NOVEL NEXT Chapter 578
Chapter 578 – Dark Heaven Village
Clap!
I arrived at the Imperial Palace with my party. Our destination was right in front of the Crystal Stele, but it was already missing. Just to be sure, we checked the Divine Portrait creation room, but there was nothing there either. Zhuge Sa spat out, “They really ran off with the research results and the Crystal Stele.”
“Did the Alchemist think the Imperial Palace would fall?”
“We can’t know that. Anyway, we need to move quickly.”
Zhuge Sa seemed oddly hurried, as if something was chasing him.
Next, we headed to the barrier containing the National Seal. Thanks to Cheon Woo-jin’s powerful sorcery, we easily broke through the barrier and obtained the National Seal in no time. As I touched the seal, just like before, I encountered the Contract Spirit immediately after finishing the contract with the National Seal.
After returning to reality, Zhuge Sa said, “We know the Alchemist’s true name. Even if he ran away, we can find him using the exhibition technique of the National Seal.”
“I’ll check it right away.”
[Whoooosh!]
“O National Seal, reveal the whereabouts of the Alchemist, Saint Germain!”
[Yes, understood.]
For a moment, the seal vibrated. After gathering information for a while, the National Seal spoke, [There are two search results for Saint Germain.]
“Two? Give me the locations.”
[Here they are.]
Wssss—
A screen popped up in the air, vividly displaying two scenarios simultaneously as if watching from the side. One showed an old Western man studying with trembling hands in a dilapidated room, while the other showed an Alchemist fiddling with the Crystal Stele in a dark workshop. I exclaimed in disbelief, “Are both of them Alchemist Saint Germain?”
“One is the one we need to catch now, and the old man is just a third-rate pretending to be Saint Germain. No need to overthink it.”
“……”
I nodded and asked the National Seal for the exact location of the Alchemist. Shortly afterward, the National Seal implanted the location in my mind, and I immediately knew where he was.
‘It’s the entrance of the Western Regions.’
In terms of location, it marks the end of the western border of the Arasa Empire and the beginning of the Western countries’ territories. I was slightly shocked that he managed to escape that far in such a short time, but I shared the information with my companions. Then, Mangnyang thought for a moment and said, “Running west means his base is in the Western Regions.”
“Shouldn’t we catch him right away?”
“…I oppose that.”
“Hmm?”
“Considering how this turned out, it might be good to watch how far he runs. This way, we might learn the location or influence he plans to base himself on.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
After all, we didn’t urgently need the Crystal Stele, and we could track his location using the exhibition technique at any time. It’s better to let the rat go and find its nest.
After obtaining the National Seal, we entered the Great Dragon Hall of the Imperial Palace to look for the Emperor. What unfolded there was a horrific sight.
“AAAAAAAAH!”
“Your Majesty, please…”
[ROAR!]
A towering cyclopean monster swung its massive claws, tearing apart Sibi and court officials. The monster’s body was grotesquely decayed, with hideous blood vessels and tentacles protruding, an utterly nauseating sight. Yet, it seemed to possess immense strength, with dozens of corpses already strewn around the palace.
I gritted my teeth at the tragedy unfolding before my eyes. “Has the Emperor turned into such a monster?”
“Jin So-cheong.”
When Mangnyang called out Jin So-cheong’s name loudly, she shot forth a new technique without hesitation. She then landed five spear strikes on the rampaging monster, and after a moment, its body was riddled with holes like a beehive, causing it to collapse.
[RUMBLE!]
The fallen cyclopean monster bled green blood all over the ground for a while, slowly shrinking in size. Clearly visible, it transformed into a naked middle-aged man after a short while—the unconscious figure of the current Emperor of the Ming Empire.
Extreme Tiger grabbed the back of the Emperor’s neck for a moment, checking his pulse before stating, “He’s dead.”
“Of course he is. After the Demon’s sorcery ran wild, turning him into a monster, once the transformation ended, a human soul and life force can’t hold up.”
Zhuge Sa said this and then told me, “Baek Woong. I need you to use the Heavenly Secret Technique.”
“Will calling the Emperor’s soul do?”
“You know it well.”
[FIZZ!]
