NOVEL NEXT Chapter 577
Chapter 1 – Dark Heaven Village
The white-haired Divine Portrait looked at me with a momentary expression of confusion. It wasn’t just him; everyone watching seemed to tilt their heads, wondering what I was talking about.
“You should be fine with it.”
But after a brief pause, he smiled and replied,
“Got it. Give me a name.”
I nodded and said,
“Your name will be Yushin from now on.”
“Yushin?”
“It means one who protects humans and gives them faith.”
“Heh…”
The Divine Portrait beamed with joy and declared,
“Awesome! My name is Yushin from now on!”
Beside us, the Master of the White Lotus Sect looked incredulous.
[You’re being really random with names…]
“Isn’t it best if everyone lives up to their name?”
[That’s true.]
I turned to Yushin and said,
“Yushin, from now on, do not look down on humans recklessly; protect them.”
Yushin replied, seemingly confused,
“Why would I? The [Calling] tells me to make humans my slaves.”
“No! That’s not a choice you made for yourself.”
“Choice…?”
I crossed my arms and spoke to the bewildered Yushin,
“I don’t care if you massacre humans. If you do that, I’ll stop you, no matter how many times it takes. But if you’re being forced to act against your own will, that’s unacceptable.”
“Free will? The [Calling] is my will.”
“No! You know that’s not true, right? It wasn’t your own choice.”
“……”
“You wield a tremendous power, and humans are too weak to be obliterated by you. Try to help and protect them whenever possible.”
“But… that goes against the [Calling]’s intent.”
As Yushin spoke in a hesitant voice, I shouted at him forcefully.
“Resist!”
There was no answer.
Instead, Yushin’s gaze suddenly clouded and grew dark. His once clear eyes were now muddied, as if coated in thick oil. He spoke in a significantly altered voice,
“…You’ve meddled too much… I never expected you to ruin my work like this…”
What is going on?
I was briefly taken aback by his sudden change. But I quickly realized that something ‘other’ had possessed him, not Yushin’s original persona. After all, I had trained in the heretical Soul Exchange Technique for many years.
“Is it the Vermilion Bird?”
It must have set a spell to possess him ahead of time, allowing its essence to enter the Divine Portrait. And later, it intended to utilize the terrifying powers of the Divine Portrait for itself.
Seemingly acknowledging my words in silence, the entity occupying Yushin let out a gloomy laugh and said,
“Haha… naming someone… defines their existence… a truly astonishing move, but… how effective do you think it is on one who was destined to serve an evil spirit?”
“It worked for sure.”
I glared at the Vermilion Bird.
“If it hadn’t worked, you wouldn’t be crawling out here.”
“…Haha…”
“Just give up already! The Imperial Palace Forces you relied upon are gone; are you planning to keep struggling?”
“I will not give up…”
The Vermilion Bird occupying Yushin extended its hands and declared,
Wrrrrrow!!
That was the moment. Thousands of talismans suddenly rose and enveloped the area, fluttering like living beings. I recognized the attack and was struck by horror.
“Falling Star Talisman!”
Pababat!
As the barrier of the Falling Star Talisman was unleashed, talismans shot downwards with incredible speed, beginning to assault our forces. The sorcerers quickly raised barriers to stop the Falling Star Talisman, and the martial artists summoned protective shields to block the attack. The Master of the White Lotus Sect appeared enraged, whispering as he riled up Sim Cheon-moo-ryang.
[So you want to see this through to the end…]
Kukwah!!
As a flash of light sent by the Master struck Yushin’s body, he was sent flying backward. Though he quickly recovered, it seemed he felt pain, and watching that, Zhuge Sa spoke to me with suspicion.
[Baek Woong. This is our chance. He is significantly weakened.]
[Why?]
[If the Divine Portrait’s true personality were present, he could manipulate the vortex of time for an attack, but Zhuge Yulong cannot use such abilities even while possessed. Right now, he’s merely Zhuge Yulong, who has become an immortal.]
[What should we do?]
