, but they were likely short on the actual materials to fill it!

I told Zhuge Sa, “Then we need to find the tomb of Qin Shi Huang first.”

“No. The Imperial Palace has already found it.”

“What?”

“They’ve located a hollow at Mount Ye, the entrance to the ruins. It seems the alchemist acted alone.”

“……”

I felt disbelief wash over me but realized there was nothing to be done. After all, hadn’t we decided to carefully keep an eye on the Imperial Palace while uncovering the secrets to the Divine Portrait in this life? Even if Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa were already aware, there was nothing we could do.

Zhuge Sa continued, “Anyway, if we leave this as it is, the Imperial Palace will complete the Divine Portrait within a few years. The reason I called you is to share the formula for mercury transformation I learned from their conversation yesterday.”

“Understood.”

“Write it down and memorize it like crazy. Never forget.”

I began writing down the techniques and formulas of alchemy as instructed by Zhuge Sa. However, the amount was more than I anticipated, far too much to memorize in one go. As I stared at the paper filled with formulas in dismay, Zhuge Sa said, “They refer to the transformed metal as Divine Blood.”

“Divine Blood, huh…”

“Let’s stop here for today and go rest. The three-party talks start tomorrow.”

As Zhuge Sa advised, I returned to my lodging for a bit of rest. The next day, around the time of the mythical hour, my companions gathered, but Mangnyang and Lee Cheong-un seemed to have already left their seats. The meeting itself wouldn’t begin until the time of the Dragon.

Cheon Woo-jin extended his hand, gathering his spirits.

“Haap!”

Vroom!

Then, a strange scene unfolded before my eyes, as if walking through the air. Cheon Woo-jin took a moment to catch his breath, saying, “I shared sight with my older brother and activated the technique of foresight.”

“This scenery is Mangnyang’s view, huh?”

“Indeed.”

If this is how it works, then even thousands of miles away, they would witness the three-party meeting venue clearly. Soon, as the sensitivity of the foresight technique heightened, I could also hear the localization sounds vividly.

Step…

Mangnyang was walking with a couple of people beside him, accompanied by Lee Cheong-un, who had transformed his appearance through my disguise technique, and Mangnyang was similarly disguised. After some time walking, they arrived at a place called the General’s Pavilion located in the Outer City of Luoyang.

The General’s Pavilion was no ordinary junction; it was a place accessible only to distinguished figures or high officials. Perhaps for that reason, it was quiet and serene, and Mangnyang and Lee Cheong-un silently ascended to the uppermost floor of the pavilion.

On the top floor was an abundance of banquet dishes spread out, and at the chief seat sat Zhuge Bu. Zhuge Bu stood and bowed, greeting Mangnyang.

“Greetings, Bancheon Alliance Leader. I am Zhuge Bu, Lord of the Inner Imperial Pavilion. Today, I attend on behalf of the will of the Imperial Palace.”

Zhuge Bu appeared unable to recognize Mangnyang, who had changed his appearance via the disguise technique. After lightly nodding in acknowledgement of his greeting, Mangnyang looked around and said, “The Master of the Twelve Joules and the Master of the White Lotus Sect haven’t arrived yet.”

“They will come shortly.”

Zhuge Bu calmly responded and continued, “But it’s quite bold of you. Only three guards for such an important gathering…”

“Because I believe everything here will finish peacefully.”

“Ha ha ha.”

Zhuge Bu laughed heartily and drank water.

“I wish that were the case.”

Just then, the air on the top floor of the General’s Pavilion changed suddenly, and four human silhouettes materialized in a space that had been completely empty. I was taken aback, observing through the foresight.

‘Space Transfer?!’

That was the only explanation I could come up with based on my knowledge of techniques!

As I stared in shock through foresight, the figure standing at the center among the suddenly appearing figures fiddled with a faceless mask and said, [Has the Master of the Twelve Joules not arrived yet?]

The four individuals who appeared in the gathering were none other than the Master of the White Lotus Sect and the Dharma Protectors! The Master of the White Lotus Sect wore the same faceless mask as before, while the Dharma Protectors appeared in their respective masks of the Golden Dragon, Fox, and Black Tiger.

Zhuge Bu bowed to the Master of the White Lotus Sect, saying, “It is an honor to meet you, the renowned Master of the White Lotus Sect. The Master of the Twelve Joules should arrive soon…”

“I have arrived.”

“Gah!”

Cutting off Zhuge Bu’s words unexpectedly, a voice flowed into the gathering. It appeared that this time Zhuge Bu was genuinely startled, showing signs of disturbance.

“Then, shall we begin the three-party talks?”

And there on the opposite side of the banquet table, already seated, was the Master of the Twelve Joules, resting his chin on his hand. Unlike the other factions, he seemed to have neither escorts nor allies with him. Given his stealthy skills, he was undeniably a master of Absolute Realm martial arts.

However, the issue lay elsewhere. I put my hand to my forehead as I looked at the Master of the Twelve Joules.

‘That… bastard…’

Indeed. I had hoped to see the Master of the Twelve Joules unmasked this time, but that guy had shown up wearing a fuzzy white puppy mask again!