Flames flickered at my fingertips, and I easily summoned the Emperor’s soul. He trembled as if he didn’t understand why he was dead, and suddenly, he screamed.
[AHHH! Please help me! I will do anything! Just not that place…]
Isn’t he being strangely cooperative? I tilted my head as I was about to ask the question, “What happened here…”
That’s when it happened.
[NOOOO!! PLEASE… I hate living hell!!]
“Ugh.”
Suddenly, a violent wind blew, and the Emperor’s soul began to be dragged somewhere in the void. I maintained the Heavenly Secret Technique while resisting with the Soul Exchange Technique, but it felt like the Emperor’s spirit was stretching like taffy. Eventually, as the pull became stronger, beads of sweat formed on my forehead while Zhuge Sa said next to me, “Let go. You can’t win.”
“Fine.”
[PFFT!]
As I released my hold, the Emperor’s soul was immediately sucked away. I brushed my hands off and turned to Zhuge Sa, perplexed. “This phenomenon is reminiscent of when Zhuge Yulong bounced back earlier. What on earth is happening?”
“The souls affiliated with the Imperial Palace are returning to the will of God. The God is personally harvesting souls, so no matter how skilled we are at the Soul Exchange Technique, we can’t stop this.”
“……!!”
“If you want to help, gather the souls of those unfortunate court officials. They shouldn’t be dragged into living hell.”
I flinched, startled.
The Harvest of God!
Does that mean the [Old Ruler] reigning over the Imperial Palace is personally collecting their souls? I quickly understood Zhuge Sa’s words and used the Soul Exchange Technique to gather the wandering souls of the victims nearby. Storing their souls temporarily as per the technique, the Sword Demon asked Zhuge Sa, “Zhuge Sa, why do you think God is suddenly harvesting souls en masse?”
“……”
“Zhuge Sa.”
“I have a theory based on my knowledge of demon sorcerers. That’s why he’s here collecting all he can from the Imperial Palace.”
Zhuge Sa gazed at me before saying, “If you’ve gathered enough, let’s run quickly. This place will soon become chaotic.”
“What do you mean? Zhuge Yulong is dead, and the Imperial Palace forces have been annihilated. Does that mean the God will send down Apostles again?”
“No. Something worse will happen. Anyway, let’s hurry up and escape.”
[PFFFT!]
We returned to Jangryeong Valley. However, even after the long battle had ended, no one dared to sit down and rest. The result was far from satisfactory, and Zhuge Sa hinted at the hardships ahead.
As everyone gathered in a circle, Zhuge Sa spoke. “In my opinion, neither Jangryeong Valley nor Jinrang Valley is a safe place. After all, it’s not far from the capital Luoyang. According to the Divine Portrait… according to Yushin, we need to evacuate to a place much farther.”
The Sword Demon, looking puzzled, said, “What do you mean? Even Jangryeong Valley or Jinrang Valley is hundreds of miles away from the Imperial Palace. Are you saying a sufficient disaster will erupt regardless?”
“Exactly. It will explode soon.”
“I’d like to hear why you are so sure.”
Zhuge Sa clasped his hands together. His face wore a frantic, crazed look unlike before.
“Yushin has answered the call of the [Old Ruler]. For a normal human, responding would usually lead to becoming a fanatic of the [Old Ruler], but the issue here is that Yushin was created as a Divine Portrait in the first place to act on the will of the Evil Spirit.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that an Apostle is giving all their soul and existence to God. In other words, the [Old Ruler] has gained the Law of Cause and Effect to wreak havoc on this earth. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
Mangnyang, listening beside us, spoke in a pale voice, “Are you saying even the Three Sovereigns can’t stop the [Old Ruler] from rampaging in the Central Plains?”
“Exactly. The Three Sovereigns are the rightful rulers of the Central Plains, but it’s like a landlord can’t say anything if the legal heir searches the place.”
“He might be able to descend directly.”
The direct descent of the [Old Ruler]!
This was something I had never properly experienced in all 23 of my previous lives. Of course, Zhuge Sa had summoned the ruler of the jungle through his soul and the Nameless Ritual Book, but even that wasn’t a complete summoning.
Recalling my past experiences, I asked Zhuge Sa, “Is it similar to when Jeon Wook descended into my body?”
