Reincarnation Sword God

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Chapter 1 – The Dark Heaven Village

I headed towards the most remarkable spiritual place nearby with Cheon Woo-jin. As he set up a barrier under the waterfall and began to channel his spirit energy, I could see the unusual ancient Sanskrit materializing and spreading in all directions. When the Sanskrit barrier expanded beyond five lengths, I looked around and asked,
“What’s this?”
“It’s to prevent the possibility of the spirit energy breaking free and creating new monsters.”
“Is that even possible?”
“What do you think spirit energy is? It’s the power of a god. It’s not uncommon for the shards of a powerful demon or a great immortal to create monsters. With spirit energy, the probability of conjuring new powerful demons is quite sufficient.”
“Uh… I see.”
Nodding my head, I suddenly realized something.
“Wait a second. So, from my next life onwards, when I draw power from Jeon Wook’s statue, I’ll need to set up a barrier like this, right?”
“A barrier isn’t difficult if you know Qimen Dunjia. I’ll teach you how to do it, so don’t worry.”
“Hmm.”
Even a nearly powerless Mangnyang could set up the Mangyun Formation. Since Qimen Dunjia is the foundational technique for barriers, if I prepare adequately, I could manage it too, as I already have basic knowledge of Qimen Dunjia.
“Stop idling and pay attention. Feel what power lies asleep.”
Cheon Woo-jin muttered as he reached his hand forward, unleashing a command.
“Release!”
Kugugu—
The statue of Jeon Wook began to stir, and from the top of the statue, spirit energy shot forth like molten red lava. However, rather than a ferocious flow, it bubbled up gently. Its intense potency seemed to create an illusion of radiant light as it sublimated into beams.
Watching the release of power, Cheon Woo-jin moved his hands to control the flow. As the trapped force gradually settled and its movements decreased, he spoke.
“Indeed, this statue seems to have directly received Jeon Wook’s blessing. The residual effect of the ancient power is still present.”
“So what now?”
“I will teach you the mantra of Emperor Shakra for absorbing power.”
Once I learned the mantra, I began to recite it verbatim. Then, the power that had been quietly lying dormant started to wriggle and slowly reached for my heart. It felt as if the power itself was passing through my body, absorbing it.
Sssss—
My body felt hot. But soon, that warmth was replaced by a cold and chilly energy, twisting through my veins. The terrifying aura of chill made my breath hitch temporarily.
“Haa.”
“Cold, right? Of course. That’s the nature of the lunar energy.”
A painful chill surged through my lungs and abdomen, as if I had swallowed dozens of ice cubes. It was so freezing that it seemed my eyes would drip ice.
“I want something hot to eat.”
“That’s pointless. That pain directly affects the spirit realm, so it’s not physical pain. No matter how hot or spicy you eat, it won’t alleviate the current chill.”
Cheon Woo-jin continued coldly.
“In fact, if an ordinary human were to accept this power right now, they would likely freeze to death. Yet you, having dealt with spirit energy for a long time and being an apostle of Jeon Wook, seem to possess enough resistance.”
“Is… is that a good thing?”
“It’s unique. Normally, unless a grand sorcerer actively works on increasing resistance, they would never gain any against spirit energy. Having resistance to extreme ice would be more plausible…”
Cheon Woo-jin murmured, “Just hold on a little longer. Given the amount of spirit energy you possess, the pain shouldn’t last long.”
True to his words, the agonizing chill that felt like my guts were freezing seemed to dissipate after a moment. With the pain gone, I coldly compared it, realizing that it was even less painful than when I consumed the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and Black and White Lotus. As I stood up, Cheon Woo-jin picked up the statue from the ground.
“This statue can no longer be offered as a tribute to the Celestial Realm. You’ve absorbed all the residual energy of Jeon Wook.”
“Just how much stronger have I become?”
“Hmm…”
Cheon Woo-jin examined my spirit energy with his spirit eye and said, “It seems you’ve roughly gained the power equivalent to 20 years of training.”
“……!!”
I was struck with surprise and joy.
You’re saying I’ve reduced my training time by absorbing the statue’s energy for a mere 20 years? Although it was 20 years, considering the effort required from meditating at the cliff for 30 minutes each day was almost mind-boggling. I rapidly thought and shouted,
“If I do this 13 more times…!!”
“You might achieve full mastery of spirit energy. At that point, you could attempt to use overflowing spirit energy for celestial magic.”