[Escort Cheon Woo-jin and let him approach. He might be able to seal Yushin’s soul.]
[Got it!]
Pabat!
In the blink of an eye, I moved next to Cheon Woo-jin, who seemed to realize my intentions and readied himself, gathering his energy at his fingertips.
“The Falling Star Talisman is a powerful technique that can extract the soul just by grazing it; it has been amplified due to the vast potential of the Divine Portrait. Anyone hit by it will die instantly, so be careful.”
“Don’t worry about that. You can seal it, right?”
“What do you take me for?”
“Let’s go!”
I shot ahead of Cheon Woo-jin and broke through the barrier of the Falling Star Talisman. Instantly, thousands of talismans scattered, hurtling towards me at incredible speed. I quickly assessed the incoming onslaught and used the Three Treasure Technique to dodge several times in place. Once I had lured in enough of the attacks, I shifted directions, weakening the barrier like herding cattle.
Tadah!
Meanwhile, Cheon Woo-jin used the Spatial Technique to approach the Vermilion Bird more easily. As he drew closer, the Vermilion Bird cupped its hands to cast a curse, but Cheon Woo-jin merely smirked and chanted a spell.
“Swift Swift Spirit!”
The curse disintegrated in an instant, and he arrived right in front of the Vermilion Bird. The Vermilion Bird used Yushin’s body to attempt a Martial Art technique to escape, but Cheon Woo-jin pressed his fingers together, shouting softly.
“Swift Swift Spirit.”
Chuwak!
[Kraaaah!]
In that moment, Yushin’s body remained still, yet the spirit of the Vermilion Bird was pulled out through the crown of his head. It was somehow astonishing that this happened without direct contact, but upon closer inspection, the peculiar being extracting the spirit was a Naga.
[Koooow!]
“Don’t resist! The pain of your spirit being extracted is akin to having your skin flayed while still alive.”
Cheon Woo-jin shouted sternly, but the Vermilion Bird continued to struggle until finally, with one last push, the spirit was forcibly pulled out and its screams subsided. Cheon Woo-jin held the spirit of the Vermilion Bird in the palm of his hand and said,
“I, Cheon Woo-jin, shall send this great sinner to the Celestial Realm.”
Ssssss!
Light poured down from the sky, illuminating the Vermilion Bird’s spirit as a giant translucent hand slowly descended, seemingly to take it. At that moment, the hunt for the Vermilion Bird would finally come to an end in this lifetime.
Just as Cheon Woo-jin was about to lead the Vermilion Bird’s spirit into the hand,
Chwaak!
“No!!”
Suddenly, the wrist of the hand summoning from the Celestial Realm was severed!
As the wrist was sliced off, a heavy atmosphere enveloped the hall. It was fundamentally different from the miasma emitted by the Vermilion Bird or Yushin just moments ago. The sharp energy that had severed the wrist swirled in the air like a tentacle.
‘Ugh.’
I gritted my teeth and quickly activated the Soul Exchange Technique to pull the spirit of Zhuge Yulong floating in the air towards me. However, for some reason, Zhuge Yulong’s spirit attempted to fly away, so I could only keep it from leaving. I shouted to Zhuge Sa,
[Zhuge Sa! Help me with the Soul Exchange Technique.]
[Understood.]
Maximum activation of the Soul Exchange Technique!
Kugugung!
It was as if both Zhuge Sa and I were struggling to pull a massive cart, but while it seemed to inch closer, it ultimately bounced away and flew beyond reach.
“……”
As I lamely stared at the horizon, Zhuge Sa spoke,
[This is strange. I am a master of the Soul Exchange Technique and the current leader of the heretical sect, and yet both of us failed to draw in a single spirit… ]
[Who could have taken it?]
[… This atmosphere feels off. The air…]
Now that Zhuge Sa mentioned it, the air had been strange since a while back. While the corrupt malevolence exuded by Zhuge Yulong was unsettling too, there was something different about it. An overwhelming, primal evil saturated the earth, grass, and air, suffocating humanity in maddening despair.