“It can be viewed as nearly the same situation. But the level of freedom is much higher this time. Since you didn’t willingly agree to give up your soul, Jeon Wook forcibly took over your body, but by responding to the call, the level of freedom of the law of cause and effect is maximized.”
Zhuge Sa continued with his arms crossed.
“…The problem is to whom the Divine Portrait pledged their soul. I can’t figure that out.”
“Why not?”
“While it’s intended for the Evil Spirit, there’s no doubt that contract must be related to Enkai’s Sleeper. There’s no way a divine-like entity would carelessly let go of such a strong medium as the Divine Portrait. Hence, we can’t know who among them acquired the law of cause and effect.”
I understood Zhuge Sa’s meaning and nodded my head.
“So… one of the Evil Spirit or Sleeper will descend into the Central Plains soon.”
“Right. The Sleeper just tried to absorb all the souls of the Imperial Palace to prepare for the upcoming massive conflict.”
“Is there any chance the Three Sovereigns will intervene angrily?”
“There’s a chance, but it’s more likely they will just observe. Don’t you know how indifferent they can be towards humans?”
“……”
That was true.
A million deaths might not even warrant a blink.
Cheon Woo-jin, having listened to our conversation, remarked bluntly, “That’s utterly meaningless!”
Everyone turned to Cheon Woo-jin. He continued, “If that’s the case, doesn’t whatever we do become meaningless? Moving our base amidst the gods rampaging only changes whether we die sooner or later.”
“……”
He was right.
What difference does it make to know?
An atmosphere of absolute despair settled in the room. Then Zhuge Sa retorted, “In the end, that’s true. We will probably all die. But when we die matters.”
Zhuge Sa glanced at me and added, “Because of Baek Woong.”
“……”
“It’s fine if humanity perishes; we just need to keep Baek Woong alive for another day. It’s too early to give up.”
Zhuge Sa continued, “It’s best to stay as far away from the Central Plains as possible, but we shouldn’t be too distant either. Do you have any recommended locations?”
Then Mangnyang suggested, “How about the Dadu Kingdom?”
“Are you suggesting we seek assistance from Matteo Ricci?”
“It’s a place actually distant from the Central Plains. Plus, it’s easy to supply resources.”
We held a brief discussion. After talking about various potential locations, we decided to move our base to the Dadu Kingdom for the time being before planning a second move to the southern continent where the Flame Elemental Sword resides. The reason we wouldn’t head straight for the southern continent was that we needed to keep an eye on the situation near the Central Plains.
I asked Zhuge Sa, “Should we also resume the search for the Seven Luminaries?”
“Of course. At this rate, this life won’t last long. Death is looming right in front of us, so we need to actively acquire the Seven Luminaries to live even a little longer.”
“Then we need to obtain the Moon Sovereign or Flame Elemental Sword first.”
“Exactly.”
Until now, I had avoided acting on the Twelve Joules’ nerves, but the Moon Sovereign was one of the easier Seven Luminaries to acquire. Liberation was another issue, but obtaining the unliberated Moon Sovereign was simple. It would be annoying to defeat the Guardian, but I could easily evade it. I also knew how to obtain the Flame Elemental Sword, but it was questionable whether the Offering Ceremony or connection to the Heavenly Realm could be easily achieved, making it much harder than the Moon Sovereign.
‘And…’
If the Twelve Joules are indeed deceased, then it’s possible I could acquire the Wood Essence as well.
As I was about to discuss my plans for acquiring the Seven Luminaries with my advisors, a great rumble reverberated through the heavens and earth.
Everyone rushed outside in surprise as the western sky shattered like glass, revealing a massive thundercloud moving with incredible force. The thundercloud was not ordinary; it appeared as though it were darkening the entire sky.
In the darkness, something huge seemed to be flying, flickering lightning showing a form that resembled either a human or a cephalopod, but it quickly vanished like an optical illusion. However, it was a fact that immense chaotic energy was swirling within those clouds.
The heavens and even the earth seemed to hold their breath as they awaited the impending tragedy.
“Turn on the exhibition technique, Baek Woong.”
Zhuge Sa muttered with a crazed smile on his face, “That direction is Luoyang.”