Cheon Woo-jin responded with a sly smile.
“But 13 times… when would I die?”

“……”
“Well, if you’re prepared to eat, die, and eat some more, I won’t stop you.”
I closed my mouth.
It’s true that saying it was just 13 times makes it sound easy. And thinking about committing suicide every time to gain a single spirit energy is quite unappealing. Whatever way you die, it’s incredibly painful and tormenting. It’s not impossible but certainly not trivial.
I mumbled, “So I still have to keep training.”
“Yes. And as you gather more spirit energy, the efficiency of gathering your spirit energy will likely increase too. Because the greater the power you wield, the more training points get accumulated.”
“Ugh.”
I had hoped to gain 40 or 50 years’ worth of spirit energy this time, but it seemed the power left in the statue wasn’t that substantial. After all, it had been left in the ruins of spirit energy for a long time, so some power must have already leaked out.
Crash!
Boom—
Suddenly, the statue began to crumble, and the figure of Jeon Wook vanished, replaced by that of a giant. I stared at the statue in shock.
“No! What’s happening suddenly—”
“Hmm, I see. So that’s why there was spirit energy.”
“This is an actual depiction of Jeon Wook.”
“Correct. If he had unleashed all his power from the outset, it was crafted to reveal its true form, not just the appearance.”
“……”
The form of the Giant God was one I had seen before. A massive dark giant radiating a destructive power that seemed to upend heaven and earth! That was precisely the true form of Jeon Wook I had witnessed. Looking at Cheon Woo-jin, he calmly hypothesized,
“Someone must have observed Jeon Wook descending into the mortal realm and etched the statue. When the statue was shown to Jeon Wook, he must have deemed it commendable and granted a blessing of spirit energy. That’s the only explanation.”
I gasped in horror at the unexpected revelation.
“What? That’s… insane.”
“Of course it’s insane. Jeon Wook is a powerful deity with strength comparable to the Old Ruler, so merely witnessing his true form would drive a mortal mad or kill them. Yet still, someone managed to create that statue. They must have seen both the ‘surface’ and ‘depth’ of Jeon Wook.”
“Isn’t that impossible for a human?”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded.
“Indeed, it is impossible. But that only applies if the creator was human.”
“Huh?”
“There’s no law saying the creator of that statue had to be human.”
“……”
Chills ran down my spine!
‘Th- that’s right.’
I had been thinking strictly from a human perspective, but this statue was originally an artifact from the ancient times of the Three Sovereigns and the Old Ruler. During that era, gods and demons mingled, and all sorts of chaotic bloodlines roamed, meaning higher beings could have existed alongside humans. The creator of this statue was undoubtedly an otherworldly being with Great Immortal Level power!
I voiced my suspicion.
“Who on earth made this?”
“Ask your older brother or Zhuge Sa. This goes beyond my area since it involves interpreting ancient history.”
“Got it.”
I returned to Jangryeong Valley and shared the information and suspicions about the statue with Zhuge Sa. He pondered thoughtfully before speaking.
“Baek Woong, call Cheon Woo-jin. We need to revisit the ruins of spirit energy together.”
“Understood.”
Paat!
The three of us headed back to the heart of the spirit energy ruins. When we arrived at the place where I had previously revealed the statue, Zhuge Sa examined it carefully, and Cheon Woo-jin did the same. Zhuge Sa asked Cheon Woo-jin,
“Cheon Woo-jin, can you possibly use any sorcery to read memories from the past?”
“I know what you’re thinking, but that would be impossible. That sorcery can only read up to about 500 years back.”
“It seems we’ve overlooked something critical until now.”
As Zhuge Sa muttered, he began to write interpretations in the dirt with a twig, inscribing the oracle bone script.
[ Ahh, the passage between heaven and earth in the north has collapsed.
The Divine Child, Gaoyang, is called back by the Emperor.
He left the techniques for controlling floods as a legacy.
And thus, he leaves his mark, the divine sword. ]
As he calmly examined the interpretation, Zhuge Sa continued.
“Until now, we focused on the spirit energy and the divine sword, not considering this interpretation significant. But since we’ve discovered secrets with the statue, another interpretation is possible.”
“What interpretation?”
“The technique for controlling floods.”
Zhuge Sa’s eyes gleamed.
“Very ancient times, there was a great flood. Everyone knows this, right?”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded, and I agreed with that statement.