I wasn’t the only one sensing this atmosphere; most of the people in the hall displayed clear signs of anxiety. It felt like just speaking could cause everything to come crashing down. The one who seemed to resist this best was the Master of the White Lotus Sect, as he let out a resounding shout.
[Hoo!!]
His shout seemed to have the effect of centering the mind, briefly resetting the atmosphere. The Master of the White Lotus Sect scanned the surroundings before turning to me and said,
[Baek Woong, it seems something is about to appear. We should consider retreating.]
“The Master isn’t trying to claim the Divine Portrait for himself.”
[This is an issue I’ve already deemed out of my hands. Whether that thing is taken or destroyed is your choice.]
I stared at Yushin, floating and with his eyes shut.
“……”
Right now, I could gather the power of my sound occultism into a strike and easily kill him. Earlier, my self-preservation instinct had prevented me from doing so, but now that he was in a state of suspension, it was entirely feasible. Moreover, eliminating Yushin, who could potentially become a future calamity, was practically essential in this situation.
Yet, I had given him a name. I believed he would help humanity rather than succumb to his inherent fate. And even now, my faith in him hadn’t wavered. Thus, striking him down now would be an act of betrayal.
What should I do?
As I pondered deeply, I slowly called his name,
“Yushin.”
Flash!
As soon as my words reached him, Yushin opened his eyes. He looked at me with sorrowful eyes and said,
“I’m sorry… Baek Woong. A strange entity took over my body, and I panicked and responded to the [Calling].”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I… I am no longer myself.”
Yushin fell silent for a moment.
“Having this name was a special permission from ‘That One,’ but I cannot allow it any longer. And, and something very terrifying… it comes from beyond the constellation… it crawls from the Abyssal Constellation…”
As he mumbled strange words, Yushin added,
“That One said… it will eliminate the insects that have touched its belongings…”
“What the hell are you talking about? Does that One mean to kill us?”
“No… it has no interest in you… because you… are still here…”
Shuddering,
Yushin trembled violently, overtaken by intense fear. Tears streamed down his face, and his gaze wavered substantially as he wore a dazed smile, his voice soaked in madness.
“The prison is breaking… this world will soon be torn apart…!!”
“……?!”
“Run… far away.”
Swish!
As soon as he finished speaking, Yushin’s body turned to light and vanished.
However, nothing particularly special occurred. The bizarre, unidentified madness and fear that had been haunting us continued to envelop the land, and the colors of the universe slowly began to blink and settle upon the ground.
The Master of the White Lotus Sect broke the silence and said,
[We shall return.]
The members of the White Lotus Sect followed the Master silently, leaving Mount Huang behind without uttering a single word. Yet, their demeanor suggested they were fleeing from a massive dread and despair. Clearly, there was nothing existing at this very location, but confronting the darkness overshadowing everything would have been unbearably tormenting.
The Twelve Joules were the same. They retreated quietly, saying nothing. It was far too futile and grim a conclusion to the grand battle that had connected Yueshan to Mount Huang.
Mangnyang gazed down at the twinkling colors of the universe hiding throughout Mount Huang and said,
“Baek Woong. It seems that the ultimate Divine Portrait…”
“Yushin.”
“Yes. The existence known as Yushin seems to have already fulfilled its original purpose.”
“……”
I remained silent. I understood what Mangnyang was implying.
I gritted my teeth and said,
“Is Yushin… dedicated to God?”
“I believe so.”
“Damn…”
I failed to save him.
Perhaps I could have rescued him, but ultimately did not seize the chance.
As I quietly reprimanded myself, Zhuge Sa calmly spoke,
“In this case, who it was dedicated to becomes important.”
“Zhuge Sa.”
“Baek Woong. The game has already turned. It is just that it hasn’t manifested on the surface.”
Zhuge Sa looked at me with unprecedented clarity and coldness. He then said,
“We must head to the Imperial Palace immediately. We need to begin preparations for survival against the impending despair.”