“I know. During Emperor Yao’s reign, a flood occurred, and Emperor Yu controlled it. Yu was the founder of the Xia dynasty and a ruler who managed the floods.”
“Exactly. That’s well-known history.”
“Does that mean there’s something different about it?”
Zhuge Sa chuckled.
“Essentially, the sequence goes like this: Jeon Wook separated the mortal realm from the celestial realm at the Emperor’s behest. Shortly after, the floods surged, but before leaving, Jeon Wook had already imparted the techniques for controlling the floods to mankind. Moreover, the sign he left behind was through human sacrifice, as you’re aware.”
“This statue was made around the same time as the flood.”
“In my opinion, the creator of this statue…”
Just as Zhuge Sa was about to say something, he suddenly changed the subject.
“That’s not the important part. What’s important is the flood control techniques attributed to Yu.”
“Uh?”
I asked, puzzled, and just then, Cheon Woo-jin, who had been sitting quietly, interjected.
“You mean the ‘xi yang’?”
“Exactly, xi yang.”
“……?”
I was confused, struggling to keep up with the conversation.
“Xi yang? What’s that?”
“Xi yang refers to the method of ‘filling.’ Xi tu is the soil that naturally expands, and by using this soil, the origins of the waterways and river boundaries were filled to mitigate the floods.”
“Ah!”
“Until now, scholars merely thought of this as a technique for guiding water. Given that Yu Gong was a historical narrative promoting the royal way, it was not taken seriously. The idea that xi yang soil exists was considered nonsensical! It was treated merely as an abstract principle for forming the six ministries.”
Zhuge Sa clasped his hands together.
“But if it was Jeon Wook who taught Yu and Gun, as well as the human races the techniques for controlling floods, the story becomes different.”
“How does it change?”
“Xi tu might not merely be a metaphor but could possibly exist in reality.”
I widened my eyes at his words.
“What? Are you saying there really was self-expanding soil?”
“Correct. It’s within the realm of divine blessings and boons bestowed upon humans. If not, the population and workforce of that era could never have conquered such a monumental flood. Perhaps the Three Sovereigns, particularly Jeon Wook, granted the blessing of xi tu to the leaders of humankind at the time.”
“……”
“Since the connection between heaven and earth was severed, the gods could not control the floods directly, so they provided the blessings beforehand. The self-expanding divine soil must have alleviated the flood’s impact significantly.”
I was left speechless.
I never imagined that the touch of the Three Sovereigns could reach such ancient history!
Zhuge Sa sighed, “So, we’ve come to search this location for any hints regarding xi tu. If by any chance xi tu still exists, it would greatly help us in the future.”
“Well… then, they might have blocked sections of the Yangtze or Yellow River with xi tu, right? Could it be buried beneath the riverbed over there?”
“That’s possible, but I think it’s more likely that the spirit energy is concealed here. If xi tu is a sort of magical catalyst, the chances of it being left behind are high.”
“All right. Let’s go look for it.”
I, Zhuge Sa, and Cheon Woo-jin thoroughly searched the ruins of spirit energy for a while. However, nothing resembling a powered object emerged at all. Finally, we reluctantly decided to abandon our search for xi tu and return.
Upon returning, Zhuge Sa said, “We need to study this further.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“I’ll ask an expert in ancient history.”
A few days later.
“I’ll look into this.”
“Thank you!”
Mangnyang had stopped his duties as leader of the Bancheon Alliance to come to Jangryeong Valley. No matter how knowledgeable Zhuge Sa or Cheon Woo-jin was, Mangnyang had the broadest knowledge base. I brought Mangnyang along to revisit the ruins of spirit energy once more.
“Let’s head up.”
Mangnyang examined the ruins of spirit energy for a while before suddenly climbing the spiral staircase leading to a pond. Upon reaching the top, he looked around and then headed toward a small cave.
“Oh, that’s…”
“That’s where the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng used to be.”
Mangnyang replied in that manner and began examining the ground around him. After a while, he spoke to me from the snow-covered field.
“Baek Woong, I’ve figured it out.”
“What did you find?”
“… Isn’t it odd that supreme divine beings like the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and Black and White Lotus would grow in the same place?”
“Yeah?”
Mangnyang laughed, almost hopelessly.
“The entire area of this basin… no, the whole Mount Huang could be considered xi tu. The reason those low hills turned into magnificent mountains over thousands of years is precisely that. It’s a blessed land infused directly with power by the gods, and the divine beings came into existence due to the blessings of the Three Sovereigns.”